General Chat

Ann I am not sure but I think this is one of the taller variety.

Evening All,

I thought I'd woken quite early this morning till I saw the clock. It's so dark in the mornings and gets dark so early too now. It was bit warmer this morning when I went to the shop. I jumped in my car to find the floormat right forward and the seat right back from the locksmith testing the key. I can only reach the seat adjuster with the end tips of my fingertips (men not designing things for us shorter women I expect!) and the seat is stiff to slide, so my back wasn't happy after all the effort to move it where it needs to be. The Egret was there alongside the brook today, but I couldn't get any close pics as I only had my phone with me. Cars driving by don't seem to bother it at all and I wonder with it being fairly tame whether it has escaped from Birdland a few miles away. An old boy came into view tottering along very slowly with a stick and stopping every half dozen steps. I decided to wait a while as he seemed really unsteady. He managed to get up the kerb onto the grass and made his way in fits and starts to the little footbridge across the brook where he held the rail and rested. I wondered if he was heading for the chemist the other side, so watched him and was ready to go and offer to fetch something for him if necessary. He just got to the middle of the bridge and spent a while looking up and down the brook, then tottered back and down the kerb and past my car the way he'd come. He was probably just getting a bit of exercise, but he didn't look safe with just a stick.

Mandy the latest gnomes are brilliant too! I love the one with Christmas lights, but they all have lovely little touches that make them individual and interesting.

I seem to have three of the rock type of Sisyrinchium, a bit taller one with spiky daffodil yellow flowers, then a short purple one and a violet one with variegated leaves. None of those are invasive and are easy to pull up if they do stray a bit. I may have lost the variegated one last summer and there is less of the purple one probably as we didn't get much watering done last year. There are a few bits of the yellow one left in the front garden after I stopped OH thinking they were weeds as he had already dug up the ones in the bottom border near the road thinking it was grass! I would think yours will be fine in a pot as you say AnnG.

Sorry you have had a bad night again Vera and I hope tonight will be better. Good idea to make a start on writing your cards a bit at a time. MIL had a tremor with her hands at times and found it a nuisance. I think with my scrawly writing people may think I've had one too many anyway! lol. You have reminded me I must check the posting dates for abroad and get those written and sent.

I am not actually worried about Windows 11 itself but I think I will not be able to run my picasa photo programme which I have used for many years to edit and store photos in albums.

Thanks for the pictures of the gnomes Mandy. You must have quite a collection now and they just keep getting better. This time I particularly like the one with the green scarf (snowman gnome?) and the delicate pastel coloured one with her stripey hat.

AnnG, I am sure my brother had Sisyrinchium in his garden and I remember it as a medium height (at least knee height on me) pale yellow upright plant. I think it is inclined to self seed everywhere but you should be able to keep control of it in the planter. These computer companies can be a bit bullying at times and don't make it easy to say no, but stick to your guns and don't have Windows 11 till you feel ready for it or you have no option. We have had Windows 11 on both computers since it first came out and haven't found it a problem but it should be your choice. It sounds as though you have had a nice day at the Jet Age Museum.

It got to 10 degrees today so not cold for mid-November but it's been very cloudy and grey again all day. There was an amazing moon last night. I couldn't sleep again and went down to the kitchen to get some hot milk. The blinds were down but the room was so light that I opened the blinds to see what was going on and there was the brightest moon I've seen in years. It had a large, hazy halo all round it and looked just as though it had burnt a big hole through the clouds.

After only sleeping from about 5 am to 8 am I haven't had much energy today but we did pop to Sainsbury's for some fresh veg, salad and milk. I've also washed another king size duvet cover, moved some ornaments to different places around the house by way of a change and started on writing a few Christmas cards. I've only done 5 so far and none of them needed more than a couple of words of greeting. My intermittent hand tremor is getting more frequent and I never know when it is going to start so writing lots of cards etc can be a bit of a trial. I just try and make sure that the house number and the postcode are clear but I reckon some of the recipients will think I had had one over the eight when they try to read who the card is from.

We've got the remains of yesterday's stew to eat tonight so I'm now going to go and make some dumplings to go in it. Stay warm everyone.

I think when you have finished Mandy there should be a photo of a gnome convention. All the gnomes together in one photo.

