General Chat

Managed to catch up with one bit of admin then I did an hour in the garden. I know from past experience that it is impossible for Jake to completely pick up all the smaller bits that he cuts down so I have gone round the garden picking bits out of plant pots etc. It looks better now and I have cut back the last of the Hardy fuchsias. I have four in the garden.

vera I checked and the instructioons are to transport fuchsias in spring or early summer to give a chance for roots to take before winter.

I have the spare bed bedding in the dier and will make up that bed again later.

Good to hear froim you Gwyn and that you feel much better now asfter a long time being out of sorts. Firefighters don't talk about incidents much and you just have to wait till they come out with things if they ever do. Oh did 25 years in the fire service and retired. His first job after leaving school.

BIL is here and has put my battery on charge and is now fiddling somewhere with the mower. Something about the grass collector box not playing ball. He said I need to give my car a good run and not just up the local village and back so I shall go to Bideford and Launston garden centre and maybe even Bude for a look round.

Its 13 degrees here but feels a lot colder than that and now it says mostly cloudy.

My aids needed repair fairly frequently, as they too were old and so like you say, I recently had a hearing test and was issued with a pair of new aids at the same appointment. I am only just getting used to the different 'chimes' which they make to let me know the batteries are getting low.
Like you, I was allowed to keep the old aids, so have them as back-up, but as they are old, the spare parts for repair are not available, so their longterm use is limited.
Both new and old, the left one is actually a hearing aid in the usual sense, the right one , which looks almost identicle uses a microphone to capture sound from the left ear and relay it to the right, so I have more general all round hearing.

Gwyn I think it may be more than just a quick repair From what I can see from my appointment booklet the current aids were issued 2019, they had new tubes in 2022 but they were done by a friend who works there taking them in for me. I have not had anything done to them since or any appointments so they have been very good. I have a feeling they will do a hearing test this time which is why is is not an immediate appointment. I was just pleased that it was not like other appointments, made for 2026.
Post is available but living on my own I would not cope without them for that time. (Officially, unofficually I do still have the previous pair which had just been re-tubed when I got the new ones in 2019 and I was allowed to retain them, one of which I am wearing now.)

Good morning all.
It's supposedly 12 degrees here, but as it's so gloomy, it feels cooler.

I'm sorry to hear that your cataract appointment has had to be postponed, Vera. I can imagine how you felt, but I think it's for the best, as you don't want any infection affecting your post-op. recovery.

Mandy, I hope Jake copes OK with managing his injections and will soon feel much better in himself.
I think your grandchildren are very lucky to have you and Colin to treat them so well, with lovely baking, lots of fruit and beautiful knitting. Great that son is able to help you out too with lots of household jobs. A family working together.
AnnG..The recent talk sounds very interesting. I know what you mean about hearing a speaker. I went to a talk on Tuesday evening and later said to my daughter what a good speaker he was. He spoke to us without any notes and without using the usual 'attached to the jacket' microphone and I could hear every word. He started off by asking if everyone could hear him clearly and said he had been a university professor, who was used to having to use a clearly projected voice to keep students awake at 4pm on a Friday afternoon ;-)
Regarding the police force, my brother didn't want to take his sergeant exams either, as he enjoyed being out in the community rather than steeped in paperwork.
He particularly enjoyed his work as a country Bobby and once caught some sheep rustlers, who were causing a lot of problem to a farmer. Brother donned scruffy clothes and slept under the field hedgerow for a couple of nights like a tramp and caught the thieves red-handed.

What a long time to wait for a hearing aid repair.
I can get mine dropped in at the hospital and picked up within 1 or 2 days.
If it's a simple rewire needed, my daughter has contacted them, made an appointment time for perhaps the next day and they will fix it while we wait.
I have recently had 2 new replacements, so hopefully won't need their help for a while.

Mel, I hope your battery can be charged easily. It's always tricky, when we go from familiar to 'new' systems, isn't it?
Well done to your OH on his medal. Well deserved. Firefighters must see some horrendous sights, especially now they attend so many high-speed road accidents. My son is in the fire service, but very rarely mentions any incidents.

Annx, you are getting very organised sorting all aspects of your bedroom etc. I have never used light-weight duvets, it has always been full warmth or throw it off :-) Hopefully you will be able to find what you are looking for. Even Aldi or The Range sell branded makes, but might not always have the correct Tog in stock, of course.

Half term break starts after school today. That seems very quick :-0
Once they start back, it won't be long before they start getting ready for Christmas.

Only one more appontment due for another test post pneumonia, so hopefully they will finish soon. My 4th recent echocardiogram is at the end of this month, so hopefully that will show an improvement.
In myself, I feel brighter and energy levels are so much better, so hopefully we are at the end of the countless appointments era.

