General Chat

Strange. I had it turned off the last time it was tested so was expecting a high ptched alarm but it was actually quite gentle on my ears.

Well make sure you hold on tight to your drink this time. I am sure I will still jumpp, even though expecting it.

I sort of had a reasonable sleep last night but a couple of times I woke and if one bit of me was not hurting another was so I had to get up and walk around. And, of course while up had to visit the loo.. I suppose I got enough in the end but was still up early. I have made three Christmas cards today, at the moment it is re-makes as I have a load of last years cards which are too nice to throw away.

Morning ladies

Another sleepless night (sigh). Looking on the bright side I do manage to read a lot of books.

21 degrees here but it doesn’t feel that warm as it is very windy. It’s supposed to reach 26 this afternoon but if the wind keeps up it will feel a lot cooler.

What with the fence painting and last week’s rain the garden is in need of some tlc but OH is still working in the garage and at the moment I am struggling to find the energy to do much at all.

Our garden bin is collected every 2 weeks all year round apart from the collection that would fall in the 2 weeks around Christmas and New Year. As AnnG says we pay enough for the service.

Yesterday my Sainsbury bill was emailed to me at 5 pm, hardly time for me to look at it before the delivery arrived at 5.15. All I can say is a strongly worded email of complaint will be going to Sainsbury later today. First off, I had ordered a £15 ready meal, 4 items. The “side” I ordered to go with the main dish was a green veg selection. That was not available so they substituted an almost identical green veg medley which seems sensible till you realise that dish wasn’t in the meal deal list. Therefore I only had 3 items in the deal which meant it wasn’t valid so I was charged full price for the items which came to £22.50, instead of the £15 I was expecting. Then the dessert I had ordered with this deal was cheesecake slices. The box was squashed so much that the film top had broken away and the cheesecake topping was oozing out. As I couldn’t tell if someone’s fingers had been in it, that went in the bin.

Next, I had ordered 2 vegetable quiches. The boxes again were so squashed that the ends were broken and torn. I wanted to freeze them but couldn’t put them in the freezer as they were so I had to hunt around for 2 large freezer poly bags. All this took time so I wasn’t happy.

This isn’t a complaint as such but can anyone explain the logic of this? I ordered 2 pears and 2 apples and that’s what I got, but 1 of each was neatly tied in a food bag and placed in a crate. The other apple and pear were just loose in a different crate.

That’s enough of my moaning Minnie act. I’d better go and get my joint in the oven.
Don’t forget the test alert at 3 pm. Last time they did it, a couple of years ago I nearly jumped out of my skin and spilt the drink I was holding.

Morning all,

A beautiful sunny day here and about 22 degrees with no sign of rain.

Our garden bin is expensive too, but the fortnightly service is good and carries on through the year with a very short break over Christmas / New Year.

New subscribers have to first purchase a 180 litre bin, then pay an annual charge of £61.70 for collection.

I've heard that some households share with a neighbour and so share costs too.

Mandy our bin goes through the winter which it should given how much they charge for it.

Mel, no, no heating on yet, just extra cardigans. Still saying 17 but pouring with rain and one flash of lightening and rumble of thunder. (quite a long way away though). Cold indoors.

Morning all,

Nice sunny morning and it's 20 degrees ,we should get to 24 today .

Need to get the front grass cut today as the garden bin goes out today for collection tomorrow., Ann you said your garden bin stops for the winter ,I looked at our collection dates on the council website and it looks like ours goes through the winter ,don't think we'll have much in it through the winter months .

Just having a nice cup of tea then on with some jobs .

Morning Anng and all,

Cloudy here this morning and 17 degrees the same as you Anng pc is saying light rain.

Slept well up just the once for the loo.

Are you having the heating on in the mornings then Anng, Iv'e not had mine on yet just the hot water.

Good morning all 17 degrees here cloudy sun at the moment no rain yet. Feels colder than 17 but that could be because I am not dressed and have no heating on yet.
Nothing planned today.

