General Chat

I was trying to think what was the earliest present I could remember and I think it was a doll's pram I was given for Christmas. I must have been under 4 years old as it was before my parents moved from a prefab to a bungalow. I remember being encouraged to look at it by my mother, which I did, but being good I didn't touch it and then walked away. It was a cream colour with a dark hood. My mother started saying 'it's yours, it's yours' and I was surprised and went back to it to look inside it and wheel it around and wasn't really sure what to do with it at first.

We had lots of rain overnight. It’s been mostly dry and cold during the day and tomorrow is supposed to be wet and cold. I’ve had a boring h/w day but I got quite a lot of jobs done. However much I do there always seems to be as many jobs still waiting.

New glasses are a pain. I’ve had mine adjusted twice so far and they are better but now they are a bit loose and slip down my nose.

It’s good you got a refund from Asda, Ann, but they weren’t very gracious about it. You’d think they could manage an apology. Both Tesco and Sainsbury bring the crates right through to the kitchen for us and we unload them straight on to the work surface. They often help with that as well so it’s quickly done and they always check that we are happy with any subs.

That’s a big area for warehousing and very close to your home. I wouldn’t be happy about it either. How far has the planning application got? Has there been any public consultation or any environmental impact survey? I know these buildings have to go somewhere but perhaps that’s not the best place. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Mel, it sounds as though you have overdone it and need to rest up a bit till the sciatica eases.

I hope you sleep better tonight, AnnG. I could do with someone like your Jake. Could you lend him to me when he’s done all your jobs please. OH still does a lot but I don’t like him clambering around on ladders at his age. He tends to forget he’s not as young and athletic as he once was.

The BBC Weather app on my iPad is just showing a blank screen. After a lot of googling and experimenting I discovered that my IPad is so old that the app is no longer supported. I know I am going to lose iPlayer as well soon which is annoying as I use that all the time. I suppose I’ll end up having to get a new iPad and it makes me cross when these things have a built-in obsolescence.

I’m feeling a bit tired now so might go and get ready for bed and then I can read till I feel ready for sleep.

Well done with Ernie Ann.
Those warehouses are monsters to put up next to a housing estate. What an eye sore and it is bound to be noisy.
Whenever I have new glasses they are never comfortable when I first get them. What a pity they were adjusted.
At least you got the refund but that was not really the point was it?

Well I chatted to Jake and planned for more jobs to be done next Tuesday. Then I cleaned the bathroom and cloakroom and dusted lounge and dining room. And also made two cards.

I didn’t sleep well last night so hope I can sleep better tonight as I have the meeting here tomorrow.

One of our drivers has offered to bring the crates into the kitchen, but he's the only one. Some as soon as they see you answer the door are driving away up the close. They rarely ask if the subs are ok. Where they are good though and unlike yours is that they will come early if they are ready and they don't wait till your time of delivery. I think you can just text the driver back if you weren't home yet. It sounds like your drivers are given more time than ours.

I have one of those pumps in the boot Mel, but have never used it yet as I don't like running the battery down with not using my car so much now. I aught to get it out just to try it really though in case I need to use it while I'm out.

No you don't put the special glasses on in our eye tests now Mel, the the lenses are in a fixed position attached to a pedestal and you just put your chin and forehead on the rests. No slotting of lenses in and out, it's all done by computer. I think I'm more likely to not look through the right bit with them being lopsided since she levelled the arms. I need one arm slightly lower so they are straight across my eyes. The new glasses are ok, and a bit better than my old ones as they are a bit less wide across my face. They aren't my favourite shape, are a bit deep top to bottom and not oval enough, but fashion trends changing mean I can't get those anymore. I wanted tortoiseshell ones 4 years ago, but couldn't find ones I liked then, but there are more about now, but most are too brown for my liking. One pair was more black and white tortoiseshell, but the lenses were huge so I passed them by. The ones I chose are black rimmed but with light brown tortoiseshell, thinnish side arms.

Ann I meant to say you need one of those tyre pumper uppers that you plug into the car.

Is'nt it annoying when they change your glasses but I wonder if thats how your eyes were tested and if you don't look through the right bit it could impair your vision a little. Don't know just saying but apart from that do you like your new glasses? What colour are they?

Its gone a bit gloomy here now and has been brighter today but no sign of the sun but that awful gale force wind has gone. It rained really heavily last night and the pump from the well is running without being turned on so its syphoning a good steady trickle out.

