General Chat

That was quick I have found it and it is on Amazon.

Einhell 2260112 BT-HT 90 Multi-Colour Folding Truck, 90 kg Capacity

£32.59


Adjustment for extendable handle
Extendable transport handle
Aluminium frame
Foldaway supporting blade
Rubber wheels with metal bushing

Its been sunny here all day and not much of a breeze either. When I looked at he barometer at lunch time it had moved an inch to the right so thats a good sign.

Oh bought me a little sack barrow that folds up flat and even the handle goes down and it was'nt that expensive and I would highly recommend it to both Ann and Frank. I can move sacks of chicken food and the shopping when it comes as we have it put into big plactic boxes on the step. I think he bought it from Amazon so I will go and have a look and see if I can find it and send the link.

That's good you are ok Mel!! :-D We wondered where you were. I hope your OH can fix the problem for you. It would be no good asking my OH as he is more likely to ask me! I see you have been busy sprucing and tidying in the garden.

Oh Vera I hope you get some easier questions this week! Mind you I would probably still be stumped with music from your granddaughter's era. :-( I'm not even brilliant with my own era! Your pork loin and Gill's slow cooked lamb both sound delicious.

They were suggesting there will be a lot of bargains in clothing due to the lockdown so I must have a google. I always seem to need a neutral cardie that will go with everything and OH needs more pairs of jimjams.

Yes the troughs on wheels do sound good. I wish they had better things for wheeling the ceramic pots around too. I resorted to some plastic tall ones to save the weight, but the terracotta ones look best. On the subject of wheels I wish I could put some on my oak dining table. :-S

I better get the wiping gear put in place now ready for the delivery. Then I might go in the garden for a while as the sun has appeared.

Will start again. Good afternoon to you lovely ladies. (post just disappeared)

Plenty going on for me at the moment. Yesterday afternoon I sat watching MORSE, when the screen went blank. I tried the table light, NOTHING. Got the dtrps out, to check the trip switch, which is housed above the kitchen units. No way could I get it to stay on, so I went round every electric socket on the property. Starting in the sheds, garage, conservatory and all rooms in the bungalow. I then commenced to plug in an appliance and see if the Trip would work. You can imagine me going in and out of the bungalow, getting up the steps and checking the trip. Eventually I found that the tumble dryer in the garage was the culprit. After disconnecting that. all the electrics stayed on as I turned each plug on. In total it must have taken me two hours. I would hate to estimate how many paces it had taken, walking in and out and climbing the steps.

We finally settled down to order our Takeaway. To my amazement the Chinese in Towcester (our favourite) answered the phone when I rang the number, to check if they were open. They have been closed for some weeks due to the COVID 19. Great, we went down to pick it up. There was a few customers waiting, trying to keep the TWO METRE space. The counter was screened of from ceiling to counter top. As your order was ready, they would open a small section for you to pay and collect your food.

This morning I decided to prepare the Sunday LUNCH/DINNER, before my shower and shave. I was doing a bit and sitting a bit. (not good on my pins today). Finally I got in the shower, only to find it wouldn't come on. Unbeknown to me Ros had pulled the cut of cord beside the light cord. Having sussed that out, I got showered.

Ros decided to do her roots this morning. She was fine doing the top, but not the sides and back of the head. SO GOOD OLD FRANKIE BOY, changed into HAIRDRESSING MODE. and did that. I am finally free to pop on here for a break before getting dressed and cooking dinner. I am sitting here in my underpants. !!!!

The wind is quite fresh today, with hardly any sunshine. It is suppose to get warmer tomorrow and Tuesday, not that I am bothered, as we won't be going anywhere. I get so cross, when I see these silly crowds of people, fighting get a place on the beach or in the park. Why oh Why, do they think it is safe to do this. Perhaps they will realise what a DANGER it is, when one of their close family catch the Coronavirus. MOAN OVER for today.

Stay safe my friends, See you all later. xxxx

I think it could be this one.

Cicindela scutellaris scutellaris

I have just seen a beetle in the garden that was like a jewel. It was only about half an inch with the bright green head and body and bright red wing casings. Like matalic both body and casings. It flew away before I could go in and get my camera so I am going to see if I can look it up.

O by the way belated birthday greetings for Jake. I can't believe he is 15 now it only seems like he was a little boy not long ago. Has he got a girlfriend yet Mandy?

