General Chat

I wish you joy trying to sort out that catalogue Annx. 350 pages! It's not a catalogue, it's a tome.

It's still dry and reasonably bright but there is such a cold wind out there. I've got 3 different weather apps on the PC, the iPad and my phone and for once they all agree that it's 13 degrees but disagree on how cold it actually feels. But it definitely feels a lot colder than 13.

After blobbing about for a while this morning I decided that I must do something useful so I stuck on an old, warm anorak and went into the garden. I'm still sorting the 19 troughs down the side of the house but I'm nearly there now. I think there is only 1 to go. 2 with geraniums in have come in to the conservatory, 3 have small,evergreen shrubs and have been tidied and topped up with some fresh compost, 1 has nemesia which is still blooming away. When the flowers eventually die off I'll cut them down and hope they will come back next year; they often do. The remaining troughs had annuals in. With these I pull up the dead or dying plants, make sure the troughs are weed free and top up the compost levels. Then I cover them with black plastic held down with stones which helps keep weeds down but more importantly stops the local cat population using them as litter trays. While I was out there I also cleared and washed out another of the big tomato pots. We had 6 and I've dealt with 4 of them now.

While I was doing all this OH cleared up a load of the leaves that have come down from surrounding trees and all seem to land in our garden. I have thought of leaving the ones on the beds to just rot down but the trouble is they provide a cosy spot for slugs and snails to spend the winter. So we put them into big plastic sacks and leave them for a couple of years and eventually you get some lovely leaf mould to go on the garden. The sacks are hidden down the side of the garage so aren't visible or in the way and can just sit there till they are ready for use.

When I came in it was 12.30. Our main meal was all prepared and just needed cooking so I decided we would have it at lunchtime which means I can spend some time this afternoon doing what I want. I am thinking that I might have a look at my family tree. I haven't done anything on it for yonks but a couple of times a year I check out a couple of brick walls in case anything new has been put online. Yes, I've convinced myself that is what I will do.

Good luck Annx looking through the catalogue.

The sun just went in and it came over so black and then it started with hailstones and a strong wind.

Afternoon All,

We had rain earlier but it's dry and sunny now and quite warm like Mel said. I was thinking as I drove back from the shop how it would be cold and foggy this time of the year in the past.

That's great the pud was fine Mandy so that you can do the others in the slow cooker. That will be a job done ready for Christmas.

Vera I think my motivation has joined yours and I've talked myself into thinking the garden is too wet to do anything outside today! Lots of inside jobs are nudging me in the ribs, the microwave and hob need cleaning but I think a COT and emailing Fitz are more appealing.

Yes the bathroom catalogue is a nightmare Mel. They issue a fresh one twice a year and the prices go up each time, so I really need to sort what I want quickly. What annoys me is that eg the contents page gives 'sanitary ware' and the pages from and to, but then you find other toilets are shown on other different pages as well! I end up with slips of paper trying to mark the different pages. Still I ought to face looking again now OH is out for the day so there won't be interruptions! Wish me luck.

Good morning

November already; I’m sure the years are getting shorter. Very heavy rain during the night. It’s fairly bright this morning but very windy again and that’s making it feel cold. No plans for the day. I ought to do some h/w and a bit more in the garden but I don’t feel much like it. My mojo has definitely gone walkabout lately. I’ll just pootle about and see what the day brings.

She was white with black markings Mel.

Sunny here at the moment but still only 11 degrees and feeels cold.

I'm glad that litte Kitty was so easy to catch Anng and now she will have a much better life and hope she finds a loving home. Just out of interest what colour was she?

The suns quite warm when you stand in it so I hope we are in for a better dayoday.

Morning all,

Its quite bright and a bit sunny here this morning and I am hoping it stays that way for a change. Pc says 11 degrees and partly sunny so we will have to wait and see.

That was good they had four of the toilets you liked Annx at least thats one part sorted. The catalogue must be quite daunting with all the pages.

Mandy its good the pud turned out ok and now you can do the other two in the slow cooker.

Morning all,

Quite bright out there today and it's 13 degrees, I got up for the loo about four o'clock and it was really raining hard I think it might have been hail as I could hear it rattling on something outside .
We're off to sons for coffee this morning and we'll call and get them some fruit and a tray of eggs .

