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Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
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ReplyDeleteLanjan - November 3, 2020 at 9:04 PM
Enjoy your trip to the zoo Miriam.
A friend always sends me sweet peas seeds on my birthday Spicycushion and every year they fail.
I will have another go tomorrow.
They did really well up north .
I am going to have to put the geraniums away for winter soon too.
parsley16 - November 3, 2020 at 10:55 PM
Autumnleaves :
👍👍Billy Connelly, Barry Humfreys, Joan Rivers,
Can't get on with Robin Williams though... tried...
parsley16 - November 3, 2020 at 10:58 PM
Rather a busy few days clearing up kitten poo... gastro/worms... you really don't want to know!!!
All clear now!
says Lily, butter wouldn't melt.. 🙄
I thought I would dig out the clip one of my first ever memories of Billy Connolly, making the incredible Angie Dickinson almost helpless with laughter!
ReplyDeleteGreat Gary. I remember that too. I think it was his very first appearance on Parky.
DeleteWith the "walkiiees" woman. Barbara something I think.
DeleteBarbara Woodhouse.
DeleteI couldn’t think who she was but it did come to mind later! Her face was so familiar! A few of her methods were rubbished later notably the choke chain. How cruel it seems now! Googled Angie and she is now 89!
DeleteMy memory of that Parkinson only contains the Big Yin.
ReplyDeleteCan't remember anyone else.
I've had a phone call from daughter suggesting I go today, or over night to Cornwall.
Have rearranged my B12 jab to this afternoon and need to get a move on now.
See you soon !
Great news MrsP! (I think?) Is it? It IS, isn't it? I'm sooooo tired... 🤣🤪
DeleteGreat idea Mrs P. Hope you get down there before tonight’s Lockdown starts.
ReplyDeleteAnd while you are there, you might like some fresh mackerel from the sea.....like these ones I painted a couple of years ago, after Mr A caught them on a mackerel fishing trip while we were staying in North Devon!
Have a good time and take care of yourself.
Your paintings are always stunning Archerphile! I guess you have had this talent from a very young age. How long on average does a painting take to complete?
ReplyDeleteMrs P gorgeous day for your journey and due to continue until Saturday - so enjoy 🤗 your stay.
Thank youu Gary. I was feeling a bit down today and then saw your photo of Billy Connolly. I found a performance of his on You Tube and ended up crying with laughter. Just what I needed.
ReplyDeleteMy crafty plan worked! 😏
DeleteGianna. I think all are having "Down Days", at times.
DeleteI know that I had a bad time, after my hair cut + style, yesterday. It was a "why bother" thought.
Today, is very different.
Whenever I come to join in here, I always get an old page.
ReplyDeleteThis today though, has intrigued me.
It was from March 14th this year, with the top of the page being Italians singing on balconies (who were already in Lockdown), as the UK started this on the 16th March, with the page ending on March 17th. What I have enjoyed has been, re-reading the comments posted by all, with thoughts, experiences at that particular time.
This Lockdown, seems quite different, but it is still just as important.
My Zoo trip this morning, didn't happen.
I woke up to see frost on the car, grass, nearby roofs but sunny. I set off as planned, but by this time, the cloud had come in. I timed my drive to arrive, 10mins before opening at 10.00am, as did all!
I hit the queue, a long, long way from the car park + entrance. At that time the rain started, so I went round a roundabout + went back home.
The reason being, that I suddenly realised, I would not enjoy this visit and also, it wouldn't have been relaxing.
It then rained until after lunch.
Disappointing - Yes, but I think my choice was right.
You totally made the right decision Miriam - I've got to the stage in life where I've decided that EVERY decision I make is the right one!
DeleteI agree. 👍👍
DeleteGood idea Gary, why spend the remaining years thinking that one was wasting time.
DeleteMiriam, it looks like everybody turned up just before lockdown. I don't take this lockdown in the same way as the last one, when I only went out twice a week and always felt hungry. As for having your hair cut, even though have cut it myself for over a year, doesn't it make you feel better when you look in the mirror? I don't sleep all day and lounge around in pyjamas. I only visit my local shop and if one of the two assistants became ill I'd be concerned. We used to clap every evening.
ReplyDeleteI am always up + dressed, showered and eating breakfast by 8.00am, at the latest.
