Re: Hello Everyone

Sat Jul 18, 2020 3:25 pm

Good Afternoon All.

Yesterday I did get the garden watered and at last cleared the large oblong planter and washed that out, ready to put the lily bulbs in that survived this year, although didn't do that well. Some of them are a good size again, so will put all of them in the one large tub and cover that with dried grass cuttings and hide away for next year, so that will be one job out of the way and will do that this afternoon. When I eventually got upstairs and had my bath it was well past 10.30 and then got caught up in watching the re-run of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony and after that caught up on some of the programmes that I had recorded, so it was about 3.30 before I settled down and then I woke up again about 5.30 and read my book for a while, but was determined to get some more sleep in, so settled back down at 6.30 and of course, didn't wake up until 11 this morning, but felt better for the sleep, although it made a late start for the day, but not worried about that and just started with lunch instead of breakfast .

Jean I see you and David enjoyed the drive around the Cambridgeshire villages and have spotted there is a manor house at Stoke Doyle. With Age UK Ken we had been looking around for places for the day trips (that is when we could take them before the lock down) and found out that the original manor house was pulled down in the 1800s and a farm building put there. The village itself is in the Peterborough area, but comes under Northants - strange, but Peterborough comes under Cambs for admin, but Northants for history . Clearing out the garage would have been tiring - know how that used to go for me and then Brian would get in there and everything would be lost again!! Still facing the clear out here of my two garden stores and the matching shed, although I did clear a lot from one when I was searching for the strimmer. The phone call from Canada brought you up-to-date with the weather there and we keep getting those forecasts for violent thunderstorms followed by high temperatures again - I just hope to get more work outside finished before they do get here. I know the flowers and plants do look lovely in my garden, but it is all those hidden planters and jobs I never got down to because of time taken up by tabletop sales and collecting and creating for them, plus going to the two clubs and helping there, but at least this lockdown and clubs not running has given me the time to get on with those jobs that should have been tackled well before now and I must admit my energy is much less than it used to be, so all of those jobs are taking me much longer than they once would have done and got to say, now becoming so boring and I could be so easily tempted to get creative out there before they are finished, but must keep at it. There are narrower trellises left from the old fence that I kept and I want to repair and stain them again to create an arch for the passion flower vines to run on (keep them off of the new fencing) and itching to start that, but mustn't be tempted. I see you got the washing done that you mentioned yesterday and it is out today, so hope that gets dry quickly for you and no rain arrives and see you still have a struggle on with the laptop.

That is so sick, some hacker taking Joan's name and using it to send you an email. I checked out on Facebook and see that myself and a lot of people we know are down as friends on her page. I reckon that as Joan's page is how headed as "Remembering ...." it is obvious to hackers that she has died and of course, they will use the name to get at people listed as her friends on there. You may not want to do this, but you can remove her as a friend on your own page, trouble is we could all do this, but it just seems so final and none of us want to do that, but please be aware that we could all get these emails, purporting to be from Joan, so keep alert. We all have such fond memories of Joan and that is why I wouldn't remove her posts from this site, but then I know we are sheltered from the rest of the world and nobody can get in here unless we send an invitation to people that we know well. Jean if you can let me know more about the spoof email and what it contained - whether a link or advert, etc., I can then message her daughter and let her know what is going on and then perhaps she could put a message at the top of her Mum's page to warn friends what is happening, because I do think she should know and is given the chance to take action.

Dian and Rita - PLEASE READ THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH and you can see what has happened to Jean.

Dian (see above warning first). Yes it is so hard to resist buying plants that we don't have in our gardens and giving ourselves more work, but they looked so lovely the ones I bought yesterday. See you enjoyed the shopping trip with your daughter and you managed to purchase some of the things you wanted even though it is not comfortable shopping in stores with the masks on, but got to be done to keep ourselves and others safe. After enjoying that snack in M & S it was off to your Granddaughter's house to take Elsie the greyhound for a walk and then all off for the afternoon tea and as Jean has said, been a long while since we were able to do that - the last one for me was the day before Christmas Eve with Rachel and Stephen on the way to their house. Nice to be all stocked up again after the final trip of the day to Morrisons and then home where you all enjoyed a cuppa after that lovely full up day.

Rita (please note that warning above about the spoof email to Jean). Like you, the Morrisons shop nearest to me takes a couple of bus journeys, but if I ever did get the chance I used to enjoy going there and also liked the plants they sold (my original Chinese poppy came from there). Not to worry about me and the tree branches that I am lopping, because with those new pruners (which I can slide to a great height and turn the bolt to hold them at that height) I don't have to do anymore climbing - both feet on the ground. Last year Stephen had to get the last unreachable branches down for me, because that did involve me using the stepladder and thankfully I dont have to use this now. The branches I have cut are very slim ones, so I didn't even have to attach the saw, just hook onto them and pull the cord and they act like a pair of secateurs - good old Spear and Jackson - been going for years and they still make excellent tools and it is good to know they are still a British company based in Sheffield and still going after 190 years. Would be better for you if you can get the glasses altered - I did have to make the appointment at Boots and they are using Fridays to do things like that, but doing the eye tests for people Mon to Thurs. I don't know where you got yours from, but worth giving them a ring. What can any of us expect at our ages, but aches and pains in the joints, but we all still keep going and what an inspiration was Capt. Sir Tom Moore and saw on the news him receiving his knighthood yesterday.

It is now 3 in the afternoon and I will make a cuppa first and then off to the garden - hi ho, hi ho .......... Hope you are all having a problem free day.

