General Chat

That is an idea Sallie but I can't think of any tea rooms. Thanks anyway.

Ann, if you have any vintage tea rooms around your area, they might take them off you, only a couple of people I know told me, that the people that have them use bone china tea sets, just like the ones we have. Apparently, they use all different ones....we have a few sets that belonged to my mother, my nan, Alun's mother,and a couple of aunties, so I am thinking about going to a couple of them around this area and ask if they would like to have them.

Sounds as though you have both had a busy day.....just going to read about your car.

It is very quiet here at the moment so not much news.

Jean and Sylvia hope that you are both okay.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Yesterday was glorious, we did some gardening, T power washed the front and side paths and tidied up where he had done the back patio etc. I turned out a kitchen cupboard and filled two boxes with stuff for the charity shop. I found a tea set that was my Mum's, very small cups, very delicate, we have never used it and anyway have another tea set of our own in the sideboard. But only my Mum could have 6 plates and 6 saucers intact plus 3 cups. She always broke the cups. Goodness knows if the charity shop will be able to sell them, oh there is a sugar basin as well.

I assume you have seen the saga of our car on a separate thread. I suppose that will be the next thing we buy. :-|

We have had a lovely bright and sunny day here today, so managed to get the washing dried, just need to iron it now.....not my favourite job at all, but it has to get done,lol!!!


Jean, the children on scooters are a nuisance, we even have children as young as three and four on them. One day, one of the older boys decided that it would be a good idea to ride his scooter across our next door neighbours front wall.
Hope that both you and J are okay.

Ann and Sylvia, hope that everything is alright with you, too.


Love, Sallie. xxx <3

I use a permanent black marker, on masking tape that I stick on the top of the container before I put it into the freezer.

Make sure it is a permanent marker, not a washable one!

It's raining again here ............ we had a lovely warm sunny day yesterday, now it's gone again :-(

Jean ............. those kids are a nuisance, and a danger to themselves and the residents!

I just use ordinary biro and that seems fine Jean

Annoying about the boys on scooters I exoect the surface is smoother for them to do tricks on. We have a skate board/scooter park in the village so they tend to go there.

I can't be,ieve I have just suggested Tony watch the rugby as the rest of TV this evening is rubbish :-D

I used to put labels on the boxes but when they defrosted all the writing had gone :-S :-

I think you need to use special pens, talking of penns most of my markers have dried up so I have treated myself to some new ones different make than the usual ones and I love them, a lot cheaper too ;-) ;-) ;-)

we are plagued with youngsters on scooters using the car park as a playground, police came and sent them off now they are back which is a problem especially when the abulances are here , they have no fear of anyone in authority, but the smaller kids have decided to have a go now , we can see them swing the scooters round and narrowly miss any parked cars, It does cause some of the infirm residents a problem, but how can you get them to stop the park is very near to us, but for some strange reason they prefer our car park :-| :-| :-|

beautful day so far we can see the may blossom trees also cherry blossom ones too, they are huge all round the bandstand area......nice views...

still not many flowers in the residents garden which we overlook, such a pity all thats needed is some plants and shrubs that come up every year, my cammelia is thriving at our old house so are the weeds J said D cant do weeding so dad will hve to try

time for a cuppa see you all later love Jean xx....

Jean, you have a good chef there but have you thought of sticky labels to label leftovers in the freezer? Might save you having apple crumble and veg for your meal in the future!

Always nice to get your hair done. I find the next morning mine is standing up on end, I am such a resltess sleeper.

Goodness your cards do sell well don't they? I bet theya re under priced. Still nice that there are cards people can afI think some of those in the shops are very expensive.

Sallie, tell Christie to make the most of her maternity leave, once the baby comes she won't have time to do things.

We are just back from Tesco, not too bad, busy but not frantic and we stopped for eggs on toast first! Didn't have breakfast before we left home.

I have had a letter from the surgery with the result of the biopsy on my arm, surprisingly (to me and the Dr) it was a basal cell carcinoma but nothing further to worry about although he will see me in a month for a check up. He really didn't think it was BCC. So different from the impersonal way of having them done at the hospital these days. (My original lovely hospital doctor retired and left me with a specialist nurse who, although friends and pleasant has no empathy.) I am hoping any future ones will be done by him as well.

