General Chat

I was thinking of saying something like that Mandy, but she'd only say her vision was okay and that the doctor said she could drive if she could see properly. When I spoke with her over the weekend she said the doctor said she could drive, but only if it was absolutely necessary, he also said he wouldn't advice her to drive for at least a month. Like I said she'd say anything to get her own way.

There is one way of stopping her, but I don't really want to do it. I could ring the DVLA and let them know what's going on, with a bit of luck they'd send her for an eye test to check her vision is up to DVLA standards. If they think her eye sight isn't up to scratch maybe they'd do something about it themselves, but like I said I'm not to keen on doing that and if she found out it was me who rang them, my life wouldn't be worth living and I'd have all the family here having a go at me. So I'm in a difficult situation as what to do next. If I don't do anything and she has an accident, I'd never forgive myself. I was tempted to take her car key off her, but don't know if that is legal, plus she'd probably have another key made up anyway. I'm quite worried and don't really know what to do.

Gill you'll have to tell a little porkie and say to mum where were you off to when I saw you this morning coming out of the shop and getting in the car,I saw your car and then you came out of the shop ,I did wave but you didn't see me .

Missed your post there Mel, please thank your OH for letting me know about driving after the operation. Like I said in my last post, if I mention to mum she's been seen, I doubt she'd care and certainly wouldn't stop driving, so there's nothing I can do to stop her unfortunately.

The birds pecking the moss out of the tarmac should make it easier to clean away. I should imagine a quick brush and then it'll be done, rather than having to scrap it all out yourself. Can I borrow your birds please as it would save me a lot of weeding between our flags on the patio lol :-D :-D :-D ;-) ;-) ;-)

I wish letting my mum know she's been seen would stop her driving Mandy, but unfortunately it wouldn't. She's very stubborn and would probably say she hasn't been out and that who ever told me was lying. She's a bit of a story teller and will say anything to get her own way. I know that's not a very nice thing to say, but she's been like this for years, so unfortunately mentioning she's been seen will fall on deaf ears I'm afraid. OH said she wouldn't be insured, so I just hope she doesn't have an accident and hurt herself, or anyone else.

It sounds like you and your OH have been very busy today Mandy. My OH cleaned the patio a few months ago and I noticed he was much quicker, I didn't realise it was because the ground was damp. It does make a difference though. I've just done a load of washing.....it's never ending in this place, but the sun has gone in so I'm going to put it on the radiators now as it looks like we might be in for some rain.

Hope you had a good nights sleep Frank and feel a little better today. Like Mandy said it could be your meds, maybe you could have a word with the doctor to see what he thinks. If it is your meds then he might be able to give you something else. Keep your chin up, you know we're all here if you need a chat.

I hope Jane is okay and hasn't had the dreaded dizziness she had last time. Thinking of you Jane <3 <3 <3

Morning Gill, Mandy and all,

I'm glad someone has sunshine because its bl**dy raining here.

Gill Mandy is right in what she said about mums car insurance. After I read your post I went and asked oh how long it was before he was aloud to drive and he said about two weeks he thought but I did the driving then. When I came back to post Mandy had already told you what oh had said to me. She needs to keep pressure off her eye for it to heal properly so should be resting and not doing any ironing or things that could put pressure on the eye.

Not sure what I am up to today. I do need to get out in the garden and do a bit of tidying up around the house as the moss that grows on the tarmac has been pecked about by the birds and looks a real mess.

Morning all ,

Lovely morning here ,lots of nice sun shine after a dreary day yesterday.

Oh Gill that's naughty of mum going out in the car ,if she had been told not to drive her insurance wouldn't pay out if there was an accident ,I'd certainly let her know you've seen her driving and tell her this it might make her think about doing it again .

Just stood and got a pile of ironing done ,I've also striped the bed so that's got to be made ,Colin is out side pressure washing the slabs he likes to do them when they are a bit damp as he says they clean up better so he's out of my way for a while so I can get some jobs done .

Frank I hope your feeling a little brighter today ,is it the new med perhaps making you feel a bit down.

Oh time for coffee as the kettles just boiled BBL

Morning all

Nice and sunny here today but quite cold with it.

