Re: Hello Everyone

Tue Feb 09, 2021 1:03 pm

Dian, I see you have a lot of snow there, let's hope it soon melts away. We had a covering, only lasted two days now sun has melted it.

Jean, the dogs round here really enjoyed the snow. I am sorry David is so poorly are you coping ok.?

Pauline now you have a kitchen to plan for, then you will need to think where to put stuff when that is fitted, but probably not be for a while yet. Has your snow cleared, will you be going out at all?

I don't like ordering basic things off internet, orderd from Argos, they said delivery today only one item arrived, driver said that's all. Now I will have to chase it. Only floor mops/cleaners. For bathroom and kitchen. I am still poorly, but I hope tablets are working this time.

Tue Feb 09, 2021 2:45 pm

Hi Ladies. We did have another light fall of snow during the night, but a lot has cleared again and got to go outside in a minute and put some bird food down on the pavers - not the muddy grass this time where it gets so wet and no good putting it in the bowl in the feeder because this collects the rain - the smaller birds can use the hanging feeders (even one clever pigeon knows how to get into one of them), but most of the larger birds need the food on the ground. Sun out again now and very hot coming through the window and not too cold out there at the moment.

I have been wading through the surveys I do this morning and did one that was a bit long and mainly about the virus, but it upped the earnings on that site by £2.80 for 25 minutes work - hardly the living wage, but every little helps and I ended up with £11.92 in earnings on that site and ordered a £10 Amazon voucher, as my Amazon vouchers were getting a bit low, because I sent through an order for Henry bags, gardening gloves and a couple of DVDs the other week, that amounted to about £15., so my vouchers on that site needed a bit of a boost ready for the next order from them. Could have ordered money for PayPal, but have enough in there at the moment. There are times when I get bored with doing some of them, as they can be time consuming, but I look on that as the office work and after all, it does earn a bit of money, which printing off my bills and statements doesn't . I remember that Jojo used to do quite a few of them.

Spoke to Maria last evening and she was very happy with her birthday cards and from you Jean and Rita and thanked you for going out in this winter weather to post them to her. I usually buy her a present, but she said to me "no presents, just give something to one of the charities" so I have promised to send a donation to Marie Curie as she would always go out on the collection days for them and we used to raised funds for them with the table top sales. Also got my Hillside Sanctuary adoption fee to send to them this month (for the two alpaca that I actually managed to see when we stayed in Gt. Yarmouth over that weekend in the Autumn) and will include some extra funds for them too, as the price of the hay bales they use so many of have doubled in price. They were talking about this on t v the other day, that the charities are feeling the loss of the money raised through their charity shops - been so hard for them. I know as soon as they are able to open up again I will have a big clear out of items from my house and I know there is a lot from the existing kitchen cupboards that I no longer use that are still in good condition and need to have a big clear out there.

Dian plenty of snow around for you and it is still coming down - that is the problem I was talking about obove, finding a place to put the bird food down in this weather. Be careful when you go out there to clear the space for them and make sure you don't slip and fall. That certainly did update the bar which was very retro and I bought that years ago when I used to belong to the Parents Association (no teachers on that one, but they liked to spend the money we raised ) at the upper school that Stephen went to. We had an auction and that cost me £40., which was quite a bit of money about 38 years ago, but helped the school funds and I have always liked it and didn't want to part with it. I have been thinking about that kitchen for the past 18 month, ever since I had the double glazing renewed and now forced myself to do something about it and looking forward to receiving their catalogue, hopefully this week. Hope you can enjoy your day, despite the snow.

Jean, definitely looks as though the roadworks on your local roads have been cancelled because of the snow, but you can see what I said in that early post about the major roads between your way and Northampton are going to be shut on and off. See that you managed to get Coco out for her walk and she enjoyed that. Those scam calls are such a nuisance and as you say, it is a wonder why people still fall for them. I wish we could all have a party here and you would be very welcome to help clear the drinks in my bar. The funny thing about the wine is that whenever I have family and friends here for a meal (which we haven't been able to do for over a year now) people turn up with a bottle of wine and when I ask them what they want to drink, most of them say they are driving and stick to soft drinks, so my wine mountain grows a bit .

See the snow has disappeared for you Rita, same as here and hope it stays that way. With regard to the kitchen, I do have some ideas myself, but will make use of Wren's free home design service. That is a nuisance about only receiving the one item from Argos - perhaps the driver meant there was only one parcel on his van and the other one might be delivered separately, but such a nuisance to sort out.

Barbara hope to see you back here soon joining us.

Okay ladies, I will wish you all a pleasant and relaxed time for the rest of the day and get out there and put that bird food down.

Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:06 pm

Good Afternoon everyone and thanks so much for the warm welcome from you all!

