General Chat

It's been a funny old day weather-wise. Started with fog, then the rest of the day has been thick grey cloud, more like November as AnnG said, but it hasn't been cold at all.

It's good you have your flu jab booked Island. Isn't it frustrating when you get woken by the bin men. It sounds as though yours come early as well Ann. Ours are seldom here before 8.30 am and often it is later. They don't come up our little Close so we have to put the bins on the edge of the recreation ground at the bottom of the road and they tend to leave them all higgledy-piggledy on the grass. We're a neighbourly lot in our little Close so whoever goes down first brings back all 6 bins (or 12 if it's a garden bin day!).

Your neighbours sound quite a friendly lot as well AnnG and it is nice to be able to chat together. With the winter coming on everyone will tend to stay huddled indoors so I don't suppose we shall see so much of our neighbours.

Your old girls are certainly letting the newbies know that they were there first Mel. I expect they feel their territory has been invaded but it doesn't sound as though there are any serious arguments going on.

I was still awake at 4 am as well Ann and in fact got up about that time and made a cup of tea and read last weekend's colour supplement. I didn't have a lie-in though and was up around my usual time. Eventually I realised that it was 8.45 and I hadn't heard any movement from OH which panicked me a bit as he is usually up around 7.30 am. I crept in quietly and he was just waking up having had a really good night. We've been in separate rooms since he became unwell and I think we might stay like that now as we only keep each other awake when we share a room, but it does mean that I worry a bit in case he is taken poorly in the middle of the night.

Having got up I decided to get going and give our wooden floor in the lounge an overdue clean. It gets vacuumed regularly but we are supposed to use a cleaning fluid on it about once a month. It must be at least 2 months since I last did it. The actual cleaning is a doddle, you spray the stuff on and wipe it over with the mop thing the flooring people gave me and it dries really quickly. The hassle is moving all the furniture about, particularly our 2 heavy floor units. I had an achy back and a stiff hand by the time I finished.

I was determined to keep going at least till lunchtime so I then went out and did a bit in the garden including digging out some tatty old mini asters in troughs. They have been there for 6 or 7 years and all the roots had entwined and gone right down to the bottom of the trough so they took a bit of digging out but it's another job done.

Now I need to go and think of something exciting to do with 3 small pieces of haddock and half a cabbage. We know how to dine well ;-)

Afternoon All,

I wasn't an early bird Mel. I was still awake at 4.00am so slept in and got up at about 9.30am. OH was already up and doing some of his work notes. First job was to oil the squeaky bedroom door handle which wakes me when OH gets up for the loo.

We have a lovely postman who always smiles and calls OH by his name which is nice. He isn't a door rapper either! :-)

That naughty, bossy old girl Mel! She is certainly making sure the newbies know who is boss! lol. :-0 I hope the worms have gone now. Do you have to worm them regularly or just when you see there is a problem. I can't remember mum worming their chickens but she may have done. I should do some more dusting as I spotted some webs in the bedroom again last night.

That was good to get a bit of charge in your car battery and some oil around the moving parts AnnG. I think I need both as well! My stint in the garden gave me an achey back when I got up but it is almost fine again now, so I have decided it's an indoor day and am sketching out my homework! It's nice you got to chat with neighbours too.

That's good you got your flu jab booked Island and they saved you a phone call too. I had mine in my right arm so I can have the booster in the left one. I need my writing/painting arm to be least achey and the covid one caused most aches last time. The binmen visit our close at 7.00am and they do make a clatter don't they. Our little road at the bottom here is only single width so I know what you mean by the disco lights! They dance on the bedroom wall here. We also have lots of beeping as they have to reverse out of our bit of the close after. OH often sprints out to retrieve our numbered bin as they leave them anywhere and our neighbour never checks numbers and several times has taken ours by mistake.

Yes it was not far but will have charged up the battery as got caught in a queue behind a bus on the way back so charging the battery while stationary.

I'm sure you will hear soon Mel. I was getting worried because the other surgery in town was giving them at a rate of knots two weeks ago so I was going to phone mine this afternoon but they beat me to it :-D

Nice to have a run out and a good chin wag AnnG.

Lol when I got back stood outside my front door chatting to two neighbours for 15 minutes. Waiting for somebody to come and collect something so I can walk to the post box. these days I don't have a problem getting out of the house. No gardening being done today but it is not very bice out there, not cold but looks more like November.

Oh well done Island we hav'nt heard a thing yet abouyt the flu jab.

Anng it was nice to have a little chat with someone though and it got you out of the house for a while.

No Mel I didn't have coffee, I don't go in as she is very vulnerable so we chat over the doorstep, had a good long chat though.

Island well done on getting your flu jab booked. Flu is the last thing you need.

