General Chat

I have just collected 126 seeds from the huge tomato I grew this year. They are not dry yet but if any of you would like some I will send you some with your cards so let me know. I was given the first big tom from my neighbour and it was so delish I saved the seed and that what I grew this year and they came out just the same. I think she said they were ones she had saved. I did'nt get mine in till late but they still produce some very large toms.

I always take my phone well most times anyway.

The post where Gwyn said about the doors being open was in an email Anng and when I had it your email address was on it and Vera's too.

Here it is:-

To: Ann Knight; melanie cowlard; Vera Martin;
20/11/2024 12:09
5

Morning everyone.
We had our first frost of the winter this morning, but the bright sunshine has melted that now.

Vera, I hope your hospital appointment goes well and the team are happy with your eyes.

Anng take care if you go out. I always think thicker new snow feels much safer underfoot than the thin light falls, which just bed down to make everything slippery.
I don't need to go out today, so will have a day doing this and that at home.
We'll have to delve in the freezer for something for our meal this evening. There is plenty of choice, but anticipating my annual blood test check coming soon, I try to think towards that cholesterol test and have so far managed to avoid taking medication, so will try to be good.
Yesterday's meal didn't meet those requirements, but it was a case of conjuring up a quick meal, so that I could go out to an evening meeting, but we also wanted to use the remaining part of a red cabbage. We ended up with shop-bought steak pie, red cabbage and carrots with some nice thickish gravy, - very warming on a cold day and soon prepared and cooked.

School again tomorrow.
I hope I'm in a warmer spot than yesterday. I couldn't understand why I was so cold at my table in the school hall and then I realised that the door on the other side of the hall, which I had my back to, had been left open. On going to close it, I saw that the door from that area to the outside was also open, so no wonder the cold air was rushing in.
I'll dress warmly and check before I sit down tomorrow.

Keep warm and safe everyone.

Gwyn

Well I thought I must have lost a post by Gwyn as Mandy remarked on doors being left open but I can't see anything from Gwyn anywhere. Probably me missing it somehow.
Pleased that you got the lock fixed ann and that you now know how to fix it yourself.

I am so cold here that I have put on another layer and also put the heating on very low.

Mel as Mandy says, don't forget to take your phone when out and about in your big garden.

Afternoon all,

We're both chilly round the neck now we've had a trim ,Suns shining but it's very chilly out after a very sharp frost ,no more snow so thats good .

Gwyn I hope you were a bit warmer in school today, fancy someone leaving both doors open just think of all the lost heat ,it reminded me of the time when the schools had to have windows open when covid was about it must have been cold .

Lovely snowy photos Mel thanks for sending them what lovely views you have of the snowy trees and the lawn ,I hope you take your phone with you when you go out to the chickens and birds ,if you slipped over it wouldn't be good .

Vera your little bedding begonias did well to last all this time ,I had a few of them this year as dil had a few over so gave them to me ,I don't usually have them I don't know why but they were so pretty I think I will definitely have some next year .

Ann thats good the door man showed you how to tighten the screw on the door barrel if it becomes loose again ,saves all the waiting about for him to come .
What a price for a car key good job you were covered and didn't have to pay .
We like those chicken tonight sauces ,the honey and mustard one ,nice and easy and we have it with lots of veg .

Keep warm everyone ,roll on the weekend it should get up to 15 degrees.

The view of the chicken shed is in the back field and taken out of the bedroom west window. That is part of the back field which leads to the little wood and then up the road to the village hall.

The suns come out and its melting.

I don't seem to have that on my screen Mel. Thank you for your snowy photos and I really like the effect on the Fir tree! The shrubs look so different with a coat of snow too. II can't quite get my bearings with the one with the chicken run and shed. Is that the lane you drive down on the left behind the barbed wire fence? I don't think I saw the chickens when we called to see you that time. OH said this morning he needs to find his scraper, I keep mine in the boot. An old credit card with the chip removed and cut up is handy in the car (out of sight) for scraping.