Thanks to Pauline for changing the font size and colour for me. I've had a play around but can't make the size very much bigger. I expect there's something I don't know about and that Pauline will be able to point me in the right direction!

In answer to your questions, Pauline, David (my husband) still plays Petanque but of course it's all been stopped for the time being, due to Covid. It's lucky he has his model railway upstairs in the loft to play with! Andrew (my son) is still working for the same company but is now in the marketing department and is enjoying that even more than his previous role.

I shall do a longer post next time and thank you all once again for the nice warm welcome.

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Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:36 pm

Good to see you managed to get back in here again Barbara and will answer you more fully tomorrow, but in the meantime, in case I get on here late tomorrow morning I am putting this gif on this evening for Dian's Birthday.

Hope you have a great day tomorrow Dian with lots of cards, presents and visits xxx

Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:16 pm

Many happy returns of your Birthday Dian, have a lovely day.

XxRita

Wed Feb 10, 2021 10:09 am

Thank you ladies and trying to keep it quiet......lol D-I-L phoned yesterday to go to her house today but told her not to bother as worried about the roads being so bad with snow

Wed Feb 10, 2021 10:23 am

Barbara so pleased you could join us all.Good hubby still has his trains to keep him busy and good your son is happy with his new position
Pauline just know you will be busy as ever. Well done with your surveys as you say every little bit counts Like you just waiting on charity shops opening again to get rid of a lot of items as really need a big clearance
Jean hope you manage out again with Coco and do hope you and David feeling a bit better
Rita also hope your tablets starting to take effect so you will start to feel a lot better
Soon as this bad spell over must start diet but just too cold at the moment .Snow now lying about 4 ins. deep in garden.Looks pretty as sun shining.
Must thank you all again for kind birthday wishes

Wed Feb 10, 2021 11:19 am

Happy Birthday Dian you did keep it quite. was it yesterday?

love Jean

Wed Feb 10, 2021 11:23 am

Rita hope the pills are working now.
Had a phone call from a friend who had a urine infection, and yes they gave her three pills, they worked but it came back again, and now they have
given her 7 more.......
the snow came down first thing, then it cleared. I have to go and collect my specs this afternoon.
the sun is shining now thank goodness. Coco is going in the car, Rita she does not care how she goes as long as it is Out
still getting calls from scammers saying they are BT.
glad all are ok

Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:35 pm

Well we can't get rid of this snow and here another lot came down last evening and then again this morning and just now it was trying to snow again with the sun out. At least after each fall it seems to be thawing quickly, but still very cold out there.

Dian - no good you trying to sneak that birthday past me, as I have all of the birthdays off of here in my Diary . I know you said to your daughter that you would stay home because of this weather, but I know your family will make up for that a bit later. Anyway, have a rest today and enjoy your birthday. Yesterday as I had the Hillside Sanctuary adoption renewal to see to, plus extra for some hay bales for them, that money earned from the surveys came in handy, as I switched that from PayPal funds (all earned from surveys). The ones I do are quite well worth doing and keep the funds coming in. I know you are the same as me and the rest of us, we are itching for the charity shops to open again to get rid of a lot of things. You seem to have the snow laying thicker your way, because here it does keep thawing, but honestly this cold weather really doesn't help to get going with the diets, but know how you feel. Hopefully I can do some more gardening soon and that always helps with me once I get stuck into things outside and then I don't think about coming in for nibbles.

Barbara, yes such a shame all of the sport like petanque, bowls, etc., has had to halt, but I see David is still enthusiastic about it and as you say, good job he has that train set to keep him interested. Good to read that Andrew is still enjoying his job and now in a different department which he likes even more. I expect you are finding things to keep you busy too and when I have a spare moment I will try and guide you into using the signs at the top of the posting box, so that you can choose the fonts and colours you prefer, but got a lot on at the moment, so please forgive me on keeping you waiting with regard to this. It really is good to see you here and if Craig does improve in health (and hope he does) we would be happy to see him on here too. Below you will see me mention my friend Maria who has never coped with computers and hasn't been on here, but Jean and Rita have met her when we used to have lunches out together with another friend who we have now lost (Gennie), because us 5 lived within a reasonable distance of each other, so you will know who I am talking about.

Rita I see you popped in to wish Dian a happy birthday and do hope that different medication is helping to get rid of the trouble.

Jean, Dian's birthday is today. Glad the snow has stopped here at the moment and now it is brilliant sunshine outside and blue skies - would be nice if it keeps that way and we head soon into more Spring like weather. Hope the spectacles turn out well for you when you collect them today and see that Coco likes her car journeys and reckon with the weather today she will definitely get her walk this morning.

Having shifted the bar where I wanted too and then put everything back in it, unfortunately one of those teak fancy front pieces has loosened, so that means getting those jigsaws out from it (and thankfully it is only jigsaws that are mainly stored in there out of the way) and get it fastened that much tighter - probably it will mean using slightly longer screws on that section to keep it firm - just when you think you have completed a job well then something like that happens and I must get on and do that today, before I start sorting some of the contents of the kitchen cupboards.

