General Chat

Hi Folks,

Yes I'm here and we are both ok. I didn't feel well after the second MMR jab, but they did tell me what to expect possibly up to a fortnight after and I soon felt ok again. Then I managed to lose 2 posts by not sending them straightaway, so Mandy was right! I gave up trying again last night as it was late when I realised.

I finally got to speak to someone at the place that fitted our new front door and tried to book an engineer, but no it has to be referred to head office first to decide to send an engineer and they should email me within a week! Whatever happened to ringing somewhere, them answering the phone within a few rings and being able to book a visit there and then.

Yesterday I decided to set up a small, monthly saving account that runs for just a year but pays 7% which is good. After all the rigmarole of getting into the account I managed to set it up, but why do they ask what you want to use the money for? Unfortunately the list of options didn't have one for 'mind your own business!' Then I had to set up the monthly transfers from my bank. What a palaver! After entering reference number, passcode, memorable info etc and info from a txt code I started setting it up. As soon as I indicated I was transfering money up popped an alarming red message saying it was likely a scam! I don't think so when I was transferring money in my own name to another account in my own name! I thought I was finished, but no, then I had to use my cardreader, enter a pin, get a reference number on the cardreader to enter on my PC and confirm the amounts etc again on the cardreader. Now I've bored you to tears, what my thoughts were afterwards were how on earth will I cope with these obstacles in another 10 years??

Otherwise all I seem to have done is answer Fitz to agree a date to meet up for a meal. He has managed to write off his 19 year old diesel, but has replaced it with another, bigger 19 year old car that he says will carry more for trips to the tip! Luckily he wasn't hurt.

Vera I had to chuckle at your OH with his shoes and only having the one pair with him! A small tip for going away that I do now is to take a couple of the thicker elastic bands with me that you can use over the top and sole of a shoe to hold them together temporarily, as I had the same thing happen to me at work once. They can be useful if a zip goes on a bag too. You sound as if you are having a nice time otherwise and I looked up that american artist and I like his work as you said I would, as 'realism' is his thing isn't it. You are certainly getting some walks in and seeing plenty. Despite being hot I bet it seemed lovely outside after the tropical heat of the butterfly house. I love to see tropical butterfles though as so many are beautiful.

Mandy I see your needles have been busy again and you already have a Christmas Gnome finished! I expect he will soon have some company with the speed you make things. It's handy being able to pass your surplus crops to son and family who will be glad of them. I used to do the same with mum when she ran the small home. I had a thornless Loganberry then and it would be loaded and runners and toms were always welcome.

AnnG I have phoned our surgery before to ask what a blood test was for and they told me, so you could try that rather than wait. Our surgery has 'test results' as an option when you dial and, although they can't discuss the results, they tell you what tests are for. I hope Cynth managed to spend her win before prices go up! My sedums all do well too. Some have rooted themselves in the gravel and spread too.

That was a bit of a worry till you found the missing nail guns Mel. I think we should have some kind of an alarm on the shed. I'd certainly get one if I was on my own. Some on Amazon are quite cheap and there are wireless battery ones now that you can set for certain times and some even have an option of barking dog noise which I think is a good idea. A friend had someone try to break inter her garden room a few years ago and she got an alarm for it. I like Mandy's idea of a bell that would jangle too. Even if your sheds aren't visible from the road, thieves use google earth to see what is in gardens. You sound as if you are doing well clearing some stuff out.

I'm late for bed for me so better sign off now. At least I seem to be sleeping well now it's darker in the mornings. Hope I haven't jinxed things saying that!

Meal sound nice Vera if you like salmon I only like tinned salmon I bet Annx would have liked that. The icecreams sound interesting.

I messaged Ann and she told me she was going to post. She said she had done two posts but both of them. That was at 7.39pm and she said she was going to post but it looks like she's lost that one too.

