General Chat

Well the day here has been quieter with virtually no wind but warm at 18 degrees.

We have just been out to water the plants as they are all so dry. My carrots that I transplanted seemed to have taken ok and think all have grown a little lol.

Didn't make a dinner today as really didn't feel like it. Actually felt very lazy! All I have done is the ironing this morning, sorted out the last of the family tree paperwork so that's all sorted now.

Decided on ice cream and strawberries for my tea but maybe later I shall have some toast. Still trying to lose weight but have come to a bit of a standstill this week after losing 7 lbs.

My garden is full of flowers and like you Joan the roses are the best in 2 years as are the fuschias. A dahlia in a pot from last year looked dead but i talked to it and nurtured it and brought it back to life lol well i am a qualified first aider :-D :-D

My only problem is all the Alyssum bedding plants as most have died?? I had white and purple and all were split between many pots. Its a bit of a mystery as it normally looks beautiful as it spreads.

Hope everyone else looking in has had a good day.

Linda 22 bags is still a huge amount of rubbish...well done

Florence in the hebrides

What an odd day it has been. It was reasonably cool when Eve and I went to the sports track to do our exercise this morning. I must be getting better at it as iI normally get one and a half times around the circuit in the thirty minutes of exercise time. This morning I did two complete circuits before the thirty minutes was up.

This afternoon was the town monthly litter pick and by then it was very sunny and far too hot. The litter wasn’t too bad, but between us we collected twenty two bags.

This evening, it has suddenly got very windy and it is so dark, that it is like the middle of the night. There had just been a heavy downpour, but it has stopped and is getting lighter, but according to the radar, there is a lot more rain on the way

It is incredibly muggy here. Eve and I managed to go for our exercise walk before the dark clouds came. I was looking forward to a good thunderstorm, but all we got was a few rumbles. There has been some rain, the ground is wet, but hardly a good downpour
They finally went out just after 2pm, so we have been cleaning ax best we can around all the clutter they leave. I can’t get into the study for half unpacked boxes which SIL has just abandoned since the removal men brought the rest of the stuff up on Monday. He is hopeless, I blame his mother, she spent her life walking round after him and his father, doing everything for them. He went into the garage to see if he could find the box with some of his clothes in so he could get his rain Mac, but he couldn’t get to it. He did come back in with a very large glass vase which he said was a bit precarious. It would be as he hadn’t done any more packing since my daughter did a lot of boxes last time she was down. The removal men were coming off the van carrying small bits and pieces which he hadn’t packed. They just dumped them and covered them with other stuff, so goodness knows what state it will be in when they move out. He put the vase on the edge of the kitchen worktop and just left it there. I am not moving it, I will point out the error of his ways when he gets back :-|

One good thing I have done is to go through all the surplus bedding we have. I have made up bedding bundles and labelled them ready to take them to the charity shop on Monday. I usually just wash and tumble the bedding and put it straight back on, I never iron bedding, so I just need one spare set for each of the beds. I also have a couple of sets of single bedding to use on the fold out emergency bed if needed. Once they move out, hopefully mid August, I am going to be absolutely ruthless and get rid of as much clutter from the cupboards as possible. OH is promising to have another go at the garage as well, he did have a prune a whole ago, but there is still lots of stuff which can go.

Well what strange weather :-S

I opened the door and the heat hit me as if I was abroad somewhere hot ,except the wind is gale force and nearly blew me over :-S

Its very peculiar because you want to sit out in the sun but you cant because the wind would blow you over.
My neighbours cat saw me at the window and attempted to jump up on the windowsill as he does and in doing so the wind knocked him off and he fell. He was ok but quite clearly confused as to why he couldnt "land" in his usual spot to say hello.

So just a quiet day today. I was so tired i slept until 9,30 today which is unheard of but after yesterday and being up early, i was tired.

So sorting out still all my family tree paperwork, 2 piles left and then that's another job off the list.

Linda, hope you managed to get some rest, i'm sure you overdo things but you sound a very caring mum/grandmother and I hope the family appreciate all you do for them.

Joan 8 grandchildren, wow! shame some live a long way away but glad you are in contact.

Its forecasting 15m of rain at 1am tonight/early morning which will be a huge downpour. Think they have given out warnings re floods etc so all take care in your areas, some thunderstorms too but think we will miss them.

Well back to me paperwork now as I'm desperate to get it all finished before teatime.

Have a good day all.