P.S - I have taken so long to get this post done that I see you have posted today Dian and see it is a pleasant day for you and the washing is out drying, plus the gardener has turned up, so expect everything will look nice and tidy when he has finished and then you face the watering again. Not an easy job and fortunately having done mine last evening and it not being sunny here today, I won't be doing mine this evening. Hope that back eases for you and you enjoy the dinner at your daughter's tomorrow. See she has got you a better deal for the power and hope your meter readings got through okay. Eon site was still down when I checked yesterday and still couldn't put my readings through, so will check again this afternoon.

Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:19 pm

Hi ladies, better late than never. This morning I walked to local "one stop" shop and chemists, so think I have all I need for a while. Had a little chat with lady not seen for ages, then walked home, thankful for my three wheel trolley. I was shattered when I got home and lay on bed for a few minutes before unpacking. Then made lunch, I don't know where the time goes. By 5 I was tired again and had to lie down , got up later and watered a few flowering plants. Didn't put the hose on. Exciting day, what? But I am still looking after myself and home. 91 old lady. Will look at tv for a while now.
That is awful that scammers using lovely Joan's name, well spotted Jean.

Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:50 am

Sorry to hear your back is painful, is it the weather My foot plays up more when it is going to rain.
David seems to be better today thank goodness.
got the sun lounger out and then of course the sun went in.
Rita did you get your laptop sorted. mine is driving me mad. said it had erased the photos I took of Stoke Doyle, and it had, before that it did not erased them....thes e things
I expect Pauline is out in her garden

Sun Jul 19, 2020 1:43 pm

Pauline I am sure you will be busy maybe in garden again as it never ends there
Jean just think back is sore due to the operation but such a palaver to go to see a Doctor at the moment so will just keep on with the painkillers.Pleased David feeling a bit better
Rita well done in getting to the shops and I think you are doing extremely well for your age.Yes I think those trolleys are a great help
Just waiting on daughter arriving and got a few small jobs for her husband to do for me before we go to her house.Rita laughed at you dozing off I do it too so no worries there.It is dry today and not sure if it will rain or not but do not care as looking forward to getting out.Have a good weekend ladies

Sun Jul 19, 2020 6:59 pm

That is me in the gif, hopping from one job to another (well the rabbit was hopping when I created the gif, but stopped for a rest by the look of it, when it got put on here ) Have now sorted out birthdays and outings with Rachel and Aimie and got down to tidying the dining room (again) into piles of work to do - well at least I can now get through it a lot easier as I have taken apart the compost bin until I can get it outside - think I know where it is going to be sited, but have to clear out those garden stores and shed first and get rid of a lot of items and just didn't dare start that today, because for a start off everything was too wet from last night's rain and just didn't know if I would get in the middle of doing that and the rain might arrive again, so got indoor things done instead.

Arranged with Rachel that she will be picking me up on Thursday 30th July to go to Rugby and then on the Friday a lot of us are out for a meal (4 tables booked at the restaurant/pub) to celebrate her sister Nicky's 40th. Probably will go round the garden centres on Saturday, now we know where to use the gift card, because I know they were getting a couple of bay trees and want to buy the planters for them and then expect might be home either Sunday or Monday. Also sorted out with Rachel and Aimie, going out for a meal on Sunday 9th August at a pub near to me as it is both Aimie and Sean's birthdays that month, so I have booked two tables for that. Glad that is all sorted and we all know when and where we are going - will be nice to see Aimie, Sean and the children after such a long time. After sorting all of that out and the phone calls (and spoke to Gennie too and told her what time I would see her tomorrow and after that I am going onto see Maria - looking forward to seeing both of them) I looked around and decided that I wasn't going to work in the muddle that downstairs still looked in and feel so much better I have made more room to move about and work in. Goodness knows how long all of the jobs in and out will take me, but I think it is going to be months and not weeks .

I did get the lily bulbs in that large planter yesterday, but also had to use two smaller round ones and glad that I covered them up before coming in, because I keep them sheltered and covered with dried grass once they are ready for next year and they would have got so wet again. Cleared a couple more planters and still some more to do, but slowly getting there. Yesterday I also managed to get the meter readings through at last, so that bill will have to be settled soon and then the house insurance - going to phone Tescos about that and try and get that lowered - as usual like most insurances a big price rise and seeing as I have even securer double glazing, plus the new fence and never made a claim, not happy with nearly a £30 increase in the premium. Always something we have to have a fight about .

At least we all know if we receive an email like Jean did (supposed to be from Joan) that we are prepared.

Jean it would be handy if you could say more of what it was about, so I can warn Claire (Joan's daughter).

Rita think you did well walking to your local shop and the chemists and deserved a rest after that. You do get through a lot what with keeping the house tidy and also the work you achieve in the garden. Hope you are taking it easy today.

Jean the damp weather doesn't do us any favours with our aches and pains and also the humid weather can be just as bad, but good to read that David seems much better. Dodgy weather today and see you couldn't make the most of your sun lounger and I certainly didn't plan to start any long job out there today with the way things looked, so mostly sorting indoors for me. So anoying that your laptop is giving you trouble still and has erased the photos you took of your last outing.

