General Chat

Your chicken bolognaise sounds tasty, Florence.
Do you mince the chicken?

Afternoon all.

Started off ok but the clouds are turning darker and its very windy so not venturing outside. im feeling it quite chilly too.

Well I have finally finished my grandmothers family tree(dads mum). i had started it a few years ago but recently decided to horse on and this morning finished off writing it up. 10 A3 pages 1-1A. 2-2a etc. By comparison to the others this was a small tree lol.

Although some had 10 + children, many died young or in the war so fewer marriages and no more branches to continue the family.

Last nights chicken bolognaise was really tasty and there was some left over to do another meal another day. I had forgotten just how good it was.
As for tonight, I'm still full up tbh but think daughter has picked up a pizza to have with some salad so that's an easy tea.

Linda, that's good the electricians are in so hopefully, you can put some shades over the bulbs. Hope your daughter does get back sometime tonight!

JustGinnie, roses for £2.00, that's a real bargain. let us know how they grow.

I have sent a message to the seller of my Red Robin plants explaining they have dried up and withered. I just need to take a pic and maybe they will replace or refund even though its after a month but they were not cheap. It was new compost in the pots so no idea why the leaves are dry and fallen off and there are black spots on the leaves too??

Grand national tomorrow, anyone having a wee flutter?

Have a good day everyone

Florence in the hebrides

I am pleased that you are getting your finances sorted Joan.
I ent and got Esme up and ready for school this morning, she was tired, but is now in school and I am home My daughter should have been home by now, but she seems to be stuck in Schipol airport, so her plane must be delayed. That will be the last thing she needs as she will be really jet lagged.

The electricians are here, testing all the circuits, all is well so far. They will then put all the new light fittings up. I am looking forward to that as every room currently just has a length of wire with a bare bulb dangling from it

Hopefully, I can get into the garden later. I need to tie in some shrubs to the screening trellis on the decking.Inwas going to do it yesterday, but I couldn’t find the twine. It is in the bottom shed apparently, so I will search for it soon

Lovely to see you posting Joan and I also am pleased to hear that the pension has been sorted now. Pleased you have been able to go out in your garden it makes a difference to the day when we are able to get outside and be productive . A little bit at a time and you will get it done and if sunny build up your Vitamin. D as well.

I have been out weeding the planters and potted up 3 bare root roses that I paid £2 each for at a Poundland shop. They have good roots on so hopefully they will grow well.
Also been to the dentist this morning thankfully all ok so hopefully the next visit will be in 6months. :-) :-)

Hope everyone enjoys some dry and warmer weather.

Ginnie

I'm glad to hear that your money problems are sorted out , Joan - or soon will be. Worrying about money just makes any situation feel so much worse.

I find cutting back bushes is a very soothing occupation - and quite addictive!

It's good that your socket has been moved at last, Linda, without anyone having an accident with the trailing cables.
For electrical things, I use several extension leads permanently in different places, as the power sockets in this house aren't where I would choose to have them if starting from scratch. But the cables are all safely out of the way behind bits of furniture.

My coat now smells fresh and clean.
I've even ironed it with a cool iron, as the label recommends. Apparently that will restore its water repellent properties which sounds surprising, but I suppose the makers know best!

I'm sure you will have found something interesting to do this afternoon, Florence, and will now be thinking what to have for tea!

EDIT -
Oops, I've just read your last post, and see that you have already decided!

Just popped on and so glad to see you posting Joan.
Even more pleased for you that the pension has finally been sorted and you will get a replacement cheque. the little from the Union is a nice surprise too. havent heard of a cheque bouncing since i worked in the bank years ago lol but yes it would need 2 signatures.

Although the horrid rain has gone, its now very very windy at over 50 mph so im guessing no ferries again and i have a delivery coming on Saturday but not as large as the last one.

I so want to get in my garden and pot up plants etc but still too cold. The weeds have grown in the empty pots again but the wind would blow me over!

Decided on a chicken bolognaise for tea as i don't eat meat and really looking forward to it. Still some Tzatziki from yesterday too to finish up.

