General Chat

You missed me there mel.

No It was the day before. Hope she's ok. <3

Morniung all,

Cloudy here and been raining if its not now. Not been outside yet and pc says rain on and off and 10 degree. I have just turned the heating on as it feels quite chily this mroning.

Have to get on today as that mans coming to see the tools and lathe so I'll let you know what he says when he's been.

Hope you all slept well or as well as can be expected. Did we hear from our Mandy yesterday?

Good morning all 6 degrees but that has gone down as half an hour ago it was 7!!! I got up around 5 for the loo and the sky was really clear and a mass of stars, beautiful.

anyway another few days of washing up. I shall be so used to it that I will do without the dishwasher ....(I don't think so!).

Well that is a step forward Mel. Just throw some stuff in it and cook it. just remember to have enough liquid in to cover the veg, meat whatever. find a very basic recipe. If you keep prevaricating you will just never do it.

If the recipes in your book are not what you like Mel if you put 'easy slow cooker recipes' into google search there are plenty to choose from.

Did we ever solve the mystery of who Robert is?

More experimenting with the painting today Ann? I think you really have to like or admire a style to enjoy copying it.

O by the way I did wash the cooking pan to the slow cooker but thats as far as I got today.!!!!!!! Hav'nt even read the booklet yet.

Had a chuckle at your shower antics Vera. WE all do things like that at times.

Ann not my style of painting either. Good luck with trying that kind of one.

I have been on to EDF solar again without success of getting through to the chat thing about not recieving my payment yet. The email said it would takes 5 working days and now tomorrow it will be 10 working days. After all that I was so fed up I did'nt get into anything today and I really need to be tidy for tomorrow when Tim comes to look at the lathe and woodturning stuff.

Its been quite a nice day and dry all day but it was very very chilly today and then it has rained tonight.

I did manage to paint a couple of minitures late afternoon when the light had gone. I like to do it in the early morning as the lights good in the east window I sit near.

I now have mushrooms growing on the fireplace on the stone and the one big one is now huge and there are small ones appearing lower down. I do wish it would stop rianing for a few days and the man may come and do the roof then but whilst it rains he can't take the old felt off.

Well I hope tomorrow is a better day for all of us.See you in the morning sleep tight. <3

Ha ha AnnG! Not my taste either, but I might have a try!

Fingers crossed for Monday then!

ooh definitely not to my liking. Weird. Good luck with that.

He did phone back this afternoon to say he'd just had the van back, now fixed. He offered to come out then but it was too late for me as I had a friend calling in so he is now coming Monday morning. means being up early again which is a pain. He has a lot of jobs on tomorrow so couldn't come then.

Do not mention that word Ann I am just thinking about the bowl of washing up waiting for me.

Never heard of that artist I shall have to look him up.

Afternoon All,

A rainy day here after a rainy night and only 9 degrees. OH has a busy day with 2 meetings and was up early sorting out. I didn't wake up till after 9.00am so slept really well.

How disappointing AnnG, just when you were all geared up and ready, but these things happen to us all. He ought to give you an update though. At least you can get on writing your lovely cards you have made in the meantime.

I couldn't help but chuckle at your antics getting showered Vera! It was one thing after another wasn't it!! It's good to start the day with a laugh though. What is it with men and empty containers? OH has his own shampoo so deals with that himself, but why he puts the Piccalilli and other jars back in the cupboard with so little left it would take 5 minutes to scrape it out I don't know! Oh and he left another light on last night, all night this time, so brain fog is here too. He goes to bed but gets up several times before going to sleep. If he has a drink, he goes out to put it in the dishwasher after (sorry for the mention AnnG!), When he has finished reading his paper, he's up again to put it in the front porch ready to take out to the bin. I tell him to leave things till in the morning to take out but he won't do that, has to put things away once he's done with them.

I'd better look at some paintings by Georges Roualt now as that is the style for this week's painting. Very different and we have a different option if we can't face it! lol.

Thanks for that Vera, I needed something to laugh at. And that really made me chuckle. Were you by any chance trained by Brian rix?
I just knew you wer going to leap straight into the shower and almost shouted 'STOP'.