Just been to the Jet Age Museum, It is 5 minutes by car from here and we never visited it. There were 4 of us from Churchdown and none of us had been there before. It was really interesting, lots to see, lots of information and some aircraft on display. And we has a 20 minute talk inside the front ens of a Trident passenger aircraft with half the talk in the passenger part (They flew until the 80s, and half the talk in the cockpit explaining how the plane was flown etc. Really interesting. Had a nice lunch before at the local pub. I had lasagne

As I said in the email Mandy, love all the new gnomes especially Father C.

O Mandy thats my favorite one but they are all lovely. Are you going to sell them please?

Afternoon all,

It's a bright day ,we had some sun for a while but its now clouded over ,didn't seem that cold when we went to sons for coffee .

We're having a nice roast chicken today with all the trimmings then we can have an easy meal tomorrow with the left overs .

Mel I have made some more gnomes ,there's one that has a string of Christmas lights ,I'll send a photo of them.

Its getting darker by the minuet 11 degrees and cludy.

look at it on google Mel. Yes it is invasive but will be contained in the planter. I suppose it is a bit grass like but is not a rockery plant.

Morning all I did'nt have to get up today so had a lie in.

its 11 degrees here and grey still no wind to speak of though.

Just the shop to do today and then I think the rest of the day is mine with no callers so I can do just what I want to.

The Sisyrinchium is that the little short one a bit like a rockery plant Anng, as you said grass like. If it is it van get invasive as you say.

Wonder how Mandy's getting on with the gnomes as we hav'nt heard anything about them lately.

Good morning all too dark to see what is happening outside but it is 7 degrees so probably no sign of a frost. I woke and couldn't get back to sleep so came in to check the PC. Then it decided it was time they asked me again re Windows 11 which I am not bothered about and will not be really necessary until October 2025. However they try to bully me into changing, making the wording really small so O have to look for the decline message. did it anyway so must be more awake than I thought. :-D

I always used to have London Pride in the garden but we have never had it here. I will see how that goes.

The other plant is Sisyrinchium (Pale yellow eyed grass. I am a bit dubious about it as it can get invasive but I think that is not too much of a problem in a separate planter. The flowers are pretty anyway.

Its good your meds were ready it makes such a change not having to wait for them to be done up. Sounds like you had a good spend up for Christmas too and money off as well can't be bad, a good saving there then.

How good was that that the locksmith came early and left at 8.30am it gives you more time to do what you want instead of hanging around waiting for them to arrive or finish.
Asda don't do turkey crowns but I shall probably have a trip to Bideford to Morrisons andd see if they have a very small one or at least a chicken crown.

Anng I love my london pride I have it up the border and down here on the rockery bit outside the kitchen window. My kaffa lillies are flowering I have pink and a dark coral colour and more have come out since I put the wheelbarrow in front of them so the deer can't eat them.

Vera I must get my agapanthus in my shed for the winter. I have a blenheim Orange apple tree up the top garden if its still alive. I had one at the cottage in Suffolk and its a dual purpose apple eat or cook.

BIL came quite early znd the mower came home today so he has mowed all the grass but not picked any of it up. It looks like when they cut the silage. He is really pleased with the mower and can't get over how quiet it is since having the new engine and other bits done, you should have seen the smile on his face. :-D

I made a huge pot of soup while he was mowing and he had two big bowls of that and a nice roll before he left. I now have to go and see how much room I have in the garage. He washed the mower down with the hose before putting it in there.

I think I may do a bit of hoovering now and then feed the big girls then I can settle in for the evening.

It's apparently 9 degrees but feels decidedly chilly to me and it's the sort of day that looks as though it will brighten up at any minute but somehow isn't getting any brighter.

Now don't lose that spare key Annx or, if you are like me, you will put it somewhere really safe and then forget where that is. It's good the locksmith came early. Much better to know you are free for the rest of the day than to have to hang around waiting for someone to turn up.

AnnG, I'm glad your garden meeting went well yesterday and the group could get to see all the work you have been doing outside.

You have done well with your shopping Mandy. I haven't started on Christmas shopping yet, apart from buying some cards and I have just printed out my Christmas card list. It's always sad going through last year's list and crossing off those we have lost during the year. This year we have had 4 deaths, one separation and 2 people whose dementia is now so severe that they don't really recognise people any more.

Yesterday our friends M & V picked us up and took us to a nice place a few miles away which has a large cafe and a lovely big farm shop. We all had different coffees. Mine was a latte which was really hot, and that's more than can be said for some places. Then we had a browse round the farm shop. They had some nice natural soaps and hand creams but, goodness, they were expensive. In the food section they had some old-fashioned varieties of apples. I saw Worcester, Russet and Blenheim Orange though I think there were others. They brought back a few memories of times past. I would have bought some but I have several apples at home and if I buy more they'll be going off before we can get around to eating them.

