General Chat

If you add oil to your cupcakes, how are they fatless Florence?

It is a nice sunny morning here, somOH is giving the car a good wash as all the motorway join the rain recently made it very dirty.

The people buying our house came yesterday to measure up. He said that they are hoping we can exchange contracts by the end of this week. Then we could agree a completion date, probably within two weeks from then. I hope we can find a removal van easily, but until we exchange , we can’t book one.

I have been through all of my shoes again this morning and put even more in a bag for gage charity shop. I have packed the summer and smart shoes into a box, so I just have my winter selection downstairs in the utility room.

Still no sign of Joan, I do hope that she is OK.

Well I decided to make my vegan cupcakes and add mashed banana to use up some of my extras! The cupcakes are made by whisking oil and milk, van essence and golden syrup before adding that to the dry ingredients. Its a great recipe for me as eggless and fatless. Not sure how they will turn out as the banana mixture has made a slightly thinner batter but i'm sure they will be edible.

Daughter then wants to put vanilla icing on top, a Betty Croker tub.

A bit worried like you Linda as not heard from Joan for a few days. So hope all is ok?

Daughter is going to make some oaty biscuits using GF oats. She made some last week and my neighbour said could she make more as she is GF, so of course she said yes. So kitchen hype of activity but.....i have washed up all my bowls and jugs so work top was all clean and now I dare look ;-) But she is a good baker just messy lol

Boy im coming out in sweats today as that's the steroid injection getting into my blood. My cheeks feel like they are burning! It will settle over next 3 days and I shall be pain free and my sinuses also all cleared so well worth it.

So just waiting on me cupcakes, cant wait to have one later once they are cool.

Curry for tea, naan, Tzatziki and rice can't wait for that either mmmn

Still raining hard and very windy and so glad we are both indoors all cosy.

Good afternoon everyone.
I only have one banana, so need to go to the supermarket this afternoon :-D
Florence, I forgot that because I am so ancient, I get an annual eye test.

Yesterday morning we went to see the new house to measure up for curtains etc. We both thought that it was smaller than we remembered and a lot more dated. The dated bit doesn’t matter because we are going to replace just about every single thing in it. OH worked out that the lounge is 83% of the size of this one and the dining room is 80%. The kitchen is larger though at 105%. Having said that the rooms here are large, so downsizing is not a bad thing at our age.
Thankfully they have decided to leave the lounge and dining room curtains, plus the blind in the main bedroom. The curtains are going to be replaced along with every thing else, but at least we will have some until we get round to it.

Our buyers for this house came this morning to measure up as well. They said that they are hoping to exchange by the end of next week and complete a couple of weeks after that . We better get packing. The timings have to be agreed with the people in the house we are buying of course. I felt sorry for them because they were all ready to move before Xmas, but when the chain collapsed, they lost the house they were going to move into. So now they are going to move in with her mother until they find somewhere else.

I hope everyone is fine, especially Joan who hasn’t listed for a while

Very wet here - but not particularly windy today, for a change.

I hope it calms down soon for you, Florence, and the ferries start running again.
The lightning you waited for last night had already happened . It comes before the thunder - or at least appears to, as light travels faster than sound.

I've given in, and ordered a new freezer, but smaller than the old one. The old one is a tall freezer, but the new one will be under the counter.
Had a terrible time trying to pay for it online. My Android phone, which I use for receiving One-time Passcodes, seems to be getting a very weak Vodafone signal this week, although my ancient basic phone has a good signal, and usually the Android is good too. Maybe the recent stormy weather (which did include some lightning) has affected the mast.
I just wasn't receiving any OTP when I tried to pay for the freezer. Had to pay by Paypal eventually, as I had a different phone registered with them.

Now I wait, as delivery won't be until 9th February.

I hope you're OK, Joan, and that you now have a date for your move, Linda.

Morning all
Was rudely awoken before 8am to the sound of very loud thunder eeeek. I stuck my head under the duvet waiting for the flash of lightening but it didnt happen thank goodness.

