General Chat

<3 <3 <3 Happy Birthday Ann <3 <3 <3 Have a wonderful day.

Morning all,

Bit cloudy here this morning so I am hoping it brightens up later on as the friend is suppose to come todya to cut a dead tree down outside the wall. Hee's the one that came and cut the fallen apple tree down for me.

Pc is telling me low visability today and ts 15 degrees.

Good morning all

7.30 am and it’s already hot. I am definitely not looking forward to traipsing round town later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN. I hope you have a lovely day <3

Evening all,

Phew what a hot and busy couple of days ,yesterday son , dil and Jake stripped all the old sheets off the shed but by late morning it was just to hot to do any more so they had some lunch and went home , then watching the weather they said there might be a little rain ,bit of panic by me I have to add as the whole roof was opened up and when I went in i could see sunshine through a bit near the light fitting so after a bit of discussion it was decided we would take a chance ,luckily no rain in the night which would have soaked the fibreglass that was on show between the timbers .
They decided they would come early this morning to make a start while it was cool ,they were here by quarter past seven ,so it was all finished by late morning and we're really pleased with it .
We just need to have a good clean up but we can do that on a cooler day as tomorrow is going to be 31 degrees ,its been 28 today .

Mel I too hope you have sweet dreams and all your memories today have been of Happy times you shared together <3

I can't believe it's been 3 years Mel. You did the right thing keeping busy. I'll be thinking of you as I go to sleep. May all your dreams tonight be happy ones.

I couldn't have got through this summer without my fan Annx. On the hottest nights, like last night and almost certainly tonight, it is on all night. As you know, my room is under the eaves and gets very hot but this fan is very efficient with lots of different settings and a remote so I don't even have to get out of bed to operate it. How good is that! It was quite expensive but I definitely count it as one of our "Best Buys".

Apparently, the temperature has dropped from 31 to 23 degrees in the last couple of hours but it doesn't feel much cooler to me. I had a shower late afternoon but I feel as though I need another one now. We haven't seen Mandy today so I hope she hasn't been affected too much by the heat

It sounds like a nice place AnnG and I googled it too, but I admire you managing to walk so far in today's heat. As you say though, you could rest on the way and tall trees are cooling I find. It's still 28 degrees here now but was 30 degrees earlier and tomorrow looks like being the same.

OH is near Stratford on Avon with his friend at a match so will be home late, but will be nice and cool in the car and has plenty of water with him.

I did a bit of hoovering and cleaned the cooker hob this afternoon and that's about it as I was sweltering by then.Fitz has booked us a table for a meal and meet up in September which will be nice and good to see how he is doing with his new hip.

I'm going outside now to see if it's cool enough to water the pots and then I'm off to bed. For the first time this year I'm taking a fan with me as I think I may need it tonight. I hope you all manage to sleep ok.

Today was the day I lost oh three years ago. Tried to keep busy, hoovered done a bit of dead heading fed the fish and put some bits together to put a job lot on Ebay. Not photographed them yet.

Sounds like you had a good day out Anng.

Yes it was a fair distance to walk in the heat but there was a good amount of shade because of all the trees. I did use my stick DiL has fibro myalgia like my sister, so suffers with her legs as well so we make a good pair. Yes the house opening times are not that good.

It sounds like a nice trip out AnnG. I didn’t know Ascott House so googled as I thought I might suggest it to the lady who organizes our group trips out. The trouble is the opening times for the house are a bit limited, just some weekday afternoons in summer. You walked a good distance in this heat.

I hope you are all coping in the hot weather. I struggled during the night and didn’t sleep much at all. At 5.30 am I considered either doing a bit of gardening or tackling the ironing but lack of sleep meant I was so heavy headed and tired that I just couldn’t be bothered. I did rouse myself enough to go into the garden at about 9 am but by then it was getting hot and I only managed about 20 mins out there. After I’d cooled down a bit I managed to do some of the ironing.