Dian, definitely no garden work for me as you can see from above, but at least got one of the jobs out of the way yesterday (the lilies in for next year so they are out of the way). Hope you can get an appointment to see the doc because the back pain must be getting you down. I know it does take a time to heal after some of the ops, but best if you managed to see him and get it sorted. See when your daughter and son-i-l arrive, he is going to do a few small jobs for you and then you are off for lunch at their house. Enjoy the meal and the time with them. I am looking forward to my next visit to Rugby soon and at last seeing Aimie, Sean and the gt grandsons the week after that.

Going to make a cuppa next and then do a few more indoor jobs - at least downstairs is now so much tidier and it has made me feel better. Planning a lazy evening and t v catching up - enjoy your evening everyone.

Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:01 pm

Did I say that my son had come and done more repairs to the shed, which is ancient, but we hope it will stand for a while longer. No need to spend hundreds just to house a few garden tools and odds and ends. Then Sue my niece came and we had a lovely afternoon sitting outside in the sun..
Dian, I hope you had a nice day with your daughter and s-in-law and that he was able to help with jobs. Re. doctors , my neighbour had phoned Dr who couldn't get out to see her but a Prescribing senior nurse visited her in her home..
Jean, it is so maddening when things go wrong like losing your photos that you had on your laptop, if only we knew how to work these technical gadgets, all beyond me. Niece Sue this afternoin was trying to sort out my ipad for me, she was baffled too.
Pauliine, I see you are looking forward to seeing all your young family, you will no doubt find the little ones have grown up a lot and a celebration time when you go to Rachel and Stephens too. I hope their jobs are ok.
We are all so fortunate not to be worrying about employment etc now that we are in retirement.

Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:46 pm

Pauline you will so be looking forward to meeting up with all your families and will see a big difference in the children so yes really nice to look forward to.Good you have got your lilies fixed for next year Great to have got so much indoors up to date.Gennie and Maria will be looking forward to your visits. Hope they are both keeping fine.I thought we would be having better weather by now but still unsettled and not really sure if it will rain.
Rita that is really good your son has managed to sort your shed so no new one required and as you say just garden tools.That was a nice time you enjoyed with your niece.Pity your niece could not fix your ipad.
Jean hope you have got out to visit somewhere nice today and that you and David are feeling much better today also Coco
Another unsettled day weather wise as not sure if it will rain or not Sun pops out then disappears then dark clouds appear. At the moment the sun has popped out again.Son popped in for a chat and to see if I needed anything.At least know what I will have for tea tonight..A nice stew which I had at daughters so pinched what was left.Enjoyed the drive there too as we took the scenic route through farm land and country roads but could not believe how many new housing schemes getting built.

Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:07 pm

Not a good day today. David said he could not drive to Hunstanton as he had planned yesterday, because of the pain in his arm, so we went back to Stoke Doyle, which is
not far from here. took some photographs of the Manor, which I think is named the Mill, this is a resturant now, it says on here, but I have to go to the laptop
to get the photos on here.
So I phoned the doctors about David and said he was in awful pain, and got the answer we did not need, he is no.99 on the queue of 105. It cannot be done
because it lowers your immune system, the doc said, they even do not do it at hospital either, the the girl said, as her father was waiting for a jab./ she also told me
that they are expecting a second wave in September.....
As for the email, I did not open it, so cannot say what is in it., it said http. something, which was crossed through, so do not know what it says. I sometimes
get one from Paul, also my nephew, my friends daughter and they are all spoof...Have told my Paul but it is like talking to yourself.
One of the ladies I meet on the dog walk said she had left off the pills for her trembling hands, which I had not noticed, as she has a dog lead in both of them
and the neroglocial person In Northampton had his diagnose revoked, he will not repeat the test, so now she has to go to London.

Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:59 pm

Hello Ladies. Not much work done by me today, but enjoyed the visits to Gennie and Maria - made Gennie a Cuppa Soup while I was there and she was planning to try some of the gooseberry crumble later. Left there after a couple of hours, when carers arrived and caught the bus to the centre (by the way, thankfully my local bus stop is open again now that Anglian Water appear to have finished) and quicly went into B & M to stock up on bird food again, but unfortunately no large bags of bird seed in, so had to buy two smaller ones and also a small peanuts because large bags out of stock, but managed to get the box of 150 fatballs. That squirrel is now a regular visitor and of course appreciates the peanuts!! After that I caught the bus to Maria's and enjoyed a good talk with her, plus her nice fresh coffee and a slice of her homemade lemon drizzle cake. Eventually got home about 5 and caught up with the emails, etc., and next job after this I have to put out the recycling bin that is now full up and then plan to have a restful evening.

Got some photos from Jean, which she managed to get on their return to Stoke Doyle today:-

Nice photo of you Jean and I take it that was the yellow cardi that attracts the thunderflies. That certainly does look an interesting house. See that you had planned a trip to Hunstanton, but just returned to Stoke Doyle (which isn't too far away) because David's pain was back again in his arm and not much hope for relief from that with the news you received from the doc and the conversation you had with receptionist after that - not doing the jabs because it lowers the immune system (and a second wave of the virus might arrive again - let's hope not). I reckon that was wise not opening the spoof email and good to destroy that straight away, but at least we know they could arrive, so thanks for the warning. What a nuisance for that lady now having to go to London for any future diagnosis re trembling in her hands.