I am so glad that this thread helps people especially when they find themselves on their own and need a place to chat or let off steam. Anyone is welcome to join whether that be daily, weekly or just whenever they feel like it.

I am glad Joan that we have all helped you and others. <3

Florence in the hebrides

hello Joan. so pleased that you have been able to get out in the garden today, it does make such a difference, as I know.

Also great to hear that hubby's pension is sorted and that the union have paid up as well.

As you, like myself, were together as a couple for so long, it is going to take much longer to get used to being 'just you'. It is hard, it is over three years for me now and I still have the feeling that he might walk through the door. And how I wish he could. The 'missing' does ease Joan but I am sure it will always be there. I think we should be grateful though that we had somebody we loved so much and who loved us that losing them is hard. It would be awful to have had such a sad wasted life that we didn't miss them at all. Keep doing what you are doing enjoy your garden and your family when you see them and you will get there. <3

Good afternooon to everyone.

After several days of heavy rain today (at last) we have a lovely bright sunny & warm day.
I have been outside this afternoon & managed to do a bit more cutting back & lowering of the rather long hedging in the side gardem, it's not too difficult but it is very prickly (Rugosa) & the tiny prickly bits can be a pest, they even manage to get through my gloves so I have to be slow & careful.

After not doing very much outside so far this year I am not as "fit" as I was last year & I have to take several breaks, it will take some time to reduce the hedging to where I want it to be but I will get there eventually.

My late hubbys Private pension with the Royal Mail has at last beeen sorted, & I no longer have to survive on just my State Pension !

Bit of a hiccup with the Post Office union though, it started offf well, Jack had continued his membership & I was informed that I was entitled to a Death grant, not a huge ammount but very welcome all the same.
Anyway the rep came to the house & delivered the cheque in person, it was deposited into the bank last Friday & come Monday this week it BOUNCED !!

I couldn't believe it, however it was soon sorted, apparently the cheque should have had 2 signatures but there was only on, the rep was very apologetic.
Fingers crossed the next cheque will be in order.

Still not received the re-issued cheque for the I Tax over payment, it is supposed to be with me by the 17th of this month, just hope it is AND they have got my status correct this time (Mrs & not Dr ) as I really don't enjoy being on hold for an hour or more !!

I am still not very settled after losing Jack, I miss him soo much, I feel much older now that I am on my own.

Anyway enough of me, everyone on the thread sounds to be busy with various things, I do like to read about what your are all doing.
As usual Linda you never seem to stop, what with the new house & all that's going on there & caring for your children you take my breath away. You take care.

Thanks to you all for being there, the GR boards & in particular THIS thread helps to keep me sane.

Joan.

Afternoon everyone looking in today.

Treehunter, lovely to see you posting. I do seem to remember your name from awhile back. I joined in 2008 so must have known you back then.

Good luck with your DIY, sounds fab.

Its sunny and dry today after yesterdays awful weather but its still very windy!

Think I shall leave my planters in my porch until after the weekend and hope the weather changes by then,

ArgyllGran, its horrid when your clothes smell like that. I hope the wind dries your coat quick and the smell has gone. Febreze is good for some things but chip fat is a very strong smell.

My nanna used to have a pulley over her stove to dry her clothes but they always stank of food!

Not sure what to do for the rest of the day as up straight with everything??

I'm sure I shall find something to do as there is always a cupboard or a drawer that needs emptying..

Linda, glad you got your new master socket sorted.

Hope Joan is doing ok as not seen her post for a bit.

Take care all

Florence in the hebrides

Good morning from a pleasant Yorkshire, although it is starting to get ominously dark.

Old chip fat, hmm, not the sort of perfume I go for :-D

It is just one more day until my daughter comes home thank goodness. Esme has actually been OK, although she played her daddy up yesterday morning and didn’t want to go on the school bus, so he drove her in.

Open Reach actually turned up this morning to move the master socket, so we no longer have wires trailing across the hall floor. Instead we have an ugly black cable running around the outside of the house and into the first floor bedroom we are using as a study. He has put the master socket in a more sensible place in that room as well because the telephone cable was running over the carpet and I kept tripping on it and disconnecting it.

