General Chat

That was a very busy day Tess, no wonder you forgot things.
Hi Sylvia, in Tenerife until 29th, weather is mixed and so far today has been very wey, not cold though which is why we come here.

Went to my local college last week, for a hair cut and finish at the very special price of ONE POUND!!!

It looks quite good too, so it was a very good morning.

Then went to the (nearby) library to do some research return a couple of books and get a few more.

Well, was checking a couple of address's on the Electoral Registers.
Families I was looking for not there.
Looked in a few books for a photo of The Blue Coat School in Birmingham (pre 1928), couldn't find one (I know I have seen one in a book somewhere).

Got thirsty, so hunted in my bag for my bottle of water, I had left it at the Hair Salon!
Gave up and went to the lending Library Section, used the self-service machine to get five books plus one that the machine didn't recognise, so had to get it stamped at the counter ... making six books in all.
Got home very tired, so had a rest before going out again to vote, all went well at the Polling Station!!!

Next day sorted through my bag of books, only had four, after searhing everywhere, just to make sure, I realised that I had left two of the books at the Library!
Phoned the Library, the books have been taken off my card and are back on the shelves. Thank goodness.
I think that it was just one of those days, but at least I got to vote.

just a good job that I have learned to laugh at myself. (I can keep myself entertained for hours!)

Hi Ann

Hope all is well with you.


Tess .... that guy sounds a right old B*****!

Do please keep records of all he says and does.




sylvia
xxx

It all seems okay now on the wall front. However, work has come to a standstill, once again.
I am consoling myself with a hair-do tomorrow. (At a very specail price of ONE POUND!!)So it's not all bad news.

Hope to go to The Central Library afterwards, to get some books and do some research.

Next week I am going to a special birthday bash. My aunt (by marriage) will be 100 years old.
She is a really super lady, still living at home, doing her own cooking, and making clothes for dolls. A true inspiration to all us young pensioners!

Tess

Tess, I have only just seen the last bit you wrote about your neighbour. I hope the wall is down now, and the foundation removed. I would keep a note of any threats he makes to you in case you need them in the future. He doesn't sound a very nice man.

Ann in Tenerife.

I hope that everyone in the U.K. and Ireland has a good Bank Holiday.
It will be "May Day" holiday here tomorrow! One of our newer bank Holidays.

I see that it is Cinco de Mayo in the USA on Wednesday1 Anyone know anything agout it? (or should I Google).

Next Sunday is Mothers Day in the USA and Canada. Here in the U.K. we celebrated Mothering Sunday on 14th March. I think that it is always on the middle (or is it the third) Sunday in Lent. So it moves around a bit.

Weather forecast here is not very good (quite the opposite in fact), I won't be going away, might try to check my last (three) batch/es of Hot Matches.

Been for a walk in the local Park this afterboon. The flower beds are very colourful. A little bit of food for the soul.

tess

Thanks for the good wishes re my neighbours wall. It has not been all plain sailing. He had said something to me about 'anything underground doesn't matter'
I have checked this out, and found that even if some things related to his building ARE underground, they DO matter and he must remove them.
(He has put a concrete base under my path, and it is quite deep). Anyway, I thought that his builder was there on Friday (he seems, so far to have only worked Fri,Sat, Sun.)
Went out with a photo of said concrete under my path, only to find that it was my neighbour and his friend, (seemingly knocking down one brick at a time!).
He spoke to me, so I showed him the photo and told him that I had taken advice and had been told that he must remove every part of his building that was on my land.

Well he got quite abusive, told me that I was unreasonable and I was costing him a lot of money.
I won't say what the rest of what he said, just that he wished me and mine harm, if I still insisted that he remove the concrete!
So I have been rather upset for a couple of days, and don't want to let the family know.

This morning there is a digger on-site digging up the concrete etc. I really hope that he sells the house, as I don't want such a nasty person living next door to me.
Of course, all the extra cost involved is all his own fault, he should have done the job properly in the first place.

MOAN OVER!!!!