Ann, the meal didn’t turn out as expected. When we got there all their tables indoors and out were fully booked. It never occurred to us to book as when we went on Wednesday there were only a few people there and we just walked in. We tried another one nearby and they were full but said we could wait inside for the next available table. We might have had a very long wait so we went back for the third time to one very near our hotel. It’s a big, noisy, bustling place with waiters dashing around all over the place. They do a few decent meals but their speciality is ice cream and they do the most amazing concoctions. People come and just spend the evening with a huge ice cream dish and a fancy drink. I am hoping to try one before I go home but they are a meal in themselves. They also do great cakes and pastries. Anyway tonight I had salmon and avocado with salad. It’s a big bowl of mixed leaves in a lovely dressing with tomato and cucumber arranged around the edge. Then a grilled salmon fillet is cut into bite sized pieces and put on the top with sliced avocado and all sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is yummy and I had a nice glass of Pinot Grigio and a coffee. OH treated himself to a fillet steak and a couple of glasses of Chianti and coffee. Now it’s 9.15 and we are back in our room and not sure what to do. It seems a bit early for bed.

Btw, before we went out this morning I gave OH a couple of large plasters and told him to use them straightaway if he felt any rubbing and not to wait until he’d got blisters but he hasn’t needed them. I noticed him going gingerly up and downstairs but didn’t say anything.

Well now the sun this morning was very brief and it been cloudy for the rest of the day and rained too so no gardening done.

Taken the recykling up the top and nobody about so did'nt talk to anyone. I had a lot as I forgot it last week and it was dark when I remembered and it did'nt have that much in it so needed to go today as it was full. plus papers and cardboard.

Not done much really just muddled about doing this and that and haad my big breakfast and watched a bit of telly.

Another full day Vera, hope the meal this evening is nice.
Mandy, I have not seen Ann on FB so must have missed that.
I envy you being able to sit out it has been drizzly most of the day here, about ten minutes of sun.
I think the scar is ok, difficult to know until I have the check up, it looks better to me anyway and doesn’t really bother me. Itches sometimes.

I made some more Christmas cards so that has kept me occupied

Evening all,

We woke this morning to a wet road so we must have had a little rain in the night ,the morning soon brightened up and we've been sitting out under the gazebo as it was to hot , this afternoon we had a few drops of rain but not enough to really wet the ground ,we've just had roast chicken so both stuffed now .

I wonder if Ann has done a post and forgot to post it ,I've done that thought I'd posted and when I go to read the posts later it's not there , I think she's been on FB so she is about .

Anng I keep meaning to ask how your scar is and if its healing ok, I haven't heard you say about it lately has it healed where they took the graft.

Vera sounds as if you clicked it just right to see the parade ,how are your
oh's feet with having the new shoes on ,no blisters I hope with all the walking .

Mel did you manage to get out in the garden to cut down your brambles.

I too hope Annx and her OH are both OK. Perhaps she’s busy doing other things right now.

Today has been another very hot day and again we’ve walked miles. We went to the Hofburg Palace today. This was the winter residence of the Habsburg dynasty. Now it’s the President’s official residence and offices and houses the treasury and a number of museums. You can also do a tour of some of the State Apartments but you have to pay for each tour or museum entrance separately and you can soon find your pockets empty. We wandered around the outside of the buildings and the gardens and decided we’d pay to go in the butterfly house. It was lovely with all the butterflies flying free but hard to get photos as they move so fast. It was also very, very hot and humid in there as it’s kept like a tropical rainforest and it was a relief to come out into the “cool” 31 degree sun. As we were deciding whether to make our way back to the hotel we came to another bit of the Palace and there were all sorts of stalls and tents set up on the grass. As far as I could make out it was some kind of regional food fair. While we were standing there a big parade of floats drawn by tractors started up accompanied by 2 brass bands and it was fun watching that for a while. Then it was a long walk back and a bit of a rest before going out for our evening meal. We’re going to a restaurant that we went to on our first night here. It’s not far to walk and the food was good.

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow. That might depend on the weather. It’s supposed to be much cooler but also very wet.

the last time annx posted was the evening of the 5th Sept. I hope all is ok there.

This is a sleepy thread today. :-D Have you all hibernated already?

Suns just come out so maybe out in the garden today cutting down Brimbles.

Morning girls,

14 here too Anng and O its just gone up to 15 and mostly cloudy.

Nothing planned for today so may do a bit more ironing and just tootle about indoors.

I have been trying to get into paypal with no success I need to put my phone number on it but can't do it.

Yes where is our Ann I do hope they are both ok as its not like her not to post.

Good morning all. 14 degrees , has rained but fairly bright now. Nothing planned for today. Not a good nights sleep as I just could not get off to sleep before 2am. No reason.

Hope we see Ann today and that she is ok.