Rita, that is good that your son has completed a few more repairs to your shed, much better than spending out for anything new when it is just to house a few gardening things, etc., and all you need is somewhere to keep those items dry. See you enjoyed the time with Sue when she visited, sitting out in the sunshine. At least when your neighbour phoned the doctor, one of the prescribing nurses visited her. Shame that Sue couldn't get to grips with the Ipad and have you heard anything back about your laptop repair and what that might cost? I certainly will see a big difference in the children and nice to see them and in particular before Hunter starts his proper school in September. Some of the workforce where Rachel works had to be given notice, but her boss was very happy with the way she has helped to keep things going and raised the money she earns and also while I was there last time, she received a lovely bunch of flowers thanking her - nice to know she is appreciated. Stephen, as you know, runs his own company and things getting busy again for him now, which is good to know and thank you for asking. Yes, we are the lucky ones, now retired and not having the worry of holding onto jobs. Hope the state pension pot isn't empty yet .

Dian I wouldn't say that jobs indoors are up-to-date yet, but at least in more organised piles . What you said about the weather, it still isn't that settled and today, no rain and it was sunny, but still a cold breeze to put up with and at times looked as though it could rain any minute, but so far this evening still dry. If it doesn't rain again tonight, then it will be watering needed again tomorrow and I would love to finish that sieving and start on the clearing of at least one garden store. Nice to see your son today when he popped in for a chat and yesterday enjoyed the scenic route drive to your daughter's for the meal - the stew you had there yesterday sounded so tasty and see you are going to enjoy that again today as you brought the rest of it home with you - good idea. Lots of new housing going up you noticed on that drive and the same when Rachel collects me to go to Rugby and still the estates are expanding her way and I was reading the other day there are supposed to be 120 new sites under discussion for building on in Northants. When viewed from the air our island still seems to have loads of countryside and farmlands, but how much longer will that be the case?

Well ladies I must put out that recycling bin for collection and then off upstairs and relax before the rest of the evening has gone and enjoy catching up with today's recorded programmes - have a peaceful night all of you.

Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:45 am

Good morning all. Eventually got to bed even later than planned because at last Eon seemed to have managed to get their site working properly once again and the bill came through and I did check that against the same quarter last year and surprisingly had used less, despite the heating going back on again here and there so late into what is supposed to be our summer. Anyway settled that and then got into checking the finances and trying to work out (after paying the house insurance premium before the end of the moonth - and going to chase for a reduction of that today), what I could save at the end of the month (taking into account that there are 3 birthdays to get cards and gifts for) - well yes I can put a bit away, but lower than normal . Finished up by facing the task of getting all of the bird food out of the shopping trolley and yesterday after buying the large lot of fat balls in a box I found it didn't fit into the trolley, so emptied all of the contents into a shopping bag and put that in the trolley - so quite a bit of cleaning out of that and the trolley, but got that all done and the bird food in the containers and now where it should be in the large kitchen cupboard.

I did leave a bit of time to catch up on some tv, but a lot of what was recording upstairs, I was actually watching while working downstairs, so not so much to catch up on and deleted a lot of it. This morning have stripped the bed and made sure I have made that up again before I forget and get a shock when I eventually get to bed this evening. Done one lot of laundry of light things, bed linen will go in next and there aren't at the moment enough dark things, so they can wait in the laundry bin for a while - I hope there just might be some more gardening clothes joining them after today. Sunny out there at the moment with only a few clouds here and there and I am hoping there will be some more gardening clothes joining them after today - fingers crossed that I can get more done outside.

Nothing more to add this morning and hope you all have a good day and the weather is sunny for all of you.

Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:11 pm

Pauline good you got to visit Gennie and Maria as would cheer them up .Always nice to have friends visit.Good news your bus stop opened up again Yes it is quite chilly for this time of year I cant believe Hunter is starting school O how time flies.You will see a big difference in the children when you next visit.Laughed at the squirrel enjoying his peanuts.You would be pleased your bill less than last year.You will be pleased bed is done I now hate making it up but worse if you forget till its time for bed
Jean liked your photo and the house looked interesting Sorry Davids arm playing up Not nice ..Think the health service in a muddle and do not know if we will get it sorted for a long time I keep hearing terrible stories
Rita hope your having a pleasant day with no problems.
Well it is dry at the moment but chilly.Sun did pop out but not for long so only got 10 minutes sitting in it.Got plants watered at the back last night but not the front so will now go and check them out thats if the rain does not arrive.Yesterday got some shredding done so now will dump that Enjoy your day ladies

Wed Jul 22, 2020 11:26 am

Hi Everyone.

I don't know about any of you, but I am finding it much chillier indoors again in the mornings and evenings than it is outside. At the moment I am sitting here with a body warmer on and it is already 11 in the morning. What to do about the jobs outside? I really want to get at least one of the garden stores sorted, so I can push this along closer to the small section of fence between my side section in the back and which is partly edging a small section of my front garden and partly the end of neighbour's garden, so I can create room on the paved area by the new side fencing to site the compost bin which I would then be able to get at easily. At the moment I am getting less room to work and move in because of the number of bags that are now sitting around full of cut vegetation with some old sifted compost fibre waiting to go into that bin. Well the sun is out, but it seems we just cannot depend of the weather forecasts at the moment and if I start clearing out one of the stores, will it start raining on me? Last night I didn't water because we were supposed to get rain, but it didn't arrive and today the pots and baskets really do need some water .