DeleteI don't wear PJ's, as I much prefer long, slinky, nightdresses 😀
...and I now shop, just once a week. It works well, if do a weekly meal plan and then buy, accordingly.
DeleteIt is also, a lot cheaper.
Yes, I know you're well organised and I find it's good to have a structure to the day.
DeleteI have been in my jim-jams for 3 days now. I feel no guilt about it in the slightest!
DeleteOh Gary love it 🤣 ⭐️
DeleteGood for you, Gary!
DeleteParsley, regarding your post about clearing up after the kitten (yuck!) - today I was lovingly presented with the corpse of a newly munched squirrel by my adoring cat. 🤢
ReplyDeleteTee Hee.
DeleteMy Pusscat, no longer hunts as is now 15yrs.
This is great, as I no longer get out of bed, to step (barefoot) onto the "remains" on the bedroom floor.
This was not a nice experience.
Golly Gary, you've got a squirrel hunting cat too.
DeleteMy cat brought home a dead squidgel soon after Lady came into our lives.
I think that was the day she knew she was on to a good thing.
A cat who brings me my dinner !
I'm not going this evening or tonight, but will do my best to get off as early as possible in the morning.
My nice police lady came to make sure I was OK today and told me that as a single person I was allowed to travel tomorrow to ' bubble' with another household.
But I won't be exactly bubbling as I've just been told that I am to be in one of the cottages. Not in the house with daughter and S in L !
Miriam, I know that feeling.
I once watched as a live mouse popped out of my slipper which was on the floor outside my bedroom door.
That cat caught so many mice that I became almost oblivious of them running around and up and down the stairs.
Enjoy your time in the cottage MrsP!
DeleteWe sadly had to cancel our week long trip to Tinkerbelle in the Cairngorms this Sat. At least we got a full and immediate refund. Ho hum...
I thought it would come to a Tinkerbelle cancellation Gary 😢 but you will hopefully return sooner rather than later 🤞🏼
DeleteDon’t tell Jill but I made a lemon drizzle cake today! I am not a good cake maker so was surprised it rose and didn’t sink back when taken out of the oven! It is gluten free and had some ground almonds in the mix. I fancy a coffee and walnut cake next having been encouraged by this rare success! It is extremely lemony! 🍋
ReplyDelete😋 Ev sounds to me that TGBBO is calling!
DeleteGary, sorry about Tinkerbelle. I know how you look forward to going there but there will be a next time! Hope you can prise your way out of the jimjams soon! If not, rock on🥂!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you lost your week away Gary.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has lost three bookings for the last month.
But the other side, the silver lining, is that I get invited.
Ev, I've been putting together Spiceycushion bread pudding this evening to bake in the morning, so I know how you feel. I hope my BP is as good as your tasty lemon drizzle.
My daughter understands how you feel Gary. She had a chaotic couple of days at the holiday park phoning people to cancel their holidays, and they were very upset. They didn't want refunds they just wanted a holiday. It was complicated as well by the fact that Friday is used as a changeover day as well as Saturday, and some people travelled down last Friday even though they guessed what was coming. In theory they should go home Wednesday evening, but there won't be any staff at work to know whether they go or not. My daughter is going in on Saturday to check the chalets, and will have the job of making sure no one is still there. She has actually had people crying on the phone.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was like you and could spend 3 days in my nightie and dressing gown without feeling guilty. It might be connected to my up and about at 6 am father. Even if it was a Saturday if I wasn't up before 9 and my Dad was up at this part of the farm and wanting his cup of tea I would hear this chant of sleepy hollow/ when I was young type comments floating up from the garden. I miss hearing it now!
Question - How do you know if someone is an early riser? Answer - Oh, dont worry, they'll tell you...!!!
DeleteMr GG gets up at around 6am every single day. I get up when I get up. I never really had a job that involved early starts, I just couldn't do it. As I always say, mornings are none of my business. Give me mid afternoon until 3/4 in the morning and I'm happy. And ever since I stopped working, I am...😉
And I really do hope that all the small B&Bs and cottages manage to survive. I can't imagine what it's like to be trying to run ANY small business right now, much less one that's actually dependent on people being able to physically get to you.
