General Chat

Morning all,

Very dull and gloomy here this morning I really need the light on and it is 8 degrees. There was a hard frost before I went to bed last night both cars had very white rooves.

More present doing up today and I may make another flower arrangement with a big candle for the shop. Wish I had done it yesterday while the sun was shining. The crackers I made were ready cut one in card that you assemble. They came with the ribbon to tie the ends nothing like the lovely ones my mum used to make. She would buy the boxes to put them in and sell them for £1.25 a box of twelve. Those were the day!! She loved the decorating bit and som eof them were really special. All in different colours. I can remember her buy the1d boxes of matches for the mens crackers and other good thing were popped inside each one. I can see her now sitting at the little coffee table with coloured crepe paper then a sheet of tissure laying a snap on and rolling it round a metal tube. She had a sturdy twine pinned under the tabel that she would wrap around one end of the cracker and pull tight then pop the hat motto and gift in slide the tube out and tie the other end. She had two tubes one shorter than the other and she would put one in the end of the cracker while the longer one was inside and push them together to give a crisp edge and once it was fully done put the short one in the other end and push those together. They also had cardboard inside and spaced out so when she crimped the ends together they were the same size. An awful lot of worker for a few shillings and she made tons of them.

Hope you all slept well.

Vera soiunds like a lovely day yesterday after the hair appointment and a good old chin wag with friends and neighbours.

Good morning all. Not dressed yet as keeping quiet while the 'children' sleep on. 3 degrees here so a bit on the chilly side. Better get moving BBL.

A mostly cloudy and chilly day today with some drizzly rain on and off. I haven't managed to actually do very much but we have had a nice day. I did a couple of household jobs first thing and then we left at 12.15 to go into town. Normally I'd have gone by myself but at the moment OH has to do all the driving. I had a haircut booked for 12.45 and it's a good job we got to town a bit early as a car had broken down a few yards inside the car park entrance. In the end we had to go in on the exit path against the flow of traffic coming out which was a bit hairy. I gave OH some errands to do while I was getting my hair cut and he arrived back at the hairdressers just as I was paying so perfect timing.

We then went to a fish restaurant we like for lunch and we both had my favourite grilled salmon. We had to hurry a bit as we were invited by a friend for an afternoon cuppa at 2.30 and it was getting on for 2 pm when our lunch came up. Luckily she lives in town so we could leave the car where it was and walk up to her house. She had also invited our friends M & V. The 5 of us were having a good old gossip and laugh when the doorbell went and the friend who made the crackers had come to deliver a card and cracker to our hostess so she came in as well and we were quite a little party. We didn't get home till 5.15. Although OH doesn't drive after dark generally he's happy to do just a couple of miles on roads he knows that have street lighting so we didn't have to leave as soon as it got a bit gloomy.

When we got home we found the postman had left us quite a few cards. We have now received about 45. There was also a letter from the consultant who had a telephone call with OH. It was a copy of a letter she had sent to the neurosurgeon at Addenbrookes asking him to look at OH's brain scans. OH read it and said that things didn't sound too good but when I read it I was able to reassure him that in fact what it said was what she had already told him on the phone. It just sounded so frightening because it was all couched in medical language.

Annx, I really hope I don't have to have these dratted drops for anywhere near as long as your poor OH. My problem is also inflammation but from a different cause. I think as the cataract surgery was performed on the eye that has been under treatment for over 3 years now it's just going to take longer to heal. I'm glad you had a better night last night and hope the trend continues.

I'm off now to get OH to do my last drops of the day, then I shall go to bed and watch something on iPlayer.

Evening All,

A dry, sunny and chilly day here and I slept a bit better and without a paracetamol last night. I woke early for my tablets, but nodded off and then woke too late to make the early trip out I planned! OH didn't wake in time either, so we had an early lunch as he was out for a meeting. I cleaned the sink and decided it probably does needs replacing It is a black, plastic, white speckled one that's starting to look a bit discoloured in places but it is 18 years old so not surprising. I just hope it won't mean new worktops as they are still perfect.

I'm glad my card has arrived now as they were posted a long while ago.