Well, so much for mum not being able to drive for a month, OH nipped to the shop at the bottom of the road and who do you think he saw? Yes, my mum. She didn't see him as she was in the post office, OH noticed her car over the road and when he came out of Tesco she was driving off in the direction of the next village. So she's obviously gone and got her pension and then gone to do her shopping. I'm quite worried about her now, but she is very stubborn and won't stop driving just because she's been told to. This is her Monday routine so I guess she'll be carrying on with all the other driving she does every day now. I just hope she doesn't have an accident. If I mentioned my concerns she'd promise not to do it again, then as soon as my back is turned she'd be off in the car again. You just can't help some people can you? I wouldn't mind but she knows we'd take her shopping so there's no need to take herself. She didn't see OH so doesn't know I know.

Can I ask, how much can a person see after a cataract operation? She had her op last Tuesday so it's only been a week. I wouldn't mind but she's got a bus pass and plenty of people who could run her around, so there's no need to drive herself anywhere.

Evening All,

It's been a depressing day too Mel! :-) I got up about the same time as you and had a good night with one toilet trip. That's the thing I hate about cooking.....the mess you can't avoid. Once lunch is cooked and eaten when we have it at home, OH clears up, loads the dishwasher and washes up the big pans. I still have to wipe down though and why is it that men don't clean the bits out of the drainer in the sink when they wash up?

It sounds like it was the dye that irritated your throat Gill, but good that it is better now. OH had cataracts done a couple of years ago, when there was a shortage of the drops for them. It is a bit of a rigmarole to start with as you can't go far with the antibiotics having to be kept in a fridge. OH said the worst thing was being shortsighted in one eye and longsighted in the other after the first was done. Is she managing to do her own eye drops or is someone doing them for her? I hope the time soon passes and once the other is done she will see so much better.......all his wrinkles OH said!! :-D

We ate at home today and have had a lazy day otherwise. OH did pay his tax online though so that is done. I did some of my painting this afternoon but have left it now as my eyes get tired after a couple of hours and are worse in the evenings. It's only a small 6x4 painting of Bradgate Park near us. I painted a different view of it a few years ago. I have found that it is impossible to get the colours the same on this one so they would look like a pair, so that is a lesson learned for the future. If I want a pair of pictures to go together, paint them both at the same time!

Mandy I had to smile at Katie being so pleased at having some polish and dusters! lol. She will be polishing everything she sees at first. When I was first married, my 13 year old sister turned up bright and early the next Saturday (not quite what I expected so soon!!!) and the first thing she wanted to do was hoover our carpets! I had to get the carpet sweeper out for her as the carpets were new and you had to let the fibres settle and not hoover them at first. She was happy enough doing that though. When I told mum she was quite miffed and said she never offered to do hers!

Oh dear Frank are we not cheering you up? I hope you feel better soon and more like your old self. I don't think this miserable weather helps. I found and watched the prog with the animal spy cameras and it was very interesting as you said. They seem to use drone things for some of them and how realistic they all were.

My friend has found another wool felting workshop for us to go to in March. It's one for landscape pictures and is in one of the local village halls, so ideal for me with no stairs to climb.

There are some good ideas for your photos AnnG. Do you have any photos of the dark Petunias or Pansies? A close up of those would show a nice velvety surface and the veins on them.

Up early tomorrow as it should be windows day if he comes! We are off to the cinema too to see The Personal History of David Copperfield. Not sure what I will make of it but OH is keen and there will be a nice warming Latte to have and lunch at the carvery 2 minutes from there afterwards so I'm happy with that.

Call the Midwife now so BBT.

Just about to make the sausage rolls for tea now. I have put the bins out and washed my hair. Oh made me a cuppa and now I am going to make a mess again with the cooking.

Hi Girls, Sorry I haven't been on here, I just can't get myself going. My get up and go has GONE. Very tired and miserable t the moment, but will be back soon. xxxx

Morning all,

Yes I had a great sleep and got up at 9am for the loo and went back to bed and slept again for an hour and a half.

Its dull, dark, damp, dreary, drizzley, drab and dire this morning. Pouring with rain and windy with it but its not that cold so thats the only good thing about it.

