General Chat

Good afternoon peeps
Well, nothing good about it really as it's blowing a gale at 48 mph and torrential rain. Yesterday in preparation, I tidied up the pots outside and moved the smaller ones to shelter. However, on looking out the lounge window, one is laying on its side, a dahlia one but I am not venturing outside, it's far too windy!

I have just typed a long letter to a cousin of mine in Australi8a as with the problems of post, we now type letters and then email them to each other. I print theirs out this end and read with a coffee. makes it feel like I've had post lol.

However, yesterday, I changed something in my word pad and the margins have all gone stupid!! I was making a bookmark for my nephew for xmas so I guess must have pressed something? I shall look in awhile and see if I can sort it.

I typed the letter in word2019 in the end instead of notepad but was a nuisance.

Yesterday was lovely day. I threw lots of wild bird seed out the back and had about 100 starlings & 12 pigeons who enjoyed a feast. Funny though the large 6 crows and 1 seagull never got a look in as the little birds scared them off lol

Can't decide today what to make for tea? Don't feel like a big dinner but getting rather peckish. I do have some baguettes to bake, and selection of cheeses so may have that. Tinned fruit and ice cream for desert too, all quick and easy as you say sometimes Joan.

A friend messaged to ask me out for a lunch later this week, so I'm really looking forward to that, probably Thursday or Friday. A chance to put on something nice and some makeup. well lipstick and perfume. Haven't been out since the 8th of August so I def have cabin fever.

Hope everyone else is well and ok

Florence in the Hebrides

Well, what a day here! It's absolutely pouring hard. Earlier it was a lovely morning so was going to hang out some washing, but so glad now I didn't.

I'm waiting on my Tesco delivery, should be here around 12 so not long to wait. Not such a big shop this time as did a huge shop 2 weeks ago and freezer quite well stocked. Only 2 substitutions and Ive scored there. Ordered a large family tub od mushrooms for £1.80 but out of stock so been given 3 x medium pack which are normally 90p each=£2.70. Love it sometimes when that happens, and I love me mushrooms.

Not sure what I shall do after lunch as all up straight with chores etc but I have a family tree I should crack on with, some knitting and some crocheting. Also got 2 letters that need a reply....choices choices...lol Such an interesting life I lead.

Oh my the rain has stopped now and the sun is shining!

Had the last of my soup last night and was so tasty I just might make some more tomorrow but with leeks for a different flavour.


Hope everyone keeping well

Florence in the hebrides

Oh Linda thats so funny. When i worked in the P 1-3 class, we had newstime every morning. All children sat in a circle and lolly sticks with their names on was put into a pot. Teacher would ask someone to take a stick and then that child would say their news say what they did over the weekend.
Some were hilarious as they would tell things about their parents which perhaps we shouldnt have heard about lol teacher and myself sometimes raised a few eyebrows but quickly moved the child along.

Some gave a blow by blow blog about how they got up, brushed their tetth and so on and it took ages so we had to say, just tell us 3 things of interest you did between Fri & sunday. Some were hilarious!

Sadly some had absolutely nothing to say. They didnt go outside to play or anything...very sad that to hear.

But Louis would have been a wee monkey Im sure but this occasion wasn't the place to take him, the Jubillee celebrations were different.

Home alone again as daughter once more has gone elsewhere.

Not had the greatest day so far as had problems with my prescription deliveries(see my other thread) but have just found out that they may be a solution and have been told, i wouldn't be left without so that has cheered me up.

My grass cutters came today and i think last cut will be in 2 weeks as grass has slowed down now and also its very damp and dismal here today.

I have a pile of ironing to do so trying to drum up some enthusiasm to do it lol

My laminating paper has also just arrived in the post so may try a few things out later with that.

After my ironing, think i shall make some soup for later. I shall grate the turnip/swede and carrots plus lentils and chopped onions. Ive a few new pots i could chop into cubes too to use them up.

So off to be busy whilst i'm in the mood lol.

Florence in the hebrides

We watched it on and off all day as well Florence. The girls watched the funeral on the morning.
Esme was playing schools with her dolls at the same time. She does circle time with them, they all sit in a circle and sing the good morning song, then she has a box she puts a different item in every time for them to play with.

We all have to sing
“ What’s in the box?
what can it be?
What’s in the box,
Let’s look and see,”

So yesterday we all had to sing it and as we got to the end, Esme chimed in with “ It’s the Queen” Highly irreverent, but we all laughed.
I could imagine little Louis coming out with something, like that, probably why he was left at home

Evening peeps.
Well that was the day that was! As like most on here, I was watching the whole service for most of the day on the tv.

