General Chat

We will be travelling back from Spain on Easter Saturday. We go this Saturday to Andalucia. Glad it has been warmer for you Jill, your little lambs will be pleased

Hello all.
We have had a lovely warm week and our apricot is in flower and all the rest of the fruit trees are tinged with green buds.Its good to not have the heating on and Winter seems to be over at last.
Have my daughter coming over with my two year old grandson for a few days at Easter, doubly good as she is a hairdresser:)
Hope you all have a good Easter planned

x Jill

Good luck, I hate to see people take advantage and get away with it.

Ann, have been to The Neighbourhood Office, who spoke to the planning Dept. for me.

Two and a half meters is arpund eight foot, two inches.
The inspector from planning says that he is building within millimeters of what is allowed. She is keeping in eye on the building, but up till now, he hasn't broken any planning laws.


The pathway is just my right of way, so it is up to me to sort this out. I have now got the official measurement of the gap that he should have left, between the endwall of the house on the corner, and his officail boundry.
Have also got a friend to verify the gap he has left. (this gap is for two oaths, one for me and the other for the neighbour on the other side of me.
The gap is already too small (by a couple of inches). Any overhang of roof or guttering will infringe further.

Have seen the Citizens Advice, they have taken a note of my concerns and I will now be seeing a Solicitor, (in a little over three weeks time).

I am determined that he doesn't get away with his actions. He will HAVE to knock down some the building at some stage.
It is low at the moment, but the higher he builds it, the more he will have to knock down. He really is trying it on, but he won't get away with it.

My heels are well dug in!

Tess, is the 'outhouse' not over two and a half metres then? what is that in feet? About 7? I would have thought over all area would be governed as well. I would keep fighting this it sounds to me as if he is going to pull a fast one. But surely he is not allowed to build over a public footpath/right of way? Do you have an active ramblers association in the area? if it is a public footpath they would advise you.

Jill, pleased the meal went OK and I hope your lettings do well this year.

Hello everyone and hope you all had a lovely weekend.
We had friends come over for a meal yesterday, was a bit of a panic as the husband is a chef and has his own up market cookery school :)) luckily it all went to plan including my first go at brioche, pear and chocolate done in a set custard :)
We soon have our first booking in the gite, its a 10 day booking over Easter and fingers crossed we will be back on track after a bad last year with only 9 weeks booked. Every where is looking so Spring like with all the daffs out and lambs jumping and running around like a group of young children enjoying the sun:)

x Jill

Hope everyone is too busy to come on here because they are out enjoying themselves.

After a rather wet day yesterdat it has been mild and sunny today.

Have been out for a walk to take advantage of it. Hope to get to the gym this week, for my "Exercise on Prescription" I haven't been at all this year. So have been trying to do a few short walks, to be fit enough to go to the gym to get fit!

Am classed as obese (what a horrible word that is). I know that I would feel better if I could reduce my weight and discover some muscle somewhere on my body.

I am enjoying the longer hours of daylight too, I think that this helps to cheer us all up.

I am thinking of changing my board name to Bridget-the-Battler, re my probs with my neighbour. Will report any GOOD news.

Hope everyone had a Happy St Patricks Day!

I am still battling with the neighbour, hope to see someone else tomorrow, if I feel well enough to go out.
Have now been told that as he is building an "outhouse" he doesn't need planning permission, as long as it is NOT over two and a half meters high!

I will tell you more when the news is Good!

Ann, re the sheep not getting pregnant after a visit from the ram. I like you had assumed that it must be the ram. But heard (on Counrty File or something like that), that sheep will not get pregnant, if they don't have the correct nutrients in the food (grass) they eat.
Keep forgetting to mention it to my friend though.

Off to get some sleep, so that I will be full of beans tomorrow,

T

All I can say to the dental bill Sylvia is.... Ouch!!!!

Hi everyone


It's a beautiful sunny day today, going to get to about 14C. It's also supposed to last into next week. That's pretty warm for this time of year! The nights are cold though, down to 1 or 2C ..... that's what happens here when we have cloudless skies.

The physiotherapy really does help me. I go about every 3 weeks, and have exercises to do every mroning. It will never cure the problem, but it does help to keep the pain down ..... and I swear Matt's efforts are the reason that I am still walking. The bottom 5 vertebrae have deteriorated (osteo arthritis), and the muscle attachment is just not there any more, which pulls everyhting out of sync. Strange to say, my hip joints are in almost perfect condition!


Can I shock you again with OH's teeth??

The dental office phoned him yesterday "We've got the bill ready for you. Which card would you like to put it on?"

Monday's cost was ...................... just over $5300, or let's say around £2500

I think there are still 2 more crowned teeth that are "suspicious" and need to have the crowns removed to see what is happening under them.

THEN the decision can be made as to how far OH really wants to go to keep his teeth.


I'm hoping that our dental plan will cover at least part of the cost!




sylvia

Marjery, I am a slow eater too, maybe that is why I choose fish. Nothing worse than everyone waiting for you to finish. My OH is very good, if he sees I am behind he will start to eat more slowly so I am not eating alone.

although I see housework as a waste of time it does eventually get done but in a mad rush to clear it out of the way in one go. Today it was the turn of the bathroom and kitchen floor which I didn't dare leave any longer. I am fortunate as my OH does the vacuuming and ironing and will also often clean the cloakroom and/or bathroom, so the house is clean.

Ann in Glos.
Pressed the wrong button submit instead of preview. I always order fish in restaurants so I can eat it quicker as I am a slow eater. When our kids were school age we used to take them out for dinner once a month and sample restaurants from different nationalities. My favourite is a Lebanese Restaurant. Lovely food and you feel so healthy afterwards. Having said that I am not fond of cooking these days. Seems to me like a great waste of time. When I am on my own I never cook for myself. Live on bananas and yoghort or ryvita biscuits with tahini on them and cups of tea.