Afternoon all

Cloudy and still a bit breezy, but no where near as bad as it has been, so OH and I re-potted the three conifers into some decent compost, the cheap compost we bought had grass in it and like Mel said didn't hold the water, so hopefully the conifers will be happier in the new stuff.

Pleased to see you're ok Mel you had us all worried. What a nuisance not being able to get into your emails, I hope your OH can fix the problem for you. At least you have PM's on here, but it's not the same is it? I know what you mean about the rain, it's the same here, once it's starts there's no stopping it. OH is watering our plants now, although it's cloudy we're not sure if it's going to rain or not. If it does the plants will have a bit more to drink.

How nice for Jake to have a BBQ for his birthday Mandy, I hope it wasn't to windy for him, it's been BBQ weather lately, apart from this horrible wind that's been hanging around for the last few days. The chocolate cake sounds lovely, I bet it didn't last long lol.

How annoying to lose your post like that Vera, it's so easily done though. Good luck with your quiz today, I hope you managed to answer more questions than last time, have you been swatting up on everything lol. Hope your granddaughter hasn't forgotten and you have the codes you need before 6pm. Let us know how you get on. How many teams do you have?

Pleased to hear your back is no worse Ann, pity it's not any better though, good idea not to do to much or you might make it worse. Did you manage to find another hot water bottle, or didn't you bother in the end? I hope it starts to feel better for you soon.

Going to check the lamb now, I've got it cooking slowly so it isn't as tough as old boots, as my mum used to say lol.

Glad to see you are OK Mel :-D. You had us all worried there for a while.

It’s overcast today and still very windy. I’ve prepared our dinner which we usually have around 2 pm on Sundays so I need to get the meat in the oven. It’s roast loin of pork today. Then at 6 pm we are supposed to be having our weekly family quiz but I haven’t yet received the email “invitation “ with the codes I need to get into Zoom. I’d better check that granddaughter hasn’t forgotten that she volunteered to organise this week’s quiz.

Have a good day everyone.

Good morning All,

Yes we are both ok but I can't get into my emails so if I don't respond for a while you know why. I can get into messages on here. Oh is trying to fix it but its been two days now.

I have been working in the garden orchard yesterday and cleared all round the arch with the seat under it and tied in the clematis both sides.

I have read your posts and enjoyed Vera's long posts. It must have been so frustrating losing a post that long Vera! especially as you did it in notes to C & P.

Its been gale force winds on Friday and Saturday was'nt much better but it seems to have died down quite a bit today. We've had no rain just a short shower that did'nt even wet the earth only the road. We badly need some rain but when it starts here it dos'nt know when to stop so perhaps its just as well its still dry.

Hope you all slept well over the last couple of nights.

Need to go and feed the chickens now so see you all later.

Morning All,

Yes it's unusual not to hear from Mel for this long? I wonder if the high winds have played havoc with their leccy? I have tried texting her, but not sure which mobile number I have is the right one, so I tried both. Maybe she is like me though and it is mostly switched off unless I go out.

Very cloudy this morning and still a bit windy. I have been shuffling things around in the fridge and freezers ready for this afternoon but given up on the idea of planting the French Marigolds as I think bending to pick up and wipe the groceries later will be enough for my back for one day. At least it's no worse today.

I need to put the veg on now but will BBL or with news of Mel if she replies or is able to.

Maybe if somebody has her phone number they could text her (if it is a mobile number of course).

Morning AnnG, morning all,

Not like Mel to miss posting so I too hope it's just Internet trouble she did say they were in for some very high winds so perhaps her leccy is out ,I hope that's all it is and that they are both OK perhaps we'll hear some thing later.

Well we toddled off to Aldi, queues right round the car park so we just kept going and came home ,I'll go when it's quieter ,maybe Tuesday now.

Still quite windy here and very overcast but not quite so cold .

And still no Mel this morning. Hope she will pop in soon. <3 <3 <3

I noticed Mel hadn’t posted last night but it hadn’t registered with me that she was missing today as well. I hope she and Mr Mel are both OK. Fingers crossed that it is just an internet problem.

Goodness I had not noticed that Mel didn’t post yesterday or today. Mel where are you, hope you are both OK. Maybe the internet is down. Hope that is the reason.

