General Chat

Good morning all dark out there still and 5 degrees, shall be glad once it starts getting lighter in the mornings.

Vera, hopefully the walk did your back some good. Strange isn't it? My back is the same fine once I start walking but painful when I sit. Usually ok when I lie down.. Mainly it is very painful when I go from sitting to standing.

Mel, hope you had a nice meal last night. That was a todo with the new lawn mower. glad you managed to get it somewhere safe.

Ann Oh not a nice message in that card. I am sorry to hear about the unexpected death, sad you were not informed at the time.

I am expecting daughter and son in law to arrive today so will be edgy until they get here.

Evening ladies

I hope your meeting went well AnnG. I am sure everyone enjoyed your mince pies. I won't mention a skipping rope to OH as he'll probably find something in the garage he can use and will start skipping next. Last year I knew of something he wanted for Christmas but not wanting to get the wrong thing I got him a gift card to choose it himself. There was some money left on the card for him to spend. Most elderly gentlemen would have opted for slippers or a jumper. What did mine buy? A pair of weights !!!. He then added weight lifting to his exercise routine and terrifies me with the way he swings them around.

I am glad you are feeling a little better Mandy. Only do what you can comfortably manage so that you don't get overtired.

My goodness Mel, you had a bit of a panic with that mower but you seem to have got it all sorted out. What did you have to eat at Stu's?

I'm sorry to hear of the death of OH's rellie Annx. It's a shame the brother didn't tell you when it happened but families all approach these things differently.

I slept better last night but I'm tired now having had another busy day. I think I have finished the present buying and most of the card writing. As we won't be seeing family at Christmas I've had to think in terms of what can easily be posted so several are getting vouchers or gift cards but I've tried to find ones that are a bit different and can perhaps be spent on hobbies and interests.

I also walked to the nearest post office to post a package and I found that tiring. It's only just over a mile there and back but it was cold with that fine drizzly mist; the sort where you can't see that it's raining but you end up soaked in no time at all. Provided I keep going at a reasonable pace walking doesn't hurt my back much at all but it's quite painful now that I am just sitting at the desk typing.

I need to get some cooking done but I seem to be short on time. Tomorrow I have the chiropodist in the morning and then we are out in the afternoon so there won't be time to do any baking. Oh well, if I run out of time we'll just have to have everything shop bought.

Hope the throat continues to improve Mandy. Keep up with the honey and lemon there's a good girl. We need you back in good health for wrapping all those presents. <3 <3 <3

I was just getting my lunch and half way through I had a call from a number I did'nt recognise but thought I would ring back to see who it was. I don't ususally do this but it was the lorry driver delivering the new mower. Panic panic. Rang Robert and asked if he was home and no he was at work and would'nt be home till about 8pm. I had told the driver to park in the village hall carpark and ring me from there and I would come up. Rang Val, Em's mum to see if they could help. They were'nt in so rang Em. She rang her mum and no answer so rang mum again and got through. Em's dad was on the way over as he was cutting up the tree that came down up the top by their holiday let and house they are having built. Em rang again and said she would go up there but she had to get to Hatherleigh and pick up her sausages and bacon. She came over and I drove up there and met them all in the car park. Em's dad arrived then too so Em had had a word and we arranged that the driver would put it on his pallett truck and drive it round to Phil's which he did so it now out of site in Phil's drive in lent to. Its all wrapped up in black polywrap and on a pallet in a wooden frame. Em took a picture of it with Phil and I behind it and sent it to BIL so he won't worry now. He is coming down tomorrow and Saturday as its the big breakfast on Saturday and we are going to that.

Fed the girls thier corn and now I am going to wsh my hair and relax...................

Good to see you post Mandy and I'm glad your bad throat is easing. I didn't know all your tiredness was from long covid. How long is it since you had it? I know it can affect people for a very long time. I just looked up the last posting date for 2nd class and it is next wednesday, so plenty of time to do your cards. I still have more to write as well.

We had unexpected news in a Christmas card today. OH's mother had 2 cousins, not living locally, that we seemed to just meet at funerals, weddings and exchanged cards at Christmas. Well the card said his brother (the other cousin) passed away suddenly in September. OH is a bit shocked and a little miffed that no-one had let him know at the time, as he phoned and made sure they all knew when his own mum and dad passed away. The brothers were very different characters though and the one that's sadly passed away was very friendly and sociable to the point of being a little overbearing once you were his captive audience! The remaining brother was quiet and hardly spoke. I said to OH he probably didn't realise he hadn't let us know till he started writing his Christmas cards. So that's another name off our Christmas card list this year now.