Hullo everyone,
Sylvia in Canada. I felt physically limp when I read about your OH's dental treatment as I am overdue for a visit to the dentist. I only go once a year now, can't get up enough courage to go every six months. I go to the chiropractor every couple of months to get a tune up in my spine. I suffer from blephrospasm and he can keep it under control more or less. There are three bits of vertebrae that are connected to the eyes.

Margot. Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain. Everyone can draw but the left side which is analytical and matter-of-fact will say that doesn't look like a cow if you tried to draw one. The Right side is artistic and creative and you can learn to use that side more and be a more balanced person.
If you turn a picture up side down and copy it you can make a perfect copy because the left side can't identify it if you know what I mean.
I don't know about having an interesting life but I lived in N.Z. before I came to W.A. I have been all over three states by road and had several trips to Darwin when my OH was driving road trains. Been to America once and Hawaii and Singapore twice and had a cruise on the QEII that's all.
Jill . We have sheep agisted on our property and some years we have a lot of lambs. I could stand and watch them all day especially when they start to play.

Jennifer from N.Z. What is the weather doing in N.Z.?

Theresa. We are all dying to know how your building battle is going.

Syljo. I hope you had a nice anniversary and feel a bit better now.

Jean (Monmouth). I could never eat anything I have fed or been friendly with.

Evening all,

I will have another go at my post tonight.Hopefully this time I will remember to press Submit and not Reply!! and lose everything.

Marjery
What are "drawing on the right side of your brain" lessons? (They sound fascinating!)

I've never been to the Flinders Ranges but I would like to go there.There's heaps of Australia that I haven't seen yet.
It sounds like your hailstorm in Perth was very similar to ours.

Marjery and Ann-you both sound like the type of housekeeper that I am.
I would class myself as a "reluctant" housekeeper.There are so many more interesting things to do than housework,but I can't stand it when things get a bit out of hand,I have to clean up then.

SylviainCanada
It certainly was a sensational hailstorm.
Maybe you should try growing your own tomatoes when the weather gets nicer-it would be cheaper! I hope the weather improves soon for you.
Congratulations on becoming a Grandma-lovely for you-I hope that little Matthew James is thriving now.(I already posted on your own thread on Chat.)

Jill
I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved dog.It is so sad to lose a
family pet.I'm glad to hear that the lambs are coming along so well,they probably are very cute.

Jennifer from NZ
Hi, I haven't spoken to you before.I bet you can't wait to visit your family in the UK in late May.I went to the UK and Ireland last year at that time and the weather was lovely most of the time-except in Scotland, where it was freezing! That was at the start of May though!

Teresa
I don't understand how your neighbour has got away with all that illegal building so far.You stand firm,and fight him.Good luck!
You had better update your passport,just in case you win that trip to W.A.

Teresa and Marjery
You both sound as if you have led interesting lives,and lived in some exotic places. I am envious!

Ann-you sound like you eat in some interesting places,trying different types of cuisine,we do that too.We go out with our friends once a month,and have a lovely time trying out the different eating places in our area.

Our weather the last few days has been beautiful-about 30degrees C.-I love it like that!

That's it for last night's post I think-everything's been covered.

Until next time,

Margot.

Mmm I love Shepherds pie. We had fish pie, like that too, must be a lazy eater, no need to chew!!!

Nice to get a massage from the physio, hope it helped Sylvia.

Hi everyone


it was a physio day today .... a bit of massage, some ultrasound, and heat treatment. Then I went across the street to a Japanese place and treated myself to lunch!

Dinner tonight was shepherd's pie from the freezer .. soft food again




sylvia

Jill, I am pleased all the lambs are here, here's hoping they thrive. It has been lovely here today too.

Sylvia, sorry to hear you have been feeling so dizzy, hope you soon get your mask. Best thing is to accept you can't do so much at the moment and rest when you can to make up for disturbed nights. Hope you feel better soon.

Hi all,
I am still around but not feeling so good so cannot write.
I have been so dizzy these last few days that I will be glad when I get my mask to sleep in to help cure my apneu.
This morning I was a bit late in getting up - 8.30. Johan had my usual cup of tea waiting for me in the sitting room by the tv, which I took with my painkillers and anti-bacterial tablet. Johan went to have a shower and I fell asleep. Johan then woke me up around 12.30 noon. Yes, I was going to do so much!
I then my breakfast and the rest of my tablets and had a shower. Finally managed to get round to going shopping. I never go to the shops so late.
Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary - 54 years. Johan has his 85 birthday on Monday next, so I must try and pull myself together. I did manage to finish making the two cards for my neighbour which she wanted. I have so many bits and pieces of sewing I want to do, but I must feel like doing so. My help in the house cleaned up my balcony yesterday and I have asked Johan to take me to the garden centre on Thursday to buy some plants for my tubs. I now have the garden table outside wit h a plastic tablecloth, so looks a bit like summer is coming - when I don't know but the sun has been shining a bit more these last few days.
Now enough is enough for today so will say keep well, will write again soon.
Sylvia xxx

Its fatal to give farm animals names, you cant ever part with them! Finish up with a lot of old pets and nothing to sell!

Its been the most gorgeous day over here, so warm that we sat outside with a glass of wine after a hectic day chopping trees ready for the next few winters. Last lamb was born this morning so we now have eight plus the tiny one from Saturday is doing well and enjoying the sun.
All our sheep are pets and have names including Minty the ram :))but lambs get sold on unless bottlefed then I cannot let them go :)
xx jill