General Chat

Good morning all, bright and sunny again so no excuse for not getting back out in the garden :-D :-D

and isn't that just the trouble Ann & Mandy. As soon as we can start doing all the garden jobs we enjoy (and some we probably don't), bits of us we have forgotten we have, start to remind us of our age!! :-)

That's what I did in the garden that set my knees off Mandy. It was the bending when I thought I'd do some weeding. You feel you are ok at the time, but later the stiffness comes on. Well thank you Colin for the suggestion! I'm leaving the tape on till I know if the tyre is ok.

Your OH has been busy Mel and I bet the boys were pleased with their gifts. OH showed me an article in the Telegraph magazine a short while ago that said miniature settings like you have made are becoming the new thing!!

He has been making the tree of life cut outs and today he did some fairy ones. He's cut me out my next project and he's made a tractor, a game of noughts and crosses which I gave to the boys today and a minion you can put your pens in. He did me a nice witch flying across a pumpkin first. Can't think what else he's made at the mo.

I have to do our Saturday nights burgers now and i have a nice bottle of Merlot to go with them.

I think I over did the gardening Ann there was a lot of bending over doing the weeding and filling the trays with compost ,I see today I have two tiny cucumber seeds beginning to show and I only sowed them on Thursday.
It was Colin who suggested marking the tyre .


Vera that was a good walk you did today now take it easy for the rest of the weekend and I hope the fresh air from the walk helps you to have a better night's sleep.

Mel you've done really well making all those tiny things ,it's one of those things where you can keep adding things or change things around .
What has OH been making with his wood lately .

Not many modern cars have a spare wheel Mel. They just have repair kits that ruin your tyre, so I bought a spare wheel for mine. It has big wheels so it takes up a lot of the boot space as it won't fit in the wheel well properly, but I'd sooner that than not have one. OH pulled the nail out and it was a phillips screw half an inch long, but at an angle so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it didn't reach right through the tyre. OH said he would change the wheel if needs be till I reminded him you need a trolley jack for my car. If it isn't lifted properly it can crack the wavy, curved glass roof.
The breakdown people will come out though and put the spare on like the last time if necessary.

Do you not have a spare Ann?

No it doesn't does it AnnG. We just got the bathroom fan fixed and now something else to sort out!

Ah so it is a green witch Mel. There used to be a white witch where I worked once. It is smaller than I expected so you did well to pack so many things in there and I think the fire is very effective. Good idea to put it in the show if you can as I'm sure it will attract a lot of interest.

Sorry you have pulled your back Mandy. Was it in the garden or from the new Shark being heavier? We still use our corded dyson that's heavier from time to time to get the dirt out better. To think I thought how light that was after the older hoovers. Brilliant suggestion to mark where the nail is in the tyre. I've put a couple of strips of that heavy duty electric tape, one on the wall and one across the tread and also circled it with a white pen deep in the tread. The nail seems to have bent over and gone in the tread on the angle so I might be lucky. I've been so careful where I park since I got one a few years ago parking in a field gateway to take a photo. I suppose we'd better check the others as well.

No I realise that it would not be suitable for a child, wouldn't stop her wanting to play with it though. I am sure it is for display only.

The things in it are not suitable for children under the age of 14 Anng. I wanted to make some more tiny bits to go in it this afternoon but have only managed to get some stuff put away and made oh coffee and now I have to go and do the chickens. I was going to clean them out again but there's such a strong rough and very chilly wind so I thought better about it. At least they are dry in their house even if it is a bit smelly.

Gosh Mel, I realised it must be a room and probably in a box but didn't realise how small it was, it is lovely and definitely you should show it if you get the opportunity. I love it and want to 'play' with it. My great Granddaughter would love it too, she loves playing with very tiny things like animals, figures etc.

Mel, your project is amazing. There’s such a lot of work involved and some of the bits and pieces must have been so fiddly to make, especially as they must be quite tiny. You are so clever.

Sorry to hear you have pulled a muscle Mandy. Rest up and make sure you are really fit again before you start having the children to stay.

Oh dear Ann, what a pain to find that nail in your tyre but good that you saw it while the car was on your drive rather than it deflating while you were driving.

There’s a cold wind but otherwise it’s a lovely afternoon so I decided to make the effort and go for a walk. OH came with me. I wanted to go down by the river, rather than just walk round the roads. It’s about a 10 minute walk to our nearest access point, then we had a slow stroll along the riverside for a little way, then turned round and back the same way. It was just under 2 miles but was a bit too far really as my back was hurting and my legs felt shaky by the time we got back. I feel pleased as it’s the first real walk I’ve managed since Boxing Day.

We saw a swan sitting on her nest with her mate standing on a small raft in the river so we’ll have to go back in a while and see how many cygnets she has. There were plenty of ducks and a moorhen, birds twittering all around and lots of trees starting in bud. We also watched a group of canoeists paddling against the wind. It was very enjoyable even if I did come back very tired.