DeleteGary 6.50 p.m. At least the squirrel was well and truly dead. My friend has a cat which brings her badly injured baby rabbits and other wildlife. The poor little things are put inside the house somewhere for her to find. I just could not stand that and I'm very glad that Maisie isn't fast enough to actually catch a squirrel, although she does love the chase.
ReplyDeleteOur 2 aren't brave enough yet to be outside for any length of time, those particular joys are yet to come!
DeleteTigger was the great rabbit & squirrel hunter : no greys here, only sweet little reds... 😪
I’m surprised a cat could catch a squirrel as the little critters are very fast! My only experience of prey catching was with our border collie years ago who presented me with a rabbit on one of our walks. By the looks of it the sad little thing had that rabbit disease I can’t spell! Probably slowed it down somewhat! I went right off Dandy the dog initially but soon got over it thinking he was only doing what came naturally! Am disturbed by cats preying on birds etc where populations have gone down. The sparrow was ubiquitous in my childhood but quite rarely seen nowadays. I know there are other factors like loss of habitat. Cats naturally hunt but maybe a bell on a collar would warn the prey? I think you can get collars which would be flexible if caught up but know they can be difficult. The thing that puts me off having a cat is never knowing where it is. It is so upsetting when they go missing.😿
ReplyDeleteOne of my cats some years agowould regularly catch mice. We fixed a reflective collar on her and lo and behold the almost daily presents stopped. I can only assume she became visible at night. All cat collars have elasticated inserts so that the cat can wriggle out of it nowadays. I had one cat, a long-legged and long back ginger cat I called William. I had the whole 'Just William' gang, Henry, William, Ginger and Douglas (he was a chinchilla!) The other three were ginger cats. William was a fearsome hunter who left presents in the kitchen such as a very large hamster, a budgie and a rat. Thank goodness they were all dead but where he got the first two I don't know. Even when he was very ill he appeared at the back door with a dead squirrel in his mouth. Sadly within a week he was too weak (long standing thyroid trouble) and had to be put to sleep.
DeleteMy preference is always for ginger cats but the other strays who have adopted me have all been of various colours.
My parents, who lived in a bungalow, had a long haired tabby (his mother was Persian) called Zebedee (Magic Roundabout!) He too hunted and he was in the middle of perfect hunting ground; woods and orchards all surrounding the house. One night Dad woke up to a strange sound and after checking, discovered Zebedee had come in the open window and was happily scrunching a squirrel under the bed!
I decided to do an early shop at Sainsburys today because I am fed up with the order-pickers leaving all the veg & fruit baskets practically empty by around 10 am. So I got there at 8 am today.
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful! Hardly a car in the carpark or a soul in the store apart from order-pickers with their trollies. There was a full range fruit & veg to choose from. I wandered around with no other shoppers reaching over me (some folk have no idea what social distancing means) and was able to find everything I needed.
When I got home, Mr A was still in his dressing gown having cooked himself a full English breakfast, watching the news on TV!
I
So that’s my way of boasting about getting up early Gary! Mind you, I’ll be back to normal tomorrow 😴
Archerphile I am sending you a 🏅for making the effort to do an early shop! Miriam of course does this on a weekly basis 😱
Delete(Ooh Mr A a full English brekkie - 😋)
Thanks to a friend calling me early, by phone, this morning I have baked my bread pudding and an apple crumble before I'm off to Cornwall.
ReplyDeleteToo late to leave yesterday and before long it will be too late to leave today.
I don't like the slow me that I've become, but age seems to have done that to me.
Like Archerphile, I will be doing an early shop tomorrow, and I hope mine goes, as well as hers did.
ReplyDeleteThis is just an interimn shop, for the basics - fresh veg. fruit and milk.
My meal tonight will be accompanied by:- the last 3 sprouts, the last of the brocolli with one of the few remaining carrots.
I decided that leaving this shop, until in Lockdown, was the sensible way to go.
I have no onions, garlic nor mushrooms left, which I hope to buy, otherwise my "meal plan" will have to changed.
I wish Mrs P. a great time in Cornwall.
DeleteI had a delivery today (more jigsaws), but the driver knocked on the door, to then hand them to me. This is different from last time, when it was done by sign language through the window, and parcel left outside.
As it is Bonfire Night, it will be interesting if there are fireworks nearby.
ReplyDeleteUnlike other years, there have been none yet.
Normally these start at Halloween and then continue, but not this year.
