General Chat

Morning all,

Feel I'm slowly getting there but it's hard when your only supposed to lift nothing heavier than a cup of tea but I can't even do that I can lift the empty cup.

Anng lovely photos looks like you picked a good day for the trip .

Ann we have been using our slow cooker ,we did a couple of jacket potatoes in it and they were lovely, you don't get the nice crispy skin but they were nice and fluffy ,took about 4and half hours on high , yesterday we did peanut chicken had two servings and put two servings in the freezer.
You can get slow cooker bags to use in them .

glad you enjoyed them Gwyn and lucky you to still heve the sun.

Ann that one sounds like the one I have. Mine is red. I have had it at least 4 years with no problems and I wonder if people are using metal spoons etc as mine has not got any scratches and I use it a lot. I have never even had anything stick to it either and it washes clean in the dishwasher. Mine is in frequent use. It is on now in fact.

at least with going to daughter's for Christmas I don't need a Christmas slot.

I have been on the pc and the phone trying to pay an account and changing a password all morning. Fed up to the teeth with it not being able to get through and speaking to this person and the message chat.

Thank you for sharing the arboretum photos AnnG.
What an amazing blue sky and beautiful autumn shades on the trees.
It's probably one of the best times to visit an arboretum, so no wonder it was busy.

We have brilliant sunshine again today and earlier the sky was beautiful as the sun was rising, - all pale pink and turquoise.
It is very breezy though.
Yesterday was really warm.I had to carry my coat, when I returned home from school at lunchtime.
It's such a lovely bonus, when we can enjoy the autumn warmth and sunshine.

I hope everyone's various ailments are easing and healing well. It is so much less stressful coping with life's challenges if we are rested and not in pain.

Morning All,

Quite dull here and only 11 degrees. Mel my last delivery is on the 18th December and I'm not bothering to book another slot before Christmas. I see they are charging £6.50 for nearly all of the Christmas slots anyway and I can get anything last minute from the farm shop. I need one early in January though and they haven't released those yet. We both want to lose weight anyway so will be buying less this year and it's hard to get back on track if there's a week of too much overindulgence!! :-) I've noticed some of their prices have gone up 75p this time which is a lot. I had trouble with my mouse freezing yesterday. It happened 3 times and I even tried changing the battery but it made no difference.

It was to look at reviews and prices on line AnnG. I have found it on Curry's website now and it's a Morphy Richards one for £39.99 and holds 3.5 litres. It is very lightweight as the pot is non stick metal instead of a heavy ceramic one and you can brown meat/onions on your hob in the pot first which is handy (not induction hob though). The downside is that some reviews say the non stick scratches after a while, but you can buy new pots for it for about £12. I think I will most likely get it and it ocurred to me that now I have cut back on using the big oven and use the convection function on the microwave instead, I could store it in there when not in use.

Sorry Island I forgot your ribs is the pain any better?

Thanks Mel :-D
I'm fine now, just a little stab now and again, the big area has diminished. Nothing like what Mandy is going through - at least I could us my hands.

Morning AnnG, Lovely photos, I've emailed you.
Ribs.... jab cardi.... hmmm ;-)

Morning Anng and all,

Forgot to post when I first got up!!

Its dull, dreary, dire and dark here this morning in fact I am having to have the light on to see the keyboard. Pc says its 15 degrees and pc is still slow in putting my type up.

Not a very good day all round then yet so far.

Hope Mandy and Island are less in pain today and that Mandy had a good night now she's back in her own bed.

I think I have a cold as my nose keeps running and I have been sneezing. Must remember to put a coat on when I go out.

Those pics were lovely Anng I meant to say last night but had turned the pc off as the mouse kept freezing. I was half way through the Chirstmas order on Asda when it happened the second time so don't know if I have my Christmas slot yet or not. Still it dos'nt make much difference to me.

good morning all 11 degrees here now but no sun, all cloud which is a shame after yesterday's glorious day. That blue sky in my photos was with us here all day.

sounds like you had a good look round the shopping centre Ann.Also sounds like you managed all those shops without buying anything. can you not remember the make of the slow cooker that you saw? Shame if it is what you want. Are you hoping it will be cheaper on line or just want to check reviews?

Hoe many more cupboards and drawers do you have to clear out mel? sounds like the charity shop is doing well out of you.

Vera hope you are feeling better now, don't give up on your back, it might suddenly start to ease if you don't overdo things.

Mandy hope you are beginning to sleep better and that the pain is easing a bit now.

Evening All,

Yes another sunny day after a chilly start.

Sorry you aren't too good Vera and hope you soon improve. I hope the meeting is over quickly and that you have a better night tonight.

At last the pain is easing for you Mandy, which is great! It must be wonderful to be able to sleep in your bed again too and be much more restful. I expect Max is puzzled though! :-) Just watch those stairs, but going sideways down them as you are is much safer. I hope it gets better each day now. :-)

AnnG we have a local chap who advertises himself as 'Handy Andy' so I had to smile. Yours sounds like a gem though and seems to be a quick worker as well and is getting everything shipshape for you. The Batsford pics were lovely in the sunshine. I must go back there sometime.