Ann I am pleased that Chris seems to have settled in his new house. Yes, this time of year there are several 'festival' weeks held in Cheltenham. If you remember I went to the piano recital during music festival week. And they have had history festival and imminent is the literature festival. I am sure he will find plenty there to attend, although it is not cheap. The only one I would have liked to attend was Hamza Yassin the nature photographer from Countryfile etc. Unfortunately that is the day we travel back from Devon. The main problem is that many of the talks are in the evenings and I don't fancy going in on the bus in the dark.
Nice too that Chris is near Hannah and grandchildren.

Evening All,

I'm late for me tonight and just lost a post as OH interrupted me in the middle and I deleted it instead of dropping the screen down.I can't grumble as he'd brought me a nice COT. :-D

AnnG I think I just said I was seeing Fitz this week and didn't say what day so it isn't you. As both you and Mandy said it is nice he is keeping in touch with Jane's family. Chris had a scare just around last Christmas with tests that they thought meant he had a blood cancer, but thankfully it turned out to be an infection instead and he is ok again now. Apparently he is enjoying finding and going to events in Cheltenham and has a lovely bungalow with a Japanese kind of garden with Acer trees that is only five minutes from Hannah.

Mandy I did phone the restaurant this morning and they hadn't found the pendant but will phone Fitz if it comes to light as they have his details. He brought a lovely photo of an old car from early last century with him to show me this time and told me a relative had designed it. He's full of surprises with things to do with his family. Now he's more mobile he's been catching up with jobs that have been neglected outside like the rest of us! His place is down a long narrow lane past a farm and with a very small group of other houses, all of them surrounded by acres of fields in peace and quiet. They did start building houses at the end of the lane while Jane lived nearby, but he says they are now going to extend and he says it will be right up to where he lives and they will be surrounded. I didn't say, but it must be a worry the effect on your house value. What a world we live in as you say when the schoolchildren have to be scanned! They have to hand in their phones during the day here now and I can't understand why they were ever allowed in lessons as they'd be such a distraction and the school office would phone their parents if they needed to. It makes you wonder what will be next. What, ten squares already! I swear you are getting quicker!

Oh what a shame you didn't manage the trip to Hatfield House Vera, but you made the right decision with not being well and your OH would have only been worried about you if he had gone on his own. It sounds like you weren't fully recovered recently with you having less appetite for the meal out too. I told OH about your appointment with the pharmacist and he was as amazed as me about how thorough he seemed and the time he took with you. I had to smile at your being shorter (we all are as we get older aren't we) and that the other ladies had probably lost a bit of height too as you still tower over them.

I hope the antibiotics have started to make you feel a bit better Mel. I hope Stu can soon sort a car for you. Even if you don't go out that much it is nice to know it's there if you need to or want to. I feel lost without mine when it's off the road for some reason which it will be when I get the wheels refurbished.

I hope we all get a good sleep tonight.

It’s a sad world indeed Mandy when teenagers have to be scanned for knives. It seems to be a vicious circle. Someone is a bit of a bully and it gets known that he has a knife so other kids start to bring a knife in "for self defense". It's a worrying situation but I don’t know what the answer is.

Sorry you had a bit of a restless night AnnG. I didn’t sleep well either and had about 4 hours but in 2 lots of 2 hours. I am cross with myself as before my appointment at the surgery yesterday I made a little list of things I wanted to discuss and still managed to forget to ask about my sleeping problems and lack of energy. I have had a variety of sleeping pills at different times in the past and none have worked very well so I gave up having them. You asked if my migraines were lasting longer. No, definitely not. At my worst I would “lose” 2 weeks out of every month. I was told they would get better after the age of about 60. In fact I was nearer 70 but they are a million times better than they used to be. I can’t fault the NHS as I have had lots of help over the years with different treatments. They even suggested trying acupuncture, though I had to pay privately for that. Anyway enough of my problems - there are many migraine sufferers who are worse than me.

While we are on medical matters I have just been checking up on the blood tests the clinical pharmacist ordered yesterday. I hadn’t a clue what he was asking for so I’ve been googling the different initials he used. My goodness, he is being thorough. There’s all the usual red cell, white cell, platelet counts and cholesterol, as well as tests for vitamins B12 and D plus tests for liver, kidney and thyroid functions and diabetes. He has also ordered a bone profile which I think is checking that the blood has the right amount of the different elements to make good bones. I also appear to have shrunk about an inch and a half in the last few years. I still seem to tower over half my friends but perhaps they have all shrunk too.

