General Chat

Well, I've been "in isolation" since Thursday last week!

Nothing much has happened, so I didn't post.

I came down with a very runny nose over Wednesday /Thursday night, although it had cleared up somewhat by the time I got up in the morning, but I really felt "cold-y". So I put in a call for one of the nurses to come and check me. Immediate "isolation", with meals brought to my room (apart from breakfast which I always have here, from my own supplies of cereals).

Since Sunday, it has gone day by day as to whether I should stop or not ............. with the fact that one of my table mates at meals is 101 years old being a large part of the equation!

I seem to go from sniffly one day, to coughing, to blocked up .......... and repeat! The weather hasn't helped either! We had our Covid and Flu shots on October 9, just 2 weeks before I came down with this cold ....... it isn't Covid!

I'm getting a lot of reading done!

Florence ......... you amaze me with your early Christmas preparations! I haven't even given a thought to it. I doubt we will have a Christmas tree or dinner here, but there is OH and family to think about cards, along with money gifts for grandson and great- nieces and -nephews.

Keep safe everyone

Enjoy your outing on Friday, Florence!
I hope you find al the Christmas things you're looking for.

I really haven't thought about Christmas yet, apart from having put together a shoebox of things for the annual Blythswood Shoebox Appeal.
You can get a surprising amount of stuff into a shoebox!
Covering the lid and main part of the box separately in Christmas paper is the tricky part.
And then finding a big enough elastic band to go round the filled box.

Oh yes, I've also bought myself a Christmas jumper!
It was an absolute impulse buy from Home Bargains - a lovely warm jumper.
The warmth was the main appeal, but it's also colourful, cheerful, and not too naff.


No particular progress with the supposedly smart meter. Scottish Power have raised the matter as a complaint, which they say is the quickest way to get a resolution. The man I spoke to a couple of days ago says he thinks the new meter will have to be replaced, as it's clearly not working as it should.
In the meantime - a week on from the installation - the storage heaters still come on during the day instead of at night, and Scottish Power haven't managed to connect the meter to "the network".
Personally, I think the signal here just isn't strong enough and they should never have installed the useless thing.
However, we'll see!

It was a calm , dry, and mainly sunny day here, and the RAF were taking advantage of it for exercises.
Four jets zooming down the loch, so loudly that my friend and I had to stop talking until they'd passed, as we couldn't hear each other.
Also two very low, very slow cargo-type planes. So slow that they seemed to be hardly moving, at about treetop level.

Afternoon all.
Not a bad day but getting windy and the clouds looking darker. I think tomorrow the forecast is awful with heavy rain!

But We managed 2 loads of washing and bedding and got it mostly dry outside so less work for the tumble!

Making a list for my trip to town on Friday with my pal for the day. I'm finalising the xmas pressie shopping but made a couple of changes too. I decided to buy a basic toolkit in a carry case for my 13 year old nephew as he is doing woodwork etc now and very into making things so thought this would be a better idea for him.

He wont have to borrow his dads tools then!

Im also planning my after xmas buffet for my friend & her family and that will take awhile. They will be 8 or poss 9 of us so a lot of mouths to feed but Im quite used to that so no more work to feed 4 than 8 really as long as its planned well.

I hope everyone is ok as we seem a bit thin on the ground on here?

I'm sure we are all just busy busy in our own lives.

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon all
Had a busy productive day today and was quite nice earlier. The fog/mist has crept in so very damp now.

i managed to put together the cart I bought for the garden. It has 4 wheels and a tipper tray. The front wheels turn so you can go in any direction. i had tried to put his together some time ago but couldnt work out how to tighten the nuts.

So today, decided it cant be that difficult and finally i managed. So was able to transport several plants and 4 large bags of compost round to the back garden and into the poly tunnel. Was so easy rather than having to carry it all as we did before!

I then spent the afternoon wrapping and parcelling some more gifts as my xmas paper I ordered arrived. So thats another 2 jobs off my list.

I always find it so satisfying when you have a list of jobs to do and you manage to tick them all off :-D :-D

Hope everyone else is doing ok

Shetland is coming back on soon for those that watch it. Gonna be on a Wed eve which will be great as Tues is also good viewing too.

