I am experimenting to see if I can make the picture headings from your profile pics, and it appears that I can! This is Ev's latest work....
Now, as to our latest "Favourite Things" - So that we can ALL join in, I think we should just make it so that you can choose ANY 5 things that you love, i.e. 5 TV shows, 5 places, 5 people, 5 drinks etc. (Plus ONE example of what you definitely DON'T love when it comes to that particular list...) We will start tomorrow - and you can add your name to the hat at any time!
Gary, am very flattered! I sent it to my American tutor and she has done a critique so with her advice in mind I might be making a few improvements. Lovely to have it pinned up on the blog! Thank you!
Ev, I hope your painting pinned up for all to admire, makes you feel less miserable about your latest U I.
Dog alert Most serendipitous event over the last two hours. Walked down the road to the car with Lady to go for walk on the common. Walking towards us was a group of people with the spitting image of Lady on a lead. She was a Malamute/Labrador/ Poodle cross. The same size as Lady, same mixed colours as L but a bit more grey, less golden, same coat, face and shape. They live in Barnes, which is the next door district to Putney, and there daughter is just down the road to me. They walked up to the common, I drive, but ten minutes later we met again and the dogs played for a good five minutes, chasing each other round and round. The man took photos and I think he said a video too. They really did look as though they had come from the same litter.
Family visit this weekend cancelled - in Wales they're hemmed in on nearly all sides by exclusion zones and children are beginning to be sent home from school. My son plans to make a dash down to my place on Thursday on his own, hopefully before the lockdown fully closes in on them, otherwise who knows when we'll see each other again.
To all Ed fans (I know there is definitely one): Barry Farrimond will be Clare Balding's companion on Ramblings tomorrow. He'll talk about the Archers of course, the Youth Orchestra led by disabled musicians and a special knot. I always think this sort of programme is more suitable to TV but I might listen on this occasion.
Botox went ok yesterday. Although it wasn't what I expected, good job really, but I managed not to swear at him by holding on tight to the nurse's hand and humming a bit of a tune at the more unpleasant moments. He said not to expect anything to happen for 48 hours but this morning without me patch I am seeing clearly enough.....no double vision like I had. I still have prisms in my glasses though so hopefully it will continue to improve and I can get rid of at least the sticky on lense. I sincerely hope that this one session will have been enough. Go back to see him in 4 weeks.
Mrs P. ....... what a coincidence bumping into people with a doppleganger dog. Was it a foreign rescue dog too?
Such good news PTBY - It sounds as though the Botox has worked immediately. Will you need repeat injections over time. Was listening on Woman's Hour I think, a week or so ago about how it is now used for many health issues, and how well it works. So pleased for you. Let's hope Archerphile gets good results too.
The dog was from a family in Frome. Mum was a malamute Lab mix and the sire was a poodle apparently, so a real mix, but from here in England not Eastern Europe.
PtbY - your endurance has paid off. Yes, Botox was discussed on WH, I just found the clip. It was initially used to control spasms and then someone noticed that it also smoothed her wrinkles. It was then hijacked by the cosmetics industry.
Apologies It is obvious one of us is losing her marbles or can not read correctly. In my previous post ,please read Basia for Stasia Good job I didn't mention the product or I may have written Stotox!
PtbY - wishing you good luck with your eye. My daughter had Botox injected into her arm to help with right side hemiparesis and it did loosen her arm up for a while.
My news is short + sweet. I have a new car on order as from this morning. I was told that it would be 4-6 weeks, but after a 'phone call a couple of hours ago, "my" car is in a showroom in a dealership in Southampton. This is now mine, and it will be transferred to Chester next week. There is a delay though, with the monies I need to pay for it, but I will have it in 2-3 weeks. I just need to be patient.
Miriam👏👏👏for the car! Am doing another painting tomorrow by zoom and will pin it up if it comes out OK! Making them into jigsaws as you suggest below could be a nice little earner! Not ready yet though!!
Great news, PtbY - patience rewarded after all these months of waiting ! Can sort of imagine the 'ouch' & 'ow' whilst being injected, but at least you know what it's like if it needs to be done again ( which, of course, we hope it doesn't....)
Only just logging on for the first time today & see I’ve missed a lot! First Gary: That’s a lovely idea putting our pictures up at the top of the blog. It makes it so much easier to see the detail in Ev’s lovely painting. I’m working on a series of Autumn studies, mostly leaves & trees. Don’t much like the one in my photo now as I did it in acrylics which I find are too thick & heavy. Watercolours are much more delicate & you can get better details. I’ll try to post one in a few days PtyB: so pleased to hear you’ve had the Botox, though it didn’t sound very pleasant. Hopefully the results will be so successful that you will soon forget the actual treatment - (at least that’s what I’m hoping for Friday!) Miriam: congrats on the new car - you are very brave choosing such an important purchase on your own - don’t think I’d dare do that! Happy Motoring ...as the old Esso advert used to say. Sarnia - hope you manage your family visits somehow. This lockdown in various areas of SW Wales is affecting my son in law too, who is now unable to visit his parents or sister. Life is getting so complicated, trying to remember what’s allowed and what’s not on different parts of the country!
Esscee - Just seen your post about your dogs pup. That must have been lovely for both sets of owners, but please tell how the dogs reacted. I am very interested in animal behaviour and take in a lot that I see.
Puss Cat had her MOT and jab this morning, though she disappeared out 40 mins before needing to leave. She came back in, just as I was about to rearrange the visit. She was grabbed, shut in my bedroom and then put in cat box. We made it on time just! She is 100% and the round black spot on an ear, I was worried about, is purely a patch of scar tissue, probably from a claw from another cat. The vets was really well organised, and no problems at all. Both Puss Cat and self, were safe. I have downloaded the new NHS Covid19 (England version) app today. It is easy to use and can be switched on + off, so only needs to be activated when out in public places.
A couple of heavy hail stone events, today, just as a neighbour was starting to put the roof on the new conservatory. I It is still sunny, and pouring with rain in the front garden, but no rain in the back. Wierd!!
This is the latest. Much room for improvement and will probably try it again. The worse thing was the myriad legs of tables and chairs and it is very simplified!
Many thanks for your good wishes. I shall take my iPad with me to occupy my mind as I wait in my room to go down to theatre. I might even post from there if anything interesting happens!
Esscee very interesting, thanks for telling. Did you catch my post some months since when Lady and a black dog with a patch of permanent bare flesh, no fur on its side met ? They went nose to nose, noses to bottoms, then nose to nose again. They then started to lick each other's faces. Then they played joyously for ages until they were both worn out with exhaustion. The other owner and I ( now firm friends ) watched with fascination and shared our dogs histories. I had got Lady directly through a rescue that brings them over from Rumania, and she had arrived in February 19. The other dog, Misha was adopted through a local rescue and collected by her new owner two months later, but had come recently from Rumania. My friend and I both think these dogs came over on the same transport trip, and might have come from the same rescue in Rumania. When the two of them meet up, they are ecstatic, and Misha in particular screams with delight when she sees me and Lady, and Lady runs to my friend. We recently went for a day trip in my car. Lady has been sitting in the front for months and has refused to go in the back or the boot. Misha usually travels in the boot, but on this day I wanted them on the back seat. We got Misha in first, and Lady happily followed her friend. That was a fortnight ago, and every day since Lady has willingly got into the back seat of the car without any fuss at all. The next lesson is to get her in the boot, with Misha as her tutor.
Only thing yo report from my hospital room where I’m waiting to go down to theatre (with a very blurry eye) is that instead of looking out onto nice gardens at the front, I’m overlooking all the bins and rubbish at the back! And my blood pressure was so phenomenally high that they nearly refused to do the op. Calm down dear, calm down! 🥺 Think pleasant thoughts, tell Gary you want to go on the list for favourite things, then think about them......
You may well be in theatre now Archerphile I hope so as it will be upwards and onwards from there! What a shame about the view perhaps you should ask for a deduction on your bill 😉 Thoughts are with you 💐
That sounds like my hotel room, when I travel alone, and have had to pay a big single supplement. I have got used to the bin view, or as on a trip to Cuba, the extractor fans from the kitchen! I have to accept this.
Mind you, on a holiday in Egypt, the last night was spent in the centre of Cairo. I was upgraded to a suite! This was on 2 floors with a balcony overlooking The Nile. I take the bad with the good.
Mrs P. Your dog story with Lady + Misha, sounds so feasible. It would be so very surprising if they didn't know each before. What a coincidence, which is helping both you + Lady. A charming tale. 🐶🐕
Last week, I was looking for something to listen to. I came across the R4 daily programme - Life Lines. I managed to download all the 5 series, each episode being just 15mins. On listening, the episodes load continually, so get an entire series in 1hr + 15mins. This make sense, due to the continuity, in the same way the TA Sunday omnibus does. It is a female, who is in the control room of the ambulance service and her stories and feelings. I am enjoying it.
