General Chat

Still bright here but sun no longer shining. Had enough rain today that I don't need to water the garden. Better go and water the greenhouse though.

Sorry to hear you have a migraine lurking Vera, hope it goes, maybe when you eat your meal.
I am pleased you know how I feel about the risk. yes, we have to do our own risk assessments according to our underlying health. As far as I know I don't have any problems so my hope is, if I should be unlucky enough to get Covid, I will recover without the need for hospital. yes you are right Vera, it was pretty awful when T went into hospital then we went into a further lockdown, and I couldn't even see him before he died. Takes a long time to get over that and I do occasionally still struggle if I dwell on it too much. Going out for me is getting back some normality, although it still feels as though my life will never actually be normal again, it will be just different and that is ok, or will be if we can get out and about. It is a bit disconcerting that they are now saying the booster won't be available as soon as they hoped.
I actually still have not gone into many shops and still rely on my on line shop for groceries. I don't wipe it down any more though.

I expect we will be out and about a bit more this coming week with daughter and son in law coming for five days.Just the anniversary to get through now.

Sun shining again! strange weather.

Its coming down like stair rods here.

My sons 52 so another middle aged.

Not in so much pain today.

I wonder what Island is up to?

Back to my craft work now.

Another grey “heavy” day. We have had a couple of light showers but nothing much to speak of. OH is talking about getting the hose out but we have a yellow warning of heavy rain overnight.

Thank you for your weekend wishes Elizabeth. It’s good to see you and I hope you are also having a good weekend.

We are both walking round like zombies again after another bad night. I had a migraine that I couldn’t seem to ease and it is still hanging around in the background today, and OH could not get in a comfortable position because of the pain in his shoulders.

We went quickly into town today as OH wanted to get some stuff to one of the charity shops and we popped into Sainsbury’s for a couple of bits on the way back. We went after 12 o’clock as I’ve found it is less busy then. Almost everyone wore masks and were generally keeping a distance but it surprises me how many people, particularly men, walk straight past the sanitizer.

I think we all have to make our own risk assessments, weighing possible costs against benefits, and then decide for ourselves what we are prepared to do and not do. I understand AnnG’s feelings totally. Even though I have my OH with me and we are both pretty good at keeping ourselves occupied, my mental well-being was starting to suffer a bit and I’ve had some very down days. It’s not so much the actual activities I miss but the people. I can only imagine how much worse things were for AnnG when T was in hospital but I was hit very hard not being able to see my brother during the last 4 or 5 months of his life. I was also beginning to feel that I was never going to see my son and granddaughters again. When you are close, as we are, 21 months is a long while to go without meeting.

This is why, for the sake of my mental health, I have decided to start to resume some sort of normal life while trying to manage the risk. We will continue to take all the sensible precautions that we can, such as meeting outdoors where possible, having windows open if we have to meet indoors, wearing masks, sanitising and hand washing lots. There are a couple of friends I am still avoiding as I know they haven’t been very careful in the past and I am still wiping down my shopping though I am not sure if that’s necessary any more.

I’ve gone on a bit there haven’t I? I’d better change the subject lol

AnnG, I have just seen your daughter’s card. I am sure she will love it. The colours are very pretty and blend well together. Funny to think we have middle aged children. My two are in their 50s but I still think of them as “children”.

Just looked out of the window and see we have had another light shower but not enough to wet the earth in the beds. While looking out I thought how good my clumps of rudbeckia were looking this year. I am sitting here yawning away so I think I might go on the bed for a short while and watch something on the iPlayer before cooking our meal.

Yes I liked that paper as well. It is quite scary having a daughter of that age. yesterday she swam 75 lengths of the swimming pool they use and her OH swam 50 lengths, he has only been swimming two years at the most. (He is 65))

The sun is shining here now.

Afternoon All,

Slept well and hubby can't be bothered to travel to footie with it being wet and miserable so he's watching a match on tv! We have only had a short shower here but the forecast isn't good.

Thank you Elizabeth and I hope you have a good weekend too!

I never said I was happy staying at home AnnG. Just content to still make the best of things for now and be very careful. My knees stop me doing far, far more than covid has, including socialising, and will still do so, even if covid disappeared tomorrow.

I like the sea effect on the card you made for your daughter and the colours, very pretty. I love purple. At 60 she is no youngster anymore herself is she!

Still no more rain and it is just like the old days here today, nice and quiet, but looks dreary!

I have just ordered sunday lunch and need to check what I need for the painting class on Monday.

Love the card you made.

Its raining here now too.

I was busy most of the morning did two loads of washing then spent a couple of hours finishing off daughter's birthday card I started yesterday took a while as there was a lot of measuring, cutting and sticking. But I am pleased with it. I have sent photos.

Raining here.

suns out..................................

Raining...............................

Morning All,

Dull and grey here today and it dos'nt look like brightening up at all today.

EOS its so lovely to hear from you as we were getting worried about you not having heard from you for a long while and not being able to contact you at all. You too have a peaceful and safe weekend. <3

Nothing planned for today just the usual up the shop for the paper and then amybe some craft.

good morning all slight drizzle here at the moment, not enough to water the garden although heavy rain is forecast for later today.

Elizabeth, thank you and i hope you have a lovely weekend.

Ann My friend once said she would never go into a home because her daughter wouldn't let her. I guess when we say things like that we don't understand what things would influence us to think differently. Apparently having four carers a day was not enough to make her safe and she agreed with that. Such a proudly independent person, I hope she is comfortable and not suffering pain.

