General Chat

Sylvia, any idea why you are unable to get on here sometimes?It is 10 degrees here (0800), sunny with some cloud and very windy again.

I would like some of your heat please as it is very cold here for the time of year. But don't envy you the very high temps.

Hopefully you will sell all the candle decorations that you have made Florence.

Linda, that is a good lot of money made for charity then well done to them annd a good day out for residents and visitors.

Hi all

Once again I've had trouble opening any topic at this time of day! This is the first time since I last posted.

We're in a heat wave, 25C yesterday and today, and it is a little worrying that there is a Heat Dome in California as much of our weather comes up from there.

It was still over 24C in the bedroom when it was time to go to bed last night, so I took the tower fan from the family room and directed the cool air over the bed. I slept like a baby!! :-D

Hope all is going well for everyone.

Evening all.

Was quite busy today as finished off the last of my candle centrepieces so a job off my list. Daughter had weeded the common fence across the road and then put weed killer down. looks much neater now.

Still showery day with some hefty showers but the wind has gone down a tad but still very breezy.

Linda, glad you had a fun day. I remember you telling us about last years race and them being in the river.

I'm with Utilita energy and its really good as no daily standing charges. You pay a rate for 1st 2 units then a lower rate for all the rest. last month was £74 for everything as I'm all electric but with no heating on, tumble drier only here and there and so the bill was really low. I have a d/d for £84 but I'm in credit as well. i shall leave it at that and let it build up for when its Autumn and the heating goes back on.

But i'm sure your bill will be a lot lower now Linda with just the 2 of you.. However with that much credit I would ask for £500 back as its better in your bank account than their bank account.

Well apart from a couple of days ago as it was really cold up here so i had to put it on for a few hours!!

Nothing much planned for next week apart from chasing up some correspondence, emaiils etc

Florence in the hebrides

It was the 57th annual race Ann. The beds are all sponsored and are raising money for their charities. They raise between 80-100K every year. The businesses in the town, especially the cafes and pubs take a huge amount of money, although some shops close for the day. The huge number of visitors really raises the towns profile. I thought that we had a lot of visitors in Thirsk because of the James Herriot museum, but here, it is going to be heaving in the summer. It is lovely all along the riverside though, so I can see why so many people come.

I just got an email saying that it was time to choose a new energy tariff. We used to pay a fortune when we had the family living with us, partly because of them using so much and partly because of the sky high energy charges at the time. After they left, we were using far less and the prices were dropping.They did drop the monthly amount about three months ago, but even so we had built up about £960 credit. I knew the tariff was coming to an end, so I just left it. I chose the new tariff and they then took the credit off, so now we are going to be paying about a hundred pounds a month less than we were at the peak of the extortionate prices. I bet we still build up some credit though.

Good morning all, 8 degrees so a bit chilly but it is sunny so that is nice. Sounds like a lovely day for you and the family Linda. It is so nice to hear of these traditions that are carried on through the years. Is the race run for charity in some way (sponsors etc?) If so it should have raised a bit.

I am glad that you had a good time last nice Florence.
Today it was the Knaresborough bed race. Too difficult to explain, but it is on google . There were ninety beds entered this year.
My daughter and the girls came to our house mid morning (son in law is away ). We walked into town which takes about twenty minutes and went to the castle area where all the decorated beds are lined up for the judging, the theme this year was Great Inventions . Once we had seen them, we went for lunch and were lucky to get into our favourite cafe. We then went to the parade route and as Esme was in her wheelchair, we were able to get into the disabled viewing area. That was great because she was right at the front and we had a really good view. About thirty people are estimated to attend, so it gets very crowded. The beds end up in a park down by the river. After the parade all the beds are stripped of their decorations and the serious race starts mid afternoon. We walked down a very steep hill to the park . There are lots of stalls and a stage with a live band. Everyone takes picnic blankets to sit on while they listen to the music, the more energetic dance at the front .
The beds with the pushers and a passenger set of at thirty second intervals and have to complete a 2.4 mile incredibly hilly circuit which ends with the beds actually going through the river. Very brave of the competitors because they have to swim at one stage, even braver given the amount of sewage in the river.. The winning team covered the course in 13.02.9 minutes which is incredible given how hilly the course is