Next series will be listened tomorrow, when I blitz the bedroom, which includes tossing the matress over! I do this every 4 weeks, plus hoovering the mattress. What a sad person I am. 😣
Bon courage AP, Pleased for you PtbY, Positive waves for all others with concerns, health or other... 🌈 Molly had her 2nd vacs, Lily played hard to get, but her time is coming! 🐈
Went for flu jab this morning to our Doctor's Surgery Mr LJ- 9:58 am-on the dot! Me-9:59 am -on the dot! Greeted at the door. Names taken Two nurses ,in different rooms. He went in,I went in then out through a back door .Must have taken all of 2 mins. Brilliant.
Archerphile 🌻 thoughts 🥰 No doubt you are feeling drained right now. Look forward to hearing from you next week at any point that is right for you take care.
Also LJ, - you and Mr LJ have had your 'flu jabs. I feel this is so very much more important this year, as the onset of seasonal 'flu is coinciding with the 2nd Covid wave.
Miriam.....now got temporary prism off glasses. So just got prism lenses in glasses now. Left eyeball has moved up into correct position. I’m very pleased. Hence celebrating with the new cocktail. 🍸
I will be trying some time soon 🍸 I love Bombay Sapphire Gin, but I only buy if it is on special offer. I love Sainsbury's own brand - London Dry Gin 10 43%vol and their own label Amaretto (esp. as not so sweet as Disaranno). I will try it next week...sometime. I love a proper Moquito.
Hello all. Back in the seeing world! Second op was a bit of a trial I’m afraid. Was in operating theatre for just on an hour. Extra procedures necessary due to astigmatism and very dense cataract. Ultra-sound probing seemed to go on for ages. Quite wobbly afterwards but rested up today. Back on the 8 eyedrops a day regime. But I can read very clearly today, so that’s encouraging but sight in other eye not quite do good as it was. Spect it will even itself up eventually!
Good news was a surprise cheque for £171.00 in the post this morning! Refund for having paid for TV licence, unnecessarily, since he was 75 last summer! Now back to having to pay of course, but the refund will pay for next year! 😂
Brilliant news. I am so pleased for you, after what sounds an ordeal. Just think that it is now all over. Your new eyes will balance up. It is only Day 1 after all. Sleep well tonight.
Thank you so much Miriam. Yes, ordeal is the right word, and I’m very thankful that we humans only have 2 eye, so I don’t have to go through it again! 😉
It's over now, so just go forward with your new eyes 👀 Cataracts for me was wonderful. Although I still use glasses for reading/close work/jigsaws + a pair when I drive, this is not a problem. My normal vision is just that and is.wonderful. As I have said, I love going out at night, seeing twinkly stars so clearly, without any visual aids, which you can now do. 😁
Gin Lovers. A couple of weeks ago, I spotted and bought, a bottle of gin, which was on sale. I have just opened it + is gorgeous:- Tanquery - Rangpur Gin - made with "rare rangpur limes". Delicious and different.
Well done,AF. Now you can go home, rest and know the ops are all over.
A strange thing has happened to my neighbour. She had her drive redone with pavers only completed about a week ago. Someone had dug one of the pavers out and left a nondescript brick in its place. Nothing was seen or heard by anyone so presumably during the night. Katy saw Janet and the end result when she came back with the dogs this afternoon. The man who did the drive put a proper paver in but apparently you can see the scratches where it was extracted. We live in a quiet cul de sac with very few passers by. It does make you wonder how anyone could be so awful! In Ledbury we had a few instances of someone pinching plants from the front gardens. As Katy says they just feel so entitled!
Well, « There’s Nowt so Queer as Folk ». But pinching a single over block is extremely queer! We had two very nice stone tubs of geraniums, one at each end if the little lay-buy outside our cottage, marking our entrance. One of those disappeared one night - not both, just one! And they were extremely heavy so goodness knows how it was lifted into a car or van!
AP, so glad that your ops have been done now. And as you say, your eyes will be re-adjusting themselves now and settling in and all will be perfect before you know it. (And I can now say out loud that one of my biggest fears is the thought of doctors "fiddling" with my eyes! You are all far braver than I...)
On the subject of plant theft, in my last flat I once had every single pot & trough stolen from the stairs leading into the building. One of the most dispiriting mornings ever. I could have strangled whoever took them. Grrrrr!
Pleased for you Archerphil. All over and done with. Well done for going through it. Like Gary, the thought of eyes being ' fiddled ' with is horrifying mostly due to my investigations when it was thought that I had a brain tumour. So when I had my cataracts done it was a GA for me. Couldn't go through it again, and my reasoning was understood.
The worst thing that happened to me with my plants was to open my front door one day to find that some sort of acid had been thrown over my plants. The culprit was never found and the police just dismissed it. It plunged me into depression as it felt so personal.
I understand your dilemma Mrs P. I have put my name into GG's hat, or is it a mortar?So far, I have written 3 lots of ideas, but I am starting to narrow them down. My inspiration is the Sound of Music, when Julie Andrews sings about her favourite things, which were little things that meant so much.
I was a Fairy Godmother yesterday, granting a neighbour his wish - which is to attack the shrubs in my front garden, with his chain saw! I have asked him to cut these back, just on one side, where they have overgrown my drive. This is too make parking my new wheels (about 2 weeks away) easier, getting onto the drive. I am also thinking about having the drive widened + block-paved, so cutting these back will make that easier, if I decide to do this. It needs doing, but I am still thinking.
I take it you have read Ev’s post from yesterday evening re her neighbours block - paved job (be careful) if you go ahead 😮 What colour car have you ordered Miriam or have you said and I have missed it 😏
I saw that and did a gulp, especialy as I also live in a cul-de-sac. The car colour is Desert Orange - which is not a Tango orange 🍊 much more like a vibrant burnished gold. I won't be missed. 😀 I decided to be different, in this strange time we are experiencing. Nothing to lose.
Thank you Miriam and P tbY . This afternoon whilst "playing " card making I listened to the radio programme "Lifelines " you both recommended. Excellent listening.
A quick extra about my morning today. I had a 2 pint container of milk in the feeezer, which I decided needed to use. I swapped this for a fresh milk container. The frozen one was left out to defrost. Yes, you have guessed it. The plastic bottle ran a leak on defrosting, so I found (when in dressing gown + slippers), milk all over the work top, underneath the wooden chopping board which I had left out, dripping down the drawers + cupboards, and all over the floor, particularly in the grout between the floor tiles. Cleaning this is up, at 7.30am on a Sunday morning, was not what I envisaged. 😂
I have just been looking at marmalade recipes. I am adapting 2/3 recipes to suit how to make, in an easy way (using my pressure cooker).My problem is, that due to meds.I cannot include grapefruit, as I can't eat. It will, hopefully, work out well. 🤞
Marmalade in the Parsley household =mamade. Still feel v aggrieved about our one butternut being taken (& the gate sneck destroyed in the process). 5 favourite thingys tomorrow...
Mrs P, and Gary - you are not the only ones that can’t bear the thought of eyes being fiddled with! Having been through a quite traumatic eye operation when 6 years old and months of treatment afterwards, I always swore I’d never let anyone near my eyes again! So I really surprised myself by going through with the two recent procedures.
However, I think I’d rather go though them again than visit a Dentist!
Know what you mean. I don't mind eyes at all, but then as a previous contact lens wearer (for nearly 40 years) I am well used to this. I cannot stand some-one fiddling about in my mouth - hence my total dislike of the dentist! I can even gag on my own toothbrush, when brushing my teeth.
I think that, this is due to orthodontic treatment, I had to endure as a child. I had an overcrowded mouth, when my 2nd teeth started appearing, which had to be sorted. It is amazing, how bad ordeals as a child, still affect us, so very many decades, later.
I was given last week, a new indoor plant. It is an Anthurium and the challenge is to keep it alive. I have an old, but trustworthy book, on the care of indoor plants. I have decided, to treat it in the same way, I do my orchids. It is gorgeous at the moment, with glossy green leaves and brilliant red flowers. Does anyone else have experience of, keeping + maintaing this plant?
At the moment it is sitting, in the lounge (with no direct sunlight), between two orchids, which are thriving. One of these orchids, has been in flower for 3 months now.
I am loving that Sky Arts is now on Freeview. Last week, I recorded the 25th Anniversary concert of "Les Mis" with Alfie Boe. This week it was "Phantom" from the Royal Albert Hall (from 2011). I haven't watched either yet. I will keep these for a cold, winter Sunday afternoon, with the fire on, dark outside, with knitting or a jigsaw being done.
...along with a hearty red wine, beef casserole in the oven, with red cabbage (including onions, apple, nutmeg, red wine vinegar, vegetable stock) cooking alongside. Both will be served with herb dumplings or a baked potatoe, as the mood dictates...
