General Chat

good morning all slight drizzle here at the moment, not enough to water the garden although heavy rain is forecast for later today.

Elizabeth, thank you and i hope you have a lovely weekend.

Ann My friend once said she would never go into a home because her daughter wouldn't let her. I guess when we say things like that we don't understand what things would influence us to think differently. Apparently having four carers a day was not enough to make her safe and she agreed with that. Such a proudly independent person, I hope she is comfortable and not suffering pain.

It is good that you are happy with not resuming your former lifestyle and your OH is right, you have coped very well because you are both happy to stay home and can be involved with keeping busy at home. and, yes, it makes a great difference to have somebody living with you who you can talk to. We were fine right through the lockdowns until T became ill and I was fine until he went into hospital. After that it became more difficult and now, to me, the risk of catching covid is lower than the risk of my mental well being deteriorating. I am very careful when I go out but find it uplifting to meet up with friends. So far it has been outside or in my conservatory. and without wearing masks. However next month it will be inside. If just one person wants masks we will wear them but people have so far not shown the inclination to wear them.

We must all do what we feel most comfortable with these days, there is no right or wrong way

Dear All

Hello

Hope you all have a peaceful and contented weekend.

Take gentle care of each other
Love Elizabeth, EOS
xx

Evening All,

That's good you got a reply from Gill Mel and that she is ok. Poor Glyn doesn't have much luck with injuries and his teeth does he! At least it sounds like she will have the building work finished and the place more comfortable by winter. The garden will stop growing then and she can focus on the decor. Glad your car is sorted for another year now, even if it did cost for a few things. Best to get tyres sorted for winter as well. I hate being without my car too, and even though OH has his, normally he wouldn't be here that much if I wanted to borrow it! You have reminded me that I must check when my MOT is next month! Are emits flying ants?

See .......you have scarecrow making talents Vera! I bet it's like riding a bike, you never forget! :-D

We always 'did' lots of things, ate out nearly every day and visited different places after, OH followed sport and was involved in all sorts of committees etc and me the different groups, cinema, theatre so quite a change for us. OH thinks we adapted well and it's been much harder for people living on their own. He's had more of his work to do than ever since the pandemic and I think the online courses and learning things has been a really good opportunity for me. I've started getting notifications for beading workshops starting again and some of the online courses are being replaced with meeting up ones again, but am happy to continue with online ones for now. Too many will be unwilling to have the advised open windows in the autumn chill methinks! I have another project now painting the lit up wooden Christmas Decoration box that has arrived. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone though and that this is the second year with nights drawing in now!

It is a shame about your friend AnnG and sad news. It sounds like a nice home though and they will be able to help keep her comfortable. We were concerned when FIL with Alzheimers had to go in a home but after a few weeks he loved it there and was made a great fuss of by the staff. He loved all that was going on and having people to talk to which he wouldn't have done at home, even if that had been possible.

Oops, so there are AnnG. I got the Error message the first time I pressed submit so tried a second time. I have deleted one now.

We are having another day of the flying emits. They are all over the roof of the car.

Car cost me £390.70 Not bad for an oldy and another years driving plus the tax and insurance of course.

Two of you Vera.
Yes it is sad that my friend has had to go into a home but she was in full agreement her daughter has young children/teenagers and it was hard for gpher to cope and, sadly her son has returned to Australia.it does seem to be a nice place with caring staff.

I find Lee Child very readable and this one is quite gripping.

It's been a very grey, heavy sort of day here. No sun but no rain either and the atmosphere feels heavy.

Thanks Mel for contacting Gill. It's a relief to know she is OK. Btw, I love your little boat.

AnnG, I've only read one Lee Childs book and that was quite a while ago. I didn't get on with it all that well but perhaps I should give him another try. I know he is a very popular author. Maybe I'll have a look on the Libby app and see what I can download from the library. It's sad that your friend has had to go into a nursing home now. I hope they make her comfortable and look after her well.

Mandy, you do have some good ideas. I like the thought of a male/female scarecrow and the hats sound just right. When my two were still at primary school we won a scarecrow competition. I tried to think of something different and decided on a 17th century figure like an original Guy Fawkes. I remember making an outfit of breeches and jacket from crepe paper. OH made him shoes with silver buckles and the children made him a curly wig by winding strips of black crepe paper round pencils. I think I still had a brain that worked then. Nowadays I wouldn't know where to start. EDIT. Just realised it must have been a competition for a Guy, not a scarecrow. Doh!

