General Chat

Yes I saw the horses and had never seen anything like those before and they were very realistic in their movements.

Finally got Em and everybodys presents done up just Di's to do now.

Tomorrow is the shortest day so it should start getting longer in day light hours.

Hope Anng has arrived safely. I thought we may have heard from her by now.

Forgot to say I had a scam email this morning supposedly from NHS for you to apply for a Covid Passport. The email address looked wrong to me but the rest with NHS logo looked very convincing.

OH is a devil for tempting me with the smell of toast Mel.......it's irresistible isn't it.

The shops at Colmar in France had some delicious looking treats. It all looked nice and olde worlde with the ancient buildings. Did you see the horse ride with Dorothy and Arthur. The movement was so realistic I thought it was brilliant.

OH loves Turkish Delight (nothing to tempt me there!) and Marzipan. He likes fruit jellies too.

I might do our Turkey on Christmas Eve next year Mandy. I'm tempted to try it, and It does make for a more relaxing day and much easier to time the meal too with the Turkey already being ready.

I've switched the wreath on and it's twinkling away on the front door now. I said to OH that if it's gone off by morning, it's either working as it should or it's been on all night and has flat batteries.

I see there's a David Attenborough prog at the end of December about the 5 Woolly Mammoths they've discovered in the Cotswolds.

Mandy you do get the crystilzed fruit in the shop but not a whole shop of them. They are expensive and I don't like them. Mum always bought them at Christmas and the petifors (sp) too but I make those now as well. I also stuff dates with almonds and roll them in coconut. I do take the srones out first !! and pop the nut in or you could use walnuts or marzipane.

I love the Devon and Cornwall programs.

Must get some lunch as I am running late today.

I must see if there are anymore devon and Cornwall programs I have missed.

Its very cold out even though theres no wind but a very chilly light breeze.

We had a Bullfinch visit under the birdbath eating the seeds off the Alchemilla Mollis. Oh spotted it when he was washing up so I tried to get a few pics but the dirty window did'nt help but I think I got a few which I will download later and send off. Now I must get on as oh wanted toast this morning and once he'd done his I could'#nt resist the smell so had some too with just butter on no marmalade.

Morning Mel ,morning all,

Not so foggy here this morning and it doesn't seem that cold out

Hope Anng is well on her way now and that the traffic is not to bad and the fog has lifted for them.

Yes Mel I watched the Devon and Cornwall programme we always watch them when they are on ,the Hockings ice cream was that the ice cream that you and Jane used to like .
We watched Dick and Angel too ,did you see all those lovely crystallised fruits ,we never see anything like that in our shops .


Ann how are your knees today after all the walking you had to do yesterday ,hope OH's tummy has settled down too .
I have been cooking my turkey crown's on Christmas eve for a couple of years now ,all I have to do then is slice and reheat, I've never cooked all the other bits and pieces the day before but I don't see why you can't so thought I'd give it a go to save time .

Morning Mel and All,

Yes we both slept well last night Mel and had a lie in this morning too.

OH went in the loft and found the door wreath. He'd put it and the bag it was in in a box with clothes in? Men's logic! :-D It's on the door now and I think it should retime the lights if I switch it on when it starts to get dark.

This morning two cars turned up nextdoor and they were filming our neighbours talking in their back garden. OH spotted them in the garden and this is the 3rd time it has happened over the past 3 years? We try to avoid these neighbours when we go out as they get far too close since the pandemic and always seem to be on the front when we need to get somewhere early or to an appointment! I said to OH if we see it happen again we will have to creep along the fence and see if we can hear what they talk about to give us a clue what it's about. Not that we are nosey you understand!! lol. :-D They are strange neighbours, both had professional jobs, never used to acknowledge anyone at first, did silly things about the builder and planning for the new buildings at the end, even taking an airgun outside, so we are curious.

It sounds like the hens are showing you how superior their eggs are to the shop ones Mel! Yes I think AnnG did say she would leave at 7.30am so she is probaby there by now, depending on stops and for how long. I watched Dick and Angel........I want to move and live in the Chateau!!! They are such a lovely family, I would love doing all those crafts and they make such delicious looking food! That and having lovely surroundings to walk in with wildlife and a moat and a dog.....perfect! :-D Doesn't the Chateau look great now the front has been done and that part of the roof. I have the Devon and Cornwall prog recorded and love it with all the things they tell you about too!

Lunchtime again so I'd better sort it.

I expect we will hear from her later on maybe.

MY POST JUST DISAPPEARED.

Morning all,

Not as misty as yesterday morning or day but its still very cold out there and dull with it.

Hope Anng has a good journey today. Did she say they were leaving at 7.30am? I expect we will hear from her later on maybe.

Hope you all had a good sleep last night.