OH has tidied up my agapanthus plants this morning (under strict instruction) and covered them with fleece ready for the cold weather to come and I have done some household jobs and prepared a big stew that will feed us tonight and tomorrow.

Oh, better go. My in-house chef is calling out that lunch is ready.

sunny here now and 10 degrees. Good that the locksmith was early ann, gave you more free time without having to hang around

I have planted two plants I was given yesterday. One is London Pride and the other I have forgotten the name, I will let you know when I find out. Both are in the 2 planters. I have also shifted some pots on my top patio into the place where the barbecue used to stand as I think they will be more protected from frost and with warning I can throw fleece over them there.
This morning I have also made soup with carrot, tomato, basil and a small amount of already cooked caulflower. It tastes good. And that meant I could clean out the veg containers in the fridge. (after I disposed of a yucky cucumber and a really gone over lettuce.) Not into salads when the weather gets colder.

Mandy you got a lot done so you can feel virtuous.

Vera hope you slept ok and that you are feeling better today.

Mel, good that you are selling your stuff. Are you having to drive to the post van or is it walking distance. You could end up paying more for petrol than you are paid for the goods. Still it is nice to have a hobby that other people appreciate.

Morning All,

Chilly this morning and only 5 degrees now but no sign of a frost. I was up at 7.00 am and the locksmith came nice and early and was finished by 8.30am, so it was good to be 'free' after that. I had to put the key people's no in my phone then and send them a copy of my motor cert of insurance and I hope I've put the spare key in a safe place!!! :-D I've also ordered a turkey crown from the farm shop to collect on Christmas Eve, so that's something else ticked off the list! ;-) I saw our nextdoor neighbour going up the close with the little ShihTzu that used to be so noisy in the garden, but is going quite deaf now so doesn't bark much. We don't see him often now and I felt quite sorry for him as he was walking very slowly and stiffly. I suppose it isn't surprising as he must be aged 14 now, so quite old, even for the breed.

It's good your group were able to see the garden AnnG and that they liked it. What is it you are planting? A bit more cleaning for me too I think. I will clean the other side of the kitchen window in the conservatory and then OH can move theings back so we have a clear path through the conservatory again. I need to wipe out the cupboard I emptied under the kitchen sink. I wonder if I can persuade OH to pop to The Range with me to check out their baskets?

Mandy that was quick service not having to wait for them to find and pack your meds. You got some good savings with your shopping and some Christmas shopping done as well. It sounds like you might have caught a wrong button at the 'hole in the wall', but it is a worry till you can check to see everything is ok.

Mel that sounds like a good frost you had this morning. You must be on first name terms with your Postie now with your regular parcels and it must be good to get rewarded for your efforts with your miniatures.

Morning all,

Its a cloudy morning but bright ,we should get sunshine later ,yesterday we did shopping ,I called into boots first for our tablets it was the quickest time I've ever done as there was no queue and ths tablets were all ready ,then into Tesco's as they have 25% off all their clothes so I got some clothes for the grandchildren for Christmas and a nice top for dil I also had ten pound off a seventy pound spend so saved a good bit .I used the hole in the wall as Colin calls it to get some money out put my card in and the amount I wanted it shot my card out but no money so a bit of a worry until we got home to check if the amount had come out but it hadn't so I don't know what went wrong ,I did ask the security guard if he knew if anyone else had had any problems with it but he said its nothing to do with Tesco's and the machine was filled up the day before ,I did wonder if I pressed the wrong button .

A lazy day for us today, well I say lazy but no doubt we'll find something to do .

Morning Anng and all,

We have had a frost here and at the mo its 6 degrees but there is still frost on my car. It looks like it could have made the car crew cut like it did once before as its standing up on the roof.

Need the post van again this morning as my Tudor prep kitchen items went yesterday and she paid straight away so I need to get htem off to her.

Good morning all 1 degree here now, very cloudy and no frost. Slept ok but woke at just after 0600 and couldn't get back to sleep. Not doing anything today although I do have a plant to put in one of the planters. so I had better do that. Might also finish cleaning the house as I could do with doing the bedrooms.

It ended up being a nice sunny day and not too cold. The meeting went off well. Not a lot of gardening to talk about but there was a lot of chat for two hours. They were able to get out to walk round the garden and they all liked what had been done with it.