I saw on the "beeb" this morning, an interview with a Fire Chief, saying that they are very concerned as there will be more fireworks in gardens. This can cause, many more problems + injuries, especially as gardens are now, so much smaller.
Keep All your wonderful pets, safe. 😸🐕
Mistral 3rd November 6:17pm.,you watched The A word which I recommended and I am pleased you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteYou suggested I watch Junior Bake off and honestly I have tried to find it .
It doesn't seem to appear when I try to find it on the television .
If I am really honest since I don't like baking and can't be doing with programmes about" clever " youngsters I thought I might not like it but was certainly prepared to give it a go. I always think that a pushy parent is behind the child.
(Do you remember "Ask the family " with( I think )Robert Robinson .?
I watched it because I like quiz programmes but even then I wasn't sure about it)
The children seemed too cocky
However it has just come to me.
When my younger son was in the 6th form he was part of a maths team which competed with other schools in the area .
I can remember they won one match and lost the next I think (to a minor Public School.)
However you did say they were between the ages of 15 and 18 and if there is a new series I promise you I will check it out and probably enjoy it!
Talking of recommendations ......
I have downloaded "All creatures great and small " and am loving it.
The BBC in their wisdom. turned it down.
It is on Channel 5 .
The acting is superb and it is what is needed in my opinion at a time like this.
I still have it on the HDD recorder, but I am resisting watching it.
DeleteIt will wait until Winter really sets in.
It will be a Sunday afternoon treat, with the fire on, so cosy + warm, in a lovely cocoon.
All this talk of pets + hunting, reminds me of my little Sis, many years ago. She had two cats, who were great hunters, living next door to a farm.
ReplyDeleteThey lived in an old, wonderful home, which was originally a coaching inn (Grade 2 listed). This was in a Scotland in a tiny place - Yetts O'Muckart - bet only GG will know where it is!
Due to the upkeep, they decided to sell. While it was listed, they went away for the weekend, leaving the cats in the kitchen + utility room, with food, water + the catflap. The sales agent took prospective round, whilst they were away, and didn't close the doors.
As a result, the house was filled with their hunting prizes..
A quick last comment.
ReplyDeleteI have been inundated with my landline 'phone ringing, over the last few days. It shows a mobile number, but when I pick up, it goes silent. It is obvious this is scammers, trying things again!
Today, this started at 7.00am and continued every 30 mins, until about 11.30am.
I had a frost again this morning, the second day in a row. I hate having to close the curtains + put lights on, so early.
To add.
DeleteI was apalled and horrified, at scenes + videos seen today, of persons in many City Centres, last night, having a night out before Lockdown 2 started.
Where were the current rules - nowhere, with none
being adhered to.
I saw pics of 20+ all grouped together, hugging each other, without masks + no social distancing.
It is no wonder, this virus is spreading so quickly.
This has made me so cross. ❌❌❌
Miriam I guess you do not have a call blocker phone ( a real godsend) have you considered informing your provider to see if it is possible for them to intercept this number for you 🤞🏼
DeleteMiriam - just don't answer them!
DeleteLanjan I used to enjoy Ask the Family..by today's standards the families would be considered geekie. Mum was always a teacher, dad a banker or insurance man and the children were Jeremy and Phoebe. Robert Robinson had a very dry sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteWhat abou Top of the Form with Geoffrey Wheeler? It used to motivate me to study. At least for 5 minutes.
Lanjan, and anyone who enjoyed the Channel 5 revival of « All Creatures »; I have read that there is a Christmas Special episode being made. It will certainly be very welcome in our house as a respite from soap opera Christmas editions which are usually full of doom and gloom!
ReplyDelete🤗 👏🏻 🤗 👏🏻 🐂 🐏 🐖 🐈 🦮
DeleteI always remember how Dirty Den gave Angie the divorce papers on Christmas Day with appropriate venom! Mike and I once met a chap when we were on holiday who said he had asked his wife what she wanted for Christmas. She said “a divorce”. He said “I wasn’t thinking of spending that much!” It had us chortling all day!
ReplyDeleteI haven't made it, yet again today.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I had as much as three hours sleep last night and even that was in fifteen minute bursts, so I've felt very slow and sleepy all day. Finally decided mid afternoon that it wouldn't be safe to drive anyway.