Lily is beautiful. She looks so innocent . Mind you so does Sacha our visiting moggie with her big eyes. She came as usual for her bonding session on the bonding bench today and was told off by me for attacking Percy yesterday who was fast asleep outside on a chair in his own garden.. She of course took not a blind bit of notice of what I was saying to her.!
Sounds like the siamese cat, who has decided my garden and home are lovely, but my Puss Cat hates it!! Cat fights are still on going, along with me, with water as a deterent.
I couldn't post this morning, wrote twice re Archerphile being brave and childhood traumas. Lost them both.
So testing now. I would love to know of the cat that my Puss fights with. He regularly has fisticuffs and gets little nicks but since once he has gone beyond his own garden he can travel across fields to goodness knows where. Cats and their mysterious nighttime wanderings !
Well, lost my earlier post, so trying again. All drinks, no surprise there, links to place/time ...
1. The 1st mug of builder's tea in the morning, can't function without it, brought to me in bed by Mr P. Has his uses 😉
2. The espresso shot to finish off a meal at our favourite restaurant. Essential, can never resist.
3. The best G&T ever, terrace of a bar/restaurant in Girona, overlooking an unfashionable plaça, size of a goldfish bowl, reliable Spanish/Catalan measure ie. keep pouring while watching the telly on the wall....plus rose petals.. aaahhhhh!!!
4. 1st time tasting Gewurztraminer. In Laon, on tour with a small chamber choir that I sang with for years. Explored the city, back to the square at the top of the funicular, joined the others, the choir director supplied the Gewurz. In heaven. Every time I drink it I'm back there on that sunny terasse in Laon, with my long hair.....
5. Large tumbler of Dalwhinnie, curled up on the settee in front of the fire, shutters closed, curtains drawn. Mr P at my side. ❤
And the no-no - Bailey's!!!!! 🤮 anything resembling hot chocolate/cocoa with a skin forming on top 🤮
WOW! That's a bloody good list - thank you parsley!
Most days, if I don't have my cup of tea & a fag within 15 mins of getting up I am a moaning wreck of a bitch, so am in total agreement with you on number 1! Can't for the life of me understand people's love of coffee though, it makes me sooooo jumpy. (I am married to someone who loves coffee. The noise & the smell from the machine drives me mad...)
I drink gin & ice, sometimes with a bit of vermouth, but not too often because it gets me absolutely steaming!! Whisky is a very, very occasional treat.
Bailey's is repugnant, & I have horrible memories as a youngster picking the skin off of hot chocolate & have hated it ever since.
Like you Gary, I have to have a hot drink soon after getting up.....but coffee not tea! Proper cafetière with Indian Malabar coffee at weekends, Gold Blend instant in the week.
I only drink tea at tea-time (watching a recording of the day’s Countdown, and it must be strong Yorkshire, two mugs. Mr A INSISTS on a proper cup and saucer. 😒
I adore (strong) coffee ☕️ and love my pod machine as so easy and of course the smell is just mmmm! mmm! To counteract I also drink Barley Cup (in granule form) from Holland and Barrett which is very refreshing hot and also even if left to cool. I do on occasions enjoy a cuppa and Mr R certainly does but must be Yorkshire Tea! He is not as refined as Mr A and likes a mug (not very Lord like 🤣🤣🤣) No 5 parsley sounds just lovely and cosy and Mr P has been given a romantic look in 😂
I really enjoy a g and t but I've had to stop. It seems to make me very anxious. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem. I love a cold beer on holiday..I love Italian or croation they're very refreshing. In winter I enjoy a malt whisky on a Sunday afternoon watching a good film. 😁😁i know it's not my turn but I thought you'd like to know anyway. Btw..don't drink coffee or tea
The first alcoholic drink I ever tried was a Gimlet. Gin and lime over ice with a dash of Angostura bitters. My Dad picked up the habit of Gimlets in the Royal Navy and it’s the only drink I remember and my mum drinking. (Apart from the odd medicinal brandy) I can’t drink it now though because any gin at all makes me very, very depressed , like Autumnleaves I find it too mood altering. And who wants to feel depressed after having a drinkie, dahlings!
So coming home this morning from an early Lidl shop we see the good old blokes of the village all out in their masks starting to put the Christmas lights up. Christmas might be cancelled but nothing stops our village lights. They are really good. Best in miles around.
I can’t get out of bed without having had a cup of tea, brought to me.
Yes I liked your list too,Parsley China mug of Yorkshire tea in bed ✔️,any gin and tonic ,malt whisky,Bateman's bitter -well most of the real ales actually especially Young's. I will pass on the coffee and wine though. Definitely agree with you about Bailey's Dreadful stuff.
I used to like G&T, Gewurtz AND Bailey's, but drink no more, any amount of alcohol makes me drunk. I like more the smell than taste of freshly ground/brewed coffee and the accompanying noise too. I only drink coffee in the morning though, then it's always tea and not strong. I agree about the skin on milk, a horror from childhood, I don't use milk any more.
Archerphile and Autumnleaves ,I know gin is supposed to make one feel depressed but it has the opposite effect on me. I feel so happy when I drink it . I haven't a care in the world then. I remember one Christmas dropping the turkey and watching it skim over the kitchen floor After having a rather strong g and t . It didn't worry me at all and I never told anyone else!
You lucky souls who have tea brought up for you. I go down make a pot of tea, and take it up for myself, and daughter unless she is having an early start, and then I go back to bed and enjoy drinking it. Tiger generally sees that as her cue to jump on the bed for her morning stroke. I'm not human until I've had my cup of tea. Coffee I like and drink as a treat. My daughter when she went to Colombia a few years ago brought back some Colombian coffee so powerful you could dance all week. Alcohol I generally only drink at special celebration times like weddings and yes, Baileys and coffee at Christmas, and from younger haymaking times I can appreciate a good cider . Mother made a wonderful elderflower champagne, and I have in the past made it and also dandelion wine which packs a punch and is wonderfully warming. So thanks for triggering memories Parsley.
Yes Janice, you lucky souls indeed! I make strong tea as soon as I'm up and couldn't face the day without it. I drink tea all day but change to decaf around lunchtime. I never drink coffee and don't even like the smell of it. I also enjoy Baileys at Christmas and occasionally a white wine. I love ginger beer and elderflower cordial rather than booze most of the time.
What a brilliant post from PARSLEY. Thank-you. This has given me an idea, as to what I will choose, so yet another list, will be written soon...
I am a coffee person, which I make as soon as I get up. No fancy machines for me, just instant, normally Gold Blend or Kenco smooth/rich or Dowie Egburts. It depends what is on offer, when I need a new jar. After 1.00pm, it is tea. This is always Early Grey with a dash of milk. After 6.00pm, it is a G+T or a glass of white wine, to be enjoyed before or with, my evening meal (and The Archers). There might be a small amaretto, or similar, later, before "cocoa + slippers". I don't like beer, but in the summer I love a cold cider, with ice in, or a Pimms No#1
Talking about picking apples the other day....well, here’s one of them! Actually got my watercolours out today and managed something small, a James Greive Apple!
Well I might as well pitch in. It is 4.30 PM ! And I am on my second cup of morning tea. I've broken all my records today by finally getting out of bed at 3.15 having got off to sleep between 5.30 and 6 AM.
When I do get up my water on for a large pot of, yes, Yorkshire tea and I consume three or four large tea cups - bone china always - of tea. I drink coffee occasionally, made in a small jug, and if tea later in the day in normal size china cup and saucer. I do not like mugs, and will only ever choose to drink from a mug if doing manual work or gardening. I drink alcohol very rarely and enjoy sweet sherry Harveys Bristol Cream, but my daughter has given me a sherry from M&S which I had to admit was delicious. In summer for years I drank Pernod as a long drink and I enjoy cider, but my favourite drink now is 1/3 Lime some orange juice and lemonade.
My name is MrsP and I am not an alcoholic. But I do have lots of other problems.
I always use china mugs. Mine a like large bone china tea-cups and they hold a lot. Gosh Mrs P. I am the total opposite. I was up at 7.15am and in the supermarket at 8.30am. Bedtime is 10.00pm.