Very wild and wet here with some hefty showers. Today we are going to be having a full tidy up and early Spring clean followed by some baking later this afternoon. I have wet washing to get dried off as tomorrow the forecast is yet again pretty stormy with winds of 70+ mph!

Aside from that its very quiet here. hardly any post thesedays and village is like a ghost town as I guess everyone is stuck indoors. Even the busy road is quiet today. No ferries so shops will be empty as no ferries either tomorrow. So lucky we got all our things so are fully restocked now.

Hope all is well with everyone

Take care

Florence in the hebrides

Evening all
JustGinnie, had to chuckle at the banana scenario as yesterday, I bought a bag of 6 small bananas and today daughter went off to town and came back with another £40 worth of shopping including another 7 bananas so between us plenty going free lol

Well I got my jags for my knees but the day didnt go too well. By 10.15 I was on the phone to the travel people asking where they were. Eventually they turned up at 10.35 and my appointment was at 11am! We arrived 10 mins late and he called my name within seconds so straight in but he rushed everything through, no chat or anything and said, I probably wont get them in 6 months as new guidelines about the side effects so I shall have to manage my pain a different way. I explained I cant take painkillers at all and he shrugged his shoulders and said oh well sorry I cant help you!! grrr

So in and out but then an hours wait for my transport to come back for me plus 2 other people. Sat in the reception area like a spare part.

So i then asked about my other appointment on Monday and will they wait for me as its a mobile unit and cant stay on it waiting an hour to be collected. Was told, no cant wait & so busy cant predict when we will collect you.

After a tel call with a lovely lady on the mainland explaining my predicament, I decided to cancel it as it was too stressy wondering what will happen on the day.
So if i want the screening done, I shall have to go to a mainland hospital.

Im glad im at home just chilling now as the last 2 days have sent my BP sky high.

So another storm hitting here on Sunday but not sure if anyone else will get it.

Linda, eye tests here are 2 yrly until you reach 70 then its yearly but im only 62 so next check up will be in 2026 although by then I will have had both eyes done hopefully.

Off for a coffee now.

Florence in the hebrides

Hope everyone else looking in is well.

Hope Joan's ok and hubby.

Good morning all, it is a sunny bright day so I am putting the washing out today as although cold there is a good breeze . Noticed when I was outside that our neighbour has 3 fence panels down.

Hope everyone is ok after all the storms we didn't have it as bad as some of you but the wind was awful some of the time.

The house sales seem to be going ahead well I hope they continue to do so. My relatives are selling their house and buying another due to now working in a different area. The sales are done differently in NZ .but just as stressful.

Made a mistake on my shopping order , I clicked on bananas and the found a smaller bunch so clicked on those but forgot to unclick the large bunch so now have 12 bananas and I only wanted 5. Any one want a banana lol.

Well having a coffee now then must dust and put the vac round.

Take care all.

Ginnie

That is a nuisance Florence, but two and a half years is a long time to go without an eye check. I have one every year, they have been telling me that I have stage cataracts for a few years now, but they don’t seem to be progressing. My prescription hasn’t changed according to them, but to me my eyesight isn’t good these days.

We are still at our daughters. Son in law was going to Amsterdam for a boys weekend tomorrow, but his flight was cancelled this afternoon due to expected high winds tomorrow. He managed to get a flight this afternoon, so OH took him to the airport while I waited here to get Esme off her school bus. It was a good job we were here. My daughter should have been back by now, but her train broke down-(. OH has just gone to pick her up from the station. Esme is in bed waiting for her, I will be delighted when she is back as Esme has been very tired and grouchy today because SIL was too busy playing on his computer last night to get her to sleep in good time :-|
Normally we would go home tonight, but we are staying because we are going to see the new house in the morning to measure for curtains etc.

Afternoon all

Well I was given a terrible shock earlier today by the Optician. he said my eyesight in the left eye was so bad because the cataract since last visit 2 1/2 years ago has ripened and so , he has immediately referred me to the surgeon.

After the consultation, I shall be on the waiting list which is around 8-9 months, After that surgery, he said by that time the right eye will be needing done as well :-( :-(

I wasn't expecting that and am still in shock tbh. I knew my left eye is sticky in the morning and before I can open it, I have to massage it but he said that's due to the Blepharitis.

