General Chat

Good morning all,

How lovely to have a baby robin... The adults know where to build near a tasty food source ;-)
Have you got swallows nesting too this year?

Ann will be well on her way by now and I hope they all have a fine day.
I went with my daughters last summer and although we spent ages there, there were still parts that we didn't investigate fully. We listened to a talk about prisoners of war in the Far East, which was very thought provoking.
The grounds are vast, so there will be plenty of walking, although I recall there was a sort of land-train transporting people who couldn't cope with the distant parts.
I hadn't realised that it wasn't solely military memorials. There were beautiful memorials for others too. I particulaly remember a colourful butterfly in memory of stillborn babies.
I'm sure Ann's group will find it interesting.

Morning all,

So nice to see Will drop in and give us feedback on Carmel. Its always nice to hear from you will when you get the time, sending love to you both and hope your appointment goes well for your poor back.

Its 9 degrees here and pc says mostly sunny and the sun is shining at the moment and the sky is blue so I think I will change the bed today. Shoppings coming too and its Carl one of the nice drivers.

I woke at 6.36am for the loo and went back to bed for a little lie in and woke again at 9.02am hot cos the heating had come on.

Enjoy your day out Anng.

Just popping in to say 'Hello' to you all and let you know that we are still in the land of the living. Well, just anyway. I notice AnninGlos was going to the National Memorial Arboretum and am wondering how she got on, at least the weather seemed good. We don't live too far from Lichfield, about 45 mins drive. It's one place I want to go but due to being Carmel's carer now the opportunity doesn't seem to arise. As an ex RAF veteran, I would love to pay a visit sometime and look at all the gardens and memorials. Carmel is a wheelchair now when we do go out and though we have the car trips out depend on the following. 1. If Carmel has a good day - 2. If the weather is suitable. and 3. Going not to far ie, up to an hours drive. Anyway folks, I'm still writing my poetry, just finishing my 235th, all since lockdown, and posting them on my Facebook page which has around 80 - 90 followers now. My agenda today is to see my osteopath at 3.30 and sort my backaches out. Enjoy your day.

good morning all hope everyone slept well last night. I slept quite well despite knowing I needed to be up early as being picked up at 0850. Anyway I am up early so that is ok. On a trip today with U3a to the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield, so won't be on here all day. Have a good day everyone. sunny here but only 4 degrees.

Oh that is lovely Mel. Hope it stays safe.

Back from the audiology so aids now have new tubes. Good job I went actually as apparently both moulds are starting to have little cracks in them so they will order new ones for me. probably about three weeks. I had a student today and he was over seen by an experienced audiologist so he was very precise playing it by the book. I was in and out quite quickly and then walked up to town and posted letters and bought a few bits I wanted. Must have walked 2 miles as th hospital is a fair walk at the moment as the short cut we could take to town is closed for renovations.

Iv'e seen my first baby Robin flutter past mne today.

Morning Anng and all,

Hope it all goes well with the hearing aids Anng and safe journey there and back.

Its brightish this morning but theres big clouds of white and grey and blue in between and pc says 9 degrees and mostly sunny so I think I will take it as it comes today.

Just having my COC and then I must get on as I have a lot of ironing to do.

Good morning all. sunny and 8 degrees here. check up for hearing aids today at glos Royal hospital, friend dropping me off and I will bus back. Hopefully BBL

Done more in the garden this afternoon and then it came overall cloudy but I caried on and got all the strawberry soak trays washed and put back on the barrow and most of the plants put back too. Came in late again and did myself a burger for tea and went back out to shut banty in and it was raining so I am pleased with what I did today.

Just come in for a rest. washed the bedding but not made up the bed yet. Also put the shopping away. And in the garden for 45 minutes I cut the lawn and started on the edges, hope to get that done after lunch. I have also cut back the winter flowering clematis which is a bit of a thug and hung out five hanging baskets I hope they can withstand the cold nights but it is too hot for them inside and they are too heavy to keep shifting in and out.

Just come in from the garden as I have been sorting out dead pots and I had a lot. I have put the compost in an old sack and that can go up the border. I have red roses out on the wall and one Mascarade (sp ?)

I have been bitten by a midgey thing just under my right eye and it itches like anything. Its on the soft skin under the eye so I don't want to keep rubbing it as they are baggy eno9ugh already.!!!!

Morning AnnG, Mel and all

I’ve decided the best weather forecast is the one you get when you step outside the door. This morning my phone app says 9 degrees and fog and my iPad says 13 degrees and sunny spells. There’s been no sign of sun or fog, not even a slight mist, just grey and overcast. The temperature feels as though it might be about 11 degrees but that’s a guess. The iPad is telling me from about 2-6 pm there is going to be full sun and a temperature going up to 20 degrees. I won’t hold my breath.

I’ve done a few odd jobs this morning, including washing out flower pots. How come that’s always my job? I’m sitting in the conservatory at the moment surrounded by antirrhinums and sweet peas. In March I sprinkled a few antirrhinum seeds on one seed tray . I’ve recently pricked them out and potted them up and I have 52 plants! A few will go in our garden and the rest can go to the two clubs we belong to as one has a plant stall at a fund raiser coffee morning and the other one has a plant stall at the local fete.

In March I also sowed 14 sweet pea seeds in individual pots. 2 didn’t germinate but the other 12 are going mad. They are now about 3 foot tall but we are still getting some cold nights so I don’t want to plant them out yet.

I want to have our roast dinner a bit earlier today so I had better get the oven on. Enjoy your Sunday everyone

Morning Anng and all,

when I got up for the loo at 6.53am it was all misty moisty out there but I went back to bed and woke at 9.12am. the sky is a bit overcast now and pc says mostly cloudy and 13 degrees. It also says tomorrows temps at record low.