Besides that I am quite well. My football team is moving up a division to the Premiership.
Saw my son and grandsons on Saturday, we all went to see the European Gymnastics Championship.
Afterwards son and fourteen yearold grandson went to a CSI event.They had to solve a crime, using forensics.
I bought the five and six year olds home on the bus. An adventure in itself. They are not used to buses, so a new experience for them, especially as you have to stand up and move down to the front of the bus while it is moving.

Sylvia, you must have needed a holiday after the holiday you just had!

Jill, Maine et Loire sounds lovely. I hope that your new passport arrives in time, so that you don't have to alter the arrangements.
Have a good time on The Isle of Man.

I'm off to water the Bamboo plant to the garden.

Tess

Oh dear Jill, it didn't turn up then? How annoying, I hope the new one comes to you soon.

Hello to you all from a lovely and warm Maine et Loire.
Veg garden is doing well with onions and potatoes all coming up and runner beans planted out yesterday. Every where looks so pretty with the lilac all out and all the fruit trees in flower.
We are having a trip to see my parents on the Isle of Man but managed to throw my passport out so biting nails to see if new one arrives in time. We can always change our dates so not the end of the world, we will have to pay £25 per flight per person to change tickets plus extra as will not get one as cheap but could be worse if we were booked onto a proper holiday.
Perhaps if I was to do the five a day declutter my passport might be safe :))

xx Jill

Glad you enjoyed your break, seeing your grandson and the train trip Sylvia. Also glad that you got home safely.

Sylvia, that sounds like a holiday you will remember!

Hi Ann and everyone


Tess


great to come back to hear that your not-so-neighbourly neighbour is being sorted out!



We got back home at about 10 am yesterday (Saturday) morning after a great trip home by train ........ 6 days and 5 nights, and great convivial congenial company for the last 4 days on The Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver.


MJ is fine, now weighs about 11 lbs and .................................... he began to focus his eyes 2 or 3 days after we arrived, so he was really watching and studying your face by last weekend. He also began to smile ............ I got one of the first tentative ones, and then he gave a full bodied grin to his aunt last Sunday ........... just before the Baby Shower began.


That is another story ....... and an experience I would be quite happy not to repeat!


He did cry a lot as he has a gastric problem of some sort .......... not colic! ............................ but I turned out to have the ability to a) soothe him, thus calming him down, b) put him to sleep, sometimes in less than 5 minutes!, and c) keep him asleep. This of course necessitated me sitting in the armchair for long periods with him in my arms, rocking him (in a non-rocking chair). They are now going to accept a rocking chair from J's sis-i-l.

J was happy for me to do this as she got a lot of things done, and didn't have to worry if he started to cry as she knew I was taking care of him.


He did throw up on me once (as agaisnt spit up!!) ..................... all down my front and into my lap!!




I really had not intended to wash that skirt or sweater while I was away!!!!!




Unfortunately, he began to cry every time OH tried to hold him, so he didn't get much cuddle time!





Meanwhile, OH was working in the garden. A very large amount of clay had been removed from under the basement last November/December, and piled all over the lawn in the back garden. The pile then slipped and fell over the beds all around the edges of the garden .......... they hadn't realised that wet damp clay would do that.

Many plants were buried ..................... so "dad" was asked if he could please try to find at least some of them, including a Coral-bark Maple that we gave them 5 years ago in the "old" house, and which had been very carefully transplanted to this one. OH succeeded ................................ after 2 days of searching!

But the poor wee tree may not survive. One branch had been removed in the fall by a landscaper who chopped it off by mistake (!!!), then another obviously broke under the weight of the clay ............. OH transplanted it to the front garden, and J will provide some TLC in the hope that it will recover. OH did the transplanting and planting of new shrubs and perennials last Saturday.



It snowed on Sunday



we left the next day ........ still in snow!





sylvia
xxxx

I am pleased to hear that you have had a win Therese with your walls. I can't understand (from down under) how he could have been allowed yto start on a project like that. We have to have a building permit from the council to do anything. Having said that there are a number of buildings on our property that we didn't tell the council about, my garden shed, a nice big chook pen that I don't use now and the donkeys shed and adjoining feed shed. Technically we would have to remove them if they bothered to come around for an inspection.

