General Chat

You certainly had some lovely presents Vera and it sounds like you enjoyed your day to the full.

I had a broken egg this morning and one little one with it then when I corned them this afternoon there was two morein the nest box so I wouldhave had 4 today. It must be the really old hen who lays the egg with the soft shell so it breaks but it was cleaned out!

Hope all those who did'nt sleep well last night have a better night tonight.

Sending love to Island and a ~~~~~~~~~~~

Just fiddled around with the project today so did'nt really do much to it. Oh has been up the caravan all day playing with his new toy and came down with the most beautiful owl. I looked great and then he decided to paint it which I think spoils it but it his art and he can do whatever he likes with it. I told him I would like one not painted and put it on a backing of black velvet but it would need to go in a deep frame as it would be such a dust collector.

Well I am off to watch the big freeze of 1963 now so saying night night and I will see you all in the morning. <3

Thank you all for your birthday wishes. I am having a lovely day. I have received another 3 cards and lots of texts and emails. More presents have included some smellies, a book and a leather bound notebook, chocolates and a cute bee shaped solar light that will be perfect to replace a broken one that sits on a patio table. Just as we were going out to lunch a box arrived from dil and son and that contained a big bunch of lilies that are still in bud but with the colour just showing so I can see that they are multi-coloured and will look great when they are all open.

Our friends bought us both lunch at our local hotel. We opted for the bar rather than the restaurant as it was cosier but still with plenty of space and we could look out on the river. As we were driving back we had quite a hailstorm and had to sit in the car outside our house till it eased up. On the doorstep was another box which contained a basket of flowers. I did think the delivery driver was a bit naughty leaving it on the step as any of our neighbours would have taken it in.

I was a bit concerned that I hadn't heard anything from my daughter but we had only been in a little while when another delivery arrived. This box contained three nice pots of bulbs and some Belgian chocolates but nothing to say where it came from. I am sure it must be from daughter as she is the only one left who would have sent anything like that but I have had to text her and ask. She hasn't read the text yet but is probably still working.

So, all in all, I have had a great day and have felt thoroughly spoiled.

I'm sorry you had a bad night AnnG and hope you don't feel too zonked out. How nice that your step-granddaughter sent you a card. Little gestures like that can mean such a lot.

Mandy, I hope you are going to send us a picture of Lewis's Easter bonnet. I laughed at the idea of you decorating it with hot cross buns.

That's good you managed the longer walk Ann. You are all putting me to shame as I have not walked much at all recently. I am going to go back again to doing the exercises to loosen my back up and will start tomorrow, then hopefully I can start walking again.

You're doing well with eggs Mel. Your new girls must be feeling at home now.

Son has just rung and said I have another present to come from him and my daughter but it won't be ready for a few weeks yet! What on earth can that be?

The cherry on the top of the birthday cake is that a pretty yellow hellebore that I bought quite a while ago and has never bloomed is suddenly showing two little flowers with two more buds to open. It is really pretty - yellow with a red centre.

Right, I have bored you with my birthday for long enough so I am going to go and look for that programme about the 1962/63 winter and get OH to record it for me.

Afternoon All,

<3 <3 <3 <3 :-D :-D HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERA :-D :-D <3 <3 <3 <3

I hope you have had and are still having a lovely day and your presents to now sound good and I hope your back isn't too bad. You have a lot of cards and they will be uplifting to see around you.

I recorded the programme about 1963 snow. Mum and dad had recently moved house to a village near here down a country lane and midway between 2 villages. There were 6 houses and the houses had a quarter of a mile of fields either side to the next villages and there were fields behind and in front of the houses. The houses faced east and boy that east wind whipped up large drifts across the road. I was still at school in the city, 2 bus rides away and the bus didn't go past our house anyway as it turned round in the village before it got to us, so there was a quarter of a mile walk after catching the 2 buses. It normally took me till after 5.30pm to get home. During that winter the bus broke down once near where I live now and we all had to get off and walk, in my case a good 3 miles. No mobiles then to let anyone know you would be late. I only had my school uniform shoes on and it had snowed more during the day and the pavements were deep in snow with drifts so I walked in the slush on the road unless cars were coming by in the dark. I had my heavy satchel to carry and my feet were soaked, blistered and frozen by the time I struggled home. Like AnnG says about pushing prams through the snow ruts, we'd see people that had given up and were pushing bikes and mopeds along our lane. The snow drifts were up to the top of the hedges along there so you couldn't walk on the path that was on one side and dad had to clear the snow every morning where it piled up against the garage doors during the night. We had no central heating then and the fern patterns on the bedroom windows were really thick in the mornings. I used to put the next day's underwear in bed with me so it would be warm to put on in the morning and I'd put it on in bed! My sister still walked to the village school though and you didn't hear of teachers staying at home then.

