General Chat

That is annoyong ans wasteful of them Mel. Does it keep? Must be difficult to store. Is it one that can be bought without a prescription? If so maybe you know somebody else who could use it.

I did another 40 minutes or so out in the garden tidying up the geraniums overwintered in the conservatory and just pottering doing odd bits. There is an annoying, although not cold, wind so it is not very preasant gardening.
Might walk down to Irene's in a bit with the tops I took out of the 'summer' wardobe.

You've had a busy morning Anng so enjoy your rest.

Been to the shop and got my bits and remembered to ask for my scripts. I had a huge bag and wondered why. They have sent me two lots of dry skin cream and I only wanted one Doublebase. I now have three big bottles of the one I don't get on with and I can't send them back because once they have left the surgery you cna't return them.

The wee posty is here and I may have a parcel!!!

Just spent 40 minutes in the garden. sieved some come grown compost and mixed it with the peat free stuff and made up a basket for the tumbler tomato. That is in the greenhouse now. also potted on a couple of plants a friend gave me. Then sorted out a terracotta large bowl that had crumbled and put the pieces for Jake on Monday. Washing in the drier, so have come in for a coffee and rest.

Morning all,

Thanks Mandy I am feeling better this morning after a very long sleep. I went to bed at 12.30 slept through till 7.25am and went to the loo. Thought I would have a lie in and fell off to sleep right away and woke at 10.39am so you could say I have had a really good nights sleep and don't forget I slept a long while yesterday afternoon too.

Its 10 degrees but dry and cloudy here this morning and the sky is all greywith that strange yellowish colour to it. Weird....

Just the shop to do this morning if its open for my paper and my scripts.

Morning Anng ,morning all,

Cloudy here but bright hopefully we'll see a little sun .
We want to dig where the runners go in ,we have a bag of manure to dig in ,the runners are getting tall now and I need to get them harden off a bit so we can plant them sometime next week ,we can get the canes in ready so thats ons job for today .

Hope your feeling better this morning Mel.

Good mornng all. slept well last night, got up twice but straight back to sleep. Nothing planned for today just tesco this afternoon. It is 10 degrees, a bit dull but dry at the moment. Hopefully it will not get windy so I can get out into the garden. I want to put my tumpber tomato into a basket although it will then come into the conservatory for a couple of weeks.

Hi I am feeling a bit better now as after my lunch (cuppa soup and bread and butter) I threw myself on the bed covered myself up fully dressed and fell asleep. Woke at 5.28pm so got up. I arose and loked out of the window and all the chickens are waiting for thier corn.

I think your right about the hot cross buns they were much more spicy years ago. I quite like Asda ones as they are spicy. My dad always did the buns on Good Friday and we too had them in bed with a cup of tea. I saved my pocket money in a money box like the old pay phones it had a button A and a button B and you put the money in the top slot and if you pressed A it went in the box but if you pressed B it came out in the little tray. I used that money box right up until I was 16 and went to work where I earned £3 a week at the PDSA. I gave mum £1.10s for my keep and I had the other £1.10s to save up for my pony.

I used to go down a stable just up the road from where I lived and a bit further on was where I worked. A man called Mark owned the stables and his son had a couple of ponies there and let out a couple more of the stables. Mark bought this nice red roan pony and he was just like the one I had dreamed about, three white socks and a lovely whited blaze down his face. I asked Mark how much he was selling him for and he said £100. I think I have told you the rest before but I did have that lovely pony called Little Red. I still have his saddle up in the potting sheds bought at Batchelers of Epping for £19.19s.6d. I was given £20 by my parternal grandfather when I left school to buy clothes with.....guess what I bought instead? and I still had 6d to put in my money box.

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well today Mel. I hope you feel better soon. Hopefully it’s a cold that will pass quickly but I agree with the others; because of that tick bite you should get advice. If there isn’t a doctor or pharmacist available to speak to you ring 111 and just ask for their advice. I’ve found them very helpful when I’ve used them. Thinking of you as you remember your father.

It’s been quite a warm, sunny day here with a strong breeze but more from the south so not quite as cold as our usual north or east wind. This morning OH cleaned out 2 corner floor cupboards in the kitchen for me which was helpful. I went through everything in them and only had to get rid of some very dry, wrinkled sultanas and half a tub of glacé cherries. I then gave the upstairs a really thorough dust and hoover and a good tidy up and cleaned down to the bottom of the stairs. I hope I’ll have the energy to do downstairs tomorrow. This afternoon I’ve put some red geranium cuttings in a big pot in the garden. I thought I should make the most of it being dry. I’l keep an eye on the forecast and if it looks as though we are going to have any very cold nights I’ll stick a bit of fleece over the pot. I managed to sleep from midnight to 5 am last night and it makes such a difference to my energy levels.