Tony is pressure washing the patio now. I have unpacked the shopping, put bedding in to wash and emptied two days worth from the dish washer. I should fling a duster around but not sure I will. The sun is shining so maybe it will be a potter in the garden.

Jean,it sounds as though your cards are selling like ' hot cakes', it looks as though you
are going to be busy for a while, making more.

When I make cottage pie, I always make extra so that I can put enough for another two meals in the freezer.

Christie, started her maternity leave today, a week earlier than planned, she is getting very tired, so her boss told her that she could finish today. So she will have more time to rest before the baby is born.
So it means that Richard will have to go to work a lot earlier each day again, although he doesn't start until 8-30 a.m, if he doesn't get into the car park by 7-30 a.m. he can't get a parking place in the car park. British Gas have tried to buy some land at the side of the car park, but Oxford Council won't sell it to them.


Ann, and Sylvia, hope that you are both okay.


Take care.

Love, Sallie. xxx

Haha Sallie I couldnt walk this morning,so stiff, managed to go down to have my hair done, pity it wont be like it in the morning ;-) ;-) I was talking to the lady on reception,
she told me she had sold some more cards, so it was a good job i had taken some down when I went to the hairdresser , we got two card racks so there is a lot of spaces
to fill....I was asked to do some more bags, but I think they are better at christmus.

we had chilli con carne for tea J made double the quantity so it made another meal again in a box in the freezer , we didnt know what it was until it defrosted wouldnt it be a laugh if it had been sponge pudding and custard ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)
it tasted better second time around.... cheesecake to follow, he does look after me very well...good job I dont have big portions now, my waistline would grow and grow :-D :-D :-D

I think I will have an early night, so seee you all later love Jean xx

Just popped in to say hello and hope that you are all okay.


Jean, hope that you got your hair done. I think we always feel better when we've had it done.

Weather has been a bit changeable today, this morning it was grey and drizzly and then it brightened up for a while and now it is cloudy again, but it is a not as cold as it was yesterday.

This morning I gave the lounge a good cleaning, then made our lunch. After lunch we popped over to see Jennie for an hour and then came home and made a rhubarb crumble. One of Alun's mates in the model railway club took in a big bag of rhubarb from his garden yesterday, so I couldn't let it go to waste. Ian, usually takes in fruit and vegetables when they are in season, so some of the members share it between them.

I posted on Shaun's thread last night that Richard and Christie are going to Eastbourne on Sunday until Tuesday to celebrate their first wedding anniversary,
But with the baby due in just under two weeks now, I think they are taking a bit of a risk.....and so do a few of our friends on the thread.
On Monday, the day of their anniversary it will only be ten days before the baby is due.
But when I said this to them, my answer from them was 'well, there is a hospital in Eastbourne ', the younger people these days have a totally different way of doing things than we did in our younger days. Oh dear, I wouldn't even think about going away with such a short time before either of mine were due.How times have changed.


Ann, I forget to mention your sister,sorry, and how pleased I am to 'hear' that she is going along alright. I will be thinking about her.


Sylvia, yes a lot more have started knitting again, I was surprised when I first started knitting again and looking for wool and patterns, how many others were in the shops doing the same. My sister-in-law, Alun's sister started me off when she was here near Christmas showed me a photo of the blanket she had made for her son and daughter-
in-law's baby that was then due in January. She sent me the pattern book down when I said that I wouldn't mind making one for our expected grandchild. She was saying that a few of her friends have also taken up knitting again.


Will chat again tomorrow.


Take care.

Love, Sallie. xx <3 <3 :-)

Jean, glad you managed to go out today, I'm sure you feel a bit better now that you have been. To some extent I know how you feel about going out, but for a different reason. I find that the more I stay in I don't want to go out, but like you I have to make myself do it, we can't let it beat us. I only go out when I have to, either for an appointment, to get my hair done and if I need something new to wear. I'm ashamed to say that most of the time now, Alun has to do the food shopping, I just go with him the odd time.

Glad you enjoyed your meal this evening, sounds lovely.Making me feel hungry.lol!!

Will speak again tomorrow.