Oh my goodness Mel! I thought the photos were of your kitchen and your project on the table :-0 What a lot of work!

AnnG, there has been so many variations of advice over this virus, so coupled with the lax behaviour of those in high places and the dumping of restrictions I am beginning to question what the truth is/was.
Meanwhile, it has played havoc with my mental health too. Hopefully on the way back but will be wary for a long time to come.

Afternoon all,

Nice and sunny here but very nippy out with this quite strong wind .
We should have had Lacey here for the weekend but somehow I've pulled a muscle so she's now coming next weekend.

Oh thats a nuisance Ann and just as you wanted to go out too , when you pull the nail out make sure if you can to mark the tyre on the wall of the tyre where the nail was that way it makes it easier to find if it can be repaired.

Mel wow have you made everything in your project I can see why its taken a while to do there's a lot of work there , what size is it .

My Shark came my goodness you should have seen all the muck it picked up a lit of Max's hair , the carpet looks so much better , it has a much better suction but it is heavy after the rechargeable one, not on the pushing of it, the lifting of it .

Lasagne for us tonight and I have a chicken out of the freezer for tomorrow.

My grandfather made the copper pot with the id but not sure if you can see that in the pics I sent. He was a metal worker and made mum and I the pots and a kettle and a warming pan all out of copper.

I know she is not a frightening witch but she's a green witch. I did wonder whether to paint her face and hands green but thought I would leave her as she was. I bought her in Holsworthy years ago.I may put it in the show if we have one this year.

My brew cottage is in a box thats 18 inches bx 9 inches high x 11 inches deep. It is 1.12th scale. I started with an unpainted box with a glass front and removable ceiling. I beamed it, papered the walls, made the door out of lollie sticks and painted it, the door opens. I labled all the glass jars which I bought and I bought the lights and the floor paper. I made the fireplace from scratch made all the scrolls and the sink and stink stands. Made the flowerpot with the toadstools in and the mat in front of the fire. Lots of bits are out of my dolls house that I had in 1979, like the kettle warming pan and the table and the little stool is out of mums dollshouse. I made the pumpkins,the staff figures on the mantle piece, the bird sculls dotted about the broom in the right hand corner made the herb bunches hanging in the ceiling and made the window frame. Made the mandrake root on the table and hanging on the shelves. Made the tiny bowl of eggs, the potion bottles, the tiny spell book on the sideboard, all the bottles of wine, the stoneware jars with handles and the hearth and probably many more things in there.

Nothing ever goes to plan does it ann xx

Well so much for my trip out and a walk! I got halfway out of the drive and thought I'd better nip and check I'd locked the front door. On the way back I glanced down at my front tyre and noticed a big nail embeded. I fetched my jewellery pliers but they weren't strong enough to fetch it out so I will wait till OH gets home and finds his pliers in the garage. I didn't want to risk a tyre going flat while I was out and will see what happens when it is pulled out before I go out in it again. If it starts to go down I will have to visit Mr Tyres. If not it should be ok. I need it for the hairdresser on Tuesday so whatever happens I've time to get it fixed before then. If not OH is at home Tuesday morning so I can borrow his car.

Island, mild criticism because I have not tested. If I have been indoors and not near anyone and then go to a meeting I am not likely to have it but more likely to catch it.

I will test if I deem it necessary but I am sure I did read that it was pointless testing if you have no symptoms. then there are the sevral people i know or have heard of who have tested negative, gone to a meeting or met up with friends, then the next day have tested positive. So it is confusing.

My mental health has been a bit of a struggle this past year and constantly testing would not improve it. I think we all have to make our own decisions. But I will add, if I was going to visit somebody vulnerable, I would take a test.

I agree with your computer man AnnG and I actually prefer Windows 10. I just can't see any improvement in Windows 11, just that it's harder to find things I use and that instead going through 2 menus to do something it is now 3 menus. My camera is harder to find than before now and I still have to do a search for it in Windows 11. I think it's just as easy to unlink onedrive in windows 10.

Yes Mel, I wasn't sure if I was looking in a doll's house at your project so what size is it and what plans do you have for it? There looks to be a lot of work there and the effect is good. I do like how the the lamps light up and I thought it was a witch's kitchen to make spells but she seems too pretty to be a witch.

OH has just phoned to say something has kicked off at the traveller site a quarter of a mile away. He said there are police and police cars all around and a chap on the motorway bridge next to the site looks as if he has been in a fight!! He said it looked as if the police were going to close the road. Maybe I will go out after all.

Island, I am sorry that I have clearly upset you. That was never my intention. Reading back over a couple of my posts I can see I may have come on a bit strong but I was not, repeat not, criticising anyone on here. My irritation is with the system that allows some people easy access to the tests while others are struggling to get them. It just seems unfair. I will now leave the subject well alone.

Please accept my apologies.