We had a lovely time and then walked back along the river road rather than having to try and push Esme up a huge hill into the town. It was about fifty minutes to walk back, but it is lovely by the river, so that was fine. I made dinner once we got back. They have gone home now and I am looking forward to an early night because I am very tired. One bonus was that although it was a sunny day, it was breezy, so it didn’t feel too hot. Last year, it was incredibly hot, which spoilt the day

Morning all looking in

Well its still very windy and heavy showers. last night the forecast said this will continue into next week eeeek!!

We had a fab time last night at the local bingo as i won a line & a house :-D
Neighbour won a line :-D and then daughter only went and won the last hose of the evening and bagged herself £50 :-D :-D :-D

So yep was a great night out :-D

Indoors all day today but usual chores and laundry to see to.

Need to finish of my candle centrepieces tomorrow as just 6 left to do and then all ready to sell later in the year.

Cant make up me mind what to make for the evening meal, curry or a pasta dish???/ choices choices lol

Oh he comes the postie with a box so better go to the door.
BBL

Florence in the hebrides

good morning all. Grey here, no sun yet and 13 degrees. Hopefully the wind has dropped again, it was pretty brisk yesterday.
Florence, I hope your weather has calmed down a bit and that you enjoyed the bingo.

Joan, hope that you are able to get out into your garden, it certainly helps to pass the time. Before you know it an hour quickly passes when trying to get things done out there.

I hope that you have a good time tonight Florence.

My sister is desperate to get her driving licence back again. She had to hand it in when she had the operation to remove the brain tumour and the radiotherapy . Personally I don’t think that she is fit to drive, she hasn’t told them that she still has some double vision for a start Only minor, when she goes to thread a needle for instance, she sees two needles. She used to ride her bicycle all the time, but she can’t do that any more because she can’t push off and her balance isn’t good. Of course, she thinks that she is fine to drive :-S

Names I've had doctors like that, but I use Boots Opticians and at the moment they are great - no complaints. Last year I was referred to thr hospital for a procedure and warned that because it wasn't urgent I might have to wait between 1 and 2 years . I was very surprised to get an appointment after about 3 months!!

I was told to have an eye test after a month and the optician's face was a picture :-)

Good luck with yours and you, too, Florence.

61st! It has taken no time to get clinic appointment., although if they were seeing me at the main hospital it would take months.

I was surpised to find it was my 'good eye' or the better one. The other one is so bad I can't get a lens at my usual place I have to go to a franchisee of the same company. I don't like going there _ I can get there but getting out of the town is so complicated that I always get it wrong and end up with some very odd exteneded route. I did try Boots last time in the easier town to get to but she wouldn't listen to what I was saying and more or less reduced me to tears. Fingers crossed if they agree to do one they might do the other one as well.

Oh names, sorry for that. I went in January for my 2 year check up and had never had any problems before. When he told me there was very little eyesight in my left eye, I was really astonished as I had had the cataracts in both eyes since my 20's but they had never moved until now and obviously with some speed!

I'm not a driver anymore but if I was I couldn't possibly drive safely

I tel the surgical secretary and she said I was 61th on the list to be seen for the first time in clinic not for the surgery eeeek. I said when might my consultation be then and she said to ring back on Mon as thee appointments lady was off!!

So when the Optician said it will be around 10 months, he was probably correct.

I hope you get seen very quickly and get your surgery..

Since I cant drive, daughter has to go everywhere by bus now and I have to rely on others to take me out, pick me up etc. I hate the situation but the irregular drops in my BP gives me dizzy turns and my GP told me i wasn't safe to drive anymore afterIi took a turn whilst driving but thankfully was in the village and only doing 20mph and managed to pull over until it passed.

My dad had both his done last year and was back driving within 6 weeks.

Well I'm still getting used to a very short haircut! I have washed and blow dried it and just put the tongs on the side to give it some height and it does now look a bit more me.....from 20 years ago lol

Off out at 6.30 and here's hoping for a good evening out and maybe a win would be a bingo bonus.

