General Chat

Ann i never set the washer going at night or if I'm going out ,ill go out into the garden but I do like to be here when it's on, we once had a machine leak and what a mess luckily we were here and caught it in time as it was a slow leak and not pumping out like it did today .

I know AnnG it soon flooded the floor luckily we have a tiled floor ,my first thought was oh no the machine has been pulled out and we've pulled on the water pipe that goes into the machine, I'd no idea he had taken the emptying pipe out ,thank goodness I hadn't set it going and gone out into the garden.

Yes, I can never settle to anything when I'm waiting for workmen Mel. Fingers crossed he will be early. They lady on the phone said he would be in and out in a short time so I think if it isn't a quick fix he will replace the box. Fancy you finding all those vine weevils. Have you tried the Vine Weevil killer?

Oh Mandy, it's a good job you hadn't popped out or put the washer on later and gone to bed! Your floor must be pristine now! :-D Yes I did quite like the idea of the bees but did think I wouldn't want any clothing made with bee material after wearing so many real ones that time!! I even made OH get rid of one in the conservatory today before I would have lunch in there.

I know if they swap our box we will lose all our recordings Vera which is a nuisance as we have a lot too. Yes setting up the printer floored me when it kept saying about QR codes as I am a dinosaur with not needing or having a mobile with whistles and bells. It's just a plain PAYG with internet access not enabled. I bravely ignored all those requests and it was fine. We are thinking we must get better mobiles though as no-one can track and trace us for covid contact at the moment. Yes it was clear that OH thought I was being over fussy when I put those thick plastic surfaces down, but I think he changed his mind when he saw the puddle of black ink today. You did well getting some of your shrubs out and replanting them as it can be awkward digging things out of troughs. I remember that lovely picture of your granddaughter and it will be nice in a frame so you can see it every day.

Oh Mandy it is amazing how much water can get out of a washing machine bet it took afpges to mop up.

Vera I took it slowly and the floors and shelves are free of dust for now. The frame needs a good wash but that will have to wait. I did it in two and a half hours but had an hours break in between

Yes we lived in a great Baddiw used to drive to Colchester to visit friends whi lived in the area.

Missed you there Mandy. I can just imagine what you said to OH when all the water pumped out. My OH would definitely have got THE LOOK.

Hallo Elizabeth. Good to see you. I hope you are having a contented and peaceful weekend.

Good to see you too Frank. Did you have a good read while Ros was having her hair done?

Take your time clearing the mess in your conservatory AnnG. You don’t want to overdo it though I am sure you would like to see it all clean and tidy but taking care of your back is more important. Btw, we are quite a way from Chelmsford. It’s just that the garden centre we particularly like is just outside Colchester going towards Chelmsford. I seem to remember you saying you used to live at Great Baddow.

You’ve done a good job getting your printer set up Ann. It’s lucky you had covered your surface with the ink leaking like that. I hope the Sky engineer gets everything sorted for you. It must be annoying to keep missing things. We only have the normal terrestrial and freeview programmes and I don’t find time to watch much of those. I have stuff I recorded 4 years ago that I still haven’t watched!

We got to the picture framers this morning and ordered our frame. It’s for the picture of our granddaughter in the old fashioned costume. You might remember it. I was thinking of our Jane when we were choosing the type of frame as she had pm’d me to say she was keeping the picture I had emailed round and kept looking at it as she thought it was so lovely. While in town we met our old neighbour so had a little chat. This afternoon I spent about one and a half hours in the garden and was aching like mad when I came in. I had dug a couple of small shrubs out from a big trough and planted them up again in ericaceous compost as I’ve just discovered they prefer acid soil. It took a bit of digging with spades and forks to get the rootballs out, disentangle the roots and replant the shrubs in new compost. I inspected them carefully and not a weevil in sight, Mel :-). I’ve got another 2 in a trough to do but that’ll have to wait for another day.

Just had a nice shepherd’s pie with veg and a glass of wine and I’m feeling quite sleepy now. I think I might read for a while or maybe I’ll do a couple of crosswords in today’s paper. OH is watching an old episode of Silent Witness.

Evening all,

We have been out in the garden most of the day again ,i have potted up my cucumber plants all my toms and some purple Lupins ,i took the seeds from my plant last year The floor and shelf in the green house is full ,all my tom seeds came up so i will have some pots of them outside and hope for the best .