Now for some worrying news - Trevor phoned me last evening, having managed to get my landline number off of Maria (and he had to be tactful about that and explain it was just in case he needed me to do something for her). He didn't want to worry her and I was able to give him my mobile number too. He told me that she is coming upto the third lot of this treatment next week, but last time (and she hadn't told me this) he was waiting for quite a few hours for her to call to let him know she was ready to leave the hospital and in the end he phoned about 6 and the treatment was still going on. At 9 she was still there and again at 11 in the evening and she said to him it looked as though she would be there for the night and for him to go to bed. Well in his words "the hospital phoned me at 2 o'clock in the frigging morning to say she could be picked up" He said that there were no beds to keep people in after that treatment, so she had to go home and luckily he is only a couple of minutes drive from the hospital, but as he said, to turn the poor woman out at that time in the morning in the middle of a snowstorm was awful. Anyway they got her into his car and luckily he had bags with him and she was awfully sick just after they started off and of course, that upset Maria, although Trevor said it didn't bother him because he was prepared for that. He also said there was another elderly lady that got turned out at the same time and she had to wait for one of the hospital voluntary taxis and she had asked if she could stay because she was due back there at 11 that morning - what an awful situation for her. I said to Trevor how aggressive this new lot of treatment was and the fact they said they knew this was not operable, but hoped to extend a good quality of life for her, well that isn't what she has at the moment. He had sorted out the extra government funding and a stairlift has been installed (rent for that is £10 a week) and she now has a key worker coming in a couple of times a week to do housework. She is waiting for Macmillan to arrange carers to come in to help with showering, etc. He has also spotted that because of this fluid collection in the legs and feet, she has now got blisters on the feet, because she hasn't the shoes to fit and he is going to make sure that is mentioned to them next time. He hasn't said as much to Maria, but like me, he is really annoyed that Alex, her Goddaughter, took herself off to Bali before Christmas and is now stuck out there and to be honest, I though that was really selfish and uncaring. He said he has this awful feeling that she is just waiting for Alex to return and then she will give up on the treatment (bearing in mind that she has just updated her Will also and got affairs in order). When I spoke to her she sounded bright enough, but I had the feeling that she was forcing herself to sound that way and Trevor said that she was so happy with the cards, but he had to open them for her because she didn't have the strength to do that. I have had to keep away because I have been worried about passing any germs onto her and when I (and also Rachel) when we called together, we kept well away outside the door and didn't want to keep her standing there too long in the cold, but I feel I have got to go up there and see her. I have had my first vaccine shot and have been so careful about social distancing, etc., but think she needs a bit more encourangement at the moment and I need a good talk with her, because after all, although this treatment is so awful at the moment, she is still only coming up to halfway through and it could prove to be helpful in the end and even if it gives her another year or good quality life, then it is worth it.

Okay ladies, well I must away and get some lunch and then back to the bar work and hope the day goes well for you all.

Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:36 pm

This is the third time I have written on here, two disappeared when I paused.... I have waited for delivery of order from Sainsburys, I've been expecting delivery but it's not arrived. Likewise I ordered on line from Argos a mop and another floor cleaning things, had a phone call which I could not hear, so told them to write then they texted, it was Argos saying they could not supply and would repay my money. Not a good day, still pain on peeing, but still a few pills left to take so it should be clear by weekend. It's been fine and sunny not put my nose out of the door.. Phone rang several times this morning when I answered it it just shuts down, nuisance.

I hope your snow is thawing Dian, it will be very cold there, guess you will be housebound.

Jean, hope you and David are OK.

Pauline, you will have been having to feed the birds extra this weather, everything freezing up.. I asked my son to get me something for the Robin and bluetits, little birds which need it. I stopped feeding birds properly years ago as squirrels and pigeons ate everything and made such a mess in my small back yard.

I will sign off now as have lost two previous attempts on here. .

Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:41 pm

[url=https://servimg.com/view/20102617/549][/ur Pauline so sorry to hear about Maria as she is certainly having a dreadful time with no support. She is lucky to have you and Trevor but do think hospitals are letting a lot of people down especially the really ill folk.do hope she feels a bit better soon.I am sure your bar will be fixed. Yes looking forward to spring....cant come quick enough
Jean do hope your glasses were fine .I,m sure coco would enjoy the outing
Rita really do hope your pills finally work for you.So annoying when deliveries are not right
Barbara do hope you are having a good day. Think we are all so fed up in lockdown.Do hope Craig is feeling a bit better
Son popped in with more bird feeders and set them up for me.I had a really nice afternoon at his house yesterday.They had a nice birthday cake and candles and enjoyed a nice dinner and a couple of gins Now off to shower wash and set hair for tomorrow. Have a good day all

Thu Feb 11, 2021 3:27 pm

Hello, my son popped round, I was thinking of asking him to get me some bird food again but then as we chatted I remembered why I had stopped before, it was because pigeons and squirrels just took over and made such a mess that I gave the hanging feeders, etc to a neighbour. Sun is shining but Peter said it's extremely cold, he went home to finish painting doors in his dining room which he has redecorated, keeping busy in lockdown.