Yes I enjoy your long posts to Vera! I know what you mean about going out. I have only sat in the car and we have only been to the pharmacy since the lockdown. Hubby just got his car repaired before then. We have been for a few short drives since the easing, but neither of us are craving to go out which is strange considering we used to go out almost every day. We took my car today to go to the pharmacy and I drove through a few villages after to keep the battery topped up. I think since the lockdown and then easing everyone has either taken up jogging, cycling or horse riding! There were people along most of the quiet lanes.

OH's car just has the extended MOT and the service due light is flashing now. I need to sort his insurance which is also due, but how on earth do you estimate what your mileage will be at a time like this?

Yes, I counted myself lucky I didn't get scalded on the bottle. It is a risk with them, but with never having any trouble before and renewing them regularly I never thought they could just go like this one has.

Not much beading going on Mandy. One friend who lives on her own has been busy with her allotment and long garden! She also looks after someone's horse. I think we have all been doing our gardens and another has made tops for her nieces and is still doing some work, but on line now. Aldi do such a variety of those fat quarters and keep bringing out new ones. It's a great idea to make some bunting! :-)

Frank you really must take more water with it! You were very lucky to miss the glass cabinet when you fell and your eyes as they are mean you will have to take extra care till you ca get them done. You don't want anther black eye stopping you from seeing the specialist.

That's great you can flush to your heart's content again Gill. :-D Nothing worse than being without your toilet. I hope you have made some more headway with your tree.

Vera love your posts please keep them coming ,the troughs on wheels sound a good idea as they can easily be moved about .

Where's our Mel i hope she ok as she didn't post yesterday either .

Mandy glad that you managed to catch the washing without it getting wet.
Vera, I really love your long posts please continue. So pleased that you made yourself go out. Your garden centre is acting exactly like ours which I felt was very comforting and took the worry away.
Those troughs on wheels sound interesting don’t think I have seen them. What will you put in them?

OH’s car is overdue it’s MOT and service too

Part 2 – I bet you are thinking “OMG How much longer is she going to go on for?” I told you I can write for England – if there were an Olympic medal for rambling on I’d get the gold, lol

Today has been a bit cooler but still fairly warm and still very windy. We did have one downpour at lunchtime but it seemed to dry up very quickly so I don’t think it has really done much for the garden.

I am typing this and yawning away non-stop as I had another lousy night. I wish I could work out why I don’t sleep. I wouldn’t mind being awake half the night if it didn’t leave me feeling so droopy and tired and grumpy the next day. I am also now finding this self-isolation a bit strange. The first 3 or 4 weeks I was making the most of the extra time and having a good old spring clean. Then the enthusiasm waned a bit and I had a couple of weeks of feeling frustrated at not being able to go out, but the last couple of weeks I’ve started feeling that I don’t want to go out again. That worries me a bit so I’ve decided that when I safely can I must make myself go out.

With that in mind we went to our nearest small garden centre this morning. I told OH that if there were queues to get in as there were when they first re-opened I would not stay and I went with masks, hand sanitiser, wipes and kitchen roll in my bag. In fact it was a doddle; not many people there and very well organised with routes in and out and distances clearly marked out, sanitiser for hands and trolleys provided and a good system at the pay desk. The assistant stayed at the desk behind plastic while the customer pushed their trolley in to a marked space and then retreated behind a line, the assistant then went to the trolley and scanned everything and went back behind her plastic shield and called the customer forward. Customer paid, card only, no cash and took their trolley off to their car. We bought a couple of large, rigid plastic plant troughs on wheels so I can move them around. They were a bit pricey but look very good quality. OH replaced our hose pipe and we got some plants to give me a bit more colour. There was nothing very exotic but some trays of busy lizzies and some pots that contained white and yellow peturnias and another little white flower. I am not sure what that is. I was glad I made myself go. I feel happier now I have been outside the house.

The alternator on our car is playing up so the battery is losing power quite quickly. Luckily OH had hung on to his old charger and so makes sure the battery is well charged up before we go anywhere. The car was booked for a service and MOT for 31st March and of course it couldn’t go ahead. The MOT was extended to September but the car hasn’t been serviced. The place we take it rang a few days ago to say their workshop has reopened and they can book us in again but they can’t provide a driver to collect and bring back the car, which is what usually happens, or provide us with a courtesy car. OH can take the car in himself but then he can’t get back. The workshop is about 15 miles from us and there is no direct public transport link. Normally we would have asked friends to help us but don’t feel we can do that at the moment, so the car is going to have to wait a bit longer for its service.