You ladies have brought a few Easter memories to light for me. Nowadays so-called hot cross buns are available all the time but once we only had them at Easter. On Good Friday morning my Dad would bring us a warm bun and a cup of tea in bed. This was a real event as Dad didn’t normally give us tea in bed and we weren’t usually allowed to lie in. Hot cross buns had a special flavour back then. Now they are just buns with a cross on the top. I found an old traditional recipe some years ago and made some and the taste took OH and I back to our childhoods. I seem to remember they were spiced with nutmeg.

One Good Friday memory I have is just after I had been confirmed. I think I was 14. Being an important religious day I thought I must go to Holy Communion so I got up at the crack of dawn and crept out of the house without waking anyone. When I got to the church there wasn’t a soul around and I was puzzled but just walked back home, cold and fed up as I had got up so early and not even had a drink. Of course I later learned that most Anglican churches do not have a Eucharist between the day of crucifixion and the day of resurrection but I don’t think it was ever mentioned to me.

As for pocket money, I don’t remember ever having any as a child apart from the odd 6d from grandparents when we visited. I did get 2/6d a week from the age of about 14 to 16 when it was increased to 7/6d. I thought I was wealthy but I was expected to do a lot with it. My parents bought necessities for me but anything else I wanted had to come out of that 7/6d.

I am now feeling in need of a cuppa so I think it is time to put the kettle on. Enjoy the rest of the day and sleep well tonight.

Afternoon All,

Warmer and less windy today, but still no rain.

Yes don't leave it long Mel and as Mandy said it could be related to the tick bite and also having the tick attached so long. Did the nurse check you over, ears etc? With Devon having above the England average for tick infections you need long sleeves and something like Deet on in the garden as they are most active now. You were lucky as I only ever had just one easter egg. OH, whose grandmother lived with them, said they had several they all shared, so he didn't have his own.

Gwyn we use charity bags that are pushed through the door that we don't use at the time to carry clothes etc to the charity shop, as they have handles to tie as well. It makes the job easier doesn't it. Like you I can remember having sixpence a week pocket money that rose to half a crown by the time I left school. I remember at age 15 I would get an extra half crown by washing dad's car and the little van on Sunday mornings. I can remember me and my friend taking ages in the little shop near where we lived deciding which flavour penny chews we would buy. We would save enough to go to the swimming baths at age 11 though and then when older I would save mine for a fortnightly riding lesson. We would supplement our pocket money by collecting any pop bottles we saw lying around and taking them to the shop to get thruppence back on them.

It sounds like you are well stocked up with wood now Mandy and all stacked away by your helpers.

AnnG I was thinking once I got part way through some of my sorting that I should have ditched more things. Maybe next time! Behind the bed is a 9 inch wide shelf across between the built in wardrobes that lifts up to reveal storage I thought would be handy for spare pillows or duvet. Yesterday I found it was mostly full of more tops to sort, some of which I'm ashamed to say came with me from my previous house 25 years ago! I said to OH that I have far too much stuff to take with me if I went into a care home. We took yet another two bags to the charity shop yesterday, so it is gradually reducing. I've found some dinner plates to take next time as well. They haven't really been used but are much too large for us.

How lovely that you got those vouchers at your Thursday meet up Vera and seconds of cake as well! It's a shame about the friend with dementia. FIL became incontinent the last few months too and it is horrid to see the deterioration. He liked the home, but some were really anxious and stressed. One man would follow me around asking If I'd come to take him home. It was so sad. Your creeping weed doesn't have little yellow flowers does it? We have one that came from nextdoor's lawn when they had one and I've battled it every year since. We have some chickweed too.

Good idea Gwyn. I do urilise the bags that new toilet rolls are delivered in but I actually have some bin bags that don't fir my bin so that will be useful. Thanks for that.

Mel, I hope you soon feel more comfortable and more settled. It certainly might be worth getting some further medical advice.
You brought back memories talking about pocket money.
For a long time, I had 2d per birthday for pocket money given Friday or Saturday.This meant that even at 15 years old, I had half a crown, but soon I was able to add to that with a weekly Wednesday evening baby-sitting job looking after 2 little girls, who were usually in bed, but not asleep, when I arrived. I was paid 5/- for this and thought that was great.
We soon learned to make money go round.

AnnG,
For just carrying things to a charity shop, I use tear-off pedal bin liners with tie tops. They are large enough to get quite a few clothes etc. in and then hopefully can still be used for their intended purpose.

That is true mandy, well done for remembering. See how you feel Mel and consider if you need to contact somebody. Maybe a pharmacy that is open.

