General Chat

Cold? Cold!! Certainly is :-0 and wet and windy :-( I need some fleecy trousers with built in feet.
Two weeks to the tuning point and time to look forward again.
Must get the bean seeds ordered, I've spotted two other climbing types too which I shall get but I can't decide on which toms will be best for outside. Yes, I'm thinking ahead but I really don't like the dark days - who does?

I think I missed a post too Annx - I also thought Anng's grandson is a good looking smiley fella but as I said to Ann how much he looked like her I didn't want to make her blush :-D

I hope Vera isn't poorly :-(

Afternoon All,

Brrr, only 3 degrees this morning. I slept well till the lights from over the road were dancing across the bedroom walls at 7.00am, swiftly followed by the beeping and clattering binmen. We both got up at 8.00am, showered and I got lunch all ready before OH started his zoom meeting. I sorted out all my paintings and tidied them away, then a pile of magazines and papers, throwing out what I could and any junk mail, so that has pleased me. It's got windy here now after a calm start like Gwyn had, but rain is lashing down now. OH has set off on a 17 mile trip to see someone at a new school and I think he will get soaked in this lot. Then he has 2 meetings at a council in the next county afterwards and won't be home till late tonight as it is a 30 mile trip home. At least it is his aircon not working and not the heater in his car!

Nice to see you Island.......wave........wave.

Those little bottles are too nice to throw out after the contents are gone AnnG and your grandson looks a lovely, handsome chap with a nice smiley face! Have I missed a post? Where was the interviewer from and why did you get a visit? It used to amuse me that not only did we have to sign the official secrets act, we had to unsign it when we left. It sounded like you were free to go and blab then, which you weren't! We couldn't even take up certain kinds of employment after for a number of years.

I hope your food is all sorted now Mel. It's not often that I don't get subs, but at least they are good with refunds.

I just rang the doc and then the hospital to see where things are with my urgent scan as it is a month now. It looks like it may be after Christmas, but they said they will chase it up anyway. The new variant could make it even later I expect.

I hope Vera is feeling a bit better today.

Interviewer has just gone, she was here exactly an hour. wore a mask (as did I) but was clear and easy to understand. And sat over 2 metres away from me by the open door

Basically it is all to do with child (and any other) poverty.

Lots of questions (all this is anonymous) on education/qualifications, finance etc stretched my brain going back to thinking about working days and qualifications.  Quite interesting and I did make sure that it has no identification attached.  finance was interesting, some things I answered details of exact amounts of savings I didn't but agreed to a bracket. One question i didn't answer. " talking about your last job, Mod was it? How many people worked there?"  Answer Erm I have not a clue, but even if I did I am going to throw the Official secrets act at you, I can't answer that question.

She was actually very good and interesting, she knew her subject and I would think it is a very interesting job. she said one of the interviewers was 80.

I worked out that they have random addresses (done apparently by a large computer program) because they use people like me to balance against those who are in poverty. she did say that some finance questions if the income was low would then branch off into 'Have you used food banks etc' type of questions.  But it is all about things like are people better off because of education, health what jobs they did etc.  Yes quite an interesting afternoon, if a bit chilly. I had my weird fish thick top on with a padded gillet over the top. Luckily the storm calmed down so it was ok with the window and doors open. Apparently I was the first face to face interview that she had done

Let them eat cake Mel LOL

My shopping is going to be very late today and I need the bread for lunch!

The suns come out here and the wind has dropped a bit.

The wind is really high and blowing everything around.

Morning Anng, Gwyn and all,

Dull dreary wet and windy that just about sums up today so far but I suppose it will get windier later on or when the tide changes as that seems to affect us sometimes too.

Its the big wipe down today and I have two subs, instead of my hovis granary which I can eat they are sending a hovis multi seeded which I can't eat and I already have one in the freezer cos they sent one before and I forgot to send it back as the driver was very chatty.

The chickens will have it in the end I suppose. The small seeds get under my plate and make my gums sore. Can't remember what the other one was already and I only looked a little while ago. O yes Platinum wash up instead of lemon and the lemon is the only one I can use because I don't get on with the smell of others. They can have that back too.

Good morning Ann.

Not too bad at the moment, just dull.
Being in the far south east, I expect the edge of the storm will reach here much later, but no doubt there will be wild winds whistling through the English Channel, so we will feel the effect of that then.

good morning all, windy and sort of yellow grey out there. forecast of storm approaching and it does look very threatening. Pleased I don't have to go out.

I definitely did not add that more than once. And I have only had the same amount as usual

Do you think Anng is catching up a bit too quickly? Could that be three today and three tomorrow and two the next day? Made me laugh when I saw the three posts. :-D

Oh dear Anng :-D how many have you had :-D your repeating yourself now lol

Yes Ann it's been gloomy here too all day and I don't think tomorrow will be much better the wind should be getting up .