Did anyone watch Dick and Angel last night? I also watched Devon and Cornwall at Christmas cos they had Clovelly on there.

Glad you are feeling a little better Mandy and have managed to get ahead with some things for Christmas day. I have recorded some Mary Berry progs and it's a good idea to actually roast the spuds to hot up rather than just parboil them. I bought ready cooked ones to try this year as I don't want much to do on the day this time. I bet you could roast the parsnips ahead as well. OH's first wife used to cook the Turkey ahead on Christmas Eve and just hot it up on the day too. I do the bread sauce ahead and freeze it and then add a little milk on the day and microwave it. It might be packet sauce this time as I haven't ordered any white bread! :-)

Yes I think OH was a bit worried Mel. He also knows my sense of direction is awful and that I might get lost. I did let him know when I'd found my way though. It's good you have done most of your wrapping now.

OH has already gone to bed, he feels weary, so I am going now too. I hope everyone sleeps well.

Ann I'm sure the big girls know when I order half a dozen eggs as they did this before when I bought some. O I forgot about the pain you had for a long while. They could have done your knee as well while they were at it. Would have saved you a journey. Glad G's tum has settled down now. Perhaps they mucking about did'nt help his tum either he was probably worried about you.

I have spent the last hour doing up the boys boxes and the presents for all the family so I am now having a little sit down as my back is aching now like Vera's and I am dying for a cuppa. I'm nearly there now just have to put all the labels on oh's presents (we use the same ones each year ) and do up Di's presents although I hav'nt heard from her for months now as I told her not to come as she was still working down the big house and with guests from all over the country we were worried they may bring something down with them and she may bring it to us.

Yes it was a faff Vera. They even had signs up in the waiting room for you to take wipes and cleaner to clean the seats..........but there weren't any wipes left and no cleaner so I kept using sanitiser on my hands. I didn't even need to undress, just whip my bra off due to the metal fasteners. The plastic you lay on wasn't wiped between each use either and no paper roll was used. It was freezing in there too and the two people doing it had those big padded coats on. I felt like having another shower when I got home, but just got changed instead. OH seems ok now, so I think he may have eaten too many peanuts last night......too much fibre.

I bet it was decorating the tree that has irritated your back, so warmth and a lie down for a while should help a bit.

No not my knees Mel. It was an abdomen scan after that terrible tummy pain I got off and on for 3 weeks. The scan's taken 6 weeks to come through, but the doc wanted to check my appendix and also to be sure nothing else was causing it. It has almost gone now, but I still get the occasional small twinge that side. The trouble is, you forget what odd twinges you get that are normal! I wonder which hen is giving you Christmas presents!

6 Subs on my order but it is all wiped and put away now as they came 15 minutes early which suited me.

Glad you’re feeling a bit better Mandy and it’s good to get ahead but don’t overdo it. You need time to recover.

Oh Ann, what a faff with your scan. Walking backwards and forwards won’t have done your knees any good at all; and your poor OH having to wait when he wasn’t at his best. Never mind, at least it is done now

I just went out to the garden to top up the bird feeders before it got too dark to see and it is still drizzly and everywhere is soaking wet.

OH put Windows 11 on his computer a little while ago and wanted me to do mine. I was quite happy with Windows 10 so I quietly ignored him. He’s just come down from the study and told me he’s done it for me. Just what I need - something else to get to grips with :-|

My back has been giving me gyp today and I couldn’t think why but I reckon it was due to doing the tree yesterday. I was up and down the steps and stretching and reaching out. So I am just going to put some heating on in my bedroom and sit on the bed with a couple of pillows and a wheat bag behind my back. I’ll watch something on iPlayer. I might even doze off.

I'm glad your feeling better now Mandy and getting things ready beforehand That is a lot to cook for Christmas Day.

That was not nice having to be at the hospital for 2 hours Ann. It sounds like they were not very organized and did you have to walk all that way back and forth or did they put you in a wheelchair? Was this for your knee??

Its not brightened up at all today and now its time for it to start getting dark.

I had an egg this morning again but it was left outside just by the pop hole in the mud!! so needed a good wash.

Afternoon all,

What a dull old day it is, it was very foggy first thing but that's gone and its just a drizzly day ,at least it's cheerful inside with the Christmas lights on .

Ann that was a long time for your appointment that's good you got it done so you don't have to go back again ,your poor OH having to look for the loo though I bet he thought you'd never get done ,now I suppose it's wait for the results to come through .

