General Chat

Morning all from a misty murky village.

Last night it rained and when I say rained, it absolutely bucketed down, torrential. It was bouncing of the road literally! However we only had a couple of rumbles of thunder thankfully but there were others in other areas away from here.

Through the mist, the sun is trying to come through so it may turn out to be a good day after all. I have some repotting to do and really would like to do it outside as less messy than doing it on my kitchen table!

At least i wont have to water all the pots later on or maybe for a couple of days so that's saved me a job.

The cheap compost bags I ordered have finally been dispatched and are on their way so more jobs to do when they arrive.

I'm not a huge fan of BGT but i watched it last night and really enjoyed it as there were some very good acts especially all those children in the choir. Organised chaos but they were lovely.

Well off to the shower and to be extra careful today!

Florence in the hebrides

Good morning from the sunshine. According to the forecast, it is supposed to be foggy.

I have had a very lazy start to the day. reading my iPad in bed before I eventually got up. OH had me worried when he said that the window cleaner was here well before nine. Luckily he does the upstairs windows with a brush on a pole, so he couldn’t see me.

The sample tile which we ordered has finally arrived at the shop, so OH has gone to get that and has taken another car load of stuff to the tip. The plumber who fitted the bathroom is coming back on Wednesday to fix the very slight leak on the bathroom toilet. OH is also going to have a go at him about the vanity unit in the downstairs toilet. It fits into a recess with a small gap on either side. He hasn’t got it centred, so it is going to make the tiles look odd. As it is stuck in with mastic , I don’t know if he will be able to move it across . It is half a centimetre out, not a huge amount, but noticeable.

We are going back to the bathroom showroom today to try and finalise the order for the en-suite. All very stressful choosing wall boards etc and trying to keep the cost down a bit without compromising the look too much.

It was a shame you didn’t get the thunder and lightning Florence, I love a good storm

Linda, I love a good storm too, but I don't think Florence shares our enthusiasm!

I remember in my teens, I was at a school half way up a hill and on the other side of the valley, roughly opposite, there was a thick wood. One day there was a storm and we were watching the lightning over the trees. If I remember rightly at least one got hit and fell down. A fantastic sight and far enough away not to be a danger. :-)

Oops, I forgot Florence gets worried :-D
I love it on holiday in Florida when you have a fantastic thunderstorm every afternoon

Good afternoon.
We have a dry & bright day so far today, not much sun though & the breeze is a bit on the cool side, but I have managed to do some more painting of the various sheds & garden seats.

Small shed has now had 2 coats, & P shed has had 2 coats on 2 sides so not much more left to do.
Lot's of plants haave burst into life & starting to flower, I found a plant that I bought & planted up last year has burst into life, I thought it had died off soon after planting, so well chuffed to seee I was wrong.

I had a bad day yesterday, spent the afternoon & evening in tears, I felt really lonely & went to bed very early but had to get up again as I couldn't sleep.
Things seemed to go from bad to worse & I ended up phoning our daughter as I was so upset !

Daughter & grandaughter (12yrs)came over & we had a nice chat, they stayed with me for a couple of hours by which time I felt more relaxed & went to bed & managed to get some sleep.
I am feeling a lot better & more able today !

I hope all is well with everyone,& the storms didn't cause anyone any problems.
I am very glad that we didn't have a thunderstorm etc.

Joan.

Afternoon all

I am been a very busy bee today!

We went outside early this morning even though it was foggy but the sun kept peeping through and then it got warm. A real mixture and its still foggy now!

So set to work re potting plants into bigger pots with fresh compost. moving all the pots and rearranging them so its identical on both sides. My large Rhodendron is now in the middle of the window. 2 large pots, one at each end with rose plants in between. I also have fuchsias and smaller rose plants. took ages to sort but all done.

Then I had some pansies and other flowers that were still to plant up, so I sorted that all out. rearranged them either side so its all looks symmetrical. Cant abide it when all the pots are just anywhere, looks so untidy.

Daughter bought 2 ceramic pots with lovely plants like purple daisies but they are not daises and no idea what they are but they now sit either side of the hydrangeas at the front door.

After I had been standing awhile, I went indoors and left daughter to clear up everything as she made the mess!!

I had just managed a sandwich and a coffee when dad phoned. oh my on the tel for an hour as he scanned his old baby book and emailed all the pics page by page!

All received now and I look just like my dad when he was a baby aw.

Joan, so sorry you were not good yesterday. There will be days when you feel like this but there will be better days too. i'm so glad your daughter and granddaughter were able to come over for a bit. Do you not ever go over to their house for an afternoon for a change of scenery maybe?

I hate the storms for 2 reasons, if its a bad storm, we will lose power and also when the lightening flashes through the window, it is scary. Its ok when on holiday, you are watching it from a distance I guess but when its bad and you have to turn off your computer etc for fear of it catching fire, then that is not fantastic!

Your painting Joan sounds fabulous and I'm sure the shed etc looks lovely in that shade of blue. My fav colour apart from black is navy.