Granddaughter phoned last night to say she has now officially finished at uni. She has been back home since lockdown, of course, and has had to try and do all her finals dissertations and presentations from home. Today was the deadline for getting her last piece of work in and she sent it off via the computer last night so she is now finished. She said it seemed very odd because there has been no real end to her 3 years at uni; no going out celebrating with her friends or having fun. I feel so sorry for the youngsters who have had all this to cope with.

Well, I had better end or I shall just carry on typing for ever. Please, please tell me if my long posts are boring you silly. It’s just so nice to be able to come on here and chat away with friends.

Quite late yesterday evening I did a long post on the iPad. I did it in Notes so that I could c&p and not risk losing it but when I got to “paste” my post just disappeared into the ether. It didn’t get on to Genes but the odd thing is it disappeared from Notes. I then spent a frustrating 15 minutes trying to find it. I looked in every folder I could think of but it had gone AWOL. I was too tired to start all over again so gave up and went to bed. I am now working on the desktop PC and typing this in Word so I shouldn’t lose this one.

I’m sorry to hear that you are still having trouble with your eye Frank and that you have had yet another fall. Missing that glass cabinet was lucky. It could be, as others have said, that not seeing much from one eye has unbalanced you a bit and makes it harder to judge things like steps. I hope the doctors can sort that eye problem out soon but in the meantime you will have to take extra care when you move about.

I’m glad you got your toilet fixed Gill. That’s one thing less to worry about. I’m pleased you got hold of some tomato plants as well. It’s a pity you don’t live nearby as I have tomato plants to give away.

Jake must have loved his birthday gifts Mandy. I bet it’s difficult for his parents to get him off the computer at the moment. The desk was a good idea as teenage boys are so difficult to buy for.

Lovely roses and hostas on your photo blog AnnG. Some of the hostas look similar varieties to ours. It seems to be a good year for hostas. I’ve got 9 very large pots of them that came with us from our old house and they are grouped in 3 lots of 3 up a side of the house where there is just a dreary path going up to a side gate that we seldom use. They’re not really in view but make the path a bit more interesting if anyone does use the side gate. We also have lots of hostas in the garden and some are going to have to come out next year as we have too many. We split some this year and potted bits up for my daughter but with lockdown I haven’t seen her to pass them over. I also miss my lovely roses I had in the old house as we don’t have any here or anywhere in the garden where they would easily fit in. I think I’ll have to do as Mandy suggested and have a couple of patio pots of roses.

What a performance with your hot water bottle Ann. Good job you weren’t scalded but it’s a shame you have twisted your side. I hope it isn’t too painful for you. You were lucky to get a hairdressing appointment. I haven’t heard a thing from my hairdresser about re-opening. Perhaps I’ll give her a ring as I expect she’ll be monitoring her phone for messages.

Mel, we have very few animal places nearby who might take my paper shreddings. There used to be an alpaca farm just down the road but they moved elsewhere a couple of years ago. There are a few livery/riding stables a few miles outside town but none that I pass by to drop stuff off. OH says that he is allowed to put the shreddings in the cardboard container at the tip. A friend volunteers at a cat charity place so she takes all my newspapers for lining litter trays etc.

I hope you are managing to eat a bit more now Jane. Complan will keep you going but I expect you would love to eat a nice meal. I see Thomas has taken to joining James in the middle of the night. Thomas is such a character but I bet James isn’t too thrilled. Has he been able to visit his new workplace yet or is he still having to cope with working on his own at home? You might have seen in an earlier post that I did manage to order my pants. I like Sloggi which are sold in lots of places. My voucher was for 20% off and free delivery with Artigiano and they had Sloggi at a sensible price (£25 for a pack of 3 – they are usually anywhere between £24 and £30). I’ve never got on with M & S undies. If I buy the size for my hips the pants tend to be a bit baggy round the rear and I do like a snug fit to my drawers, lol. I love Artigiano clothes but they are SO expensive. I have three pairs of their pull-on trousers which fit me perfectly in width and length but they are around £120 a pair. I only buy when they are in a sale or I’ve got discount vouchers but I still usually pay around £60 for them which is more than enough.

I have more to write but this is getting a bit long so I think I had better post this and then do another one. I can hear your groans from here…