General Chat

Morning all.
Im up early today as daughter is coming home and her lovely friend offered to bring her back from hospital. She's fine and looking forward to eating something more than custard and clear soup bless her.

Its overcast here and looks like a heavy day so think it's a day indoors.
I boxed up a load of trinkets yesterday and also threw out a few things so less to put back.

So off to the shower etc and then basket of ironing needs my attention.

Have a good day all

Florence in the hebrides

Edit: Roll on next week as looks like we are getting brilliant weather for a change!

Your daughter will be please d to get home Florence, hospital beds are not the best to sleep in.

I am sitting in the garden enjoying the peace while I have a coffee. Esme will be home in an hour and it is half term next week- Oh Joy :-( :-( :-(

Enjoy your coffee Linda :-D
Daughter tel from Tesco and I gave her a small list of essentials. Tf some money and then she says," mum I need more money its gonna be over £100!!!"

It was £133.00 and goodness knows what she has bought, my mind boggles.

I always say, "do we need it or do you just want it?" There is a difference.
I guess for my Tesco order next Saturday, it will be quite a lot cheaper though.

So waiting patiently!

Florence in the hebrides

Oh my goodness Florence :-0
I can't remember when I last spent that much in Tesco.
I hope you receive some useful items.

We are on a 'use it up' drive and have had some 'interesting' meals this week. We still had eggs and milk left, so all manner of things have surfaced from the depths of the chest freezer or back of the cupboard, but we have managed to clear and eat some items that had been hanging around for a while.
We need shopping now, as we are all-but out of bread and have no fresh veg. apart from one enormous sweet potato and a few small ordinary ones.
I will expect to pay under £50 though.

Ah well, all became clear once she unpacked. 24 tins of pepsi because there was a deal! ,2 bits of reduced sirloin but still £6 each. Various gluten free stuff that was sooo expensive, chocs for a friend £5 and many other little things that added up to a hefty bill.

So its use up week from now on as I have a salad drawer of a large sweet potato, carrots, swede, onions red and white, cucumber, lettuce, red and white potatoes so a veggie soup/soup needed and a green pepper.

Oh the lenor for 83 washes was £4.75 as I was completely out of it. 2 packs of crumpets which I didn't need, so they went in the freezer. Also I needed batteries for the door bell and they were 4 for £7.50! So you can see how the bill went up.

Yes we shall now be living off the fridge/freezer and cupboards for as long as possible as me purse is empty as they say!

A nice evening here but windy but daughter got all her clothes washed and they are on the line drying nicely and that will save the dryer.

Florence in the hebrides

Morning all and what a day!

I didn't sleep well at all and got up around 7.30. Daughter left the washing out last night as it was a nice evening but oh my.....

I opened the blinds to find a force 8 gale blowing, clothes lying on the grass etc. Not a happy bunny. It was also raining/misty low cloud.

Anyway, I quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed my stick and ventured outside. Crikey, was awful. I was trying to snatch the clothes off asap but getting blown all over by the wind.

Finally got back in the safety of my kitchen and looked like a drowned rat!

So clothes had to go in the dryer, so much for "free wind" to dry them.

Decided to pull out a family tree I started long ago to see if I can fill in some gaps.
This is my grandmothers side of the family and its another huge one as 1 had 14 children!! Perfect day for it and I am def not venturing outside again. Only upside is, the plants have been watered as long as there are all in one piece.

Hope everyone is well and ok today.

As for our meal tonight....choices choices so much in the fridge to choose from lol

Florence in the hebrides

Your weather sounds dreadful Florence. It has been a lovely day here. It was really sunny this morning and was supposed to get up to 22 degrees, so we got the the paddling pool out. It is the type where an adult can lie down in it and the side come up to just below my knee.
We don’t have an outside tap, but have a hosepipe which attaches to the tap in the utility room.We filled it with hot water, so it was like a hot tub. Both girls have been in it for much of the day. When Esme went to have a rest in her bed, my daughter was stretched out in it reading a book.
The only problem is emptying the thing. It does have a plug in the bottom, but the weight of the water means it doesn’t run out. We get a couple of large buckets and pour most of the water on the plants in the borders

We decided to have a bbq, so it was nice to have spent most of the day in the garden.
The next couple of days are supposed to be cloudy and cooler, so I am pleased we made the most if today.

Well next week, we are promised a heatwave up here... watch this space lol

Pigs might fly too :-D :-D :-D

Afternoon chit chatters.

I hope you enjoyed your BBQ Linda and the girls sound like they had a lovely time in the pool and their mum too.

The wind has finally abated but still grey and gloomy here, however we ventured outside and gave the plants a good watering so that should keep them growing. I'm seeing some petunias have bloomed, purple ones and they look lovely.