Good luck with hospital. I’m just starting that journey. My eyesight generally is almost off the scale so hopefully they will do this cataract that has started as I can’t do without.

I have an appointment with the hospital next week as my eyes generally be too poor for one of the clinics. I am petrified that hey will stop me driving straight away as no one in the family here drives. I am chief cook,chauffeur and shopper and many other things.

Morning and oh what a day!!

Never ending hailstones, stormy winds etc and sooo cold. I had to put the heating on last night quite ridiculous in June.

So I have been stuck indoors all week. However my neighbour is taking us to a Bingo tonight, so we are looking forward to getting out and having a few laughs. The last time we went was hilarious as the chappie calling the numbers kept dropping them on the floor, you couldn't make it up lol

I'm going to phone the hospital today and find out where I am on the list for my cataract surgery as was January when I was referred and not heard a beak!

Linda, my whole house is painted magnolia and all my carpets throughout are black. My lino in the bathroom and kitchen are shades of grey that look like wooden floor

I have many pictures hanging on the various walls so you don't really notice the wall colour. i like things uniformed and matching all through. I don't like flowery things so my curtains are plain colours.

Hope your carpet laying goes well.

Hope all is well with everyone else today

Florence in the hebrides

Oh dear Florence, removing yourself from IT systems can be so difficult. I am still trying to remove my old address from companies where I have gone in and already changed the address, but they are still sending mail to the old address.

It was a horrible day yesterday, it rained all day. Today is supposed to be better, but colder. I planted some small seedlings of everlasting spinach out a couple of days ago, so I hope they survived last nights cold temperature. It will be great when your poly tunnel arrives. I have been growing things in my greenhouse, but would love more space

The house is only thirty years old Florence, but it mostly hadn’t been updated since it was built. I forgot to add changing all of the bedroom curtains and putting in more loft insulation to my list . We also didn’t like their choice of paint colours, downstairs was mainly a dismal mushroom colour. The main bedroom was a selection of different bluey grey walls which didn’t go at all with the green carpet. The second bedroom had two opposite walls painted in a strong dark blue colour which made it tunnel like, again with the same green carpet. We don’t have a very adventurous decorating style, I do admire people who can make strong colours work, the sort of thing you see in the posh magazines. We just prefer to stay fairly neutral, but have lots of pictures etc. It is very difficult when you are spending a fair bit of money on things such as curtains which you can’t easily replace. I was rather anxious about my choice of curtain material downstairs. I chose a William Morris design, not strong colours as most of them are, but a more subtle mix. Thankfully they really do look nice and go well with the paint colour and oak flooring. OH suggested that we use the same fabric for the bedrooms, I am tempted, but will wait until the new carpets are in.

Morning all!

Torrential hailstones here today. Oh my goodness, just awful. awful weather. Storm force winds as well!

Makes quite depressing watching looking out the window and seeing all the flowers having their blooms knocked off :-P :-P

So glad Tesco have been as its worse today than it was yesterday.

I'm going to make some salmon en croute. I have some salmon fillets and puff pastry plus a garlic and herb cream cheese for the filling. Should work out nice to have with new pots and peas for later on.

The bruise on my leg where I fell 2 weeks ago has nearly faded but i have 2 hard lumps in the bend of my knee which have not subsided. They are very tender to touch but not sure what can be done about them. Think maybe they will go in time or maybe not.

Oh well better go and be busy now.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

Well well, I have just received 2 emails, one from Br gas and one from EDF.

Both apologized to me but now confirm both accounts are closed and my email removed from their system.

So imagine when i go to log in with my password, both accounts are still openi :-S :-S :-S

So another email fired off to both. Honestly it really wasn't a difficult request now was it?

I have just paid for the deposit on my polytunnel now so very excited as its def happening. It will be August before they put it up as there is a waiting list but Im on that list now :-D :-D

Rain cleared up but still blowing a gale and sooo cold. i read there could be snow on higher ground end of the week! Imagine snow in June lol

Just hope it doesnt kill off any of my plants outside after all the work of buying and planting them.