Florence in the hebrides

I think it is only the Scottish doctors who have cancelled the strike

I am trying to have a lazy start to the day and keep out of the way, but no doubt I will be summoned to play schools soon

They are going out furniture shopping later this morning, then bowling and having dinner out, but before that I promised Eve that I would take her to the sports track so we can do our exercise minutes. I have all the housework to do as well. I normally clean the bathrooms and do the dusting on a Friday, but with Esme being off, it didn’t get done yesterday

Linda, when my daughter was in hospital, she had a teddy and he got a canula cello taped on his arm just like her own. The Emla cream numbs the area so it shouldn't hurt as much but she said it was still sore when the needle went in.

But by doing what's she's doing, at least she wont be as scared. i hope it all goes well. I think I just heard on the news that the Junior dr strike has been called off? i think I heard that correctly, but have a look on the BBC news website.

We have just watched the sun go down and what a fabulous sunset, was amazing.
Strange though as the wind has whipped up and is really wild but the air is very warm at 21 degrees!! Barmy weather.

Shall try and get to bed soon as really tired now but still a bit early for me otherwise I shall be up at 2am.

Oh dear Florence, I am so sorry about your appointments, it does seem to be a very long time until they can fit you in again.

Esme has constant hospital appointments, she went a couple of days ago to find out about her next major one in a couple of weeks when she had to have a “ special sleep” She has had her Achilles tendons lengthen twice already which meant wearing casts for about six weeks afterwards, so she couldn’t walk.Instead of that she is having Botox injections into the tendons to relax them, somI hope it works. She needs a general anaesthetic while they do it. The person who did the appointment was very good, telling her what would happen and putting a pretend cannula on her hand and pretending to inject the anaesthetic in. The doctor had a pretend cannula as well and when Esme pretended to inject the anaesthetic, she pretended to fall asleep. All good fun, but I don’t think Esme will be so happy when they stick the needle in.
The appointment is when the junior doctors strike is on, but they say it won’t be affected - we shall see.

It has been really hot here today, 25 degrees, but I managed to entertain Esme well enough so her parents could work.

I hope you enjoy your grandchildren’s visit Joan, having them stay nearby is a good solution.

My pleasure :-D

Ooh! Sausage and chips!
Thanks for putting that idea into my head, Florence!

Wow Joan 5 grandchildren! Hope you get the sun so everyone can go out and enjoy the cousins being together.

Daughter is having sausage and chips and me a chip sandwich with lashings of brown sauce. We didnt have anything planned as would have eaten before we came home!

Anyway, chip sarnie is fab :-D

Afternoon all

Its still showery, damp and pretty awful weather here, so depressing after all the good weasther we had.

How old are your grandsons Joan? As you get older, one doesnt always have the patience if they get a bit "excited" and probably hubby just wants his peace & quiet. Still will be lovely for you to see you daughter as she lives a distance away.

Well my day has just got worse!! I have just tel my local hospital to see when my Echocardiogram is in August. Its 2 years since my last and get a bit anxious sometimes when i'm breathless as cant help wondering if the valve repair is still ok.

So spoke to the medical secretary and she informed me, the lady that does the scans has left :-( :-( They are struggling to get any locums so although I'm on the list for 20 August, at present, no idea when anyone can do it. That is such a worry.

Honestly it may as well be Friday 13th today with all the cancellations etc.

If I was allowed alcohol, I might just down a large glass of Merlot but a coffee will have to suffice.

JG good to see you posting and glad all ok with you. Hope you rested whilst the dogs were asleep too.

Linda, your SIL def needs to do the challenges too :-D

Right off to make a drink now....only coffee lol

Florence in the hebrides

Oh Florence how annoying for you, like you say you are at the mercy of the weather .
Maybe your consultant will speak to you over the phone so you are at least up to date with info etc. 2024 seems a long time away to wait doesn't it.

Linda maybe your SiL should be doing the challenge with his daughter as he set it. You sound a very caring and helpful mother/grandmother and hopefully you are not taken for granted. There is a fine line sometimes isn't there?

Dry sunny day here and I am dog sitting, both of them asleep after a run around the garden. That's till the postman comes and then the little one will be barking .lol


Hope everyone else is ok and having a good day and a great weekend

Ginnie.

What a disaster!!! :-( :-( :-(
Got up at 5 am, taxi arrived at 6.45. Arrived at airport, went through security and then looked out of the windows to see thick fog.

Long story short the Glasgow played circled 5 times before turning around and headed back to Glasgow as unable to land grrrr

So I am now back at home. I tel the hospital to let them know and then asked for another appointment. March 2024!!! Oh yes Mar 2024, cant believe that.

So trying to ring the secretary to see if consultant might want to phone me before that and discuss my health etc.

However I feel more sorry for those people going off on holiday who have other connections in Glasgow that they will have lost. So my situation compared to those people is nothing really.