Yesterday afternoon managed to do more sieving (which created a couple more bags full to stand around) and cleared 3 more old planters and repaired the other zinc one that I got off of Stephen and Rachel. I had already got one with some of the ornamental grass in, but that was parting company with the base, so took the grass out of that and put it in the newly repaired one and now got my old one to repair today. The other one from Stephen and Rachel I had already repaired and that has the new type foxglove in. Unfortunately although they look quite attractive, they aren't really strong enough to take the weight of the fibre added to them and the bottoms part company. What I have used to repair them (after a good clean) is the silver metallic type wide duct tape and it works well, then finish them off with the clear waterproof tape. There is one stone terracotta planter standing in one of the beds that has another ornamentl grass in, so will get the grass out of that and put it in the one I finish today and keep that planter for another job later on. Moving that will give me room to shift a couple more planters and make room in the actual flower bed, because the cosmos I bought should really go directly into the ground - always something to shift or transplant in a garden . Decision made that I just have to start work on at least one of the stores and just hope the rain doesn't arrive while I am in the middle of that and sitting here typing and waffling isn't going to get it done.

Jean and Rita, hope your day went well yesterday and hope we hear from you later today.

Dian I have to laugh at the squirrel too - he/she has just hopped across the lawn again and is enjoying the food out there (all filled up again last evening). Yes, time certainly does fly and we all wanted to see Hunter again before he starts his regular school in September and see how Kylian has grown. We haven't seen them since we were all here early March to celebrate Rachel and my birthdays - too long, but we have all had to put up with things like this and harder for so many people whose relative are in the care homes. See it was chilly too your way and dry and you had to water out the back and perhaps check the front tomorrow. Like here, I had hoped for the rain during the night, but it didn't arrive. Well done with the shredding you got through and from now on the contents of my shredder will be ending up in the compost bin. It flashed up a while ago that you had just got on here and bet I won't have finished this before it tells me you have posted today, so had better finish and get a move on outdoors.

Hope all of you have a good day.

Wed Jul 22, 2020 11:52 am

[b] Pauline hope your having a good day and just know you will be busy catching up as never ending,,,,,,,,not sure if you are going out today if so hope it is dry for you
[size=24]Jean do hope you and David are keeping fine today also Coco
[b]Rita also hope your day is going along trouble free
Well rain has arrived and has not stopped so at least no watering the plants.Just seen my electric account now switched. It is the funeral of one of our [size=24]neighbours today so as it [size=24]is restricted to so many the neighbours are [size=24]going o[size=24]ut to see her off So sad as she suffered to the end but her daughter came over from Spain so that was nice[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/b][/b][/size]
Pauline just seen you have posted and lucky you no rain I just knew you would have been busy and so right I am Do hope the rain has kept off so you can get all finished Well done with your repairs.Yes you will see a big difference in the children which is nice. need to scoot as funeral is quite soon

Wed Jul 22, 2020 1:42 pm

Pauline I do find it chilly in the mornings, more like Autumn now.
did reply yesterday maybe it has gone into space, about the trip to the blood test place.
and again Yesterday got the sad news to which we have come to, my friend who use to play bowls is90 he fell down and could not get up, the neighbours could not
move him either, rang the docs and was told that he would have to pay £24 for an ambulance to get him to the doc. the paramedics got him up bless them.
next time he should dial 999.
been for a haircut today, feel better. sat in the sun to dry hair, lovely.
the lady is here doing Davids feet, I am self isolating in the dining room

Wed Jul 22, 2020 1:45 pm

it does not look as yesterday news got on here. I had to go for that blood test, standing the usual 2 meters apart, people nearly out of the door, got to the front and the nurse
said have your got a temparture, well that is their dept. surely in a hospital...David had his temp. taken in the barbers. this took me 40 minutes, there were one or two
chairs only about, no seating for most of the patients. only 3 in the blood clinic room, which was ok,

Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:06 am

First of all I had an email from Rita and apparently she was using her laptop, so that seems to be back with her, but she said that she could read all on here, but couldn't post. She said there were just adverts at the bottom of the page. I explained to her that without those advertisers we wouldn't be getting a free site, because it was the money from them that paid for the website - that is why sites we have been on in the past have eventually closed because of the cost of running them and lack of attracting advertising. Anyway I did say to Rita to check at the top right hand side on the black background and see if she needed to log in again, because there are times when the site has run maintenance and that would happen. At times it is our own computer maintenance that logs us out of all sites. Anyway I hope it is only that causing the problem, but as it was just after 11 last evening I sent the email I haven't heard back from her yet. P.S just found that Rita emailed me back about 1 in the morning to say she had meant to say Ipad that she was using, so she still hasn't got the laptop back yet and hope that doesn't take too long to repair.

As you can tell by the above time I mentioned I was catching up late, because I spent all day in the garden and did my best to ignore the drooping plants that badly needed watering and tackled the garden stores. The first one I didn't have to empty and managed to shove that further along (having moved the recycling bins first) and then had to take the lawn mower and other heavy things out of the other one and pull that out and eventually managed to twist it around (difficult having very little space to work in) and eventually get that into the corner near the fence and then pushed the first one back up closer. That left me room to fit in 2 wheelie bins where that had been, which are now hidden along the side of the shed. After that I twisted some shelving around that has plants, on which made room to pull out the work table and get that back against the fence. I haven't yet attempted to shift the tall shed, but although I do have 6 inches left on one side and a bit more on the other side, unfortunately it doesn't give me enough room to get a third bin in if I do move it.

I now only have to get out the black bin for household waste and the recycling bin for the council to collect, but that does leave me with two brown garden bins (which of course no longer get collected unless you pay). At the moment I have one that is empty that I really do want to keep to put any useable compost in to store, but could keep that in the front garden and that leaves me the second one that at the moment I have the spades and garden forks in, plus one gazebo cover, temporarily. Eventually when I get the time and weather to have a good clear out of the stores I will be able to keep one of them in there - tools like the spades, forks, strimmer, etc., would be better kept in that, save leaning or falling about in the stores.