I did feel sorry for those in the parade that were walking for miles, their feet must have been getting sore i'm sure.

It actually bought back memories of when Diana died. My daughter was born 17 Sep 1997 so today was the first time she had ever witnessed anything like a state funeral.

Hope everyone else is ok today

Florence in the hebrides

An interesting voluntary job Linda I would think and a great facility for the town.

The cinema is totally volunteer run Ann, but it runs as a commercial cinema as far as the public are concerned. We have a showing every evening, then sometimes a Wednesday afternoon matinee for those who don’t like going out on an evening, if the film is suitable. We also have some weekend matinees for children. As well as doing an evening shift every two weeks, I also do most if the admin. OH is on the board of directors, that sounds posh, but he actually just looks after the maintenance of the building

Good afternoon all. I am so sorry to read about your sister ginny. so sad to lose family members. I hope all is going well with all the arrangements you have to make.

Linda oh dear your poor sister in law I bet she was very shocked as well. Not a nice end to a holiday.
That was a nice break that you had. But cleaning the cinema I assume it is community owned?

Florence Yes it is always good to have my hair cut, it is so thick it starts to 'do its own thing' when it gets near to cutting time.
shame you have to wait so long between injections for your knee, not nice to go from pain free to lots of pain again.

I am sorry to read about your sister Ginnie, I guess we are at the age when sadly these things start happening to us.

My sister only has three more radiotherapy sessions to go now. She has coped well, but is starting to struggle now. There will be a break in the treatment before she has to have chemo.

My brother and sister in law are in the middle of a months interailing trip through Europe. They have really enjoyed it so far. Their daughter lives in Finland, so as part of the journey they have been to see her. They all stayed in a summer lodge by the sea. My sister in law went to the loo, late evening, which involved walking about fifty metres across some grass. When she didn’t come back, they went to look for her and found her collapsed on the grass. It seems she had stepped on an area where a post had been removed, it had grassed over, but gave way under her weight. She has broken both of her ankles. One is not a bad break, so is in a pot, but the other one needs an operation to pin two bones. Obviously she can’t walk at all, my brother is trying to sort things out with the travel insurance.

A few years ago, they did a trip to Lapland to see the Northern Lights.As part of that ,they did a dog sled trip. The sled tipped over onto my brothers leg and he broke his femur. They were as far up in the Artic circle as you can get, so that was a saga as well. The medical care was very good, so he had his operation there and flew back here on an air ambulance. He is trying to get my sister in law treated in Finland as well, rather than coming back here for her operation as the NHS is so poor at the moment.

I have been very busy this morning as it was the annual maintenance/ cleaning day at the cinema. As usual only a few stalwarts turned up, but we managed to get a lot done between us. We had to pop out for a short time to get our flu jab. They were very efficient, it took less than a minute. They also asked if we would like a heart check. That turned out to be a mini ecg where you just pressed your fingers onto a device for thirty seconds and a mobile phone took a heart trace. If they pick anything up, you get called back for a full ecg. Apparently ours were normal. My arm is starting to get sore which is annoying

Afternoon folks
JustGinnie, my heart goes out to you and your family. It's always hard to lose a family member as I have recently but.... when it happens suddenly as with my mum and your sister, it's harder to deal with as was unexpected.

I am the oldest and most practical so it also was left to me to organise most of it including the service. There is all the paperwork to deal with too but it will all get done in time. I'm sure like my mum, your sister was watching and listening to the service and also appreciated what you arranged.

This morning I had more sad news as my best friend who took over my job, lost her MIL who lives next door. Last 2 weeks she had been a bit off colour but this was also unexpected, so sad for their family too.

It's a better day here with some brighter weather and a little sunshine and not cold either. I ventured out to look at my pots and they need watering so that's my job in awhile. Sadly Im feeling the steroid injections wearing off in my knees as getting up out of the chair earlier, I felt the pain and it was awful. Since getting the jabs, I have been pain free but they only last about 4 months. i cant get another until mid December now so will just have to plod on.

Linda, what a lovely break you had, sounded wonderful and glad you both enjoyed the time to yourselves.

Hope you are ok Joan and hubby too. Mind how you go sweeping the leaves. Did you get the leaf blower yet?

Ann, hope you were pleased with your hair being done.
Mine is getting out of control again and very long!

Take care everyone

Florence in the hebrides

Hello all, I hope you are all well.

I have taken some time off the site due to being really busy sorting out my sisters affairs and funeral . Sadly she died suddenly, we knew she had health problems for some time but at her last check up all was well managed and she was still out and about going to various appointments and going to the shops etc. So it was completely unexpected. It fell to me to do all the arrangements and notify everyone. Not an easy task but am slowly getting through it all .It doesn't help that my mobility is so bad at the moment if I couldn't do most of the stuff on line or by phone I would be stuck. Fortunately a family member went to register the death and get the certs.
We had a small but lovely service for her, I think she would have liked what I arranged.