Our handyman is coming tomorrow to start painting the fence. He hasn’t been well so I hope he comes well protected with a hat etc. I don’t want him collapsing in the heat. I’m not looking forward to going into town tomorrow to get my hair cut, collect my meds and my watch and go to the bank and to one of the shops. It’s going to be hot at the time I’ll be there, around midday and there’ll be a bit of walking between the different places.

OH is cooking tonight. I think he’s just going to shove some oven chips and gammon steaks in the oven and open a can of beans so not a sophisticated meal but I bet I’ll have to spring clean the kitchen when he’s finished. Bless him ;-)

Hello all. 31 degrees here. Had a lovely day today. First stop was Dobbies for breakfast. And while there son bought me a lovely dark leaved sedum, quite large, for my birthday. Just have to remember to take it home now.

Next we drove to Ascot House (NT). It is a beautiful old house black and white style but the house was closed. As it was the last time we were there. We walked just over a mile and a half sitting for rests when we could in the shade as the sun was very hot. The gardens are lovely, lots of large very old trees and manicured hedges and some flowers we were there about two hours. We were able to call for the buggy to get us back the last quarter mile and then sat under an umbrella chatting with drinks and ice cream.

Now sitting in the lounge with the fan on and curtains drawn so that it is cool with a cup of tea.

Just fed the fish and its stifling out there. Pc says 27 degrees so I came in to a lovely cool house.

I have had a spider suck up this morning and cleaned out the groove in the front door. It had 6 lots of spiders nests up there, always hard to get off with the hoover pipe so out came my little brush for round the windows and that got them.

Shopping came and was all put away and Iv'e done some painting on a miniature barrel and am just about to drill the lid to get two tiny nails in it, a coat of modpodge and its finished.

Afternoon All,

We are luckier than Vera as it's just 25 degrees here so a bit cooler and for once it is hotter where Mel is which makes a change. I slept well with just a sheet over me and was up early as OH had to be up at 6.00am to do his tablet and food regime and shower before going to a council meeting at Coalville in the rush hour. I nipped to the shop that's air conditioned, as we are nearly out of milk and my bread and it was good to see people walking their dogs before the pavements get hot, unlike yesterday when I saw three little dogs on hot pavements at midday. A friend of mine once told a woman with a dog to take her sandal off and feel how hot it was. To her credit she did and said she hadn't realised.

I've washed bedding and put it out and have damp wiped the hall. The very fine dust after the work seems never ending. I also grabbed some weeds while I was outside, but it's too hot out there now.

Vera I don't understand how the GP can do a medication review without seeing me either. My notes just give the date the review was done and not how it was done. Pharmacy2you talks about meeting with your `GP or Pharmacy and gives a list of categories needing reviews and I am in three categories

Those over 75 years old
Those regularly taking prescription medicines
Those taking medicine for a long-term illness

How nice you had photos sent of the little one with her cards and books on her birthday. That is where the internet is good! The party sounded good and how lucky the prize was a book you hadn't read by someone you liked.

Mel I did say about the Asda site changing. I don't like some things they have done. They just don't charge for the things you hand back as they take payment after the delivery. If you saw or recall I had a job to find where to get a refund recently after the driver had gone. They hide things in menus now which is something I hate. Far better to have them where you can see them easily. I know what you mean about having to leave jobs half way through and then forgetting to finish them. I leave things out ready to carry on sometimes and OH will tidy them away. That puts me off getting them out again to finish a job!

Better get something to eat now. OH will sort himself as he isn't back yet.

Iv'e just had a thing about Asda new things on the site. It says we only take payment once your order is delivered ( which means no more refunds!) Do you think we arn't going to get any at all now?

Morning all,

Nice bright morning today and pc says unhealthy air quality today and 18 degrees already.

Had a very good sleep and did'nt wake in the night for the loo. I went to bed at 12.05am which is early for me. I had taken two paractamol and dropped straight off. I also took my heated money and put him on my back which I think helped a lot. Its not too bad at the mo but I hav'nt sat or walked around much yet. I must remember to not do too much at a time but its hard once you start a job thats been waiting for ages to be done and then getting half way thorugh and giving up and then forgetting about it all together. This is what I tend to do.

