General Chat

It has continued to be a nice day here, so mid afternoon we decided to go for a walk. We have a bus stop about three hundred yards from the house, so we got the bus to the very far end of the town , then walked back . It is a beautiful walk along the river, the road has the river in one side and steep cliffs on the other. In some parts there are cafes and rowing boats. We walk past all the million pound houses, then take a track up the hill which comes out right next to our NOT million pound house :-)

The only problem was that I put the wrong shoes on. I have two pairs of identical lace ups. One black pair are well worn and very comfy. The other one is dark brown and I haven’t worn them much, so they aren’t broken in. I didn’t notice until I got to the bus stop that I had grabbed the brown pair by mistake. It was a long walk, so by the time I got back, I had rubbed a blister over my bunion. The bunion isn’t very large, but the shoe still rubbed on it. Good job that it is getting milder, so that I can wear my trainers which will be more comfortable

Morning all

Well busy busy packing here and sorting out fridge etc as dont want to come home to something gone off!!

Its still windy so really hope the ferry sails tomorrow and the wind dies down.

So looking forward to meeting up with ArgyllGran on Saturday for lunch. Always nice to put a face to a name from the boards.

Linda, I remember many years ago looking in the local weekly paper where they had fancy houses for sale for many thousands back then but one day, i saw a 7 bed detached house in the country for 1 million pounds!!! It was the most expensive house I had ever come across.

But now there are 2 bed flats in Kent(posh part) that fetch 1 million so 7 bed houses thesedays would be probably 3 million in the right area.

Whilst it would be lovely to have a big house with many guest rooms etc, the cost of heating and maintaining not to mention the cleaning, would not appeal to me at all.

Hope you blisters are improved Linda, can be so sore.

Well folks I shall not be around on here probably until we return a week tomorrow so dont worry if Im missing!

Hope everyone will be keeping warm and safe.

ArgyllGran, be seeing you very soon.

Florence in the Hebrides

Poor neglected thread, so I thought that I had better post something.
It continues to be dry and bright, but there is still a nip in the air. I decided to do some gardening on Monday, but managed to trip on a step because I was turning to talk to OH at the same time as walking up the steps. I nearly ended up in the rockery, but somehow spun round and was careering down the steps. I managed to grab onto a wrought iron gate, so didn’t fall over, but I grazed one hand and the other arm went through a space in the metal work and my whole weight landed on some of the metal, more or less under my armpit. I am quite sore, but will live to fight another day.
Yesterday I had to go back to where I used to live as my dentist is still there. I went for coffee with my old neighbour afterwards, so that was nice. As I had hurt myself on two consecutive days, I was expecting something bad to happen to make it three, but I was fine. Maybe the dental hygienist poking in my gums counted as the third thing.

This afternoon is school reading, but it is with the seven year olds who read to me, so that is easier. On Mondays it is with the four year olds, so I have to read a story to them. It is quite difficult to be as enthusiastic with the tenth one as with the first.

I hope that everyone else is in a better state than me.

Edit. How spooky, Florence posted as I was writing mine, so the thread wasn’t neglected at all. Have a lovely time in your trip

Thank goodness you weren't seriously injured, Linda. A fall like that could have been really nasty.

No wind here, Florence - just heavy grey clouds and drizzle.
I hope it stays calm enough at your end tomorrow.

Safe travels!
See you soon!

I went to Oban twice in the 70's and really loved it. Hope you have a great holiday there Florence.

Oban you have been warned, Florence and Argyllgran are hitting town! The rock chicks are on their way!

We're actually meeting at a restaurant about 25 miles outside Oban, not far from my village - so Oban needn't worry on Saturday!

At other times, I'm there fairly frequently for shopping, optician, etc.

Goodness Linda, the tumble sounds nasty, glad to hear you managed not to hit the ground, the shock of things like that can be as bad as actually hurting yourself, hope you will be pain free soon.

Florence, have a lovely week away, sounds like you will be having a nice time meeting up with ArgyllGran.

Been a nice day here again today but a bit chilly for most of the day so no garden jobs for me, instead I decided to do some hoovering downstairs.
Not an easy job for me these days, especially when I have to use the hose around the edges of the rooms.

My Jack used to do much of the daily hoovering but now it's down to me. our daughter would do it for me but she can't just drop everything as & when I decide it needs doing, I got the downstars done eventually, LOL.

I was tired after doing it & settled down for a rest & maybe a wee nap, I was woken by the chemist delivery guy shouting my name, he found me "sprawled" in the recliner, I hadn't heard him knocking at the door.
I hadn't expected him coming today having been told it would be Thursday or Friday.

Joan.

Brr winter has returned, it has been so cold today.

Poor Esme had one of her stomach migraines yesterday, so ended up in hospital again. They stayed overnight, so my poor daughter got very little sleep again. They came home this morning and Esme went straight in the bath. I don’t know why she loves having baths so much, but she does. Thank goodness the migraine came yesterday because my daughter has to go away on business on Sunday morning and won’t be back until Wednesday night. It would have been disastrous if it had happened while her mum was away. We will be on grandparent duty of course, so it is going to be a hard few days. \

It must be so exhausting for you Linda. I hope Esme stays well for you.
Yesterday here it was 17 degrees and today it is 7 degrees. Such a drop no wonder we don’t know what to wear.