Linda, you may as well have built a new house by the time you are finished replacing nearly everything lol. Was it very old fashioned inside that made you want to replace it all?

Tesco came just after 11 so that was good as got it out the way. cupboards are full and freezer too so wont need another order for awhile. Did my irong in just under an hour but sitting now as my knees were aching but all up to date.

Veggie pizza and salad tonight for me tea, something quick and easy.

Joan , hope you are getting on ok and managing out in your lovely garden, weather permitting of course.

ArgyllGran, you are right, at least the strong wind is keeping the midges away :-D

Florence in the hebrides

lol , I wish it was the end of the renovations AG, but there is still lots to do.
Yesterday, we ordered everything for the en-suite, so we just need the plumber to decide when he is coming, but that won’t be until after the kitchen is in. We need some flooring for the new bathroom, but I want to have the same floor in the en-suite, so I don’t want to choose anything until the en-suite is in.

Yesterday we also had a joiner come to look at the double doors between the lounge and the dining room. They are solid wood at the moment, but we want them changing to glazed ones to make it lighter. They are a really odd size and we hadn’t been able to find any to fit. After much trawling of websites, he managed to find some which he can make fit. They aren’t quite what we wanted, but they will do. They are arriving on Monday, but he said they should be in the house for a week before they are fitted, so he will probably be here at the same time as the kitchen people.

OH is painting our bedroom, he has just about finished, but in order to paint the skirting boards properly he has cut a thin strip off the carpet all around the room. There are another three bedrooms to paint as well, he will be carving all the carpets in them as well. So as soon as he has finished we will be ordering new carpets for the stairs, landing and four bedrooms.

Once the new carpets are down, that will be the end of all the internal renovations, we will have been through the whole house by that stage.

We can start on the garden then :-D

We have a little sunshine at the moment, Florence, but it's in short bursts in between frequent showers, so I don't really have any to spare!
It's also quite windy, but that's good, as it keeps the midges away.

It's been a quiet week, so I haven't anything to report.
Just pottering about with the usual routine things - garden when weather and midges allow; grocery shopping last Friday; church on Sunday; washing dried outside yesterday when it was dry, sunny and windy all day.
And of course spending far too much time at the computer, as usual! That's not good for my posture, as I tend to sit with my head poked forward so that I can see the screen with the lowest part of my varifocal specs.

I have one potato plant, which is a surprise. I grew some in potato bags last year, and left the compost in the bags after harvesting them, so this one plant must have grown from a stray potato left behind. I had decided not to grow any this year - so it's a nice surprise, not having required any thought or effort from me!

I do have a lot of strawberry plants, all in pots and tubs above ground level, to keep them away from rabbits, and they're looking good so far, with lots of berries developing.

Your new kitchen will be lovely when it's done, Linda. Is that the last bit of renovation you intend to do - at least for the moment?

Morning all looking in.
Well I was up early at 7.30 and oh my the rain!! The wind was howling and the rain was torrential. My little flower pots were stable but some of the blooms were blown away.

Its still showery and very blustery although the sun is trying to peep through.
I had a busy day yesterday as the grass cutters were here dead on 10am, then my hairdressers 10 minutes later and then the bin lorry after 11 so the traffic here was busy lol.

She chopped about 8 inches off my hair!! It was way down my back like a horses mane but now I feel its too short and just sitting above my shoulders. Trouble is for the last 18 months I have got used to my hair being so long and now have the other extreme.

I guess once its frown a couple of inches, I feel better about it. Short hair really does not suit me at all.

Linda, you have had a busy few days and was nice to have your son at home too. Hope your new bathroom arrives in one piece and your bedroom looks good after being painted.

I have Tesco coming between 11-3 but no update as to how many stops away it is.

I have a huge basket of ironing to do as haven't done any since the weekend but really have to wait until after Tesco.
The tumble dryer will get a use today as no way can I get any washing out with this awful weather.

If you have seen the sun anyone, can we have it back please :-D :-D

Afterall its nearly mid summer isn't it :-S

Hope everyone else is well and ok

Florence in the hebrides