General Chat

Oh, I couldn’t do without my all singing, all dancing Apple Watch Joan .

My mum liked jewellery as well, although she couldn’t afford much when we were little. She treated herself in her old age :-D She bought a gold bangle for me and one for my sister. She said we were to remember her whenever we wore them. I had mine on a couple of days ago and of course, I thought of her.

We were the same with meals, back in the " olden days" when I was young!
Main meal at lunchtime (or dinner-time, as it was then known), and a high tea at teatime - maybe scrambled egg on toast, or some other light hot course, plus bread or scones and cake.

My habits changed when I went to uni, as the students' hostel I stayed in provided a main meal in the evening, included in the cost (ah, yes, those were the days!).
Then later when I was working, it was just a sandwich or something like that at lunchtime, with the main meal in the evening.

As for jewellery, I don't have anything particularly valuable. I do have lots of chains and pendants - nothing chunky - but only ever wear two or three of them.
I haven't owned ear-rings since my early 20s, when I sometimes wore clip-ons, which pinched my ears painfully. I've never had my ears pierced.

I only wear my wedding ring. My engagement ring lives in a box and hasn't seen the light of day for many years. I have a couple of dress rings which were my grandmother's, but they don't fit me.

I used to wear a watch until I retired. After that I only wore a watch if I was away from home and had to catch a train or keep an appointment.
Nowadays I have a personal alarm watch which will tell me the time, but I normally keep it switched off to save having to keep charging it up every couple of days, and also to avoid making emergency calls by mistake.
If I ever do need to make an emergency call (haven't so far) , it will switch on very quickly.

Good afternoon, it is nice and sunny now.

I have just had to phone the plumber who installed our Nest thermostat in May. It is suddenly losing the settings for the date and time and won’t connect to our internet :-(
I have googled the fault and tried everything to reset it, to no avail. Luckily we don’t need the heating and only have the hot water on for an hour a day. We still have an immersion heater on the hot water tank, so can use that until we can get it fixed.

We are having a quiet weekend as the girls are away. Eve has gone to London for the weekend to stay with her best friend. Her father took her and is staying with a friend . My daughter has taken Esme to Alton towers for the weekend, although they will just be in C Beebies land and not on the scary stuff. They are staying in a Premier Inn for two nights which Esme loves. She FaceTimed from the car this morning and I asked her if she had slept well. She said she hadn’t because Emma ( her doll) had woken her up seven times in the night. Luckily my daughter said that she had a really good nights sleep :-)

Afternoon everyone looking in.

was supposed to turn out warm at 17 degrees this afternoon and no wind but we now have cloud and its starting to rain so that forecast was completely wrong!

However in the morning I stripped my bed and got all of the washing dry so that was a bonus. I had bought myself a new bed set in purple pin tuck. Was a bit of a pain to iron lol but now on the bed, its looks lovely.

I decided after couple of days without much appetite, i would make a salmon salad today. I made 2 bowls of pasta/tuna one GF and one normal. I like sweetcorn in mine as well. 2 fillets of salmon, lovely when cold, potato salad and some crusty bread rolls. We were going to make soup but changed our minds as the kitchen was so warm, the thought of soup went out the window lol

So now all ready and chilling in the fridge for later.

I'm now sitting with a can of juice as my left knee was beginning to hurt as I had been standing a long time.

Hope everyone else enjoying their Sunday

Florence in the hebrides

PS Joan, I don't own a watch either lol. My phone tells me the time or the various clocks throughout the house.

LOL Florence, I don't heveatn have a mobile phone to tell me the time, I do have to rely on the various clocks throughout the house.

I have my hubbys wrist watch, a very ordinary simple (old fashioned ) type, gold coloured & it fits me, but I can't get used to having something on my wrist, I would so love to be able to wear it.

It's been sunny & calm here today, & rather warm.
Our daughter & her tribe came over to mine earlier to look through some of the tools & other various items cluttering up the garage & workshop.
Most of the stuff is of no use to me & much of what they came across should have been thrown out long ago, soo many old nails & screws & the like, lol.

Our son cleared out the other half of the old steading long ago of much of the same.
My hubby never threw anything away, just in case, lol.

Enjoy you meal Florence.

Joan.

It has been incredibly hot here, it is still 24° now. Luckily the house stays nice and cool, so I have mainly been watching the Olympics . It is going to be even hotter tomorrow and they are forecasting thunder storms which I love.