So just one more thing to deal with!! I mean goodness haven't I been through enough already in recent years? So a waiting game now for my appointment but the good news is, it can be done in my local hospital as a day thing :-D

Anyway, it is once again very stormy here and heavy showers too.

But I took my pal for lunch, had a good natter then off to the supermarket with plenty time to look around as she wasnt in a hurry. Found a couple of bargains too so that was good.

Salmon fillets for tea and rice which is nearly ready.

Hope everyone looking is is ok and with power!

Take care
Florence in the hebrides

AG, I know, I wondered that. No you're not being picky as I always notice the "finer details." What i found hard to get my head around was the welcome home party in the pub!! Dear god, she hadn't been away on holiday as such lol but committed a crime so did the time!

I guess Corrie has its lighter moments compared to others. Emmerdale has got quite serious recently whereas it always had humour?

Eastenders.....well hard to keep up with all that goes on there and never a dull moment. Wish I had a safe with 50k stashed in it behind a picture lol I have a few pictures to put a safe behind but nothing of value to put in the safe!

The wind it would seem has suddenly got back up very quickly and is now sounding pretty gusty. Im off to make some food incase we lose power.

The campervan incident was full of holes!
How did Paul get into it, or out of it?
The toilet wasn't working, so what did he do about that?

All conveniently ignored .


I know I'm being picky!

Phew! Thats it, ironed all except the duvet cover and am not doing anything else today but its good to get ahead with things.

Had some heavy showers here but the sun peeked through and so brightened up the sky.

Anyone watch Corrie last night? Thought it was hilarious the campervan breaking down and getting stuck in a field. Typical Corrie even though the storyline line is hard just now.

Not decided what to make for tea tonight as feeling too tired to make a dinner so something quick will do me, beans on toast with grated cheese is inviting.

Hope everyone keeping safe.

Well the sun is shining :-D

Its still very windy but the day is getting better as it goes on.

Glad you are ok Joan. You were brave to venture outside but good you secured the wire so your tv will still work and it wont be banging on the glass.

AG, glad you are ok too and your power wasnt off for long. Fences never stay up. Even my mums fence came down many times even though it was put back up but its a nuisance. Hope your daughter gets its fixed quickly.

No thunder here thank goodness, thats one thing that scares me!!

Well beds stripped, 2 loads washed, one dried, hoovered all through and tidied the kitchen units etc so am now sitting a bit as quite tired and my legs are sore.

Off to make some lunch now

Take care all

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon to all.
I can't believe I am able to use the computer, another serious storm & the power has stayed on, so far at least.
Some really strong winds again BUT they didn't start until early this morning.

I went to bed very early around 7-30 pm whilst it was soo quiet & calm, I slept until around 11-30pm & it was still very quiet, I went back to sleep quite quickly, woke again at around 2-00ish is & still calm, couldn't believe it after what the weather forcasts had bee saying.

I was a while getting back to sleep but I was woken just before 6-00am by the wind banging against the corner of the house/bedroom, Jocelyn had arrived, so that was my cue to get up.
I have been sat in the L room all morning listening to & worrying about the wind, I could hear something hitting the window but couldn't see what it was as it was still dark, eventually I could see it was the cable from the SKY dish, it had come away fom the wall & the wind kept slapping it against the glass.

The wind is slowly dying down but still gusting, & about 1/2 an hour ago whilst there was a bit of a lull I managed to tie it back to the drainpipe, I was glad to get back inside.

Joan.

Blue sky and sunshine (well, in between showers!) here today, after a very wild night, with some thunder, and extremely strong gusts - don't know what speed it actually was.
No damage to house or garden.

We lost power just after 8pm, but fortunately it came on again about 9.30pm.
Off again for just a few seconds at 1am, but it's been OK since then, thank goodness.

Storm Isha blew my daughter's neighbour's fence down on Monday night.

I hope you've managed to catch up on sleep now, Joan.
Storms always sound worse at night, when you can't see what's happening.