I think its a bit too dark to paint today so I am going to wait until the days are brighter to paint the cover. It fits nicely on the book I have for it to go on.

Gill oh had the operation your mums had and that eye is fine now. It was some years ago now and its still his best eye. Hope everything is ok for the second one when she has it done. Wishing her better soon so she can drive again and get out and about.

Morning AnnG, morning all

Damp again today and next door has someone taking his guttering down so we think his flat roof might be being fixed soon.

My sore throat has gone Ann, I thought it would as it only started when I coloured my hair. It's happened before and only lasts a few days. The hair colouring was quite strong this time and with it being cold I didn't open the window like I usually do, so I think the fumes off the colouring just got on my throat. All's good now though. What are you painting?

I finally managed to finish off another bit of OH's family tree last night, I was following an Obituary but it only had first names and how they were related to the deceased so it was quite tricky trying to find who the individual families were. With the help of fb I managed to get everyone in their correct places with their correct surnames. There were about 30 of them, it took me a couple of days but is now done. They all lived in Canada which made it a little more difficult as you can't search for any records unless it's years ago which it wasn't. I will move onto another sibling now and see if I can sort that part out for him.

Do you have a cactus AnnG, maybe you cold take a close up photo of that. I don't take photo's so don't really know what else to suggest. There are a few good suggestions on here though, so plenty for you to consider.

How lovely to have the girls do the polishing Mandy and how excited did Katie sound when you said you'd buy some polish and dusters for them........bless her. Do you think they'll polish their bedrooms now lol ;-) ;-) I'm sure their mum can hope :-D

Thanks Mel for the get well wishes for my mum. She had the operation on Tuesday but can't drive for a month, she normally goes out every day, so she's a bit bored at the moment being stuck in doors. Then when she's recovered from this operation she has to have the other eye done. It was a cataract operation. She'll then have to go for an eye test and have new glasses made up for herself.

My aunt had the same operation a few days before her and also has to have her other eye done, this is the aunt who is going to be in "Home is where the Art is" which I think starts next month. She's the 10th person on the show out of 15 episodes. I'm not sure what date the programme starts but I'm keeping my eye out for it being advertised. If anyone see's it advertised could you let me know please. It's the programme with Nick Knowles presenting it. Thanks <3

I'd love to see a picture of your book cover once you've painted it Mel. I hope your headache eased and you had a good nights sleep.

Yes could maybe be the spotlight.

Good morning all, a tiny bit brighter today so fingers crossed it will stay that way.

Thanks Mel for those suggestions. I must list them all later on so I don't forget. We are not often up early enough to cat a real frost but we may get a harder one sometime soon I think. the other suggestions are great.

Keep them coming.

I meant to say I hope Gill's mum is recovering from her eye operation and is'nt in any discomfort.Sending best wishes. <3

Anng what about some frost for a texture. My car looked like it had a crew cut the other night with lovely frost crystals all stnding up straight. I have taken a pic of those before or the frosty fern patterns. Its something you don't always get. A church yard is a good place to look for lichens on stones. We have some rust coloured ones in our churchyard and they are amazing. The other thign I was thiking of was the under side of a mushroom with all the lovely gills each one a different shape if you look closely.

Thanks fo rthe comments on the book cover and yes I shall paint it but I have had an afternoon off as I did'nt get much sleep last night. I have a bit of a headache over my eyes tonight which is not like me at all. I sometimes think its sitting under these spotlight oh put ove rhte kitchen table.

Thinking of our Jane and sending wishes. Hope she is not too dizzy this time. <3 <3

Thanks Mandy, some more good ideas. I shall have to write all the suggestions down (I think I will leave out the wrinkles though!! Unless I can creep up on OH :-D :-D

Evening all,

It's been dreary here to but we had Chelsea and Katie here for the day so that brightened up our day ,now we feel worn out ,they wanted jobs to do so out came the dusters and polish it kept them amused for ages :-D when i told their mum she said now why can't they do that here in their bedroom ,i told the girls i would buy them some polish and dusters , little Katie said" will you nanny " :-D LOL