The Archers and then bed.
Will try again tomorrow.
Thanks for best wishes.
Mrs P.
DeleteI know I am speaking out of turn and should keep quiet, but I have to say this. Here goes,
Are you sure Cornwall will suit you, isolated in a remote cottage for 4 weeks? Where you live, you have a close community nearby (who can help if needed) places you love walking Lady and know well.
I know I have been too vocal, which is non of my business, but I just want you to decide what is best for you, for the next 4 weeks, with Lady + cat.
Sleep Well.
More fog due Mrs P so please be extra careful I had not realised your journey is to be by 🚘
DeleteValid point of concern from Miriam (but I guess you will be able to see your daughter and also have a change of scene 🤔)
I used to listen to Top of the Form when it was on the radio ,Autumnleaves.
ReplyDeleteI did like it then I know.
At least if one of the team didn't do well they were not seen.
You are right about "Ask the family." .
I bet they had a car and owned their own house and went on holidays abroad or at least to a posh Boarding House at the seaside and not to relatives in Wolverhampton or Harrow.
Thanks Archerphile.re All creatures......
I am up to episode 6
It is nice and gentle
No reaction from Dudley to the fireworks. He had his annual jabs today and we find both he and Buddy react by being a bit spaced out! Gypsy of course doesn’t turn a hair! 🐶🐾🐾
DeleteWe had very few fireworks throughout the evening, then just as I took Lady for her bedtime wee, three enormous multi coloured whooshers went up nearby.
DeleteShe was very agitated and wouldn't perform, so I had my bath and then took her out again. All was quiet and she was fine.
My friend obviously forgot to call me this morning, so another late start, but at least I slept well, eventually.
Miriam, I don't mind your caution and you have a point.
But the cottage is very close to the house.
My daughter often brings me tea, IN BED !
I do get to eat an evening meal with them some of the time.
Lady gets a companion dog and the local walks are wonderful and I shall be able to drive and explore even if little is open.
Oh ! ...... and I think the cottage does have a television now.
I am taking a jigsaw and there are endless books to read.
I used to love ask the family when I was a child. I assumed all families were like that. Ours wasn’t because my brother is 16 years older than me.
ReplyDeleteAutumn leaves / 5.21
ReplyDeleteTalking about Robert Robertson, I well remember another panel show of his - Call My Bluff, in which two teams of ‘personalities’ had to work out the definition
of strange or unusual words. The teams comprised such wits as Frank Muir. Robin Ray, lugubrious Robert Morley, or the incredibly funny Irishman, Patrick Campbell (?) who had a terrible stutter but was often hilarious.
No shiny set, electronic scoreboard or flashing lights - just very clever use of language and humour!
Just testing
DeleteYes Archerphile Call my Bluff was one of my favourites too. I’d forgotten Patrick Campbell. He used his stutter to good effect. Dennis Norden and Frank Muir were the team leaders. I used to use it as a last day of term activity - it was one way to make them scrutinise a dictionary.
DeleteLanjan, 5/11, 4.24.
ReplyDeleteNever mind!
I watch telly on my laptop, don't have a t.v. set.
I just google what I want to watch and follow the link.
The Junior Bake Off was young people between 9 and 15, a big difference in abilities at that age-range, you would think, but actually not. They weren't cocky or geeky, I wouldn't enjoy it if they were, just some lovely people who gave me some optimism for the future.
I watched a programme called 'Child Genius', the format/presenter/parents and most competitors made me cringe.
I never much liked Robert Robinson, mainly because of his terrible hair-do, but have really enjoyed 'All Creatures', more than the original series.
Believe it or not, I hardly ever watch t.v.....................
I prefer radio dramas usually.
Mrs. P, I hope you make it, with puds, tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI would love to spend time with my daughter in Devon, in a cottage with my dog.
Lucky you.
It's a 7 hour drive for me, longer with stops. How long does it take you?
Days Mistral days and days and days.... and when I finally get driving, about fifteen hours.
DeleteOh - and I've eaten the apple crumble now.
DeleteWatched the last expisode of ‘Life’ last night (on a recording)
ReplyDeleteI was so pleased there were happy endings for most of the characters, especially for Hannah having the courage to ditch controlling Liam on their wedding day.
