General Chat

Evening All,

It's been cooler and dull a lot of today. What a shame Dr Michael Moseley has been found dead now. I watched his programmes and liked him as he made things easy to understand. The post mortem will find the cause of death but those temperatures were fierce and walking in that rocky terrain when he took a wrong path must have been exhausting.

My knees were sore this morning so I had to hang onto the doorframe to get down our doorstep. I didn't try anything in the garden today, but they stiffened up with sitting for long so I've been getting up and down all day! I must ease up on the garden jobs that involve bending for a day or two. OH dug up a fuschia and pretty bright pink geranium out of the borfer where the neighbour's builder will be starting on her wall tomorrow. He's left them in a humper for me to put in big pots for now. He says a lot of the chionodoxa bulbs came up too so he's saved those for me to replant.

I hope you enjoy your outing and at least you will have had a nice meal and chat AnnG.

The food delivery came this afternoon and the subs were ok so that was good. OH always finds fault with something I've ordered lately and this time it was toilet rolls I'd ordered, when we already had some. What does it matter, they will keep I thought, so he got told 'If you can do better', lol. It's a job I'd be happy to hand over. He did help me by putting most things away including in the garage freezers, even if I won't be able to find what I want! lol. It was still a help.

Vera I wish OH would help clean out cupboards, but I agree it can be frustrating how our bodies complain and ache and hold us up with jobs we would have whizzed through when we were younger.

Window cleaner tomorrow, so an early shower in case he might come. Then I need to swap a top I bought the other day. OH will take me as there is a Works there for him to browse in.

Mel I don't know how you manage such a big garden. I know I couldn't. Is the hen you thought was broody still sitting in the nestbox and does Phil2 still visit?

I hope you are feeling a lot better now Mandy and that the lower dose of iron tablets aren't causing any problems. Did you get your lights all put up?

I've just counted 11 spam emails this weekend.

Good morning

Sun was shining so brightly at 6 am that it hurt my eyes just looking out of the window. Now it’s all cloudy again.

I haven’t got any plans for the day, just take it as it comes.

I hope you enjoy your lunch and theatre trip AnnG. You might like the play more than you think, provided they speak clearly. I saw it yonks ago (1990s?) and really enjoyed it.

13 degrees now but clouded right over, no sun at all and feels quite cold indoors.
Difficult to know what to wear to go out really.

Morning all,

Nice sunny morning here but it's very nippy out ,

Anng hope you enjoy your time out with your friends even if it's not quite your thing its a trip out and a nice lunch out to can't be bad .

Mel I heard the pollen count was going to be very high so have taken a tablet this morning .

Family should be here later for coffee so better just have a hoover round before they get here.

Morning all,

12 degrees and sunny here and pc says high pollen count. We've blue sky wiithh big white clouds and a tiny breeze.

Have a nice lunch and outing Anng I am sure you will enjoy it with your friends.

Bit achey this morning from yesterdays gardening but I shall throw myself into it again today if I can. Every little bit counts in this garden with it being so big you don't notice it though. BIL did notice I had cleaned the decking by my pond and the filter shed so that was good.

I didn't see this until now. How sad Ann, I am so sorry to read your news. It is always so hard to lose a friend. I do remember you mentioning her being a friend from beading. you will miss her.

Good morning all bright and sunny so far but only 8 degrees. apparently it was only going to be 5 degrees over night I quickly nipped out and lifted a small tomato in a pot into the conservatory for overnight. the others are larger so hope they will survive these weird June temperatures we are getting.

I am out for lunch to a pub that none of the 6 of us have been to before. But it has had good comments. then we are going to a production of the play Armadeus in Tewkesbury. I am not sure it is my scene, or if I will be able to hear but it is a trip out. Being picked up at 1215.

O Ann how sad I too remember you knitting her the gloves and how pleased she was with them. Lots of people she helped will miss her greatly.

I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend Annx and send my condolences <3. She sounds a very special lady and I am sure she will be missed by many.

Oh Ann I'm so sorry to hear about your friend passing away ,I remember you knitting her the gloves and you saying she was really pleased with them, she sounds as if she was quite a lady and lived life to the full .