Well I have had my morning coffee and had a little read and chat so I think its time to get dressed as its shopping day today.

Like the proverbial bad penny I’ve turned up again

I’ve been having some problems lately with swollen feet and ankles, particularly bad in my left foot where I broke some bones. It doesn’t seem to be anything to do with the heat, although that isn’t helping. Friday I couldn’t get any shoes on! Even the straps on my more open sandals wouldn’t stretch far enough over the swelling for the Velcro fastenings to stay done up. Eventually, by removing the insoles I am supposed to use and the toe separator on my left foot, I managed to force my feet into a pair of lace up shoes and we set out. OH came with me so he could do the driving which was a help.

My library card had expired so I couldn’t borrow any books on the Libby app. The app has been “updated” which meant it sent me round in circles and still told me I had to go into my branch. So that was our first stop. It took ages. I joined Suffolk Libraries when we moved to the county in 1986 and never had a problem before but this time all my details had to be checked and double checked, then I had to prove who I was and where I lived. Luckily the assistant was prepared to accept my driving licence which was all I had with me.

Then I remembered that my hairdresser goes on holiday next week so popped in there to make an appointment for this week and on to a jewellers to get a new watch battery fitted in my “good” watch. I’ve had it a few years and this is the first time the battery has had to be replaced. It has a small, rectangular watch face and I had to have the danger of the glass cracking when the battery was pushed into place explained to me and I had to accept the risk. They asked to keep it overnight and I said I would collect it Wednesday of this week. This all took time.

Finally we went to Waitrose to buy ingredients for food I was making for Sunday’s garden party and some fish which is 20% off on Fridays. When I got home I found my Waitrose card had been scanned but my 20% hadn’t been deducted, so I wasn’t happy.

Saturday morning I did a bit of gardening and a lot of cleaning and then spent the afternoon cooking. Among other things I made a large tuna and cheese quiche and a big glass bowl of Mandarin Cream to take on Sunday.

The lady hosting our summer party is Rumanian and our youngest member, probably early 40s. I wish we could get more young members but she says her contemporaries just don’t want to join clubs. The party numbers were down a bit as we were missing 8 people for one reason or another. There were probably about 15 of us, plus our hostess’ lovely husband and his mother who was staying with them for a week. There was also an 11 year old son who mostly kept to his room but appeared from time to time for food or to speak to his mum or dad.

The hostess’ mum-in-law was a real character, all 4’11” of her. She came to the UK from Malaysia at 18, 50 years ago, married an Englishman and settled here. I don’t think she stopped talking the whole time we were there! She seemed to take to the little group round our table and sat with us most of the time and talked, and talked, and talked. It could have driven us all mad but she was such a lovely person that you couldn’t help liking her and laughing with her.

We usually have a raffle at the summer party but it’s all very casual. If anyone feels like donating a raffle prize they just take it along with them. Sometimes there might be 3 or 4 but there must have been a dozen or more prizes yesterday. After several prizes had gone, one of our tickets was drawn out and OH went to choose something. There were 2 lots of men’s toiletries, 2 boxes of chocolates and a book left so he took the book. I was pleased as it was a nice hardback copy of one of the Alan Banks books by Peter Robinson and one I haven’t read before.

Today has been boring. I’ve done 4 loads of washing, bed linen and clothes for both of us, and some general tidying up and sorting out. Dinner is prepared and I’ve just got to walk a short distance to deliver some birthday cards to a club member who will be 80 tomorrow. He wasn’t at the party yesterday and as I’m the one who lives nearest to him everyone gave me their cards to deliver.

Yesterday was our great granddaughter’s 2nd birthday and today her mummy texted me a thank you for the money and books we gave her and sent us photos of her opening our card and parcel and looking at one of the books. Apparently she loves her books, especially the sticker book. There was a large exclamation mark after that so I wonder if she has found the stickers make a good decoration on the furniture.

I see I’ve written half a book again so I had better finish. If you have managed to read to the end without falling asleep you get a gold star.

Sorry your back is bad Mel. Take something to ease the pain and rest up for a couple of days. Hope it’s better soon.