Ann the pudding smelt lovely ,I turned it out of the basin this morning when it was completely cold and wrapped it in two lots of parchment and foil so I think I'll do the next two in the slow cooker as well.

Good morning all. too early to see what the day is like out there as still dark but I slept ok and, as I can't lay down after taking a tablet it is not worth going back to bed. hoping that is the last tablet taken.
It is ten degrees outside. Notthing planned except a Tesco delivery 3-4 pm.

The problem with the pain in my ankle/leg Vera is that it is not actually caused by the infection, it is the actual lesion that causes pain. sometimes they each sometimes they have a pain that is not sharp but like a clenching or tightening of the surrounding area which travels up my leg. The infection was a discolouring aroung the lesion and was very hot to touch. It is cool now so, until I stop the antibiotics I can't tell if it has cleared because the pain of the lesion won't automatically clear as it is flexed when I walk. So it is wait an see a couple of days.

Evening All,

Another chilly day and I haven't even been outside today.

Do you think the slow cooker Christmas pud has worked ok Mandy? I don't make any now and just buy a tiny one for OH. He has a small Christmas cake just for him as well. Did you still get that nice smell in the kitchen?

I hope your foot has eased a bit now AnnG. I think I pulled a muscle in my shoulder last night lifting down some heavy box files. It ached like anything when I went to bed but I've been careful with it today and it's much better. Well thanks to you that little lady kitty has a good future ahead of her now and will be cared for instead of being on the streets! :-D

Vera it sounds like the trip and appointment went well, so I hope the results come through quickly and will be good. Your daughter's new little dogs must be looking smart now after the grooming session. I wonder if the female will get used to the clippers in time as she may never have seen them before. The boy sounds quite laid back. The garden centre we tried for lunch the other day was just as busy. I wonder if th Christmas Shoppers are starting sooner than usual!

Mel I bet you were surprised to find Stu asleep. He must get tired though with the kind o work he does. It was good you were able to collect the desk and it fitted in your car ok. I suppose you are getting more used to driving in the dark with driving to Stu's and it's getting you more used to the car as well.

OH had a work meeting at the usual coffee place at 8.00am this morning so was up early to shower. Lunchtime he had a dentist appointment. Nothing painful there except in the pocket! I was tearing my hair out with the 350+ pages of yet another new catalogue from the bathroom shop. Some doesn't make sense and eg they have toilets in there in about four different places that don't relate to what it says in the contents. I'd previously sorted which we wanted in the old catalogue but it isn't in the new catalogue so phoned them and they then phoned me back as they couldn't see it either. They went and checked and found they'd got four in the warehouse and have earmarked one for me now.

Time for my tablet and bed now so I hope we all sleep well.

Little kitty picked the right garden when she came to you AnnG. Now it looks as though she will have a good home for the future. I hope your leg and foot are feeling a bit better today. It sounds as though you may need a second course of antibiotics.

I bet you thought there would be no dinner when you found Stu asleep Mel, but you didn’t go hungry and you did them a good turn by driving to collect the desk

I hope the changeable temperatures with the wind and the rain are not affecting your chest Gwyn and you are nearly back to peak fitness again now.

We woke up this morning to a nice bright day but by 11 am we were getting quite a bit of rain. When we arrived at the hospital at around 12.10 the stuff was just falling out of the sky and we got pretty soaked just running across the car park into the hospital and it has been raining on and off ever since. I can’t get warm this afternoon although it is supposed to be 14 degrees and the heating is on downstairs anyway. I keep putting on another layer and look a bit like Michelin man now.

Daughter sent a photo of 2 smart little dogs. They had been to the groomer. Maggie didn’t like the clippers so she was done with scissors but Benji took it all in his stride. Daughter has been playing all week for a musical quite a way from home but it’s just been evenings and the dogs have been fine with a neighbour popping in to see them a couple of times. Tomorrow she has a matinee and evening performance and no time to get home between them. It’s not fair on the dogs or the neighbour to leave them for so long so they are going into kennels from Saturday morning to Sunday morning. Doggies were used to being at the RSPCA kennels and daughter always sent her old dogs to this particular one so has confidence in them. It will cost her about half of her fee for playing this week but she can relax knowing they are safe.

