General Chat

Morning Mel,morning all,

Sunny morning with just a little wind so I hope my washing will dry ,yesterday I picked all the green tomatoes and I have four trays of them in the conservatory ,today I want to cut all the stalks and get them in the bin and leave ths pits in ths greenhouse for the compost to dry out a bit before we bag it up for next year , I don't think I've ever had such a big crop of cues and toms ,it must have been the good sunny summer that helped them .

Morning girls,

Nice morning here and I think the wind has dropped pc says 12 degrees and mostly sunny.

I took most of the long beans down yesterday the ones in a big pot on the patio as they were getting blown about in the wind. I thi8nk its pond filters today as Iv'e not done them for a week.

Slept well and hope you all did.

I am definitely going bonkers. I was quite sure I had posted this morning. I definitely meant to but I must have got distracted and forgotten to do it. I haven't done much of anything today. It's been dry and at times sunny but there has still been a bitter cold wind so I haven't felt like doing anything outside and I haven't been in the mood for indoor jobs either.

I'm going to start sorting myself out for bed as I feel very tired. Tomorrow we are meeting our neighbours from a village we left in 1986. We try and meet about once a year for lunch. We usually meet in the same place each time as it is conveniently placed on a good road about half way between us. It's usually a long lunch as there is always a lot of catching up to do.

Night night everyone. Sleep tight.

Evening All,

Well I succumbed to the vanishing post earlier and lost the will to do it again, so have saved you all a few yawns!!

We ordered a carvery today with being up late, but it was cold and not that nice, so we'll give it a miss for a few months now. A garden centre a few miles away has been taken over and opened a couple of months ago by the garden centre we see the big Christmas displays at that has the log fires in Rutland and I've noticed they do carveries in the week so we'll give them a try soon. I've slow cooked the lamb steaks and root veg we were going to have today and we can have that tomorrow. I've done a wash to put out tomorrow, made a couple of phone calls and sorted our broadband contract to remove unlimited phone calls and save £10 a month as we rarely use the landline now. I had an email with the quote for the cupboards to be fitted which was eyewatering, but it will only get more so if we don't do them now. The bathroom fitter is booked up till next March, so it will be good to get the bedroom finished first now as it will need new flooring once the cupboards are fitted as there will be a gap.

Mandy that's a good idea to look in the Range for curtains. I hadn't thought of trying them and when I popped in ours recently, I was wandering around the Homebase bit at first which seems to still be there and never got to the top end of the store where the curtains might be. I did see they had a huge range of doormats and tea towels though. It will be good for you to have a look in the new food store at the same time. I'm sure your toms will ripen ok as I have had them almost till Christmas by ripening them with a red one with them. What great success you have had growing things this year. :-D Yes the curtains seems to easily whizz round the corners with the new metal rail and less light comes in at the top and sides with fitting closer to the wall. Lucky Colin getting a few jigsaws. I find there is more satisfaction sorting through the pieces and fitting them than doing them online.

AnnG I don't think I have visited Torquay for about 35 years and expect it must have changed a lot since then. I think it was the first time I ever saw palm trees in the UK and I felt like I was abroad. I would have liked the trip to the Butterfly Farm, but they are hard to photograph and on the move a lot. I can imagine how it must have seem strange to be in the area again and probably brought back memories comparing then with now. Still enjoying times with your daughter though which is nice.

Mel it sounds odd it was an indicator light as you'd think you would have heard the noise from that and it would flash and be noticeable. It's good you spotted it as you don't want a flat battery. You seem to miss a few meals till late in the day lately, so have you lost some weight? We have some of those Granny Bonnet seedlings between our slabs this year and they soon get too hard to pull out. I can get them out in the gravel when they are small, but I have to brush through them to get in the greenhouse now. I might pour some salt on them and see if that kills them.

I hope everyone has a good sleep, especially Vera. I look forward to hearing about the little rescue dogs.

Hi all, it has stayed dry and a mixture of sun and cloud and a light wind. We have been to a butterfly and order place. It is really difficult to photograph butterflies and it was a bit busy being a Sunday. It was nice though and from there we went to Buckfast Abbey. Mixed feeling there as T’ father lived just round the corner from the abbey and I spent a lot of time there with just daughter when T was based in Plymouth on HMS Eagle. It felt very strange to be back in the area.

You love your jigsaw don't you Mandy. I have just had a go at the plants growing between the patio slabs. I have two grannies bonnets that have been there years and I would really like to kill them off so Iv'e cut them right back and when theres no wind I am going to paint some weedkiller on them and see if that works.Swept up some leaves and am going to cut the runners down today.

Morning all ,

Sunny at the moment but still a bit breezy, going out this morning to pick all the green tomatoes and bring them in and hope they will ripen ,they did last year I laid them on a tray in the conservatory , the brown bin goes tomorrow so it will be good to get rid of all the plants .
Then I need to do my veg for the roast later .

