General Chat

Forgot to say Sheila is coming at 2.30pm to sort out the service and see what readings we will have.

I'm here Anng. I have just had a good go in the bathroom. Cleaned everything and got rid of a lot of dust off the top of the cabinet in there. Its quite high up so I had to use my little step thing to reach.

It is quiet without Vera and Ann, Gwyn and Island.

Wow is everyone ok, nobody been around since I came on here at 0735.

Good morning all a lovely bright sunny morning looks like a real autumnal morning.
I slept ok but did get woken by lightening just after 12. put my hearing aids in but I didn't hear any thunder. It was sheet lightening so making the room very bright. Scared me a bit at first as I thought it was the fire alarm I have which would wake me with light flashing. I think the storm must have been some way away.

It looks like there is a fair amount of scrap paper being recycled then as both Ann and Mel have found a lot.

I wouldn't like to try and count the books in this house but they do tend to be mainly fiction. I rely more on the internet for looking things up these days. I am gradually getting rid of books though, having recently had to dispose of a lot of T's stuff I realise what a task I would leave family with the amount of stuff I have.

Gwyn a walk by the sea, I am sure that was good for your mental health. I was only sad that we were not able to stay in the Portsmouth area much longer as it was so lovely to see the sea.

Vera, you too walking by the sea and well done for the mileage. you were probably enjoying the different area so much that you were relaxed and your body was not tensed expecting to hurt. don't overdo it, maybe a car trip today would be a good idea as you want to see your cousin.

Morning all,

We have a nice sunny morning here at present pc says 14 degrees and cloudy so how long the sun will last we'll see. Other local one says 18 degrees with a grey cloud with rain drops on it.

I did'nt take the recykling up yesterday because it was raining os hard so it must go up there soon. They do come a bit later now and if I do miss it it will have to come back down.

I had very little sleep last night because of the heat. Even OH kept waking and he’s usually a good sleeper. I got up at 8 am feeling dreadful but after a cup of tea, a shower and some muesli I managed to pull myself together and we went out for a walk around town and then along the coast a little way and back again. We had a toasted sandwich in a cafe and a slow saunter back to our accommodation. Later on we went back to the front for a meal in a pub restaurant there. We’re now back at the house and feeling quite tired.

I was surprised that in all our slow sauntering we had covered about 5 miles which is amazing considering that I could barely move on Tuesday. The weather was lovely which helped. It was very warm but with a good breeze. It’s very hot in the bedroom again even though we have had the blinds drawn to keep the sun out.

Gwyn, we are thinking of going to Deal later in the week as I have a cousin living there and would like to see her as we’re so close. I’ll probably try and ring her tomorrow..

OH is pursuing his favourite hobby of watching TV with his eyes closed so I think I’ll brave that hot bedroom and take my book to bed. I hope you all sleep well.

I'm sure you are right about the shelves filling up again Gwyn! That's ok as long as he parts with some from time to time so we aren't overun. He says just the same as you as most of his are non fiction, things like THe History of the Post Office as well as lots of other history books and he likes to check things and refer back to them. It sounds like a really nice walk with your daughter along by the sea.

It's amazing just how much room papers take up when you bag them up. We have a car load of bags of shredded paper to take to the smallholding, but last time OH was going to drop a bag off they'd taken their signs down requesting it. We are hoping they may just have been away.

Evening everyone.

Annx, I don't think OH is going to have spaces on his shelves for long, at that rate :-)

I really ought to think about thinning our book collection, but a lot of them are non fiction and I sometimes want to refer back to them. Daughter mentioned today about doing a project on weather and I immediately thought of a book we have here somewhere about whether or not there is any truth in the tales about ' red sky at night ' etc.... Will have to see if I can find it on a shelf ...or is it perhaps somewhere 'safe' in a cardboard box :-S

I hope Vera has had a good day. I thought of her this afternoon, because I was unexpectedly less than 20 miles from her, when elder daughter and I went to Deal. It was really warm in the sunshine and there was just a very gentle breeze as we walked along the seafront looking across the very calm sea.
I hope it was good further round the Kent coast too.

Pouring here now and has been raining all afternoon that fine stuff at first but I can hear it now so its harder. I don't mind really but I need to take the recykloing up the top.

Been on the phone to two SIL's today.

For the last hour and a bit I have been going through a big box of papers in oh's study. I now have a nice big black sack full of waste paper for the bin men on Thursday.

I forgot the library AGAIN this week and was reminded but a while ago so by the time Thursday came I must have been doing something else at the time and only remembered yesterday two days late. I do get a double bash at it if I miss the morning one here it goes to Shebbear in the afternoon after lunch and I do that sometimes.

He certainly has a wide range of taste AnnG! He's passed 2 Noel Fitzgerald books he had to me to read. I think he actually got them for me but decided to read them himself. I haven't done much today either, mostly planning what to do tomorrow! :-D lol. One thing I want to buy is some more Alliums for the garden. I have a few, but want to dot some more between the shrubs to add a bit of colour. I will looknat some sedums too. I can't face another summer with so much watering to do!

It's good your shed will be nice and dry now. Ours needs replacing as it's pulling apart because the base has cracked and moved, but we can't decide what size we need till we've sorted the garage which we can think about starting now it's become cooler.

that sounds like two books that couldn't be more different Ann.