I don’t seem to have done very much this morning. I did pack and freeze some fish and some mince that I bought yesterday in Waitrose and I tidied the fridge and cleaned out the salad and veg boxes as I have a Sainsbury delivery coming between 5 and 6 pm so I needed to make a bit of room in the fridge. The only problem is I haven’t yet been sent a bill or receipt so I don’t know if there is anything missing or any subs. They normally send it quite early on the day of delivery but no sign of it yet. OH has put my little plastic greenhouse back in position behind the garage. He dismantled it so that the painter could get to the fence but it’s back in place now. He’s carrying on with tidying and sorting out a bit of the garage each day and it is looking better in there.

It's been quite pleasant today; 20/21 degrees and alternating sun and cloud. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer but quite windy. I hope you all have decent weather too. Enjoy the rest of the day.

I agree but I should think if a child was ill they would be able to get their phone to ring the parents. I saw something about this on the tv the other day and I agree with it. It will keep them from being tempted to use the phone to answer questions they are given in school too.

Its lovely and sunny here but there is a strong wind today too.

Mandy do you make all the squares in one colour at a time thats a good idea. Can't wait to se the first one finished and see the colours of the second one. I love pink and green.

Not a nice thought Mandy for the children to be scanned. But, I think, a very sensible one in the present climate. It is good that they can feel safe.

Mel ,I've done ten squares for ths second blanket in a sort of limey green colour.

We went to sons as he needed to pick some big boards up from Jewsons the builders merchant for the school and couldn't get them in Jakes car so he used ours ,in the end they weren't as big as he thought and could have got them in so instead of taking them to the school he took them home and will take them in on Monday .
We also called and got some fruit for them.

Son was saying that the senior school where the girls go they now have to put their phones in pouches that are locked for the day they unlock them as they leave the school , i said a lot will get a second phone ,son said they can't do that as all the children are now scanned as they go in ,that way they can see if they have another phone or any knives on them which will make all the children safer in school , what a world we live in that they now all have to be scanned for knives .

21 degrees here. All I have done is changed the bed and washed and dried bedding. And planted up two sedum cuttings but not sure if both will take.

So how many have you made of the second blanket?

20 degrees here and iv'e not done a thing.

Morning all,

Overcast here but it should be a nice day and tomorrow we could get to 24 degrees .

Vera that was a shame you had to miss your trip ,these nasty migraines really knock y
ou for six don't they it was good you managed to go with the ladies for the birthday outing but don't do to much over the weekend have a nice rest if you can.

Ann I forgot you were meeting Fitz ,hasn't he done well losing three stone ,nice to have a good catch up and it's nice he's still seeing all Jane's family .
I wonder if you dropped your dragonfly in the restaurant could you give them a ring its a shame you've lost it ,I'm sure you'll remember how to do the mouse once you start it ,it will be something different to do again.

No washing to do today I seem to gave had a lot this week but I'm sure the basket will soon fill again .

I'm now sewing the blanket up ,I've sewn the squares together in strips and now joining them down ,then just have the edging to do , I've started on the squares for the next one as the sewing makes my neck ache .

Morning Anng and all,

Quite bright here this morning too and its 15 degrees and pc says mostly cloudy.

Nothing planned here for today and I can't go anywhere so even though I can go up the top in the car its not the same somehow.

I'm pleased we heard from Vera and Annx and sorry Vera had that nasty migraine which knocked her back a bit. Shame you had to miss your trip to Hatfield House but I think you said you had been there before. Sounds like you had a good chat with a 3/4 of an hour appointment. They usually rush you in and rush you out these days. Yes I was lucky to have caught the paramedic yesterday and he's such a good lad, very calm and listens.

I forgot yesterday to tell BIL that the chain saw is leaking oil all over the place so I better text him and tell him while I remember. The last time it was used he lent it to my neighbour.