Its just started to rain just as I was going round to the girls with their corn.

Back is getting worse so I think I will take some pills.

Looks like we are back to heatwave conditions. It’s stifling and the forecast is for it to get even hottter and last for several days. It doesn’t look as though the temperature is going to drop very much overnight either.

I’m glad you found your fork Mel. It’s frustrating when tools go walkabout. OH is a great one for putting tools down and forgetting all about them. He’s banned from using “my” secateurs after he left them on a garden bench and it poured with rain all day.

I hope the plumber has sorted your son’s problem AnnG. My daughter would have tackled it as well and so would my son now he’s had the experience of completely rebuilding and renovating a large house but when he was a young man he couldn’t even be trusted with a screwdriver.

Annx, I am puzzled. How can your surgery review your medication without contacting you? Last year I had a telephone consultation and from what I said in reply to a question about my headaches the pharmacist upped the dosage on one of my pills. This year I’ll be able to say that things improved on a higher dose and I feel the dosage is about right. How would they know these things without talking to me?

I hope you are pleased with your shed roof Mandy. It’s lovely that your son and family live close enough to help with these jobs

Gwyn, most of our windows don’t really have sills either, just a strip about 3” wide. It’s enough to gather plenty of dust but not big enough for a nice ornament or vase of flowers. You have been busy sorting out your garage. I love looking through old books but you can’t keep all these things. Is there a chance that one or two might be a bit rarer than most and so worth a little money? I wish I could get OH to tackle our garage with me. He’s happy for son and daughter to call in clearance people when we’re no longer around but I feel there might well be stuff in there that could be of use to someone now.

I’ve got some jobs I ought to be getting on with so I think I’ll post this bit now and come back later to tell you what we’ve been doing at the weekend (nothing very exciting so don’t hold your breath).

25 degrees here now but its become a bit vercast and pc says sunny.

I have put the washing in the machine but not turned it on yet as I hav'nt shoered yet.

Your getting there with clearing the garage Annx. I still have some of mums stuff that can go now and papers of oh that should be burnt.

Morning All,

It's 24 degrees already so will be boiling by afternoon. We turfed the unwanted cardboard boxes out of the garage and I packed them inside each other as much as I could and OH loaded them into the car and we just managed to squeeze them all in. I sat in the passenger seat with my knees each side of a big bag of shredded paper and off we went to the tip a mile away. We weren't sure whether we needed to flatten them, so were pleased to discover we needn't. There's a nice space in the garage now for sorting more out in there.

I've watered the pots outside but they are suffering from all the heat and every day there seems to be more nasty weed to spray.

Glad the journey wasn't too bad AnnG. I know Fridays can mean holdups on some journeys, but probably later in the day when commuters are on the move home. That's very good your granddaughter has found herself some jobs while doing her OU degree. Some extra money helps and is what my best friend did years ago. I hope the plumber soon fixes the cistern.

Vera how strange my emails are still going to your spam folder. It must be to do with the connection between our providers as we don't have a problem with other emails. Yes the little sprig of flowers I divided was only £1.64. The only disappointment with the ensuite was not being able to have the shower base lower to the floor. Being a bungalow and having no wooden floors it would have meant digging down through the concrete along the floor as well as outside to lower the drains and not worth the cost.

I see you have things you are sorting in the garage too Gwyn. We still have about a quarter of the garage space taken up with things from my in laws house when they passed away. It;s been there for years now, but as you say there comes a time when you want or need the space back. My first MIL still had a trunk full of things belonging to her son in law's brother when she passed away that he'd never collected.

I'm not surprised you are achy today Mel. Pulling weed out of a pond catches your back.

I hope Mandy's shed roof job is going well.

I can't decide what to have for lunch but OH is happy to have one of the extra meals I did in the slow cooker and froze so we can have that wih some 2 minute rice.

Shower next and pop to the shop then.

Morning girls,

Nice morning and I am still achy from yesterdays pond cleaning, pc says its 21 degrees and rain coming!

Glad you got to sons safely Anng.

Not doing much today.