The door man has been and surprised me by being cheerful again and it only took him 5 minutes, as a screw was a bit too loose. He showed me where to tighten it if the barrel comes loose again. Hopefully no more visits needed now.

Just had a chicken pasta bake I forgot was in the fridge for lunch and OH had soup. I've decided to do the chicken in the slow cooker later maybe for tomorrow or to freeze, as I cooked salmon yesterday to have on cobs later.

Off to the post office and shop next as the frosty car windscreen has all melted in the bright sunshine we have now.

Just had an email about a parcel to be delivered today and it said sorry we missed you. Thats a load of rubbish as if someone had come here I would see tyre tracks down the road or footprints if anyone had been. Just theri excuse to say they can't come because of the snow.

Its at the top of the screen when you log into What kind of things and you get the thing come up with the name on the mauve G and underneath the name of the thread it has muted.

Iv'e just been round to the girls and got snow down my neck from the netting over the run as I bent down to put their food in the trough.

Fed the wild birds too there s loads of them out there this morning so I expect they will need more a bit later on.

Mel where is the tab thing? PC, laptop, tablet? I can't see anything like that on my PC

I have just noticed that when I look at the tab thing that says W K O T D Y R F C it has muted written underneath.

Oh would cook sometimes and was always in charge of the BBQ if we had one. At Christmas he would wash up as I used pans and things which helped a lot.

I did drive to Stu's yesterday evening and the roads were ok but I had a job clearing the frost off the car windscreen and where have you put the defroster spray when you need it? In the end I put my hand on the screen to melt the frost which worked. Then I had to squeegy the inside of the sreen and I put the wipers on and they just scraped across the frozen hail which had slid down the screen so I expect that I shall need new ones of those now. When I left Martin Stu's friend saw me back so I could drive out. There are lways so many cars parked at his with his work and family. Both the twins were out last night so it was jus tthe 4 of us.

Emailed you.

Missed you there Mel by the time I posted! Your meal last night sounded good and isn't it nice to not have to cook yourself sometimes. I have never had men willing to learn to cook, but at least they would always prepare a lot of the veg except onions! I have some chicken breasts in the fridge so think I will put the slow cooker on and add one of those chicken tonight sauces and some veg to have later.

I envy you your view of snowy scenery, but I'd be staying in like you and keeping warm. We have weak sunshine here now, so hopefully it will defrost the cars!

Morning All,

Well it's freezing cold here, still minus 3 degrees so the heating has been on. Thank goodness the new boiler wasn't being fitted today! I was up early this morning as the doorman is due today to look at the lock on the front door again which seems to move in and out a lot where the key fits. I hate this 'any time between 8.00am and 5.00pm' and surely they could say either morning or afternoon. I wonder if it will be grumpy again that comes. :-S My first job is to repack the camera ready to post. OH is having a lie in as he had to get up in the night to take tablets for his aching side and head pain. He has to have more blood tests now and an x-ray. He is out in the sticks tonight at a meeting so I hope it's less frosty.

AnnG I expect you are right about GR as the service has gone down over time eg whatever happened to the 'matches' we used to get? I expect we should be thankful for what there is, although I am still annoyed they upped my subs after I signed for a free trial once. Our feet are a nuisance aren't they and I remember having a big toenail growing out twice as thick when my thyroid meds were too high after losing weight and it and other nails lifting and tender. Those problems went once my meds were reduced, but they tend to be quite brittle now. I can see me needing a chiropodist eventually. I still need to empty a few things out of the pots, but not today while it's so cold. I marvel at old Albert up the road who's got to be in his mid 90s as the four corner flower beds in his front garden is all cleared, weeded and dug over ready for Spring bedding.

