General Chat

Good morning all, chilly but dry and bright, 9 degrees. Cynth and I are going over the road to another neighbour to all watch the funeral etc together. Better than siting on out own watching it.

No sorry Mel

Anyone watching Ridley?

Yes we had to mop tears from our eyes Vera and OH said he hadn't laughed so much for ages! We usually buy each other more than one card, so at least the others were ok. The card I customised came ages ago and I can't believe I never noticed I had the number of years wrong. Thank you Mel, yes it woud be good if I was lucky enough to be able to use it in another 10 years! ;-) I think the trouble in the card shops is that the different sections tend to overlap, get mixed together or that people pop cards back in the wrong place after looking at them.

OH was up really early before I was awake and has burnt nearly all the papers he wanted to now and will do the rest on Tuesday. There's a big pile of ash to spread over the garden now.

I've had a lazy day and OH has been watching sport. We are going to watch the recording of 'All Creatures' and then Frozen Planet later.

Its funny how you miss these things when it should be obvious but we are all only human and these things happen whether we like it or not but your day did start off with a good laugh and the thoughts were there for both of you. I hope you do have another happy 10 years together.

Oh Ann, we did laugh. What are you both like? I just had to read some of your post out to OH and I couldn’t read it for laughing. It reminded me of the time when I suddenly realised that grandson’s birthday was the next day and I hadn’t got a card. Living in the middle of nowhere at the time OH got the car out and went to the newsagents in the nearest village. I think grandson was about 8 at the time and a real boy so I instructed OH not to get anything too girly. He came back very proud of himself for finding a picture of small boys playing football. What he hadn’t noticed was the bit right across the top in big gold letters “Happy Birthday Dear Nephew”. Guess who got in the car and went back for a grandson card lol

Morning All,

Thanks for all your good wishes! Well we did laugh at our cards this morning and I think we are both losing the plot now. I'd ordered a card online, one that you can insert your own words etc and somehow had made us married an extra 10 years!! lol. OH in his hurry the other day had managed to get me a birthday card instead of an Anniversary one and had had to amend it to say Anniversary! It did start the day with laughter though so that was good. :-) :-D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Chelsea! I hope she enjoys her presents and unlike me has a nice birthday cake! :-D

We decided not to go out to eat and will go out to the carvery on Tuesday instead. It's the one near the Factory shop and hasn't been busy up to now. I am cooking some chicken thighs with mushrooms and onion in some grape juice and will add some leftover cream to make a nice sauce and have it with a selection of veg for today.

You must have a pile of grass cuttings with all the mowing Mel. Do you use it as compost once it's rotted down. I hope Clive can show you what to do with your pond filter.

Better see what's happening with lunch now.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ANN & MR ANN <3. Have a lovely day together.

so did I.


<3 <3 <3 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY A & G <3 <3 <3

Hope you have a wonderful day so enjoy it. xx

<3 <3 <3 Happy birthday to Chelsea <3 <3 <3

Hope you like all your presents and have a lovely day with the family. xx

Sorry Ann I forgot to say Happy Anniversary. Have a lovely day <3 <3

Morning all,

<3 Happy Anniversary to you both Ann I hope you both enjoy the day <3

10 degrees here and we have lots of cloud but it's bright if that makes sense
We're off to sons later to take Chelsea's presents and card and have a coffee with them ,I need to pop into Aldi on the way as they have new fat quarters in today and if I don't look today they will all be gone, they were having dog mattresses in to and Max needs a new one so I'll have a look at those while I'm in there .

Morning all,

I had to catch up on your post this morning as I had'nt had the pc on yesterday late afternoon.

Its about the same here this morning Anng 7 degrees sun and cloud. It was lovely and sunny when I got up at 7.56am but has clouded a bit now. It all looked very damp out as if there had been a frost. Certainly chillier though.

Ann Clive is the man who was supposed to be coming to show me how to clean the pond filters. I can do the big one now but can't work out how to do my pond filter as there is no airline pipe attached to the filter but the pipe is there and reaches the filter shed. I left a message on his phone but had no reply.

Swallows still in the shed and they are very big now so will go soon I think. They move from one nest to the other and even perch on a small piece of pipe thats on the shelf where their nest are.

WEll I better get myself going as BIL is comeing today to try and get the digger started to push the grass cuttings in the hole.

Good morning all 7 degrees here and feeling very chilly but lovely and sunny outside although looks like clouding over a bit. Yesterday was a beautiful day and I even sat on the patio with a cup of tea for half an hour from 3.45. Hope it warms up a bit soon this is quite cold for September and I see they had frosts in the north of Scotland yesterday Our weather systems coming from the Arctic or something I think.

Ann good that you found an anniversary card in the end. Maybe try your hand at making some photo cards and keep them in a drawer somewhere (that you remember) so you have them handy.

At least you have had practice at sorting practical technical things out. T was always so good at fixing things that it does sometimes come hard when I have to try and do it myself.

Well I eventually remembered I'd bought some cards when we went to the garden centre with log burners a couple of months ago. I found them and I had bought a nice Anniversary card so remembering that was a stroke of luck! I keep forgetting about trying to make a photocard Vera. It sounds like a good idea for the Christmas cards I send abroad too, as I could include photos of local sights. It's just oil paint that is really slow to dry AnnG and I've never used those. The acrylic is quick drying and watercolour can usually be speeded up with a hairdryer.

That made me chuckle about your secateurs........you are not alone! lol Both your and AnnG's SILs are like my OH is too. I seem to be called upon whenever he does anything DIY. I always ended up helping my dad do things, also first OH so learned a lot that way. Dad never saw women as the weaker sex, so at times I would be underneath the A35 van doing greasing or with the bonnet up checking the plug gaps or mowing their lawns using the heavy suffolk punch motor mower.