Mel what a beautiful sunset you had and all your wreaths and arrangements are so lovely .
No wrapping even started here I just haven't felt, like doing any ,today I do feel a little better I'm not coughing as much and have more energy.
I did get the bacon round the sausages and got those in the freezer, also got the sausage meat stuffing in the freezer and made my Yorkshire puds and they too are in the freezer.
This year I'm cooking ahead again ,I watched Mary Berry and she cooks every thing the day before and just reheats .
I parboiled the spuds the day before last year and this year I'm cooking them on Christmas eve so I only have to crisp them up again like Mary said ,it will be so much easier as I have to cook for nine and each year they get bigger they eat a bit more and I spend most of the time in the kitchen .

Oh here comes Colin with a nice cuppa .
BBL

Afternoon All,

Foggy/misty here today and only 1 degree! It is like that painting Mel and feels really chilly. I was awake from 4.00am and we had to be up early anyway to go for my scan. To cut a long story short, it wasn't where I expected and there were no signs till nearly there after a long trek to the other end of the hospital and an empty waiting room once there without a soul including in reception. I waited 20 minutes, till my appointment was due then trekked back to the main reception again and they phoned someone and said to go back! The person who was waiting for me then said they checked every few minutes (they didn't!) . They took me to the scanner unit outside. With having allergies and knowing the injection could cause problems with heart and thyroid I wasn't happy about having it, so the chinese man said he would ring the radiologists to see if it was really necessary. No phone reception in the scanner unit so he had to go outside several times but got no answer. In the end he scanned 2 other people then ran to the other side of the hospital to find someone, but failed. Then their system went down so he had to do everything manually. He said I could make another appointment if I wished for during this week, but I decided to go ahead as he told me my thyroid and heart issues were not the kind to cause a problem as well as having no reaction to iodine on my skin in the past. He also gave me the lower dose they give to kidney patients and I was fine, but all this took 2 hours and poor OH got an attack of the trots while he waited in the carpark, so had to keep finding toilets!!

I do that sometimes when I am slow getting through my bread AnnG and it defrosts very quickly too. I went to Workington and back in a day with OH once (one of his footie matches) and I was exhausted by the time we got home, so it's good your daughter will have an overnight stay with you. I hope you have a good journey tomorrow and a nice break. I shan't be up before you go!

It's the wipe down this afternoon, so I'd better make some room for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ to Island. <3

Are you all ready for the big day?

Morning all,

Slept like a log last night and up once for the loo and back to sleep right away afterwards. This morning it very dark and misty moisty just like Ann's picture of the man walking up the snowy road and the background of her snowman.

I have a few more presents to do up today and then I am finished.

Hope Daughter arrives safely Anng and you have a good journey tomorrow if I miss you in the morning.

Good morning Vera and all, foggy here and 3 degrees, hope it is not like this tomorrow. No Vera thank goodness it is tomorrow we go and hope to leave about 0730.

slept quite well and went back to sleep at around 6 and woke at 0815. don't want to do that tomorrow either.
Daughter will be here early afternoon so I too had bettter get moving with shower and hair wash. BBL :-) :-)

Good morning all

5 degrees and supposed to stay more or less the same all day and overnight. It’s also very misty and damp looking.

Yes, AnnG, I do the tree decorating on my own. OH is in charge of lights and then I do the rest. It’s on a low table but nearly touches the ceiling so we had to take a few inches off so that I could put a star on the top. As for all the letters we had about Avian flu, they all came from the same department and were identical in every way. Is it today you go to your daughter’s? If so, have a safe journey and a lovely time.

How did the pudding making go Gwyn? Years ago I used to make several for different people using an old wartime recipe of my Mum’s. I used to do them several weeks before Christmas and everyone had a stir. I still have the recipe, a very battered “pull out” section from Woman magazine on Christmas food. It says things like “If you can persuade the family to go without bacon for a while you could use the rations to get a piece of gammon for Christmas”. Those were the days ;-)

I’ve been up a while but I haven’t had breakfast or showered and dressed yet so I’d better get a wriggle on. Have a good day everyone.

Will you do the tree baubles on your own Vera? Or will oh 'help'? I always preferred doing it on my own. Bushy trees are nicer than sparse ones if you have enough decs.

That was a waste of money on communication Vera. I assume they all came from different departments.

Pleased you found your wreath anyway, sounds like it is a year for losing them. Maybe you could have a look and see if Ann's has magicked itself over to you.

Ann I eat very little bread. I leave the loaf in the freezer and take the bread out as I need it slice by slice. One loaf lasts ages. I don't have potatoes/chips with every meal but do have them quite often. I won't have any tonight, I have a sirloin steak which I will have with mushrooms, tomatoes and probably an egg. I have never cooked leeks in the microwave, maybe I will try that, but it is not the cooking, it is the quantity. I invariably have to have any veg two days running. and not sure how much goodness is in warmed up or fried veg.

I am halfway through the packing but there are so many bits and pieces to take when going for three weeks.