When my mum was younger, she remembered a story of a man playing golf. The lightening struck his club and he caught fire. All that was left was a pile of ashes, that story always terrifies me!

My goodness the day has flown by as we were outside for ages. Better start thinking about what to make for tea. i think a jacket potato and salad for tonight, easy enough to sort.

Hello all,
Well it sounds like we have all been busy doing things in the garden or/and home must be the burst of spring weather . We haven't had any thunderstorms just had some showers here and there, I am hoping that the weather stays kind as I am not a fan of storms. I am not scared or worried by them rally just not a fan.
Florence I like my garden tidy but I can cope with it being mixed up. 1 of my in laws had an immaculate garden where everything was straight lines and matched on either side looked lovely but I couldn't have kept it like that. The lawn had perfectly straight lines as well.

Sorry you had a rough day, it is early days for you and waves of grief will hit you sometimes when you least expect them. Good that you were able to have your daughter visit.

Haircut day tomorrow for me.

Take care all

Ginnie

I am sorry that you had a bad day Joan, it is good that your daughter is so close and can come when you need her.

I just popped down to my daughters with Esme’s homework. Apparently they have been learning about clocks today and her homework was to take a photo of a digital clock and an analogue one. She took two photos of each type and my daughter put them on a pdf, but their printer isn’t working, so it was emailed to me to print out. I took it straight down and she attempted to copy the words analogue and digital under the photos. She made a good stab at the letters.I am sure she has a week to do it, but she was insisting that it had to be done tonight

Good morning everyone. Well what a change in the weather, it is warm enough at seventeen degrees, but the rain is really coming down. Actually, I don’t mind because it is just what the hedge needs. It looks like it is going to rain all day, I hoped it,night pass over.
Later on, we are going to go to the local retail park which is only a mile away. There is a TK Maxx and they had some nice lamp shades. Two of the bedrooms don’t have a ceiling shade, so that will solve that problem. There is a nice furniture store, so we can look at the dining chairs. We still haven’t found any which we want. We have had a new table for ages, but are still just eating in the kitchen. I know the furniture store doesn’t have what we want, but it does have a very nice cafe, so if we happen to be there at lunchtime :-D :-D

Afternoon everyone looking in.

oh my the fog is awful and its very wet but the plants outside have sprung to life and have taken well, so I am pleased with all we did yesterday.

We decided to crack on with making more candle centrepieces. I had 6 left in the box and have just finished clearing up. This batch of pine cones was a little disappointing as a lot were quite small with less bigger ones and so we have now ran out...again.

I also needed another 6 red pillar candles so I have ordered some and then these will be the last ones.

My poppies, I have grown from seed are in a pot on the window in the lounge and now they are really growing well. They will be going outside but not until this dreadful weather has passed.

Linda, hope you have a nice lunch :-D

It all sounds as if your house is now coming together finally.

Joan, hope you are having a better day and that the sun is shining so at least you can sit outside with a cuppa and listen to the birds.

If anyone has the sun, can you please send it up here pronto :-D :-D :-D

Florence in the hebrides

Sorry Florence, we don’t have any sun to send. It has stopped raining thank goodness.
We did have a very nice lunch in the furniture shop, strangely we got there at lunch time :-D

We have given up on our dining chair wish list, so I have just ordered some on line which I hope will be OK.

I looked online at the Windsor chairs as I have 6 and did re varnish and rub down awhile ago but thought about replacing them. Argos used to sell them in pairs for about £60 but when I looked at some, the price has rocketed!! I would like 8 chairs in all because I can fit 8 easily and 10 at a squeeze round my Kitchen table. We have 3 odd chairs from the bedrooms anyway as spares if needed.

So maybe I shall just buy a pair and perhaps re sand the 6 and re varnish them. actually couldn't see them in Argos anymore so maybe they don't sell them?

When I first moved in 2017,I bought the 6 ft pine table and 6 Windsor chairs from a lady for £50. What an absolute bargain as the table and chairs were solid and well made. So in a way, i'm loathe to part with them. Shall see if i can find a matching pair of chairs and give the others a bit of a makeover.

Just decided to ake a cauliflower cheese bake with cattots and onions and a breaded fish. Once i cut up the cauliflower, there wasn't as much as I thought as it was quite a small one. Anyway all cooking just now and wont take long.

Linda, hope you enjoyed you lunch. You seem to have lots of nice places to eat in close by. Was outside for some fresh air as the sun is out although still foggy! But i felt the midges were lurking in the shadows just waiting to pounce, so we didnt stay out long.

Florence in the hebrides

Afternoon all

Well the fog has finally lifted and we have a gloriously sunny and very warm day here.

My Hollyhocks did recover actually in the fog but now the sun has come out, they are wilting and they are in a sheltered corner so not in direct sunlight??? So not sur what i can do for them?

I may be getting visitors tomorrow one of daughters friends plus her mum which will be lovely but I am busy tidying all the dribs and drabs that collect here and there, not my clutter! Anyway the lounge is all spic & span, dusted and vacuumed. Kitchen is also looking tidier too. Just the bathroom to clean and hallway needs a dusting as the 2 book shelves really do gather some dust.