I'm glad to see you have some definite progress on your house/flat sales, Florence and Linda.

Morning all
Just popped on to say we are safe up here but really, the wind they predicted for here didnt happen!! They said 75+ mph but in all honesty, was only about 50-60. Not that I am complaining but....as Joan said awhile ago, they do seem to scaremonger sometimes!

Its still very windy but this is the January gales, we have them every year and this year is no different. I have experienced 100 mph winds here at xmas, new year etc and once had no power for 4 days and I had a baby of 4 months old!

I hope everyone else is safe as there seems to be a lot of flooding too which i think is worse in a way.

Anyway, I have a lot of chores to do today as will be out next few days with appointments so need to get laundry all sorted and ironed plus beds need stripping as well.

Shall look in later on

Florence in the hebrides

Well that was a noisy night, the wind was incredibly loud. We are staying at our daughter’s house as she is away for a couple of days. I think that I was more aware of the noise because it was a different house, you get used to your own surroundings. I woke up quite a few times during the night, so I am very tired today. At least the girls have gone off to school, so it is quiet in the house.
I hope everyone survived with no damage to fences etc.

Paddling doesn’t sound like it will have done your shoes any good Andy’s mum, but at least you got your groceries.
You will have to sleep at some stage Joan, so hopefully you can manage that tonight.
It has never stopped raining all day here. My daughter is away for two nights, so we are having to stay to help son in law with the girls. We arrived mid afternoon, because she had arranged for a Morrisons delivery and I knew he would never put things away when it arrived. Esme’s school bus dropped her off at 3.40pm, so I have been playing non stop since then and cooking dinner at the same time. She is now in bed, but still awake, but daddy is in charge now. She could do with her light putting out and her sleep routine starting, but he is too busy on his computer, so no doubt she will be awake very late.

Our house sale seems to be progressing quickly. My estate agent phoned during the day to say that our buyers had received the survey and searches from our previous buyers and everything was fine. They had asked a couple of questions. We had actually answered everything on Friday, so I chivied our.conveyancer and she admittedthat she hadn’t sent them the replies yet, but she will do in the morning. All of the legal work for us buying our new house is complete, so as soon as our new buyers complete their side, we can all agree a date and move.
We have arranged to visit the new house on Friday morning to measure up. Our buyers wanted to come to us again during the week, but as we are away, they will have to wait until the weekend

We have survived storm Isha without any major damage and were lucky that we didn't lose power, or the phone line, which has a habit of blowing down! The waves were crashing over the top of the bus shelter opposite which was quite impressive.

The wind is mostly on the front of the house and as our bedrooms are at the back, they are usually pretty quiet.

This morning I drove into the local town for my weekly shop. On the way I pass the nuclear submarine base, which has a 15' fence round it. The top section is electric, so the general public are OK, but people (like the local CND) who try to break in will have an unpleasant shock - literally! This morning there were traffic lights along a section of road and a large police presence, as a tree had fallen on to the top of the fence. I imagine the power had to be turned off while it was removed. When I drove home, a couple of hours later, only the trunk remained.

Shopping was largely spent paddling and I was wishing I had put my wellies on. Now I am home and don't intend to go anywhere until the weather improves. The torrential rain has eased, but the wind is picking up again.

Stay safe, everyone. :-)

Morning.
Floence I tried every room but the noise was just horrendous where ever i went, the lannding though still noisy was the quietest place to be.
Our house is situated at the top of a hill (hence our address!) it is all on it's own with just the open fields all around us, so when we have gales/storms the house gets full force.

I thought I would be fine last night & went to bed only to hear the wind catching the corner of the roof, scary, the bedrooms at the front are situated in the roof space ( not a dormer) the bedroom windows are bays that jut out, I managed to stay in the bedroom but couldn't sleep, the wind didn't last long thank goodness, just the last throws of ISHA.

Not looking forward to the next lot that's coming, I just wish it wasn't through the night in the dark. & if we lose power it's even worse, no telly !!
It's a bit windy here just now & now it's raining, a little "warmer" but dismal & dark.

Joan.