General Chat

We have actually had it cold and dry with some sun so it looks more cheerful than lately. We have all done well with our presents and are now waiting for miss noisy and co to arrive. Just going to have sausage rolls and turkey will be cooked fir 7pm Grandson. Us chef if the day. He always cooks the Christmas dinner as he follows his father.
Enjoy the rest of the day and hope all goes well with the meals.

Hope Frank is enjoying his Christmas and naybe it would be nice if Gill paid us a visit.

:-) :-)MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE :-) :-)

Damp and dull here! I don't think the Turkey will be cooked in the time it said so am giving it longer. How was yours Mel? I don't like bread sauce either which is why I add onion!

We had lots of books between us, OH found some good ones for me. We are then going to look in the online sales to treat ourselves as I want a new camera as the zoom has started to stick on my pocket one and he wants to choose a new watch.

Hope you all have a nice day! :-D :-D :-D

Morning All,

Hope you all have a wonderful day with you families. Its been raining here and its dull. Why could'nt we have had a nice crisp frosty morning?

Hope you all get what you asked Father Christmas for.

BBL.

Good morning all calm before the storm here and we don’t have young children here yet.

Morning all,

<3 <3 <3 Happy Christmas everyone ,hope you all enjoy the day with lots of pressies .

Will try and get on later .

I don't like bread sauce..............................

Turkey cooked and the piece of beef and we had some tonight wiht chips and peas a bit of turkey too.

I have just finished the cake and oh says he will do the spuds and veg in the morning before I get up.

Sorry I hav'nt been back on here but been so busy and BIL turned up and chatted for quite a while outside. He had Thomas with him who is BIL's wife's grandson.

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL AND ENJOY YOUR DAY WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING. :-D <3 :-D <3 :-D <3 :-D <3

Sounds like you are all ready now then Ann except for bred sauce, no it wouldn’t be right with brown bread.

Yes grandson, wife and the two girls will join us after they have had lunch to have their presents from us. And vice versa. Yes she is very excited.

Yes taken BP again and it is constantly lower than it was at the surgery so that is good. Had part of the blood test results and that is ok too. But still have the cholestrol and blood sugar results to come. Probably next week now.

Afternoon Everyone.

Very still and thick fog here most of the day so we were pleased not to have to go out. Now it's raining.

The gammon is cooked as are the sausage rolls, (and some eaten!) the Turkey is in it's tin and foiled and in the fridge and OH has prepared the veg ready. Nothing more to do till tomorrow now, except put OH's wine and my Schloer in the conservatory which isn't heated at the moment so is nice and cold.

Will the baby be with you as well tomorrow AnnG? You could all make a nice family photo with all the generations together. It sounds like your high BP was a one off and not what it normally is which is good. At least you will know how to use a monitor now for when you get home again. I bet Inara is very excited now it is Christmas Eve. Do you know what she is hoping Santa will bring her?

We have no bread sauce Mel. I thought we had some packet variety, but no. I usually add onion to mine, but we'll do without this year as it doesn't look appetising made with brown bread.

Oh Vera I hope no more go down with Covid and that those that have it soon recover. i hope you have a good journey and a nice Christmas too.

What a shame your DIL has to work late Mandy. Still they can't plan for someone arriving with covid can they and best to get the place sanitised. It sounds like you are all prepared for tomorrow too so put your feet up and don't overdo it while you are recovering.

Have a lovely time at your daughter’s Vera. Sounds like a good job you are bot goi g to so so. I hope your day will be peaceful with all your ofdssues things you need, want or at least like. Have fun. <3

We are still waiting fir grandson, daughter and I have just listened to carols from Kings, a tradition in her house even though nit a bit religious. But it did make us feel Christmassy.

Afternoon all,

Phew just sat down been busy all day ,turkey crowns are now cooked and in the fridge ,I had my blood test this morning so that was time away fro the cooker and ileft Colin in charge of the oven :-S but every thing was OK.

Son and family will be here later but son just messaged to say DIL now has to do another deep clean at work so they must have had some one with covid in today so that means she will now have to work late .

Vera hope you have a lovely time with your family and a Very Happy Christmas to you too.
I hope all those with covid soon recover and maybe they can celebrate Christmas together later .

Afternoon everyone

It's been very quiet on here today; I guess everyone is busy, busy, busy. I shouldn't be busy as we will be at daughter's and I have no preparation to be doing, but somehow the day has flown by. It took me a while just gathering together all the bits to take to daughter. We'll unwrap our presents together so we have our own Christmas pressies, pressies for her and her son and daughter from us and other people, little "tree presents", crackers, Christmas pud and cake plus a spare set of clothes each, washing/shaving gear, medication, and so on ad infinitum.

Then I remembered I hadn't wrapped OH's present which was 3 separate bits and I couldn't remember where I had hidden them :-S They weren't where I first hid them but I did remember moving them. I ended up turning out a whole cupboard before I found them.

Just as I was getting on nicely son facetimed me. I was pleased of course to speak to him but his timing was lousy. There should have been 9 people with him at Christmas but they are dropping like flies at the moment. Dil's 2 sons and their partners have all got Covid at the moment so will be remaining in their own homes and son's eldest daughter has it and is isolating in her own bedroom. They are leaving trays of food outside her door so it won't be much of a Christmas for her. Not the jolly time you want when you're only 21. His middle daughter who is 19 isn't sure if she has had Covid or whether she had a false positive lateral flow test, but thought she might be stuck on her own in her student digs for Christmas. However she has isolated for a few days and had 2 negative PCR tests so she was able to get home yesterday. She and the youngest girl who is 15 are supposed to be flying to Belfast on Boxing Day to visit some rellies on their mother's side but don't know whether they will be able to go or not. So life in son's house is not a bed of roses at the moment.