Just had another one!!!
I saw the delivery driver approach the front door and just knew his hand would go to the bell push and in the same move knock on the window!
Daft thing is, if I'd been in the kitchen I wouldn't have heard his feeble knock so why do it - seems they just can't help themselves!

Good news is - I have my flu jab booked for the 22nd :-D

That was a nice little outing for you and the car Anng. Did you have coffee with your friend?

I have dusted the bedroom and put ironing away and still have some to do.

Just driven the car to charge it up a bit more, a bit longer journey this time down to the other end of the village to take a tin full of Christmas cards and some birthday cards for my friend to sell with the farmers wives for charity.

Morning everyone,

YOu are all early birds today and I had a lie in till 9.54am hearing the chickens squarking and when I looked out of the windown the two newbies were out with Daisy and she 2was'#nt worrying them. Good I thought but then she chased them back in like a little policeman. OUt came the other two and one of them hade laid an egg but when I went round there it was broken. I gave them all pellets and a cabbage but they grandma still wanted to come out and eat the grass. The good news is I got a picture of them through the bedroom window. I will send it later on.

Going back to drivers we don't have a doorbell or a knocker or a letterbox so some of them do bang on the door but we ususally see them come down the drive so can be there at the door before they have found the parcel.

Suns out here at the present time and its 17 degrees.

Morning AnnG and all

Early up for me too, woken by the bin boys clattering and 'disco lights' at 6.45. So an hours worth under my belt already.
I can see how the neighbours popping up on your tele would get annoying but the mental image made me chuckle - a bit Gary Larrson.

I know what you mean about shortcuts learned over the years. I'm afraid I can't teach as I've always worked things out for myself so find it frustrating when some need to be 'spoon fed'. The 'hidden' materials often aren't taken into consideration either.

I hope Mel's ok.

Good morning, slept well but woke early and couldn't get back to sleep. Still very dark here but looks dry and is 11 degrees so not too cold.

My bell is plugged in in the lounge and is quite loud because of my hearing. We have also got something that 'pings' when someone approaches the door, it is actually attached to the TV and is a camera which we used to have showing who was at the door on the TV however it did get annoying as it switched on every time next door went out to their bin, car, watering the pots etc so my 'techy' switched it buzzer only during the first lockdown. I suppose it might be useful now I am on my own but haven't a clue how to get it back on camera (and not sure I want to).
The delivery drivers do seem to have a belts and braces attitude. The Amazon driver rings and knocks almost at the same time. On the wood of the door though not on the window.

Yes I think the cards are going to have to be basic, I am not a demonstrator so will stick to easy instructions. So many things you learn over the years and so many short cuts you don't even know you make. I suspect it is not always a case of wanting to be creative but maybe thinking it would be cheaper to make cards than to buy them. you will all know that it is not, it works out a lot more expensive as you can't charge for your time. People forget that you have to buy things like glue, and all the pretty things that go on the cards plus card bases. We shall see anyway.

Annx Our bell sounds in the garden too and upstairs. When we fist moved here I was so annoyed by everyone rapping on the window that I put a notice up saying 'the bell works, rapping on the window is not needed' and a large arrow pointing to the bell push. We still get the odd one though.
There's not much that annoys me but when I am cross, I am cross!

I haven't worn make up for years. I think now I would poke the mascara wand in my eye too often.

AnnG I suppose board games would be popular as an ice breaker. As long as it wasn't Monopoly, I never did like that game, it seemed to bring out the worst in people. I remember longing for Cluedo, I ended up buying my own then no-one wanted to play LOL
I know card making can be quite involved with a lot of equipment but perhaps the members would be happy with something basic just to be creative?

Oh I see AnnG. It sounds like a very good and worthwhile idea that will benefit a lot of people. I bet a lot of people will be interested in your cardmaking, especially as we are nearing Christmas now. I know what you mean about having to lug a lot of stuff you might need. The lady who taught us beading years ago now used to arrive with 2 trolley cases of things! Like you say, you will have to be selective in what you choose to make.

No Ann not U3a it is a group run as part of the Community centre, this is the second centre the village has but this one was funded to run for the community by hosting all sorts of activities such as gamblers anonymous, Man up ( mental health for men), all sorts of well being groups and baby groups, keep fit groups even a mobile barber twice a week. The group I went to was set up for people who need to meet other people for various reasons, people bereaved, on their own, lonely, carers. Mixed ages from about 60 up, both sexes but mainly female. Very friendly noisy. They are now trying to formalise it a bit from mainly chat so asked them last month what things they were interested in. The top two groups were craft and board games. I had said I made cards, the leader pounced on this and asked me to demonstrate card making to a small group next month. She made it seem easy, it isn’t, it is easy if I am here with all my stuff but I can’t lug it all down there so will need to be selective. Hopefully it will be ok.