We sat having breakfast and i suddenly heard running water ,it was pouring out of the washing machine ,i had put a load in and turned it on and yesterday Colin had had the machine out to gloss the skirting behind the machine he had taken the hose out of the outlet pipe and hooked it on the back of the machine so when i turned it on and it started to pump out it came out onto the floor ,i shooted over and turned it off but it surprising how much water can pump out good job we have a tiled floor .
There was a few choice words i can tell you ,why he hadn't put the hose back in the pipe i don't know .

Nice to hear from you EOS i hope you have a good weekend too .

Oh AnnG i think you'll be clearing the dust for a few days as fast as you wipe it flies up and settles some where else and you notice it more in the sunshine .
Was it today you friend was changing your dressing ? i hope it wasn't to sore to touch .

Mel it sounds like one of your girls has got a taste for the eggs now naugty girl .

Frank i hope the dizzyness soon goes not so good when your unsteady any way ,take it easy and i hope you feel better soon .

Ann you'll be glad to get the sky sorted now after all these months ,sounds as though they will be taking all the precautions they can so hopefully it should all goes well .
Sent a photo of the fat quarters but i think there's one lot that you won't be so keen on ,the ones with the Bees :-0
I have made a couple of masks with one of the Strawberry ones .

Vera as always i love reading your posts ,hope OH's back eases for him ,did you manage to get to the picture framers today .
We had one of those composters years ago without a bottom and we got rats in it so that went to the tip , but some one did say after we had got rid that we could have put a bit of wire netting under neath and that would have stopped them .

I like the ones with the bees on.

We seem to have had a visit from the sock fairy.............

Mandy the colours are nice in the fat quarters, any decision on what to make. I like the turquoise pattern

Just had jacket potato and orawns for my meal, I enjoyed that.

Cleared out some more dead pots and found a few little blighters in them which the bantams were pleased with at least I know there won't be so many around now.

I had my glowing embers begonia in the shed ove rthe winter and when I looked at it yesterday and had a prod it had gone soft so that came out and found lots in that pot and they were just turning into the beetley things so I was glad I looked in that pot as I don't want them in the shed.

I have repotted several plants I want to keep like my evergreen campanula's I have white and blue but don't know which is which at thee moment. The white tends to have lighter leaves. The only trouble with those is the rabbits love them.

Hope all goes well for your Sky box Ann and they can get it done before your zoom meeting. I hate having to wait for people to arrive to do jobs, you can never settle till they arrive do the job and go. My arm is a bit achey if I touch it and picking up a heavy watering can it gave me jip.

Mandy anymore magic material in those fat quarter?

Whacked now but only have to do burgers for dinner so thats good and there's a nice bottle of wine in the fridge.

Afternoon All,

More sunshine and we were both up quite early this morning. We needed to start clearing up and cleaning ready for SKY on Monday. SKY has virtually packed up now with freezing, no signal, software issue messages popping up as it goes off all the time, so roll on Monday! We were told to have a clear path to the SKYQ box, wear masks and have all our windows open so I hope it is still warm on Monday. The engineer will be calling between 8.00am and 1.00pm so I'd sooner he was early so I don't miss my course if it ends up a long job and he comes nearer 1.00pm.

We put the stand for the new printer together after lunch (we hadn't realised it was self assemble) and the covers for the screws were missing. As they were on the inside and we needed to get it set up, we decided it didn't matter. When I moved the old printer there was a puddle of black ink under it, so it seems that was on it's last legs too. :-S :-0 Luckily I had put thick clear plastic blotter sheets on the desk and cupboard tops to protect from my painting efforts so there was no damage, but I managed to get black fingers clearing the mess up. I then got it set up and told OH how to connect it to his laptop, so now it is all working and doing lovely clear prints! I then chucked out/shredded all the paperwork to do with the old printer and had a general clear up in the study.

OH did a bit more weeding in the back garden and I have rung a couple of garden centres to see if they have courgette or mini cue plants, one said they expect some more after next week.

Mandy I can never decide what to choose when looking at fat quarters........they are mesmerising!

AnnG most house alterations make lots of mess but men don't notice most dust! It's horrid and gritty like Mel says though so get a wet cloth after hoovering up what you can. We knocked walls down ourselves at my old house and despite our best efforts dust got everywhere for days afterwards.

I'm glad your OH's back has improved Vera. He just needs to be careful not to set it off again now.