I tried phoning Sainsburys re order not arrivedI but they speak so quickly I found it difficult to hear which button to press, so gave up.My tablets finish tomorrow, I am still not well, perhaps last day of tablets will give an extra boost.

I was thinking of Maria and not bein able to stay in hospital for the few hours before next treatment,and recallled that before Covid a lady who lived alone had been discharged in middle of night and sent home to a cold house in a taxi.

Pauline, Jean, Dian, Barbara I hope you are keeping warm and busy,

Thu Feb 11, 2021 3:44 pm

Good Afternoon everyone!

First of all, I'd like to say I hope that you enjoyed your birthday, Dian. It's a pity, though, that the snow prevented you from going to your daughter-in-law's house to celebrate. I don't like this cold weather either, especially not when we get ice or snow. They're so treacherous to walk on. Your son brought you some bird feeders and set them up for you. You enjoyed the afternoon at his house, with nice birthday cake and candles, and also a nice dinner and a couple of drinks.

Jean, I hope your friend soon recovers from the urine infection. I believe it can be very painful. I see that the snow has cleared where you are. It's still with us here but has started to clear as we've had a lot of nice sunshine today. What I don't like is when it starts to melt but then freezes again overnight. I just want it to go away altogether. I don't want much, do I! Did you manage to collect your specs? I expect Coco enjoyed her ride in the car. I'm sorry to hear that you're still getting calls from scammers. Let's hope they give up soon.

Pauline, I see that you too have the snow. It's being stubborn here too! The money from the surveys comes in very handy and for a good cause. Thanks for the offer to guide me through the ins and outs of getting around in here. I'll be very grateful for that when you have the time. I've sent Craig a few emails but haven't heard back from him for some time. I'll send him another one to say that I've joined this forum and to ask if he'd like to join here too. The last I heard he was in hospital but I don't know what the problem was. You've mentioned Maria to me previously. It's awful that she had to go home at that time of the morning, after having had such aggressive treatment, as there was no bed available for her in the hospital. She's going through a terrible time, poor lady, but at least she has Trevor to look after her and hopefully will have carers coming in to also look after her. You're still in the process of sorting out the bar and I hope you can soon solve the problems with it.

Rita, thanks to you too for your nice warm welcome and it'll be good to chat to you. I hope your Sainsbury delivery did arrive eventually. It was disappointing that Argos were unable to supply the items you'd ordered but they're refunding your money and so that's something. I see that the infection is still giving you pain and I hope you have enough pills left to clear it. It's kind of you to feed the birds, especially at this time when it's difficult for them to dig for food.

Well, ladies, it's good meeting up with you all again, and with Rita for the first time. I'll be back soon.

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Thu Feb 11, 2021 4:16 pm

Hello Ladies.

I really haven't done much today because the brochure arrived from Wren, so have been studying that to get some idea of what would be suitable for the kitchen here, so have still got the bar alteration to see to, but have caught up with emails and a couple of letters I had to send and am going out tomorrow to collect the prescription, so will post the letters then and do a bit of top up shopping again.

Rita, thank you for the email and your kind remarks about Maria and have replied to you today. When I go shopping tomorrow I will top up on the bird food, because they are getting through plenty of it at the moment. In the email I gave you a couple of other sites where to get household equipment from and at least those sites let you know if the item is in stock before they take your money. That is such a nuisance expecting something to turn up that you paid for and then they return your money later. I do hope that Sainsburys delivery turned up for you and those pills have now started working. See you now have problems with your phone and hope you can get that sorted soon and what a nuisance, that you lost two posts before you finally got on here. While I have been posting this I have seen that your next post arrived on here and see you still haven't received that delivery from Sainsburys and had trouble hearing them as they speak so quickly on the phone - perhaps you can email them about it - and another nuisance problem for you to sort out.

Dian, I am so thankful for Maria that she does have Trevor to get her around. Quite truthfully it would be so much better if they could keep her in hospital for those 48 hour sessions of the chemo and folic acid, but after they are satisfied it is working as it should, then home she has to go and it isn't as though she can sleep laying down with that device strapped to her and then has to go back for the removal of it, but I suppose they just haven't got the beds available now with this virus still creating admissions to the hospitals. Sunny here today, but still a nasty cold wind and as you say, Spring can't come soon enough. I see you enjoyed the time at your son's yesterday with the meal, birthday cake and a couple of gins too and he also has fitted up some more bird feeders for you. I have a couple of nesting boxes that I bought last year and really should get them sited outdoors soon.