There is lots of banging going on upstairs. OH is taking all of the tiles off in preparation for the new bathroom going in. They are going to take the old bath and shower out next week, we will need the wall skimming before the new one can go in.

Bright, sunny and breezy here today., which is a relief after yesterday, when it bucketed all day.

I've had to wash my raincoat this morning.
I was in town with a friend yesterday, and on our way home, as we were wet and cold, we decided to stop for a bowl of soup for lunch.
The place we intended to go to was full, so we went to a different cafe which we hadn't been to before. And I don't think I'll be going again!
The soup was very nice, and just what we needed on such a horrible day, but the whole place smelled very strongly of chip fat.
The smell lingered on my clothes for hours.
I'd hung my coat up to dry when I got home, and when I passed it on my way to bed I was hit by a waft of old chip smell, so I sprayed it with Febreze.
However, it was still smelly this morning, so I decided washing was the only option.
It's now out on the line, blowing about in the wind.

Morning all warm but cloudy here in Uxbridge today.
Out later so hope it stays dry.

I am waiting for new unit to come hope tomorrow morning then fun out to g it together
Done 2 already and new table

Hope everyone has a good day


:-)

good morning all, bright and sunny with hardly any wind at the moment but clouds in the distance.

Sylvia. About 20 years ago (I can't remember the actual year at the moment. We had a couple of days/nights in Vancouver and stayed in a fairly large hotel in that area of town. Short walk to where the cruise ships were lined up.
The first night we were there, about 2 in the morning, the fire alarm went off. Fire exits turned out to be a walk across the roof tops to the fire exit stairs outside. a bit scary in a new place just blindly following other people and fire signs. I think it was a false alarm in the end. We had flown to Seattle and driven to Vancouver so it may have been our first night after flying. Luckily in our 50s so a lot younger then.

This was another lovely day!

Yesterday, of course, was sunny, blue sky, light cloud and some gusty winds, just ideal to watch an eclipse, only 1 day late!

My Dad, who vey rarely swore, would have called it a "s*d's law" happening :-D

Today, I had to go to physio in the north end of town, just a couple of blocks from the harbour, and with views right across to the mountains on the other side. Clear view of them, but hardly any snow even at the very top. Snow build-up has been very poor, and so we'll probably be looking at major drought conditions, and very possibly/probably another bad wildfire season :-(

It has already been announced that drought restrictions will be enforced from May 1st here in Vancouver ............ that means automatic watering only on 1 day of the week, depending on your house number, and then only between 5-9 am. Hand-held hose pipes can be used between 7-9 am on that same day. Watering by bucket can be done at any time, especially for food plants and trees.

We had just parked in the underground parking at the physio's building, and were getting out of the car when the fire alarm went off. What to do??? Get back in the car and drive out?? Try to walk the 2 flights of stairs to the outside??

About 5 lots of the alarm had sounded by the time we'd decided to walk up the 1 flight to level 1 of parking, where we had to go anyway to pay for parking. As we got to that level, we realised we had not heard any more alarm, and the elevator door opened, so people were using it.

Deep sigh of relief for me, as I have to go up to the 2nd floor of the building, and just do NOT do stairs!

Got to the physio's, asked how I was, said about the alarm ........ they hadn't heard it!!

Apparently fire service people had been around during the previous week to 10 days testing all kinds of things, so my physio suggested it might be connected to that!

After treatment, as he walked out of the room, he turned round, gave me a grin, and said "Keep away from stairs"!

I've been going to him since 1996, so we know each other well!

It was announced yesterday that the flu and respiratory sickness season is over, and mask mandate regulations for health-care facilities have been removed. But the Minister of Health then added that the public has to realise that regulations are to be expected to be imposed every winter in future. Then he followed up by saying free Covid Booster shots will be available as of next week for everyone over 6 months who has not had a shot or a booster, and especially for Seniors over 65, babies over 6 months, people in long term care facilities, and those immuno-compromised. I await our emails!