Evening All,

I lost a post on thursday an gave up then! Yesterday I had some upsetting news, as a good friend that I made at a beading course years ago and aged 71, passed away on Wednesday. She was out riding on Saturday and was feeling well and positive when she went into hospital for the operation on Sunday. I didn't know she was having an operation, as she never used to mention things like that, but I knew she had scans from time to time and was being monitored after having lung cancer about 3 years ago. I don't know if it was connected to the operation this time though. She was lucky they found it at that time as a scan after a DVT in her thigh picked it up early and it was operated on and she didn't even need chemo or radiaton afterwards. At the time I knitted her some of the fingerless owl gloves from a pattern of Mandy's and she was over the moon with them and wore them round the house when she came out of hospital. She was a lovely lady, kind in word and deed and always helping people. She had an allotment, but gave most of what she grew away. She lived on her own and never complained or said anything unkind. She did circle dancing, african drumming, sang and played guitar with other musicians, morris dancing. I could fill a page with the things she did to help others. I will really miss her.

Did a bit more cutting down in the garden today. Tired now and going to dive down the freezer for something to eat. Knees a bit sore.

Afternoon all,

Yes just busy Mel we've been out in the garden getting the boarding on the wall ,we were out for most of the day yesterday and it was lovely and warm now today the weather is back to cloud and its quite chilly ,I had just made a coffee about eleven this morning when it started to rain so we had to come in ,Colin did get the brackets up on the boarding and I was hoping to get the little light strings up, I might see if it's stopped now and go out to do them.
I got my tomatoes potted up into the bigger pots and got the plants we bought the other day planted in the pots too .

Oh suns trying shine I'd better get outside and do the lights .

I was about to say Good Morning but I see it's afternoon already. Where has the day gone? Time does seem to rush by when you're busy.

I was awake for part of the night yesterday but did get some sleep so I feel a bit livelier this morning and we've both carried on with kitchen cupboard cleaning. The trouble is these days we can only do a couple before we are aching and tired, particularly if we have to get down on the floor. Pathetic, isn't it. OH cleaned a single cupboard that has some crockery in it and a big double cupboard that holds pots and pans and I cleaned out two sets of 3 drawers. I put a couple of bits out for the tip as each time we clean I put them back but I never use them. I've also put aside a couple of better quality things for the bric-a-brac stall that the ladies club run at the local fete. We also organise the books and plants stalls and run the refreshment room so I think our group do their share for the neighbourhood..

I understand what you are saying about incorporating important anniversaries into general school life somehow AnnG, and I mostly agree with you. It would be easier if there were still a daily whole school (or even part school) assembly. At my school special news or announcements were given out at assembly, sometimes with a brief explanation, and usually followed by a relevant hymn or prayer. Something like that could still work I think if the school were assembled together.

I occasionally make Frittata Mel. It makes a change and can be useful for using up oddments of veg.

It's come over very black and windy and looks as though it's going to rain at any minute. The computer says it's 14 degrees and cloudy, one weather app says it's 15 degrees with light rain and the other says it's 16 degrees and mostly cloudy. I'm not sure how they can all differ like that but I think I'll just stick to looking out of the window to check on the weather.

I can hear movement in the kitchen so I think OH is starting to get lunch. He usually gets our lunchtime snack for about 1 pm and I'm quite peckish today. Enjoy whatever you're doing for the rest of the day. I hope the weather is kind to you - it's getting blacker and blacker here. I might need a light on to see what I am eating.

I meant to say we did'nt hear from Annx yesterday or Mandy I hope they was just busy and nothing is wrong. <3

Morning all, Blue sky with huge white clouds here this morning and the suns out most of the time. its 15 degrees and pc says mostly sunny. Don't think I will be doing much inthe garden today as my knees ache from yesterdays bending and moving all those grass cuttings and I forgot to take my jointace last night so may take one this morning and one tonight.

Just the shop to do today for the paper and my doughnut and then I may do some casting as I need some little foaming tankard to go with some Bartmann jugs. I also have to do a Clarice Cliff sugar bowl as I did the jug last month but I am not very happy with the size of it so may cast another of those.

Good morning all a bit grey here, no sun yet but it is early 13 degrees, I think forecast said a degree or so below the normal June weather. But, although I remember June when I was young being 'flaming June', the past ten plus years it has not been a good month. we bought our time share in the Lake district in June 1986 and, at first it was a lovely sunny week. Gradually though each year it got colder and wetter and we started to exchange the week for Lanzarote. Hopefully it will buck up and we will get some sort of decent summer.

Yes I agree we probably do wish too much of the young generation, although many by their 'me' attitude don't help themselves. Unfortunately it is probably not the fault of the current generation, it started a few generations back.