Ann, that sounded an interesting talk on Covid. My cousin's daughter, in her 40s, has Long Covid and is now part of a national research project on how people are affected by it. It's a fine line between being cautious and living some sort of life. We are going out and about more now because we have always had an active social life and have found the lack of that over the last 18 months quite difficult but we are careful where we go and who we go with. We are attempting our first coach outing on 2nd September but the passengers will be spaced and the coach will carry barely half it's normal number, and we will probably wear masks for the actual journey.

Today we went out for coffee with our close friends and we were indoors but we chose a place where we knew the staff were all masked, every table had a bottle of sanitiser on it and tables were thoroughly cleaned between customers. Then this afternoon OH had his appointment for blood tests at our local health centre. I went with him and took a book to read in the car as I thought he might be in there a little while but I'd barely opened it before he was back. Now we have to wait for the results. Yesterday and today he has found a job or two to do in the garage and the garden which has kept him alert for a little while but the second he sits down he falls asleep again. I know a lot of elderly men tend to keep dozing off but he has never done that much.

Well, I suppose I'd better go and sort some veg to go with the salmon I took out of the freezer earlier. Enjoy the rest of your day and sleep well tonight.

Vera Do you read books by Lee Child? I have just read his latest and thought it was excellent, bang up to date with Ransome ware and modern technology. It is a Jack Reacher novel and this one was written in collaboration with his much younger brother, Andrew Child.

Thanks Mel, at least we know she is ok then if covered in dust!!

She dos'nt like to get the laptop out because of all the dust and she keeps having to mop the floors. She dos'nt want to get the dust in the laptop. She had trouble with the net and GR giving her the Error Page.

Right had a talk to Gill and she is ok but having a lo9t of work done. The kitchen floor has been layed and the wall for the new bathroom has been built. She still has'nt unpacked because of all the dust and its gritty dust from having the wall down. The electricion has to come and do all the leccy in the kitchen as at the moment its all on the surface.

Glynn has hurt his shoulder again doing something with a wardrobe at Sandra's flkat so she ios running around after him. He has also had four teeth out and a plate made. They cut the box hedge off but did'nt take the roots out and its growing again.

She said Sandra has a friend coming to stay for a few days.

Thats about it if I think of anything else she said I will put it on here but I must feed the hungry now or I shall get told off.

Yes I emailed as well.

I'll try. I have emailed her but nothing yet.

That is worrying, she has not opened it. can anyone phone her to see if she is OK?

good to get my hair cut, it was only a week over but was really thick and heavy, now nice and short.

I still have not heard from gill, I will go and look in a minute to see if she has opened the message.
Very dull here, very occasional sun and fairly warm at 20 degrees.

Morning Anng and all,

Cloudy again this morning but there are very small bits and pieces of that blue stuff lurking behind he clouds. Its suppose to be sunnier next week for a time and I hope it is. It rained last night before I went to bed.

No plans for today just go along with whatever I feel like. I have been working on the ironing board so I really need to clear that lot away and do something on it it was made for.

Stuart rang yesterday and I should have my car back today. Can't remember if I said it needs two new tyres on the front and a bit of welding on the exhaust and something about some bushes on the wishbone but as usual oh was talking to me as I was try to listen to what Stuart was saying.

Good morning all, 14 degrees outside and cloudy. Hair appointment this morning thank goodness, with being away it is a week later than it should have been.

Yes, thank goodness they were not as noisy as they were at daughter's.

With regard to your friend seeming brighter than she was a year ago. Although I am often down. sad and have trouble getting myself going to do anything, I don't think people I meet up with, talk to, have for coffee etc would know. When I am with people I feel brighter and, for a while, can forget my circumstances.so maybe that is how your friend is. I am sure that, as time goes on, life becomes more normal. Daughter says that, even now over 6 years later, something will send her back to that place of grief. And I suppose it will take more than a year to wipe out 65 years of love and happiness. It is a case of learning to live with it and not be consumed by it.