Mandy it is supposedly 12 degrees here but it has drizzled so is wet underfoot and when I went out into the garden it was really cold.

Afternoon all,

Nice and sunny here , the wood delivery came its all barrowed round and all stacked away.

Mel I hope you soon feel better but just keep an eye on how you feel as it could be related to having that tic , the nurse said if you have any flu like symptoms to go back ,

Nearly lunch time already where has the morning gone

Sounds like a cold affecting your stomach then Mel, hope it goes away as quickly as it has appeared. Stay in the warm and take it easy.

Vera, that was nice of the cafe to give you vouchers. they must appreciate your regular custom.Sorry to hear that your poor friend has deteriorated. sometimes getting old and having friends in the smae age group is a blessing, and sometimes it is just sad.

Drizzle here now so no gardening today I think. and I really, really don't feel like H/W. I have had a flick through the small wardrobe that has mainly summer tops and the few dresses I own in it, pulled out a few I am not going to wear but it really needs going through a bit more thoroughly. the hardest thing is locating carrier bags to put things in these days.

I did have Stu over this week and he kept wiping his nose. I seem to have a bit of a headache now and no energy and I'm cold. Got the heating n and pc says heavier rain soon and 9 degrees still.

Hope you can get rid of that bug soon Mel. Can't imagine where you caught that though as you don't really go anywhere. Any ideas?

Morning Anng and all,

Raining here this morning and dull and dreary its 9 degrees and pc says rain all day.

I am not going to the B B Q today as I have an upset tummy and don't want to give a bug to anyone there or stray too far from the loo. I was so looking forward to it as well.

Was adding to my tree yesterday something I hav,nt done for a long while.

I can remember having hot cross buns on good Friday for breakfast when young. Its never a good day for me anyway as my dad died on Good Friday. I never had an Easter Egg hunt as a child but did get a few eggs from people like mum and dad and nans and grandads but the thing is I did'nt eat chocolate or even sweets when I was young. Em told me yesterday that Sam get £10 and he goes up the local shop and spends the lot!!! I can remember wehn my pocket money was sixpence and then it went up to 1/- but I did'nt spend it it would go straight in my moneybox.

Good morning all. Had a good sleep last night so didn't go back to sleep after getting up for the loo at 0545. 9 degrees here apparently, no rain though. Maybe we will get a shower today.
Good Friday brings back lots of memories of my young teenage years. Early years all free church Sunday School children would meet in one of the free churches for a morning service then as we left church we were given a hot cross bun each. Remember this would be 1950 to about 1954 when treats were still few and far between post war. As older teenagers aged 14-16 we would go to church, for once dressed in trousers, (maybe jeans if we had the money to get them, (I was not allowed jeans they were 'common' according to my Mum). We would then set off for the youth club (church) cycle ride into the Meon valley. No traffic to speak of in 1954-7.
In those days Good Friday was like Sunday no shops were open.
These days it is more of a gardening day I think. And probably Garden Centres do well as people prepare for Easter sunday when they are not open.

A couple of weeks ago at our Thursday coffee meet there were only 5 of us there and we were each given a voucher for a seniors special - 10% off the price of our drinks and a free cake each, for use between 10 and 12 today. So that was a nice extra. There were 9 of us there today and a staff member came over to our table to offer a second cake to the five of us who had already had one and to give a cake each to the other four with us who didn't have vouchers, which was nice of them. The coffee shop is above Sainsbury's so we bought fresh veg and salad stuff while we were there.

After a late lunch OH dozed and read but I thought I ought to get on with something useful and, as the sun was shining, I spent an hour or so in the garden. It was mostly weeding and a bit of general tidying up. There's a horrible creeping weed taking over the garden. I remember my Dad always called it Chickweed but I am pretty certain it isn't Chickweed. I know it's quite common but I just can't put a name to it. My tomatoes aren't quite ready to pot up yet but are at last starting to show some proper leaves. All six of the seeds you sent me germinated Mel so I was pleased about that.

Today would have been my brother's birthday. It's also the birthday of a lady who used to be very much a part of our local social group but over a few years became very forgetful and sometimes quite strange till eventually she had severe dementia and had to go into a care home. Now she is forgetting how to do anything for herself to the extent that she is now incontinent and has to be totally cared for by the staff. It's such a cruel disease and devastating for the family as well as the sufferer.

That's not a very cheerful topic to end on so I'll leave you with a smile :-D. Sleep well everyone.

Did the ironing not the windows as I had backache. Have done some family search this afternoon.

Em called in and brought me Lindt Gourmet eggs, dark choc with a whole hazel nut inside. Had a look in the packet and they smell lovely I think thye may be in a soft choc inside. She had a dozen and a half eggs and I gave her three packs of jelly sweets for the boys.