General Chat

Good evening folks after another lovely day but.... the sky in the afternoon was a strange colour!
Turns out beyond the 2 hills opposite me, the moor was on fire so they had to close the road that runs over it.Its not used much but if there is an accident on the main route, then this can be used as an alternative. Thankfully its been put out now but our moorland is tinder dry and there have been other fires around here in the last couple of weeks.

Been decluttering and tidying in prep for my visitors and also hopefully a new 3 seater sofa in the next week! I have been waiting ages for this. So having to rearrange the sitting room and move a small table to accommodate the bigger
sofa.
Managed to get a Tesco slot for the 9th April which is fab, visitors coming on the 11th so been making a list for that.

Had to get my support sticks out of the gardening box as the peas have grown so much they need supporting now.

So in all a very busy day and quite productive and almost forgot...The postie came at lunchtime and delivered me a huge box. inside was a wonderful bouquet of flowers. They were from a local florist here and were from my daughter...so kind of her.

Just had a pasta bake tonight as was quick & easy and now with dishes done, Im relaxing.
Hope everyone else had a good day and lots of sunshine :-D

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon ladies.
Another lovely calmish day here. Still a wee breeze but pleasant enough.

Daughter made and painted a bird house awhile ago so i varnished it to make it waterproof as didn't want the watercolour paint to come off if it rains.

Finished off Tesco order coming tomorrow , so ticked that off my list. Did daughters bed today and all washed now so a bit of ironing tomorrow then all up straight.

Had a months worth of paper shredding to do so got that out of the way too.

Mobile hasn't stopped ringing today other times, never rings all week but that kept me from getting on but it was good to chat to people.

JustGinnie, so hope the tabs clear up your bite as you really don't want an infection in it and spreading. Good that your got your jag too saves another trip. Very sad for the fatality and their family.

As for the garden, years ago i left it to my ex to deal with and he chopped or rather strummed all my new Rhodendroms!! Boy was I cross.

Ann hope you are feeling ok after your jag, just don't do anything strenuous for a day or 2.
Joan, that's an amazing machine but so glad it helped you with the fallen trees. Hope you enjoy your dinner tonight although Im a veggie, its sounds very tasty.

Haven't planned any tea tonight as just don't feel very hungry. I actually just feel like tinned peaches & icecream lol. Tomorrow I shall make a chicken chow mein with noodles if my appetite is better.

Well better crack on still plenty to do before my family come just not sure where to go to next!

Have a good evening all

Florence in the hebrides

Hello all, Beautiful day today, just been to the Drs for some antibiotics as bite on leg has got worse. 3 face to face apps in 1 mth. and another for beginning of April. Had to book a taxi there as our road was closed to buses due to a serious accident. A young person sadly died. So sad.
I went for some tablets and also had blood taken for testing and the pneumonia jab. Job well done for me. Got bus home as road reopened by then.

Oh has told me to leave the garden to him so I shall just supervise he'll soon get fed up.lol. :-D

Good morning everyone. I am waiting for the man to turn up to do our annual boiler service, he phoned so should be here soon.
It is a lovely sunny day, but still a bit nippy in the shade. Yesterday afternoon, I went out to do some litter picking along a stretch of the road leading out of the town, I got two large sackfuls from a relatively short stretch. The number of glass wine, beer and cider bottles which people throw out of their car windows is incredible. I have a hoop for the bag and a picker, so it is easy to collect it, but carrying it back home was hard. I should have left the bags and gone back with the car. I just have a short stretch in front of the pensioners bungalows which I want to do this afternoon, but that is close by, so shouldn’t be too heavy

Good morning all. up early to shower and wash hair etc ready to catch the bus to town to get my spring booster jab.
Joan Cotoneaster does grow while you are not looking doesn't it? I have two in the garden both self seeded and both have to have an eye kept on them. I suppose now is the time to stop cutting things back as it is nesting time. although my winter flowering clematis is not supposed to be pruned until May. It is very near the house I doubt birds will nest there but I must sort it his week.

Afternoon Joan, sounds like you too have been very busy. Gosh it must have been so tall if you can now see from your armchair! So a good job done.

It's a huge shame all those trees have to be chopped up and as you say some over 100 years old. There are plenty of woodlands in the highlands now that are bare without the trees. It will take 100 years to replenish them all. Had to google that plant Joan, but it looks lovely with the red.berries.

