General Chat

Oh Mel your doing so well not smoking keep it up you don't need them and with the money your saving give yourself a little treat .

It turned really cold this afternoon, we were later lighting the fire and the heating came on about half four but I couldn't get warm ,perhaps because we were outside a while this morning.

Done another wash this morning and did a load of ironing so I feel as though today has'nt been wasted.

I watched lost and found on BBC 1 at lunchtime and found it very moving. I have now watched a couple more of those programs.

Meat pie for dinner tonight sprouts and mash and thick gravy.

No I have been good and not smoked since 26th December. Keep thinking when Iv'e finished the ironing I'll have a cig and then tell myself NO be good. I miss going out and feeding Robby while I used to have a smoke. I do go out inthe morning to feed Robby but forget during the day when I am doijng other things.

Done a bit of casting today the first of the new year. They need to dry right out before drilling.

Afternoon all,

It was sunny here after a frosty start but that soon disappeared and its been a bit hazy ,we got the tree all chopped up and in the brown bin and we were glad to get in for a coffee to warm us up .

That was good the traffic was a bit easier so you got there and back OK Anng

Our market place is closed to traffic now for 12 weeks while they alter the bus stops so the buses can pull in better sometimes there's four buses at once and they hold all the traffic up behind them as they can't pull into the stop .
They are taking a couple of disabled spaces from outside the co op and moving those across the other side of the road then the buses can pull in the disabled spaces ,but in the mean time all the buses are going into the car park just a few minutes walk away so it's muddled the whole town up ,I expect the poor shops will suffer as people will stay away .

I hope the rest of the tests for your OH go OK Vera it's going to be a busy rest of the week for you both .

Shopping day tomorrow so I must check my list and I still haven't looked at a pattern to see how much wool I'd need.

Well the paths were clear of frost and the roads were surprisingly clear od heavy traffic. Still temporary lights (5 way) and temporary pedestrian lights as well but it all worked smoothly and even felt better with fewer cars being able to use the road where the hairdresser is. I quite enjoyed the walk and feel pleased that I have had some exercise. Then, while I still had my shoes on I took a couple of bits down to the shed, which I wanted to check for leaks, over a month since I last went down there. All was well in there but the storm had blown tha parasol over on the lower patio, nothing damaged so I have rolled it into a better position and left it down.

Yes Ann I hope they will change that February date too.

Mel several time in past years when I have had a cough it has lasted up to 8 weeks. Hopefully the X-ray will be clear. Have you gone back to smoking? I know that you stopped when you had breathing problems.

Better think about getting some lunch now I suppose.

I hope the nurse can sort out your cough tomorrow Mel. You must be exhausted. A persistent cough can wear you out. OH’s cough isn’t new; we both went down with a cough and cold a day or so after Christmas but where mine has been gradually getting better every day his cough has hardly improved at all. He saw the doctor on Monday and now has an X-Ray tomorrow though we’re not expecting it to show anything much. It takes a long while to recover from flu Mel so don’t expect miracles. I’ve only had proper flu twice in my life, the last time about 4 years ago. Each time it was about 6 weeks before I felt back to normal. Be kind to yourself, stay warm, eat well, drink plenty of fluids and don’t try to do too much.

It’s not very warm but it is still bright and sunny. Hope it’s sunny where you are. The sun cheers everything up. Snowdrops are showing white buds ready to open, hellebores are in bud and the early daffs are poking through. Spring is on the way though I’m sure there’ll be plenty of wintry weather to come first.

OH is on the computer ordering me a new cordless vac so I had better go and sort out some lunch for him.

Morning All,

White over here this morning too, yet I was so hot last night I shoved the throw off and the duvet down to my knees.

I think a cough with flu can last a few weeks Mel, probably more if you smoke and it can take a long time to get your energy back. Often it's the change in temperature in the bedroom that can start you coughing at night and I found taking sips of a warmed lemon and honey drink helped with the bad tickly coughs I used to get.

Your poor OH must be worn out Vera, as must you with all that's been happening lately. I see you are having a 'medical' week, but at least it's good the doctor's test for your OH was clear. I hope all goes well with the rest of the tests and that they can soon sort him out. I'm not surprised you threw your rubbish in the wrong bin. It happens when your head is all over the place. I'm intending to get rid of my big dyson this year as I never use it now. Like you say it is heavy compared with the stick ones and to think I thought it was so light after having even heavier hoovers before. I do want to get another stick one though so I have two. Then if one packs up or needs repair I have another to fall back on in the meantime.

It sounds like you will have had a tricky walk this morning with the frost and all those road repairs AnnG and have to be careful and allow extra time. It will be good if you can get your February appointment changed. I would be having visions of the possible weather and it being dark and more traffic at that time too.

OH has gone for his eye test now, but if they use eyedrops and if he can't drive, I will go and fetch him and we can fetch his car later when the eyedrops have worn off. It is less than a mile away so not far at all. A bit of HW and decide what's for lunch now.

Morning All,

White over here this morning too, yet I was so hot last night I shoved the throw off and the duvet down to my knees.