Morning all,

BIL is here as the battery on the new car was flat yesterday I suppose I left something on!! Can't get my head around all these new fangled controls.

It was a very heavy dew last night as both cars are soaking wet this morning and its 10 degrees and pc say partly sunny. It is quite bright at the moment and I hope it stays as I get more done when its bright.

good morning all. 11 degrees full cloud but dry. Yesterday we did see the sun for most of the day but looks like it has disappeared again today.

I did think about going into town but I am sure Jake said he would call in today to check something, I know they are working on doing a neighbour's garden today, they have been there before.

so I have a few admin jobs to do and then it will be back to making Christmas cards. I did make 6 cards yesterday which will take the total up to 49.so only another 30/40 to go.

I am pretty sure there is not too much to do in the garden now but I will go and have a look round. Still a few weeds in the gravel plots but they have been sprayed so I don't need/want to touch them.

Well I started with a nice shower and then put the washer on. Got that out and did some hoovering and fed the chickens and fish. put the washing out when it finished and Angela from next door but one rang to ask if I had eggs to which I said yes so she said she'd be down in 20 minuets and I did a little more hoovering and she arrived and told me that BIL had wved to her while he was mowing. I did'nt even know he was here and thought it was Aaron next door mowing. He's had a bit more trouble with the mower and its only just come back from a service I heard it backfiring !! Then he wanted a file as he was taking the grass box off and the bolt was sharp on the end so I had to come in and find the files in my craft draw and take them out to him.

Not got a lot else done and had quite a long talk with BIL before he left and then I corned the chickens and went and lit the bonfire again before it starts to rain over the weekend. Came in and got my dinner ready.

I am now watching Sister Boniface on U.

Afternoon All,

Well I just lost a post, so will start again minus wishing Vera well for tomorrow! Oh Vera just as you psych yourself up for the cataract operation, things go wrong. I think it's for the best to delay things though as it wouldn't be nice if you caught what your OH has while you need to be doing the eyedrop regime. It's best to see how things go first and hopefully your jabs should be fully effective after a fortnight and before your next appointment..

We were up early to go to IKEA and were amazed how many lorries were at a standstill heading the opposite way on the motorway, waiting to get off. Traffic has certainly increased lately. Things have changed in their cafe since we last went and no more paying for one drink and having as many refills as you like. Now you pay for a drink and have to scan a QR code on your payment receipt at the tea/coffee machine which allows it to then dispense just what you have paid for and no refills. I noticed you even have to pay 15p for spread to put on your toast. The food still looks cheap, but they are obviously making some cutbacks. My knees managed to walk round most of the huge store and we got the pillows, protectors and mattress protector we wanted, but the duvets were either more or less than the 3.5 tog I am replacing and the only double I could find in a 4.5 tog was wool filled which I don't think would fare well in a hot wash and was very expensive! I've found something online, but we are looking at some in the Factory shop tomorrow before I order it.

It's good the garden jobs are done now AnnG. We have a kind of sandstone slabs on the patio and I regret having them now as the black patches on them never come off either, but like you say after a clean they do look better. Not sure they will get cleaned till next year now! What a nuisance you have to get your hearing aids mended but it is a good job you have the old ones and that they work still, but a pity you couldn't get an earlier appointment than 4.00pm.

Mandy you have got on well with some jobs done. We get dead flies on the conservatory shelves too. I must put a wash on ready to hopefully dry tomorrow and I must remember to empty the wall pots tomorrow as I want a full garden bin by bin day next Tuesday.

We had quite bright sunshine till mid afternoon then back to the grey sky, but I think more grey is forecast for here tomorrow.

I wonder what Mel decided to do today?

Oh Vera that's a shame you've had to cancel but not to long to wait and your OH might not feel like waiting around with a cold if he feels bit off ,I hope he soon feels better .

Anng your gardens all sorted now then for the winter , I've had a tickly throat and cough since I had covid and I don't look forward to having the covid jab as that seems to make me feel very off ,the doctor did say she thinks I had long covid so it might be I'm affected by that after the jab.

It's been quite a dreary day so we lit the fire middle of the afternoon and it's nice and warm now .
Tomorrow is haircut day so we'll feel draughty round the neck tomorrow, last time I didn't have that much cut off and we should have had a cut last week but she wanted to change the appointment to this week so my hair seems a bit longer this time but I quite like it a bit longer so I might not have that much off again .

Well that is the garden sorted and all looks clean and tidy. Nothing gets the patio in the back really clean as the slabs are really old but they do look better.