Biggest decision this morning is whether to take the car or walk to the hairdresser. Depends on the weather really.

I have messaged Gillntwo days ago, no reply yet.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t get on Mandy, I could but it kept stopping and throwing me out.

Thanks for the photos Mel, well done they are great.

Afternoon All,

No noise this morning, Mr O has newspaper over the bedroom window so he's not at work and probably decorating and no-one where the alterations were being done so no sawing and hammering. So we overslept undisturbed which was nice. :-)

The boys were quite good then AnnG. My sister's 2 boys were less than 2 years apart and they were always squabbling and wanting what each other had, to be the first etc. I can only imagine it, but know I would be very lost without OH, so this first year of anniversaries is bound to be full of memories. My 79 year old friend whose husband passed away at the start of the pandemic seems to be much brighter this second year, so hopefully next year will be better for you too. :-) Maybe overnight your order will come right again. I find they seem to sort glitches overnight.

The clay bead session was very good yesterday with lots of tips and ideas and I'm keen to make some now! She also showed us buttons as well. Annoyingly, my clay had already arrived and OH had left it in the porch to decontaminate and I didn't know as I hadn't been in there for a couple of days! :-S I will send a pic once I have made some Mandy.

I watched a great talk on line last night about why some people get severe Covid but not others. It was one of the Hospital Talks I used to go to that are online at the moment. The presenter really helped clarify things and said things I didn't know. He was 30 with no underlying health problems when he got COVID a year ago and ended up in intensive care. He said it was the most worrying time for friends and family.

He said that you are infectious and can spread Covid for a few days before any symptoms start. The vaccines do nothing at all to reduce the risk of infection, just how severe you get it, so if vaccinated you could have it without knowing it and be spreading it for a few days without knowing it. The highest risk of getting it is social interactions. These are inter-generational interactions, frequency of socialising, interactive behaviours in gatherings and interaction with the unwell. He said that propping a door open without windows open is not sufficient ventilation to reduce the virus, the smallest droplets of which can be airborne for quite some time. The higher amount of virus load you breathe in the more likely you are to have severe illness. A lesser risk of getting it are your own health predisposition or health behaviours, eg uncontrolled BP or diabetes or obesity. (although these can affect you re clots etc if you do get it). With the vaccines he said in his 10 years of training he has never seen such an effect in prevention of hospital admission and that they have been a game changer.

There are two strains of Long Covid which they think is not a disease caused by Covid, but by our immune system reaction to the virus. With the first we get fevers afterwards for a long time, have inflammation in the body and get sweats. With the more common second strain, we get very tired, can't work as it drains our energy. Resting will clear it from the body more quickly, rather than trying to push on.

It's going to be around at least for a while and we may all get it, even if we don't know it!

Mel what a great little boat you have made. What did you stiffen the fabric with......PVA?

Mandy you come up with some great ideas too. I love the idea of the crocheted sunflower for the hat and just love the thought of the mice running up the leg!! :-D The little sunhat will be just right and was a bargain too. Well it's good your SIL doesn't need an operation, but as you say it will take some time for the ankle to heal and be properly back on her feet again. At least she can have a visitor and is in good spirits though which will help.

Evening all,

Its been quite a nice day here ,the sun appeared for the afternoon so I sat out and did some crochet I'm making a sunflower head to put on the scarecrows hat and some mice to have running up his leg ,when I went shopping I saw just the hat for the ladies side of the scarecrow it was a little girls sun hat, got that for fifty pence .

Mel I hope your car has gone through the MOT ok ,we feel a bit lost when the car goes in but we are close to the town but your a long way out and it must be strange not to have it stand there if you need it .

Anng hope you can get your order sorted for tesco i wonder why you couldn't get on line with them ,I suppose there's more orders with the children on holiday as people probably won't shop with children in tow.

The latest with Colins sister in hospital is they are not going to operate now ,she has had the foot straightened and has it in pressure splint I think its one of those blow up splints which help to take the pressure off
She can only have one nominated visitor for an hour but the nurse said she's in good spirits ,I think its going to be a long job .

Ann how did the clay bead class go ,can't wait to see what you done .

I wonder if Gills subs have tun out or perhaps she's just been to busy to post ,hope that's the reason and there's nothing wrong.