Showers due tomorrow, then clearing for Friday and through the weekend ............... or so "they" say.

Take care everyone!

What a horrid day! it hasn't stopped raining at all.

I have now finished painting the garden planters and they are looking great. The stain was a darkish brown but it shouldn't fade as its waterproof but it wont be today they get put outside grrr.

JustGinnie, hope you haven't lost anymore fenceposts. I wonder how long before you get new neighbours and hope they are are nice ones.

At least the kitchen table is cleared now so we can sit & eat as last night it was on trays infront of the tv which we rarely do!

Found a sweet & sour meal I made last month in the freezer so that's my tea with basmati rice and I made some Tzatziki to have with a naan bread I found too. Infact just realised the time so better go and put it in the oven.

Hope everyone looking in is safe & well today

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon all,
Well it's been windy and very wet here as elsewhere. It has stopped raining now and the sun has come out but still very windy. Not been able to do anything in the garden but hopefully will be able to soon .

1 fence panel down but not broken so g/son can fit it back in . Still no neighbours next door and the fences between theirs and next door to them have now got more panels down. If this wind keeps up we'll have open plan gardens around here. Not good for us as we have a dog to keep in.

Keep well everyone

Ginnie

Afternoon all.
Well its turned out to be an ok day. Still windy but very sunny and now dry. Bin day too but for a change didnt get blown away lol

Have sanded the 2 planters on the kitchen table and I have painted one with the first coat. Daughter dong the other but I'm keeping an eye as she is very slap dash and I don't want paint on the floor!

Takes about 30-40 minutes to dry and then I can put a 2nd coat on. Once dry they will stay in the porch until properly dry overnight and can then go back outside ready for bedding plants later on.

Did a huge basket of ironing earlier too so a very productive day all round.

Not hugely hungry today so something very light for me tonight, maybe just toast. I seem to have lost my normal huge appetite. I am still coughing and my temp yest went back up to 100 so not completely over it yet.

Sylvia. what a disappointment you didn't get to see the eclipse. Some people had paid loads of money to travel to Niagara Falls and didn't see a thing due to the cloudy weather! About 8pm, I put on 2 pairs of sunglasses but didnt see much. Was only a partial eclipse here anyway.

Linda, hope you back improves soon. My goodness, what would your daughter & SIL do without your help? And why can he not see to his own daughters during the night may I ask?You and you hubby really need to look after yourselves as your health must come first.

Just heard that the river Arun in West Sussex burst its banks and holiday makers at a caravan park had to be evacuated and also on the Isle of Wight. Think everyone was ok but how awful for them.

Right off to make a drink then start the 2nd coat of wood stain.

Take care all

Florence in the hebrides

Thank you Argyll Gran. :-)
My back aches on one side, I think I pulled a muscle lifting the wheelchair into the car boot
My daughter said the eclipse happened while she was on the plane, she didn’t see it , it just went a bit dark.
It is vary rainy here now, it is cold as well, some have put the heating on. I really want to get out into the garden, but it is just too soggy

I'm full of admiration for the amount of help/time/effort/love you give your daughter and the girls, Linda - especially when you're not feeling well.
As we get older, looking after children does become very tiring, even if we did it easily when we were young.

I hope you and your OH recover full health soon.

My daughter is in Boston , the American one, she arrived last night about 7 pm our time. I don’t know the time difference, so don’t know if she would be there for the eclipse.
I had a nice day at the theme park yesterday with Esme. She was as good as gold. My back and shoulders were aching last night because of pushing her around in her wheel chair all day. It is a children’s size chair, so means stooping to push it .
On the way back, we collected OH and all had dinner to her house. I did her bath and got her ready for bed, then left her daddy to it. She normally wakes several times in the night, but he never wakes up, it is always brown to my daughter. He said he never woke up at all, so goodness knows if she was crying. We went over for 7.45 this morning, so son in law could drive Eve to school. I got Esme up, dressed and gave her breakfast. She went off happily on the school bus, so we are home. We will go back for when she comes home and I will make dinner nd do bath time again. Roll on Friday when my daughter comes home.