Take care
Ginnie

Esme went back to school on Tuesday and is fine now.
We have been having a bit of a break. My daughter bought us an overnight dinner bed and breakfast stay at Hazlewood Castle for Xmas. It is a genuine old castle, not far from us.
We visited Harewood House yesterday, we haven’t been there for years. Then we came to the hotel and had some coffee and cakes, not a single calorie in sight - honestly. Dinner last night and breakfast this morning were both excellent, it is nice to have a bit of luxury once in a while. We are just letting breakfast settle then are going to drive across to Filey where OH’s older sister lives. We haven’t seen her for a while and she has some family things which she wants to pass on to us. It is a bit of a long circular trip, but worth doing. Then it will be back to the normal routine

Afternoon peeps
Well daughter is back and was good to hear of her stories and news etc. Always good to hear of something new.

So washing machine has been going strong and I have spent more time washing up the dishes lol, so much more when there is 2 of you but she does seem to use every pot and plate going compared to me!

I have been online shopping today and just bought a few things for my stationery drawer like laminating pouches as it would appear we had used them all up! Typical when you haven't used something for awhile and then realise you have run out.

Anyway found a good deal on Amazon. I bought a cheap laminator from Tesco years ago for £10 and its still working fine. Daughter has booked a table for a craft fayre locally in November to sell her Avon and wanted to do some labels that looked better than hand written ones. So I suggested typing something on card and them laminating it, as it would look more professional.

Replenished my staple supply too as that has gone down a lot and more blue tack as always handy having that.

Its overcast, damp and misty today and still breezy so not venturing outside at all. Just been tidying up, chores and a bit of paperwork so nothing too taxing.

I may make a small pasta dish for later Ann it's just felt so down last week or so and my appetite just vanished. My little bro messaged last night to see how I was and then said, he was struggling to come to terms with mum's passing and is missing my support down south. I guess whilst I was there, I was in control and held everyone else together and now all apart from each other, it just much harder.

My lovely SIL has been cleaning and clearing out the flat with a few more bags for local charity shops and the hospice. They said they will take crockery too which is great as we didnt really want to just throw it all out when someone would be grateful of it. I just wish I could be there to help out.

Anyway, we plod on and try to remember happier times. It has dawned on me more now that I am the head of the family....eeek such a daunting thought as im not that old!!

Think I shall go and put together a huge pasta bake that will last for tomorrow as well and I do have some crusty rolls I found in the cupboard, the half baked ones. Think today calls for some comfort food.

Enjoy your soup Joan and glad you are ok.
Linda, hope Esme is better today and back at school.

Take care all
Florence in the hebrides

Fairly bright here and 17 degrees so not cold, feel a bit bored today, not been anywhere this week but have a hair appointment tomorrow and need to pick up my prescription and might be going out to a garden centre on Friday. Pleased that you don't seem to have dome more damage Joan. You must slow down a bit and be careful.
Linda typical of children isn't it? still best to keep her home in case she turned out to be poorly at school again. Pleased she is better anyway.
Florence do you really not feel hungry at all? even something light like a poached egg would be good.
I have spent a short time out in the garden filling up the garden bin. Lots of things to cut back before winter but I am getting there. The garden is not looking too bad anyway.

Only other things I have done is clean the bathroom and strip the bed, wash the bedding and re-make the bed. Once I have done that I am ready to crawl back into it!!

I am glad that you didn’t do too much damage Joan.

Esme wasn't very well at school on Friday she had picked up a cold after only four days back. She was horribly snotty and whiny yesterday, so she wasn’t going to school today. My daughter had a bad night with her as she was more or less awake from 4.30 am . OH took Eve to school, she likes that because they go early and she can spend more time with her friends.
Of course come 7.30 am Esme was saying that she was better and wanted to go to school. We kept her off expecting her to be the same as yesterday, but she is much better, so can go tomorrow. It must only be a forty eight hour bug.

I did some baking with her this morning, we made some very nice Rocky Road, tha5 isn’t going to do my diet any good. :-(

It is gloom6 and autumnal here, so I am just staying put and playing

Oh dear Joan poor you! Hope you havent received any nasty bruises from your fall and to go and stand on a nail...oh my could have been very nasty.

Oh yes lentil soup and a crusty loaf sounds like heaven mmmn. im not hungry today at all so think it will maybe be toast for tea and some fruit as appetite isnt great.