Barbara I have just seen your post arrive and will try and help you with regard to the fonts, colours, etc., as soon as I can. When we used to post on (I believe it was Link 50) you I think was down as Yorkie and Rita was there as Daisy if I remember correctly, so you have seen each other's posts previously a few years ago. The snow here has almost disappeared again today with the sun, but everything is still frozen up out there and you want as much as we all do, for it to go completely, but that wind out there is still so icy cold. Yes I think I did mention Maria to you previously on Facebook messenger and also the fact that we lost our other friend Gennie and were both at Gennie's funeral together in November and that is the last time that we were actually out together and at that point she still wasn't well, but at least was stable after the completion of the first lot of chemo last year and through that we still visited Gennie together at her house and she was such a strong lady, although at that point could no longer go out and was stuck indoors and only going back and forth three times a week for dialysis. The visits to her kept her happy, but she was so determined and strong and really cheered Maria up no end, but now Maria couldn't even visit Gennie if she was still with us and I think that has also had quite an affect on Maria. It looks now as if I am on the way to losing another good friend, but that is life and the older we get we lose more and more contacts and friends and I am just so happy that despite the lockdown and aches and pains, that I am still able to get on with things. I do hope that Craig will get better and you soon get an answer from him and thank you for passing on our invitation to him.

Hi to you also Jean and hope the glasses turned out well for you.

I am off to put some more bird food down and hope you all enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening and get no further problems land on any of you.

Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:23 am

the glasses are fine Pauline I am so sad about Maria how does she get her food has she had carers in? I just hope she pulls through this lot
David said what a lovely lady she is met her when you came up here
hope you get that order sorted Rita maybe you son could give you a ring for you you must contact the doctor if that infection
still has not cleared
nice to see you on here Barbara yesterday it was so cold and David could not get warm better today but I think it is colder
am fighting the laptop at the moment

Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:49 am

Morning ladies ....just a quick hello to all as waiting on daughter to pick me up if Im not too tired will post later
Trusting all having a good day

Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:52 am

Hi Ladies, well no further snow, but my goodness it is an icy wind out there and I wish I could stay in, but must go out to collect prescription and do a bit of top up shopping. I have got leggings on under the trousers and thick socks on the feet, jumper, cardigan and padded coat, plus scarf and gloves.

Jean. Trevor does the shopping for Maria and I don't interfere with that because they have their own routine set up for that with regard to money and ways of paying. We are so lucky that he retired from his business and has the time to do all of this for her and he is so kind, but it was good the other evening that he could offload what he feels about it all to me, with regard to her not being able to stay in the hospital after the treatment and through that 48 hours and also what he feels about her goddaughter taking off before Christmas and now being stuck in Bali, so in a way I was a help there and let him have a good old nag about the things that upset him. The carers are supposed to be be sorted through Macmillan and hopefully that won't take too long now and that will be with helping her with shower and dressing. I do hope that this aggresive treatment will do the trick for her and get her back to a better quality of life and that she just doesn't get too depressed with it all and want to give up. Thank David for his remarks about her. Glad the glasses are okay for you and they certainly were a reasonable price. It was supposed to be the coldest night of the year last night for over 60 years and let's hope this soon goes away.

Rachel sent this photo to me this morning and that was taken four years ago when Maria was with us when we stayed in Nerja and that was a lovely week - while some of the time Rachel and Stephen did what they wanted to do, I was quite happy to go looking around Malaga with Maria - she loved looking around the old buildings in that city (which is the nearest to Nerja and where we used the airport) and then there were times we were together and that photo of the two of us was taken on one of the lovely beaches on that coast. Maria is nowhere as plump as that these days:-

Barbara I have emailed you this morning with a couple of hints about using this group and will try and find the time to send you a few more over the weekend.

Dian enjoy the day out with your daughter.

Rita I do hope those tablets have now worked and perhaps it would be a good idea, as Jean has said, to let Peter chase Sainsburys about that delivery.

Must away now ladies and get that prescription and hope you all have a good day.

Fri Feb 12, 2021 4:03 pm

Good Afternoon all!

We still have the remnants of the snow here and it's turned to ice in places, which, to me, is worse than the snow. We've had a lot of sunshine here yesterday and today and so that should help to clear it. David went for a walk after lunch and came back absolutely frozen. Andrew has been busy working in our office upstairs all day apart from coming downstairs to make and eat his lunch. I haven't ventured out yet myself as I'm so nervous of slipping over. The trouble is that it's making me feel so lethargic and I'll be glad to go out again once I feel safe, for some fresh air and exercise.