Mel is your arm sore after the jab? OH has had absolutely no effects from his up to now. He was given an A4 leaflet of what to look out for after his this time with it being AstraZenica. I hope your back is a bit better too. Mine is twanging a bit after this morning's efforts so I daren't do more as it's the wipe down tomorrow. Well I might go and scoop some aby Violas from last years plants from one of the pots and prick them out as they are too cramped to do much. That's nice your Aunty Joy loved her card and wants to frame it. Those naughty hens eating the eggs. Is it just the one doing it?

Nice to know you are ok EOS and hope you have a nice weekend too.

Sorry you haven't been well Frank and I hope it soon passes. If not I would speak to your doc in case it's your medication causing it. Hope you had a nice read in the warm conservatory.

It is on the opposite side Mel. On the left and I am right handed. finished for today anyway and put the cleaner away now. And also I have had lunch and am just going to read the paper.

It'll be more comfortable in the conservatory when the sun goes round a bit and you don't have to do it all today. Are you right or left handed? Always a problem if its on the side of the arm you usually use. :-(

Been down the hsop for a few bits and the paper .

Washings in and I am about to get osme lunch. Got a nice fresh Bloomer and ham with some salad stuff.

Good to see you on here Frank. It is sunny here and very hot in the conservatory so not a lot of cleaning going to be done in the next two hours or so.

Mel stitches still sore but it was quite a deep incision so I am not surprised. I am using my right arm as much as possible.

Good morning all,

Sorry I haven't been around, I have not been feeling that good.

I keep having dizzy spells,and don't deem to be able to relax. Not eating a great deal, and not sleeping too well.

Ros is out thins morning with Carolyn shopping. Then at 2.00 pm she has her hairdresser coming to bleach and do her hair, I will be in the conservatory with my book, so I won't be in the way. !!!

Not a bad morning weather wise.A lot of high white cloud which seems to be blocking the sun. But even though I haven't been outside yet. I think it's quite warm.

I hope you areal well, I will try to get back later. xxxx

Brick dust is awful to clean up its so gritty.

Just having a slice of toast as I was hungry.

I waited round the chickens this morning and watched them one came out of the nest box, an old one, and after a while of noshing the loaf I had put in their hanging baskets she went back in. still in the nest with Daisy so I came back and left it a bit longer and went round again. 5 in the run opened the nest box and the old one had laid an egg so one down for today.

Went and did a bit more and went round again and there was two eggs in the nest and Daisy still in ther eating another egg. So I would have had 4 today but threes good. Daisy was still in the nest box. Yesterday I had three eggs all broken and eaten.

Arms a bit sore tis morning. How's your back today Anng?

morning Mel. Yes Charles is 29. I have done half an hour in the conservatory so far. Thought I would do a bit before breakfast. got a wash load in as well. There is brick dust over everything as well as dirt from the roof so I am emptying shelves to brush it off. I have also had to trace and disconnect lots of wires and plugs which were all to the individual sets of lights which were all solar and connected separately to Alexa, I have put the bag of electrical bits away in the electrics drawer in T's office. It will be easier to clean in that bit when I go back to it later.

Morning Anng and all,

Is it Charles who is 29 ?

Lovely morning again today with blue sky and sunshine. Well I got Aunty Joy's sbirthday wrong, its today not yesterday and her daughter's birthday was yesterday and my friend in Suffolk. I may remember cousin Ann's birthday now after all these years. She too lives in Bideford as does her sister Joy's oldest and the middle son not too far away.

We had a nice chat on the phone yesterday and she was delighted with her card which we had done a pic of my nan, her mum, at the age of 22 in 1921. She's going to se if she can get a frame for it.

Vera please keep on with your nice long posts as we all enjoy them and would miss them if you only posted short ones. We're nosy and like to know what you have been up to.

Love to Island and hope that back is getting better now and she will be able to do a bit in her garden.

I only got half way through gardeners world last night on catch up and had to go to bed I was that tired and my arm was hurting. Must have dropped straght off as I don't remember a thing after getting into bed. Got up once for the loo and came out here at 7.45am.

Good morning all sunny again so up early to make the most of the time before it gets too hot in the conservatory.

I can't understand that either Mel. I think it may have been the first very old roof they have changed, it is mostly dirt accumulated over 29 years. The 'boss' is only 29 he is a good workman and very willing but still learning. Hopefully he has learned his lesson.

I have a good few hours cleaning to do but hopefully it won't be too difficult as it is only dust and bits. when done I shall tell him to cover up next time he does similar work.