I think I’ve said before that it’s 19 or 20 miles to the hospital but it’s a good road and, all being well, it takes 30-35 minutes. We left home 55 minutes before the appointment time and there were no holdups and very little traffic so we sailed through and got there very early for the appointment. We had to wait for another 25 minutes beyond the appointment time and then OH was in and out in 5 minutes. I couldn’t believe how quick he was. We were actually in the hospital for 59 minutes which meant we just scraped paying for 1 hours parking instead of more.

Dobbies Garden Centre is only about a mile from the hospital so we decided to go there for lunch. That was a mistake; the world and his wife had the same idea and there wasn’t a table to be had and people were still queueing to place their orders. I wondered if they were going to eat standing up! Having wasted all this time we decided to go home. By now it was 2 pm. We do pass 2 pubs on the way back but we’ve had a couple of bad experiences in one so don’t go there anymore and the other one only serves between 12 and 2. We eventually got home about 2.45 and made a quick sandwich. Now neither of us feels ready to eat again yet but these days I don’t like eating too late or I am up half the night with heartburn.

A real wasted day today. I’ll start afresh tomorrow and hope to get on a bit better.

Oh bless her she's going to be one of the lucky ones ,coming into your garden has been a blessing or she might have not survived through the winter .

The estate opposite me used to be a huge council estate, always trouble there. Most of the houses and flats are now either privately owned or housing association etc. there are well known feckless families among them who don't have their cats chipped and don'r have them doctored, then when kittens are born they are just left to fend for themselves, homes not looked for, she will probably be one of those abandoned kittens. Luckily she has been resourceful and kept herself alive. Her phptp has been on facebook more than once in the past 4-5 weeks and nobody has claimed her.

Oh she's a young one ,perhaps she got out and then got lost ,someone might be wondering where she is but the vets would be your first port of call incase she was brought in i would have thought , nice to know she's now being fostered and then the lady will adopt her and good she'll get her done too when she's old enough.

Suns now trying to shine bit late in the day though but nice to see even for a few minutes as its been a dreary day.

We're having Cornish pasties tonight with baked beans and chips bit naughty but we haven't had them for ages .

Mandy Just heard that it is a female and a baby, apparently quite calm at the vets. A lady who used to live opposite and who always had loads of cats. (Husband and his son still live opposite but they live apart although are not separated) is picking her up today to foster her for a week while the vets try and trace anybody who owns her. If she is not claimed She will adopt her and start by having her 'done'.

That was an unexpected night drive Mel. would not want to traverse Devon country lanes at night, they were bad enough in daylight when we were there. :-D

Afternoon all,

Been a very grey morning ,had a little rain overnight and its just started again .

Anng thats good he / she has been caught and quite quickly too he /she must have been hungry ,you've nothing to feel guilty about as he/she will now be looked after and fed and watered and found a nice warm home for the winter .

Mel were you wondering if you might have to cook your own dinner last night when you found Stu asleep ,poor chap must have been tired .
So you had an unexpected trip out last night and that was good you managed to get the desk in the car .

Vera that was a nice afternoon tea treat you had yesterday ,I like the name Piglets Pantry .
Hope everything goes OK with OH's scan today .

Got the Christmas pud in the slow cooker ,I'm now thinking I will give it ten hours after looking at some other recipes ,I looked at one that was for 8 hours but there were a few others for 10

It worked within fifteen minutes of leaving it down the side of the house under shelter. It started to rain heavily and I guess the shelter and smell of food was too much for the poor little think. so trusting and I feel very guilty now as he was just starting to come to me. s/till he will be found a home. This lady belongs to the local cats lost and found group as do I now. But the lady in charge who would normally cover this area is laid up after an operation. Anyway Ann and husband have just carried him off in their car bless him (or her).

Hope it works Anng is she the only person around that does cat rescue?

Had my feet done and went to the shop after to post a parcel so that two good things out of the way for today. I think I will boil an egg for a fishing sandwich lunch time as I hav'nt had one for a while and still with my own tomatoes.