Mel was the light on the car flashing then if it was the indicator left on or was the light just on all the time ,might be a faulty light ,perhaps you should get Stu to check the lights are all OK, we just get in cars and presume all the lights are on and working .

Sounds a nice place to stay Anng surrounded by all those Christmas trees ,was there any big waves yesterday when you went to Torquay

Vera sounds as if you had quite a fight getting the bedding on the line ,so annoying when you've struggled to do it and there's a nice blow then it rains ,I think I might have said a rude word too.

Ann I meant to ask if the new curtain rail was a success, we actually measured the curtains for the front bedroom ths other day so I might have a look in the range this week as they have curtains in there , only been in the once just after they opened ,we now have a Food warehouse opened near the range so might look in there too.

Thank you for Colins birthday wishes he enjoyed his day and had some nice presents ,son and family bought him three lovely jigsaws all ready to do over the winter although he's started one already.

Morning Anng and all,

Quite bright this morning but still windy. it 12 degrees and pc says mostly cloudy.

Don't think I mentioned that BIL popped in yesterday and nattered for a while. I had'nt eaten and did'nt get my lunch till past 3pm which threw me all out so last night I just had a bowl of rice pudding with a teaspoon of homemade jam.

Hope you enjoy your trip out and it stays dry for you Anng. Just think if it had been last week we would have been about 10 mins away from each other.

Good morning all, dry here and wind dropped I think plans are to go to a butterfly place. Not sure why, daughters choicem

I wonder if that is some sort of parking light Mel.

The rain was pretty constant this morning but eventually stopped around 12 it was very very windy but we drove in to Torquay and walked down by the marina to have lunch in the Harvester which was very good. Spent about three hours in Torquay, windy and sunny cloudy but not cold. Just a quick detour into Lidls and then back to read.

Because it probably need to be warm and dry to have a scent of pine we have not noticed it yet.

I did'nt kow the smell of pine made you sleepy so Iv'e learn something today.

Washing dried enough to iron out in the blowy day and I have ironed all but two things as my hip was telling me its time to stop.

I went round to do the chickens and noticed one back light on on the car. Checked the light switches nothing put it out and I then noticed a green arrow on the dash board it was the indecater laft on turning left. I shall have to keep my eye on that as it must have been on since I went up the shop.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLIN. I hope you have had a lovely day and been spoilt by the family.

In spite of a bad night I've ploughed on and seem to have got a lot done today, not helped by my beloved OH who seemed to be under my feet all the time. I asked him to do one job and he started but something distracted him half way through and he forgot to finish it. Men! I washed a king size duvet cover thinking it was so blowy that it would dry quickly on the line. I didn't realise I'd have a fight on my hands to get it on the line. The wind was whipping my rotary line round in circles and I was running round with it trying to keep the line still, stop this great big cover from trailing on the ground and put in lots of pegs all at the same time. I managed and came back in but half an hour later I had to run out again and get it back off the line as it was now raining. I said a few choice words under my breath.

I also did a towel wash and they got dried in the dryer. Next I had a good hoover round downstairs including the conservatory and wiped all the window ledges in there.

After lunch I sat at the computer, opened my email programme and things started flashing up and down the screen. When it stopped I discovered that all the important emails in a "To be kept" folder had disappeared and the folder was empty. Help!!! After having a little panic I started looking for them and found they had apparently moved themselves to a trash file. So I then had to carefully move them all back to the correct folder. If I had closed my email programme I would have lost everything.

Since then I've prepared a pork casserole which is in the oven and in a minute I'll put some roasties in the oven too.

It's good that your blinds and rails are fitted now Annx but that was naughty of that chap to use your towel to wipe down. Why on earth didn't he ask you for a cloth? Good luck with your responses to your local planning applications.

I'm pleased you didn't have too much traffic on the way down AnnG but the weather isn't doing you any favours. I do hope it improves quickly for you so you can get out and about a bit. The smell of all those pine needles on the Christmas trees should help you to sleep. Many years ago OH and I stayed at a B & B at a place called Little Snoring. It was well named because the village was backed by a pine forest and I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Time I got those roasties in if we want to eat this side of Christmas. Enjoy what's left of the day.

Afternoon All,

I slept quite well, but woke up having a dream where OH was slicing a cabbage!!! I can't think of anything less likely although he does peel veg. It was windy again and quite chilly when I went out earlier and it's raining now. I had a job to get out of my car as the wind kept trying to close the door on me. Now I can't stop yawning. OH went to physio but decided with the weather to give the walk and footie a miss today and and is tucked up warm watching footie on tv with his newspaper to read.

It's good there wasn't too much traffic for your journey AnnG and that you are settled in now. It sounds nice being on a Christmas Tree Farm. It made me think of the pine smell outside when I was a little girl living near the forest at the Cannock Chase.

<3HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLIN <3. I hope you enjoy the day and no doubt the children will be bringing gifts for you.