I don't seem to have done a lot today but I am tired. I did strip the bed and was the bedding and re-make it. Then put away the Tesco order. Sorted out some stuff that needed putting away from when Andy was working. I could do with cutting a bit more down but there is absolutely no room in the garden bin. I thought we were going to get some rain as the sky came over really black but no, no rain. Fed up with watering now.
I did go down and look at the shed now Andy has made it waterproof, it does need clearing out but I need to start that when I have plenty of energy early in the day. So I shut the door and came inside.

Afternoon All,

71F and cloudy here and I can hear the planes at the airshow. Also gunfire again with the re-enactment. I'm tempted to go out with my camera as OH is glued to footie on tv now.

That's nice the little girl calls them nanny and grandad Mel and she sounds like a sweet little tot. It's a shame the mower has conked out and I expect you have already tried to find instructions online. Could the trailer be towed with the digger or all of you push it to where you want to empty it for now?

Mandy do any of the girls do any knitting now? The book of animal patterns sounds nice. The children here were back at school last Tuesday.

I think I've only been to Kent a couple of times and remember it being an awkward journey from here. One of the occasions was because there was a match OH wanted to see and on both occasions we stayed at the Benendon Hospital Hotel which we got members rates at. I remember going to some gardens (Sissinghurst?) and Hever Castle.

Just from what Fitz has told me his house must be a treasure trove of his family's history and connections and must be full of interesting things. From time to time I have emailed him some of the paintings I have done, but I didn't know till recently that he had them all printed and has saved them. I don't know how many books he has read, but he lives in a very long house from what I remember (something like a barn conversion?) and he said he had measured a shelf of his books and worked out that end to end they were 3 times the length of his house.

Lunch is done, eaten and OH has washed the pans and watered the back garden. Now I can't decide whether to do something that needs doing or something I fancy doing! Maybe I should look at some Anniverary cards while OH is occupied first. He's started replacing books already.........2 arrived this morning, one on football grounds and one on Dickens.

Mel you got it right, she is actually a great niece but they have chosen to be nanny and Granddad. Which is lovely for them and for her.

No I got that wrong, she is the child of Sil's niece who lost her mum so has'nt got a nanny so SIL is nanny. I think thats right. So BIL and SIL are nanny and grandad.

Mel so her sister's granddaughter and your SiL's great niece.
Lovely to see little ones around. And nice that she calls her nanny

Morning Anng and all,

Quite bright here this morning much lighter than yesterday. Pc says 17 degrees and a cloud with a red dot on it and the local one says 18 and a cloud with rain drops on it.

The little girl is SIL's niece really, child of her sister who is dead and child of her child so calls SIL nanny, if that makes sense.

Good morning all a bit grey here so far but quite clear and dry and 17 degrees so not cold.
Sounds like you had a lovely time with Fitz Ann and good to hear that Jane's family is ok.

Vera we only ever visited Kent once we lived in Bedfordshire. I would have liked to go back but it is quite an awkward journey from here. Hope you manage to get around to all the places you want to see.

Mel is the little girl BiL's granddaughter (or great granddaughter)? I am sure she had a lovely time.

Tesco due today, I did walk round to local Tesco yesterday just to see what is still on the shelves and to buy a few bits but no way could I manage a full shop walking so I am still sticking to the online shop.

I forgot to say earlier that we are at Broadstairs. We had a slightly fraught journey because of road closures, volume of traffic etc but it was mostly our side of the Dartford Crossing. Once we got on the M2 it was fine. We’re staying in a fairly modern 3 bed semi so not exactly picturesque but it’s reasonably spacious and well equipped.

I think it’s going to be a hot night. The bedrooms were hot so I tried to open the windows but they have limiters and only open a couple of inches. It’s a sensible safety feature when you’re letting to guests who might have small children but I would like more air in the room. I’m going to miss my big fan.

We had a cuppa when we arrived and then went straight out to get some fresh air while the weather was nice. i spent a lot of time on the Kent coast as a child and teenager but I had forgotten that it can be quite hilly. It was a shock after flat old Suffolk. I am pleased that my back stood up to it quite well though I did have to stop and rest a couple of times. When we got back I unpacked while OH prepared the meal I had brought with us. We haven’t made any plans for tomorrow yet.

It sounds as though you had a very pleasant few hours with Fitz, Ann. 10,000 books! Do you think he has read them all?

Mel, your little visitor sounds a sweetie. I hope your Bil can get the mower repaired soon

I’m going to post this quickly before it disappears. The wi-fi seems a bit dodgy here.

Does'nt that always happen Ann. The nearest actual bank to us now is either Bude or Lauceston but I can use the post office van if I can get up there early enough.

I have cleaned the kitchen window this afternoon after BIL and co went. The little girl is lovely and so good. She went down the field with SIL and played on the digger. Later she was wanting to go in the car and tripped over and fell so we had a few tears but only for a little while and I came in and got the fluffy hog I was going to give her anyway and she loved it. Cuddled it and lay her head on it when she sat at the table on SIL's lap while they ahd a sandwich. She loved the fish and the chikcens and even tried to say Melanie and it was good attempts.

It was BIL who broke the mower and he still could'nt get it to start today. I can't find a manual to that one but I thought we had one but it was second hand when he bought it and I think he used to look it up on the net. He had modified it to sit himself but what bugs me is its the mower that pulls the trailer and thats full now so needs emptying.

It rained again this afternoon just as I was going out to wash out a plastic box.

Mandy she does know thst you have to tickle their winkies to make them go or they will die. Mum cat usually licks them to make them go.