General Chat

You shouldn’t have such delectable plants in your garden Joan, they are obviously a magnet for the sheep.

I made Hoisin pork with egg fried rice for dinner tonight, it was a hit, although I knew Eve wouldn’t touch the pork as she hates the texture of meat. I gave her some smoked salmon to go with her rice. The school egg fried rice is her favourite lunch and she said this rice was nicer than the schools, so I will make it again.

Wandering sheep are a real nuisance.

A couple of nights ago a cow escaped from a nearby field - and now I have a lot of 6-inch-deep holes in my soggy lawn, which I'll have to get round to filling in again.

This afternoon there's a repair man coming to listen to the thumping noise my dishwasher has been making, and (hopefully) to fix it. He thinks it may be something to do with the inlet valve, but can't tell until he hears it. I hope that's all it is!

Don't want to have to buy a new one at present. It's been an expensive month - car insurance renewal, TV licence renewal, dentist - and in February there will be Ancestry sub renewal.

Afternoon everyone
Awful day here, very windy and heavy showers too, so another day of being stuck indoors.

However I cleared through several drawers today and my wardrobe. Made a pile for the charity shop and plenty of cardboard and paper for recycling. Daughter made a pan of lentil soup for herself as I didn't fancy it. I'm having jacket potato, grated cheese and baked beans,

Glad the sheep have gone Joan, they are a pain when they invade ones garden.

AG, a wondering cow is a pain too especially if they leave their "mess" behind.

My washing machine makes a thumping noise sometimes when it spins. One time it was the feet under the machine that had come loose and just needed tightening up.

Have to say, I use to pay for car insurance, TV and everything else by monthly d/d as I simply couldn't afford to pay in full when the bill was due. But still a nuisance when everything comes at once!

My bestie messaged last night to confirm she is coming for a week in May! Last time she was here was 2000!!! So long overdue, We are going to hire a car and share the costs and she says she will take me out everyday bless her.

So with brother coming in April and bestie in May, its lovely to be able to look forward to things for a change.
:-D :-D

So very quiet here today and even the traffic seems quiet too.

Off for a cuppa now.

Florence in the hebrides

The cow didn't leave anything behind - just the big holes in the lawn!

The fate of the dishwasher is in the balance. It's not the inlet valve, but three other separate faults. Three spare parts required - if they're still obtainable, as the machine is 13 years old.
The very nice man is going to investigate availability and prices ,and will let me know. Then I can decide whether to have it repaired (if he can get the parts), or whether to get a new one. Oh dear!

You'll be looking forward to all those car outings in May, Florence! The weather's usually good then, too.


EDIT 30/01/23:
Well, it's going to mean a new dishwasher. The parts for the old one are obtainable, but the cost of them plus labour comes to very nearly as much as a new one at the lower end of the market, which is all I need - just a basic dishwasher, no bells & whistles required. As the old machine is 13 years old, it doesn't make sense to spend as much as that on a repair.

Evening all.
Well I typed quite a long scree earlier today and in the middle of it the internet went off!!!!

So anyway Joan, what a nightmare for you & your daughter. I thought there was law that states if you fail to properly stock proof your animals and they escape and damage your property, then you have the right to sue them? I'm sure this doesn't only apply to cattle?

Glad you got it sorted in the end.

Its been a beautiful day here, no wind and quite warm & sunny so I ventured outside to get plenty fresh air and walk round to inspect all my pots.
I have a carnation in bud, roses with a full set of leaves and new ones growing. Lobelia that died off and doesn't normally grow the next year has reseeded and green shoots have appeared.

Tulips are about 5 inches above the soil level! Even the fuchsias that didn't do that well last year, all still have foliage.

It's bonkers, it's still January :-S :-S :-S

Mind you, just seen the weather forecast and the rain and gales are heading this way tomorrow just in time for the weekend, so back to normal lol.

Chicken pasta bake for tea for daughter but i had a French bread baguette with cheese, onion & lettuce, was delicious.

Hope everyone else ok.

Florence in the Hebrides

Aw Joan poor you, probably worrying in your sleep about the sheep.

Its been a foggy, rainy day and the wind is picking up as gales are coming tomorrow...
Hope your day is ok so your son can do the work you had planned.

I have been to Forres many times and its a lovely wee town. They always had beautiful flowers through the centre and won the Britain In Bloom award many years ago. I still know a couple of people who live in the area and am in touch with them.