Vera I have just the same trouble with following racing speech that isn't clear, you can barely follow what's meant which isn't good when it's important. They must be happy things are stable and I hope you don't have to wait too long for the cataract to be done. I know there wasn't a long list here, but that was over a year ago and things vary in different places, but it would be good to get it done over the winter. OH always has to have the strong drops and wear sunglasses too! He complains that the sun is always shining when he has eye tests. As for your speaker, some just don't fit what they want to say into the time available do they or keep a note of the times to move to the next thing in front of them.

I had a copy of the invioce that was paid for my new car key come yesterday. Fancy one new car key costing £246 !! It's getting on for what the winter fuel allowance is that most have lost.

Well I'd better get this parcel wrapped now. The tap in the kitchen is dripping again, so the new washer the boiler man fitted with no charge hasn't fixed it. He did say it would mean a new tap if it didn't, so I'd better phone him.

A yes Mel I saw on the forecast the paces south of Glos were in for snow this morning. Pleased it is not here at the moment anyway. Glad to hear you had a nice evening. did you drive in the end?

orning all,

I have woken to a winter wonderland today a comp-lete white out. Its 2 degrees and pc says light rain or snow. They're wrong.......

Thank you for asking Ann and yes I did go to Stu's last night. He cooked his chicken dish with leeks, potatoes, sweet pots, carrots and a nice BBQ sauce he makes up so a bit different each time. Some of the carrots were a bit hard which I hade to leaves and I think what he'd done is put extra in a bit later when he knew how many e coming. He had his friend from Plymouth staying as Stu was doing his car and Marie his sort of girl friend.

I must say its so nice to be able to get on here in the morning now they seem to have fixed the error. As you can imagine I shan't be going anywhere today but staying in with the heating on.

Good morning all, I slept well last night but was awake at 0630 and couldn’t get back to sleep. I had had seven and a half hours sleep so obviously enough.

It was minus one degree just now but has gone up to 0 now, frost on the roofs but, at least no more snow. Nothing planned for today so maybe I will get a big chunk of the two outstanding jobs (wrapping and car writing) done.
I had better for back and re-read yesterday’s posts as I think there may be a lot to answer. I don’t think the ones in customer service know what the problem was Ann, not sure they communicate with the techies, But I pay so little a year and wouldn’t want to rock the boat as it wouldn’t take much for GR to be cancelled so I will live with the inconvenience of the past couple of days. Actually we have been quite lucky for a long time now with no hiccups.

Re the chiropodist. No he just cuts and files and checks there is nothing wrong with my feet/toes. I don’t put varnish on my toe nails anyway as the surface is rough with them having been filed to keep them flat and the toe nails on smaller toes tend to curve now. Many years ago I had athletes foot and it permanently affected my toe nails. They tend to thicken and need filing every 8 week to keep them comfortable. I wouldn’t like his job as I hate feet. And yes I have a problem reaching my toes.
Vera, I am not sure what is worse, non stop rain or snow. I suppose it depends if you need to go out, I was pleased when the snow disappeared yesterday when I had to go out. I don’t have to go anywhere today so am not affected by whatever it does. Just hope we are not in for a bad winter of snow as I don’t want to not be able to get up to daughter’s. And, yes, it was very cold out yesterday.

I still give cards to all and sundry and neighbours here do exchange cards well most of them anyway. It is nice to have a lot of cards to put up, brightens up the winter. I suppose it is all part of my hobby of card making and I save up stamps by buying them through the year.

That meeting sounds as if the talk would have been excellent if she had precede it a bit. Your talks are normally the same length as ours and that is long enough for most people our sort of age to sit in one position.

Yes it was sad to have to pull the begonias up (and, boy, weren’t my hands cold doing it). A pity that I now have some empty tubs, but they will be filled next spring when I start planting stuff again.

Although you were unable to understand what the lady doctor said (Oh how I empathise with that), I would think there was nothing to worry about. It would be helpful to know how long the wait for cataract removal is though.

