General Chat

I was at the optician's this morning for an eye test. I tried varifocals many years ago and didn't get on with them - I hated having no peripheral vision - so I now wear bifocals. I also wanted a pair of reading glasses as I now use a laptop and have been getting a crick in my neck!!

As I was buying two pairs I was expecting a bill of several hundred, even allowing for a discount on the second pair. I use Boots and their frames range from £40 upwards, with other makes costing even more. I bought two Boots frames, similar to the ones I already have and was very pleasantly surprised when the total bill was only £130. The optician mentioned varifocals and said they were roughly twice as much. She also said that they use two different manufacturers because they don't all make all types of lens, which might be a possible reason for some of the high bills quoted.

Argyllgran I had a test in Specsavers just last week and have varifocals being made.

The lenses cost £180, the frames started at £15 and went up to over £200, the pair I chose was £130. But there's a £70 discount for being over 60, and you get a second pair free. I had anti-reflection and UV protection as optional extras and it cost under £300 in total.

12.30, that probably is morning as lunch would be 1 o’clock ;-)

I didn’t fancy Joan from the clips being shown but eventually watched the first two episodes and thought it was very good. I think it is based on a true story.

Afternoon all
Well i had a fab day out yesterday with my friend. The sun was shining, no wind, no midges and i only wore my tailored jacket, no scarf!

I worked my way through my list of to do things and now have all my family xmas cards plus 2 birthdays in January.
I bought myself a lovely quilted jacket, very softly quilted, black trimmed with a gold braiding almost chinese looking but so comfy.

Had a lovely lunch as always then went to the garden centre where i bought a plant called Cotoneaster. Lovely shrub/plant with lots of red berries.

There was also a blue planted filled with beautiful plants in all sorts of colours so that found its way into my trolley as well lol

Im a bit cross as waiting on the joiner who i thought would be here first things and no sign of him grrrr. The weather is set to turn at the weekend and thats why Im wanting him here asap so I can get all the things tf into the polytunnel asap.

People are too laid back here. They say morning and turn up at 12.30!!

Anyone been watching the series called Joan that started last Sunday & Monday?
I think its really good and love the 80's music and i think im right in saying it was based on a true story.

Well better find something small to do whilst i wait!

Florence in the hebrides

Varifocals and metal frames are never in the frame ( if you’ll pardon the pun :-D)

Eighteen months ago, my present (one) pair of ultra-thin varifocals, with a complicated prescription, came to just under £200 from Specsavers.

That's with the over-60s discount, and £69 metal frames.

I'm sure they'll have shot up in price by now. I hate to think what my next pair, later this month, will cost.

You had me worried, so I checked and they are varifocals. They were supposed to be eight hundred and something, but they discounted it to £580. It is Specsavers and if you choose a frame over £70, you get the second frame free, but not the lenses of course. The frame I chose was actually £100, because of my prescription and the fact that I wear my glasses very high on my nose and they re varifocals , it always limits the choice of frames. Plus I prefer metal frames over plastic. I did look in my local family run opticians a while back, but they were so expensive in comparison to Specsavers

I haven’t bought new reading glasses for ages so don’t know how much they cost.

I can’t get my lenses through my village branch of a chain to have to go to a franchise branch where they can get them. It’s not my local town and whilst easy to drive there it is really difficult to get the right route out of the town. I won’t be allowed to drive for ever, so I tried a, let’s call it a very old company, in the nearest town. They didn’t listen to me, ended up with a massive quote for plastic instead of glass. They also insisted I had to have a much more expensive frame than I was used to.
I ended up almost in tears and walked out.

I want to go to your optician Linda. I have a difficult prescription as well, have varifocals with the ultra thin lenses and get sunglasses each time, so I'm much like you. Barely a year ago mine came to over £1,000. With a special deal on the sunglasses and various other discounts it was brought down to £800 but still a lot more than you paid.

I also had an appointment today and my heart sank when the optician said my distance vision had changed slightly in both eyes and I thought I'd be kissing goodbye to around £1,000. But the optician, bless him, said he thought we could get away with single vision distance glasses to wear for some things, which would be a lot cheaper. It was - just £130. I've just got to remember when I need to wear the existing varifocals and when to use the new single vision glasses. I already have single vision reading glasses as well, so I now have 4 pairs of glasses!