It’s well known I am an owl by the time of many of my posts (usually around 12.30 - 1.30 am) occasionally I go completely the other way and in bed by 9.30 pm as I did on Sunday night. Mr R left to shut down a very unusual event. At 5.15 am a low beep was driving me mad I thought it was from outside but no on getting up after not sleeping at all well I discovered he had switched off the internet and therefore house phones (although I use my mobile most these days) as well and they were giving out a power cut bleep Grrrrr 😡 However we did laugh - eventually 😘
Thank you Mrs P. It was going to botanical illustration Classes that did it. - because my eyes were getting to bad to do distant scenery and I needed to concentrate on really close-up things. If anyone likes fish I have a couple of still life paintings if a lobster on a plate with a lemon, and some mackerel. Perhaps I’ll save them for the winter! 😉
I am waiting for news about my youngest niece, who had a Covid test done on Sunday. She was feeling unwell and though not coughing, was feeling breathless. She lives Leeds, in an appartment block with communal lifts, stairs + areas, has just started a new job as a liasion officer for students with disabilities at a college where she has been on campus and Leeds is now under extra restrictions, as from last Saturday. If she is positive, then she is doing OK but is fed up feeling poorly + isolated and can't go out shopping. She is concerned about food for her two cats and herself, so will have to friends to help out, as the first on-line slot she can get, is October 8th!. If it's negative, then no problem. It's wait + see.
Stand by Me ..I also am not an alcoholic..(yet). I just enjoy a nightly drink, which suits me + my lifestyle. As I said to a female neighbour from around the corner in my cul-de-sac, who admitted to drinking too much in lockdown, and was ashamed putting the empties in her recycling bin, that it was better to enjoy, than to die from covid! BTW she is older + wiser, than I am, an ex headmistress and a real character.
My name is Ev and enjoying a whisky and amaretto as my new small chest freezer arrived with no warning! It was in two sturdy cardboard boxes and we were left to unpack it ourselves. Thank goodness I have Katy but at the end of a long day teaching and having walked the boys (freezer arrived when they were out!) she wasn’t exactly in the best mood for which I don’t blame her! However all unpacked and it is sitting in the outside store. I won’t switch it on until the weekend as the store is filled with cardboard! We kept Mike’s mobility scooter in there but I have finally sold it to a man from Ventnor who lets them out to holiday makers. It has sat for three years so about time. The space will be better used by the freezer as with the Covid thing we have stocked up on frozen food and our two small freezers are choc a block! The chest freezer will store bulky items like large bags of chips! One of the companies we buy from tends to deal often in larger amounts like large bags of croissants which are delicious and you have to cook them! It makes you think as the chips are very like the ones you get in pubs etc and pay £2.50 for a bowl of them. They are about £1.50 for a large bag. The croissants, freshly baked, are the sort you get in hotels. What with this saving and the risks of eating out, we are happy to stay at home and use home delivery takeaway! 😊
I buy a well known supermarkets own brand of oven steak chips. When cooked in a low oven, they become lovely, soggy and chunky chips...and far cheaper than the chippy.
Miriam, Katy was selected at random for a Covid test ( a study of rate of infection). It came back negative so hope this is the case for your niece. We have to be so careful as I am over 70 and she has to go into school. I am a bit embarrassed as need my cleaner to wash her hands on arrival and need to remind her sometimes!
We were contacted by the National statistics office 3 weeks ago asking if we’d volunteer to have weekly Covid tests for 5 weeks, then monthly for another year. We replied immediately and were registered on the phone but have heard nothing since (they said we’d be contacted in 5 -7 days). It’s very disappointing as we wanted to feel we were doing our bit. Perhaps they’ve not been able to recruit enough healthcare professionals to go around doing the tests.
I was appalled today on shopping. Why are people panic buying again, as there is no need. There were no tinned chopped tomatoes and the choice of pasta was limited, both of which I needed. I do keep myself more stocked up than previously, but I cannot understand this need to panic buy, + why. This is one advantage of living alone, as it is amazing how I can make a pack of 8 sausages into 4 tasty meals, using extra ingredients like dried lentils, veg. and whatever is available. I reckon I can feed myself for at least 4/6 weeks.
PS I replaced the milk in the freezer today, after the mishap on Sunday morning, along with a new loaf of bread. I always keep these as standby's, in case of snow, illness etc.when I don't feel like going out..
My name is Anneveggie and I'm not an alcoholic. I did drink a fair bit in my youth and was ill quite a few times after too much so maybe that's a factor. I don't like the taste of a lot of alcoholic drinks. Most red wine is like poison to my taste, so sour and bitter. Plus, after a bit of a buzz I'm then left feeling a bit down so why would I be tempted.
I am experimenting to see if I can make the picture headings from your profile pics, and it appears that I can! This is Ev's latest work....
ReplyDeleteNow, as to our latest "Favourite Things" - So that we can ALL join in, I think we should just make it so that you can choose ANY 5 things that you love, i.e. 5 TV shows, 5 places, 5 people, 5 drinks etc. (Plus ONE example of what you definitely DON'T love when it comes to that particular list...) We will start tomorrow - and you can add your name to the hat at any time!
Gary, am very flattered! I sent it to my American tutor and she has done a critique so with her advice in mind I might be making a few improvements. Lovely to have it pinned up on the blog! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are happy Ev - I was just thinking that I hadn't asked your permission!!
DeleteThank you to Ev and Gary.
DeleteWell done Ev and Gary .
ReplyDeleteIt is the sort of painting I would love on my wall.
Ev, I hope your painting pinned up for all to admire, makes you feel less miserable about your latest U I.
ReplyDeleteDog alert
Most serendipitous event over the last two hours.
Walked down the road to the car with Lady to go for walk on the common.
Walking towards us was a group of people with the spitting image of Lady on a lead.
She was a Malamute/Labrador/ Poodle cross. The same size as Lady, same mixed colours as L but a bit more grey, less golden, same coat, face and shape.
They live in Barnes, which is the next door district to Putney, and there daughter is just down the road to me.
They walked up to the common, I drive, but ten minutes later we met again and the dogs played for a good five minutes, chasing each other round and round.
The man took photos and I think he said a video too.
They really did look as though they had come from the same litter.
Well done Gary. It's lovely to see Ev's painting at the beginning of the blog. I hope we can see more of other artistic efforts.
ReplyDeleteI
Family visit this weekend cancelled - in Wales they're hemmed in on nearly all sides by exclusion zones and children are beginning to be sent home from school. My son plans to make a dash down to my place on Thursday on his own, hopefully before the lockdown fully closes in on them, otherwise who knows when we'll see each other again.
ReplyDeleteSarnia and Spicycushion - hopefully you'll meet up with family this week-end.
DeleteTo all Ed fans (I know there is definitely one): Barry Farrimond will be Clare Balding's companion on Ramblings tomorrow. He'll talk about the Archers of course, the Youth Orchestra led by disabled musicians and a special knot. I always think this sort of programme is more suitable to TV but I might listen on this occasion.
ReplyDeleteBotox went ok yesterday. Although it wasn't what I expected, good job really, but I managed not to swear at him by holding on tight to the nurse's hand and humming a bit of a tune at the more unpleasant moments. He said not to expect anything to happen for 48 hours but this morning without me patch I am seeing clearly enough.....no double vision like I had. I still have prisms in my glasses though so hopefully it will continue to improve and I can get rid of at least the sticky on lense. I sincerely hope that this one session will have been enough. Go back to see him in 4 weeks.
ReplyDeleteMrs P. ....... what a coincidence bumping into people with a doppleganger dog. Was it a foreign rescue dog too?
Such good news PTBY -
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though the Botox has worked immediately. Will you need repeat injections over time. Was listening on Woman's Hour I think, a week or so ago about how it is now used for many health issues, and how well it works.
So pleased for you.
Let's hope Archerphile gets good results too.
The dog was from a family in Frome. Mum was a malamute Lab mix and the sire was a poodle apparently, so a real mix, but from here in England not Eastern Europe.
Great news P tbY
ReplyDeleteDelighted to hea4 it.
PtbY - your endurance has paid off. Yes, Botox was discussed on WH, I just found the clip. It was initially used to control spasms and then someone noticed that it also smoothed her wrinkles. It was then hijacked by the cosmetics industry.
ReplyDeleteHey P tb Y from what Stasia says ,you are going to look even younger!
ReplyDeleteApologies
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious one of us is losing her marbles or can not read correctly.
In my previous post ,please read Basia for Stasia
Good job I didn't mention the product or I may have written Stotox!
😂🤣😊
DeletePtbY - wishing you good luck with your eye. My daughter had Botox injected into her arm to help with right side hemiparesis and it did loosen her arm up for a while.
ReplyDeletePtbY
ReplyDeleteThat is brilliant news and I am delighted for you, that already after such a short time, your vision is improving.
My news is short + sweet.
ReplyDeleteI have a new car on order as from this morning. I was told that it would be 4-6 weeks, but after a 'phone call a couple of hours ago, "my" car is in a showroom in a dealership in Southampton. This is now mine, and it will be transferred
to Chester next week. There is a delay though, with the monies I need to pay for it, but I will have it in 2-3 weeks.
I just need to be patient.
There you go Miriam, a loveley birthday present to yourself.
DeleteMiriam👏👏👏for the car! Am doing another painting tomorrow by zoom and will pin it up if it comes out OK! Making them into jigsaws as you suggest below could be a nice little earner! Not ready yet though!!