Had a surprise visit from a good friend today. She was on a day off and came over to surprise me. Was a lovely afternoon and she stayed 2 hours, bought me a bag of goodies too which was fab. :-D

Just ordered some more accessories for my card making as I have already used a few things. It's going well and friends think my creations are lovely so that's good to hear.

Didn't have any tea as not feeling hungry tonight but maybe later might have some toast.

Hope Joan you sleep better tonight and the sheep stay where they are.

Hope all is well with everyone else.

Florence in the hebrides

PS Its a quadruple rollover on Saturday night's Lottery so off to buy me ticket...you never know ;-)

That lottery win is mine Florence, you can’t have it :-P :-P :-P

Esme was sick at school yesterday, so had to come home. We were expecting it as the little boy she holds hands with in class was sick and sent home in Wednesday. She was sick a few more times last night, but has perked up this morning. She has had a little bit to eat and is currently painting. Eve has to make a model of the solar system for school, so she is painting polystyrene balls as well Esme said that I am not allowed in the room as it is the messy room! I bet I am allowed in when it is time to tidy up all the mess :-(

I just had a delivery of some new knives, It said that I had to show ID to prove I am over eighteen. I offered to show it to him, but he just looked at me and said “ No, it’s OK” :-( :-(

:-D :-D :-D :-D @Linda
Well that made me laugh....sorry not at you but just because of what the delivery guy said :-D :-D :-D

Tell you what, If i win the lottery, i will share some with you all, say £5 each to buy each of you a coffee maybe :-D :-D :-D

It would be jolly amazing if any of us won big but you never know as someone has to win the jackpot tonight.

Making a brown loaf in the bread maker and its nearly ready. The smell is delicious and cant wait to eat some.

Not a nice day here and going downhill fast so we are sorting the stuff for the charity boxes. I made a card for my nieces birthday so another one off the list.

Linda. hope you and hubby don't catch the sickness bug, its awful and I hate being sick!

Joan, hope you son arrived and managed to get the job done for you and also hope the sheep have stayed home!

JG, hope you are ok as haven't seen you posting much?

Happy weekend to everyone else looking in :-D

Florence in the hebrides

Hello all,

Thank you Florence for thinking of me, I am ok but my leg is still sore so I have to go back to GP . I have an appointment to see the nurse for my bp check on Mon but no apps for the Dr available . OH had an app for his bladder test but it was cancelled fortunately we hadn't left the house when the call came. I would have been annoyed if we had as the taxi would have cost us £10 each way to the clinic and back.

No news yet on my sisters house and the probate but everything is ready for the house to be sold now.

Joan I hope those sheep stay away from your garden. I can imagine how annoying it is if they trample your garden , you have worked so hard and you want to enjoy the flowers.

Hope everyone who has been ill is feeling better now Linda , horrible when the little ones are poorly. I hope the painting wasn't to messy. I used to do a lot of crafting with my grandchildren but they are all adults now .

Take care all.
Ginnie

Speaking of cows - had to laugh at this:

"If he [Putin] can't achieve that, it could be a very bleak future for him with the possibility of some kind of coo in Russia against him."
https://tinyurl.com/khkbxevv

:-D :-D :-D :-D

I am feeling under the weather today. Nothing specific but stomach pains, didn't sleep well last night so I am tired as well. I think the pains may be down to a change of bread. I decided to not have my usual half and half but ordered a seeded loaf instead. Had two slices yesterday lunch time. I have a vague recollection that I may have had a problem before I suspect with the sprouts and cauliflower I had in the even there was too much 'roughage'. Anyway I was supposed to be going out to a garden centre this afternoon with my friend but I called it off.

I have a dentist appointment in the morning tomorrow so need to be ok for that.

Sorry you are feeling unwell Ann it could well be the seeded bread, my OH eats that bread but I can't so have wholemeal instead. Hope you feel better soon.


Been for my bp check and it's ok.

Lovely bright day but very chilly.

I hope you are feeling well enough to go to the dentist Ann. I feel so tired all of the time as well. I have never gotten over the virus I had at Xmas time, at least I am not coughing all of the time as I was then.

I went to my Slimming World class this morning, then to the supermarket, but have had a lazy afternoon.