Gosh Vera, you are packing a lot in. Lots of photos I hope. Sounds a lovely break, despite the shoe hunt. Have a good day tomorrow and I hope you have plasters for the blisters.

Its surprising how the miles tot up when going from one place to another. It sounds like you are enjoying yourselves though. Naughty oh not taking another pair of shoes with him.

That’s good you found your nail guns Mel. At least you can be reassured that no-one came in while you were asleep. Perhaps you can find a way of making your shed a bit more secure.

Cynth’s lottery win will just about buy her a cup of coffee but it’s better than no win at all.

I hope Annx is OK but I expect she’s busy with other things.

Today we used the Hop-On Hop-off buses again as we had bought a ticket for 48 hours use. They are good as you get little earphones to plug in at your seat so you can listen to a commentary on the things you are seeing en-route, but it’s your choice. We decided to get off at the Schonbrunn Palace. Of course it was a hot day and the weekend so the world and his wife were there. The palace tours were quite expensive with timed entries and we would have had a long wait so we just did the gardens which were free, apart from a few special areas you could go in. There was plenty to see with the gardens, statues, fountains etc. and we stayed for 3 hours. The temperature was about 31 and everywhere was dry and very dusty. Coming back we continued round the other half of the bus route to get back to where we got on and there was some very interesting commentary to listen to.

As we got off the bus OH remarked that his shoe felt odd and we discovered the upper had parted company with the sole. I was so cross with him as he wouldn’t let me pack any other shoes in spite of the fact that he has several other pairs and sandals. So we had to try to get him some more footwear. It’s not easy finding a shoe shop in the centre of a capital city when you haven’t got a clue where to go. Eventually I spotted an odd shop called The Blue Tomato and from the doorway I could see trainer type shoes on a rack at the back of the shop. Cutting a long story short he got a nice looking dark grey pair but they’re not really a good fit as he had to get a larger size than normal to accommodate his wide foot. I suspect he may get a blister or two and I won’t have a lot of sympathy. I also think that when we get home these expensive trainers will be banished to the back of the wardrobe.

At the moment OH is poring over maps and leaflets deciding what we will do tomorrow. It is supposed to be very hot again but we need to make the most of the weather as Monday will apparently be cooler and wet.

EDIT. Although it doesn’t feel like it, with all our walking around during the day to and from bus stops, round the gardens, up and down looking for shoe shops and back and forth to a restaurant tonight, we have apparently walked 6.5 miles. No wonder my legs ache a bit!

You've had a good clear out then Mel ,I've got lots more I want to do ,lots of things I know I won't use or need so next week I'll do a bit more .

Oh Anng if only the lottery win had had a few more noughts behind the 4 , still a little is better than nothing .

It's been quite a nice day again ,little bit of sun and I sat out for a while this afternoon.
I finished off my Christmas Gnome but when I tried to take a photo it told me I needed to delete some files ,so I'll have to wait for son to sort it for me .

Wonder what Vera's been doing and what heat they have had .

Hope Ann's OK just busy I expect.

Ah that is good. But at least it has made you aware that it is vulnerable. Good you found them anyway.

I have just been to get my prescription and then we went to the garden centre for coffee, I bought 4 sedums as they seem to have survived the last year's weather variations the best. Then a short visit to local Tesco for a few bits and for Cynth to collect her 'big' lottery win (£4).

We,ve had a good clear out of lots of pc wires and rubbish out of the study. Got rid of loads of cardboard boxes which we burnt up, some out the study some out of the lounge. He has taken a load of stuff to the tip for me too and he put both lots of chickens food in the clean bins for me. So some clutter out of the study and the lounge and I have a free plastic box now to store things in too. A good mornings work and now I am going up the shop for my paper.

BIL is here and he has just found the nail guns so I feel a bit happier now. He had put them in a box and covered them up.

Morning all,

Very overcast here this morning and still quite muggy .

Off to sons in a while and I'll take the toms and cues I picked yesterday for them .

Mel thats not good if someone is taking things from the garage you definitely need a lock of some sort on there or chain and padlock, stand a barrow with things in that would make a noise when moved in front of the door or one of those hanging bells on the inside of the door and can't be seen from the outside so it made a noise when it was opened.

Vera it sounds as if your having a lovely holiday ,looking forward to hearing what else you've been seeing.