After my father died, we were faced with clearing out the garage, workshop and shed. They were full of the sort of stuff you are talking about Joan. Luckily, he went before my mum, so we had plenty of time to empty everything out, it would have been a nightmare if it had been the other way around. He had a massive collection of rusty tools etc.

OH had several goes through his stuff before we moved, so there isn’t that much, but I am sure that it will soon build up again.
I was looking for a casserole dish yesterday, then I realised that it was one of the things I sent to the charity shop.

That 's the trouble with getting rid of things. You may not have used a particular item for years, but as soon as you throw it out you're sure to find a need for it!

Yesterday I got rid of 15 shoe boxes. Well, at least I flattened them and put them in the recycling bin ready for the next collection. I've still kept five - just in case!

We had the forecast good weather here today, thank goodness, though the sun didn't come through until about lunchtime.
One dry, warm, sunny day - wonderful. I have cut all the grass, which had grown long. I haven't been able to cut it for a couple of weeks because of the daily rain, and tomorrow we'll be back to showery weather - but at least the grass is now cut, so it'll be OK for a few days.

Afternoon everyone looking in today

Well I had a rude awakening this morning at 8am as a loud clap of thunder woke me up! Boy it was loud and not something we get that often up here!

i waited for the lightening to follow but it never came just more thuinder so i jumped out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get the kettle on incase the electric went off.
It didnt and by 9.30, the thunder had moved over towards NE Scotland. It did pour hard though, torrential and we are on flood alert towards the end of the week.

Its blowing a gale here but had dried up so much so my grasscutters came and decided to push ahead with mowing today as the rest of the wind is awful.
So glad they did it and it looks very neat now.

I tel the chemist today to see if my calf and foot wraps had arrived and was told yes, they are awaiting your collection!! i said well someone was supposed to tel me & let me know when they arrive but obviously they didnt. Luckily daughter is at the dentist today in town and has been & collected them for me.

I then tel the drs and just got a phone call back from the district nurse who is coming tom at 10am to fit the wraps and.... I need a FBC, HB1AC, LFT & Kidney plus BP!! Oh my full MOT lol

Might as well get my moneys worth while they are here lol

The cold salmon salad I made yesterday was so delicious as the salmon just melted in the mouth and there is plenty tuna pasta left for tonight to have with a jacket potato so thats tea taken care of.

When I was younger we had our main meal which we called "tea" at 5.30 every night. Dinner was what some call "lunch" and always at 12.30.

My nephew has his meal at 5pm on his own each night as his mum waits for her hubby who isnt home until 7pm and they don't eat until 8pm! He is self employed so comes home when he finishes a job!

If we were eating out after 6pm in the evening, we would say we are going out for dinner as in evening meal.

The post was here before 10.30 so I'm guessing no mail plane today.

Hope all is well with everyone

Florence in the hebrides

Hell to all.
WE have just had the thunder Florence, woke this morning to a very windy but dry day, since dinner time the wind abated a little & down came the rain, quite heavy as well, then the thunder moved in.
The power went off about 1/2 an hour ago but was back on in seconds !!

I have lost some of the tv /sky channels at the moment, mostly the ones I tend to watch so I'm hoping they return soon, it's so quiet & lonely here without the tv.

Take care everyone.

Joan.

Aw Joan, glad the thunder didnt last long. Im sure the tv will retune itself soon.

Have you got a radio? or do what I do is switch on the tv and put 702 on the remote instead of say 3 for itv( freeview) and I listen to R2 no need for the radio. if you want R3 its 703 or R4 704.

Glad your power came back on as quick. Its bright here but gale force winds as was the forecast.

Hi Florence, the rain has almost stopped now, & the tv appears to have come right again, I was watching an old black & white film when the channels vanished.

Yes I do have a radio, I have it tuned to Classic FM, that was my hubbys favourite radio channel, I would normally listen to the radio if the power was to be off for sometime, unfortunately though I find the radio doesn't last too long even after being newly charged !

It's quite new with little use,it's one that is rechargable, I much prefer the ones with loose batteries,they lasted much longer that this new type I have.

Joan.

We had the thunder here, too, at about 8am, followed by torrential rain bouncing off the windowpanes.

(I know people say "thunder and lightning", and not "lighting and thunder" - but the lightning does come before the thunder.)

This afternoon's nice, though - dry, sunny, windy.