It is good that you are happy with not resuming your former lifestyle and your OH is right, you have coped very well because you are both happy to stay home and can be involved with keeping busy at home. and, yes, it makes a great difference to have somebody living with you who you can talk to. We were fine right through the lockdowns until T became ill and I was fine until he went into hospital. After that it became more difficult and now, to me, the risk of catching covid is lower than the risk of my mental well being deteriorating. I am very careful when I go out but find it uplifting to meet up with friends. So far it has been outside or in my conservatory. and without wearing masks. However next month it will be inside. If just one person wants masks we will wear them but people have so far not shown the inclination to wear them.

We must all do what we feel most comfortable with these days, there is no right or wrong way

Dear All

Hello

Hope you all have a peaceful and contented weekend.

Take gentle care of each other
Love Elizabeth, EOS
xx

Evening All,

That's good you got a reply from Gill Mel and that she is ok. Poor Glyn doesn't have much luck with injuries and his teeth does he! At least it sounds like she will have the building work finished and the place more comfortable by winter. The garden will stop growing then and she can focus on the decor. Glad your car is sorted for another year now, even if it did cost for a few things. Best to get tyres sorted for winter as well. I hate being without my car too, and even though OH has his, normally he wouldn't be here that much if I wanted to borrow it! You have reminded me that I must check when my MOT is next month! Are emits flying ants?

See .......you have scarecrow making talents Vera! I bet it's like riding a bike, you never forget! :-D

We always 'did' lots of things, ate out nearly every day and visited different places after, OH followed sport and was involved in all sorts of committees etc and me the different groups, cinema, theatre so quite a change for us. OH thinks we adapted well and it's been much harder for people living on their own. He's had more of his work to do than ever since the pandemic and I think the online courses and learning things has been a really good opportunity for me. I've started getting notifications for beading workshops starting again and some of the online courses are being replaced with meeting up ones again, but am happy to continue with online ones for now. Too many will be unwilling to have the advised open windows in the autumn chill methinks! I have another project now painting the lit up wooden Christmas Decoration box that has arrived. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone though and that this is the second year with nights drawing in now!

It is a shame about your friend AnnG and sad news. It sounds like a nice home though and they will be able to help keep her comfortable. We were concerned when FIL with Alzheimers had to go in a home but after a few weeks he loved it there and was made a great fuss of by the staff. He loved all that was going on and having people to talk to which he wouldn't have done at home, even if that had been possible.

Oops, so there are AnnG. I got the Error message the first time I pressed submit so tried a second time. I have deleted one now.

We are having another day of the flying emits. They are all over the roof of the car.

Car cost me £390.70 Not bad for an oldy and another years driving plus the tax and insurance of course.

Two of you Vera.
Yes it is sad that my friend has had to go into a home but she was in full agreement her daughter has young children/teenagers and it was hard for gpher to cope and, sadly her son has returned to Australia.it does seem to be a nice place with caring staff.

I find Lee Child very readable and this one is quite gripping.

It's been a very grey, heavy sort of day here. No sun but no rain either and the atmosphere feels heavy.

Thanks Mel for contacting Gill. It's a relief to know she is OK. Btw, I love your little boat.

AnnG, I've only read one Lee Childs book and that was quite a while ago. I didn't get on with it all that well but perhaps I should give him another try. I know he is a very popular author. Maybe I'll have a look on the Libby app and see what I can download from the library. It's sad that your friend has had to go into a nursing home now. I hope they make her comfortable and look after her well.

Mandy, you do have some good ideas. I like the thought of a male/female scarecrow and the hats sound just right. When my two were still at primary school we won a scarecrow competition. I tried to think of something different and decided on a 17th century figure like an original Guy Fawkes. I remember making an outfit of breeches and jacket from crepe paper. OH made him shoes with silver buckles and the children made him a curly wig by winding strips of black crepe paper round pencils. I think I still had a brain that worked then. Nowadays I wouldn't know where to start. EDIT. Just realised it must have been a competition for a Guy, not a scarecrow. Doh!

Ann, that sounded an interesting talk on Covid. My cousin's daughter, in her 40s, has Long Covid and is now part of a national research project on how people are affected by it. It's a fine line between being cautious and living some sort of life. We are going out and about more now because we have always had an active social life and have found the lack of that over the last 18 months quite difficult but we are careful where we go and who we go with. We are attempting our first coach outing on 2nd September but the passengers will be spaced and the coach will carry barely half it's normal number, and we will probably wear masks for the actual journey.

Today we went out for coffee with our close friends and we were indoors but we chose a place where we knew the staff were all masked, every table had a bottle of sanitiser on it and tables were thoroughly cleaned between customers. Then this afternoon OH had his appointment for blood tests at our local health centre. I went with him and took a book to read in the car as I thought he might be in there a little while but I'd barely opened it before he was back. Now we have to wait for the results. Yesterday and today he has found a job or two to do in the garage and the garden which has kept him alert for a little while but the second he sits down he falls asleep again. I know a lot of elderly men tend to keep dozing off but he has never done that much.

Well, I suppose I'd better go and sort some veg to go with the salmon I took out of the freezer earlier. Enjoy the rest of your day and sleep well tonight.

Vera Do you read books by Lee Child? I have just read his latest and thought it was excellent, bang up to date with Ransome ware and modern technology. It is a Jack Reacher novel and this one was written in collaboration with his much younger brother, Andrew Child.

Thanks Mel, at least we know she is ok then if covered in dust!!