Anyway the outcome of all of that shifting was that eventually where the work table had been I have now sited the compost bin and although it is standing on paving slabs, I have just slightly put it over the earth at the side of it, so hopefully the worms will eventually find their way into that. Having emptied all of the stuff that was composting in plastic bags it is already half full, so really happy about that days work. I also managed to repair that zinc planter of mine, put the cosmos into the garden (which has opened its first flower, so obviously happy) and then dug a bit further into what was once a rockery made by the previous owner years ago and which over the years I have been slowly lowering and getting out the stones and yesterday found another huge sandstone slab that I dug out. At some point those large stones will get cleaned up and made to look a bit more attractive and might even end up in the front garden (another one of my plans for the future ). Finally I was watering the garden at 9.15 in the evening and having done that and cleared up I eventually got indoors at 10 then tackled the emails and found that one from Rita.

There was no way I was going to cook a meal at that time in the evening, so naughty me put some bacon in the microwave and had a couple of bacon sandwiches which I really did enjoy. Having thoroughly scrubbed my hands to get that meal, I thought I had better have a bath, put the dark washing (including the gardening clothes) in the machine, had the bath and by that time the laundry was done, so put that on the airer indoors and eventually got upstairs and actually caught up on about 3 hours of recorded t v (fast forwarding the ads, so wasn't 3 hours viewing) and then settled down about 3.15 - five hours sleep and up again and feeling okay. The night before I did get quite a few more hours, so obviously didn't need any more last night.

Today sun is out again, so more sieving to clear a few more planters and others to feed and tidy up and really do need to get on with as much as I can out there because the forecast looks bad for the weekend - perhaps those storms might eventually arrive here, because they have been forecast for long enough.

Dian as you can see I certainly did get some more catching up done in the garden, because no rain arrived, but see it was raining your way so you didn't have to water. Glad the electric account seems to have switched for you. Sad for you and others being the funeral of one of your friends and of course restricted people to attend, but see you and neighbours went out to see her off and good to know her daughter got over from Spain. I just hope the rain stopped for that because funerals are sad enough without horrible weather for them.

Jean, glad it is not just me and you too find it chilly in the mornings (as you say more like Autumn). Even today although the sun is out again there is still that chilly breeze, but at least makes it better to work in and there was one point yesterday when I was digging to put in that cosmos and it got far to hot and had to get in and wipe my face and change into a lighter top (sweat running into the eyes and them stinging), so drank some water and cooled down for a little while before finishing off the digging. Today should do some more, because I dug up the Loose Strife which was crowded out and was going to put that in the slowly lowering "rockery" and that is when I found the huge stone. Anyway the plant is in water, but should get that in today. Looks as though your post went off into cyber space the day before and a nuisance when that happens. That was more sad news for you about your bowling friend falling over and hope he is better today. Shame the people dealing with that didn't call 999 first of all - what a charge to settle having spoken to the doctor first and got the ambulance to get him to the doctors. You sounded happy having had your hair cut and you were drying it in the sunshine and David got his feet seen too also yesterday at home. That is the trouble, the queuing and standing in one place for a long time - enough to make anyone's temperature rise , but you got the bloods taken and hope the results of that are okay.

After that long post I must shift myself and phone about the house insurance with Tescos and see if I can get that lowered and then off outside again and hope all of you get through the day without any further problems

Thu Jul 23, 2020 11:35 am

have not heard about my tests. the rule being they will phone you. I do not trust them with anything
David is really poorly today what with the gout and the hip. It is getting me down knowing there is nothing I can do to help him. If he falls over it will be 999
but as it says in the paper what are the drs.doing,. no hip ops. etc. and then I read we are giving million to China and India.. so it does not matter
about the British people they can suffer on. All this money should be put into social care, after all we gave them the money mostly in tax.
moaning today, said that if I watch more than 2 hours of TV it could put me and others at risk of a stroke, so why not if you sit there reading
excuse me moaning
good work in the garden Pauline
Rita I have put your nice picture of Capt Tom and the Queen on disca, it is lovely and that man, well they should make a statue of him
Dian hope you are ok

Thu Jul 23, 2020 4:15 pm

Pauline you did work very hard in your garden but will be so pleased looking the way you want it to do. You are certainly winning with all that shifting but need to be careful you do not do your back in.Really great that you did get so much work done.Pleased the rain stayed off for you
.Jean yes everything is difficult at the moment no matter what we are doing.Sorry David is suffering so much Not fair.Hope you do hear about your tests soon.Yes quite chilly today here as well
Rita hope all is good with you
Well woke up to a wild wet miserable morning .Got my shower and hair washed and set(still rubbish)Enjoyed a snack for lunch.Did some housework(not much) now will go upstairs and do some more tiding there I did vacuum it the other day.My friend phoned she was at my hairdresser and is just working there herself so do not know what has happened as she had another 2 hairdressers also a girl shampooing.Should find out in Tuesday.Her husband is an engineer and works abroad but gets home for a couple of weeks so he is helping out answering phones ect.Strange as they have been there for years

Fri Jul 24, 2020 1:29 pm

Just gone midday and been doing all the indoor jobs and as it is sunny out there I really would like to get a bit more done before the forecasted rain tomorrow. Cleared out some items from the freezer - there were a few beefburgers in there that hadn't been used for a while, so cooked them and they have been cut up and put out for the birds and I know the crows and magpies will find that lot soon. The washing is all dry that I had indoors, so ironing pile has started again, but plenty of clean gardening clothes once again. Before I started this I phoned Gennie, but she was talking to someone on the other phone and will be phoning back soon, so might have to break off from this for a while.