I think a cough with flu can last a few weeks Mel, probably more if you smoke and it can take a long time to get your energy back. Often it's the change in temperature in the bedroom that can start you coughing at night and I found taking sips of a warmed lemon and honey drink helped with the bad tickly coughs I used to get.

Your poor OH must be worn out Vera, as must you with all that's been happening lately. I see you are having a 'medical' week, but at least it's good the doctor's test for your OH was clear. I hope all goes well with the rest of the tests and that they can soon sort him out. I'm not surprised you threw your rubbish in the wrong bin. It happens when your head is all over the place. I'm intending to get rid of my big dyson this year as I never use it now. Like you say it is heavy compared with the stick ones and to think I thought it was so light after having even heavier hoovers before. I do want to get another stick one though so I have two. Then if one packs up or needs repair I have another to fall back on in the meantime.

It sounds like you will have had a tricky walk this morning with the frost and all those road repairs AnnG and have to be careful and allow extra time. It will be good if you can get your February appointment changed. I would be having visions of the possible weather and it being dark and more traffic at that time too.

OH has gone for his eye test now, but if they use eyedrops and if he can't drive, I will go and fetch him and we can fetch his car later when the eyedrops have worn off. It is less than a mile away so not far at all. A bit of HW and decide what's for lunch now.

Morning girls,

Everything was white when I got up this morning but the sun has come out and patches are now thawing. Pc says afternoon rain about 4pm and its now 1 degree.

Sorry to hear your oh has a nasty cough now so join the club. I had a better night getting up once for the loo and bacjk to sleep afterwards. I did take a couple of paracetamol before bed and think that helped with the constant coughing.

Iv'e had a chest x-ray in hospital and they said it did'nt look too bad and they actually showed me the x-ray. To begin with I had coughed so much all my tummy muscles hurt like fury but tht went off after a while. I don't know how long this flu is supposed to last but I do know its been a blimmin long while so far and I still don't feel completly right. Still don't have much energy or want to do things.

I hope all goes well with your oh Vera and he can get some relief.

Heavy frost 0 degrees and the suns coming out here.

There’s a heavy frost here but it’s sunny so hopefully it will clear soon. It’s just reached 0 degrees and there is rain forecast again. I slept reasonably well and have been up a couple of hours but I still haven’t showered, dressed or had breakfast so I’d better get on.

AnnG, the roads sound horrible round your way. Be careful when you go out.

Good morning all -2 here and hard frost on roofs but hopefully by the time I have to walk out at 11 o'clock, the paths will be ok. I have to walk, Cynth has visitors and the bus I could usually catch has bee re-routed a few days because of the horrendous road works covering replacing gas mains. goodness know what it will be like walking as I know traffic has been backed up so hope they have the pedestrian lights working.

Vers, sorry you hare going through appointment overload. It seems once we start with medical appointments it doesn't stop. Hope all goes ok with all of them.

I am just about to try and change one of my February ones which is at the main hospital at 4pm. I have visions of maybe ice or snow and very dark when I have to walk to the bus. Fingers crossed I can get it changed.

I think I saw a request for Christmas trees for an animal sanctuary as well Gwyn. I can’t remember where I saw it, might have been the local paper.

The reason I said we’re not having a good time at the moment is that we just seem to have had one problem after another lately. As I think I mentioned OH is struggling with a bad cough. He now has an X-Ray arranged for Thursday. Last night through the early hours I could hear him coughing away and then walking around downstairs and going into the kitchen. I didn’t get up as it’s been like that for several nights and he doesn’t really like being fussed over. This morning I discovered he had a problem when he went to the bathroom which worried him enough for him to ring 111. He talked to a doctor there who was prepared to send an ambulance but OH didn’t feel that was necessary, so 111 said they would notify our surgery and OH should ring them this morning. When he did he was told the doctor was set up to phone OH this afternoon. He called by 2 from the main surgery and asked OH to take a sample to our local surgery which he did. Doctor called again at 3 pm to say tests had all been OK so nothing obviously wrong. He had therefore already referred him to a urologist at the hospital for tests. If we haven’t been sent an appointment within the next 2 weeks OH should ring our surgery and they will chase the hospital up. So this week it was the surgery on Monday and today, Thursday it’s the Health Centre for OH’s X-Ray and Friday it’s the hospital for my eyes.

Added to all this my cordless vac decided to die on me so I need to get a new one pretty quickly. I have a big, plug in Dyson but it’s very heavy and I struggle to push it around and can’t manage it on the stairs at all. And I don’t know where my head is at the moment - I keep doing the stupidest things. In the kitchen we have quite a large square bin where we put the recycling rubbish. This afternoon it was very full so I took it outside and emptied it into our blue bin for recycling. As I stepped inside the back door I suddenly realised that I had just emptied all the recycling rubbish into the brown garden waste bin and not the blue bin at all. What an idiot! I then had to spend a jolly half hour in the rain getting all the recycling out of the wrong bin, disentangling it from bits of greenery and putting it in the correct bin.

So that’s my tale of woe but it’s not all doom and gloom. We had such a happy weekend that I’m still smiling. I can’t wait to see them all again.

