General Chat

Afternoon All,

It's been a mix of dull and sunny spells here with some nasty black clouds. We could eat outside as it was sunny then and we saw 5 old planes go over and another a few minutes later but it can't be an air show going on so perhaps it's a fly past somewhere.

That was a very strange dream you had Mel. I wonder why guinea pigs popped into it! I used to like the smell of the chicken mash that mum did with all the peelings and mash. I used to get the job of mixing it. The chickens really loved it and it would be gobbled down in no time. I remember you saying Bertha had dropsy and wondered the other day how she was. Sadly she's gone but my fish (tropical) never seemed to recover from it.

I have been paying bills and watering some plant feed on things this morning and OH has been writing things up. I still need to add one or two things to the food order. I'm glad we have ordered Sunday Lunch again as there is the wool felting on FB then the delivery to wipe down. Mandy, the Frankie and Sidney lady has made a little mobile with 3 of the ballerina mice and put a video on her FB page. It is really nice!

It sounds like you had a nice run out in the car Vera and it would have charged it up well too. We have been a few bit longer runs but it does seem strange not to call in places. I was wondering how the colour mix with your penstemon cuttings you planted has turned out if they are flowering yet?

AnnG your shed sounds like ours, but it is the roof and concrete base on ours that have gone and it lists to one side! We have guttering on it that fills 3 water butts but all the roof felt has blown off! We've done nothing with it as we can't decide whether to replace it or put a garden room there or even not have one if what's in there could be put in the garage (once that's cleared out!). One job leads to another!

Your waterfall and pond has been a real attraction for the birds Gill and it must be nice to watch them. Is there a garden where Sandra is as she used to love the wildlife and look up the birds in the book you got her. I do miss hearing about her and hope she is ok.

Gill to morrow is the longest day and the 24th is Midsummers Day and Di's birthday.

Gill, he did get it finished and then it did rain again. No room there for a water butt the side of the fence that was rotten (after 28 years of being there!!) is about 6 inches from a neighbour's 7 foot fence. We do already have a water butt anyway.

No the rain never arrived AnnG, we have glorious sunshine at the moment and lovely blue skies with hardly any clouds now, it's very quiet here so the neighbour must of finished knocking and banging for today. You wait now I've said that he'll start with the noise again soon LOL :-D :-D :-D

We have lots of clover in our grass Mel and the bees love it, there's far to much for us to do anything about it, if we tried to get rid of it we'd have hardly any lawn left just bald patches ;-)

I'm pleased we finally have some decent weather, I don't mind a bit of rain, the plants love it and it saves us having to water them, but I think we've had enough for the time being. It's nice to see the sun out and some blue sky for a change.

Pleased to see the rain didn't stay with you long AnnG, hope your OH can fix the shed before the rain comes back. Hopefully it won't though then he can get on with the job. Have you thought of putting some guttering along the shed roof and collect the rain water in a water butt, it would save the shed going rotten again and also save on your water bill as you can water your plants with the rain water.

Someone is cutting their lawn, I think it might still be to wet, I hope it's safe for them. It sounds like an electric mower. So much for the peace and quiet LOL.

Good afternoon all, quite bright with some sun but half an hour ago we had a terrific downpour, I guesss that was the small patch of rain that we saw on the weather last night which was due to either hit or miss us. Typically it hit us so everything is soaking wet again. OH is mending the side of the shed that is rotten. (making a new panel for it. The rest is fine so it must be where water runs down. off the roof.

Ooh Mel I can smell that chicken feed fro here, I remember it from when I was a child, made the whole bungalow smell!

Frank well there you go, have you decided what to buy Lewis, typically when you ask a group of people you get all different answers. Best thing if you want to buy cuff links is ask somebody who knows if he wears them.

Gill hope the rain is not making its way to you, although it only lasted 20 minutes or so it was really heavy.

No Gill its still there and the pigeons like it so he may leave it.

Had another video of the children dancing this morning from my SIL.

Must get ready to go to Em's with the eggs and up the shop for a few bits and bobs.

I have chickens mash on the cooker and it stinks. Its only carrot and potato peelings and a few strawberry stalks.

Morning all

Sunny here today but lots of clouds around so we may have more rain soon. I can hear the neighbour over the back knocking and banging again on his shed/summer house, (not sure what he's making but it's big) I think someone told me he's a builder and it's quiet during the week so he must be back at work as the knocking only seems to happen on the weekends. When he stops knocking I can hear a Blackbird singing, it's lovely to hear.

It's the longest day of the year today, so from tomorrow the nights will start drawing in again. I think this year has gone very quickly, we're half way through it already.