I decided to christen my Hot Pot dish today and make a chicken hotpot. It took ages to heat up as it was so big so the veg although in small pieces took ages to soften.
Added stock and a tin of chopped tomatoes, some herbs, black pepper, Worcester sauce. I have now added 2 chicken breasts and transferred to the oven.

Will leave 3/4 hour before adding the sliced potato on top for another 45 minutes.

Cant wait to try it later.

As daughter bought a glut of things, I realised the strawberries were already going a bit soft but we decided to experiment. I had 3/4 tin of evaporated milk needing to be used so poured that into a blender with a load of chopped strawberries. Blended for a minute, poured into a plastic dish with a lid and its now in the freezer,.

Daughter also did one with a banana and some raspberries and lactose free milk.

Cant wait to see later what the concoctions will taste like.

A very different Sunday tea for a change.

Hope everyone having a peaceful, sunny Sunday.

Florence in the hebrides :-D

Your strawberry experiment sounds nice Florence. It is really chilly here today, a huge change from yesterday. We normally have chicken dinner on Sunday as that is what Esme demands, but we are having a change, so are having tofu and mushroom pad Thai. It has lots of chilli in it, so Esme won’t have that. I have some cooked chicken breast, so I can knock her up a pretend chicken dinner in no time with just a frozen Yorkshire pud, peas and gravy, she doesn’t like mash, so won’t miss that

Years ago, when I lived in a "larger" household, yorkshire puddings were served with every roast not just beef as the kids loved them.

Once I changed the Sunday menu and made a chicken lasagne, oh my thought WW3 was going to break out! I, just fancied doing something different but the following Sunday, the usual roast was cooked else I would have had a riot on me hands lol

Well the hot pot is all ready and smells fab. I tasted a wee spoonful and its very tasty, have to say, although daughter isn't sure as its a new dish and she def doesnt like change. She may just eat a chicken breast and some sliced potato!

I just checked on the new" ice cream" but not quite set yet, another wee while yet.

Just realised, my computer says the temp here is 22 degrees :-D :-D :-D 12 morelike ;-)

Well, we have found new homes for all 4 carpets :-D
Daughter advertised on a local group my neighbour told me about and FB and today, all the carpets are going to new homes.

So chuffed we have helped 3 people and they are not going to landfill and i dont have to pay to get them taken away.

Always feels good knowing that the person in need has been helped for free.

Florence in the hebrides

We have several Face book groups here where you can give things away, ask for them or buy and sell things cheaply.
I have done quite well this week. The projectionists in the cinema want a bench making in the projection room, so I asked on the sites if anyone had an off cut of kitchen worktop we could have as we only needed 1.25 metres and if you buy it new, it only comes in much longer lengths. Someone did, so that was sorted.
I also got a really good office chair for free. My daughter is working from home in our study and we have a good chair, but now son in law is here more or less full time, he was using the good chair as he has a bad back and she was using a smaller one which came from Eves bedroom in London. It isn’t very good, so I was pleased to pick up this free chair to use until they finally move into their own house.

Good morning all.
Well its a bit nippy outside but no wind so that can only mean one thing at this time of year.....Midges grrrr.

Daughter put out the bins late last night and came in saying the midges were bad and she had been bitten.

Thats the thing here you cant win. In summer no wind=midges.

No sign of the heat wave we were promised. Its misty out to sea so a chill in the air.

We were hoping to have tea alfresco but no chance of that.

Back later, sorry need to go.

Well sorry about dashing off but 2 phone calls and someone having a meltdown(no not me)
Honestly, just because i'm retired and home all day doesn't mean, i'm free to sort out everyone elses problems does it? I've sorted today, an electricity bill, a gas meter not taking readings, looking up plants online for someone which took ages and how to locate a phone that has been lost with a flat battery!

In between that, I have taken in two bins, fought off the midges, stripped and remade my bed, 2 loads of washing and I haven't had anything to eat yet or my shower :-(

Why do family members get so annoyed when you cant answer your phone because you are either in the bathroom or in the middle of doing something that prevents you from answering? They seem to think you are available 24/7 and never mind I do have a life too.

Gosh,I def need to get my shower to feel refreshed and then made a sandwich before I keel over and a good strong coffee too.

I mean, I spent ages looking up a ground cover plant for someone, then located a local garden centre where it could be purchased. person went and when they discovered the price refused to pay that much. So they told me they had gone online and found it a lot cheaper and its getting delivered in 2 days free of charge!!

So why couldn't they had done this themselves in the first place? Because they make out they are a lot busier than me and I have all this spare time.

Right rant over as I can feel me BP rising far too high.
Joan hope you and hubby are ok and your weather has enabled you to get in the garden.

AnnG, Just Ginnie and Linda, hope all's well with you all today.

Florence in the hebrides

You sound rushed off your feet Florence, you seem to be kept busy most days doing one thing & another, I hope you manage to rest inbetween chores etc.