Better see to my eve meal and tbh, nothing sorted yet as been too busy so something quick tonight.

Florence in the hebrides

It is a nice sunny day here, we just popped to Aldi because when I got back from Aldi yesterday, I realised that there were a few things which I needed and hadn’t been on the shopping list

I haven’t been on the thread for a few days because my daughter was in working in London for a couple of days. That meant going to their house and entertaining Esme after she got back from school, cooking dinner for them and getting her to bed before coming home. I let Esme help to make dinner on both nights, she is getting good at chopping things up and really enjoys helping.

It is half term next week, so no doubt we will be out and about.

Morning all

Well yesterday i was so busy as it was a flat calm, dry dry hence i wasnt on here.

I put together the 2 bar stools i had ordered awhile ago for the polytunnel. They were heavy steel legs and a lovely wooden seat, very classy looking. So after I had finished them, I then started transferring loads of things that were to go across one by one as I need my stick in the other hand.

I carried the huge black 100l bin and got the bungees to attach to the fence. That is now sitting between tunnel and fence and well secured. So that took awhile sorting everything out and now my kitchen is back to being a kitchen and not a garden centre lol

We didn't do baking as daughter had stuff to do as yesterday she went off to Glasgow for a hospital appointment so we had to go to bed early on Thurs eve to be up at 5.30am!! All went ok and she was back home before 8pm but almost straight to bed as was exhausted.

So yesterday when it was dry & flat calm, i was wishing it would rain later to fill the bin up. Well guess what...... its pouring hard today and very windy again so i guess we should be careful what we wish for lol

Tesco's coming this afternoon 4-6pm so usual housework to do and some paperwork. Thick it might be a chicken supper later so no cooking hopefully today as I'm still tired and didn't sleep that well last night!

Hope everyone else looking in today is well & ok.

Florence in the hebrides

Florence hope the weather is improving for you. And hope that there was not too much mess in the kitchen for you to clear up after the cooking session.
A bit mist here, 11 degrees now and the sun is trying to break through. No wind at all and dry that is the main thing.

Morning all
Still another rotten wet & wild day here but......its supposed to be calming down after 3pm yay :-D :-D

I wont hold my breath but we live in hope.

Daughter on her way back here later and has decided to she wants to do some baking!
Patience hat will be going on I guess for all the mess lol

Hope everyone looking in today is well and keeping ok

Florence in the hebrides

Linda, after all the posts I've read of yours about your grandchildren I've never noticed this co-incidence before. Our grandson has 2 daughters, Esme and Eve. They're in Kent though, you're not likely to bump into them.

Oh dear AG, smart meters do seem to cause all sorts of problems, fingers crossed that they sort it out soon. We don’t have one here and I am not volunteering for one.

Esme was very cross last night because mummy was going to London for two sleeps, but about an hour after she left, she perked up and has been fine since. She had a good day at school.

Eve has two weeks off for half term, although Esme doesn’t realise that. She hides in her room until after Esme leaves for school on a morning. Esme thinks that she sometimes goes to a mythical place called Sports school which starts very early, so grandad picks her up and takes her before Esme gets up. She then comes home just before Esme arrives, wearing casual clothes instead of her usual uniform :-D. One day she will cotton on and major tantrums will occur :-(

I downloaded a treasure trail around the nearby town of Boroughbridge and the village of Aldborough . Eve , OH and I did it today and had lunch in a cafe along the way. It was a very nice warm day and we managed to solve all of the clues correctly. We got back in time for Esme coming back from school. We played for a long time , then I helped her to make some chocolate brownies to take into school tomorrow. Both girls made a sausage pasta dish for dinner. Esme was so proud of herself chopping all the peppers on her own and cutting the sausages into small pieces. She used her craft scissors as the cooking ones were too sharp :-). She wants to help me again tomorrow.

Oh ArgyllGran, what a bother for you!! But as you say, your signal is weak and it may not be strong enough to get the readings sent automatically. Surely they must know this before they install?

Since a pole came down in another part of the island in the gales, no 4G is now available even though a new pole was put up. Vodaphone say there are no faults in that area but daughter cant get 4g on her phone and the house she is in doesnt have the internet!

