General Chat

No they weren't as good Mel , all the usual ones weren't in it altogether as they usually are I suppose with covid they had the distance thing yo deal with.

I don't think the new country showdowns are as good either I like it when they go to the farmers markets with the cheeses and fruit and veg .

I'm watching that too Mandy. I did'nt think the new ones were as good as past ones, what did you think?

Afternoon all,

It's really cold here today even with the heating on and a nice fire it chills you to the bone, I had to go to town to get Max a new dog tag his had worn through and was nearly off the collar ,I also got a diamond wedding card just need to sort a present now any ideas welcome, otherwise it will probably be a garden centre voucher .

We have given the downstairs bathroom a good turn out ,we washed all the tiles and had the light down to clean ,when we turn the light on now in there it seems much brighter .

Time for a cuppa and a bit of Father Brown although it's a repeat.

Slept like a log last night and we didn't wake till 9.30am and that was because the phone rang. Cloudy and dull here, just 2 degrees.

It seems to be lots of bad news lately. One of my beading friends found that her neighbour who is a good friend had passed away unexpectedly in the night. She has to have an operation soon, but was at hospital having another investigation when he was found.

Next job is to go and collect this big sample jar from the surgery that's taken over a week to come despite the nurse there re-ordering it several times.

I've started clearing old medicines and face creams in the ensuite now, 2 shelves done and some out of date things to hand to the chemist to dispose of when we next go.

OH is ready to go so I'd better get changed. BBL.

Morning all,

Not very nice here this morning , grey skies and very cold. There was a frost last night but when I went out at 12.30pm it was gone. earlier my car had been white and then it was'nt very strange.

Big wipe down today so I must get ready for it and oh still has al this old pc on the work surface so I hope he is going to move it before the hsopping comes as thats where I put it to wipe it down.

Hope you all slept well and are feel foot lose and fancy free this moning!!

See you later.

Love to Island if she's looking in and Frank too.

Good morning all, another dark morning here which meant when I went back to sleep around 0530 I didn't wake up until two minutes to nine so am way behind now. Not that I have anything planned today and I have got the bedding in the wash but I would rather wake up a bit earlier.

Ann, If your puzzles are as 'busy' as mine I would hesitate to suggest you start on them. I am, or used to be, quite good at doing them but this one has me really frustrated. I just have to keep having half hour goes at it and reckon it may not be finished by Christmas :-D

I just need to find a reliable carpenter to make me a new loft 'door' as mine is not easy to shift and T didn't get round to fixing it. Charles is now not very good at getting back to me now he has this big ongoing job in London. He seems to have given up on his local customers. As it is an inside job, being on my own it has to be somebody I can trust.

Yes, we never had a proper sort out since we combined our 2 homes AnnG and then added MIL's stuff to ours a few years ago. Knee pain limited what I could stand and do the past few years but now they seem a bit better I'm determined to keep at it! :-) Like you, the loft is still beyond me getting up there at the moment, but OH is going to bring things down at some point and we will sort that as well. My jigsaws are all 1000 pieces and you do need to spread them out as you say. You are making me want to make a start on mine now, but I must get this hat I've started knitted first!

I do the online puzzles sometimes too Mel. I have started to do the daily Wordle puzzle as well.

I meant to say before that Michael Portillo starts a series on BBC 2 at 4.30pm. It's Coastal Rail Journeys this time and uses drones to get some good scenic views.

The trouble is 1000 pieces in the small box it came in means you can't easily look through them so pieces have to be sorted out into other containers.

You are certainly finding a lot of stuff Anne. Is it a long time since your lasy clear out. When T died I cleared a lot of my stuff as well as all his but I am sure there is still more of my stuff to clear. I know there would be if I could get up in the roof.

I used to do the same pieces in the box bottom and picture proped up so I could see it. I do sometimes do the online jigsaws.

Afternoon All,

Temperature has disappeared off my PC but it feels quite mild and no frost this morning.

Yes it was nice to drive and see somewhere different for a while AnnG. When we last visited the ruined church (it has no roof or very much wall left) it was mostly a pretty and well kept garden with wild flowers too. They still hold some services there as far as I know. I've noticed some of the jigsaws now are in much smaller boxes than they used to be in, so that is probably why some of them have a picture folded up inside the box as well as it being a good idea anyway. I never used the lid for the pieces and used to stand the box lid on edge with the picture facing me.

I sorted another low cupboard in the bedroom yesterday and had a great surprise! No I didn't find the flashstick, but I did find my eternity ring which I had noticed was missing a few months ago!! :-D More shoes for the charity shop as well, some only worn once for weddings, but my knees won't take high heels now, so why keep them.

Your OH is good helping the man sort his electric and now his phone bills Vera. I think things are so unecessarily complicated these days with all the different plans etc. It's the same with appliances. I only use 3 programmes at the most on my washer and usually just 2 on the dishwasher. They asked a repair engineer about it on a tv programme and he said most people don't use many programmes on things and that it just made machines harder to repair.

Mel, I don't know if it is the norm now but inside my jigsaw box there was a copy of the picture so somebody obviously caught on to how you thought. I wouldn't say I am getting on I keep finding an odd piece that fits but have yet to find a good run of pieces. I shall have another go this afternoon.
Just had cynth on for a chat as we had not spoken since Friday.Next job is to give the bathroom a clean.

Morning Anng and all,

Now lets see if I can do a post without it disappearing.