So am sitting with a cup of coffee sulking because I didn't get a trip to the shops or have lunch out but sadly the weather dictates our lives up here and not much we can do about it.

I shall go online shopping instead and see what bargains are about and look on The Works for some craft accessories.

Hope everyone else having a better day than me!

Florence in the hebrides

Aw Linda, don't you overdo it. Surely SiL needs to lead by example and sitting on PC all day def wont help his back!

Yes keeping off the IPad is a good thing, its all about balance I guess.

Just waiting on last load in the dryer and then bed at 11 as will be up at 5am. taxi coming at 6.45. Lets hope plane is on time and no delays!

Written out a list of things we are hoping to buy and the shops as this cuts down the time rather than wander around looking in every shop. We shall probably have 2-3 hours at best including having lunch.

Doubt I will sleep though, never do when going away early as frightened I wont hear the alarm and that would be a disaster all round!!

Was a rainy day today so never went outside. made some cards with daughter and did the usual chores in the morning. She did the massive pile of shredding and it filled a black bin bag but it all went in the organic bin, without the bag!

Hope everyone well today

Florence in the hebrides

Oh great, another teachers strike tomorrow, so I get to play with Esme again( she was off yesterday as well). At least I had some respite as she was at school today. Or at least I should have if Eve wasn’t taking her fathers challenge so seriously. She got an Apple Watch for her birthday last week,so now we all have them. Her father has challenged everyone to a weeks fitness challenge. Why I don’t know as he just sits at his computer working all day then lies down on the bed when he finishes because his back is hurting. The fitness app has three parts. You have to complete a certain amount of exercise, you have to complete a certain amount of movement and you have to stand up for a few minutes in twelve separate hours. The app works out how much you should do based on your age, sex, weight and height. I have taken her to the local sports track yesterday and today. I have to do thirty minutes of raised heart rate exercise. It takes me thirty minutes to walk quickly round the track one and a half times. She went three times round in the same time. She also went out for a walk with OH this morning, she has done over three times the amount of exercise she needed to do, but you earn points for doing extra and she is determined to build up a large score.
I am tired and have only done two days so far.

Still it is getting her off her iPad, so that’s a good thing.

Yes, chain free is an asset :-D

It sounds like a good buy for someone - fingers crossed the right someone comes along soon!

The fact that there's no chain involved (at least as far as that flat's concerned) should be an advantage.

AG, we got an exemption for 6 months, that expired in January this year. The new C Tx year started in May. However mum had a credit of £150 on her account so 1st payment in May was only £55 I think then Jun was £142 etc until sold or next year.

I did ask if there was any other discount but was told, no,! This is Kent CC

We are lucky mum had a healthy bank balance which is covering all the bills otherwise it would be down to myself and brother as Exors to pay out of our own monies until property is sold! We have had some extra solicitor fees to pay upfront already.

We completely redecorated( all white so fresh) and laid new carpets and lino throughout so is in excellent condition and ready to move in. Just not great now the interest rates have got up unless we get a cash buyer, here's hoping someone will snap it up quickly.

Florence -
as your mum's flat is unoccupied, unfurnished, and actively on the market, can you apply for Council Tax exemption, or at least a discount?


Rules can be complicated, and vary from one council to another.
For instance, Highland Council says:

"Exemption can be awarded if less than 6 months has elapsed since the property was last occupied for a period of 3 months or more. Maximum exemption is 6 months. This exemption applies to the property. If you become the owner or tenant of a property that was previously unoccupied and unfurnished, the 6 months maximum exemption may already have been fully or partially used. If the property remains unoccupied and unfurnished 10 per cent discount will be awarded for a further 6 months. When the discount ends a 200 per cent Council Tax charge will apply.

However, if the property is being actively marketed for sale or let 10 per cent discount can be awarded for a further 12 months."

Afternoon everyone looking in.

Well the day started off dry with a breeze and so stripped daughters bed and just looked outside to see the rain starting. It was virtually dry and only needed 5 mins in the dryer.

Clouds are very heavy looking and I think it will downpour soon.

Linda, I made your tomato soup recipe and have to say, it is delicious and was so easy to make and yes it tastes just like the Heinz one! I have some par baked baguettes to cook and have later with the soup for tea.

Such a nuisance with your daughters new house! The man who viewed mums flat has been messaged 4 times by the estate agent and he hasn't come back so really disappointed with that,

Today I paid the 2nd council tax of £142.00 plus the gas bill although only 5 units used! The service chg is more than the units lol

Joan hope you & hubby are doing ok and your weather is better than mine so you can get into the garden and be busy.

I'm having a wee rest now for an hour as have been on me feet all morning and started swaying feeling lightheaded, just overdone it today.

Florence in the Hebrides