General Chat

Re shoes, my grandmother use to buy 3 pairs, one black, one brown and one navy blue to cover all outfits made by Van Daal (sp?) They would last her 2 years and then she would buy another 3 pairs. She said if you find a comfy pair, just buy 3 colours and you wont need any others! But at £75 a pair, they were not cheap but were good quality.

:-D :-D :-D :-D just a stones throw then!

That's good to know, Joan - re fit , etc.

Maybe I'll give them a try.

Your nearest, Florence, is 107 miles away, in Inverness!

So Sorry Argyl gran, i forgot to add that.
We are lucky in that our local Shoezone shop wasn't closed when some others were a while ago.
I would be able to visit the shop but my daughter wold have to take me there as & when she is available to do so, & so buying the shoes from them on-line is a much easier option.

Compared to some companies though £2-50 isn't too bad, I have bought many pairs of slippers from them & in latter years several pairs of shoes & I have been more than happy with descriptions & fit of their shoes.

Joan.

:-D :-D :-D Hate to think how far one is from me!

I got quite excited when I read your post, Joan, and had a look at the Shoezone website.

Unfortunately the free returns are only for returns to a Shoezone shop.
Other return methods cost £2.50.

The website says cheerfully, "We have over 450 stores nationwide so there's sure to be one near you!"

No, the nearest one to me is 54 miles away.

Hi Florence, I 'm hoping it's not the same nurse as last time, she was a bit hasty & the jab did smart a lot & not used to that.

I don't mind doing the washing etc during the summer but not so keen when the weather is bad, I just don't want to be bothered with it but it has to be done.

We haven't had any post so far this week, we get less & less these days, I did get a parcel though, 2 new pairs of shoes from Shoezone, lovely shoes, flattish with a wdge heel, cushion walk inside & are sooo comfy.

I like to use Shoezone, lots of footwear to choose from, not expensive & they do FREE & speedy delivery, & FREE returns.
I buy my slippers from them as well.

I have had the same shoes before & though I still use them I decided to get the same ones again before they are no longer available, the weren't expensive & I only wear then alternately once or sometimes twice a week so they are lasting well. LOL.

Joan.

Hope you B12 jag goes ok Joan. Mnnnn fish & chips sounds fab..yummy.

I have done all the ironing and housework so sitting with a cuppa now.

I do iron everything Joan, even the towels and socks lol Daughter does have OCD so makes more washing than I do.

Sun is coming out but I stuck my head out the door and brrrr its really chilly, quite a drop in temperature and NE wind which is cool.

Might just have beans on toast tonight with grated cheese, old favourite never fails.

!st post of the week and i got 2 exciting letters. Tel monthly bill and bank statement :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Nothing exciting at all :-(

Afternoon everyone.

Florence, I second what you say about Linda, she certainly IS a wonderful granny, I don't know how she manages all the things she does for her 2 grandchildren & all her family.

Another busy day for you Florence, you should set up a laundry business as you seem to do a lot of it.
It's a nice day for us after some early morning rain.

I'm not going outside today though as I have an appointment at the health centre today, my B12 jab is due today, not looking forward to it as the nurse who did it last time (12 wks ago) didn't do as good a job of it as previous nurses have done it, it was rather painful which isn't usually the case !

Hubby & I are having a treat today, a fish from the chippy,using one of the chippy vouchers that our daughter bough her dad for fathers day.
Looking forward to it as it's been a while.

I won't have to make our own fish & chips on Friday this week, for a change, LOL.

Joan.

Morning all
Was up early today and managed 5 hours sleep without waking so feel good for that.

The ironing basket needs my attention, so thats my 1st job of the day, then hoovering throughout. Remake daughter's bed so its all fresh for her return tomorrow.

Cant wait to see what "souvenirs" she brings home lol probably had to buy another suitcase to fit them all in lol

Its a grey cloudy day with a bit of sun peeking through and the wind has dropped but think the midges may be out grrr.

The bread was lovely last night but my chilli not so! Wish I had stuck to soup now but never mind.

So off to shower now and then get busy.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

Gosh Linda, what a lovely grandmother your are <3

I have a bread maker, but haven’t used it for a while. When it was just the two of us, I just made one small loaf a week as we don’t eat much bread. My paddle doesn't get stuck in this machine, but it used to in a previous type. We get through a fair amount of bread with them being here, so I just buy it.

Oh joy, I am taking Esme to Lightwater valley on my own again tomorrow. Hopefully it will be the last time as they go back to school next week.

Its just one paddle Vera but next time, i will oil it and see if it makes a difference.

Forget to say earlier, family members were sitting on tarmac for several hours in Cyprus but they were very lucky and landed back in Gatwick around 9.30pm and were home by 11pm,

Some were not so lucky!

mmmn, just had a slice of me brown bread and blackcurrant jam and was delicious. That reminds me , need to put jam on me Tesco list for Friday.

Florence, have you tried greasing the paddles? I usually use a little bit of butter but I should think you could use oil. It doesn't always work, sometimes one paddle gets stuck in the bread and the other one doesn't but it might be worth a try. The bread machine manufacturers obviously expect the dratted things to get stuck as my machine came with a little hook implement for getting the paddle out of the bread.

Afternoon all.
Well its another showery day but the sun is trying to come out and its not cold. I managed in between a shower to get outside and de-head some roses and other plants and they look tidier for it.

Daughter is having a good time away and today she was going to a garden centre of all places, hope she brings me something nice back lol.

Anyone have a bread maker? Every time I use mine, the paddle gets stuck in the loaf and I have to try and cut it out!! its such a nuisance but not sure how to fix the problem. Anyone else have this problem?

Making a veggie chilli with rice tonight. haven't made one for ages so something different for a change.