Not quite sure if Gail really got what she wanted, but I was surprised she had stayed married to her totally un-empathetic, selfish husband for so long.
Brilliant acting all round, the best drama I have seen for some time.
Thanks Archerphile! Was saving all episodes up to binge watch.
DeleteWhat happened to "spoiler alert" at the top?
I'll leave it till next year now so I will have forgotten the details. Something to look forward to in 2021.
Oh, so sorry PtbY. I just didn’t think. Thing is, I didn’t watch it on the night but via a recording and I suppose I thought everyone would have seen it live..and it was me who was late to the party.
DeleteBut be assured I didn’t put down everything that happened, there was still a lot of other stuff going on.
(And I didnt know we had to put Spoiler Alert at the top of posts about TV programmes, only The Archers. Sorry) 😔
Tell you what.....I’ll let you off this time!!!! 😁
DeleteI tend to watch an episode each night if possible of something I particularly want to watch .
ReplyDeleteI did that with Broadchurch and am doing that with All Creatures......
Maybe we could just recommend a particular programme without saying more than that it was uplifting or that the acting was good(both apply to All Creatures) .
Like you Mistral I prefer radio (Radio4 ) to TV unless it is cricket ,football or certain quizzes and the odd drama.
“Life” has a wonderful cast ergo great acting but the story of all of them is a bit depressing. Couldn’t we for once have at least one happy family? Did not sympathise much with Gail and felt she could have held on for another six months!!
ReplyDeleteI rarely watch on the night, tend to record everything and catch up at a later date and time that suits me.
ReplyDeleteWe do that too CC. Mainly to be able to escape the adverts, or as Mr A says, fillet them!
DeleteI do exactly the same.
DeleteI record series - to then binge watch, when the mood takes and by-passing the adverts. I even do this with other programmes, I love to watch.. At the moment it is Bake Off😣
My early morning shop to S/bury's today, was just as normal and as it has been, in the last 7 months.
ReplyDeleteIt was fully stocked and I bought all the fresh veg. and fruit I wanted. It was far better than in Lockdown1.
I was home by 8.50am, to then eat breakfast, after putting shopping away.
I was even able to buy the currants, I was missing. I can now do my own tradition. This is make the Christmas Pudding tomorrow, leave overnight, then do the long 8 hour steam, on Rememberance Sunday. For some reason, I like combining the two.
Will this pudding be used this year, who knows - but it will be there, just in case.
I am thrilled that, there will be still be a Rememberance at The Cenotaph on Sunday. I will be watching as usual.
I bought my first Christmas influenced item, on-line, today.
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is something of a tradition which I have done, for all my grand nieces + nephews, for their first Christmas, over the years. The latest grand-niece was born in January, so this year, she had to have the same.
It is a ceramic Christmas Tree Bauble, with a lovely red ribbon (to hang it on the tree) with name, plus date of birth, on the back.
Mrs P, that sounds like a marathon effort, especially with Lady and cat travelling too. I hope you made it today, and hope you enjoyed your apple crumble too.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you looking for a tv series that is uplifting, I can highly recommend The Marvellous Mrs Maisel. It's funny..great actors ..wonderful characters and the costumes and settings of 195 0s Manhattan. It's a treat. Think it's on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI know that it's definitely on Amazon Prime - I keep meaning to start it, but never get round to it.
DeleteThanks Mistral.
ReplyDeleteI didn't make it again today.
Although I've had my B12 booster this week I seem to be very low on energy.
I did sleep last night, but the friend who was to call me to wake me, didn't, I expect she forgot. But that meant that I didn't wake until 11.15 and then a slow start.
Had a conversation with daughter who is being very understanding ( which is nice) and made it clear that she does not want me to drive in the dark.
So .... now it's hope for tomorrow yet again.
I did replant some of my house plants today, and when walking Lady spent some time on a bench simply enjoying the Sunset which tonight was a warm gentle glow, rather than spectacular. Lovely all the same.
Green fingers
Lots of white Hydrangeas at my daughters property, but she told me about a special one which became the most fashionable White H many decades ago and bred by a neighbouring estate. She said they are rare now, but I could find a plant on a certain footpath. I did find it and took cuttings. I am so pleased that one cutting is now growing well with new leaves daily.
Any hints from other gardeners as to how to treat it through the winter. I potted it on today and it is still outside, off the ground and in a very sheltered position. I have given the pot a plastic globe. Should I bring it inside for winter ?