He has not appeared, nor has he phoned again. I have a friend coming later so I am hoping he will now phone to reschedule. I don't want him coming and have to rush things. I also hope it is not something drastic wrong with his van but knowing these breakdown people I guess he is still waiting for them.

I always start writing my cards as soon as I have finished making them all. this year some of my cards have been using last years cards. there were so many beautiful ones I wanted to re-use them to prolong their life. I have (I hope) been careful not to send them back from where they came last year, I send over 70 cards altogether, including the 'birthday girls' GR card making group. Of which there are still eleven participants.

Good grief, it's wet. It's been raining most of the night and is still pouring. The computer is telling me it's 9 degrees but only feels like 7 and it's going to be raining for at least the next 2 hours. Oh, good :-( No chance of doing anything in the garden today. I want to finish my bulb planting but the pots I'm using now are too big and heavy to bring into my potting area in the garage so I have to do them outside.

I hope your dishwasher man can get to you today AnnG. It's so frustrating when you are waiting in for people and they don't come. At least he let you know. You are good to be writing your cards. I haven't bought a single card yet. The only card I have got so far is a birthday card for my son whose birthday is early December and I've had that for about 3 months. I happened to see the perfect card when we were out one day. All I've got to do now is remember where I put it.

I can't remember how I joined Dobbies Club AnnG but it might well have been online. They took over an old Wyevale and I remember picking a leaflet up in the shop when they first opened and bringing it home to read so I might have gone online and joined then. When I use the vouchers I either take a print out with me or show them on my phone. I am about to send a polite email of complaint. I got my emailed rewards vouchers on 11th November and most are valid till 31st December but 2 of them are only valid till 30th October 2022 so no use at all. One is for hard landscaping so we wouldn't use that anyway but the other is for the restaurant which we would use.

I'm full of brain fog this morning. I decided to shower but not wash my hair and to use the bigger shower in the room OH sleeps in. I went upstairs to the shower I usually use and got a shower cap for my hair. Came downstairs. Realised the only towels downstairs were the wet ones OH had just used so went back upstairs to get another couple. Decided I wouldn't need the smaller one for my hair, just the bigger bath towel. Came downstairs. Got undressed, turned shower on and leapt straight under it. No shower cap! Decided to shampoo my now soaking wet hair. OH had used the last of the shampoo and put an empty container back. Washed body and got out of shower. No small towel for my hair so big towel had to be used for everything. No hairbrush downstairs. By the time I got dressed and tidied the shower room and got back upstairs my hair was a half dried tousled mess. I couldn't face getting the hair dryer out so I have just left it. When I told OH, he laughed like a drain so I sent him to make me a cup of tea.

Oh well, I might at least have given you al a laugh :-D

A wave to those we haven't seen for a few days ~~~~~~~~

At least you can be warm then Mel if your oil has arrived.

Day has not gone well so far. Dishwasher man phoned at 0910 to say his van wouldn't start and he was waiting for the AA man. He also said he'd phone again to let me know what is happening. Nothing so far. so that has really cheered me up. I have resorted to writing my Christmas cards.

Oil has arrived and I have ordered more fish food for the winter.

Morning Anng and all,

We have a bright and sunny morning at the moment but rain is forcast and pc says cloudy and 10 degrees. Must ring BIL today and tell him a mans coming tomorrow to see the lathe and tools.

May have a read of the slow cooker book today and see if I can make some soup in it to start me off.

Its good you have the hospital sorted out now Vera and can get your eye seen to at last after a very long wait. Hope all goes well .

Love to all those not present at the mo. <3

Good morning all 7 degrees here and still black outside. Thought I had better not go back to sleep as the dishwasher man said 9-12. Probably won't be 9 but couldn't risk it.

Vera, how strange getting your rewards via email. I assume that means you having to show them on your phone? did you maybe join on line and not in store?
Pleased to hear that you have got your eye appointment sorted. sometimes I despair ar the incompetence of the admin areas of Hospitals. I know we all make mistakes but they do seem to make more than most. Our booking office used to be awful, not used it for a while but it did improve under a new manager.
You must be nearly there with your bulbs.
I am hoping for another dry day so that I can do a walk round the garden and check it is all ready for winter.