Just waiting on daughter and hope the heavens dont open again otherwise she will be soaked walking from the bus stop!

Joan rest and put your feet up after you have made the soup
Take care

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon peeps from a very blustery village.
Oh yes, the heavens opened, rumbles of thunder too and of course it would have to be....bin day!

Never blooming fails. Sadly, the nice chappie that always puts my bin back wasn't on duty today and although I was hovering with my stick in hand to take the bins back, the chap just smiled and left me in the rain & wind to deal with the 2 bins.

Anyway back indoors with a hot cup of coffee and so glad. Daughter rang to say she will be home late afternoon so looking forward to seeing her and hearing all the holiday stories and local news etc.

Was just looking for some xmas present ideas for my 2 nieces, one is doing hairdressing and the other is into Dr Who! I found 2 wonderful duvet covers that will suit them. One is of a blue Tardis(she will love that) and the other is pictures of a day in the life of a hairdresser from start to finish(just brill) I have saved them in my Amazon for now and will order them at a later date.So thats 2 ticked off my list.

Well hope everyone else is well and ok.
Im off to make a sandwich as not had lunch yet.

Florence in the hebrides

Good after noon peeps.
it's a beautiful Autumnal sunny day here. very pleasant with a small breeze.

I have not been feeling very well this week at all. I had a nasty pain lower back which was persistent and has kept me awake. Ive had it before and it then goes away? Did mention it once to the GP but they were not that worried!!

With the death of the Queen, I think my grief for my own mother all came out. I have been so busy dealing with things, I really haven't had time to stop and allow myself to grieve until now. I have obviously bottled it all up and being on my own last 2 weeks, I have felt very down.

I had a good cry and I think that has helped to relieve my emotions as today, I'm feeling brighter. Someone whom I knew died 2 days ago locally and that funeral is today. They were 48 and daughter is there so she won't now be back until early next week.

Normally, it doesn't bother me being on my own but not for this length of time especially when I rarely see anyone.
So I have been outside attended to my flowers etc, fed the birds and hung out a bit of washing. Keeping busy is the best thing.

Anyway, hope everyone else is well and keeping ok.
Long may this Autumn sunshine continue.

Forgot to say, there was a huge orange Harvest moon last night, lovely sight and at the same time at the back of the house another glorious sunset!

Florence in the hebrides

I also have a horrendous prescription, never been able to have fancy things like varifocals. I ordered a new spare pair just.before the first lockdown and they came in the post. A year ago I was having headaches so thought I’d better move to the newer ones. I really couldn’t see straight but thought it was the headaches. It was discovered that y centre spot didn’t match the lenses and to make it worse that opticians group no longer provide the strength I need. I have now got the right strength.

But frames styles and colours are awful. Why has everyone got to have huge frames. My lenses are so heavy I need smaller styles. An’t wait for when I need a new pair - not.

Oh ladies, what a hassle you had at the Opticians. I remember going about 10 years ago and the boss whom I always had as he was very efficient, patient and knew what you liked.
So this particular check- up, he was not there and I was given a very over bearing woman who thought she knew better than me as to what type of glasses I preferred.

At the end of the check- up she said, if you would like to choose from this selection over here and pointed over to a display of very expensive frames. I then asked her how my prescription had changed and she said well it hadnt much but my existing frames were very bent and out of shape and my lenses were badly scratched.
I asked if they could reglaze them as the boss had done this before for me but she was adamant they couldnt be done.

So as my eyesight had not changed, I told her, I would come back when I'm ready and actually need new glasses as the ones I had were perfectly ok and then I left.

She glared at me in disbelief.

She was hell bent on getting a sale out of me that day for frames and lenses but she didnt get either as I was having none of it.

I only need them for reading, so now order or buy 10 pairs at £1.00 each from Poundland. I have 2 pairs left and in November hopefully when we go away, will get to Poundland to buy another 10 pairs .

Im sure just because we are older, they think they can bully us into buying things we dont want or like. Well Im very strong willed and stubborn and noone gets one over on me lol

Well Tesco came at 5 so a little earlier which was great. Got everything i ordered and a few bargains too. All away now .

Joan, glad you were not flooded out! Hope the new leaf blower is light enough for you, let us know when it comes. Did you find a good film for the afternoon?

I actually watched an old black and white one last week. It was really good and a thriller with a murder and a twist right at the end. Rather old fashioned and they did speak funny back then lol but it was a good watch, just cant remember what it was called though.

Midges are awful so I shut all the windows, the delivery man said they were evil tonight lol.

Off to make a coffee before me soaps start.

Masterchef has been hilarious with the drag queen called Kitty!

Florence in the hebrides