Oh dear Vera what a shame, after waiting for so long too. I am still keeping fingers crossed that I won’t develop the cold. Problem is they may think I have a cold as I have had a silly aggravating cough since I had Covid in 2023.

A good start to the day this morning when one of my hearing aids came apart. The tube snapped. I have to admit it was very brittle and well past the time it should have been checked. Luckily I still have my previous pair and they still work. And I contacted hearing services by email and had an immediate response with an appointment on 13 November, the same date as you average. Such a difference to the two other departments I have been in contact with. Unfortunately I’d is after 4pm but I will have to cope with crowded buses and a short dark walk.

Thank you all for your good wishes but they won't be needed now for another 4 weeks as it's all change again here. For a couple of days OH has been slightly off colour - not ill, just not right. I think we assumed it was a bit of a reaction to the jabs he had on Saturday but this morning he got up with the mother and father of all colds and I also have just a slight sore throat. It's likely I will get the cold so I googled about cataract ops and colds. Some sites said no problem, others said no way must you have the surgery and the NHS site, which is the one I would rely on, indicated that it depends on other factors. In the end I rang the eye treatment centre for advice. They said that if I feel OK in the morning I can go but I must wear a mask while in the car with OH in order to avoid infection. How silly is that? I live with the man and even (whisper it quietly) kissed him goodnight. I don't think half an hour in the car will give me any infection I haven't already got. Anyway I pointed out that he will have to hang around all morning in order to bring me home again so he will probably go for a coffee in the main hospital and then be in the eye centre waiting room and could be infecting people who are quite vulnerable. At that point the lady on the phone said she would rebook me. I asked if that would mean going to the bottom of the waiting list again and she said she would slot me in as soon as possible. She then offered me 31st October. Would you believe that OH has an appointment for a brain scan that day and I need to go with him? The next available slot was 13th November, 4 weeks today, so I am now booked in for that.

All this made me late meeting a friend for coffee but we had a nice chat. Another lady turned up as she had just popped in for some shopping and saw my car in the car park so came up to the cafe. I did a bit of shopping too before coming home. I did have plenty of healthy fruit and veg and then I got tempted by a small, crusty baguette and a large Belgian Bun which was a bit naughty. I just told myself that the bun was one of OH's favourites and he deserved a treat.

After we'd had a late lunch I did a couple of small jobs and then managed another hour in the garden. I picked the last of the tomatoes and put the spent plants in the garden bin, cleaned the canes a bit and put them away and cleared another trough of annuals. As long as I can do a short stint out there most days I might manage to get it sorted for the winter

Just an hour in the garden makes my back sore so I'm going to get a nice hot drink and sit on the bed with a couple of pillows behind me and a nice warm wheat bag on the most painful bit. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Morning all,

Another grey day but it doesn't seèm as chilly out, I have wiped all the sills in the conservatory there was a bit of dust and a few dead flies ,I've put two loads of washing in and took some linen from the airing cupboard and put away ,cleaned ths kitchen sink and worktops and put away lots of other bits that have been laying about ready to go upstairs , Colin has hoovered through and we've now stopped for coffee.

Vera I hope all goes well with you cataract op tomorrow <3

Morning girls,

Its 9 degrees here and cloudy and grey but I did have a little sun between the time I got up for my second visist to the loo and I went back to bed for a lie in for a while and between 7.23am and 9am that was the sunny spell.

Nothing planned for the day so shall just see how it goes and what I feel like. Could finish what I was doing yesterday or I could start soemthing completely different today who knows??

Hope Vera gets on ok with what she has to do over the coming days And the op on Friday is ok. Sending love xxx.

good morning all. still no sign of the horrid cloud clearing and it is 8 degrees. I noticed last night that none of the lights in the garden that are all solar, were alight. I really is depressing. At least hopefully it will stay dry for Jake to finish the job.

Yes Vera and the problem was that I was sitting in the front row to be able to hear and he was walking down the centre aisle so over my head each time.

Mandy hope jake soon adapts to using injecrions, my daughter seems to have no problem with them so hopefully he will be OK.

Mel, you are right to be prous of your OH our firement and police do a wonderful job for us.

I'm sorry to hear that Jake now has to self inject. He's a good lad and injecting will soon be second nature to him and will help him to feel well.

That sounds an interesting talk AnnG but I agree with you. Constantly walking up and down can be quite distracting even when you can hear well. It must be very irritating when you are straining to hear what is being said.

It's good that your OH had his bravery recognised Mel. I can understand that not everyone would find it easy to talk about what they have seen and done. We have had a number of police and one fireman amongst our family and friends. As you say, Annx, they are generally still quite young when they retire and a lot go into jobs in security but they don't always find it easy to settle to civilian life.