We did our bit of shopping, filled the car at the garage and went to the chemist for our meds and OH went in while I sat outside in the car. A poor lady was really struggling with a stick along the pavement and then took ages to get up the step to the door to the chemist which was just out of my sight. Not for the first time there, I thought I was going to need to go and assist as ahe was ages at the door round the corner as I could see her back from the car. Then she moved forward out of sight. Apparently OH had spotted her from inside while waiting for them to make up his meds and gone to hold the door for her and then her arm. He is short on 2 of his meds and will have to go back again. :-S More ooohs and aahs from OH getting in and out of the car and he thinks carrying his briefcase last night didn't help so will see if he can take less things with him.

Didn't you do your parcels for collection this time Mel? I suppose they will go quicker if you take them to the van though. Yes it's nice that the ground is dryer now, but there were a few spits of rain while we were out.

I'd better pay some bills and write some more cards now. I have managed to hoover the lounge since we got back.

Morning all,

Showery here and a little misty .

Still got my cough but my throat is a little better today ,it just seems to have drained all my energy again ,could still be my long covid, I suppose when I get a cold it doesn't help it .
Thank you Vera for your christmas card it came yesterday .

So much to do ,I haven't wrapped one present yet and there's more cards to write , oh well will have see what I can do today .

Morning girls,

Dark and dingy here too this morning but it is dry so I should be thankful for that.

Iv'e had to do a parcel up this morning so two to post today so better get my skates on.

Glad the thumping and bumping was good and not oh getting angry with something Vera. You will be nice and Christmassy now as Annx said.

BBL

Morning AnnG and All,

It's 6 degrees here but feels colder. We are popping to Costa for a bacon butty and latte and then to the garden centre and shop and to pick up our meds.

Not much to do to be ready for your gathering then AnnG and I fancy a mince pie now. I hope it stays fine for you. I see we may be due a drop of rain later.

That was good then Vera and now you have another little tree to make the place look Christmassy.

Better get going so BBL.

Good morning all only 4 degrees here, too dark still to see if there was a frost but it was not forecast. Looks like another dark day. I do hate those days when lights are needed indoors most of the day.

A relief that the banging was innocent then Vera (but not as exciting as skipping would be).

Meeting today here, tea and mince pies instead of biscuits otherwise just as normal. seems like there will be nine of us to seat. Just the kitchen to tidy and chairs to arrange.

The thumping about was quite innocent. OH had got out the box with a Christmas tree and found a second smaller prelit one in the same box so was setting them up (noisily). I had forgotten the small one but I remember at one time having it on a little round table in the hall so we might put it there again.

Oh Vera I didn't see your post till after I'd posted mine and it did make me laugh about your OH's cousin's Xmas card. Bless him, it was so kind and well meant by him but it was so amusing too! You got a lot done today as AnnG has said so be careful not to overdo things and set your back off. Mine's a bit twangy, but it's because I've saved OH doing some bending down things! I hope your OH wasn't moving furniture??

It's good your eyes cleared Mel and yes, tell us what the surpise meal was later. As long as it is nice it will be good not to have to get it yourself and be able to have a chat.

Yes Ann more or less under control now. Just the lounge floors to do in the morning.

Vera for somebody who was tired after only three hours sleep you got a lot done
Thinking of the bumps you could hear I had a mental vision of your OH weilding a skipping rope for some reason.

Pleased the eye dazzles went Mel. Enjoy your meal and chat.

I did'nt go to bed in the end as I lost the dazzles. Must have been cos I took some paracetamol as soon as I realised what was going to happen. I am out tonight at Stu's so hope everything will be ok and if not I am only 3 mins away from home. I hav'nt seen anyone down here lately I even missed the postman this morning to talk to so could do with a bit of chat. It may buck me up a bit.

Not done what I wanted to do today but there's always tomorrow.

I too hope Mandy's cough is getting better. She sounded so rough when I spole to her on the phone.

Vera take care of that back and enjoy that nice dinner you have cooked. Goodness knows what I am getting tonight but something out of the oven as when I spoke to Stu he was getting it ready for the oven.

BBL and tell you what I got!! bet its the same as the last two times iv'e been there but that is nice.

Afternoon All,

It seems to have been warmer here today than where you are Mel, but the wind has dropped now for us and that makes a big difference. It does sound like you have a migraine so a good idea to have tablets and lie down.

As we can't get my door wreath out of the loft I noticed I have some rings like I used to make the rag wreath for Sandra a few years ago and thought I might make one with evergreen foliage from the garden till I remembered the sucker to hold it on the door with is in the loft as well! :-S OH's back pain seems to have improved a bit today and he wasn't taking tablets and seems more like his usual, cheerful self. He's gone off to a meeting tonight and did plan to carry on to a match afterwards, but has decided to give the match a miss rather than stand in the cold, which is sensible as he won't be wearing his warm footie clothes.