I have Tesco coming between 11-1pm with lots of goodies and hoping they will be here after 2pm, so that works out well.

Hoping anyone else looking in is having a lovely day too.

Florence in the hebrides

Hi to you all.
It's a lovely sunny day for us, it's warm but not too warm that I can't manage to do some outdoor jobs.

I have done to weedkilling through the gravelled areas, & given the sheds the 2nd coats that was needed to be done, however there are a coule of areas on the P shed that I can't reach witout using the steps, only need the small steps but I wobble a bit on them so our daughter will finish off what's needing doing tomorrow if the weather is ok.
There's not much to do.

I have had to water some of the newest plants as they were rather dry & I have tied in the stems of the 4 new Clematus that I planted up last year, there on flowers on them already which surprised me, being so new I didn't expect any flowers just yet.

Linda the new house is coming along nicely now that the painter has gone, everything you have told us about your purchases etc sounds really nice.
You & your husbad have done really well to get things sorted out, especially as you have so many other things to do helping your family.

Florence, I hope you have a really nice day tomorrow, with your visitors.

Sausages for my tea today, just not sure what to have with them, lol.

Joan.

Glad you had a productive day in your garden Joan. I have washing out still as its warm and sunny with a little breeze keeping the midges at bay.

it will be another mammoth task of watering all the pots a bit later on as the plants are crying out for a drink bless them.

Hope you found something to have with the sausages Joan, i just had cheese on toast!

Coffee time then off outside again

Florence in the hebrides

I am glad that everyone has had a good day.
I have been out and about all day. I left at nine and drove for an hour to a retail park near where I get my hair cut. I went to Marks and managed to buy three black t shirts, all different designs as they didn’t have three of the cheapest ones in my size. I also got some new undies.
I then went to get my hair cut. Then I went on the search for a tall Red Robin plant to put in the extra screening trough I had bought. I couldn’t get one, lots of small ones, but no tall ones, so I drove close to where I used to live and tried a couple of places there, to no avail, so I just had lunch in a garden centre.
I dropped a bag full of framed pictures which we don’t have room for to a charity shop where I could park outside, then I went for coffee with my old neighbour.
On the way back, I called in at a nursery near here where I knew that I had seen some Red Robins and managed to get one. I also bought some Surfina plants to add to the baskets in the greenhouse.

You've had a satisfyingly productive day, Linda.
So have you, Joan and Florence!

I don't feel I've done anything very much today!
It's been mainly grey and damp, so not conducive to gardening.

I take part in a Pilates class on Zoom on Wednesday mornings, so there was that - but the afternoon was spent at the computer, with emails and genealogy.

Tomorrow I'm helping at a charity lunch in the village hall, so I'll feel more as if I've done something after that!

Morning all
I'm up bright & early as Tesco coming this morning and then my visitors later'

Its bright but a bit overcast just now so not sure what kinda day it will turn out to be!

ArgyllGran, hope the lunch goes well for you today and i am sure you will be kept busy so your day will fly by.

Linda, since my little Red Robin plants have gone outside, they are now doing very well and have grown a little, so Im pleased for that.

Well plenty to do but off to the shower first and then to be busy.

Have a good day all :-D


Florence in the hebrides

Well its still foggy grrr but if it lifted it would actually be quite warm!

Enjoyed the visitors and we all chatted about this & that. They said my house was lovely and my garden with all the pots was beautiful so that was a lovely compliment.

I have now washed up the plates and cups etc and contemplating doing a basket of ironing as its full up???

Actually, yes I will and then wont have it hanging about over the weekend. And its only 3pm so be finished in an hour.

How's everyone's day going so far?

Florence in the hebrides

Well, another busy day today. I had intended to go to Slimming World, then to the supermarket as we had run out of toothpaste. I was also going to Curry’s to have a look at the colour of the Apple Watches as my current one keeps switching itself off.

That was the plan any way before my daughter rang and asked me to collect her from the garage. She said last night her all singing, all dancing car was insisting that the rear left tyre pressure was low. This morning she went to a petrol station and pumped it up and reset the system, so they were all fine, but very soon it said it was low again. As she was near the Volvo garage she left it with them to check, so I had to pick her up. They can’t find anything wrong with the tyre and think it must just be a software glitch, so OH took her to pick it up.
I did go to Curry’s , but they were totally useless, probably a good thing as I had another go at sorting my current watch out and fingers crossed, so far it is behaving.

The electrician was supposed to come this afternoon to install the Google Nest thermostat, but he turned up at eleven so that is now in. I just need to mess about with the settings, I will do that later.

The new dining chairs arrived this afternoon, so OH has put them together. I would still have preferred ones with wooden legs and blue leather seats, but we have given up and gone for black legs.

We also planted the tall Red Robin in the new trellis planter and added it to the other two. It is blocking the view of the neighbours even more. One of the tomatoes in the green house was flopping over because they hadn’t been tied up yet, so OH constructed a frame and I tied them up. I also planted out a couple of courgettes in the garden.
It is still only mid afternoon, so I think it is time for coffee