I wasn’t sure what you meant about the rewards either Mel. How do you get rewards for any retailer if you don’t shop with them?

AnnG, my Dobbies rewards come by email and I got mine on the 11th. I don’t remember asking for them to be sent by email but that’s how they come. I don’t get as many as you as we have 2 excellent garden centres nearer than Dobbies but I do buy bits there from time to time. We usually go there when we have a hospital appointment as it is only 5 minutes drive from the hospital.

I know just what you mean about Co-op vouchers Ann. I go there specially for Branston Pickle as it is the only place that seems to sell the medium size jar I like. If they have got it in I usually get 3 or 4 jars and I invariably get a voucher for money off the pickle after I’ve paid. It usually only lasts a week as well. You are right – it is difficult to remember to keep checking when vouchers expire. Tesco email a reminder for theirs.

Your slow cooker arrived quickly Mel and you’ll soon get the hang of using it. You can cook most things in it and it sounds as though you have lots of recipes to try now. Our Bolognese yesterday was delicious; even OH said how tasty it was. The idea was that I would have at least one portion to freeze, if not two, but I had a bigger helping than normal and OH went back for seconds. I’m doing a stew for 2 days in it tomorrow. I’ve got the meat out of the freezer and prepared the veg so I can put it on first thing and it c an have a really long slow cook. Mine has a ceramic pot and lid too Mandy and the pot is heavy when it’s full of food.

Your X-rays show just what a nasty fall you had Mandy. It’s good that you have been discharged but be very careful. You have done so well that you don’t want to have any set-backs.

It was a really wet morning today. It dried up a bit this afternoon but it’s raining again now and the forecast is for lots of rain over the next few days. With that in mind I decided I’d better do a bit more bulb planting this afternoon. I got 2 large pots filled with daff bulbs. This one is a double called Tahiti. I really prefer single flowers but they should provide some good spring colour. I still have bulbs to plant. I hadn’t realized how much the bulbs had multiplied over the years. I think I’ll have to lose some next year.

I’ve also spent a lot of the day on the phone. One call I made was to the hospital as I am still waiting for an eye appointment and I was suspicious that I had slipped the net. The optician that referred me 3 months ago said I would be seen fairly quickly. When I rang about it in September I was told they were a bit behind and to wait until I was contacted; they would get around to me. I thought at the time the girl I spoke to seemed very vague about it. It now turns out that I was put through to the wrong department. I should have been put through to the Eye Treatment Centre but instead I was put through to Opthalmology Outpatients. They are booked up for a little while ahead but they had a cancellation for next Wednesday so I have been given that slot. Within minutes I had a confirmation email and about an hour later I had a letter with all the information emailed to me. I think they realized someone had made a booboo and rushed about to put it right. I wish I had rung earlier but at least it’s sorted now.

There are some very strange noises coming from downstairs so I think I have got to go and investigate what OH is up to. It sounds as though he is moving house!

EDIT: Apparently all that racket was OH emptying the dishwasher and putting everything away in the cupboards. How can someone make so much noise doing that?

Have you not got a booklet for your cooker Mel? It should tell you what the hob is.

Can I put the pan on my cooker as it has a glass top? is that an inductiuon hob??

I do AnnG, so there's no problem and I've sent you a PM. Yes, I find that happens with coupons too. I bought a magazine at the Co-op this week and with my receipt I got a coupon for the magazine I'd just bought! :-S. Also why, a few days after a purchase, do Amazon bombard you with emails advertising the same thing you have already just bought? OH was complaining about it this morning. I seem to have 8 or 9 reward cards and my credit card gives points too. It's hard with some to remember to use them before they expire.

Those glass lids on their own are quite heavy aren't they Mandy. Mine isn't too heavy empty but I bet it will be when it's got food inside. Then again, my pressure cooker is much heavier still. I hope your first stew in it is nice and it's handy having the auto function like Vera's has. I might try mine on Friday. Just be careful with your wrists now the hospital has discharged you and I know you will be careful with the bed. Do your wrists look straight again now?

OH is at a meeting now so I'll pop to the shop for a few things and a paper.