On my way to the shop I passed a lot of the children from the secondary school in the village. There seemed to be a trend among some of the girls who were wearing black tights with white socks pulled over them and black trainers. I remember there was a fad for girls who wore berets as part of their school uniform wearing them vertical held on with grips on the backs of their heads. It didn't last long at my school though as Our sailor style hats couldn't be held on very well with hairgrips.

I t's nice to come back to a clean house when you go away AnnG and all you need to do is the holiday washing! It sounds like you are well organized and almost ready now which is good. Is it a garden group meeting tomorrow?

I hope Mandy is managing to rest and sleep with the cough and bad throat. A friend recently had to cancel an operation due to a nasty bug and stayed mostly in bed for five days.

I hope the paracetamol and rest will clear your migraine Mel. I hope that Mandy is feeling a bit better now as well.

You are doing a good job with clearing up the leaves AnnG. Our garden is covered in leaves but first we couldn’t get out there because it was too wet, now we have a couple of dry days my back is too bad and OH is busy with other things.

Annx, I didn’t think about the awkwardness of carrying crates in some houses. Stupid of me. I’m too used to my house where there are no steps to the front door, a wide hallway and wide doors to the kitchen.

I had a bad night. Surprisingly it wasn’t back pain troubling me but I just could not sleep and had less than 3 hours so I can’t stop yawning today. I had a much needed haircut booked but knew my back would be agony if I tried to lean back in the chair for all the shampooing and rinsing etc, so I washed it in the shower before I went. I wasn’t sure how happy my hairdresser would be about this but she was fine. I just leant forward over the basin for a few seconds while she made my hair wet again for cutting.
OH said I looked so pale and shaky that he insisted on driving me which was kind of him but I had planned to pop into one of the shops near the car park to buy part of his Christmas present so I still haven’t got it. It’s not all bad though. I gave him some errands to do while my hair was being done so he took a load of stuff to the charity shop, bought some stationery I needed and did some banking so a few more jobs out of the way.

Since lunch I have changed the beds and washed the bedding, split 3 big packs of meat into 2 portion packs for the freezer and prepared a large beef casserole that will do for 2 days. That’s in cooking now so I just need to pop some potatoes in the oven later on. I’ve also had a general tidy up and wipe round in the kitchen. By 3.30 pm my back couldn’t take any more so I had a drink and took a painkiller and I have been on the bed with pillows propped behind me and a hot water bottle and a wheat bag I agree with your Mum Mel; I don’t like getting old.

That’s reminded me of a card we had yesterday. I suppose some people might have been upset but it made me laugh. OH has a cousin a lot younger than him. This cousin had meningitis as a toddler and was left with some brain damage and because of this sometimes says things that are a bit inappropriate. We had his Xmas card yesterday and he had written a few lines which started “Now we are all getting on a bit….” He’s not yet 60! He then continued with “I hope you live a bit longer”. So do I, cousin D! he wrote several lines in this fashion but didn’t mention Happy Xmas or New Year wishes. It was difficult to read as, bless him, he doesn’t write well and the words scrawl higgledy piggledy across the page. I think the post people deserve medals for getting it to us.as the address on the envelope was not fully correct anyway, took up the whole of the front of the envelope and the stamp was stuck in the middle of the bottom so it covered half the name of the town and most of the postcode.

Time is getting on and I’d better go and check the casserole. I’d better check on OH as well. There have been a few thumps and bangs from downstairs. What do you think he’s up to now?

Hopefully that will zap it Mel.

I went down the garden and picked up the remainder of the leaves that have fallen off the tree down there. They are now bagged up in a black bag, hopefully will be good to add to the compost next year.

I deleted all my emails in my 'bin', I try to keep on top of that.

Fed the birds.
I also did a load of washing, packed most of my stuff and got together some cards for the people coming to the meeting tomorrow. Not a lot more I can do today so off downstairs to see what is on TV.

Mandy hope that your cold and cough is improving.

I think I may be getting my first migraine for years. I have a tiny blind spot and zigzaggy bright lines in my left eye. Think I will go and have a lie down, Iv'e taken some paracetamol and will probably fall asleep.

Could you not make your arrangements i the kitchen Mel to keep warm? I went down the garden to pick up the rest of the leaves that had fallen and it was not too cold. I actually didn't have a coat on. Have to say I didn't stay out there for too long though.

Thank you for your card Mandy arrived just now with one from an old friend and one from Aunty Joy.

Still cold and cloudy and windy. The weather on the pc says by 4pm its going to feel like -4. Something to look forward to I don't think.

Gosh its really bitter out there today. I have been to the post van with more cards and a parceland fed the wild birds and the chickens. I just don't want to have to go out there again today. I should be picking stuf for some Christmas arrangments but who wants to stand outside in a very cold shed making them?

Just going to have a hoover through and clean the bathroom and perhaps that will warm me up.