General Chat

Evening All,

Just wrote half a post, the food delivery came and I accidentally shut my screen and lost it! Silly me I should remember to paste in a word doc first. A few subs as usual and I've claimed a refund for a very dented tin of toms.

The rain was lashing down again all morning and still windy, but it's dry and calmer again now. I must go up the garden in the morning and see if anything's blown down in the greenhouse. We are lucky to be able to keep our bins at the side of the bungalow between it and the neighbour's tall wall by her footpath. The gate is at the back of them, so they are sheltered, but only till we push them down the drive for collection. They are on a bit of a slope there and blow over more easily.

I hope with some rest and paracetamol your throat and cough soon go Mandy, but better to have it now than it spoil Christmas. OH has dosed himself up with Ibuprofen for his back today and we just carried the food delivery in from the crates, rather than carry the crates.

That was a good idea to have a door visit by your son rather than risk you getting a cold just when you will be going away AnnG. I make sure OH washes his hands when he gets home from meetings and he's really got into the habit now.

It sounds like you have quite a bit of clearing up to do once the weather improves Mel and an apple tree to dispose of as well now. Would a lumberjack firm do it for you? For our Pine tree and our neighbour's Pine tree to both be cut down as well as shredded and the stumps ground down below the soil surface cost £650 for the two and they even swept up afterwards.

I was watching Love Your Weekend earlier and they were at a Christmas Tree Farm talking about looking after them. They actually prune them each year to get a good shape which stupidly had never occurred to me and sow clover in the grass pathways between the rows that acts as a fertiliser. What was lovely was that they put Shropshire sheep where they are, as they have soft mouths and will eat everything except the Christmas trees, so they effectively weed round the trees including the baby ones without damaging them and get nice and fat on the clover too.

Windowcleaner is due tomorrow. We'll have to be up early to shower before he arrives, but who knows whether he will come. He might decide to do our close as it is all bungalows and no climbing up ladders.

Cynth just rang the door bell to say she just rescued my green bin which had blown over and skidded across the drive. It is almost empty so very light.We have wedged it into a corner now with the blue bin. Hope this wind drops before tomorrow evening when all the green bins will have to go out. The wind has really come up since this morning when it was very calm.

Been up the shop and the farm I pass just before the crossroad has a building down where he parks some of his tractors. It has'nt had sides since they had a fire there years ago when I spotted the smoke and told oh I thought it was Diamond's and he went up there and helped them get the cows out into the field. One of the tractors (a new one) had caught alight. Anyway it is now all lying on the floor blocking an entrance into the farm. They have two other entrances and two big sons and a daughter to help clear the mess up.

When I came back from the shop my potting shed door was open so the wind had blown that open and stuff inside that oh had put up in the rafters has blown down. I don't know half of what is up there as he did t when he first moved in and I think its a lot of his stuff out of his house when he sold it.

When I got back as the decking was dry I went and did both pond filters and fished all the leaves out of the big pond and fed both lots of fish. The wind had blown the filter shed door shut so tight I had to get a crowbar to it to get it open. It must have slammed it shut and the door was stuck on the cable to the skimmer pump which is rubber. Took me a while but I did it in the end.

Now I am hungry................................

Son has been and gone, just have to wait now until he lets me know he is safely home. His cough is not too bad but he is right, I don't want it. Hopefully the bugs were blown away.

Morning all,

It was quite a blowy old night with lots of rain ,still a bit rainy this morning .
Think I have a cold coming I started with a rough throat yesterday and this morning I have a cough too, I have been taking paracetamol so hope I can get rid of it .

Mel be careful out there on those cou try lanes there might be lots of debris on the road with all the wind .

Anng Hooe your son has a good journey to you ,a chat 9n the doorstep is best you don't want a cold for Christmas.

Oh Ann poor OH I hope his back soon eases ,I can't see him going up in your loft for your decorations its not easy trying to get through the loft hatch.

Not doing a lot today I have just put the second lot of washing in but I'm not doing anything else just having a rest .

At least you will see him Anng. its 7 degrees here and still windy. Just going to go up the shop for my paper.