I was able to get a satellite TV picture yesterday and this afternoon, while it hasn't been raining, but otherwise I've only been able to watch the various streaming services - BBCiPlayer, etc - for the last 10 days or so.
A tree surgeon will be coming at some point to fell the tree which is blocking the signal. He says he's booked solid for the next month, but will pop in next time he's passing, to see what's required.

I really only listen to the radio when I'm in the car, as I can't get an FM radio signal in the house, and we don't have DAB radio in this area yet.
In the house, I can get radio stations on the TV (when the satellite signal works!) or on the computer , but I'd have to turn the volume right up to be able to hear it in other rooms.

I could carry my tablet around the house with me - but somehow it just doesn't feel the same as years ago, in a previous house, when I used to take my little radio with me as I went around doing the housework.
Terry Wogan was my saviour when the children were small - an intelligent adult voice in the mornings!

In later years, when I was on my way to work, his "Janet and John" stories always began when I reached the speed limit signs at the edge of town, and finished just as I was parking at work. I used to drive through the town, laughing aloud.

Ah I loved Terry Wogan, he always made me laugh. Especially when he would go on about all the traffic cones on the road. :-(

Hello All
I don't come on to Gens very often.
The memory of Terry Wogan made me smile.
Did you know you can listen to some of the
Jane and John's stories on Ytube
Ann

No I didn’t know that, thanks.

Hello all,
Another lovely day here and I'm just waiting for my washing to finish so it can go on the line. OH has gone to the dentist and after that he is off visiting family so I have a quiet day by myself waiting for a parcel to arrive. Yesterday was a Drs appointment for me and happy to say I dodged the thunder storm and the rain.

It has been very hot over the last week and the tomatoes have started to go red and if they all go we will have loads of them . Mainly little cherry tomatoes though we have 1 large tomato plant and 1 with orange tomatoes . The cucumbers did ok this year and we grew one called melon cucumber which is round and yellow but tastes the same as the long green ones.. Also tried salad beetroot which needs no cooking but I am not keen but it grew well .

I also used to like listening to Terry Wogan and loved his commentary on the Eurovision programme. He had a way with words.

Take care all.

You are lucky Ginnie, my tomatoes have been a disaster this year. The greenhouse is in a shady position and the weather hasn’t helped. I will have a go at growing them outside in hanging baskets next year.I was looking forward to having a greenhouse again, but I can see why the previous people gave up using it

We booked a holiday to Zante in September, it is the first time we have been away since Covid. I have been sorting all the paperwork out including the travel insurance. We have a bank account which has a monthly fee. It gives us breakdown cover for the car, mobile phone insurance and travel insurance. Of course because of our age and medical conditions we have to pay extra, but it is only £60 total for annual worldwide cover, so that isn’t bad. We are planning on going to Florida next July for the Costello conference and two weeks in Disney, so it was worth getting the annual cover. I did look at Jet2 insurance last night for just the single trip, but that was £30 each, so the bank insurance was a bit of a no brainer. Probably there is cheaper insurance out there, but filling in all the medical conditions is an absolute nightmare

Evening all

Didn't have much time to get on here until now. Was bin day and the wind early blew me over and was raining hard so not pleasant having to be outside.

A nurse came to fit my calf wraps and liners. I felt like a trussed up chicken as they are so thick i could only wear my long shorts! I cannot possibly get my jeans on at all. i suffered wearing them until teatime and then my ankles were so sore so i took them off. I have foot wraps too but when I removed both wraps from each leg, my left foot was so swollen??

I shall put it all back on after my shower first thing and then the nurse is popping in later to see how Im managing.

She took 3 lots of blood too....what a vampire lol

My dad phoned me at 5pm, not a good time as I was just about to eat but of course I couldn't put him off so that delayed the food and I was so behind with everything.

Anyway now sitting and catching up with emails etc and Vera.

JustGinnie glad you had a good crop of tomatoes. Had to laugh about putting the washing out on the line, mine would be halfway to Iceland lol

I remember Terry Wogan always talking about the snow gates closed at Tomintoul and having no idea if it was real place but now living up here for 30 years, i realised there is such a place after all lol

Florence in the hebrides

I hope that you are coping with your wraps Florence, they sound dreadful to wear..

I have been a a SEND theatre course today with Esme. Her mum took her the first day , her dad the second and I did today. There was one other girl with her carer, the rest were just dropped off by their parents,but some of them definitely should have had an adult with them! Anyway Esme had a great time which is all that matters.

I hope that Sylvia has settled into her new home