I managed to miss you again last night Mandy. If Katie is into makeup now some eye makeup, nail varnish or lip gloss might be an idea for a little extra for her . Yes the Co-op I usually use has a nice big car park that rarely gets busy, so it's a shame they sell less now. I'm going to the big one on the main road tomorrow to see if they are reducing stock too.

That was lucky you had the phone call before you went shopping Vera, and in time so the food wasn't wasted. Mandy's idea of a party later on in the New Year sounds good.

I see you have another month of the eyedrops, so, as OH keeps meticulous records, I asked him how long he was on eyedrops for with his eye inflammation earlier this year. Out came his book and they started in December before Christmas, then were boosted in February to 1 drop every hour, gradually reducing over the weeks to 1 every other day till the middle of May!! I'd forgotten I was doing them that long, but they were for inflammation, not a cataract.

So you are packed and all ready for the off now AnnG. I hope it stays dry on Thursday morning long enough for you to pack the car. OH says it is quite a journey from where you live, as he found it long enough from here to Workington and back in a day, so it is a good idea for your daughter and SIL to have a day between at yours before travelling back.

I hope you've managed to moisten the cake now Mel. I was thinking a drop of brandy in some water! You are very patient making some crackers yourself. I've never tried it, but I like the scratchcard idea Vera mentioned.

I can't remember if I thanked Annx for her card. It came yesterday and I love it. I think its the same as Mandy's with the three little mice. Iv'e had a lot of wildlife in the way of cards this year, A donkey deer robins stags foxes and more Robins.

Been doing up pressies and made four crackers for Em, Ed, George and Sam. I thought it was going to be quick but they took me ages.

Morning all,

10 degrees here and light rain ,I'm having a morning of doing little jobs that seem to hang about .

Mel I don't know anything about diabetic cakes ,if its dry could you give it a feed of something like a little orange juice or would that be to sweet .

Ann thank you for your pretty christmas card with the little mice on it came this morning ,i hope you managed to get a better night's sleep last night ,I think this time of year there's lots of christmas things going through your mind with doesn't help .
We go in the co op down the road from us usually for the TV book they have good parking there it saves trying to park in the town and Aldi stopped having papers and magazines a long while ago.

Vera shame the christmas tea was cancelled but at least you hadn't made a start on any food so no wastage ,perhaps you could all meet up and have a new year tea party when everyone's feeling better .

Next job is sorting and cleaning the fridge and I want to try and do my Yorkshire puddings for the freezer so I only have to pop then in the oven on christmas day.

All packed yesterday Mel, it is the packing of the car that is a problem if it is wet.

Morning all,

Nice bright morning so far and its 8 degrees but feels very chilly indoors. Iv'e just turned the heating on.

Shopping comes today and I hav'nt cleared the fridge out yet. That better be the first job of the day.

Slept late tis morning and went to bed earlier so I must have needed it.

Good luck with the weather and your packing tomorrow Anng, I hope the rain keeps off.

Good morning all 7 degrees here and daughter has already left on their journey down. dry here but possibly raining up there.

Mel if he he strict in his diet don't put jam on if it is not sugar free. If he wants to he can always add jam later to his slice of cake. If they have diabetic cakes at home they will be used to it being dry.

vera, yes they come today, stay here tomorrow and we travel on the 18th. Unfortunately although it is dry today it is going to be very wet again tomorrow and Thursday, not easy to pack the car up then. this is always the most fraught journey for packing with all the carrier bags of presents for everyone up there.

I have baked the cake and it did smell nice but it dos'nt look good to me, it looks a bit dry. It is an eggless and sugar free cake and there's no fat in it just vine fruits, dates and walnuts chopped, 2 tbsps whiskey, wholemeal flour, baking powder which Em went up the shop for me to get, mixed spice and the rind of one orange and one lemon. The recipe tells you to melt the dates over a low heat with 4 tblsp of water and to stir continuously. It also takes 275ml of water but dos'nt tell you when to put that in. I think the water should have gone in when I let it cool after doing the dates as it was a bit stiff to work to mix in the flour and other dry stuff. I put it in then when I mixed the flour in.