I do know how the schools are overloaded with lessons to be taught. I was not thinking the schools should have a new lesson inserted into the curriculum, but rather that when the anniversaries of the important wars etc are 'celebrated' the meaning should be woven into existing lessons. So at least they would have some knowledge of things.
Some school/colleges obviously do as there was one group of boys who could explain very well all the meaning of d day and that part of WW2.

Thanks for the wave and hope you sleep well tonight to Vera.

Been out in the garden and had a scrape of the front of the bungalow and cleared up a great haystack of grass cutting from the orchard and started a bonfire and piled them all on top hoping they will slow smoulder away over night. There's still stuff in the orchard needs raking up from where he cut down all the snowdrops and daffs.

Now I am going to get some salad and have the rest of the thing I made at lunchtime which BIL ate two thirds of. He had'nt had it before and thought it was very nice. A Fratarta (sp) it had peas, potatoe, toms, mushrooms, bacon, cheese and 5 eggs and a little milk. When I popped it under the grill and we went outside and talked I only just caught it when we came in befroe it burnt. Lets put it this way it was a little darker than it should have been but tasted great.

Good afternoon all

It’s a lovely day here, a bit nippy when the sun hides behind the clouds and the breeze is blowing but otherwise a pleasant 16 degrees.

Wedneday night was a really bad night for me. I couldn’t sleep and couldn’t stop my legs jumping at all. Usually the muscle spasms and “jumps” will calm down if I walk about for a while but it didn’t work that night. Eventually I fell asleep at about 5 am and got up at 7 am feeling as though I had run a dozen marathons. I went to our usual coffee meeting but I was like a zombie and didn’t contribute much to the conversation. I also got some strange looks in the café as I had to wear my dark glasses. In fact I am still wearing them now as my eyes and head are painful at the moment.

Last night started badly as well and I didn’t fall asleep till getting on for 3 am but then I slept right through till 9, which is unheard of. I must really have needed the sleep. When I got up OH was cleaning some more of the kitchen cupboards for me, bless him. He did one of the food cupboards, a medicines/first aid cupboard and 2 containing china and other tableware. After he had done it all I did have to take everything out of the cupboards again and put everything back in its correct place but I’m not complaining as everything was nice and clean, but I did laugh. All the stuff that gets used once in a blue moon – goats cheese baker, fancy cheese boards and knives, “posh” toast rack etc – was all nice and handy on the bottom shelves; everyday stuff such as grater, gravy boat, lemon squeezer were all on the top shelf that I have to get steps out to reach!

I’ve worked in the garden for about an hour and a half this afternoon and am beginning to feel we are getting somewhere at last

As I didn’t feel all that bright yesterday and as my eyes were giving me trouble I didn’t watch the D-Day programmes AnnG which is why I couldn’t comment. However I have now seen them on iPlayer and yes, they were very moving and the youngsters giving those long stemmed white roses to the veterans was a lovely touch. Did you notice Brigitte Macron trying to grab the Queen’s hand and hold it and the Queen trying to avoid it? Bit of a faux pas there Madame Macron! I agree that it would be great if young people did know all about D-Day and other events of the first and second world war but I wonder if we expect too much of them and of the schools. How much did our generation know of the major events 80 years earlier or of the first world war? The schools have a pretty full curriculum already and can’t be expected to teach everything. What I would like to see encouraged in schools is the attitude of those brave men who were there on D-Day. I’m not running down the role of various therapies, sometimes they are necessary, but I do think a bit more stiff upper lip and just getting on with it wouldn’t go amiss these days. That can be a therapy in itself.

Do we have to curtsey to you Annx now we know you are semi-royal? I think the best I can boast is a few black sheep. About my only claim to fame is that my 3 x great grandfather was on the stage between roughly 1820s and 1840s and was well-known in his day though no-one will know him now. I do have a photocopied letter that he wrote to Joseph Grimaldi, the great clown. The original letter is bound into a book which is held at Harvard University but when I explained my relationship they kindly sent me a copy.

I’d better start thinking about tonight’s dinner. I took some chicken out of the freezer this morning but I’ve no idea what I am going to do with it so I think I’ll investigate the depths of the fridge and see what veg I’ve got hanging about. Maybe I’ll put the kettle on first – I always think better after a cuppa.

Sending a quick wave ~~~~~~~~~ to Mel, Mandy and Gwyn.

Your Dad was a hero then Mel. All those little boats. Must have been very scary.

Post van was there today so that was good. It was last Friday he was'nt going to be there. The weeks pass so quickly I thought it was this week. Anyway parcel posted so I don't have to go to Hosworthy.

BIL is here and mowing. I am going to go and do the pond filter and then strim.