What a good idea getting rid of 5 things a day Ann. I have already taken one box full to our local R.S.P.C.A. op shop. Need to take quite a few more though.. I put newspaper, glass and tins in separate bags into the the rubbish bin. We have to take our rubbish to the local refuse tip as we are not in town. At one time they had separate bins for everything but now everything goes in together so I suppose they just use it for landfill.
I have a Bokashi bucket for vegetable waste and meat scraps I throw out for our local fox. I shouldn't feed him but at least he keeps the rabbits down.

Well done tess, hope all goes well with the walls.

After a few letters to my blank-blank neighbour, I am pleased to report that those darned walls are coming down!
need to put a bit more in writing to make sure that he repairs my fence and gate (that he damaged) plus other things he needs to put right.
Will be sending him a (witnessed) letter in the next couple of days, giving him a time limit, to do all the work.

The sun is shining both literally and figuratively in the West Midlands, U.K.

Tess

I try to have a clear-out once in a while and take things to the charity shop. Trouble is, when I go I keep seeing things in need of a home.

As you say Persey, if you throw away something that you have held on to for years, you will suddenly find a use for it.

When I used to go on holiday with my Mum, the sizes of our luggage were in contrast. I had a case filled with stuff "just in case" and she had a much small one holding only "the bear necessities" She got away with it becuase she could always rely on me having all the little extras she suddenly found she needed. Frequently asking "have you got --------?" and I was usually able to say "yes"

Maybe I should start on this declutter lark - we plan to move in a couple of years and we can definitely not take all that we have hoarded over the years.
I am another one that keeps things just-in-case and I can guarantee if I do throw something out that will be the thing I want several months further down the track.
I am good on keeping our recycle bin fed though.
But the kitchen - I like a clear/clean work top - but the bloke I live with thinks it is a receptacle for spilt milk, spilt tea, crumbs, and food that somehow manages to fall off plates etc. It has taken me years to stop him from leaving kitchen drawers open - I am not partial to having bits of food on my cultery before I use them.
Today I cleaned out the fridge so have my halo on straight for once.

I like the charm bracelet idea - I usually give a photograph album - with the years, achievements etc in it. I have napkin rings that were from my mother's christening - one of them beautifully engraved - but when you think about it what child uses a napkin ring.

Persey

I was reading an article on the Zero Waste web site where it says set yourself a target to declutter by getting rid of a set number of things a day. She set herself 5 things a day, try and avoid putting into land fill but the 'things' can include a piece of paper. If you break the task down into small bites it is not so bad. So charity shops, recylce, freecycle ebay etc etc.

Meant to say glad you enjoyed the christening and the handbag charm sounds nice.

Went to the Christening of my sisters grand-daughter on Sunday. It was colder than on Saturday, but nevertheless a good day.

Following advice from Ann and Sylvia, I went to the Jewellery Quarter and bought a silver Charm Bracelet, plus a Charm - a little handbag.
The Bracelet is adult size, so she will be able to wear it when she grows up, if she wants to.
I could have picked a teddy charm or other "baby-like" things, but chose a hand-bag as I thought it unlikely that anyone else would have got her one! Little girl was a star, was cheerful all day, smiling at everyone and lapping up the attention.

Re my messy kitchen, I was never very tidy anyway, even when in good health. Now I have to save my energy for important things (family history research, eating etc.),

Last year I had some alterations done at home. A new downstairs toilet, with a wet-room (shower), plus a small utility area (laundry). This meant that I lost my pantry and outside store room.
Have had to find space for all the things that I had moved, and hadn't quite finished the job.
So all sorts of stuff kept in the kitchen waiting for a home.
As well as that, one of the skills I DON'T have is the "throwing away" skill. I tend to keep all sorts of things, just in case they come in useful someday, so everywhere is rather cluttered.
As my teachers used to say, "must try harder" but breaking a habit of a lifetime is difficult.
It just might make things more easy to find though. So saving time and energy in the long run.


Tess

Ann, I always keep mine with me as France did away with our ID card ages ago, now waiting for the new photo ID french health card to come to this region then passport can be put away until needed for travel.
Again its a lovely sunny day over here but will be indoors as taking a craft class.

Have a good weekend :)

xx Jill