Yesterday I never got a chance for any gardening work, which I had hoped to do, because several phone calls made and received. Caught up with a couple of friends from the clubs (which of course, are still closed) and had a good chat with them, plus spoke to Maria and exchanged news with her, then got down to sorting out the insurance and first went onto the Martin Lewis site and followed his advice and went onto moneysupermarket.com (first one listed on his site to try) and back came a lot of buildings and contents quotes, much lower than what I had been quoted by Tescos and also on the list was a price cut by them of £107, so next call was to them and pressed 3 to say I was leaving them and yes, after a short conversation I got my premium lowered to £107.56 - much better than the £177.23. It is so worthwhile chasing and having a moan about these huge increases, so despite having to spend time doing something like that, it certainly saved me money.

Gennie just phoned back and we had a good natter and she said she enjoyed the crumble and as I have got more gooseberries in the freezer I will have to make some more when I have the time. It is now 1.15 pm so that was a long talk and must get a move on now.

Still not heard anything further from Rita after I answered her last email when she explained that it had been the Ipad she was using and just hope she gets her laptop back soon and everything will be okay with that.

Jean, I see that they usually phone you with the results of the blood tests and hope they are okay, Do hope that David feels better today because you said he was very poorly yesterday with pain from the hip and gout and I know that never clears up quickly, but just hope it has eased a bit for him. You know I feel the same that a lot of the foreign aid should be stopped, because in particular after all that our Government has had to borrow, we can no longer afford this and in fact we really never could if all that was needed here urgently had been dealt with first.

Dian, that was a long stint in the garden on Wednesday, but really happy with what I achieved. Not good weather for you yesterday so you got quite a bit of jobs done indoors. Hope your appointment with the hairdresser goes ahead next week and then you can find out more from her what has been going on.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the day ladies and now i am going to get a light lunch and off to see what I can achieve again in the garden..

Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:17 pm

Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:19 pm

Pauline see you will be busy in garden again.That was a great saving with your insurance.Nice to hear Gennie and Maria are both fine Good she enjoyed your gooseberrie sponge and nice you will make her another one. Think we are all missing our clubs and the chats.Do not know when they will return.....grrrrrr
Rita do hope all is fine with you
Jean do hope David is feeling a lot better also yourself.Hope you have been out and about
Dry but dull here so just going to hang out a small washing.Not had a good morning as had an attack which just think effects of the Bells Palsy and shingles I had 20years ago because first time I took it when out shopping about 20 years ago rushed in to Boots and got soluble aspirin and gobbled up 2 as thought as I was having a heart attack.when I went to the doctors she said heart was fine then sat and said she knew by my records I had the Palsy and shingles then said that nerve travels from face through the back down to chest and just thought that what it was and I think that too as now and again have it but well over 2 years since the last one.Does not last too long but painful.Daughter just of the phone .....she will pick me up tomorrow morning at 10am so looking forward to that.Wishing all a good weekend

Fri Jul 24, 2020 2:26 pm

[b]Do not know what happened .........said someone had posted at same time and so I did modify but then all disappeared and said site might be down.Then when I came out and went back in see it has posted twice????? gremlins Not going to try and get rid of one as know will have more bother[/b]

Fri Jul 24, 2020 4:17 pm

Dian I hope you are feeling much better today.And looking forward to going out tomorrow have a great day
Pauline good that Gennie and Maria are fine. give them my best wishes. Glad Rita is ok also
this morning I had a cull of my clothes got a sackful for the charity shop, Need to do some more yet. worn out.
Did the washing this morning and it is all dry.
David is not much better, but he is watching cricket with Coco.
Carol rang, her son has a council flat, so now know how to get one. brandish a knife...he does not deserve. this. She fell down on Monday and could not get up
she was outside with the dog, rang daughter who did not get there, and finally when she arrived phoned the paramedics who wanted to take her to hospital but
she was too scared to go because of Covid. looks like a panda. Her tv was cut off as son did not pay it. do not know for how long, and it is back on now.
she managed to get a restraining order for her son, as she does not have much in the bank after letting him stay there not paying
Pauline must be lovely in the garden. Surely your gt.grandson cannot be going to school. how time flies
they are banging in the house at the side. taking a long time

Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:20 pm

Just popped in and see there seems to be a problem with the posting and will try and sort that out in a minute - got to go outside quickly, because keeping any eye on some old wood that is burning in the bbq. Be back in a little while to see what needs to be done x

P.S - strange, but just couldn't delete the first double post, so put a couple of smileys there instead and then the other post that you put on explaining Dian, also came up a second time, but then disappeared by itself.