As my dad always says, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Its all ok when everything to do with technology works but when the system stops working, its a complete nightmare isnt it?

AnnG, in my craft drawers, I had hidden some little sweetie gifts but they began to fill the drawer so i have now taken everything out and sorted it. i can also see my bed properly as all the clutter has been tidied away.. Glad you had a lovely time in the New Forest and your weather was kind, that was great.

I now have ticked off al the jobs to do today and wondering about my eve meal but nothing is inspiring me to make anything that takes more than 10-15 mins lol

Well, I knew it was a bad idea to get a smart meter!
I should have listened to my better judgement and left well alone.
Apart from being very old, there was nothing wrong with my old meter.

The man came and fitted the meter yesterday afternoon.
I asked him at least twice if he was sure my storage heaters would work properly with it, and he assured me they would.

He switched the power on again at about 4pm, and left shortly afterwards.
He said there was no signal, and therefore the meter wouldn't send readings automatically until Scottish Power had sorted that out. Fair enough - I know the signal here is weak, and I'm used to taking readings myself.

About 5pm I noticed that the storage heaters were charging, which they shouldn't have been doing. I switched them off to prevent them using peak rate electricity.

Turned them on again before I went to bed, and noticed that they weren't charging at that time - which was as it should be.
However, they didn't come on at all last night, so the house was cold this morning.

This morning I also noticed (once I'd figured out the complicated method of finding readings for Rate 1 and Rate 2 - he didn't leave me any instructions) that all the usage since the meter was fitted is showing on Rate 1, the more expensive daytime rate. There's nothing on Rate 2, but there should be, as the fridge and freezer were working during the night, even though the heaters weren't.

Phoned Scottish Power.
They said that it sometimes takes 48 hours for a new meter to settle down, and these things may sort themselves out.
I've to keep an eye on the heaters today and note when they come on and go off (they came on at approx 1.30pm, and are still on at the moment).
Scottish Power will phone me tomorrow afternoon for my report, and will then decide how to proceed. As the heaters do come on, although at the wrong time, it won't be treated as an emergency, so I may have to wait a week or so for an engineer to come.

On the bright side (possibly) the meter is showing a bill amount of zero.
That won't last!

Afternoon all
15 degrees here but feels chilly, it has been gloomy and dark but the sun is coming through the clouds now and is so bright it hurts your eyes.

Linda I hope Esme has bounced back again now. such a shame they can't find something that stops those episodes for her, it must be upsetting.

Florence I thought you said craft drawers not sweetie drawers.
Hope the weather improves for you soon and the mail gets through.

We were so lucky for our week away in the New forest area last week. The only rain was over night a couple of days and at the start of our journey home from the Portsmouth area where we spent one night seeing family. We were able to get out and about every day which was great.

Afternoon everyone looking in.

Still horrid wild & wet day here not not able to get outside for fresh air and this weather isnt going away for another few days grrrr.

Usual chores and clearing out my craft drawers as i put lots of small stuff in them and now the drawers need a good tidy up. Lots of sweeties & chocs for xmas hidden in there lol

I bought a new duvet set in duck egg blue in a pin tuck style. Its a lovely colour and just running through the washing machine on a quick wash to get the creases out!

Linda. hope Esme is feeling much better and the antibiotics are working for her.

Sylvia, I personally wouldnt want the stress of going to the hearing, far better to make your statement and let someone else read it on your behalf.

ArgyylGran, 50 % off is a fantastic saving. Glad you didnt ,lose power either.

Very quiet day here and havent seen the postie yet either but with no ferry that means nothing ordered from the internet will be coming anytime this week!

Right time for a coffee and then to do some laminating of a price list for the xmas fayres.

Hope all ok with everyone

Florence in the hebrides

I came to the hospital because my daughter was trying to to work and had an important online meeting at 11.30. They were still to be discharged, so I waited with Esme while her mum did the meeting. They said she has a urinary infection, so needs some antibiotics. Esme was desperate to go home , so they have left and I am waiting for a prescription to take to the hospital pharmacy. It us taking ages and I can smell the lunch food, so I am starving Goodness knows how long I will have to wait until they turn up with it

I think that the victim impact statement is a good system Sylvia, I think that it is in place here as well. It would probably be a long day with lots of hanging about if you did attend, so having someone read it out for you probably would be the best option, especially as I am sure you will be pointing out that you have had to move into assisted living housing.