Your were busy with your zoom session yesterday Ann, pleased you've found a free website to help make your video's smaller to email. I hope you do well with your painting in the competition when will you hear about the results? How irresponsible of the woman walking the wrong way at the shop then saying she didn't believe in the virus anyway and didn't care. She'd soon care if she caught it and passed it onto other people. It's such a worry isn't it? That's why I won't go out at the moment as there are so many people not taking it seriously and the virus is still out there. I think Vera has the right idea going out for a drive rather than going where lots of people will be walking by.

It sounds like you had a lovely run out Vera and would of been safe in your car. The run will have charge the battery on the car and stopped the breaks seizing up as well.

I've never had a pond big enough to have fish so when the Heron flies by I can enjoy watching him without any worries. I think he flies around our garden because he can hear our little waterfall feature. I have noticed the birds having a drink from it when it's switched off. It's quite funny watching them as they tilt their heads back to drink, so it looks like they are scooping the water up into their mouths with their beaks. Funny the things you notice.

I hope your OH can sort the mowers out soon Mel, I know how he likes to keep the lawns looking nice and tidy and with as much as you've got he couldn't leave it to long could he?
Did he do anything about the clump of clover you had?

Morning all,

Nice morning here with sunshine and blue sky and clouds Some are a bit grey but are passing quickly.

Oh broke both his mowers yesterday. One's battery ran out right outside the walled garden dpwn by where he has a bonfire. The others brush mechanism broke and he must have swept up the bits that hold the brushes in place so he had to come and put a battery on charge and order new bits for the other one as it won't pick up the grass cuttings withour the brushes. Another £50 for four bits of plastic.

Vera we had one of those squirters and oh go this brother with it when he came round once. Oh's kio pond is about 5' deep but very long and wide He built a wall up the sides a few years ago to maake it deeper and lined the wall with decking that we can sit on. I don't know if I mentioned it but we lost Big Betha to dropsy the other week. She was the second one I bought him an d cost me £90. Blue was the first one I bought him and we still have him. The others he bought and they were all about 5" long but are huge now.

Did you enjoy your ride out in the car then?

I think quite a lot of men do still wear cuff links. Both my son who is 53 and my 20 year old grandson wear them; not everyday round the house of course but if they are going somewhere nice and wearing a suit they will wear cuff links. My grandson loves to be given “nice” things. Frank and Ros will know Lewis best and know what will appeal to him. How about a nice wallet or a good quality pen?

You’ve had a busy day by the sound of it Ann. I know what you mean about being too tired to sort your Asda order. I should be doing my Tesco one but feel if I do it now I won’t get it right. I must do it first thing tomorrow though. I also dropped art after the first year or at least it was tactfully suggested by the art teacher that I might be better looking at other subjects. She was a strange Canadian lady with odd ideas. A friend of mine spilt a pot of purple paint on her paper and just twirled her brush through the mess. Art teacher hung it on the wall as an example of an excellent representation of a bonfire.

OH gave the car a really good run this afternoon. It kept coming over black but it stayed dry. We were out nearly 2 hours, mostly on the main roads like the A14 and A12 as he wanted to get a real drive in rather than a slow pootle through the lanes but it was a touch of normality. Him driving, me in the passenger seat, other traffic around, you could almost believe Covid 19 had never happened, like the stupid woman Ann’s friend met in the shop.

You mentioning the heron made me smile Mel as it reminded me when we had koi in a large pond. The pond was over 5’ deep but about 3’ was above ground with a nice wide wall round it to sit on. We didn’t want to net it because of the look of the thing so OH bought a heron scarer. All it did was send out a fine spray of water when it sensed movement. There was a switch to turn it off when we were out there. Of course I kept forgetting so every time I went near the pond I got soaked!

OH has just made a cuppa so I am going to enjoy that now and then have a look at the crossword.

Evening All,

Another showery and windy day. It doesn't know when to stop now.

A busy day with a 2 hour zoom session on photography this morning ......very useful and I got the name of a free site where I can make my videos small enough to email. The ones I had tried said my videos were still too big to use their software. Then I entered the painting plus a few of my photos. This afternoon another zoom meeting with some friends and now I have the Asda order to do but feel so tired I might leave it till tomorrow.

I think Mandy asked how long the painting took me which is hard to say, but I must have started sketching it at the start of lockdown. I started painting about 3 weeks ago in short stints at first but would think in hours it took about a week. I am not confident enough yet to be bold so proceed with caution and small steps! Vera I dropped art at grammar school as soon as we could after the first year and never did any till a few years ago when a lovely friend we had on the thread then called Maureen who painted kept telling me to have a go so I did. I think it is as much about not wanting something to beat me as it is talent!