DeleteEv Your painting is wonderful and I so admire your talent.
ReplyDeleteGet that done as a 1000 piece jigsaw and I will certainly buy it
To do it, "knowing" the person who instigated it, would make it an extra special one.
Great news, PtbY - patience rewarded after all these months of waiting ! Can sort of imagine the 'ouch' & 'ow' whilst being injected, but at least you know what it's like if it needs to be done again ( which, of course, we hope it doesn't....)
ReplyDeleteSpot on Caroline. The short procedure might not be nice at the time, but the long term outcome, is so worth it.
DeleteThanks all.
ReplyDeletePeople won’t recognise me round our town now without me patch on!!!
Will have to send parrot and crutch back too. 😁
Thrilled for you PtbY 🤗
ReplyDeleteOnly just logging on for the first time today & see I’ve missed a lot!
ReplyDeleteFirst Gary:
That’s a lovely idea putting our pictures up at the top of the blog. It makes it so much easier to see the detail in Ev’s lovely painting.
I’m working on a series of Autumn studies, mostly leaves & trees. Don’t much like the one in my photo now as I did it in acrylics which I find are too thick & heavy. Watercolours are much more delicate & you can get better details. I’ll try to post one in a few days
PtyB: so pleased to hear you’ve had the Botox, though it didn’t sound very pleasant. Hopefully the results will be so successful that you will soon forget the actual treatment - (at least that’s what I’m hoping for Friday!)
Miriam: congrats on the new car - you are very brave choosing such an important purchase on your own - don’t think I’d dare do that! Happy Motoring ...as the old Esso advert used to say.
Sarnia - hope you manage your family visits somehow. This lockdown in various areas of SW Wales is affecting my son in law too, who is now unable to visit his parents or sister. Life is getting so complicated, trying to remember what’s allowed and what’s not on different parts of the country!
I really love your painting Ev. Lovely subtle colours and would make a great jigsaw.
ReplyDeleteEsscee -
ReplyDeleteJust seen your post about your dogs pup.
That must have been lovely for both sets of owners, but please tell how the dogs reacted.
I am very interested in animal behaviour and take in a lot that I see.
Puss Cat had her MOT and jab this morning, though she disappeared out 40 mins before needing to leave. She came back in, just as I was about to rearrange the visit. She was grabbed, shut in my bedroom and then put in cat box. We made it on time just!
ReplyDeleteShe is 100% and the round black spot on an ear, I was worried about, is purely a patch of scar tissue, probably from a claw from another cat.
The vets was really well organised, and no problems at all. Both Puss Cat and self, were safe.
I have downloaded the new NHS Covid19 (England version) app today. It is easy to use and can be switched on + off, so only needs to be activated when out in public places.
A couple of heavy hail stone events, today, just as a neighbour was starting to put the roof on the new conservatory. I
DeleteIt is still sunny, and pouring with rain in the front garden, but no rain in the back. Wierd!!
All the best for tomorrow Archerphile 👁 I will be thinking of you 🥰
ReplyDeleteMe Too.
DeleteI hope it goes well 👀
Good Wishes to you Archerphile. Just get through it, in the best way possible, as PtbY has done
The outcome will be so worth it.
Let us know how it went.
Hope all goes well tomorrow Archerphile. 🤞
ReplyDeleteThis is the latest. Much room for improvement and will probably try it again. The worse thing was the myriad legs of tables and chairs and it is very simplified!
ReplyDeleteWell I am in awe of your talent Ev and Archerphile as well. All your creations are a joy 👏🏻
DeleteAnother good one Ev. You are becoming most prolific.
DeleteOh, I do like it Ev, the myriad of legs is very real, I'd like to see it amplified.
DeleteGood luck for tomorrow Archerfile.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your good wishes. I shall take my iPad with me to occupy my mind as I wait in my room to go down to theatre. I might even post from there if anything interesting happens!
ReplyDeleteLook forward to that Archerphile 👍
DeleteLots of people looking out for you tomorrow AP
DeleteGood luck !
Dog alert
ReplyDeleteEsscee
very interesting, thanks for telling.
Did you catch my post some months since when Lady and a black dog with a patch of permanent bare flesh, no fur on its side met ?
They went nose to nose, noses to bottoms, then nose to nose again.
They then started to lick each other's faces.
Then they played joyously for ages until they were both worn out with exhaustion.
The other owner and I ( now firm friends ) watched with fascination and shared our dogs histories. I had got Lady directly through a rescue that brings them over from Rumania, and she had arrived in February 19. The other dog, Misha was adopted through a local rescue and collected by her new owner two months later, but had come recently from Rumania.
My friend and I both think these dogs came over on the same transport trip, and might have come from the same rescue in Rumania.
When the two of them meet up, they are ecstatic, and Misha in particular screams with delight when she sees me and Lady, and Lady runs to my friend.
We recently went for a day trip in my car.
Lady has been sitting in the front for months and has refused to go in the back or the boot.
Misha usually travels in the boot, but on this day I wanted them on the back seat.
We got Misha in first, and Lady happily followed her friend.
That was a fortnight ago, and every day since Lady has willingly got into the back seat of the car without any fuss at all.
The next lesson is to get her in the boot, with Misha as her tutor.
*** FIVE OF THE BEST ***
ReplyDeleteMrs P, you're on!
5 you love,1 you loathe... Enjoy!
Only thing yo report from my hospital room where I’m waiting to go down to theatre (with a very blurry eye) is that instead of looking out onto nice gardens at the front, I’m overlooking all the bins and rubbish at the back! And my blood pressure was so phenomenally high that they nearly refused to do the op. Calm down dear, calm down! 🥺
ReplyDeleteThink pleasant thoughts, tell Gary you want to go on the list for favourite things, then think about them......
You may well be in theatre now Archerphile I hope so as it will be upwards and onwards from there! What a shame about the view perhaps you should ask for a deduction on your bill 😉
DeleteThoughts are with you 💐
That sounds like my hotel room, when I travel alone, and have had to pay a big single supplement.
DeleteI have got used to the bin view, or as on a trip to Cuba, the extractor fans from the kitchen!
I have to accept this.
Mind you, on a holiday in Egypt, the last night was spent in the centre of Cairo. I was upgraded to a suite! This was on 2 floors with a balcony overlooking The Nile.
DeleteI take the bad with the good.
And breathe. Relax. Chill.
ReplyDeleteSee you in a bit AP....x
Oh dear, I'm at the front of the queue and I'm not prepared.
ReplyDeleteWill do my best later Gary.
Only post, whenever you have got your thoughts together.
DeleteI still also, have no idea what I will do...well just yet!
Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteYour dog story with Lady + Misha, sounds so feasible. It would be so very surprising if they didn't know each before.
What a coincidence, which is helping both you + Lady.
A charming tale. 🐶🐕
Last week, I was looking for something to listen to. I came across the R4 daily programme - Life Lines.
ReplyDeleteI managed to download all the 5 series, each episode being just 15mins.
On listening, the episodes load continually, so get an entire series in 1hr + 15mins. This make sense, due to the continuity, in the same way the TA Sunday omnibus does.
It is a female, who is in the control room of the ambulance service and her stories and feelings.
I am enjoying it.
Think just 4 series.
DeleteI listened to it too Miriam. Heard previous series. They are really good.
DeleteNext series will be listened tomorrow, when I blitz the bedroom, which includes tossing the matress over! I do this every 4 weeks, plus hoovering the mattress. What a sad person I am. 😣
DeleteStill the new bedding, including the egyption cotton sheets, are in the airing cupboard, ready. 🛏
DeleteBon courage AP,
ReplyDeletePleased for you PtbY,
Positive waves for all others with concerns, health or other... 🌈
Molly had her 2nd vacs, Lily played hard to get, but her time is coming! 🐈
Went for flu jab this morning to our Doctor's Surgery
ReplyDeleteMr LJ- 9:58 am-on the dot!
Me-9:59 am -on the dot!
Greeted at the door.
Names taken
Two nurses ,in different rooms.
He went in,I went in then out through a back door .Must have taken all of 2 mins.
Brilliant.
I had my flue jab on Monday along with my B12.
ReplyDeleteThe nurse came to me in the car park, one jab in each arm.
All done in two minutes.
Archerphile 🌻 thoughts 🥰
ReplyDeleteNo doubt you are feeling drained right now. Look forward to hearing from you next week at any point that is right for you take care.
And me...
DeleteAP Relax and recover.
DeletePtbY and SpicyC
ReplyDeleteHow are you both doing after your recent hospital visits?
I hope all is well with you both.
Also LJ, - you and Mr LJ have had your 'flu jabs. I feel this is so very much more important this year, as the onset of seasonal 'flu is coinciding with the 2nd Covid wave.