I was given one of those golden tickets at Specsavers, but I thought that they said that it was only valid for six months so I think that I threw it away.

Esme was off school again yesterday with one of her gastric migraines. They seem to be coming more often, which isn’t good. They have two types of tablets prescribed by the hospital and if they can time it right, it stops it. Sometimes they don’t work though and she is just constantly sick, so she is dehydrated and has to go to the hospital for an injection to stop the vomiting. They put a cannula in and give her fluids and she soon comes round. She ended up there last night, but by the time she was hooked up to the fluids, it was 9pm, so they said that she would probably end up on the ward overnight . I went to the hospital to take my daughter’s laptop charger and some pyjamas etc for her. Esme was starting to look much better and was asking for food, so my draughtier popped to the hospital shop while I stayed with Esme, she was tucking into a bag of hula hoops when I left I checked this morning and she is still at the hospital, so it will be nearer lunchtime before she is discharged.

So we aren't the only ones who can have ferry problems?!

I heard this afternoon that the guy who assaulted OH and led us to make the move to here pleaded guilty last week!

I must admit that I never thought he would do that!

There was a hearing this morning (Monday) to set a date for sentencing .... early January.

Both daughter and I have the option to submit a 3rd Victim Impact report each, or not. If we do submit such a statement, we have 3 choices ............ go to court on the date and read out the statement ourselves; go to court and listen to someone else read them for us; or don't go to court and have someone else read them.

Both of us are leaning to that last option ........ submit our statements by email within about 2 weeks and let someone else read them out for us.

Whether or not we submit statements it is up to the judge to decide whether to give them any weight in his decision.

It was certainly wild here last night, but subsided quickly after 10pm, as forecast.
No power cut and no damage, thankfully.

Lots of leaves and twigs on the roads today, and seaweed in places where the road is beside the sea. One or two trees were down, I heard, but not affecting me today.

I had an appointment at Specsavers today, and although sorry to lose my now retired optometrist, I find I'm very happy with the new one.
It was disappointing that she asked me if I'd had any serious eye problems in the past, or any eye operations - she clearly hadn't looked at the history on her computer.
However, once I'd drawn her attention to the various things, she was very good and thorough.

No particular deterioration in my prescription this time, thank goodness, but I've ordered new glasses (varifocals as usual) anyway, as the present ones have never felt very comfortable - fractionally too short in the leg, and therefore sometimes sore behind my ears.
I've also ordered a cheap pair for computer use.
I had a "50% off" voucher from the last time I was there, last year, so that was a great saving on the cost of the varifocals.

Torrential rain on the way home, with lots of water on the roads. Not quite flooding, but certainly big puddles.
It's still bashing on the back of the house now.

names!!!! OMG unbelievable about the new ferry. we are laughing stocks in Scotland as someone said, a man could have sent to the moon & back long before the ferries are in service.

And now John Swinney says, the purse is empty and is going to Westminster to ask for some money???? What if we had become independent then, we would as predicted become bankrupt.

No wonder people are leaving here in their droves and all the other islands.

The sooner the SNP are booted out the better! They no longer rule here and that sent a message which shocked a lot of people. But we are fed up with their nonsense not to mention NS and her husband and the missing 600k!

In the meantime, businesses are really suffering as smaller isles have lost so much without a regular ferry that companies have folded. Someone has to be held to account.

No, we were fortunate and didnt lose power but it was wild again last night about 10pm and carried on through the night. Its still wild and torrential rain which I think is set to last for the next 3 days so probably no ferries either and empty shelves!

Florence in the hebrides

I am glad that the storm was not as bad as forecast for you.

When I lived in Thirsk, they kept filming for the All Creatures Great and Small series. We often couldn’t get out of the end of our toad as that was where the church and Thirsk Hall were which always featured. They also transformed the cinema twice, that caused us mayhem as OH wax in charge of the building at the time and I did the admin.

You seem to be well settled Sylvia, I hope that your OH has settled as well.