Strange how the restaurants in different Dobbies differ. Our one in Gloucester, which is closing after Christmas, has a really good restaurant on the side that you sit if eating a meal as it is table service. The coffee side and cakes has always a long queue as the coffee machines are slow. The restaurant at one up near daughters is so slow that food is cold by the time you eat it, that is counter service,

I think I have answered all the outstanding posts. I have done this in word in case something happens as it is so long. I am following Vera’s example. Have a good day all if you are planning on doing anything,

Mel did you get to Stuarts yesterday in the end.
Mandy hope it is not snowy or icy for your hair cuts today.

Finally, a post for today.

In some ways it has been a beautiful day, blue skies and sunshine all day but it has been cold with a really bitter feel to the wind. At least our spirits were lifted by seeing the sun after all the gloomy days we have had.

It sounds very chilly in that school hall Gwyn. I would have needed a hot water bottle tied round my middle.

Shame your begonias had to come up AnnG but they have done well to keep going this long. I’m still hanging on to 2 tubs of Argyranthemum by the front door but I’ve stopped deadheading them now as I’m sure they won’t be throwing more blooms.

Annx, I do hope your back and crampy, sore legs are feeling easier now. What are we all like? I don’t think we’ve got one good back between us! Yes, I saw that about it being cheaper to pay to fly to 6 different countries, and buy stamps to post 100 Christmas cards. Of course there was nothing about the time it would take but it certainly makes you realise how expensive our postage is. What a shame you didn’t get the camera you ordered and why can’t they do a straight exchange for the correct one instead of faffing about with refunds and reordering?

Well, we went off to the hospital this morning and, as predicted, the car parks were bursting so OH dropped me at the door of the eye treatment centre which is a separate building behind the hospital and went to find a parking spot. He was ages and just got to the waiting room with me as I was called in. I went through all the usual vision tests, pressure tests and scans with everything being explained to me in words of one syllable. I know they have to cover themselves but I’ve done it all so many times now that it gets irritating, but I just smile sweetly even when inside I’m screaming “just get on with it”. Then it’s always a wait for a doctor and the waiting area is in a corridor where today the tiles had been taken off the ceiling and all the pipes above it exposed as there was apparently some work being done there. There was half a gale blowing through this open area and I had left my coat with OH in the waiting room so I froze. Eventually I got called in to the doctor and my heart sank. I was seeing the same lady as last time. Don’t get me wrong – she has a lovely personality and I am sure she is a very good doctor but I can’t understand a word she says. She is not from this country and talks quickly with such a strong accent that I only recognize the odd word. I did glean that she now wants to refer me for cataract removal in the bad eye and I have agreed to that. I think that means the eye is still stable. I have no idea how long I will have to wait for that or whether I will need another check up while I am waiting so I shall have to wait for a letter.

OH suggested as we were near Dobbies we went there for lunch. What a disaster that was. I found a table while OH joined a long queue to order fish & chips for him and ham, egg and chips for me. The system is terrible, just one person to serve up scones, cakes, drinks etc., take meal orders and man the till so the queue moves at snail’s pace. OH eventually got to the front when I heard him yell across the restaurant that there was no more ham, egg and chips so what would I have instead. I shouted back the same as you so he ordered 2 portions of f & c. There was only 1 piece of fish left. Rather than shout across the room again he ordered something else for himself and let me have the fish. I’m not keen on fried fish usually because so often the batter is thick and greasy but credit where it’s due, it was the best batter I’ve ever had; light, dry and crisp. I ate it all. They were obviously understaffed and I think someone may have complained that tables weren’t being cleared as a man suddenly appeared and started stacking crockery and taking it away. As my eyes were still blurry from all the drops and as light was hurting them I was wearing dark glasses and getting some strange looks so lunch wasn’t much fun.

Here I am, rambling on again and I meant this to be short. I’d better leave you in peace. Have a good night everyone and keep warm and cosy.