Ann how lovely that the ladies can do some craft work it would be interesting to see what they can do i bet we would quite surprised at their efforts .
I'm now crocheting a strip to cover a polystyrene ring for a wreath ,i'll get a photo of the bits that i have done so far ,i've no idea at the moment what i will put on the wreath yet ,i thought i'd do lots of bits and just play around with them till i'm happy with t.
i might buy some new crochet hooks as the new ones now have thicker handle bits were you hold them ,mine are just the plain metal ones ,i think the thicker ones will be easier to hold and even the girls might do better with them ,they keep asking can i teach them to crochet

Anng what about a close up of bricks for texture or sacking or even some wrinkles ,not that i'm saying you have wrinkles LOL

I think we're in for a rough old Sunday weather wise ,so it will be a day for keeping in by the fire.

Mel the book cover looks brilliant ,can't wait to see it all painted up.

Thanks Annx textures is quite a difficult subject so only too pleased to have suggestions. I shall make a note of both those and try them out when I get the opportunity.

Evening All,

I can add a 6th D Mel as it's been a bit drizzly here too! Your book cover has turned out really well and I'm sure will look fantastic when you have painted it. Will you be doing a back cover too? The chickens are laying well now aren't they.....and I still remember your eggs with the lovely rich yolks! :-)

OH went to a match near Peterborough again today, not his original plan, but there were roadworks on the A14 which is busy at the best of times. I went to see if the snowdrops I looked for last week were out yet and they were, but lots more to come so I will go again the next sunny day to get some photos. On the way I called in a shop to get the papers and sat in the car park reading for a little while. In that time 2 young women in their cars drove in and parked in the parent and child spaces close to the shop. Neither of them had either a child with them or in their cars. It happens a lot in our village car park too and it seems as if once they get used to the privileged parking they think it's their right, whether or not they have children with them! :-(

Last night there was an advert in our evening paper for someone local to help with carriage driving. It is something I would have followed up if I could still climb up with my knees!

On the way home I called in the little craft place in the village, the one in the big containers, While I was there 2 ladies came in with a black Lab Guide dog for the blind. He was lovely, very calm and called Woody. Neither of the ladies could even see colours or the shapes of buttons they were buying and were having to ask lots of questions. I couldn't help but wonder what kinds of crafts they did, but I heard one lady arrange to come back on Tuesday to be shown how to do a hem and had to admire them for not giving up on learning to do things as they were elderly and I thought how lovely the lady who runs the shop is for taking the time to teach them things. She took them out down the little path and onto the road to the village after. I just bought some wool needles, a crochet hook in a size I don't have and a new tape measure. I already have 2 but one is frayed at the start and the other is plastic and all the numbers at the beginning had worn off. :-S

AnnG I hope they advertise their Exhibition well as I love looking round them but miss so many because I didn't know they were on. Some interesting subjects there to get your brain working as you say..........what about a closeup of some fine moss or coloured Lichen on some tree bark or the surface of a seashell?

Gill keep a note of how often you are getting these bad throats as you seem to get one after another which doesn't seem right.

I've just filled a water pot so will make a space and start painting now.

The trees are at the bottom of his garden, on the North side so it wouldn't block any light off his garden, only the one at the back of him as the south facing sun travels down our back gardens towards the back. I very much doubt he's mentioned anything to any of the neighbours, especially the one who the trees belong to. We only found out about his extension the day the work started as the council letter only arrived that day, so there was nothing we could do about it. It now blocks all the sun we used to have on our patio in the evenings. He comes across as a man who doesn't care what other people think so long as he gets his own way. All we can do is keep an eye on the workman and hope he does his job properly.

I see your book cover came out okay Mel, it looks lovely. Are you going to paint it, or leave it white?

It's the 7th anniversary of OH's dad passing away today, so I'm looking after him and making sure he's okay. He rang his mum this morning but there was no answer, so he's chatting with her now.

I've got a bit of a sore throat, it started when I coloured my hair, so I think it was the hair colouring that triggered it off. I hope it doesn't last to long as it's quite painful, I'm starting with a bit of a cough as well and feeling a little tired, so I think I'll have an early night tonight. I must admit the hair colouring did seem stronger this time around, maybe they've changed it from the last time I used it. This happened to me a while back and it only lasted a few days, let's hope that's the case this time.