DeleteStasia and EV particularly:-
ReplyDeleteHave made a new cocktail for autumnal evenings which is delish.
1 shot gin (Gordon’s)
1 shot amaretto
1 shot lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup.
Shake over ice, strain into fancy cocktail glass. GORGEOUS.
And I only used cheap Lidl amaretto in this first one. Maple syrup cos hadn’t got any sugar syrup.
I’ve christened it ....a Yorkshire Lady!
Going to try it again later with Disaronno. Will report back.
🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸
DeleteSounds delightful! At the moment on antibiotics so keeping alcohol very low but will try it next week!🍹😁
DeleteThink it’s better with cheapy amaretto.
ReplyDeleteMiriam.....now got temporary prism off glasses. So just got prism lenses in glasses now.
ReplyDeleteLeft eyeball has moved up into correct position.
I’m very pleased.
Hence celebrating with the new cocktail. 🍸
I will be trying some time soon 🍸
DeleteI love Bombay Sapphire Gin, but I only buy if it is on special offer.
I love Sainsbury's own brand - London Dry Gin 10 43%vol and their own label Amaretto (esp. as not so sweet as Disaranno).
I will try it next week...sometime.
I love a proper Moquito.
Hello all. Back in the seeing world! Second op was a bit of a trial I’m afraid. Was in operating theatre for just on an hour. Extra procedures necessary due to astigmatism and very dense cataract. Ultra-sound probing seemed to go on for ages. Quite wobbly afterwards but rested up today. Back on the 8 eyedrops a day regime.
ReplyDeleteBut I can read very clearly today, so that’s encouraging but sight in other eye not quite do good as it was. Spect it will even itself up eventually!
Good news was a surprise cheque for £171.00 in the post this morning! Refund for having paid for TV licence, unnecessarily, since he was 75 last summer! Now back to having to pay of course, but the refund will pay for next year! 😂
Brilliant news. I am so pleased for you, after what sounds an ordeal. Just think that it is now all over.
DeleteYour new eyes will balance up.
It is only Day 1 after all. Sleep well tonight.
Thank you so much Miriam. Yes, ordeal is the right word, and I’m very thankful that we humans only have 2 eye, so I don’t have to go through it again! 😉
DeleteIt's over now, so just go forward with your new eyes 👀
DeleteCataracts for me was wonderful. Although I still use glasses for reading/close work/jigsaws + a pair when I drive, this is not a problem. My normal vision is just that and is.wonderful.
As I have said, I love going out at night, seeing twinkly stars so clearly, without any visual aids, which you can now do. 😁
Hello again Archerphile, hope you have a better night than last one.
DeleteGin Lovers.
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago, I spotted and bought, a bottle of gin, which was on sale. I have just opened it + is gorgeous:-
Tanquery - Rangpur Gin - made with "rare rangpur limes".
Delicious and different.
I wonder how Toby + his Scruff Gin is doing?
DeleteLovely to hear from you so soon Archerphile- I thought your refund was go into be from the HC for your view of the buns 🤣🤣🤣
ReplyDeleteOh Lady R!
DeleteThat’s so funny
If only it had been a view of buns I should have been happy!
Specially if they were Chelsea buns. 😂
Well done,AF. Now you can go home, rest and know the ops are all over.
ReplyDeleteA strange thing has happened to my neighbour. She had her drive redone with pavers only completed about a week ago. Someone had dug one of the pavers out and left a nondescript brick in its place. Nothing was seen or heard by anyone so presumably during the night. Katy saw Janet and the end result when she came back with the dogs this afternoon. The man who did the drive put a proper paver in but apparently you can see the scratches where it was extracted. We live in a quiet cul de sac with very few passers by. It does make you wonder how anyone could be so awful! In Ledbury we had a few instances of someone pinching plants from the front gardens. As Katy says they just feel so entitled!
Well, « There’s Nowt so Queer as Folk ». But pinching a single over block is extremely queer!
DeleteWe had two very nice stone tubs of geraniums, one at each end if the little lay-buy outside our cottage, marking our entrance.
One of those disappeared one night - not both, just one! And they were extremely heavy so goodness knows how it was lifted into a car or van!
Paver block
DeleteAP, so glad that your ops have been done now. And as you say, your eyes will be re-adjusting themselves now and settling in and all will be perfect before you know it. (And I can now say out loud that one of my biggest fears is the thought of doctors "fiddling" with my eyes! You are all far braver than I...)
DeleteOn the subject of plant theft, in my last flat I once had every single pot & trough stolen from the stairs leading into the building. One of the most dispiriting mornings ever. I could have strangled whoever took them. Grrrrr!
You have really gone through the wars , Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteHope you can have a nice quiet period of rest now.
Thank you so much Gary and LanJan
DeleteAnd I hope Mr LJ is getting on OK as well.
Pleased for you Archerphil. All over and done with. Well done for going through it.
ReplyDeleteLike Gary, the thought of eyes being ' fiddled ' with is horrifying mostly due to my investigations when it was thought that I had a brain tumour. So when I had my cataracts done it was a GA for me. Couldn't go through it again, and my reasoning was understood.
The worst thing that happened to me with my plants was to open my front door one day to find that some sort of acid had been thrown over my plants.
The culprit was never found and the police just dismissed it.
It plunged me into depression as it felt so personal.
Gary......
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling with my ' choices' !
Would you be so kind as to put my name back in the hat and take another name out.
Please.
Is that allowed ?
Of course that is allowed MrsP! 'Tis done....
DeleteI understand your dilemma Mrs P. I have put my name into GG's hat, or is it a mortar?So far, I have written 3 lots of ideas, but I am starting to narrow them down. My inspiration is the Sound of Music, when Julie Andrews sings about her favourite things, which were little things that meant so much.
Delete*** FIVE OF THE BEST ***
ReplyDeleteIt's now the turn of Parsley - enjoy!!
I was a Fairy Godmother yesterday, granting a neighbour his wish - which is to attack the shrubs in my front garden, with his chain saw!
ReplyDeleteI have asked him to cut these back, just on one side, where they have overgrown my drive. This is too make parking my new wheels (about 2 weeks away) easier, getting onto the drive. I am also thinking about having the drive widened + block-paved, so cutting these back will make that easier, if I decide to do this. It needs doing, but I am still thinking.
I take it you have read Ev’s post from yesterday evening re her neighbours block - paved job (be careful) if you go ahead 😮
DeleteWhat colour car have you ordered Miriam or have you said and I have missed it 😏
I saw that and did a gulp, especialy as I also live in a cul-de-sac.
DeleteThe car colour is Desert Orange - which is not a Tango orange 🍊 much more like a vibrant burnished gold. I won't be missed. 😀
I decided to be different, in this strange time we are experiencing. Nothing to lose.
PS My neighbour knows that I will "in charge"! Joking apart, it is nice to have the help and comraderie.
DeleteThank you Miriam and P tbY .
ReplyDeleteThis afternoon whilst "playing " card making I listened to the radio programme "Lifelines " you both recommended.
Excellent listening.
I found it by chance, but I am enjoying it.
DeleteI have 2 series still to listen to.
Thank you from me also as I enjoyed Lifelines too.
DeleteA quick extra about my morning today.
ReplyDeleteI had a 2 pint container of milk in the feeezer, which I decided needed to use. I swapped this for a fresh milk container. The frozen one was left out to defrost.
Yes, you have guessed it. The plastic bottle ran a leak on defrosting, so I found (when in dressing gown + slippers), milk all over the work top, underneath the wooden chopping board which I had left out, dripping down the drawers + cupboards, and all over the floor, particularly in the grout between the floor tiles.
Cleaning this is up, at 7.30am on a Sunday morning, was not what I envisaged. 😂
I have just been looking at marmalade recipes. I am adapting 2/3 recipes to suit how to make, in an easy way (using my pressure cooker).My problem is, that due to meds.I cannot include grapefruit, as I can't eat. It will, hopefully, work out well. 🤞
DeleteYour milk debacle Miriam certainly Sod’s law! 2 pints 😱 I bet it seemed double that a real nightmare and so early any morning but a Sunday......
DeleteI've been listening to Lifelines since series one.
ReplyDeleteI love it too.
Marmalade in the Parsley household =mamade.
ReplyDeleteStill feel v aggrieved about our one butternut being taken (& the gate sneck destroyed in the process).
5 favourite thingys tomorrow...
Mrs P, and Gary - you are not the only ones that can’t bear the thought of eyes being fiddled with!
ReplyDeleteHaving been through a quite traumatic eye operation when 6 years old and months of treatment afterwards, I always swore I’d never let anyone near my eyes again!
So I really surprised myself by going through with the two recent procedures.
However, I think I’d rather go though them again than visit a Dentist!
Know what you mean.