Pauline, it's an exciting time when you have a brochure to look through! I expect your kitchen will look a dream once it's all done. I've received your helpful email and have completed the Profile section on here. I couldn't see Avatar on the front page but have yet to decide on a photo to put in the forum anyway. I did go by the name Yorkie on a previous forum but am not sure which one it was. It was a while ago! It's so sad that you've lost Gennie and that Maria is so ill. It's good that she has Trevor to help her. I've sent another email to Craig but haven't heard back yet. You'll be glad to have had no more snow today although the wind is very icy still. I hope you were able to collect your prescription and the top up shopping. You do well to have plenty of layers of clothing on! That's a lovely photo you've posted of Maria and you while on holiday in Nerja with Rachel and Stephen.

Jean, it's nice to be here and thank you for your warm words. The weather was really cold yesterday here too but today's isn't much better. I hope you and David are feeling a bit warmer today. Are you winning the battle with your laptop?

Dian, I hope you're having a nice day out with your daughter.

Lots of love to all in here and I look forward to chatting with Rita again.

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Sat Feb 13, 2021 12:20 pm

Pauline that is a nice photo of you and Maria gives you good memories .Great that Trevor is such a great help to her. You were wise to have been so well wrapped up for the cold weather I am sure you will be busy looking at the kitchen equipment ect.
Jean hope you manage out with coco and do hope David feeling a bit better
Rita do hope the tablets kicking in now for you.Do hope so
Barbara think we are all having nasty weather and like you cannot go out in icy weather Good Andrew is working from home and he is happy in his position I bet David was glad to get into the heat yesterday after his walk. Know how you feel when the ground is so icy
Still very cold here and snow still lying.Really enjoyed outing with daughter We went out later than usual so shop a little bit busier but enjoyed looking aroundWe just went to HBargains then on to her house for an afternoon snack. Granddaughters joined us later for dinner which I enjoyed very much Down the road for 8pm but was tired by that time.Just waiting on younger daughter arriving and hoping she can trim my hair Have a good weekend ladies

Sat Feb 13, 2021 1:31 pm

I am glad that the winter ice fairy has her stockings on in that gif!! Seeing as it is Valentine's day tomorrow I put the heart there and sending you all love and warm hugs on such a cold day. I took some recycling outside to the bin this morning and all of the plants (although not covered in any white frost), are frozen like stone and although the sun is out, that breeze (not strong enough at the moment to be called wind) is still icy cold and we are still below freezing.

I got the prescription collected and the shopping done yesterday, although I wasn't looking forward to going out in that (wind was very cold), but got the bus uphill to the centre and into B & M first for bird food items and they didn't have what I needed, but got a couple of other items there and then across to the shopping centre and found the bird food I wanted in Poundland, then into Savers and after that to Boots to collect the prescripton. After that along to Tescos, who were obviously expecting to be busy as they had the barriers up and we had to approach the entrance like approaching the entry zones in an airport . Anyway it wasn't too bad in there and used my clubcard vouchers for some of the shopping and found a few bargains. I walked home after that and my shopping trolley was like a fridge, so left that standing and went upstairs and ran a hot bath to warm up and into the pyjamas early, then back down again to unload the trolley (and still the few frozen items were still frozen), put all the shopping away (as usual wiping everything down and disinfecting the shopping trolley and everything that had been touched and then washing my hands again and the use of the hand sanitiser (what a performance after every shopping trip). After that got another lot of washing done while a quick meal was cooking and after enjoying that meal, sorted out the finances and actually managed to empty the bar again ready for action today.

Now I did start this at 11.30 this morning, but since then Stephen has been on the phone and had quite a long conversation with him and Rachel and their electrics are now nearing completion (that is mainly for the garage and fixing up an outdoor light, plus lifting a point higher up in their bedroom) so another job nearing completion for them.

Barbara I see you have been working on the profile and might sort out a photo later - I should have mentoned to you that this group is completely hidden away from the outside world and the only people that can get in here are those that are invited, so we have no worries about putting photos on here of ourselves, families, etc. That word "Avatar" is along the headings on the white background on your profile page and expect you will find it when you look again. The headings I am talking about are those under that wording about building a Forum on Forumotion. Thank you for emailing Craig again and all we can hope for is that he regains his health and gets back in touch with you.

That is the trouble with having to stay indoors for long periods, that it does make you feel lethargic, but better that than risk slipping and falling on icy paths and pavements and at least here, that has all disappeared, but plants are completely petrified and you just cannot believe that as soon as some sun touches them they start coming to life again - my pansies in the baskets are lifting their heads again and getting unfrozen. once more. What they are forecasting coming in from the east is now freezing rain which is going to be so dangerous for the drivers and that is supposed to be from this evening until tomorrow morning. Yesterday after the shopping trip that is the way I felt, the same as David after his walk, completely frozen. I made sure I was well wrapped up, but that wind was nasty. I see that Andrew was working from home in your upstairs office, but still remembering to come down to get lunch and not getting so wrapped up in it all, that he forgets to eat .