We managed a walk in the sunshine this morning but had a hailstorm half an hour ago. We managed the Long Walk and crossed the maize field and walked back past the church and farm where a work friend's mum lived years ago. She is the one who passed away in her 90s last year. She test drove the dutch dog cart we built in the 80s. They have built large new houses around the old farmyard now and converted the single storey dairy into a home. The old farmhouse is still there though. I was pleased I managed the rest of the walk through the village to the carpark as I'd wondered whether OH might need to go ahead and fetch the car for me!

Lunch was a nice easy cod mornay with added leeks and beans. We then discovered a parcel left at the front door. I do wish they'd look for the door bell on the doorframe. Some just rattle the letterbox, which rattles anyway in all the wind. I think it is the paints I ordered. :-D

thanks Mandy.

Sorry got it wrong Mels right its on tonight ,9 o'clock channel 5

We just had a really heavy snow/sleet blizzard and now ten minutes later it is brilliantly sunny and gone up from 5 to 7 degrees.

Just trying to find when and where that programme about 1963 is on but I can't find it. Mandy you sad tomorrow and Mel said tonight.

I had a 12-15 month old and can remember trying to push the pram over the snow ruts to get the food shopping.
No central heating in our bungalow just one sort of coke burner in the lounge. Nowhere to dry nappies except on the line so as soon as they were hung out they froze solid. I don't remember being miserable about it though we just got on with it.

Mandy I saw that program was on tonight. I was going to school in all that weather. No days off for snow in those years I had to walk to the station at Redbridge and get a train to Gants hill, one stop, and walk right up a long road to get to school about a mile.

Glad your flushing again.

Its just hailed here but the suns is still out and its very windy.

<3 <3 Happy Birthday Vera <3 <3
Hope you enjoy your day being spoilt ,shame there's no sun but perhaps it will shine later as it should here .

Morning all,

Wet and windy this morning but should be brighter later ,son has been and put the new bits in the cistern so we're flushing again .

Don't seem to have any go in me today its got up and gone so I might have a lazy day
We're having Chicken and Leek bake tonight so thats easy to do just need to do some veg to go with it .

Tomorrow night there's a programme on about the big freeze in 1963 that I want to record thats the year Colin started work ,he was supposed to start at Christmas but because the weather was so bad he didn't start until the middle March.

Sorry Vera in my dozy state I forgot.

<3 <3 <3 <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY <3 <3 <3 <3

sounds like you are having a good day. Hope you continue to do so. No HW today!!!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERA <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Have a magical day and enjoy being spoilt.

Morning all.

Suns out but its still windy.

Good morning everyone

Thank you both Anns, Mel and Mandy for your lovely cards. They are much appreciated. I have had 24 cards so far and no two are the same. One friend enclosed a voucher for our local theatre, we are both being treated to lunch out by our friends M & V, and I have a couple of presents to open yet. I am feeling very spoilt. The weather is very grey and very wet and my back still aches but nothing will ruin my good mood today :-D :-D

I hope you all have a good day as well. Might bbl

Good morning all. For the first time in ages I had a really bad night last night so feel 'wiped out' this morning. Strange how this happens sometimes, when I did drop off it was to only wake up again about half an hour later.

Dull and drizzly here and 5 degrees.

No Ann I haven't looked for wool as I think I should get Lewis easter hat done first, my fingers have been tender I think it might have been moving the logs so I haven't made anything yet to go on the hat yet ,I might crochet a few easter eggs ,I did say we should cover it in Hot Cross Buns lol

I want to have something different in my hanging baskets this year ,last year I had Petunias and they were flowering well until we had some heavy rain and they never really recovered after that and looked half dead ,so this year I might have more Geraniums ,the trailing ones .

I love your earrings Vera and think they are very stylish. They are a lovely present for a special birthday. I must drop hints when I next have one! :-D Sorry there was no pleasure that caused your back to play up. Maybe the chairs at the do weren't very back friendly. I hope it soon settles down, but your OH is good getting the floors done.

Well done getting more done in the garden AnnG! I want to do a bit each day so it isn't a big job later on. Once I start I know OH will come out and do some as well. ;-) How lovely of your step granddaughter to think of you and send such a lovely message.