Sorry you didn't have a good night Vera. You are right about us not putting our cars in the garage. OH's might squeeze in if it was empty but mine with wide doors wouldn't. Before we came up with the idea of using bricks we already had, we were going to get some thin, aluminium metal strip from B&Q and either stick or screw it to the bottom edge of the door or better still to fasten it to the back of the door frame with self tapping screws. The latter way you can more easily let the strip almost touch the floor before marking and drilling holes. The frame on ours was 'U' shaped so nothing would show on the front. You could use a strip of wood instead as I doubt they could chew it when they squash themselves down to get under.

I have a couple of responses to do as well. one for the latest warehouse application near us and the second for retrospective planning for land that has a caravan on and is next to the nice wildlife park I used to walk round where the old Hall and ice house are. Like you and despite the Localism Act, local communities are still not being listened to and you feel they are just going through the motions of having to invite responses but will take absolutely no notice.

Iv'e had thunder this morning and its very gusty but the suns been out and at the mo its dry.

Not done the shop yet and the washing machine has just finished so I better get that on the line and hope it drys in the blow.

Good morning all. It was a very wet journey but not bad traffic wise.this is a very compact lodge, I think with four adults it would be quite cramped but ok for the three of us. My room is quite small although ok for me for a week. Annoying as all clothes have to be folded into drawers, no wardrobe or hanging Raul.
We are on a fairly large Christmas tree farm so are surrounded by trees of all shapes and sizes. There is a gap left at the end of our terrace through which we have a nice view. A view that has just been obscured by the latest shower. It is very gusty. And some of the Christmas trees are quite tall.

Glad that you have had the blinds fitted Ann. Surely it would be normal for a fitter to carry a cloth, or at least ask for one. That will be brick dust if he had to drill into the wall and the grit might be embedded into the towel.

Vera I have heard of Haberdashers schools but thought they only had private ones.

That is a nuisance if the mice are back, hope you can get rid of it or them.

Mandy, as they usually check your birth date at the Vacc clinics I am sure they will pick up if you are. It eligible.

Morning girls,

<3 <3 <3 Happy Birthday Colin <3 <3 <3 Have a lovely day whatever you do. x

Enjoy your lazy day.

Still windy here 10degrees and to expect 3 rainy days ahead starting today. It was quite bright when I woke up and I just lay for a while and then it came over rather grey.

Just the shop to do this morning and the rest of the day is mine to do what I want to.

Slept well but sorry you did'nt Vera.

Morning Vera ,morning all,

Bright and breezy here this morning, nice to see the sun after the dreary day yesterday
Son and family coming for coffee this morning as its Colin's birthday ,not sure what we'll do for the rest of the day probably be a lazy day.

Good morning all

I didn’t sleep much at all last night and got up at 6 am. It was too much to hope for 2 good nights in a row. OH is still in bed and I don’t want to wake him by making any noise so I’m twiddling my thumbs a bit.

I don’t have any plans today but I don’t think it will include gardening. It’s not supposed to rain again till this afternoon but it is very windy. IPAD says it is 11 degrees but the wind is making it feel like 3. Hope it’s not too stormy where you are.

I can understand how wood and bricks would block the gap under the doors but surely you would have to move them every time you wanted to put your car in or out. Ah, it has just registered with me; you probably don't garage your car. Our car is always garaged. We have quite a large double garage with two up and over doors. The car goes in one side and the other half operates as a shed cum storage area. Although there is also a small side door which we use a lot of the time we do need access to both the up and over doors to get bigger stuff in and out. I'll remember about the peanut butter Annx. Thanks for mentioning it. I know the little beggars like chocolate as well. So far we have managed just with good old Cheddar.

As to the school name Annx: there were 4 schools founded by Robert Aske, a member of the Guild of Haberdashers. Sometimes Hatcham was added after Aske's to distinguish which school was being spoken about. Hatcham was an area of S.E.London and there was a boys' and a girls' school there. They became state schools in 1948 but the other 2 are private schools and quite well known. The reason I said that I didn't go to the private school is I have sometimes received rather snide remarks about being born with a silver spoon in my mouth, because they have heard the name of the school I went to and jumped to the wrong conclusion. I know no-one on here would be so nasty. In fact I'm quite proud that as a kid from a working class family I got accepted into a good school and received an excellent education. Needless to say, the school has been through lots of changes and doesn't even have the same name anymore.

Handy those scourers for stopping up access holes aren't they! Talk of your tasty stew is making my mouth water Mel. Because of the man coming I had to make do today with a quick to get jacket potato with tinned chicken in a white sauce (Asda's own brand and quite nice for a quick meal) and frozen peas. OH had his with tinned salmon and salad.....healthier than mine! I hope your trees will be ok in the wind. It sounds quite gusty which is when it causes damage. I'm late tonight so off to bed now and to see if my curtain rail shuts more light out in the morning.

I meant to say it is a shame Patricia Routledge has passed away aged 96. I loved her as Hyacinth Bucket with Onslow and the others. We are losing a lot of people we grew up seeing on tv. I remember when I was young thinking my age now was a good age to live to, but as you get closer to it yourself, it seems much too soon!