Frank please pass on my congratulations to Lewis! He has done so well and all with doing a job at the same time and doing well there too. Has he decided what he will do next? I was like you starting work. I got £5 a week, my mother took half for board, but I still had to buy my own shampoo, clothes etc and travel cost to work. I saved up and bought a foal, paid 7s 6d a week for grazing and then saved up first for a bridle, then a saddle. I couldn't afford records till I got married!

As I said in my email Jane I thought cross channel swimmer when I saw your cap! It's worth the discomfort if it works though. I hope any effects from the change of chemo will be mild.

I remember you sending a photo of a stoat once Mel. They are so quick aren't they. We have seen the Heron flying in the back field yesterday and today and there are two ponds there that have lots of frogs. I wonder if they are all feeding young now. I bet you were chuffed when you were given that riding gear! I had an old riding hat given to me that was faded, but I still loved it.

Gill that is a job and a half watering all those pots! You seem to do well with your cuttings. My few pinks I tried seem to be growing so I want to take some more cuttings from the others.

One of my friends got a shock when shopping for food. A woman was going the wrong way and towards her, so she told her nicely and the woman just carried on and said she didn't believe in the virus anyway so didn't care! Our local paper today says there is a spike now in the city so I wonder if they will lock the city down again. There were demonstrations held there recently and crowds so I wonder if that is a cause.

AnnG by the sound of it we got off light with our large puddles on some roads. Inara's growing up fast isn't she. I wonder if she is still a little livewire.

Well I'd better get on with this order while I can as the internet had a break this morning.

I was thinking it might need a heel Mel, but I cut it off as I didn't have the heel last time I took some cuttings and they took really well. I'm not sure if the one I've put in the ground will take though, so I'll keep an eye on it and keep it watered if the rain stops. The other's will be looked after inside until they are big enough to re-plant, then if it's not to late in the year they can go outside. If it's to cold I'll keep them on the window sill in my kitchen until next spring. The last lot of cutting I did were in November and did okay inside over winter. Both lots of cuttings have been accidents with me accidentally pulling the branches to hard. Never mind, I can't complain at new plants can I LOL. If these work I'll end up with seven conifers instead of one and all for free. :-D :-D :-D

Hope the doctor rings soon. You've done well with your diesel. Hope the weather stays dry so you can clean the big girls out.

Pleased to see you're okay and not flooded AnnG, it must be a worry for those living in flood prone areas though especially with all the rain we're had lately and more yet to come. I hope it stays dry where you are when the next lot of rain arrives.

It's stopped raining here now and the sun is trying to come out, still a lot of clouds around so I think we may have more rain later. At least I don't have to water over 500 pots thanks to Mother Nature doing it for me. ;-) ;-) ;-)

Don't you have to take conifer cutting with a heal??????

I did one years ago when I was very young and it took and mum planted it by the pond where she lived in Redbridge. I took it from the lady who lived at the bottom of our bungalow in the bungalow that backed our garden as mum lived on a corner. Mrs Almroth. She had an unmarried daughter who gave me her jodhpurs and long brown riding boots and some leather gaiters which were much too big for me.

Doc has'nt rung yet but we have been out for mower petrol and I put, or oh did , some deisel in the car too. Thats the first lot I have bought since going to Morrisons station before lockdown all those weeks ago.

I want to clean the big girls out as they really need it and it is'nt raining at the mo in fact we've had quite a bit of sunshine this morning with a shower as we went out at about 1 ish.

Gill yes it is very wet here, parts of Gloucester had bad flooding yesterday although we are ok here, one main road (the A46 was like a river.

Be good if your cuttings take then.

Afternoon al

Raining here again today and very dark. It was dry earlier so the nice tall conifer I have in a pot has been turned around, part of it was dying with the light not being able to get to it, so hopefully it'll be okay now. After it was turned around I fluffed the branches up a bit as it looked wonky and was surprised to see a birds nest about 4 foot up the tree, luckily there were no eggs or birds in it, so I took it out and threw it away. As I was fluffing up one of the branches I accidentally broke the top off, so I've made three cuttings from it, which are on my kitchen window sill. If they take like the other five did I'll have some lovely yellow conifers in a few years time, six it all including the mother plant, so that's something to look forward to. The other cuttings are starting to look good now, almost six years later. I popped a cutting in the ground outside, not sure if that'll work though, but if it does it'll look lovely to, once it's established.

Love the photo of the painting you did Ann, I to haven't seen the photo, but it looks brilliant, you are very clever, I hope it comes somewhere in the competition. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

The cold cap doesn't look very comfortable Jane, but if it works it'll be worth wearing it. I hope you are feeling okay today.