Hi to all.
So sorry to hear about your grandaughter Linda,it must be hard for you all, especially you & your hubby, your daughter & grandchildren are so lucky to have such caring helpful grandparents..

It's been a lovely "summers" day here today, must have rained through Thursday night but the sun was up early this morning & what a lovely day it turned into.
Needless to say I was in the garden for much of the afternoon, planted up some Primroses & couple of Clematus,& doing a general tidy round, really enjoyed being out in the sunshine & fresh air.

Found lots of self seeded Snowdrops scattered throughout the gravelled areas, some have even popped up between the Flagstones !
Lot of Crocus all around the place as well, such a colourful display, the Daffies are just about ready to open adding even more colour.

Joan.

Well, it never rains but it pours :-(
I now have a bad vertigo attack, just as my daughter is away. Luckily I have some of the tablets left from last August when I last had it , so I am coping with those.
Then this morning when OH was driving Eve back from school, he said the exhaust started to make a popping noise. When he got back, he looked and the back part had actually broken off, it was just held up by a rubber strap, so he drove it down to Kwikfit in the hope they could do it today, but they can’t do it until tomorrow morning. On the way back from there, it fell off all together, so he came home to get some string and went back to rescue it and tie it on. That causes all sort of knock on effects for looking after the girls, but we have sorted everything. Oddly, it isn’t noisy, so we can cope until tomorrow morning
I hope everyone else is OK and that Florence is enjoying her holiday

Oh dear Linda, that was almost predictable wasn't it. More expense as well as the inconvenience.
Sorry to hear about the Vertigo, that is so horrible. Is there anything with you that starts it off. good job you have the tablets. Hope it is a short lasting attack anyway.

I had a very enjoyable lunch on Saturday, with Florence, her lovely man, and their small quiet dog.
It's so nice to be able to put faces to names!

The sun was shining, the restaurant is by the shore, and the views are beautiful.
We met at 12.30, and didn't leave until after 4pm - lots of chat!

I'll leave Florence to tell you about the rest of her holiday when she gets home!

Pleased that youmet up. As you say, good to put a face to a name. Hoping Florence is enjoying her holiday.

The sun is shining here and it is 1 degrees.
Just spent an hour and 20 minutes out in the garden, digging and weeding and managed to dig up a dead wegelia shrub that had really horrid roots. I think that is my lot for today. yesterday I cleared an 18 inch square of my largest border of weeds and cellandines and today I managed another3 foot square. It is a long border but has lots of bulbs growing so is not easy to weed. I will get there.

A nice sunny day here,unfortunately it's a bit windy so not as warm as it might have been if calm, however i managed an hour in the garden.
Planted yet another Clematus & a Honeysuckle,fingers crossed they take & flourish !

There has been a bit of a disaster, we have 2 hedges,the shorter one is made up of 3 different shrubs, (a semi evergreen hardy Fuschia ( not the patio type} and 2 different types of Cotoneaster} that over the years have grown into each other & became a hedge.

When outside the other day I noticed the Fuschia part of it was leafless & completely brown ! looks as dead as a dodo, back in November it was full of leaves as usual & some flowers still showing.
No idea what has happened to it, the 2 evergreen Cotoneasters at either side of it are fine & full of leaves.

Daffies are blooming, we have 100's of them all over the place, they so brighten up the place.

Joan.

Is it an evergreen Fuchsia Joan as my hardy bush fuchsias are all leefless and look lifeless, I actually cut them down this time of year and they soon grow again.

Hi Ann.
It's more like a semi evergreen, loses some leaves but not all during the winter.
I have always clipped it back every autumn to tidy it but never been taken right down as it has formed a hedge which is what its supposed to do !

The 2 Cotoneasters at either side of it look fine, well leaved & green, they are both evergreen.

I have never seen the Fuschia as it is at the moment, completely bare & brittle, looks dead. It's a very hardy type & local to the area.

Joan.

Very strange Joan maybe just outlived its life or has some sort of disease.

It is very strange Ann, I got quite a shock when I saw it.
It has been in the garden a very long time so maybe it has outlived it's life, its considered a "wild" Fuschia as it can sometimes be seen growing in hedgerows !

It will have to remain in situ as there's no way I can dig it up, & the "children" won't want to do it either !
Shame for the birds as it was very popular with them for a safe nesting place.

Joan.

It is a shame Joan, but that happens sometimes. In the previous house we had a lovely clematis which had spread down the whole fence on one side of the garden. It was beautiful when it flowered , then suddenly one spring, it was dead. I really missed it.

It was another early start today as we had to go to get Esme up and ready while her father took Eve to school. Thankfully my daughter is due back around 6.30, so we can all have dinner together and then we can go home :-D