DeleteI don't mind eyes at all, but then as a previous contact lens wearer (for nearly 40 years) I am well used to this.
I cannot stand some-one fiddling about in my mouth - hence my total dislike of the dentist! I can even gag on my own toothbrush, when brushing my teeth.
I think that, this is due to orthodontic treatment, I had to endure as a child. I had an overcrowded mouth, when my 2nd teeth started appearing, which had to be sorted.
DeleteIt is amazing, how bad ordeals as a child, still affect us, so very many decades, later.
Well as someone who hopes her cataracts progress so very slowly she never has to have them done I think you've been very brave.
ReplyDeleteThe most important thing, is to go to your opticians for the routine appointments, who will check the progress. 🤞You will be a lucky one. 😀
DeleteI was given last week, a new indoor plant. It is an Anthurium and the challenge is to keep it alive. I have an old, but trustworthy book, on the care of indoor plants. I have decided, to treat it in the same way, I do my orchids.
ReplyDeleteIt is gorgeous at the moment, with glossy green leaves and brilliant red flowers.
Does anyone else have experience of, keeping + maintaing this plant?
At the moment it is sitting, in the lounge (with no direct sunlight), between two orchids, which are thriving. One of these orchids, has been in flower for 3 months now.
DeleteLast comment tonight - I promise 😂
ReplyDeleteI am loving that Sky Arts is now on Freeview.
Last week, I recorded the 25th Anniversary concert of "Les Mis" with Alfie Boe. This week it was "Phantom" from the Royal Albert Hall (from 2011).
I haven't watched either yet. I will keep these for a cold, winter Sunday afternoon, with the fire on, dark outside, with knitting or a jigsaw being done.
...along with a hearty red wine, beef casserole in the oven, with red cabbage (including onions, apple, nutmeg, red wine vinegar, vegetable stock) cooking alongside. Both will be served with herb dumplings or a baked potatoe, as the mood dictates...
DeleteEnough enough Miriam - we’ll all be queuing up outside 😂
DeleteHere is Lily!
ReplyDelete3 months, 2nd vaccinations this morning like a good girl ....😉
What big eyes! Love the look of surprise - Buddy does that look too! Enjoy Lily!🐱
DeleteHope she's nowhere near as whiney and annoying as Ms Pargetter...
DeleteWhat a lovely kitten. Very cute.
DeleteOoh...what a cutie 😻
DeleteFrom another cat lover...
Just gorgeous 🐈 🤗
DeleteLily is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteShe looks so innocent .
Mind you so does Sacha our visiting moggie with her big eyes.
She came as usual for her bonding session on the bonding bench today and was told off by me for attacking Percy yesterday who was fast asleep outside on a chair in his own garden..
She of course took not a blind bit of notice of what I was saying to her.!
Sounds like the siamese cat, who has decided my garden and home are lovely, but my Puss Cat hates it!!
DeleteCat fights are still on going, along with me, with water as a deterent.
I couldn't post this morning, wrote twice re Archerphile being brave and childhood traumas.
ReplyDeleteLost them both.
So testing now.
I would love to know of the cat that my Puss fights with.
He regularly has fisticuffs and gets little nicks but since once he has gone beyond his own garden he can travel across fields to goodness knows where.
Cats and their mysterious nighttime wanderings !
Back on line... so annoying, but we do live in the sticks.
ReplyDeleteWill re-post the 5 thingys in a bit...
Well, lost my earlier post, so trying again.
ReplyDeleteAll drinks, no surprise there, links to place/time ...
1. The 1st mug of builder's tea in the morning, can't function without it, brought to me in bed by Mr P. Has his uses 😉
2. The espresso shot to finish off a meal at our favourite restaurant. Essential, can never resist.
3. The best G&T ever, terrace of a bar/restaurant in Girona, overlooking an unfashionable plaça, size of a goldfish bowl, reliable Spanish/Catalan measure ie. keep pouring while watching the telly on the wall....plus rose petals.. aaahhhhh!!!
4. 1st time tasting Gewurztraminer. In Laon, on tour with a small chamber choir that I sang with for years. Explored the city, back to the square at the top of the funicular, joined the others, the choir director supplied the Gewurz. In heaven. Every time I drink it I'm back there on that sunny terasse in Laon, with my long hair.....
5. Large tumbler of Dalwhinnie, curled up on the settee in front of the fire, shutters closed, curtains drawn. Mr P at my side. ❤
And the no-no - Bailey's!!!!! 🤮 anything resembling hot chocolate/cocoa with a skin forming on top 🤮
discuss. 😉
Meant to say, the perfect pint of Bateman's XB featured as part of the perfect meal, so couldn't really include it/them again....😥
DeleteWOW! That's a bloody good list - thank you parsley!
DeleteMost days, if I don't have my cup of tea & a fag within 15 mins of getting up I am a moaning wreck of a bitch, so am in total agreement with you on number 1! Can't for the life of me understand people's love of coffee though, it makes me sooooo jumpy. (I am married to someone who loves coffee. The noise & the smell from the machine drives me mad...)
I drink gin & ice, sometimes with a bit of vermouth, but not too often because it gets me absolutely steaming!! Whisky is a very, very occasional treat.
Bailey's is repugnant, & I have horrible memories as a youngster picking the skin off of hot chocolate & have hated it ever since.
Like you Gary, I have to have a hot drink soon after getting up.....but coffee not tea!
DeleteProper cafetière with Indian Malabar coffee at weekends, Gold Blend instant in the week.
I only drink tea at tea-time (watching a recording of the day’s Countdown, and it must be strong Yorkshire, two mugs. Mr A INSISTS on a proper cup and saucer. 😒
And cafetières are silent, thankfully!
DeleteLily : first time on my lap tonight!
ReplyDeleteulterieur motive of course.
Definitely not whiney & annoying... more baby dragon as in GofT... expecting smoke rings any time soon 😉
DeleteLily is a little treasure parsley 😘
DeleteButter wouldn't melt...🙄😉
DeleteI adore (strong) coffee ☕️ and love my pod machine as so easy and of course the smell is just mmmm! mmm! To counteract I also drink Barley Cup (in granule form) from Holland and Barrett which is very refreshing hot and also even if left to cool. I do on occasions enjoy a cuppa and Mr R certainly does but must be Yorkshire Tea! He is not as refined as Mr A and likes a mug (not very Lord like 🤣🤣🤣)
ReplyDeleteNo 5 parsley sounds just lovely and cosy and Mr P has been given a romantic look in 😂
😄😂 wouldn't be without him!!
Delete& definitely Yorkshire tea.
I really enjoy a g and t but I've had to stop. It seems to make me very anxious. I don't know if anyone else has had this problem.
DeleteI love a cold beer on holiday..I love Italian or croation they're very refreshing.
In winter I enjoy a malt whisky on a Sunday afternoon watching a good film.
😁😁i know it's not my turn but I thought you'd like to know anyway.
Btw..don't drink coffee or tea
The first alcoholic drink I ever tried was a Gimlet. Gin and lime over ice with a dash of Angostura bitters. My Dad picked up the habit of Gimlets in the Royal Navy and it’s the only drink I remember and my mum drinking. (Apart from the odd medicinal brandy)
DeleteI can’t drink it now though because any gin at all makes me very, very depressed , like Autumnleaves I find it too mood altering.
And who wants to feel depressed after having a drinkie, dahlings!
So coming home this morning from an early Lidl shop we see the good old blokes of the village all out in their masks starting to put the Christmas lights up.
ReplyDeleteChristmas might be cancelled but nothing stops our village lights. They are really good. Best in miles around.
I can’t get out of bed without having had a cup of tea, brought to me.
Yes I liked your list too,Parsley
ReplyDeleteChina mug of Yorkshire tea in bed ✔️,any gin and tonic ,malt whisky,Bateman's bitter -well most of the real ales actually especially Young's.
I will pass on the coffee and wine though.
Definitely agree with you about Bailey's
Dreadful stuff.
I used to like G&T, Gewurtz AND Bailey's, but drink no more, any amount of alcohol makes me drunk. I like more the smell than taste of freshly ground/brewed coffee and the accompanying noise too. I only drink coffee in the morning though, then it's always tea and not strong.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the skin on milk, a horror from childhood, I don't use milk any more.
Archerphile and Autumnleaves ,I know gin is supposed to make one feel depressed but it has the opposite effect on me.
ReplyDeleteI feel so happy when I drink it .
I haven't a care in the world then.
I remember one Christmas dropping the turkey and watching it skim over the kitchen floor After having a rather strong g and t .
It didn't worry me at all and I never told anyone else!