I went for the same walk again, but on my own as OH had some work emails to answer urgently. He said he will come with me possibly tomorrow which will be good as I want to go a bit further and down the Long Walk which takes you down a narrow strip of pine trees. It's known that there are Woodpeckers there although we have never seen any, but it's a bit hidden away from the rest of the park for me to feel safe on my own. Lots of dogs again and they all look happy to be running about and several came running up to me to see if there was any fuss going. I was lucky as it just started spitting with rain as I drove home. It didn't last long though.

I'm looking forward to doing some painting again Mandy, as all the teachers say practice, practice to get better. I need to clear up a bit in here to make some space first and might start next week. Do you put your Nasturtiums in the planters that your OH made or are they mostly planted with vegetables? I like Nasturtiums as they keep on flowering for so long. Any success with finding some wool yet?

So we know Mel's project used wood, that she needed a saw, glue was used and it was painted and that it has a ceiling, needed dressing and will still take a while to finish???????? :-S Still no wiser!

I must admit you are all trying very hard to guess what I am making. No more clues for you though until you see the finished thing which could still take a long while. The one thing I like is that its making you all post and giving us something to talk about.

Oh ordered fish and chips from the van in the village for us tonight so no cooking for me tonight which means I am going back to the project in a min when I have posted this.

Vera I have replied to your email your earings are beautiful and a lovely colour. I like things like that too.

Nice to get that card from your step grandaughter Anng, it shows she thinks of you.
You did well in the garden this morning so back to the jigsaw or card making I think.



I think I still have some Naurtium seeds from last year whcih I will try again this year. Mine were a mix of colours.

Afternoon all,

It's been sunny here but its now clouded over and looks like it could tip down any minute.

Vera your earrings are lovely I did wonder when I first looked at them if the bottom part unclipped from the studs which would then make two pairs ,you must be very pleased with them lovely to have something for your special birthday .
Hope your poor back soon feels better.


Ann thats good your getting painting again I miss seeing your nice work so will look forward to some more works of art in the weeks to come :-)
That was a late delivery for your bin good job you were still up to take it in.


Anng you saying about getting Cornfliwer and Nasturtium seeds made me have a look at the seeds when I went into Wilkos this morning and I bought a packet of Nasturtium seeds called Peach Melba ,pretty little yellowy ones .

Well I'm not sure what Mel is making ,I think when the ceiling was mentioned I did wonder if she is making something like a shop window with bits and pieces In and you dress a window , maybe a pet shop or her local shop , we will have to wait and see.

Yesterday son came and had a look at our toilet cistern as the water kept running after a flush , he had all the innards out and has ordered some new bits for it which he'll get tomorrow and come and put it all back together for us ,luckily we have the upstairs loo we can use.

Pleased that your back is on the mend Vera. I was waiting for something to 'go' as I did the weeding but ok so far.

I was thinking a dolls house but that is too big a project, talk of ceiling was interesting.

I wish it had been the hokey-cokey that set my back off Ann. At least I'd have had pleasure before the pain. I just woke up with it on Monday morning for no apparent reason. It is slowly getting better. I've managed the ironing this morning but I had to stop and walk around after every item as standing is the most painful. Never mind, there are people a lot worse off than me and I do have a helpful husband. He has hoovered through for me this morning and is currently cleaning the wooden floor in the lounge. It's not a difficult job and we do it every few weeks. We have some stuff to spray on and just wipe over with a big, flat mop but it's a bit of a pain moving all the furniture so OH often does it for me.

I had also thought of a fairy house for Mel's project which could be dressed I suppose. I've discounted my other idea as that definitely wouldn't need dressing but I have now thought of something else it could be. You're making us all use those little grey cells Mel.

Tesco have sent me their receipt and there is nothing missing and only one sub in my order which was a toothpaste. They are sending me the same brand but a slightly different paste. As the one I ordered was £2.60 and the one they are sending cost £4 I'm the winner.

Better go and make OH some lunch. That's usually his job but he has worked so hard for me this morning that I'll go and get it ready for him.

doing well with eggs then Mel. It must be spring that does it!!!

Annx I have just spent just under an hour in the garden weeding and cutting off the larger older leaves of Helebores. there are still a lot of weeds to get up but I couldn't do any more. Still pleased with what I have done for a first go. amazing how weeds never get killed by frost. Still we haven't had much frost so I suppose to plants it is quite mild.

I just had a lovely surprise. a pretty 'just to say' card from my step Granddaughter. son in laws daughter who had Amber the cockerpoo. Just checking if I was ok and saying she is looking forward to seeing me in April when I go up there. I thought that was lovely really made my day.