My OH also wears the thicker check shirts in winter and I never have to iron those so it would be good if he was wearing them now, but I don't want to wish the colder weather upon us. He will iron if he has to but is so slow and hopeless at folding anything. It's strange because he had to do National Service so for 2 years had to iron his shirts and press his trousers etc. I can't really complain that he doesn't do the ironing because he will hoover and dust and he does most of the floor washing.

I did manage to do a bit in the garden after lunch so there's a few more troughs either emptied of annuals or at least tidied up a bit. After that I decided to have a look online for a piece of outdoors wall art to go up on the front of the house where it just looks a bit bare. I found a very nice tree of life sculpture (a nice price too!) but when I saw a proper picture of it it was a wishy washy pale grey which won't look right on the plain cream wall. Then I found another nice circular piece, again a tree design, with a slightly weathered "rusty" look, checked the measurement and it was too big. My next choice was out of stock and, as they weren't mass produced, no indication if it was ever going to be in stock again and so it went on. Eventually I gave up looking.

Oh, I nearly forgot to say, my lunch was a surprise because I actually got the banana sandwich I had asked for and OH got a gold star :-D Tonight we had sea bass fillets with mash and veg. It was tasty but the pieces of fish weren't very big and OH got a black mark to go with his gold star when he managed to knock over a jug of milk

I'll try and post tomorrow but I have a busy day so may not manage it and on Friday I am having my cataract done so definitely won't be on the computer for a day or two then.

Yes Mel, your OH was brave to save the girl. She might have pulled him over with her if she'd grabbed at him and fallen or jumped. It's good he was awarded the medal.

It sounds like it was an interesting talk AnnG and he was a good speaker despite mooching about as he spoke which didn't help you hear him. With hindsight I'm glad I was too short for the police force, having seen since how some behave and also how the public have changed and are less respectful of authority of any kind. Being able to retire in their 50s I found from my job that some would then do security work like nightwatchmen, which is what my cousin's OH did. What a palaver about your next appointment at the hospital again and such a nuisance for you when they change the hospital for it. I hope you can sort something better for you. At least your new water butt is easier for you to use and looks neater and when they come back to finish off the weeding and water butt your garden will be ready for winter.

Vera, once my OH learned to do the ironing and took it over he got more fussy about whether his shirts were easy to iron. Now he buys ones that are non iron and in winter wears a lot of flannalette tartan patterned ones like EM have, that don't need ironing and especially when they have a sale on!! :-) :-) You have got plenty done today and I'm wondering what your surprise lunch was.

Poor Jake Mandy. It can't be easy him having to do injections now, but hopefully he will at least start to feel better soon.

OH's footie friend who he swaps books with has been in hospital at the weekend with sepsis poor chap. He's home now with antibiotics, but what with his ear trouble recently he's not had an easy time lately.

The talk was interesting among all the actual serious info there was a lot of humour. He has retired after doing 33 years in the police. Almost madr to join the police force despite the fact he wanted to be a professional footballer and even had an offer. He never rose above constable and said he had no ambition to. Lots of stories about speeding motorists and catching them. He included himself having been caught speeding and having to attend the course to avoid the fine. Which, he said was ironic as he had to sit through the whole four hour course, Which he had in fact written himself. He was quite pleased that a number of our members there had attended the course as well and found it interesting and informative. He was a good interesting speaker but he couldn't keep still, all the time he was speaking her was walking up and down which is hard for people like me with hearing problems.

Afternoon all,

Shopping day for us today and we had several places to go to ,post office, so watch for the post Mel , wool shop for Chelseas wool for the blanket ,Tesco's hole in the wall for some cash and then onto Aldi so all done and put away.
When we got in the door we heard the phone it was son ringing to say they were back from the hospital as Jake had his diabetes check up ,he now has to go onto insulin one jab a day and he has to go back to the hospital within 48 hours to be shown how to inject himself , he has lost lots of weight lately so I hope he can get sorted and feel a bit better.

Just saw a little bit of sun peep through the cloud but it's looking quite black out there now looks more like it could rain .

I'll have a read of the posts now as I didn't post yesterday.

I want to know what you got in the end Vera?

You had to wait for oh to tell you stories of the things he did and the train crashes and the escalator fires etc. You could'nt ask him. The fire service is the first lot to go in at a train crash and I remember him telling me the smell was awful and there would be limbs and body parts everywhere. He was at the escalator fire in the station and was injured in a fire in Woolworth once whre he injured his shoulder getting out past one of the checkouts when a big blast went off. He suffered with that injury for the rest of his life. There are many other stories but they only come to my mind occasionally.

I had toast and marmite for my lunch........