Take care.

Love, Sallie.xxx <3

Hi everyone, I have been out today first time since Jan, I found it very difficult going out
I cant explain why I feel this way, confidence very low, but I do intend going out more , cant let it beat me...the cards are kept low priced for the folk in here but now the cafe is so busy we have a lot of visitors.still i dont mind if it brightens someones life .I couldnt believe how busy the cafe was when we got back from the shopping , it was heaving, I did hear it was owned by witherspoons I think thats the name.

today we have had quiche and baby potatoes with broccoli, it was lovely follwed by a custard doughnut :-D :-D :-D :-D

I had another lot of craft stuff given to me off one of the ladies who bought cards , it was a big surprise, even bigger when i looked in the bag there was a 12x12 memory album..but I dont make any more albums, I may take it to a charity shop, it was brand new with lots of 12x12 backing papers in it...unless someone on here would like it....let me know

:I will say nite nite early night I think

love Jean xx

Hello everyone

and especially nice to see Sallie posting again <3

I'm afraid that I have had to give up knitting, it was too painful ......... I was only managing to do a couple of rows before having to give up. So I am in the process of packing up all my wools (or yarns as they call it here) to send to my daughter. She will take what she can use or likes, and pass the rest on to knitting friends of hers ..... it's become quite common again among the 30-50 year age group. If there is any wool that no-one wants, she'll take it to a thrift shop.

We are having real April weather here ............. rain, showers, clouds, sun. I do wish we could have more sun!!!

Jean, how are things with both you and J today? I hope that you are both alright. It looks as though your cards are popular and selling well.....as Ann commented, I also hope that they are paying a good and fair price for them. Some people think that because you make them yourself, that you can make them a lot cheaper, they don't think about the cost of buying the cards etc,to make them nor the time you spend making them. I have made cards myself for a couple of people like that.

I have also made a comforter for the baby, it's a teddy bear's head and arms which are sewn on to the middle of a tiny blanket, I made it in cream, which will be okay for either a girl or a boy.



Ann, hope that both you and T have had a good day. It has been quite nice here today, but haven't done much housework today, just the usual day to day things.


My friend is really good at making toys, and things like the Nativity, The Last Supper and also all the small different animals, for the Nativity and of course the animals for Noah's Ark. I have asked her if she will help me with putting them together, as she is much better at sewing than I am.



Been to see Joanne this afternoon,I found it difficult to talk to start with, so she started by talking first to Jennie and then Alun. She then started asking me some questions that I found a bit difficult to deal with, So she has decided that from next week she is going back to do one to one with me, for four sessions and then do a couple of sessions of family therapy again, so that she can then assess what the next step will be. I found the whole session very difficult today, and still feeling upset by it.

So I thought that I would come on here and Shaun's thread to talk to all my friends, so that I will start to feel a bit better, and hope it will take my mind off this afternoon.


Well I will speak to you all soon, I am going to put the kettle on so that I can have a nice cup of tea.


Take care.

Love, Sallie.xxx <3 <3

Pleased that you have not given card making up completely Jean. But people can be very thoughtless and take advantage if you let them. Is there nobody watching who takes the cards? Are they priced? 12 should have cost a fair bit.

Hope you enjoyed your meal, even though J's was a surprise!

Sallie that Noah's ark is quite ambitious. I like knitting but don't like seeing things together.

I suppose every time we put the TV on now it will be politics, politics :-D :-S

Hi Jean, I am so pleased to hear you are still making some cards, it is nice to have something to do, as they tell me it is therapeutic. I don't blame you for not wanting to make cards as a job, the problem with that is that some people expect you to make a card for them at such short notice.....so what you enjoy doing then becomes a chore.
And you don't want people knocking on the door at night wanting and expecting you to make a special card for the next day. You would expect people to use a bit of thought and common sense......at least now you have got a message up telling them you heed a weeks notice.

It sounds as though you enjoyed your meal this evening an especially the chocolate
muffin.lol!! I hope J enjoyed his cottage pie and wasn't too disappointed that he didn't
get his lasagne.
Alun likes scampi , and sometimes has it when we go out for a meal as well as at home.