I have got a much better idea of what I want now I have received the Wren brochure, but although one of their largest showrooms is actually about 20 minutes bus journey from me, because of the lockdown they are closed at the moment and I really don't want to go any further with the decision on finish and colour until those showrooms are open again, but will be quite happy in the meantime to get the home visit and measuring up done (which is free), but would like to see the finish and colours in the showroom before making the final decision on what kitchen I want.

Yes, that was a nice photo of Maria and myself - good memories of that holiday. That was in Spain and although Maria is Spanish she has been here in this country since she was 17 and her husband Tony (who died a few years ago) was English and although she still has a brother out there in a house that she and Tony owned, there are still large areas of Spain she has never been to and that area of Nerja (near the Gibralter end and opposite Morocco) she hadn't visited before. She was born and grew up in a village in the more remote north west corner of Spain above Portugal on the Atlantic side and leaving there so young and being such a large country ,there are a lot of areas she still had never visited.

Dian, yes good memories of that photo and although none of us can go on any holidays at the moment or think about booking them even in our own country, we still have good memories of those we have been lucky enough to go on. See you got to Home Bargains on your shopping trip - a shop I used to enjoy going to, but our nearest one is in town and I haven't been into the town centre for over a year now. A snack back at your daughter's house and then your granddaughter joined you all for dinner and then it was back home for you after a full day. Hope your youngest daughter can trim your hair for you today when she calls - just thinking the same that I should trim some more off of mine and another few weeks I will be thinking about another home perm.

Hi to you Jean and Rita and hope to see you posting later.

Okay ladies, coffee first and then off to see to the bar fixing (again!!! ). Enjoy your Saturday everyone.

Sat Feb 13, 2021 1:40 pm

Just a quick few words I have already written earlier but it said someone else was already writing, so I pressed for it to go through, but it seems it has not. I hope you are all keeping warm on this cold sunny morning. As usual I will stay indoors. Went to put out washed towels on line, but they will freeze so drying indoors.

I wonder if any of you have ventured out, nice if you can get out with someone. Like so many others I do not see anyone to speak to, am glad of Facebook to chat to daughter in Canada.

Sat Feb 13, 2021 5:03 pm

Good Afternoon everyone!

The snow is still being stubborn and hasn't yet gone away completely, but it's working on it! The temperature is still well down but is set to rise in the next couple of days. I can't wait!

David did some essential shopping this morning and was brave enough to go out for a walk in the freezing cold weather. I'm not that brave but have busied myself working on the computer and doing crosswords and other word puzzles. I had an email yesterday from my sister, saying that her mobile wasn't working - it just wouldn't charge. She was trying to get in touch with her phone provider to see if they could help her but I've heard no more from her. I can always ring her husband's mobile number if need be. Andrew was going to go out for a walk this afternoon but decided that it was too cold. I don't blame him! I can't remember if I've told you this but I had my first Covid jab about 10 days ago. All went fine with it. I just had a sightly sore arm for the first day and have had no ill effects since then. All I have to do now is to wait 12 weeks for the second jab. David is now in the tier when he'll be receiving his invitation letter from the NHS and can ring his GP to arrange an appointment. I had to go to the Fairfield Halls in Croydon for mine and David will likely be going there for his. It's very convenient for us to get to. I went there on a tram but David will no doubt walk there.

Dian, I see that you're like me when it comes to walking in the snow and ice and that the snow where you are is reluctant to go away too. I get so terrified and am glad not to have to go out in it! I'm glad you enjoyed the day out with your daughter. I'll be glad when we can get back to "normal", whatever that is, and I can meet up with my sister for a nice day out. It's nice that your granddaughters joined you later for dinner. Good for you that your younger daughter is able to cut your hair. I've now got the usual lockdown hairdo and will be glad when I can get to the hairdresser's!

Pauline, I've remembered the name of the forum where I was called Yorkie. It was Shiny Hut. That was a blast from the past! Our garden is like yours at the moment, with frozen plants, poor things! It's good that they're showing signs of coming back to life again. I'm glad you were able to collect your prescription and do your shopping yesterday. Tescos had their barriers up once again, just like in the first lockdown. That was like our Sainsbury's and Boots during that lockdown. It seems to have been mostly forgotten now. It does make life easier when you can just walk into a shop and not have to queue up outside, especially during bad weather. I think I realised that this group is hidden from the outside world and so no one would see any photos that we put up. I haven't got many photos but will have a look and see what I can do. Thanks for the hint on where to find the word "Avatar". Andrew is like David and me and is a real food lover and so wouldn't be able to forget about eating, if he tried, lol! I know what you mean about not wanting to choose colours and the like from the Wren brochure, but preferring to wait till you can go into the showroom. Thank you for telling me a bit about Maria and that she hadn't previously been to Nerja, where you, Stephen and Rachel went with her on holiday.