Hope you are now resting with a cuppa...enjoy

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon all
It's a lovely sunny day but the breeze is a bit chilly however its bright and dry so makes a change.
Sunday, I received some lovely news for a change. On the 10th April, my younger brother, sil & wee nephew are coming to visit me for a few days!! Can't tell you how delighted as haven't seen them since September 2018!!
Spent most of yesterday trying to find them a place to stay but with it being Easter week, places are full.
However managed to find a flat in the town for them 5 minutes from the ferry, so that will be handy.They can be with me in 40 minutes so will be ok.

So planning list was written today of all the things I need to do. Spring clean, check the cupboards & freezer to stock up etc and generally remove any clutter round about!
Im so excited, Im just on cloud 9, so happy. Daughter & I have already planned a few places to go with them and we have a wonderful white sandy beach 5 mins from here by car so little one can make sandcastles and probably have the beach to ourselves.

My peas seem to be growing by the hour, they are so tall. The other seeds are fairly sprouting now too. There is one tray where nothing grew but that happens every year...there is always one!

Home alone until Friday so Im pacing myself and doing things slowly. I cleaned out the tinned food cupboard and resorted all the packets etc of rice, sauces so all tidy now.

Ann I will do your ironing...I love it and find it very therapeutic like painting!

JustGinnie, hope the bite clears up as it sounds really nasty just want you don't need. I'm sure the BP done at the surgery is always higher than mine at home too. Probably we get a bit anxious with the Dr. You can only get true readings by taking it 3 times a day for say a week. Then you can add top figures and bottom and work out the average..

Last time I did all that, wrote it all out and gave it to the Dr. he look so surprised and said "you have done my job!". I just replied, thought it would speed up the results and as it was my BP over the week was around 130/80 without tabs. So I have never had BP meds.

Well I need a wee rest now after a busy day so far. Off to make a coffee and sit awhile.

Joan if you are looking in, hope you have some sunshine today

Florence in the hebrides

Linda I am with you with the drying. Unless it specifically states not to, everything goes in the tumble dryer. Mine is very good and I rarely need to iron anything. I hate hanging the washing out and then it needs ironing. I can think of better things to do. My lovely OH always used to do all the ironing. :-(

Good that your plants are growing. I was going to do some tidying in the garden but have got a insect bite on my leg and it has caused a nasty reaction so my leg is quite sore. Been having problems with BP as Dr. has done his 1st checks since mid last year and has decided to up my pills . The measurements he took were much higher than my home ones but he still has given me a higher dosage so just waitng now for next appointment . I hate doing BP checks as i have large arms it can really hurt. Much prefer to do it at home .

Weather is good today and feels much warmer.

Linda I hope your family feel better soon and the bump is going down on young ones head.

Take care all .

Well my beetroot plants have grown very tall so i had to prick them out and plant in deeper pots. The peas are about 6 inches tall, but they are in the huge pot which they will stay in. I did venture out round the side to the recycling bin and was reasonably pleasant until the wind caught me at the side. It was quite chilly too.

But a fine dry day overall. Made a chicken curry with the naan etc and was very tasty.
So with dishes all done and kitchen tidy, now chilling on the PC.
Not sure if casualty is on later as the Rugby seems to have taken over!

Enjoy the evening ladies

Florence in the hebrides

The pricking out is the bit I hate Ann.
I did some washing and some of it can’t go in the tumbler. I know I should hang it all out, but I can’t be bothered. I have a rotary dryer outside, but at this time of the day it in in the shade, so I put a couple of airers outside with the clothes on, so I can just lift them in as they won’t be fully dry. That was the idea anyway, but the wind has just blown them over. Luckily they are on the dry grass, so the clothes aren’t dirty

Gone up here, still windy but 16 degrees and I was too hot in the conservatory. Just planted another lot of seeds. Trying to remember that seeds that are planted will need potting on and planting out!!

My granddaughters PCR test has just come back positive, but that is no surprise. I am triple jabbed, but won’t get a booster yet as you have to be over 75 and I am a couple of years under.

It is a sunny day here, but breezy. It is supposed to be 13 degrees, but it feels chilly to me

It is 13 degrees here and sunny but also very windy. I have just mown the lawn so that is one job out of the way. Got to get on with seed planting now.

Morning all.
Well its also a very sunny dry day here but....the wind that was blowing hard at 45mph all night is still blowing . Too windy for me to venture outside unless i put on some wings lol.

I heard on the radio news just now that 2 people in China have died from Covid the 1st since january and 2 cities have been placed in lockdown.
I just can't bear to think are we heading for another lockdown and how it will affect everybody. As I said yesterday, we have the highest cases in Scotland.

Daughter has gone on the bus to town to post my mums parcel for Mother's day. She will get to town at 12 and is coming back at 1.45 so a very quick turnaround.
She is very anxious about going out so for now its just once a week.