Its 6 degrees here too.

Your Asda drivers are not like ours at all, ours puts all my shopping in my big plastic box and even puts it on my sack barrow for me. They have even asked me if I want them to bring it inside for me. I said no to that. They look up my subs and ask if I want to return them or not. The only thing I will say is that often they put my lettuce on something frozen and I have to snatch it off or they put frozen foods on the potatoes.

Afternoon All,

Six degrees here now, but sunshine today which is uplifting after so much gloom in the last few days.

It's becoming more common to see yarn bombed pillar boxes AnnG and it does cheer us up to see them. More progress with your garden soon now Jake is back then. :-)

OH rang Asda, explained what happened and that a refund had been refused and with no apology or explanation, they said they would refund. He didn't delve into the 'why they had refused before' etc as he could hardly understand the woman who answered. I didn't hold my breath, but have now received an email confirming the refund. OH thinks they were trying it on, but any more problems and we won't hesitate to go elsewhere. It's impossible really to check what they bring when they deliver, as they don't have time and are gone before you have chance to look in the crates, sometimes sitting up the close ready to drive off.

Depressing news today with a new planning application to build the warehouses near us. They've removed the council training hub that was to be part of it and most of the parking from it and made the warehouses even bigger. They will be up to 150 feet high and operate 24 hours with lorries and be lit up 24 hours a day!! They will devalue our properties, that's if anyone would buy them. Then the noise and traffic while building them and extra heavy traffic generated in an area that's already gridlocked at Christmas to the retail park and is the access for police to get to the motorway. No chance of camouflaging them at that height and the police report says they should be visible above 1 metre high to deter crime. If it goes ahead I'm sure the little field left at the back of us will be up for grabs next to possibly build more of the same. Similar warehouses built on the industrial estate within a stone's throw are half empty because they can't let them according to a lady collecting opposition signatures yesterday. There's still the majority of the 4,500 houses being built at the other end of the village yet to be built with the added traffic from that and flooding, unknown since I was a teenager, has started happening across the lane that is next to that development. Do we or don't we carry on with our house projects? I must admit to losing some enthusiasm.

Oh Mel it sounds like you've overdone it! OH blew my front tyres up the other day and has paid for it with aching legs now.

I need to pop out in my car when it gets dark. I have to take OH to the eye hospital tomorrow as he will need the strong eye drops, so can't drive himself home. He never told me the appointment was late afternoon, so it looks like I will be driving in the city in the rush hour, which is bedlam, and with it dark and ill lit roads and I wouldn't choose to drive at night now. Also snow is expected here tomorrow! I want to see how my new glasses are and try them with the night glasses. My new glasses were fine when I collected them till the assistant took them away to adjust. I think she must have thought they needed to be level, but one of my ears is slightly higher so she has made them worse now. Why did she do it without asking me? It seems to be one of those weeks! :-)

On the bright side ERNIE is still looking after me. :-)

Morning all,

Not as windy today as it was yesterday and when I turned the pc on it said 10 degrees but now it says 6 and mostly cloudy. Its a bit of a brighter morning than it was yesterday all day. I would love to see a bit of the yellow stuff as Frank would say.

Ache all over this morning. Bad siatica and clicky knee and now neck ache.

Good morning all, what a change in temp. It is 2 degrees here. Quite bright but Brrr!

Jake is coming this morning to check on jobs done when he was not here and to plan a few more jobs so I had better go and have breakfast.
Pleased that you were brighter yesterday Vera.
I loved the colours in the post box 'hat'

Good evening

That’s a very colourful “hat” on that pillar box AnnG. It certainly cheers up a gloomy day.

Here it’s been dry but dull and windy for most of the day; now it’s pouring and looks as though it’s set in for the night. I seemed to be busy this morning but I’m not sure what I did - a bit of this and a bit of that I suppose. This afternoon I went to a meeting of our Ladies Club. Some members who either drive or walk a bit less steadily don’t like coming out on dark, icy or foggy nights so meetings in November, December and February are in the afternoons (there is no meeting in January). Today was a social afternoon with a few quizzes and it was good fun. I won a nice tin of tea bags in the raffle. After I got back I sorted out a Tesco order for delivery on Thursday and got our dinner cooked.