Rita, what a pity that you posted earlier on in here but that it didn't go through. I'm glad that you managed it this time. I think a lot of us are choosing to stay indoors at the moment, due to the freezing weather. I see that you had to bring your washing indoors, due to the cold weather. It's good that you can chat to friends on Facebook and also to your daughter in Canada. I enjoy chatting on Facebook too.

Stay safe and well and warm, everyone!

Lots of love from me to all!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:59 am

Good Morning Ladies and love to you all on St. Valentine's day xxx.

Well I cleared that bar and honestly didn't find the energy to deal with it as I had several phone calls yesterday and then it got too late in the day, but this morning started bright and early, stripped the bed and got that washing in the machine (after this post I am going back upstairs to make that up again), back downstairs and put the bird food out and then to the bar and get that done and everything back in there.

This morning at 7.15 I took this photo and thought, here we go, red sky in the morning warning and within 3 minutes of taking that photo that had all disappeared with grey clouds rolling in from the east and that wind (although light) is still so cold and yet temperatures were supposed to be up today and just checked the weather forecast for this area and it is telling me that we are now 1degree above freezing (and doesn't feel like it to me) and rain expected later:-

Rita when you see that the site informs you that another message has been posted, you can always tap on "modify" at the bottom of your post and see what the other post was about and then add to yours. Your post probably disappeared because it might have been going through at the same time as the one that had just arrived. I hope the post you had tried to get on here mentioned that you had read the previous posts and the information in them for you. See you have been chatting to Leigh in Canada and staying indoors and keeping warm - definitely the best thing to do at the moment and looks as though we have lost our sun today.

Jean I see you didn't post yesterday and anything interesting going on today for you? Hope no furter problems for you.

Dian do hope you got your hair trimmed yesterday after your youngest daughter arrived. Going to shampoo mine this evening and probably need to trim a bit off before setting it.

Barbara, nice long post from you yesterday. If we get the threatened rain today it will probably see off the last bits of frozen snow, but just hope it doesn't freeze after that because that will make conditions worse again. That certainly was energetic of David, not only doing the shopping yesterday, but going out for a walk after that. Don't blame Andrew for deciding it was too cold for him to go for a walk and you kept indoors in the warm, but kept the brain alert with crossword puzzles and word games on the computer. Such a nuisance for your sister not being able to charge her mobile and they are so needed these days, but at least as you have said, if you do need to speak to her, then you can call her husband's mobile, but hope she can sort that out quickly.

See you got your first vaccine jab and now all of us on this group have had the first one, with a 12 week wait for the second one and I see that David should be notified soon. You mentioning the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, when I lived in London myself and husband used to go there for quite a few of the concerts and a couple of people that we knew (that worked with my Mum in the Solicitors' office where she was the bookkeeper) used to do voluntary work there. We saw singers Jack Jones and Dionne Warwick among several other well known acts. Unfortunately these days (and I know these places are suffering because of lockdown) it has also become far too expensive to attend any performances regularly and here in Northampton we have the Derngate and Royal Theatres.

Yes there was Shiny Hut, but before that I believe there was the Link 50 forum that a lot of us were on and then that suddenly closed and we had to hunt around for somewhere to have clubs and came up with Shiny Hut and that also closed. Originally a lot of us from there were on the MSN groups which we were all happy with, but these too closed down. I had a really long search before I found this site and although it is a bit more technical to post, at least we have somewhere to have a chat to one another and know we are all safe in here away from hackers and prying eyes.

Fortunately for me I haven't had to queue up outside for a long time and at least my local Tescos is inside our local shopping centre so we are warm and sheltered in there. With regard to food I have to admit that I have found it so difficult to stick to a diet during this winter and of course, the weight started going on again over Christmas when I was with the family bubble in Rugby. What does help me is gardening and that I get stuck into after a light early breakfast and don't even bother with lunch and then am quite happy to wait until an evening meal and let's face it, not one of us really enjoy salads during the winter, although I do try to have a side salad when I cook fish.

Well ladies I am off to make a coffee, washing is finished and drying indoors and I have already put out the bird food and off upstairs now to make the bed. Hope you all have a good day xx

Sun Feb 14, 2021 12:23 pm

do not know what happened to my post yesterday. must have gone into space.
It is so cold and windy here have been told not to go out.......so far have stayed in.
Yesterday I did ask how old Maria was Pauline, as I cannot remember.
Carol phoned today and said it was not windy in Hatfield. she is going for a walk, i think at the moment I would
get blown away, and then it is supposed to rain later.
best wishes to all and hope this one goes