Did'nt waste the orange I had that after dinner and it was so easy to peel with the outer rind taken off. I shall make a drink with the lemon. I did add afew cherries cut up and think I may put a little jam on top and some more walnuts and cherries. The trouble is I can't taste it to see if its any good!! It looks a bit miserable to me. I'll send a pic tomorrow.

Vera its just as well you had'nt bought the smoked salmon before your phone call to say the tea was off.

Evening all

It’s been quite chilly but no rain here today though there is rain promised for tomorrow.

AnnG, you’re not the only one that has never used Ebay. I wouldn’t know where to start. When we were getting ready to move here OH, under instruction from our son, did sell our cement mixer and our big garden shredder on Ebay but I don’t think he has looked at it since. I hope your daughter has a good journey to yours tomorrow. Is she staying a couple of days before taking you back with her? Somewhere in the back of my mind I had a feeling you were going away on the 18th.

I bet your kitchen smells lovely, Mel, with you mixing up bil’s Christmas cake. Have you baked it yet or is that a job for tomorrow?

Oh dear Annx, I’m sorry that you are going through such a bad spell of sleeping. You don’t want to get like me, though I am quite resigned now to not sleeping well. I did sleep through about 4 hours without waking last night which is good for me but I woke at 4.30 am and couldn’t drop off again. Getting your paper was a bit of a marathon performance. I hate those machines where you are told to press a particular button and by the time you have searched for it and, with luck, found it you are too late. The machine has decided you are out of time. I think we all wish we had even half the energy we had when we were younger. These days everything seems to take twice as long and make me twice as tired as it used to.

It's been a strange day today as plans got changed. I think I mentioned we had a club Christmas tea today and I had decided to splash out on my plates of food. I had got some little macaroons, some sandwiched with chocolate cream, some with coffee and some with salted caramel and all flavoured with Baileys. They were still in the freezer. I also decided to take smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. I had cream cheese in the fridge but was just going out of the door to shop for the smoked salmon and one or two other bits I wanted when the phone rang. I nearly didn’t answer but it's a good job I did. One of the organisers was ringing to tell me the tea was cancelled. We are only a small club, I think current membership is 19. 10 members had phoned her to say they wouldn’t be there! 2 never come to social events like the Christmas or summer party because they just don’t enjoy parties. The others are all ill. A couple have long standing serious illnesses that were causing them problems right now and the others were down with bad coughs and colds. Even the lady ringing me sounded very croaky though she insisted she was okay.

I had worked on the basis of us having sandwiches, sausage rolls, cakes and so on mid afternoon so not wanting a big meal in the evening. So I had to rapidly have a rethink and raid the freezer for something for dinner. I decided it would be an opportunity to use up some oddments and I found a shepherd’s pie for 1 person and cubed chicken in gravy for 1 so OH had the shepherd’s pie and I had the chicken and then I did carrots, leeks and cabbage for both of us.

As I now had a couple of hours free I managed to get the tree decorated at last and put some candles and other bits and pieces around to make it look a bit more festive. Just as I finished a friend arrived and delivered a handmade card and a couple of crackers that she always makes for our Club Christmas do. She is another arty and crafty person and her work is amazing. The card she gave us was far too lovely to put on the card hangers in the hall, it now adorns a unit in our lounge. I can’t work out how she makes the crackers. They are about the size of the smaller ones you get in the shop and you just tug at one end and the end comes right off. Out falls a little gift and there will be a silly cracker joke. No hat but rolled round inside the cracker is a scratch card, so you have a chance of a win. I think the cost of those comes out of club funds. This year there were a couple of chocolates and a little plastic tree ornament. Neither of us got anything on our scratch cards this year but last year I had a £5 win.

It's now time for yet more eye drops. I am hoping that they are doing some good as my eye feels more sore than it did before I went back on them. Perhaps things will improve – I’ve got them for 4 weeks and this is only my third day so I suppose I’ve got to give them time to work.

Snuggle down in bed and keep warm and maybe we will all sleep well tonight.