Mandy yes all different gins not necessarily different flavours as in plum, orange, raspberry but there may be some fruit flavoured gins among them. There are other flavours though, like botanical and spice type flavours. I think you either like gin or you don’t no middle path

Kirstie did some gin with silver flakes in. I hadn't seen that before and wasn't sure I'd fancy flakes in a drink, although they did look pretty as you say Mandy. I never liked gin much either. I had to smile at what Katie said about telling everybody what to do! lol. :-)

Lots of memories in your button jar then AnnG. It was nice of son to get an Advent calendar sent to you, and you will need to catch up as Mandy says. :-)

You poor thing Vera. I hope you feel much better tomorrow. It could be a bug or migraine as has been said. Not nice either way.

I hope it is light enough to take a photo of my painting tomorrow. It's been gloomy all day here.

Evening all,

Oh Vera that sounds a nasty bug you've got ,I hope you feel better tomorrow .

Anng party time round yours then :-D have you caught up yet ,are they different flavours of Gin ,I noticed in Aldi last week they had some Gin with gold flakes in it did look pretty in the bottle .
They do so many Gins now with all sorts of flavours added some sound so nice but I don't like Gin .

How's the knee now Mel getting better I hope .

I have a button box the girls love looking in that and picking the buttons out into the same colours I have one pretty button bit like a small toggle and it has a chip on the end and the pattern on it goes right through the button ,it was one from my grandmother's button box so a bit precious.

Sent all my cards off today so you should all have them in a day or two .

Katie came yesterday to help with decorating the big Christmas tree in the lounge and the little one in the conservatory we got them done and then sat and had a nice chat with her ,she's now vice captain in her class and was really pleased with her badge .
I said what does that mean and she said I can tell the class what to do and try and keep them in order :-D

Hope you feel recovered tomorrow Vera. Sound a nasty bug or a migraine?

I have just had an Amazon parcel delivered. Not expecting anything. I was puzzled. It is an advent cake der. Gin! Son and co were talking about their advent calendars on Saturday and I just remarked I had not had one. Trouble is I have to catch up now as it is already the sixth.

A cardboard box Island? You was rich. We didn't even 'ave a sheet of newspaper to cover ourselves :-D

Evening everyone.
I have read the posts but won't be responding as I've already been on screen for too long, writing a few letters to go in with Christmas cards. I felt really sick and bad all night and, although I am a fair bit better now, my head is still quite painful so I'm not stopping.

It's been pouring with rain almost all day and tomorrow we're promised strong winds as well - oh, goody :-|

I hope you all sleep well. Back tomorrow.

Yes I believe I also slept in a drawer when we evacuated to Lowestoft when Dad was sent there in the Navy circa 1940, no cot for me so a drawer sufficed.

I was looking for a button last week so sorting through the button jar and found some RN buttons both black and gold so dating from before 1968. What stories the buttons in those jars/boxes could tell.

Island and I used to be given bread and milk to eat, don't suppose we could afford a decent cardboard box like you :-D :-D

I still have mums button box and have added to it over the years. I loved the button box as a child and used to get all the glass buttons out. Mum would always cut the button off old shirts that were [past their sell by date and with dad being a builder and decorater they were really past their sell by date. My dad always rolled his shirt sleeves up but I never saw him in a short sleeved shirt.

Nan lived with us when I ws young and she saved brown paper. string and wrapping paper and so did mum the wrapping paper always came out the next year for smaller presents to be wrapping in. Mum also made crepe paper garland in different colours and sewed pleats in them on her machine to make long coloured twists to be pinned up and crossed over all the way down the hall and there was big coloursed paper balls and a bell. When they were packed away after Christmas they would be wound upn thejm. All the garlands and things would be put up while I was in bed asleep so when I got up in the morning everywhere was decorated and was told the Fairies did it in the night.

I hated it when I woke up after Christmas and the Fairies had taken all the decorations away.

I had a set of fairy lights given to me by an uncle when I was about two and they always went on the tree with other lights and they had nursary rhyme caracters on them. I remember the cow jumping over the moon and humpty dumty.

Put in this on google and you will see a picture of them as I have just found them and wish I had my set now as these are £85 restored.

Osram Vintage Christmas Tree Decoration Party Lamps Nursery Rhyme Working Bulbs

I must get on as I have lots to do today.

Morning All,

Ha ha Island! My first 'cot' was a drawer according to mum, a step up from a cardboard box! Good to see you are ok.....well hopefully so!

For some reason my PC isn't telling me the weather this morning, but I can hear rain on the window and it is still quite dark and gloomy. I was late posting before AnnG, couldn't sleep. Is your knee starting to heal now? I must start on my cards too. Just my last watercolour cours this afternoon, then no more courses booked yet.

Gwn and Mel, I still have a button box too and added some from MIL's when we cleared their house. I still save the pretty ones off things and was eyeing up a nice charm thing attached to the zip of an old fleece that's ready for chuck out the other day......I will be saving that. I love your quilt made from squares of old clothing Gwyn. Lovely to have the memories. Also the lovely idea to use the gift wrap to line drawers for baby clothes. I have cut down some plastic chocolate drink jars to different heights and peeled off the plastic covering and they have made nice pots for my different sizes of paint brushes. I keep my old butter spread type containers to freeze things in. Old habits die hard! OH was saying the other day that we older folk already do most of the recycling ideas we keep being told about.