Mel is getting through her drawers too and you are putting me to shame. This morning we were up early though and I drove OH to the new part of the retail park down the road for opening time which we haven't looked around yet. There is a T K Maxx, new Next and Waterstones as well as Flannels. We had a mooch around, a coffee and bacon roll in the Costa Coffee in Waterstones (OH bought 2 books. It was buy one get one half price and he had a £10 off coupon, so not expensive) Then we drove to the Curry's there and looked at phones, slow cookers and cameras. I saw a slow cooker I liked and wrote the name of it on the back of an old receipt to look it up when I got home. Waste of time though as I shredded the receipt when I got home forgetting all about the note I'd made on it! :-S Then we called in the Co-op for a few bits and into a bathroom place on the way home to get some idea of the newest fittings! So another day with no jobs done, but I have downloaded the form to send my postage stamps that will be out of date before I can use them.

What a glorious day it has been today. Brilliant clear blue sky, no wind and warm sun 17 degrees. And Batsford was very busy, so many people. But it is so large that the people just disappear into the trees.

Morning all,

The suns coming up and it looks like it may be another nice day. Its 9 degrees here at present and pc says cloudy.

Shopping comes today and then a bit more clearing out. I did a draw in the kitchen yesterday, the one with soups and jellies in etc and threw out about 6 packets of quick jel and some sauces all out of date!! I really need to get down to the bottom cupboard but its a struggle. I bought plastic boxes to go in the two cupbopards for the tins and bottle stuff and got on in and oh pinched the other one for something and I never saw it again so the cupboard was left.

Good morning all still really dark out there and 4 degrees at ten to seven. Up early again, this time as I am being picked up at 0900 to go to Batsford Arboretum. Going to meeting point first as there are, I think four in a car. So we drive to the centre of the village where some cars are left. (saves fuel)

Hope Mandy and Vera had a good nights sleep. Hope the birthday party goes well Vera.

Sorry you had a bad night Vera. I know it is connected to an old problem but do you think sitting at the PC for a long time got it into a cramp situation?

Andy did all the jobs on the list and the house looks a lot better now the woodwork has been painted it was starting to look shabby. And the garage looks really empty(ish) now all the stuff has gone to the tip. He is going to give me a date in November for the decorating

Good to see you posting Mandy :-D keep up the good work but don't overdo it.

I'm sorry you're not feeling too good Vera. I hope you'll feel better soon.
I mentioned a jab cardi as I only have jumpers and sweat shirts. Saw one on line this morning and thought....... They only had it in an 18 so I would have been swamped anyway even though it was only 12 quid :-0
I think my idea of flaps in the top of long shirt sleeves is best :-D :-D

A jab cardi :-S I get chilly and we walk to our surgery so when we had our jabs recently I wore a shirt with short loose sleeves, a lambs wool cardigan and a fleece jacket. I whipped the cardi and fleece off while the receptionist was booking us in and put them back on the way out.

If Andy can’t travel to you Island, perhaps you could move to him, lol. He sounds a treasure AnnG. Hang on to him.

You’re doing well Mandy. It must be a relief to sleep in your bed again. Keep exercising but make sure you get plenty of rest as well. Healing takes time so don’t try to do too much too soon.

Your OH sounds eager to get back to his footie Ann but waiting till next weekend is sensible.

My back isn’t good today but I sorted out a load more geraniums yesterday morning, then spent the afternoon sitting at the computer which didn’t help. I only meant to be a few minutes but got absorbed. A while ago my late brother’s partner gave me a file of stuff from my brother that related to our family. I had copies of most of it but started reminding myself of various wills etc and checking against my tree. There were also a couple of wills of people who we thought had a connection with our family (because of some unusual names). I hadn’t seen them before so spent time reading them and still couldn’t prove or disprove a connection. In the end I sat there for nearly 4 hours.

I also spent a lot of the night up with severe stomach pain. This is all connected with an old problem with what my old Latin teacher used to call “my works”, so I knew what it was and knew it would eventually ease but it meant I got no sleep. I feel very tired now but have to go to our club AGM tonight. I hope it doesn’t drag on too long.

I’d better go and get the washing in. Lots of rain overnight and early this morning but it’s been dry since about 11 am. There’s a nice breeze too so hopefully It’s all dry.

Every area needs a few more Andys !
It sounds like he really gets on with whatever needs doing.

Good to see that you are making steady progress Mandy.
Good girl doing the exercises. It must be so uncomfortable, but gradually you will regain better use of your hands.
Sitting in the sunshine in the garden would have been a welcome change :-D

Special cardis for jabs ? :-)
When I went for my flu jab, it was tipping down with rain, so I needed a raincoat.
I was wearing a cardigan on top of a very short sleeved T shirt. I barely had chance to take my cardigan and coat off as one before it was my turn.
I think I was in the building for less than 3 minutes ...and that included getting dressed to face the weather again.
I have 2 T shirts which I think of as my 'vaccine' ones, as they are comfortable with a very short sleeve, so arm is instantly accessible.

Island I wear a short sleeved sweater under a fleece coat for jabs in the winter, although I was in such a rush with the confusion on Friday I had a three quarter sleeve t shirt type top on but it was stretch so pulled up Ok and I just wore a gilet. but a stretchy cardi would be good too.
Well done Mandy, progress seems to have been made and good that you are back in bed.

Afternoon all,

Lovely sunny day here and mild, sat out in the sun yesterday it was warm
Pain a lot better and I'm now going up to bed ,going up and down sideways and it's heaven to be back in bed .
I take my splints off and do my exercises but I'm glad when they go back on .

Sorry that's all I can type love to all <3

what a busy pair you've been today!

I take it you already have jab cardies :-( :-D :-D