Linda, poor grandchildren, I hope the bump has gone down a bit today? The worry there initially would be for concussion. You are not supposed to give any pain relief for 24 hours after a head injury as if they feel sleepy ,you wouldn't know if the was concussion or the paracetamol.

Hope you don't catch it and they make full recoveries. They are offering another booster jag here for the over 70's I think or most vulnerable.
As for her being a bit old, 11? my daughter still wanted cuddles from me at 14 and still asks for hugs when shes feeling down. I think its wonderful having that close contact and it gives them security too.

Ann I watched the racing yesterday afternoon and goodness me!!! The crowds and Covid...what a mix!!

Gonna make a curry for tonight's tea with naan bread and some onion bhajis if she brings some home.

The weather for the next wee while is actually looking more settled. no wind and getting warmer so that should brighten us all up.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

Ann, you are right that it is never dull. The one saving grace is that Esme is just shouting “ Go away” when she sees me, only mummy will do. That won’t last though, I will soon be required to play.
Eve does look better this morning and she is happy because she has just eaten something and it tasted normal, apparently everything has been bitter until now.
I have been doing a Covid test every day, but they have been negative so far. Every night when she goes to bed, I get in with her and we have a snuggle and chat about her day until she is ready to settle down to sleep, so we have been in very close contact. At eleven, she might seem a bit old for that, but it is something we have always done and it is nice to do it until she grows out of it

Oh dear Linda, life is never dull in your house. Hope the rest of the family can avoid Covid but it must be difficult. do hope especially though that Esme avoids it. And that she is soon more comfortable from the bump and her collar bone. :-) <3

Good morning, I didn’t get to wish you a happy anniversary Joan, I hope you enjoyed your day.
It is very fraught here. My eldest granddaughter who is eleven, so not jabbed came down with Covid on Thursday morning, she has had two days of bad headaches and high temperatures, but seems to be better this morning. The youngest one has had one jab about three weeks ago because of her disability, so we hope it will protect her.
The youngest one fell over in the school playground yesterday and got a huge lump on the back of her head, so my daughter had to rush there and take her to hospital as the ambulance would be two to four hours. Eventually they decided that her head was OK, but they also thought that she might have broken her collar bone because she wouldn’t use her right arm and it hurt when they pressed it. They couldn’t see a break on the X-ray, but it could be a green stick. My poor daughter didn’t get any sleep last night because the bump is on the back of Esme’s head, so she was crying all night.
I can hear her shouting “ ow” now, so today will be fun

good morning all a beautiful sunny morning here and already at 0730 6 degrees. A gardening day I think. I did give the greenhouse a bit of a clean yesterday but it is a wooden one and starting to get rotten (after 30 years) so will never look smart.

The rise in Covid cases is probably a mix of reasons. In England I thought it was because we have been able to leave masks off (although not all of us do) but that is disproved by the fact that in Scotland you still have to wear masks. (I have read that cloth masks are not very efficient at keeping the virus out). But it could be that we, if we wish can go to events like sport matches (Cheltenham Races), theatres, night clubs etc., people are back into work, not many working from home so more on public transport. And, as Florence says it is too far from our vaccinations for our immunity to protect us. I wish they had brought in the next booster but even that will just be for six months immunity I suppose so then we will be back full circle. It does seem we are not going to get rid of it any time soon.

JustGinnie, my knee problem is wear & tear of the joints as shown on a recent xray at the local hospital here. My leg problem was last july when i woke one morning to find i was completely numb from hip to knee and 2 days later i went numb from knee to toes. I have no feeling at all in my toes or anywhere on the front of my leg. Bending it is extremely painful. Its freezing cold and my toes are purple due to lack of oxygen.

When I waddle with my stick, i just almost drag my left leg and it just does its own thing, kicking out sometimes.In MS that is exactly what you would expect. However its only 1 episode but its left me now paralysed and very immobile.

Of course im glad they didn't find me Epileptic, or a clot but now Im just left in limbo with no solution.

Joan, I think myself what's happening re Covid is the 1st jags are now wearing off and peoples immunity to Covid is now lower hence the rising of cases.
The cases in England especially in care homes are also on the rise again. There is a new strain called BA.2 and this is another variant that transmits very fast from person to person.

The 50p coin with a green heart sounds lovely. What a wonderfully thoughtful gift.

Still blowing a hooley here but no thunder or lightening like yesterday!

Off to watch me soaps now.

Oh I made a rhubarb crumble today and it was soo delicious, been ages since we had one.

Florence in the hebrides