I bought a new iPhone at the weekend, so,have been setting that up. My OH always has my cast off one and the one he had has been playing up. It needs a new battery, but is so old that it won’t update anymore. He can’t reply to texts from some people and we haven’t been able to find out why. So now he has my old iPhone 11 and I have a nice new 14. He hardly uses his phone at all, so has very few apps on it. I use mine all of the time, even for the banking.
The only annoying thing about my new one is that I can’t get my new phone to stream to my hearing aids. I like it because the phone call goes straight into my ears and no one else can hear what is being said. I also like to listen to podcasts and I am learning Spanish, so I stream the lesson into my hearing aids, so it doesn’t annoy OH while he watches tv. I have uninstalled the app and paired the hearing aids to it again. The app is working, so I can control the volume etc with my phone. I just can’t get the streaming to work. I have had to make an appointment with the audiologist to see if they can sort it out. I only rang this morning and amazingly they offered me an appointment tomorrow morning, but OH needs the car, so I had to turn it down. The next one is 3pm on Sunday afternoon, a very odd time, but I have taken it.

Evening all from the wild west!

Spent most of the day clearing up the mess from last night's gale. My garden box outside the back door was strewn across the garden and flower pots that were inside, everywhere!
So we retrieved what was left but some were cracked and had to go in the bin. At least my expensive Huntress wellies were in tact! The garden box is now in the recycling bin in pieces.

We helped my neighbour as she had pots and stones that had moved plus some rubbish we picked up. At least it had calmed down this morning as it was bin day.

So all sorted now, but another deep depression heading this way tom eve with 80mph winds..eeeek but all the main pots are secure in a sheltered spot. As nlong as the roof stays on we will be ok lol

Sorry Ann to hear you are not too well. The seeded loaf sometimes upsets my stomach too so dont eat too much of it but you said sprouts and cauliflower as well? Oh my your stomach probably is full of air. maybe once you have"been" to the loo, things will settle down. Hope you manage the dentist ok.

Linda, hope the audiologist can sort out the streaming for you but what an amazing thing to be able to do with hearing aids.I have not heard of that before.

Well I made a very quick chicken curry with basmati rice for tea as the wind was picking up and we were starving. If the electric went off there wasnt much in the fridge as Tesco coming on Wed and we are running on empty lol :-D :-D

Joan hope you are ok?

JG glad your BP is ok.

Right off for a quick cuppa as it is very windy just now

Florence in the hebrides

Thanks all for your good wishes. again didn't have a brilliant night, just lay awake for ages but I feel ok this morning. so ok to go to the dentist. Mixed feelings about that as I hate the dentist but it has to be done.
Linda, are your hearing aids NHS ones? Or private? I have not heard that about streaming to the aids before.
I had my daughters cast off IPhone 13 a few years ago, had to replace the battery last month but it is still going ok. I don't use it all the time though. Banking is done on my desk top PC or my Ipad.
Florence gosh that must have been a gale to move all that stuff. I assume where you are it comes straight off the sea?
Joan hope all well with you.
JG good that BP is ok for you.
No more seeded bread for me then. :-(

I am glad that you are well enough to go to the dentists Ann, even though you are not keen.

My hearing aids are private ones. I wanted rechargeable ones, not the type with batteries which have to be changed. I just put them into their charging stand every night and they are fully charged by the morning. I think they would last a couple of days without charging. It was only after I got them that I realised how useful the streaming was. Before that I would have to use headphones if I wanted to listen to something when I was out walking, or on a train etc My granddaughter has a pair of Bluetooth airpods which she uses with her phone, I have my hearing aids which are even better because I don’t have to put them in especially and you can’t see them

It is a lovely sunny morning here, just a bit windy, I will try and get out for a walk later

Morning all.
Well its blowing a hooley here just now with hailstones thrown in and my poor daughter had to go to town for an appointment at the hospital. Thankfully, bus was on time and she didnt get too wet waiting.

Ann glad you are ok. Its a southerly gale so is coming straight across the back garden from fence to fence, the sea is west. i didnt sleep much either as the rain was deafening!

Going to have a go at making some gluten free pizza dough later and see how that goes. Its made with greek yoghurt and no yeast.

Trying to get my bedding dried off in the dryer incase we lose power, i dont want wet laundry hanging about.

Right off to be busy.
Stay safe all

Florence in the hebrides

Linda I assume that your aids are the ones that go right in your ears so you don't have a problem with tubing needing changing. I am very impressed with my NHS aids but it is a faff having to get the tubing changed. On the other hand it is all free. But the streaming is a good idea.

Florwnce let us know how the gluten free pizza dough turns out please. My daughter might be interested.