Cloudy here this morning and the pc says 3 degrees with a pic of a cloud.

I am going to boil my big bit of gammon today so a nice easy dinner tonight with some brocc and potatoes and a cheese and onion sauce which oh likes.

So your getting on wisth the jigsaw then Anng. Good idea to put the bits on a tray of some sort but I used to like looking through the box. I used to find it strange that while you doing the jigsaw you never accually saw the picture. I suppose its because I used to look for pieces with the right leugs and shape.

Good morning AnnG and all

It’s very dull and grey here as well. There was no frost this morning so it must have been a bit warmer overnight.

I’ve done 2 loads of washing and there’s a 3rd load in the machine now but I don’t think I’ll hang it out as it won’t dry. OH has been busy and swept and washed down the patio and garden paths. Now he’s gone round to the old fellow he’s been helping. The chap’s electricity is all sorted so now OH is trying to get his phone sorted out. The chap seems to be paying for all sorts of things he hasn’t got and doesn’t need. It’s a real headache but OH is doing a good job for him.

It sounds as though the washing has just about finished so I’ll get that out of the machine and then walk down the road to post a couple of birthday cards.

Good morning all very dull and grey here again so another not very nice day. Nothing planned today but Cynth is on her own again so we will no doubt have a chat.

Annx although you didn't get any photos it sounds as if you had a nice drive round (except for not being able to get to the old church.

I have found and used one large baking tray for some of the jigsaw pieces which was good as I managed to find a piece that I knew should be easy. Hopefully the light will be a bit better today so I can have another go. Must remember to put the bins out this afternoon for tomorrow. Not that the general waste bin gets very full and the garden bin is empty.

Afternoon All,

What a gloomy afternoon it is here, but 4 degrees so not too cold. Mr O is out wiping his car again and puts us to shame. His car only goes out about 1-2 times a week, but he's out cleaning it every weekend. Mine hasn't been washed since before the pandemic and really needs a spruce up now. I'd have a go in stages but OH found the soft bristled handbrush I kept aside just for washing my car and he used it for sweeping up grit. :-S I wouldn't mind only we have 2 other handbrushes and pans he could have used.

Our carvery lunch arrived today minus any pots of gravy so I have reported it and made some myself.

I didn't get many photos yesterday as the sun went in as it usually does when I take my camera out. I went a ride through Bruntingthorpe by the airfield and saw a few planes, also past an old haunt, The Bath Hotel at Shearsby, which was an old pub with a maze of small rooms with the old pub games in, Devil among the Tailors was one. It was nice to see it is still in the middle of nowhere with nothing built near it. Then I came across a Hunt in a field with a lot of horses standing around. I might have pulled up but the verges were all cut up by 4x4s that were parked and I thought some might be angry protesters! Then I turned off for Knaptoft where we visited a ruined church years ago. There were signs saying 'site' as soon as I turned off and it was clear heavy lorries were using the lane and had made enormous ruts and potholes along it. Eventually I found somewhere to turn around and decided to go back. I could just see the church ruins (they still hold services there) but it looks like they are building something right next to it, which is a shame as it was in a very peaceful setting with fields around.

I've decided to start my hat again as I think it will be too tight for me. Different wools vary so much in thickness and I tend to be lazy about knitting a swatch before I start so it's my own fault!

I tend to get all my jigsaw pieces out, then seperate them into areas like sky etc. I hadn't thought to use trays so thanks for the suggestion as I have a few of those that I use for beading and stack them up. Baking trays is another good idea too.

Not related but I read a handy tip yesterday which is to use those small dental brushes for between your teeth to clean the small shower head holes. I haven't tried it yet.

rs. About time I did one I think as I used to love it when young.


I'll start again!!!!

Fruit salad sounds lovely and I bet it looks nice in the white dishes. About time I did one I think as I used to love that when I was young and used to do it when I could pick my fruit shopping in Morrisons. I don't like banana in it though.

Anng our puzzle is only a 500 piece this time but we do have some 1000 ones and I have some big flat baking trays that wouldn't fit in the oven so we keep them for the puzzles they are ideal as the three tins just about take all the middle pieces ,I have used trays to put the pieces on too and they stack on top of each other .

You've been busy Vera the fruit salad sounds nice ,when I make that I use a little orange juice to soak the fruit in and of course we have to have a little cream too naughty but nice :-)

:-D Vera you put me to shame you are so much kinder than me x

Missed you there AnnG. If some of the orders are packed during the night maybe another picker took the last one from the shelf for her order before your picker got there. I don’t know how the system works so I’m only guessing.

Morning all

No sign of any sun this morning but I don’t think it feels quite as cold today, probably because there’s not much of a breeze.

I didn’t do much at all yesterday, it was a blobbing around sort of day, but I have got myself moving this morning. I’ve cleaned the windows in the kitchen and uti and prepared the veg for dinner. It’s lamb shanks today with a variety of veg. We don’t have a pud much in the week but I usually do something on Sundays. Today is “exotic fruit salad”. OH will think how clever I am but I’m just using up all sorts of oddments I found lurking. There was 1 banana going soft in the lounge, a few soft apricots in the fridge, and ends of packs of cherries, mango and blueberries in the freezer. I’ve put it into two plain white dishes and it looks really tasty and colourful.

Thanks for the pictures you sent Mel. I love the birds’ Christmas ring and yes, I can see the spaceman, though I wonder whether I am seeing the same as you.

Well, I’ve drunk my coffee so I’d better get on.