Two pairs of high prescription glasses! Where do you get those, one pair of plain thin glass is almost that.

My next ones really will be bottle bottom style. They look awful, with plain glass around the central lense.

The expense just goes on and on. Today I went for an eye test and need new glasses. I always have two pairs of varifocals ,one plain and one sunglasses. As I have a very awkward prescription, I have to pay for ultra thin lenses and have them shaved, or they end up looking like bottle bottoms. So that us £580 please :-S

It’s my middle two teeth on the top Florence, so I have to sort them out.

Your poly tunnel is coming in well, it will be great when you can start planting.
When we came home we saw that the large Laurel hedge outside our patio doors had been cut down. It was in the neighbours property, along the fence lines between the two gardens, so he had the right to take it down, but it now leaves us with no privacy. It also means that we are now looking across to more houses which we couldn’t see before. I have just ordered four planters with tall trellises to stand along the fence. They are identical to the ones which I have at the bottom of our decking. They will help to screen the view, but won’t be anywhere as tall as the hedge . We had hoped that he would just reduce the height of the hedge to make it easier to maintain, we asked him to do that, but he obviously decided to ignore us
:-|

Afternoon all from a lovely sunny village. Been a fab day and so I was able to go out into the garden and do some weeding etc. I emptied 3 large tubs of beddings plants that had nearly died off and were looking scruffy.

Next my little coloured pots that hang off the fence, i emptied those which now need washing and drying and storing until next year. If I leave them out, they will go rusty and then would look awful.

Next a lorry turned up with the gravel for my floor in the polytunnel which is being finished off tomorrow. He left it on my concrete driveway and then the guys will probably shovel into a wheel barrow and move it.

I can then get things done!!

Linda i went about getting a tooth and the cost was £2500!!! I lost a tooth, 3rd along on the top right which i am conscious of the gap but when I researched how long it would take to deal with, i changed my mind as it will take several months from start to finish and I cant be bothered just now.
So I hope you get on ok with your consultation!

Sylvia, your weather is similar as its 14 degrees here, sunny but Autumnal and once the sun has gone, it goes down to about 5 degrees brrr.

I've just popped 2 large jacket potatoes in the oven for tea later and going to make my Tzatziki dip and some salad to have with it.

off out all day tomorrow and can't wait!

Hope everyone else looking in is well & ok today

Florence in the hebrides

It is good to see you back Sylvia. I hope that you are happy in your new unit. As Ann said if you can join in any social activities, that should help you settle in.

I went to the dentist this morning to try and sort out the problem with my cracked bridge. I was amazed that I have managed to keep the temporary repair in place throughout the holiday. The dentist who put the temporary white look alike tooth over the horrible grey metal said that it would probably fall off straight away, but it didn’t. I haven’t bitten any food at all while we were away. I have cut everything into tiny bits and put it delicately into the back of my mouth to chew.

After two weeks my teeth are still very sore, so she took an X-ray and said it looks like I have an abscess under the bridge. She would have to drill the bridge off and see what was underneath. Then do a root canal filling on the infected tooth. Once it had settled down, she would have to put a post in to support the new bridge, but was worried because the tooth on the other side supporting the bridge already has a post in it. Apparently having two false teeth supported on two posts would make the bridge very weak and liable to snap again. Any way she said that she would give it a go , so set about drilling through the old bridge. She actually asked if I would like my mouth numbing. I thought about it for a nano second and said yes!
She then discovered that the loud crack I had heard when biting into the pear was actually my tooth completely snapping off. She tried to do the root canal filling for ages, but couldn’t because the canal had completely closed up. She could see that a fracture line was running right up the tooth root, so said that I probably couldn’t have a post put in because the whole root would just break up.
That left me with only two options, either a denture or dental implants. I absolutely hate dentures, I had a plate in the past when I first damaged my teeth and never again ! So the only other option is the implants, but as there are three teeth involved it could cost about I eight thousand pounds
:-(
So she is referring me to an implant clinic near where I live and I will know the worst after they do various scans. In the meantime I have a temporary bridge which thankfully looks fine. The injections are wearing off now, so it is going to hurt :-(

Good that you are back Sylvia, we missed you.
It sounds as if you have got into a routine there now and hopefully your OH soon will as well. Luckily he has people to look after him for you but I am sure seeing you regularly will give him some sort of normality.
Have you made any friends among the other residents yet? Somebody to chat to is always nice.