You lucky souls who have tea brought up for you. I go down make a pot of tea, and take it up for myself, and daughter unless she is having an early start, and then I go back to bed and enjoy drinking it. Tiger generally sees that as her cue to jump on the bed for her morning stroke. I'm not human until I've had my cup of tea. Coffee I like and drink as a treat. My daughter when she went to Colombia a few years ago brought back some Colombian coffee so powerful you could dance all week. Alcohol I generally only drink at special celebration times like weddings and yes, Baileys and coffee at Christmas, and from younger haymaking times I can appreciate a good cider . Mother made a wonderful elderflower champagne, and I have in the past made it and also dandelion wine which packs a punch and is wonderfully warming. So thanks for triggering memories Parsley.
ReplyDeleteYes Janice, you lucky souls indeed! I make strong tea as soon as I'm up and couldn't face the day without it. I drink tea all day but change to decaf around lunchtime. I never drink coffee and don't even like the smell of it. I also enjoy Baileys at Christmas and occasionally a white wine. I love ginger beer and elderflower cordial rather than booze most of the time.
ReplyDeleteMy name Stasia and after reading the above I might be an alcoholic.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Miriam, and I standing alongside Stasia...😀
DeleteWhat a brilliant post from PARSLEY. Thank-you.
ReplyDeleteThis has given me an idea, as to what I will choose, so yet another list, will be written soon...
I am a coffee person, which I make as soon as I get up. No fancy machines for me, just instant, normally Gold Blend or Kenco smooth/rich or Dowie Egburts. It depends what is on offer, when I need a new jar.
After 1.00pm, it is tea. This is always Early Grey with a dash of milk.
After 6.00pm, it is a G+T or a glass of white wine, to be enjoyed before or with, my evening meal (and The Archers). There might be a small amaretto, or similar, later, before "cocoa + slippers".
I don't like beer, but in the summer I love a cold cider, with ice in, or a Pimms No#1
Talking about picking apples the other day....well, here’s one of them!
ReplyDeleteActually got my watercolours out today and managed something small, a James Greive Apple!
Archerfile, you’re just brilliant!!👏🎨
DeleteWell I might as well pitch in.
ReplyDeleteIt is 4.30 PM !
And I am on my second cup of morning tea.
I've broken all my records today by finally getting out of bed at 3.15 having got off to sleep between 5.30 and 6 AM.
When I do get up my water on for a large pot of, yes, Yorkshire tea and I consume three or four large tea cups - bone china always - of tea.
I drink coffee occasionally, made in a small jug, and if tea later in the day in normal size china cup and saucer.
I do not like mugs, and will only ever choose to drink from a mug if doing manual work or gardening.
I drink alcohol very rarely and enjoy sweet sherry Harveys Bristol Cream, but my daughter has given me a sherry from M&S which I had to admit was delicious.
In summer for years I drank Pernod as a long drink and I enjoy cider, but my favourite drink now is 1/3 Lime some orange juice and lemonade.
My name is MrsP and I am not an alcoholic.
But I do have lots of other problems.
I always use china mugs. Mine a like large bone china tea-cups and they hold a lot.
DeleteGosh Mrs P. I am the total opposite. I was up at 7.15am and in the supermarket at 8.30am.
Bedtime is 10.00pm.
I obviously prefer the daylight + sunshine, and get up as soon as it is light + bright.
DeleteIt’s well known I am an owl by the time of many of my posts (usually around 12.30 - 1.30 am) occasionally I go completely the other way and in bed by 9.30 pm as I did on Sunday night. Mr R left to shut down a very unusual event. At 5.15 am a low beep was driving me mad I thought it was from outside but no on getting up after not sleeping at all well I discovered he had switched off the internet and therefore house phones (although I use my mobile most these days) as well and they were giving out a power cut bleep Grrrrr 😡
DeleteHowever we did laugh - eventually 😘
Archerphile- that Apple is sooooo realistic.
ReplyDeleteYou are very talented.
Thank you Mrs P. It was going to botanical illustration Classes that did it. - because my eyes were getting to bad to do distant scenery and I needed to concentrate on really close-up things. If anyone likes fish I have a couple of still life paintings if a lobster on a plate with a lemon, and some mackerel. Perhaps I’ll save them for the winter! 😉
DeleteI cannot expand it, but it looks good. The new eyes must be helping, to do that so quickly + easily.
DeleteMy preference is for fruit and plants, as I said below because I am a cold fish?
Deletelovely, AP!
ReplyDeleteOh, I could eat that Archerphile, hope there are no grubs inside and I would still have the leaves to admire.
ReplyDelete🐛X. 🍂✔️ 😄
DeleteDitto AP 👏🏻
DeleteI am waiting for news about my youngest niece, who had a Covid test done on Sunday. She was feeling unwell and though not coughing, was feeling breathless. She lives Leeds, in an appartment block with communal lifts, stairs + areas, has just started a new job as a liasion officer for students with disabilities at a college where she has been on campus and Leeds is now under extra restrictions, as from last Saturday. If she is positive, then she is doing OK but is fed up feeling poorly + isolated and can't go out shopping. She is concerned about food for her two cats and herself, so will have to friends to help out, as the first on-line slot she can get, is October 8th!.
ReplyDeleteIf it's negative, then no problem.
It's wait + see.
She is more anxious for more cat litter, as her cats are house cats...you can imagine the dilemma.
Delete🤞🏼Miriam.
DeleteMy name is Proud to be Yorkshire and I’m having a cocktail after reading the above comments but I’m not an alcoholic (yet). 🍸
ReplyDeleteStand by Me ..I also am not an alcoholic..(yet).
DeleteI just enjoy a nightly drink, which suits me + my lifestyle.
As I said to a female neighbour from around the corner in my cul-de-sac, who admitted to drinking too much in lockdown, and was ashamed putting the empties in her recycling bin, that it was better to enjoy, than to die from covid!
BTW she is older + wiser, than I am, an ex headmistress and a real character.
My name is Ev and enjoying a whisky and amaretto as my new small chest freezer arrived with no warning! It was in two sturdy cardboard boxes and we were left to unpack it ourselves. Thank goodness I have Katy but at the end of a long day teaching and having walked the boys (freezer arrived when they were out!) she wasn’t exactly in the best mood for which I don’t blame her! However all unpacked and it is sitting in the outside store. I won’t switch it on until the weekend as the store is filled with cardboard! We kept Mike’s mobility scooter in there but I have finally sold it to a man from Ventnor who lets them out to holiday makers. It has sat for three years so about time. The space will be better used by the freezer as with the Covid thing we have stocked up on frozen food and our two small freezers are choc a block! The chest freezer will store bulky items like large bags of chips! One of the companies we buy from tends to deal often in larger amounts like large bags of croissants which are delicious and you have to cook them! It makes you think as the chips are very like the ones you get in pubs etc and pay £2.50 for a bowl of them. They are about £1.50 for a large bag. The croissants, freshly baked, are the sort you get in hotels. What with this saving and the risks of eating out, we are happy to stay at home and use home delivery takeaway! 😊
ReplyDeleteI buy a well known supermarkets own brand of oven steak chips. When cooked in a low oven, they become lovely, soggy and chunky chips...and far cheaper than the chippy.
DeleteSoggy 😱
DeleteMiriam, Katy was selected at random for a Covid test ( a study of rate of infection). It came back negative so hope this is the case for your niece. We have to be so careful as I am over 70 and she has to go into school. I am a bit embarrassed as need my cleaner to wash her hands on arrival and need to remind her sometimes!
ReplyDeleteWe were contacted by the National statistics office 3 weeks ago asking if we’d volunteer to have weekly Covid tests for 5 weeks, then monthly for another year.
ReplyDeleteWe replied immediately and were registered on the phone but have heard nothing since (they said we’d be contacted in 5 -7 days).
It’s very disappointing as we wanted to feel we were doing our bit. Perhaps they’ve not been able to recruit enough healthcare professionals to go around doing the tests.
I was appalled today on shopping. Why are people panic buying again, as there is no need.
ReplyDeleteThere were no tinned chopped tomatoes and the choice of pasta was limited, both of which I needed.
I do keep myself more stocked up than previously, but I cannot understand this need to panic buy, + why.
This is one advantage of living alone, as it is amazing how I can make a pack of 8 sausages into 4 tasty meals, using extra ingredients like dried lentils, veg. and whatever is available. I reckon I can feed myself for at least 4/6 weeks.
PS I replaced the milk in the freezer today, after the mishap on Sunday morning, along with a new loaf of bread. I always keep these as standby's, in case of snow, illness etc.when I don't feel like going out..
DeleteVery wise Miriam but of course you now have 2 knights in shining armour next door should an emergency arise 😘
DeleteMy name is Anneveggie and I'm not an alcoholic. I did drink a fair bit in my youth and was ill quite a few times after too much so maybe that's a factor. I don't like the taste of a lot of alcoholic drinks. Most red wine is like poison to my taste, so sour and bitter. Plus, after a bit of a buzz I'm then left feeling a bit down so why would I be tempted.
ReplyDelete