It looks as though the weather isn’t going to be very good tomorrow so that might have to be a h/w day. Oh good, I’m really looking forward to that, I don’t think.

Its got very windy here and the rain has just started. Its been dull and miserable all day again. When o when are we going to see the sun again if ever??

Shopping came and I put all that away and had a go at my new moulds they are nearly ready to have a go at casting them just waiting for one to dry and the other is a fire back that has only had two coats.

I was going to do some painting today but I have put all my pallets away over Christmas and I can't find them. Been put somewhere safe becasue I thought BIL and SIL were coming sometime over the holiday and I wanted the kitchne tidy. So no painting but I have had a go at the other Tudor Man I started ages ago. He is a bit more of a gentleman than Gwain I made before but I prefer the more peasent types.

Afternoon all,

Very overcast today and really windy .
We had several places to go this morning before we went to aldi the first place was to get petrol and then I had to get money from the hole in the wall as Colin calls it and then on to get two bags of potatoes ,we buy the big sacks and always get one for son too , then we went to aldi and then on to sons to drop the potatoes off ,we didn't stop there for coffee as I had some frozen bits so by the time we hot home and put shopping away it was nearly lunch time.
We had only been home for about half an hour when the parcel that we were expecting tomorrow arrived so that was a bit of luck .

Sounds as if you had a nice trip out yesterday Vera I bet the snowdrops will be bobbing their little heads about today in this wind .

good trip into town and back home by 12.30. Buses all running on time (every 20 minutes but strangely today we seem to have several single deck buses on the route. And I travelled both ways on one that had the livery (is that a word?) of years gone by. Instead of the normal stage coach colours the outside was cream and green, very odd to see.
Anyway I achieved my aim which was to book lunch for 5 of us on 28th February after a tour of Gloucester cathedral.

Other than that I had a coffee and a brownie in a restaurant I go to, and got a couple of bits in M&S, and some stuff in the pound shop. Nothing very exciting but I did have a good look round.

good morning all cloudy bright here and 10 degrees.

Vera that was a lovely trip out. I think people go to see the snowdrops and later daffodils as they are tired of winter and longing for spring. It seems to have become worse since Covid when people stopped going abroad so much and realised that good things can be seen at home. Instead of our large population spreading itself across the seas, many are now finding places to visit at home.

I may go in to town if I can stir myself. although the roads around here are going to be pretty bad with the M% shut between 9 and 11 because of a 2 lorry crash and one crossed the centre and overturned spilling all its fuel which has damaged the road. drivers not, I think seriously hurt. This means diversions which could impact on us.

Morning all,

Dull and dreay again here this morning. I really need the light on but can't be bothered to get up and turn it on. Forcast says 10 degrees rising to 11 and cloudy. Its days since we saw the sun.

Shopping arrives today so I better get the box out and the sack barrow.

I'm pleased you had a good day out and it sounds like you enjoyed it which is the main thing and you have the snowdrops to remind you of a lovely day out.

I'm glad you are pleased with your glasses Ann. I laughed at the minty smell as it reminded me of a time we were in Herefordshire with my brother and his partner and visited some gardens. We were all going around sniffing at every plant trying to work out which one had the lovely cinnamon type perfume, when my brother suddenly realised it was my jacket. I worked for a spice company at the time and it must have absorbed the smell. Thank goodness it was spices I worked with and nothing smelling worse.

Mel, I do hope it's not a bad bout of sciatica you are going through and that the pain has eased today. Take it very easy for a while.

I had a slightly better night. I didn't seem to sleep much more but I was able to rest quietly without jumpy legs and aches and fidgets, so I didn't feel so bad this morning. We decided we would go to Anglesey Abbey and got there just on 11 am. My goodness, it was so busy. The car park was full and the overflow car park didn't have a lot of space left but we found a spot. We've been many times and the only time I've seen it so busy is during the Christmas lights period.

We started with the walk through the winter garden which is my favourite part as it is always so colourful even in the middle of winter. There were snowdrops everywhere but plenty of other flowers as well, all in among the shrubs and trees. OH forgot to take his camera as usual but took some photos on his phone. The snowdrop ones didn't come out so well but some of the others are quite good so I'll get him to send them to me from his phone and I'll let you see a few. We also walked round the woodland walk and across one or two of the open areas but the wind was really blowing hard and it was such a cold wind.