Sorry not to have been posting regularly. I have been looking in the evenings, but honestly, I've been too tired to post anything.

As I posted on my thread about our recent life ........... OH is slowly settling in the Multi Level Care Unit, although he still seems to think that there is another move coming up!

I should know by the end of October what our basic costs will be, as OH will then have had one full month in MLC. There are always additions to that basic cost for both of us ......... if OH needs medications, has his hair cut, etc. Or when I go to the salon and have a cut, shampoo and blow dry, and for the telephone rentals for each of us (have to have to separate phones and numbers). Or when I need to buy some of our snacks, fruit etc that we can eat in out own places. I do have my breakfast in my suite, as I can then eat at my leisure instead of being forced to eat between 7:30 and 8:30 am!

I mentioned the latter items to the financial advisor when he phoned one day last week ......... and he said that I was entitled to those "after what you have been through"

I like him!!!

The weather is becoming fall-like! Today was mainly sunny, around 15-16C, but last night it had got down to 9C. It hit 7C 3 nights ago, and that is also forecast for tonight. Thank heavens for duvets!! We're also entering the rainy season.

Take care everyone

Glad youre back safely. When dad comes back from Corfu on Friday, he will also get a shock as he's had a bad chest infection but the heat has helped him. Hes better but still needed antibiotics!!

I have 3 pairs of new sandals, I have yet to wear!! I live in my suede calf boots for going out and barefoot indoors. I have also 2 new lovely summer dresses I bought from Klass, still with the tags on hanging in the wardrobe. But I have 2 new winter jumpers which may get worn frequently this winter lol

Well the sun has come out and its not too bad outside. My lovely courier carried the bags of peat for me to the back of the house which was kind and saves us trying to drag them through the house.

Quick light tea tonight, toasted bagels with cream cheese & smoked salmon .
mmmn

We came back yesterday Florence, it was a bit if a shock leaving 29 degree behind and getting back to 12 degrees. I had put the heating on remotely while we were on the way back, but the house seemed very cold.
I have been and done a large shop this morning and have done a lot of washing already. Annoyingly when I added lots of things to the shopping list on my iPad, it didn’t synchwith my iPhone. It normally does, but not this morning, so when I opened the list on the phone in the supermarket , I realised some things were missing. I remembered a lot of them, but not everything. They are ingredients for the recipes I have chosen to make, so I will have to get the missing bits tomorrow.

I am going to empty the rest of the things from the suitcases this afternoon and swap all my shoes over. I have a large shoe rack in the cupboard under the stairs where the coat rack is. I need to move all my summer sandals and trainers upstairs and bring all my winter shoes down.

Morning all
Linda hope you have a safe trip back to the uk today without any delays. Wow, an earthquake!! i would have been panicking lol Funny how noone took any notice

It started off very dull and overcast and very little wind! hmmm always worry when it goes flat calm as usually a gale to follow!

Have been busy cleaning and vacuuming the whole house today so just having a quick coffee break before carrying on.

My list of things to do on Wednesday when Im off out for the day is growing arms &legs lol but i need to finish off my list of gifts for sending away and also a few birthdays that need special cards too.

Cant wait for the postie today as Im waiting on 2 parcels. Daughters room has become the "delivery room" lol but shes back today so the boxes will soon get flattened for recycling.

Hope everyone ok. Joan hope you are ok as not seen you for a bit?

Better carry on with me chores i guess

Florence in the hebrides

Well, we are back from the beach after our last day. We leave in the morning for the tedious journey back to the cold and rain. There was a bit of excitement on the beach this afternoon. I was reading on the sun bed when all of a sudden the ground started to shake. Just for a few seconds, but it was very noticeable.OH was “resting his eyes “ on his sun bed and when I looked around, he was looking bemused as were all the people around us. Good old google said there had been a small earthquake under the sea about twenty kilometres away. Apparently they have lots of earth tremors, so no one was bothered. It was an interesting experience though.