Sat Jul 25, 2020 11:59 am

Hi Everyone. Big black clouds arriving here and strong wind just now, but that has stopped thankfully. It did rain last night, so happy about that, but hope it stays away today for a while because I would like to achieve finishing a few more jobs today. Got outside eventually yesterday in the afternoon and happy about the results. Burnt in the stone bbq, the last of the old wood, larger branches and stumps, after doing a bit of sawing them into reasonable lengths and kept an eye to that as there was quite a bit to get rid of, but sat down in between times in the sun and read a bit more of the book I am on at the moment. I also swept a lot of the cuttings off of one bush in the front that I had left there, plus dried ivy bits I had cut off, so front looks a bit tidier and that lot went on the fire, plus a lot of dried seed pods scattered all over the grass at the back from the nuisance tree and that all helped to keep the fire going under all of the old wood. All down to a nice pile of ash eventually and made sure it was safe before I went indoors about 6.30. Ivy leaves and stems are absolutely a no no for composting, but get them dried off and they burn very well, plus the cuttings from the eucalyptus tree, only adding a small amount at a time, because they are the offenders for spreading bush fires in Australia and they don't even have to be dried off. Also any rose leaves and stems with blackspot went on that and the chipboard base of an old ironing board that had been hanging about and that broke up into small pieces and got burnt away (the metal legs from it had gone with the "any old iron" man a few weeks back).

The trouble is that years ago most gardeners had reasonable small bonfires to get rid of diseased plants, etc., and a lot of people think that these are now banned, but that isn't so, only if they are creating huge volumes of smoke going across roads and being a nuisance to the neighbours, so that stone bbq of mine is ideal. Also learning more at the moment, that the ash can be sprinkled into the compost bin and around the base of gooseberry bushes, etc.. I think the lack of burning diseased parts of plants affected by any fungal disease like black spot, etc., has not helped at all to eradicate this. My honeysuckle can also get affected by that and hasn't done that well this year, so later on I will be cutting that well and truly back to just a few main stems. Got some really good advice from the Monty Don site about garden bonfires.

Well the plantpots, trays and some smaller planters that I am not using at the moment are now in some old compost bags and I will have to get them cleaned off and eventually sort through what there is in one of the garden stores and either advertise these for free if anyone needs these (and there are people often asking for them on the nextdoor, freegle, freecycle groups), but for the moment at least they are contained and not rolling about all over the work section by the side of my house and one brown garden bin is now in the front garden for future use (hopefully when I get an overload of my own compost) and the other three fit in well at the side of the house (two of them hidden by the shed) and although it is really a work area mostly and doesn't look that pretty, at last it is tidy and I can walk through a wider space to the gate into the front garden, so it was worth the planning and work.

Dian when I saw that both of your posts had come up twice on here I did try and delete the first one and then panic for me - because the whole section seemed to disappear and just leave our original section of the first 40 pages, but the one we are on now I just couldn't trace. Thankfully I had another tab open with the current page on and worked on that and this time didn't even try and delete that first post of yours completely, just the wording and that is why I left it with the smiley faces on. Having done that then the second post of yours that also was showing twice, then appeared once only, so I was quite mystified about all of that, but thankfully this present section seems to be safe again. Yes, I was really happy with that insurance premium, but so annoyed at what they thought they would get out of me, if I didn't bother to chase about it. That was really nasty the attack you got yesterday, but at least you know what it was, although that sounded so frightening for you the first time you got that years ago, I see you got some washing out and hope that dried for you before any rain arrived. By now your daughter would have picked you up and hope you enjoy going out with her again and feet much better this morning.

Jean, I always pass on your good wishes to both Gennie and Maria and those from Rita too and both of them ask me to remember them to you both. As Gennie said, we do miss those lunches out together. More turning out of clothes for you yesterday and then you ran out of energy to do anything else. I would like to get some out of my wardrobe and to Barnardos on Monday, as I do need to go to the centre for some shopping and could drop some off then and hopefully get some other things out of the lock up to take over there too. When I pass the Salvation Army shop near me I can see that it is still closed and would have liked to get some items to them too. Sorry to read that David wasn't much better yesterday, but see you got your washing out and dried. I can understand how you feel about Carol's son getting that council flat so easily and I know that she and his sister have restraining orders against him, but it hasn't kept him away in the past and just hope he stays away from them in the future. Sounded like a nasty fall she had , but refused to go to the hospital, so hope nothing nasty comes out of that. See there was more trouble caused for her by her son, because of non payment for the t v service and glad to read that is sorted now. Sounds like a lot of work has had to be done in the house next door to you and also a lot of noise going on. Yes the time certainly does fly by and that seems to have come around so quickly what with Hunter starting his proper school in September and that is why we are looking forward to seeing them all in August for a meal out. Garden is looking colourful and now the gladioli are out (lovely colour of the ones I got this year) and the hibiscus is now in flower, but missing that lovely display I got from the alstromerias and hopefully they will come up again for another showing, like I am getting from some of my delphiniums.

Rita I just hope that you get your laptop back soon and can get on here again, but by what you said, at least you can read what is on here.

Enjoy your weekend ladies and I am going to get an early lunch and see if I can get some more jobs done outside after that, before the rain arrives.

P.S. Just received an email from Rita and this is what she said:-

"Hi Pauline. I have completely \bug....... my ipad, , I know I am getting more confused each day and it is irritating and so worrying. now on repaired laptop and it is far from right, keeps asking for my identity and not satisfied. I don;t know how I have go onto this bt its just to let you know I am trying and have no idea what I am doing cos whatever I do it will not accept. hard to explain when I dont understand myself. however I Will get in to Nifties when possible, at this minute I am feeling fed up and have had enough of trying,Rita"

I really do wish I could get hold of that laptop of hers and sort it out for her, but of course at the moment, just not possible as here in Northampton and also the Bedford area, the coronavirus figures are up again, so still must be sensible about visiting, It honestly sounds as though the laptop repair wasn't good enough and think she should get back to that man and see if he can be more helpful than he has been. Going to answer her email now before I get lunch.