I hope, everyone, that your day has been better than ours and that you all get a good night’s sleep tonight and wake up full of beans tomorrow.

Not that I know of Gwyn ,I did hear something last year about goats liking christmas trees but them I think goats will eat anything lol it does seem a shame to cut it as its still lovely and green but has no roots so can't be planted .

Mandy
Do you have any animal sanctuaries nearby?
Our local TV news carried a request from one asking for donations of Christmas trees.
I know goats in particular love a nibble :-)

Evening all,

It's been a dreary old day , drizzle started about eleven and then heavier rain after lunch ,we went to Tesco's for a few bits then on to sons to take Lewis's birthday presents for Thursday , sat having a coffee when son got a call out for the school ,they had a blockage in a loo so we quickly finished our coffee's and came away .

Ann hope it was a bit warmer for your eye test ,sounds as if the Air-conditioning was on rather than the warm air blowing out.

Mel hope they can sort out this cough you still have and do the respiratory test at the doctors it would save you going to the hospital .
That was another job we did this morning called at the doctors and put our prescriptions in and I had a letter to make an appointment for my yearly mot , 19th March!!!! No wonder people miss appointments when they are made for so far ahead .

Gwyn ,no no wool sorted out yet ,I'm hanging on until Thursday when Aldi should have their wool in store ,but I must look a pattern out to see how much wool I'll need .

Vera sorry to read your not having a good time at the moment.

We want to get a few jobs done outside tomorrow, it should be a better day with a little sun but a bit of frost first thing so we might have to wait untill a bit later before we get out there ,the Christmas tree needs cutting up and putting in the garden bin ,I'd like to sweep a few leaves up and wash the window sills too .

Corned the girls and the Robin always has a few fat sticks on top of the girls run and came in and had a lovely long shower. All ready for bed now just have to do my hair. I am having a burger new pots and sprouts for dinner tonight, I just fancy that and a little bit pof what you fancy does you good, so they say.

Sorry to read that your cough is still bothering you, Mel.
It's a good idea to talk through your concerns to a nurse to perhaps get help to try to clear it.
May be if the cough is lingering, they will want an X-ray to check how things are.
I know these things can seem a bother, but it is better to get it sorted.

It's such a dreary dull day today.
The temperature is a couple of degrees milder than of late, but having no sign of the sun makes it seem colder.
I really don't like winter much :-|

Lovely to have that special family time Vera.
My, that little girl seems to be growing up so quickly. It sounds like she is a bundle of fun and energy :-)

AnnG..You have been so busy since returning home.!
I hope all the road works and alterations finish soon, so you can plan any outings better. A town near here has so much going on too, - improvements, they say, but it seems to be taking an age to get things organised. It is costing a fortune, so I hope it is better in the town, once completed, but I have my doubts. They seem to be going for 'a look' rather than practicalities :-S

Annx. Your factory shop sounds great, but I know what you mean about wanting to actually see things. I wanted to feel how heavy the kettle was, when I was buying a new one and wanted it to be comfortable in my hand.
I hope you find one just right.

Any luck finding wool for your hat Mandy?
I'm not one for hats, but it's a case of 'needs must' if I'm heading off to school on these cold mornings and I have several pull-on style ones for warmth.
One of them is ribbed and really warm, but tends to ride up and has a crazy angle at times helped by the big pom pom on top. The one that fits best is a looser fit and has no pop pom. It has added depth, so can be turned back and pulled down over the ears. When I get to school, I have to sign in on a machine that takes a photo :-0 The 2nd hat makes for a tidier look ;-)

It’s rained pretty much all day today, sometimes heavily, sometimes a bit lighter and the forecast is for rain every day this week :-(

It would be good if you could have your respiratory test at your gp surgery Mel rather than having to go to Barnstaple. Fancy the hospital not yet telling your docs that you have been discharged. They’re a bit slow off the mark aren’t they. I hope the nurse can sort out your cough.

It’s good that your hearing hadn’t deteriorated since your last test Annx. I really ought to get a test booked but at the moment I don’t want to try and fit anything else in.

We are not having a good time at the moment. Oh, that’s the doorbell. OH has answered it and I am wanted. Will post this bit and come back later.

Iv'e just rung the docs to see if I can have this breathing test there instead of going to Barnstaple and they told me they had'nt even been told I was sent home yet and been signed off from the hospital. I amn seeing the nurse at the sugery on Thursday in the morning about this cough I still have.

Afternoon All,

It's been a bit drizzly here but the worst is yet to come this afternoon according to the forecast. We went to Boots on the nearby retail park for our hearing tests this morning and it was freezing in there. I'd put a thin waterproof on expecting the rain, but wished I'd got my fleece coat on. Anyway, no change with our hearing and still just mild impairment so that was good. I'm back there again in less than an hour for my eye test,so will go suitably dressed for the cold this time. We called in Sainsbury's opposite for OH to get fuel after and then a few bits from the shop and a new kettle. Just had a quick Sainsbury's cod in parsley sauce meal with extra mixed veg and now better get ready to go again now so will catch up with the posts later.