I am still busy giving the house a good cleaning, today I have sorted and cleaned the spare bedroom, so the cleaning is slowly being done.....can only do a bit each day now.lol!!!

It has been quite a nice day here mostly bright but there has been a chilly wind....still, so I managed to dry towels and the bedding off the spare bed, so pleased that they are done.

Yes, I have enjoyed making the things for the baby, so I expect that once the baby has arrived I will start making something else.....when Richard and Christie were here Christmas, Christie asked if I would make make a hooded jacket if they have a girl and
a jacket that she likes if they have a boy.

At the moment I am concentrating on knitting the Noah's Ark, just hope it turns out okay.

I had my hair done on Saturday morning, I go to Derby to have it done, as I like the way Vanessa cuts it. She couldn't get over how much it had grown as it was only five weeks ago that she cut it last. My hair seems to be growing quicker the older I am getting.lolol!!!

Well I am going to have a cuppa now, so will chat again soon.

Take care.

Love, Sallie.xx <3

What a busy bee you have become Sallie, I used to knit mainly toys, but cant do it now
I still manage some cards but it was becoming a job and I dont want a job, I have had
folk knocking on the door at nightime wanting special cards for the day after, so have now put a notice stating that i need at least a week for such orders, I usually fill the stands up when i have my hair done on thursdays, last week someone had bought twelve card and a decorated bag,J had a look this morning and said a lot more have gone, I hope they dont think they are free ;-) I want a notice on to inform folk that all proceeds go to the tenants fund....I have been putting inserts in my cards and stamping verses on them today.

I havent been out since Jan, I feel safe inside still fearful of falling, but tomorrow I am hoping to go shopping with J, if it gets too much I can sit in the car..

Just had scampi and chips for tea followed by a big chocolate muffin , very nice ....
J decided to have a lasagne in the freezer only to find out it was cottage pie :-D :-D

well I shall have a coffee now ready to watch the soaps....

love Jean xxx

Jean lovely to see you posting and hope that you are feeling a bit better today. Shame about not being able to do your cards, as all the cards you made were really lovely.

I was just going to send Ann a pm, but you all beat me to it. I had already sent some pm's and emails, and since then I have been busy doing some extra cleaning. I have cleaned the cooker and all the kitchen cupboards, inside and out......they really needed doing. Also been doing some washing and managed to get it all dried....now it has to be ironed.

Still not able to do any cards....made two birthday cards in March, the first one I did with no trouble but the second one took me three days, just couldn't think how to do it.
Anyway I did finish it in the end, but wasn't happy with it.



Ann, I use to like doing the garden, but it is a good while since I have done any gardening, we only have the back garden which is medium sized, our front is all bricked so that our car and any visitors cars can park on there. We have five tubs underneath the windows so that it breaks it up and have a bit of colour.

At the moment I am into knitting, I have made some little coats and some blankets ready for the baby, no good doing anymore now until the baby is born, and then I can make some coloured ones. I have bought some some new pattern books for babies with some more modern knitted things in them.

I have just started to knit a Noah's Ark with Mr and Mrs Noah and two of each animal, elephants, giraffes, doves etc., so hope it will turn out okay. It is for my brother's church in Abergavenny, although I haven't told him that I am making it yet. My friend knitted The Last Supper for his church in time for Easter, it was really good, the thirteen figures, a wine skin, loaves, and wine goblets. Alun made the table out of some wood that he had and I made the white cloth.....both my brother and sister-in-law
were thrilled with it....as they didn't know she was making it.


Sylvia, as you said GR is dying and none of the people that supposed to run it, doesn't seem to care about it either.

It's a shame that so many people are either not renewing or just not bothering to post.


Will speak to you all soon.


Take care of yourselves.

Love, Sallie.xxx <3 <3 <3

We shall just keep going Sylvia, maybe I am stubborn but I will wait until they shut the doir on me. Just renewed again.

Jean sorry you have been poorly, have you been to the doctor to see why you are so tired, could you be anaemic. Such a shame you have not been crafting, I missed your Easter card. What about all the stuff you have are you not using any of it now? It doesn't seem long since you were saying how well your cards were selling. It seems a shame to stop. Hopefully some sunshine will make you feel better. <3 <3