It's annoying how just a brush against something with your hand can do that Mandy and often it's at the end of a post. It's good the family seem to be over the bug now and great you both have your jabs booked. We will all feel a bit safer after getting them. I still use sanitiser everywhere I see it, but not many seem to now and people still queue with spacing at the Co-op.

Does BIL have far to come to your's Mel? He is good to do the mowing for you. I can't remember if Clive is the farmer who was going to see if he could mend the mower.

Shame your mower is still kaput Mel but at least bil has cut the grass for you which must be a help.

Your daughter sounds just like mine AnnG - will tackle anything. She has had two husbands and neither were what you would call a handyman. We have a photo of her in her early 20s lying on her back under her ancient car while her then husband is standing there in a pristine white shirt delicately handing her a spanner.

I am glad the family all seem to be over the bug now Mandy and I hope Chelsea has a lovely birthday.

I didn't get the bird bath cleaned. I went out to the garden and found the wind had dropped a bit and it was quite warm so I gardened instead. We have a few clumps of yarrow and I cut one of those down and pulled up some rooted bits that had spread and we didn't want, belatedly cut the flowers off the lavender and gave it a light trim, did some more deadheading and then dug up two nemesia plants that appeared to be self sown. One was in an agapanthus pot and was a deep pink, the other appeared in a pot of geraniums and was a pale pink. I've potted them up together and hope they survive.

I then swept up a bit and started to put the tools away. Could I find the secateurs? I could not. As I regularly moan at OH for leaving tools out in the garden I felt I had to find them so I spent 15 minutes hunting round every bit of our small garden. There was no sign of the secateurs so I gave up looking. Went to put a trowel away in the cupboard in the garage and there were the secateurs, all neatly hanging on the correct hook. I must have gone on to automatic pilot and put them away without even realising I was doing it. How stupid is that.

It looks as though it is time that I put the soup on to heat up. Sleep well tonight everyone. See you tomorrow :-)

BIL has'nt touched the mower but has cut all the grass for me again this week. He is just doing the top field now after I gave him a nice strong coffee.

Well done Anng for getting the water feature working again and now its all nice and clean for a while longer.

Clive has'nt come yet but I don't know if he is working today or not so I shall havet o give him a ring.

I have left the door open and now I have a blimmin buzzy fly in here and I can't stand them keep making a noise.

:-D Vera a fat lot of good it would do for me to wait for SiL. He is not able tofix anything daughter had to show him how to use a srewdriver. She is the DIY person and it would be she I would go to. Still I think it is fixed. She did say the other day that it was fiddly as she has one the same. SiL is very good if I need something heavy lifted/moved and he has a good high reach. He is tall and big built and strong.

Mandy, wise to stay away until you know the bug has left them. Your jab is 2 days before mine.
Yes it is a pretty colour I am pleased with it. Most of my heucheras survived winter and the heat so I am hoping it was a good buy.

Afternoon all,

I'll try again just getting to the end of the post and my finger touched something and it was gone .

Chilly night last night I put a throw on the bed and we were nice and cosy ,this morning it's bright and sunny but only 14 degrees.

No Mel no one staying this weekend ,we'll go to sons tomorrow as its Chelsea's birthday but we've been staying away from them as we don't want the bug but it does seem that they are all OK now .

Ann glad the car passed your OK for another year now and it sounds as if you've found another good garage to use .

Anng I had a Google for that plant uou bought and they look pretty ,it will look nice on your gravel.

Vera I should think its relaxing watching the grasses swaying in the wind ,I like listening to the wind in the trees ,I shut my eyes and it sounds just like the sea on the stones on Sheringham beach .

We had our letters saying we can book our booster jabs so I booked on line this morning for 12th of October going to Swanton Morley doctors so nice and easy to get too.

Black clouds about now so I'd better get the washing in I should think its dry with the quite strong wind today.

Back again.

I have so many cherry toms and quite a few still ripening. I love tomatoes but am not supposed to have them unless I take out all the pips and peel them. There’s not much left of a small tom if you do that so I do have one or two but have to be careful.

I’ve washed towels and have got a loaf going in the bread maker. I don’t use it as much as I used to but I’ve got a lot of bread flour that should be used up. I also repotted a houseplant. I’m not sure what I’ll do this afternoon. We had a light meal a short while ago and I’ve taken some soup from the freezer for tonight. That should be tasty with fresh baked bread.

Could you get a nice photo while you are out Ann and then make that into a card? You are a bit short of time but you are very artistic and I’m sure you’d make something good.

Has your bil managed to repair the mower yet Mel?

You are doing well with your jobs AnnG. I am sure you’ll manage to put your fountain back together. If not perhaps it could wait till next time your sil comes. You talking about your water feature reminded me that our bird bath needs a good scrub out so that might be my job for this afternoon.

EDIT. I see you’ve got the fairy working again AnnG. Well done.

If I waited until a reasonable time to cut down Vera I would still be doing it in January. I have cut down some rampant clematis this morning and ivy and honeysuckle. My bin is full now.

The heuchera is 'Wildberry' and looks very good on the pink gravel.
I have got the fairy working again, it is very fiddly as there is only one right way of getting the pump under the fairy. There should be a little fountain in the niddle of the water feature so I think that may be the next job, it means emptying the water feature of peccles though. As for the water feature pump, that is so buried if it packs up it will stay static.

I suppose a painting wouldn't dry in time for tomorrow now Ann.