Afternoon Everyone,

Didn't sleep too well, but then was fast asleep when I should have been up early as we planned to go for a coffee and cob, so we cancelled that to avoid queuing and the best seats and parking being taken. After we showered OH went for a short walk and I just popped to the shop when he got back as a parcel was being delivered today. The shop hadn't got the paper I wanted so it looks like they are stocking less papers too now. I drove to the little newsagent the other end of the village where they have now installed two of those click cabinets where you can get your parcels which means even less of the small parking area and cars were praked solid with some blocked in unable to move till those front or behind them did. So off I went to a fairly new little Co-op in the next village near where I used to keep my pony. That has a narrow drive to the carpark at the back. It's a while since I last went there and now you can't park on half the spaces as they have beem rented to 'Residents' of the new housing estate built nextdoor according to notices on them. Anyway I managed to park on an end space by driving in forwards and over a kerb! They had a paper, but then at the till the man in front of me wanted to sign up to be a member. I noticed a self service till vacant to went there and paid. What a strange till though as it said to press if you wanted a receipt, so I couldn't see where and it counted down 3-2-1 and said 'thank you for shopping'! :-S So no receipt.

I've done a wash, cleaned the hob and splashback and microwave and ordered printer inks , got lunch and that's about it today. I wish I still had some of the energy I had in my twenties! The kitchen sink will have to wait till tomorrow.

AnnG I have bought quite a few things on ebay as I like that they will refund you if there's any problem and take it up with the seller themselves. I like to be able to see some things before I buy so don't get things like that, although you can send things back. I've bought some hardly used, good watercolour paints before and some unused ones that were cheaper than buying from a shop. It was on ebay that I found the identical chinese vase to the one OH broke a few years ago. Amazon is good, but I hate how they seem to try and trick you into Amazon Prime subscriptions every step of the way.

That sounds like it must be a healthy cake for your BIL Mel and I wonder if it is a christmas cake or another sort of cake.

I hope Mandy managed to get the rest of her shopping.

Been dry here all day ,got some more Christmas presents just need something for Katie but I'm really stuck for just a little something to fill her bag .

Did you get your packing all done Anng , are you staying at your daughters for Christmas or going to a holiday home .

Mel I fancied doing a Christmas cake in a loaf tin as I thought it would be easier to decorate and easier to cut but I stuck to a round tin as normal , I still have the cakes to marzipan and ice , might do them tomorrow as we have some parcels arriving.

It has rained all day here without stopping, I had to dress up in raincoat and outdoor shoes just to get the recycling bin to the endo of the drive. Glad I don't have to go out.

Mixed up BIL diabetic cake and its now waiting a few hours before I add other stuff. Recipe says to put it in a loaf tin but I shall put it in a 10 inch round tin the same as I used to in the past.

Its stopped raining for a bit so I went and did the girls and went down the shed and wired some holly berries to sprigs of holly and fed the shed Robin.

Just eaten the last two sausage rolls for my lunch with a glass of water so I can take my pills and then I am off to get some more greenary for OH's and mums posies.

Well done on remembering to copy posts Mel. Saves you a lot of frustration.

Ann I meant to say I must be the only person never to have bought or sold anything on Ebay. Although T used to buy and sell phones.

nd mix up the cake for BIL.

Morning girls,

I had a really lovely evening at the party and did'nt need tocook anything for tea. Slept really well last night but over slept this morning.

Its 10 degrees and raining steadily.

I think its present wrapping day today and mix up the cake for BIL. You can see I have already lost this post once but I had copied most of it.

Morning Anng, morning all,

Dull morning here but dry ,it's 9 degrees and there's a little wind as its blown the big piece of polystyrene packaging that was on the dishwasher down the garden ,We need to break it up and get it in the green bin, oh suns now trying to peep through .

Mel it sounds as if your snack went down well at the Carol service and there was lots of lovely food that everyone brought with them .

Need to do some more Christmas shopping this morning just something for Katie and Lewis then my sister and bil and then we're done .

Good morning all. 9 degrees here and raining. didn't sleep badly but not really well either. Still it is another day.

Packing day for me as daughter arrives tomorrow.

Oh it sounds like you enjoyed it Mel and your snack went down well too with plenty of other food there as well.

I have just managed to buy a new top in an ebay auction at the last minute for less than half price so am chuffed. Off to bed now hopefully for a good sleep tonight and I hope everyone else sleeps well too.