Our weather has certainly picked up these past few days sunny & warm & not too much wind, so I am pleased to say I have been outside quite a lot.
I shifted am old wooden bench yesterday from where it was to another spot, I was going to break it up but decided against that, as old as it is it is still sturdy & safe to sit on & so it got a lick of paint instead ( 2 coats) & it loooks great.

I have a lot of benches scattered around the garden so no excuse not to sit down at regular intervals when I am outside, LOL.
The new gliding seat is in place & just waiting for our daughter to attach some straps to the legs so that the wind won't blow it away,
I have tested it a few times & it's lovely to sit on.

I have had to water my new plants several times due to no rain for several days, I must say all the new plants are looking lovely & have put out a lot of flowers, the Roses are nice & bushy & budded, the Crocosmia have put in an appearance but their flowers will be a little while yet, the Potentillas are looking good & well flowered, our Red Poppy has shot up & there are 7 huge buds on it, it didn't do so well last year with just 1 flower so I am pleased to see it looking so good this year.

I am really pleased with how the main / our best part of the garden is looking at the moment.

Spotted a Roe Deer & her baby in the flield next to the house yesterday, not seen one in a while, such a lovely animal.
Hubby is not too bad, eating better at the moment thank goodness but not as much as he used to !

Got the plumber coming tomorrow to put in a new H W tank, I hope it doesn't take to long to do as the tank cupboard is in the bathroom & we only have the 1 toilet !!

Well I better go & make a start on hubbys tea, he's having a Bacon & Egg pie, he used to enjoy one of those so I'm hoping he will enjoy one today.

Hope everyone is having a nice day & all is well.

Joan.

I am glad that you finally have good weather and have been able to get out Joan. It was cold here yesterday and this morning, but the sun came out this afternoon. I went for a litter pick this afternoon and collected another bag full.

I have an app on my phone which immediately tells me what a plant is when I point it at the plant, it is very useful.

Yay summer has arrived :-D :-D

Good morning all...just The sun is shining, it is warm well actually at the front very warm. A sea breeze at the back but thats keeping the midges away.

Daughter and I will have our Alfresco tea tonight as its 2 yrs ago today that we moved in to this lovely new house. Can't believe how much has happened in the last 2 years!
I'm making a dish of chinese chicken wings, onion bhajis and a bowl of salad with a few chips..should be tasty.

Joan your old bench sounds fab, you are really handy with a paint brush. Hope your daughter hurries with the straps and then you can enjoy your new seat and relax.

Linda, that app sounds really useful. if my dad would get a smart phone, he could have that app instead of describing the plant over the phone and expect me to know what it is :-S :-S

I have finished the ironing for today as my knee is pretty sore now, steroid injection not until the 12th so shall get some pain relief soon but until then, I have to do little and often with standing etc.

My roses are almost about to open on several plants and cant wait. I love seeing the garden spring into colour, looks so pretty.

A gentle afternoon tidying up and preparing our special tea for later.

Enjoy your day everyone, whatever you are doing and hope the sun is shining for you :-D :-D

Florence in the hebrides

Hi to all.
Our weather was not so good first thing, not cold but a bit of a damp feel & rather dull, but since dinner time the sun is shining & it's really pleasant, very still which is a bonus.

Daughter came over so as to talk to the plumber should it be necessary, but all went well & we now have a new & rather smart looking HW tank in place.
All seems to be working properly & it's good to have hot water coming through the tap again after having none for about a week ( oil boiler playing up,so switched the hot water part off ) trying to wash the pots with a kettle full of hot water is a nightmare, lol.

Whilst daughter was here I roped her into sawing offf a few tree branches, unfortunately I couldn't reach them comfortably whereas daughter could, though they took some sawing through !!

Enjoy the sunshine etc Florence, but take care, & I hope everyone else is having some nice weather.

Joan.

Good afternoon all

Joan so glad you got your new hot water tank all sorted, i had actually forgotten you were without hot water. Such a bother boiling kettles isn't it, but all back to normal now.

Well i spent most of the day from 10am until just now on the computer filling out forms to do with the sale of mums flat. oh my it went on & on. You have to answer questions about the history, repairs, neighbours. shared pathways and so on and on.

Plus I had to scan 14 sheets of various things for the Solicitor like. Probate, deeds, Plan of the land, roof repairs, insurance etc

I have finally finished it all thank goodness, my head is most def scrambled and if I was allowed to drink, a very large glass of Merlot would be very welcome lol

I seeing finally the sun has come out so I may pop outside for some fresh air and stretch me legs a much needed.

Sadly due to the sea mist and dampness, our special tea was enjoyed inside but we did enjoy it all and a few chicken wings left for tea tonight with some salad.

Hope everyone is having sunny weather elsewhere. Think wales was very warm and Ayrshire and then it went luke warm :-(

Florence in the hebrides