So 1 1/2 hours of family tree stuff then tea time.

Hope everyone else well and ok

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon all looking in

Well Joan, its not rained but still overcast. At least its dry and i managed outside for some fresh air for 10 minutes.

Im seeing my bedding plants starting to die off, lobelia along with some other small plants. So if its brighter tomorrow, i may go and tidy them up, hate it when they are left to die!
Family members went to Cyprus and were supposed to return to Lodon Gatwick this afternoon but there was a major problem with the Control Centre and hardly any planes were landing or taking off. Last message at 2.30 said sitting on the plane and no idea if or when we will fly. No drinks or food being supplied as they said ut of their hands!!! Blooming awful especially with young children.

So I tried to look at flight radar but cant see anything yet! So hope they get home tonight.

Joan, I'm going to make lentil and veg soup tomorrow and a crusty loaf. Its not cold but i'm feeling it a bit chilly and soup makes everything better.

Daughter not far off her destination, about an hour to go and she's fine, such a relief for me!

I have carried on with friend's family tree this afternoon and made good progress without the usual interruptions lol.

Well better crack on

Florence in the hebrides

Good morning.
Our weather is a bit like yours Florence, the sun is trying really hard to break through the clouds & has been succesful a couple of times but it isn't lasting.

Happy to say that our internet has been working well since the engineer was here, being withut it does upset things doesn't it, my hubby has a laptop & it is his only form of "entertainment" now that he is confined to the bedroom, he was getting a bit "cross" when he couldn't access the things he usually watches, mostly motor sports & films.

Not been outside for a couple of days as I have pretty much caught up with things,
I am just waiting for our son in law to saw off a few more big tree branches, plus some woody bushes that I chopped down but couldn't manage to get all of the thick branches off.

They are sitting in the middles of a flower bed that I have been working on, it's a sort of circle with large stones going round the edge, once the woody stuff has gone I am going to rake out more of the old stuff then add new compost before filling with Wild Flower seeds.

Mucky scraper tatties again today plus bacon & egg, it's the last of the tatties so I'm hoping our daughter can get a new bag for us, hubby has so enjoye d them.
I made lentil & bacon soup yesterday & it was sooo tasty.

Best get on & make hubby his cuppa,
I hope all is well with everyone, will talk again soon.

Joan.

Morning everyone looking in today

Its overcast and about to rain here, so gloomy looking!

Daughter away and we were up at 4.30am :-( But she's on the other side now and on her way to the "Big City."

Just pottering around here doing bits & bobs, nothing too strenuous.

Joan, glad you got your internet sorted. When it stops working, we are so lost now without it aren't we? My master socket is in my lounge where the computer and landline are but its the only socket. To be honest we both have mobiles so don't need another socket in the house.

Linda, I hope you & hubby enjoyed your break and never mind if Esme woke them all up, you do your fair share! Never mind the diet either, your time away is a treat for you both.

Well I have some paperwork to sort out and then clean the bathroom so may be back later this afternoon and look in again.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

Internet problems are really frustrating Joan. My house is relatively new 1997, but before we bought it in 2000, it had been rented out to a tv production company. I forgot the name of the program , but it was a weekly show a bit like Countryfile, but concentrating on the Moors and Dales. They put in some sort of state if the art box which they used to transmit their data to London every Friday. When they left, they took their fancy box out, but left just a junction box on the outside of the house and wires going to four telephone points running around the outside of the house. It caused us no end of problems over the years. The IT company always want you to plug your router into the master socket, but we didn’t have one.
We had lots of different routers, but always had problems with intermittent connection. In the end about eight years ago, we disconnected all the telephone points in the various rooms, had the wires in the junction box replaced and ran a new wire to the bedroom we use as a study. We had a modern master socket fitted there, so the router and the phone base are both in that room. We have four phones around the house, but they just pick up the signal from the phone base station. We have had a couple of new routers since then because they only last a few years before they need replacing.

My house is surrounded by fields as well Joan and the farmers are fond of using pig slurry, it makes me feel sick.

We are at our hotel in Dovedale in Derbyshire. It was built in the 1600’s. It comes under the heady of shabby chic as lots of these country house hotels do, but it is very comfortable and clean. We have a beautiful view of the hills and have just had coffee and scones, with the obligatory jam and cream of course. We have dinner on both nights, so my diet is well and truly blown out of the water.

The girls are currently visiting grandpa in his new care home, so they are going to try and FaceTime us later on once they get to their hotel for tonight. Apparently they are all tired because Esme didn’t sleep well and woke everybody up at 5 am :-(

Hello to all.
I didn't know if I would manage to get onto GR today due to having had internet problems over the last 3 days/nights.
Had to speak to our provider yesterday re the intermittant on & off & getting worse with each day, our daughter spoke at great lengths explaining what was happening & an engineer came to look at the problem first thing this morning.

He couldn't pin point any real problem other than the wiring in the outside junction box was badly corroded so he renwed that, also the telephone box in the living room was a VERY old style one so he fitted a much more upto date one.

Doing that seems to have fixed the fault / problem & things are now running smoothly once agan, long may it last.

It's a nice day here not much sun but it's bright & warm & no wind, not been a bad week all in all, a bit of rain here & there but nothing too serious.
I was going to do a couple of garden jobs today but our son in law was in the field that surrounds the house spreading slurry, the smell didn't last too long but I decided to stay indoors ! LOL.

Finishing off the last of the new ( mucky scrapers) tatties today, we have really enjoyed them, our daughter is gong to get us another bag whilst they are still available, lol.

That was some journey you had to Leeds & back Linda.

Better make a start on scraping the tatties, & prepare our meal, take care.

Joan.