About 12.30 we decided to go and get something warm in the cafe. It is a fairly big cafe and they had attached quite a large marquee to one end of it and it was choc-a-bloc, but well-organised, You had to wait in a queue so people weren't saving tables. As soon as a table was vacant it was cleaned and the front people in the queue were sent to it. The staff worked the system very efficiently and we didn't have to wait long to be seated. We were planning on something like a jacket potato or soup but OH said it was quicker to take sandwiches from a cabinet and take them to a separate counter where he could get tea and pay. The sandwiches were tasty and very fresh and the tea was hot so I didn't mind. I was talking to one of the staff and asked why it was so busy and she said it was the snowdrops bringing in the crowds. They even had coach parties there.

When we'd eaten we had a wander round the gift shop and the plant centre. They had some little pots with just one or two snowdrops in them for anything between £3 and £6.50 but they also had "in the green" polythene packs of bulbs, some blooming, some just gone over. Packs with 25 bulbs were £10 so we got 2 packs and OH planted them as soon as we got home. I hope they will spread a bit over the next year or two.

We had a really good run there and back today. It was almost exactly an hour each way and you couldn't do it much more quickly than that. Since getting back I've done 2 loads of washing and prepared, cooked and cleared up after our dinner. I now see from the length of this that I have rambled on a bit so I'd better stop. Have a good night everyone, and sweet dreams.

I had to laugh at mint smelling specticles do you think it was their final cleaning solution that has done it. I always wash mine with carex alovera and wipe them with loo paper. I used to use bounty roll but that scratch some lenes. Nice of the neighbour to ask if you needed help.

Two days work on making a new mould and the handle has a slight bit stuck together after casting it. It came out ok and I was really pleased until I spotted the fault. I know its there but a blind man would like to see it. I have just started a new mould of it. Hope this one comes out ok. I do so wish we could have a calm warm day with some sunshine and I could go and cut my willow before its too late.

Glad you all liked the pics and yes he has a Cannon camera with a huge lens and it will take loads of pics at the touch of a button so if something moves there's usually a shot soemwhere thats ok. Its his one hobby. I think I told you he has been to Iceland to take photos of the northan lights. Last time he went in February his ankle played up and he spent most of his week out there in the hotel. Not sure if he is going this year.

Just quickly posting to say the photos are great Mel. I like them all. Thanks for sending them. Your bil is very talented.

Busy at the moment but will try to BBL

Afternoon All,

What lovely photos of the Bluetits and Long tailed tits your BIL has taken Mel. Like AnnG says, it looks like he has a serious camera. I didn't realise what tiny beaks the Long tailed tits have before seeing these. Do the heat patches help with your sciatica? It's a horrid pain that stops you in your tracks. You might have to take it a bit easier and do some of your makes inside.

AnnG I think we could do with someone like Jake. He seems to be a godsend doing the heavier jobs and gets them done quickly too.

Good idea not to stay out and do more weeding Mandy. We pay for it with our backs if we overdo it and end up out of action for a few days don't we. Little and often is the way I have to go now.

Hubby is going to ring Asda, (he's so cross with them). I was just going to send an email, not expecting any reply though.

I'm so sorry you keep having so many bad days Vera and the headaches must really drag you down. OH had another migraine, woke up with one in the night again. I was reading in the paper today that Simon Cowell found the bright studio lighting was causing his migraines and got himself some cheap (under £20) blue light filter glasses and swears by them now. I used to find the flourescent lights and the heat at work would bring mine on.

We were up and off to collect my glasses first thing and I got seen quickly. Everything seems fine with my glasses and they seem comfortable. We popped to Sainsbury's next and picked a few bits up and the paper. When we got home, OH pumped my tyres up in case it wasn't just the cold weather that had triggered the warning light. Both were 5 pounds down at the front. Our neighbour, who was on his way out, popped across to see if we needed help which was kind of him. I then came on here and put my new glasses on and it's good I don't have to tilt my head back now to read the screen and they are a bit clearer too which will help me painting. I then did a few jobs and kept noticing a peppermint like smell. I thought it was some disinfectant, then I thought it was OH sucking a mint! I sniffed my top I was wearing as I had a different brand of washing powder recently but no! It seemed to be everywhere in the bungalow, but OH couldn't smell it. Eventually I had a chuckle as I realised it was the frames of my new glasses! lol. I hope it wears off or I'm destined to smell like a packet of Polo mints!! :-D