Good morning all, grey here still but looks a bit calmer, only 4 degrees though so colder again.

Son is coming today to pick up the presents for their family. good job he doesn't mind driving but it will be a short visit as he has a cold/cough and won't come into the house as he doesn't want to give his cold to me. so it will be a doorstep visit. :-(

Morning all,

There's a glimpse of sun this morning and not so much wind 7 degrees and a yellow wind warning on the pc.

The leccy must have gone out in the night as when I went to the bathroom this morning the towel rail was cold so I went and turned the leccy back on and went back to bed. Then after a while my phone beeped and it was a message from Em to say the Carol service and party tonight had been canceled and would be resceduled.

That was at 8.30 and I thought I was going to have a lie in this morning.

Vera yes we got to our meal it actually was not bad here, drizzly rain and a cold wind with a few gusts but not really bad ones. Nice to have 7 of us for the meal. Sadly the meal was not as good as it has been before. It felt like an inexperienced chef was standing in, it was all there but tasteless and maybe over cooked. Still we enjoyed ourselves. And had a laugh.

No alarms here although they had them in South Gloucester.

Ann I will be very surprised if Pete does go out this evening. All his fans are lined up with fingers on their phones.

It's blowing more and blustery here. I could hear it so tried to look up the close to see, but they don't seem to light the close at all at night now, just the Christmas lights I could see at a couple of places.

Mandy I see this IT is far too clever at secong guessing what we are writing! I have heard that dogs can get fatty lumps and suppose you just keep an eye on them. My word it was a shock to hear Katie is fifteen today!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE :-D Don't children grow up fast, yet it seemed ages from one birthday to another when we we children. It sounds nice and Christmassy with your tree and decs all put up.

OH has aggravated his bad back rummaging in the cupboards over the bed, so he's had to rest it since propped up with pillows Mel. No red alarms or advice not to go out here and it's really not been very bad, not even any branches down in the lanes like in the past or any flooded roads.

I'd better finish the food order for tomorrow next and an early night to watch Strictly. Surely Pete will go out this week.

It sounds horrid down your way Mel. That’s a shame about your apple tree. I like a russet apple and, as you say, it’s good with a bit of cheese. Batten down the hatches tonight and keep yourself warm.

As to that phone alert I thought I’d better check my phone. It seems it can receive the alerts at the moment and they are switched on, but OH’s phone which is the model before mine is too old and can’t receive the warnings

I wonder if AnnG got to her lunch today.

Annx, I don’t blame OH for having a bit of a duvet day. I expect you’ve had your share of wind and rain as well. I was very surprised to see you had received my card as I didn’t think I posted it till yesterday and we only have one collection a day so it couldn’t have gone till today’s collection at 7 am. The only thing I can think is that OH maybe posted a few cards on Thursday.

Katie must be quite grown up now Mandy. It’s hard to believe that she is 15 already. Where have the years gone?

Though not nearly as bad as the western side of the country, it has been very windy here and very, very wet. At one point I thought it had stopped so went out to get some bits from the freezer in the garage, only to find it had changed from bucketing down to a heavy but much finer rain. I got soaked. It sounds as though the wind is increasing a bit again now.

Just looked out the back door and the blimmin dustbin is over again and oh's chair is right across the patio. Perhaps I did'nt put the brakes on!!!

There was such a draught (sp) coming through the top of the front door I have stuck a s[pecial tape on it and put a draft excluder along the bottom of it. Its not been cold here today just extremly windy and gusty. There all leaves just outside the back door too.

Don't know what to get for dinner tonight and feel like I want to make cakes but I just can't get motivated to do anything. I shall be cross when there's not a cake in the house and I fancy one or two....... perhaps I should get my finger out and make some.

Annx its good oh is having a sloppy day I don't blame him he's always busy and with no matches to go to it time for him to rest. You were a naughty girl going out.

Don't know about the wind dying down late afternoon its still blowing a right old hooly here. I have managed to get round to the chickens again to give them some corn and I put a bit of clean shavings inside the house as its very wet in there. So in now for the night. Not done a thing apart from the chickens today and fished a few leaves out of the big pond this morning. It was covered in leaves.