Good morning all. Vera, hope you are feeling better this morning and that you managed some decent sleep.
It is quite bright out there and 12 degrees so a real autumn morning.
I slept ok for about 5 hours but then had a few restless hours, strange when that happens.

Bed change today, bedding is in the wash. Other than that just see what happens. :-)

Oh Vera, sorry you have had a rough time, are the migraines lasting longer these days? Such a pity there seems to be no help for you with them.
Sad that you had to give up on the coach trip. But at least you were able to meet up with your friends today.

Listening to my leg is an interesting concept but I know what you mean, and I do.

Ann glad you met up with Fitz, not sure I knew that you were doing that yesterday I probably missed that. Nice that he is keeping in touch with Jane’s family too.

Evening all

I am glad you have seen someone and got some antibiotics Mel. That should help your breathing. Giving only 3 or 4 days worth of antibiotics seems to be the latest thing. One of my friends has antibiotics fairly regularly and always had enough for 7 days but now her doctor only gives 3 days supply.

You seem to have done a lot today AnnG. I know what you mean when you say no-one else will do it if you don’t, but don’t overdo it. Listen to your leg and stop when it tells you it’s had enough.

I hope you find your wire pendant Annx. It sounds as though you had a nice get-together with Fitz. We haven’t had any official notification yet about food waste bins and others but we have heard unofficially that we are going to have 5 bins. Where on earth are they all supposed to go?

Well remembered Gwyn. Yes, our fence man came back today and stayed till it was all finished. At last! The jobs we needed doing were supposed to be completed between April and June and here we are in September, but at least all the outside work is finished before winter sets in. We’re thinking of some new blinds and a new cooker but they can be sorted at our leisure.

I have lost track of myself this week. Tuesday I had a migraine and spent a lot of the day in bed. On Wednesday I felt quite a bit better and managed to do a few jobs. Early evening I got ready our bits and pieces we wanted for our trip out on Thursday and then my eyes went funny again with loss of vision in one eye and black, squiggly lines everywhere I looked. If I sit or lay quietly with my eyes closed for 30 minutes or so my vision clears. Sometimes that’s all that happens and I carry on as normal; sometimes the pains in the head start. This was one of those times. I had a lot of pain and no sleep but still got up at 6.30 trying to convince myself that I would be fine to go to Hatfield House. By 7 am I knew that I wouldn’t manage more than 3 or 4 miles on the coach before I was sick. I tried to persuade OH to go without me but, since the time I lost my memory and ended up in hospital, he won’t leave me if I have a migraine so I spent another day in bed and neither of us got to go.

Today I had my review with a clinical pharmacist. What a lovely man! He was so thorough, listened to me and answered my questions and explained things about my various medications to me. While I was with him he took my blood pressure 3 times sitting down and once standing up and even weighed me. I was with him over ¾ of an hour. I’ve now got to take my blood pressure 3 times, morning and night, and record the average, for the next 4 days, get the form back to him and then he’ll phone me with various decisions about tablets. I’ve also got an appointment for blood tests at the surgery on 23rd September and he seems to be checking for about a dozen different things. If I’d had the review with one of the doctor’s I would probably only have had a 10 minute appointment. It was very reassuring to be able to talk things through properly without being rushed.

When I got back a friend picked me up and we collected another 2 ladies on the way and went for a birthday lunch in Long Melford. There were 8 of us today. I’m not eating well at the moment so decided to have one of their small plates. There wasn’t a big choice of these, so I had ham, egg and chips again but I couldn’t even finish that. The other 7 all had meals off the main menu. 3 of them had salmon in a lemon and dill sauce with mash potatoes and tenderstem broccoli and I wished I’d gone for that as it wasn’t excessively big and they all said how delicious it was. I even stuck to water to drink instead of my usual glass of wine or shandy. Aren’t I good? Then it was back to the birthday girl’s house for tea and cake, though I didn’t have any cake. There was a slight chill in the air but with a cardi on it was very pleasant sitting in her garden chatting and laughing.

I am OK but the migraines do leave me feeling very tired so I am going to have a quick look at the local paper and then get myself to bed and hope to get some sleep.