I need to make a phone call now and then try to finish the ironing. I must at least iron the shirt I want to wear tomorrow. Daughter suggested we get to hers about 10.30 but I've said we will be just a little later as I would like time to shower and hair wash and have breakfast before we have to leave. Anyway I may not have time to come on in the morning so I'll send my greetings now. I hope you all have a happy, peaceful and above all healthy Christmas. Have a wonderful time and don't down too many mince pies and G & Ts ;-)

Good morning all brighter here with quite a strong wind. Just had my BP done, quite funny as son in law is having his monitored as well so we queue up morning and evening. So far mine has bee nowhere near what it was at the surgery. Probably popping I. To Cockermouth today shouldn’t be too crowded and cases are very light up here. Daughters youngest son Arrived today with his wife So then we have a full house.

Merry morning for Christmas Eve all,

Dull and gloomy out there today and raining with it and I'd rather have a nice crisp frosty morning this time of the year.

I have to pick up a few things from the shop this morning as I forgot parsnips because I thought we had enough but used them in a tary roast day before yesterday so rang the hsop and Keith daid he had one big one so I told him to put it aside for me with some stsumas. I asked him about yogs for oh but he had'nt got any.

Better get on as he shuts at one today for four days.

You are ahead of the game Mandy and the Viennese biscuits will be nice, I love them. :-) OH is doing the veg here tomorrow. He was telling me that some antivaxxers were deliberately booking appointments and not turning up just to stop others getting the appointments. :-|

That's good you got your ears done Vera. It isn't free anymore is it? She was thorough wasn't she and you will be telling your OH not to shout now! That poor chap, it could happen to any of us, but these companies don't consider anyone not being able to use technology now. You OH is so good helping him. It must be such a worry for him after a lifetime of being able to easily sort these things himself.

Evening all,

We've had a dull old rainy day ,I got my gammon cooked and made son and family some Veinese biscuits I did a double mix so they will have plenty to go at Astley love them.

Anng lively photo of the cats all cuddled up on the sofa

Mel thats good you've both had your boosters now ,that was handy OH having an appointment at the doctors and asking about them if not you'd still be waiting.

How lovely to see your niece again having a sing song they were all really enjoying it weren't they and I loved her cheeky little grin at the end .

La.G and Gwyn Thank you and a Happy Christmas to you both .

Ann I don't think we will ever get back to having normal appointments at the doctors again, our doctors surgery has only one doctor on at a time now and two of the doctors have left and as far as I know haven't been replaced.
That's a lot of money for them to do a jab I bet all these nurses that are doing them don't get paid that .
Did you see where a lot of the people are not turning up for their appointments now they seem to think its because people think they'll feel unwell over Christmas if they have them.

So you can hear a pin drop now then Vera :-D sounds as if she did a good job .
How good of your OH helping the chap with his problems what ever would he have done with out him helping ,well done him .

We did the sprouts and carrots today they are all bagged up and in the fridge ,I have the two turkey crowns defrosting and I'll get them cooked tomorrow.

Thanks for the link Mel. Your niece looks happy and as though she’s enjoying herself. It’s good to see them all having fun.

It’s also good that you have had your boosters at last. You’ve had a long wait for them. We had ours nearly 11 weeks ago.

AnnG, that picture of the cats is sweet and reminded me of how much I miss our two (Mitzi and Molly). OH doesn’t want to take on any more animals but I would love another cat.

That’s good the doctor checked you over thoroughly Mandy and was able to be reassuring. At least you won’t have to spend all Christmas worrying. Just make sure you don’t overdo it.

I had my ear appointment this morning and both ears are now cleared of wax. I had both microsuction and the “water torture” and all sorts of prodding and poking and cameras in my ears. She was very thorough. I was pleased that I had gone to the company operating out of our local health centre rather than Specsavers. In the waiting room there was plenty of distancing, everybody masked of course and there were plenty of sanitizer stations. Outside the waiting room there is a courtyard and the big glass doors to that were wide open so lots of ventilation. It all felt very safe and it was worth the extra cost.

OH is still helping our acquaintance with his electricity problems and there are emails going back and forth between OH and the company. They seem at last to have grasped that the chap is deaf and they can’t talk to him on the phone but want him to email them himself in spite of the fact that OH has told them he doesn’t have any form of computer, nor a smart phone and anyway has no technical ability. Now the old boy has got in a muddle with his landline and keeps changing his provider and so OH is now trying to sort that for him as well.

Thank you for your good wishes La G. and Gwyn. I hope you have a lovely Christmas and here’s wishing for an improved year in 2022. Stay healthy and happy.

Ann I have pm'd you.

How nice to see them all enjoying themselves Mel. I like her Elf Suit and she's really joining in! :-)

Oh yes, they look lovely, all cosy together and Millie has certainly grown and filled out hasn't she. They obviously get on very well. I expect Inara will be excited to see the Christmas tree up.

That's good you are both jabbed now Mel. They say the booster starts to help your immune system after a couple of days, but obviously full strength after a fortnight. Did you both have Pfizer? OH feels the same as you as he has done most going out and in the chemist and post office as well as the schools, although they have been extra careful with wiping down, ventilating and spacing. You can concentrate on Christmas now. :-D A little while ago they said doctors would get paid £15 -£30 a jab for doing them. That's on top of their average take home pay of £110,000 and they have cut back on some of their other work to do it. I doubt we will ever get back to the service we had before the pandemic.

Oh I must check your link now.

Sent you all a link to our neice with her dance group.