That was a lot of detail in your dream Mel, I wonder what it all means.

I don't think cuff links are worn anymore Frank, maybe you could buy him a signet ring, would he wear one of those?

I hope the weather stays dry for your outing Vera and you have a good time.

Your poor OH getting wet playing golf AnnG, it sounds very wet if the 9 hole course is closed.

Oops missed you Vera, you posted while I was typing. Hope you enjoy your run out. you wouldn't bother if you lived here as it is not nice at all out there.

Mel, Gosh with Stoats and hungry Herons you need to be alert, can the stoat get to the chickens> Would it harm them.
Our Grandson and his wife and Inara (she is four today by the way doesn't seem possible). Have just had 6 eggs in an incubator but only had two hatch. I think they are going to try another batch. Inara loves the baby chicks.

We think we saw a stoat run across the top of the garden this morning. It definately was'nt a squirrel or a rabbit. Come to think of it I hav'nt seen any rabbits up the border lately so I hope it was a stoat as they will get rid of my rabbit population quickly.

Then when I fed the big girls on the way back to the house I saw the Heron fly over. Forgot to tell oh as they sometimes visit our ponds which is why they are both netted. Mine especially as they have taken my fish before. Mine is netted on the top but oh's is only around the sides since we had a visit from an otter some years ago which ate nearly all my fish and bit the heads off others and left them around the garden for me.

Was'nt that painting good of Ann's she's a clever girl with that brush of hers.

Going back to the chinook helicopters, thats what my BIL works on. The hangers where they work are spotlessly clean and all the worker tools are as clean as the workshop.

That was interesting about your brother Ted Frank. I did'nt know he was a stone mason. A very rewarding job I should think and he must have been artistic to do a job like that.

Hope you enjoy your outing Vera. It'll be nice to get and about for a bit.

Sending love to Jane and hope she is not too ropey yet and we may here from her today. That was a lovely clear photo she sent us do you think it was taken on her phone?

Good afternoon all, drizzly wet all morning here so OH has had a wet morning at golf. apparently the 9 hole course is closed as the brook once again burst its banks.

Frank was it the Christmas Island where they tested a nuclear bomb? Or have I got the wrong place. when I worked at RAF Henlow our WO had leukaemia and he had been on the island where the bomb was tested.
I suppose people might think that neighbours have been informed re the funeral, their best bet is to contact the undertakers if it is known who they were.
I don't think many shirts these days are made with the double holes for cufflinks, or at least only expensive ones. Our son sometimes wears them and My OH if he can't get away without them (such as when he gave our daughter away.
Well done Lewis to have done so well.

Annx I love the photo but had not seen the picture before so didn't realise it was a self portrait, You are very talented, the face is very life like and not many people can get the eyes right. I do hope you do well in the competition.

Mel, what a strange dream and it must have been vivid for you to remember it. I do dream a lot but only tend to remember the horrible ones.

Vera, we get the Chinooks here being near a barracks, I love them and can distinguish them easily before they are in site. Should add, being near the local airport we get lots of helicopters overhead besides the military ones.
I hope you managed to chase your headache away and feel better today.
So frustrating that even when we can go to the shops there are the inevitable queues. Although with garden centres we have been lucky and not had to queue once in the 6 times we have been.

You posted while I was typing Frank. Yes it is still Roy’s of Wroxham. They have a branch in our local town.

The helis could be Chinooks I suppose, in which case they are coming from somewhere other than Wattisham which, I think, only flies Apaches

Definitely going to shower now before OH gets tired of waiting for me.

Morning Mel, Mandy and all

It was sunny when I got up at 8 am but it’s now grey and windy and I can hear thunder rumbling in the distance so I expect it will be raining again soon.

I thought I could hear thunder in the distance around 10 pm yesterday but as it got louder I realised it was the four helicopters coming back. I think they are Apache helicopters flying from Wattisham but they have been coming over all week now so I wonder what’s going on.

I’ve done much the same as you this morning Mandy. I’ve hoovered through and cleaned our en-suite, but I am still in my dressing gown.

What a weird dream Mel. I wonder what meaning one of these dream analysts would find it that.

Ann, what a smashing painting. I hope it does well in the competition. You must have been front of the queue when they were handing out artistic talent. You are so clever.

That cold cap doesn’t look all that comfortable Jane. It’ll be worth it if it minimises hair loss and if it doesn’t help, well no matter. I’ve been told by ladies who have experienced it that their hair has grown back better than before.

I must go and shower and get lunch. OH wants to take the car for a longish run and I’ve told him he’s got to wait till I’m ready as I’m going with him so I must get a move on.