Still ache a bit and no its was'nt dark when I came in last night it dos'nt get dark till about 9pm here now. I will have to look tonight and see what time it get really dark.

Good morning all. Sunny here but only 5 degrees so a bit 'cool'. Hopefully today is a gardening day, although it is also Tesco delivery and change the bed day. Bedding in the washing machine. Tesco due 11-12. Trouble is last two week it has been quarter to eleven but you can't just assume that so the gape of 'waiting' is longer.

It must have been almost dark when you came in last night Mel, I bet you slept well last night. I didn't actually sleep badly but I wish I didn't keep waking up as broken sleep is almost as bad as no sleep.

Been in from the garden aboujt 20 mins. Hands hurt now so I am calling it a day for now. I have been cutting brimbles out of the box hedge they have been annoying me for ages. I cut back the rose thatr always gets BIL when he comes through the bottom arch down by Prickley Bottom. A few bits need tying in so I'll do that tomorrow and pick up all the brimble bits I pulled out after cutting them off. The m,idges started to get me soNow I have to find something to eat although I am not that hungry. May just have a sandwich. and a couple of pears.

How did we get through life without knowing about fronted adverbials? and when did they become 'a thing'?

The film on Pissarro was excellent, a lot of information that I am sure I will soon forget. Hopefully some things will stick. I really had not known his work and it was interesting to hear his life, he died at 71 in 1903 and he was a leading member of the artists we know as the impressionists such as Money Degas Gauguin etc Some of his paintings I liked a lot. The film centred mainly on the exhibition of his work at The Ashmolean, a gallery in Basil and another in France.
The next film is on Vermeer some time in June.

BIL has just turned up so I am now going back out inthe garden.

Good afternoon all

Gwyn, please send some sunshine this way. I checked the forecast this morning and it said dry with sunny spells and a moderate breeze so I washed a load of bedding that has been waiting around for a good drying day. Well, it is still dry out but there has been no sun at all and hardly any breeze so the bedding is just hanging there. I hope your swans hatch their cygnets OK. I haven't been able to get down to the river to see how ours are doing. Well done with the cholesterol levels. Neither of us take statins though OH has so much cheese that I'm surprised he doesn't start mooing. Fronted adverbials! Good grief! I had to google to find out what they were. There are so many new names and terms for things now that I am well out of touch. I'm stumped by a primary school maths paper, not because I can't do the maths but because I can't understand the questions.

Mel, your bil is good to give you so much help at the moment. It must be tempting to keep going when the weather is good but be careful or you will end up in pain and unable to do much anyway. If you have a busy day outside try and rest up a bit the next day.

Enjoy your film AnnG. It does sound interesting. You're probably right about age being the main factor with me forgetting things. I get frustrated because I always had such a good memory. I do make lists but sometimes forget to take them out of my bag and look at them. If I forget anything we just have to do without until we are next going to town. Because of my eye problems I am not driving at the moment and the bus service round here is not very good so I have to rely on OH to drive me. It's only about 1.5 miles into town and I used to happily walk there and back but I find that too much of a struggle now, particularly if I am in a hurry and have anything heavy to carry back.

Mandy, the carbon monoxide alarms that British Gas provided to us just have a non-replaceable long life battery, but as it lasts about 10 years it's not really a problem.

Tesco are coming late afternoon. There's only 1 sub but 3 things missing and they are all things I said I didn't want subbed. Two of them are books and I really didn't want the picker to choose books for me.

I have had a thorough dust and vac upstairs this morning but my back is sore now so I'll be sitting with a pillow behind it for an hour or two this afternoon. I've just heard the kettle going on so OH is probably getting our snack lunch ready, which is his only job today. I'm getting a bit peckish so I'm off downstairs to eat.

Morning all, ... Brilliant sunshine here, but quite a breeze.

Mel,
Did you remember to pick up your scripts this week?
Can't have you running out of required tablets .
Sounds like you are getting on well in your garden, but don't do too much that it makes you ache for days.

Ann
I hope you enjoy the film.
You do seem to find lots of things of interest to visit and keep you busy. The gardens you visited must have been a riot of colour at this time of year.

I was pleased this week, that my efforts to bring down my cholesterol levels by eating more of the right sort of food had paid off, so the surgery has decided that I don't need medication for that.. I would love to eat more cheese,which I much prefer to meat, but know that I have to limit that in particular.

News on the swans is troubling. Last I heard, the mother was still leaving the eggs alone for long periods of time, but I haven't been round to see them this week, so I don't know the latest. Last week, when I was there,the mother was standing up right by the nest, which had 9 eggs in it. She looked as if she was still looking after them and had just stood up to stretch her legs and do a bit of preening... so who knows?

One more week at school then they break up for the May holiday. I think they have 2 weeks this time.
I was asked to help in the classroom this week, while the teaching assistants were helping with the SATS . I usually listen to readers just outside their room.
I'm not used to all the terms used for various processes, eg. 'Fronted adverbials' but I know what we are trying to achieve, so that's OK ;-)

Morning Anng and all,

Another lovely bright morning here today and pc says 12 degrees adn mostly sunny so thats good.

Will do a bit more in the garden today but must be careful as I ache a bit this morning after holding that heavy lopper.

BIL is coming again today but I think he has cut all the grass so perhaps he'll help with the cutting down of things. I still hav'nt cut the budlia down and I want ivy off the wall. O well we'll see what gets done later I expect, anything will be a great help.

I did a lot of walking aroun the garden yesterday too and my toes ache and fingers and hip.