Afternoon all,

Sounds very windy your way Mel, it's raining harder here now and a bit windy ,we nipped to sons this morning as its Katie's birthday today she's fifteen where has the time gone it only seems like yesterday she was the tiny one trying to get a look in behind Jake and Chelsea .
Yesterday we got the decorations up and the indoor tree decorated its looks nice and Christmasy now .

Ann I just put about Max's lump I don't know where the word ferry came from ,another word this tablet slipped in lol

I posted cards this morning so you should get them next week ,we see the postman most days ,we're quite close to the sorting office and we have different postmen each week but they are usually here first thing .

Hope everyone is OK in this stormy weather and nobody has any damage .

Afternoon All,

No rain and not much wind here now but it was gusty wind and rain lashing down on the back of the bungalow earlier and a stream running down the road. The rain even came through the patio doors and made a puddle on the floor. OH's footie was cancelled but he found two alterative matches on artificial turf. One of those was cancelled half an hour later and after going out to the dustbin and seeing how wild it was, he decided to stay in. He's found a match on Monday night and another for Wednesday night only 20 minutes from his meeting so he's probably going to those instead. He usually showers just before he goes but has kept his jimjams and dressing gown on, fetched a box of Guylian chocs out of his wardrobe to share while he watches tv and is having a restful duvet day! :-D Meanwhile I nipped to the shop for a paper and few bits and a silly young woman in their carpark who was parked a few spaces along from me decided to reverse out of her space without looking. I had to stop or she would have hit me and saw she was looking down in her lap (mobile?) She didn't half jump when she looked up and saw how close I was. They've done anothe yarn bomb in the viillage, A life size Santa and his sleigh and reindeer with stars in the trees and some other bits and bobs.

Mel that's a shame about your Russet apple tree. (I like them although the skin is a bit rough). It sounds like it was at risk in winds though if it was a bit rotten. At least you are ok though and still have power which is good. You have reminded me my next job is to put more fat balls out. The last one still disappeared quite quickly so I don't know if the Squirrel has worked out how to get to them in the new position.

Thanks for your Christmas card Vera which came today. I need to dust the lounge next as we have had a few arrive now. What a nuisance having to make a third trip to the chemist now! We find the same sometimes that our medication comes in dribs and drabs meaning several visits. OH said last time that we ought to phone before we go to make sure they have everything. It seems they only look when we are there to collect and only then do they start to source what they don't have! I'm due to collect mine on Monday so watch this space! That's good you got some red lights after all and they should look good on your coffee plant We haven't any decorations up yet as neither of us are in a good enough state to get up the loft ladder and through the narrow hole yet!! Maybe later next week after the food delivery has come and been put away.

I hope you managed to go out and enjoy your lunch AnnG. It's less windy here now and I was surprised how little debris there was on the roads when I went out.

The winds now blown the door open on my extracter fan in the kitchen and a gale is blowing through. I have just stuck a huge piece of bluetack in it to keep it closed. The bit that was in there has gone a bit hard.

It has dropped a bit here but still gusty. I just went round to the girls to feed them and they were very pleased to see me.

Then I took a walk down to the shed as both doors were open and took string and tied it up to the best of my ability. Then I went up and had a look at the apple tree and I knew it was a bit rotton at the bottom and has been for years now since I lost the other Russet next to it. It had gone from the rotten bit and is going to take a lot of cutting up but it has'nt damage the Golden Delious not too far away.

Came back and got the wild bird food to puit out. They have three fat balls and seed in the bird tabel and fat stick and peanuts in the metal feeder. I broought the plastic feeder in as thats the one I put sunflower seeds in but it was blowing around so much I thought it safer to bring it in and I can give it a good wash out too.

Good idea Mel. supposed to drop here too although it was not that strong. However it has not dropped at all so far.

My shed top door blew open so I had to go down and shut it. The little plastic greenhouse in now nearly completely down.

Hope you lot are ok.

I shan't go up the shop unless the wind drops by 11am as they have said it may. I shall ring them and ask them to save my paper till tomorrow if I can't get down there.