We have trouble with people rapping the window in our front door Island. The doorbell is on the wall at eye level about an inch from the edge of the door frame but so many people don't look. I can't understand why they expect to hear it these days either with the plug in doorbells. We plug ours in in the conservatory at the back usually, so we can hear it inside as well as in the garden. When one chap rapped the window (hard) it made me cross and I pointed the bell out to him when I opened the door. His answer was that he pressed it and it didn't work. I told him it did and was plugged in at the back of the bungalow and that it was me that needed to be able to hear it, not him. :-| Same as you Mandy, we see a lot disappearing up the close in their van by the time we are at the door. That happened last time with the Asda food delivery. He didn't even knock or ring either so it was lucky we saw his van come.

I seem to have lost the plot about what your meeting was AnnG. Not the U3A then? I bet it was quite interesting listening to the 'Vet's' talk and it's good they were friendly. I wouldn't be keen on board games either and might take some knitting to do instead while I chatted. It's good to have somewhere else to go to as you say. OH always says one opportunity can lead to another and you may find out about other groups you may like by joining this one.

I agree Vera and I have saved money on lippy once I realised my mask would only hide it anyway! My parents never went to the dentist or took me as a child. I wasn't taught to clean my teeth properly either, up and down mum said, nothing about cleaning the chewing surfaces, so I have plenty of fillings in a lot of teeth. I started going myself once I was age 15 and have been regularly ever since and of course once I started going my mother took my sister and brother. Because they were so much younger, the braces they wore did a much better job than mine did.

Re the Viburnum, no it isn't a good time to prune it really, although I have done it this time of year before. I think it should be pruned after flowering in the Spring, otherwise doing it now means cutting off a lot of the flowers. Ours is getting quite vigorous now and I like to keep it below 6 feet so I can reach up to trim across the top and I like it to be looking tidy through the winter.

That's quite a light colour Mandy and will look nice with your curtains and a grey carpet. Our porch and one wall of the kitchen are a similar shade but the kitchen was last decorated in 2008 and the porch before that! It all needs a fresh lick of paint now. You have stirred me into action with my Geraniums this afternoon. OH came out just after me, so I gave him a job of pulling up the ones I don't want to keep and I took 2 others into the greenhouse and trimmed and potted them up and watered them. I have tried a couple of cuttings from both as well, although they should have been taken in August. They may root, I'll see. I think there are another 5 I'll try keeping, but may do those tomorrow. No I haven't heard from Fitz for a while but will no doubt be in touch with him at Christmas.

The yarn bomb group in the next village have won a Community Award from the Council for their efforts in bringing the community together and are so chuffed. It is well deserved though. They are doing a Christmas one next I think.

Window in the door Gwyn, which is large enough for them to see me approach.
I wouldn't mind so much if there was a pause between bell and knocking but I saw this woman press the bell and immediately rapped her knuckles on the window.
It doesn't matter whether callers hear it or not, if it didn't work why would we have it.

Mandy, yes some are drop and run, they may be under pressure but a few seconds pause is all it takes. Fortunately we haven't had parcels go astray or other peoples parcels dropped on our doorstep. We had one flung over the back gate while we were away which got soaked in the rain - luckily, it wasn't breakable or absorbent but the delivery driver didn't know that.

The trouble these days Island is that nobody likes waiting they ring the bell and expect you to be on the other side of the door ready to open it ,the parcel people are always well down the path and sometimes back at the van by the time I open the door .one day last week the bell went I opened the door to find a parcel which wasn't mine I hadn't ordered anything laid on the step I picked it up and it was for next door ,the chap saw me and shouted hello he could see the parcel in my hand, not mine I said yes he said no 15 ,no I said it's no 16 on here back he shot up the path and soon apologised, I laughed and said I think you need to get new glasses and he laughed .

I thought with all the talk of dentists I'd better ring ours to see if they have started doing check ups yet, on the television they were saying if you don't go to the dentist then after two years they take you off their list,I know it's nowhere near two years since we've been but it's well over a year with the lock downs anyway I rang and they are not doing them yet and will ring or write to us when they start doing them, its still only emergencies only , I said we don't want to be taken off their list and she said no we are not taking people off our lists.
There was one poor woman on our local news who had pulled out 11 of her teeth because she couldn't get on a dentists list .

Got all my Geraniums up and planted some bulbs that I took up for the summer ,I sat out this afternoon it was so lovely and warm .

Ann we decided on the colour called Goosedown for the walls its a very pale grey and my new curtains have pale grey and pale yellow leaves on I want to have a grey carpet
Have you heard from Fitz lately I bet he misses Jane .

Vera my dad used to say to me don't get old :-) I can't remember what programme I was watching now but somebody was on about old people and he said that old people were coffin dodgers that just tickled me ,what a thing to call us pensioners :-D

Do you mean the window of the door or another window of a nearby room ?

I have rung doorbells and not heard them ring and then knocked on the door hoping that would be heard.