Well, I paid hospital for the replacement hearing aid on Monday. Message left Tuesday evening to say it was at Tesco's so went up Wednesday to collect.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got home I found that I had new aids for both ears. Different models and they really feel comfortable. There are switches for louder and softer but I can download an app for the phone which then controls sound as I want it.
Nurse from the surgery rang on Monday and invited me immediately to have a flu jab so I got dressed (!) and dashed down to the surgery. For the first time ever, the jab did make my arm a little sore for a couple of days. But it's done now so good enough.
Then this morning I finally got my first blood test done after much stupidity on my part. Within sight of the Healthy Living Centre I realised I had left my request form from the consultant at home! I continued on so as to offer my apologies and the lovely nurse person told me to go home to get it and return. After I did that I sat down in the chair when she said to me have you fasted? Damn and blast! Luckily I had only had a cup of coffee about 2 hours earlier so blood was taken.
This afternoon I made up 60 sandwich bags of 'kits' for 'S'mores.' There were 4 chocolate digestives, 4 marshmallows, 2 tealights and a set of instructions in each bag. This is for 2 Cub packs as we are running a joint programme online for the two Packs we have in our group.
I had volunteered to help deliver the bags to each Cub this weekend before our Zoom meeting on Monday but annoyingly (and depressingly) a large, bloody blister (adjectives in correct order!) has come up on the arch of my right foot. The first in 6 months. Grrr! Hopefully I can 'dry' it out with the steroid cream consultant has provided. But it's back to painkillers!
Our Cubs have painted poppies on pebbles to place round the cross placed outside the church over the weekend. Then we are having a Zoomed Remembrance service from the church.
Have a good weekend everyone.
Spicy
Oh Spicey, you are a sick woman, and you put me to shame with your energy.
ReplyDeleteMy hero !
But I did bake your bread pudding ..... and it's good.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Glad you liked it Mrs P!
DeleteSpicycushion the time has come to think about yourself.
ReplyDeleteQuite frankly it is more important that you get better than it is for the Cubs to have their kits.
Their mums are half your age possibly ,surely they should be doing more?
I understand what you are saying Lanjan and thank you for it. As good Scouters we had been prepared (!) and Dan, the young (he's 28 and a policeman) Leader whom I am mentoring had bought all the stuff last week ready for our firelighting this coming week, then with face to face Scouting cancelled at very short notice we decided to hand out the biscuits etc for the Cubs to do at home under parental supervision. I could sit down whilst doing it and it only took about an hour and a half.
DeleteThe thing is I like helping people. I have never been in the position of being able to afford to be generous with money but I can support with my time and practical help. Also I believe passionately in the benefits and advantages of the Scout (and Guide) Movement. Having been a Guide, then an assistant at Brownies, then in 1970 becoming a Cub Scout Leader, with a short break when children were babies and for a while after my divorce.
I reckon if it is all added up, (along with cricket teas and a couple of odds at local church) I have done more hours in my life volunteering than getting paid! But I enjoy it.
However I have learned over the past couple of years that I have to let people take care of me instead of the other way round. Difficult to 'let go' as it were but I'm learning! 😀
Totally agree with your last 2 lines Spicy the joy of being able to help someone is so much easier than realising (that to a degree) it is now ones turn to be the receiver 🙃
DeleteUnlike the majority of bloggers here I am not a practical or talented person but always found pleasure in the NHS home visiting I used to do plus a day at the local Day Centre for Alzheimer’s clients where we had great fun, helping neighbours and at one time my Epsom Aunt with outings, shopping, hospital / Dr appointments alongside Care Home visits and outings for mum (and a Care Home friend she made) and starting a relatives group to chat have coffee and lunch which we still (did) do 12 years on. Now it is Mr R turn for a little support where needed and he in his turn was a massive support to me and all the people I’ve mentioned adored him quite put me out the picture with all the ladies 🤣
Have just had a good laugh at the Now Show on R4 with Hugh Dennis. It was all about the lockdown and Covid but from an amusing viewpoint! We do need to laugh at it as well as looking at the serious side. Typically British, I think!😂🤣😂
ReplyDeleteMe too ,Ev and Esscee re The Now Show.
ReplyDeleteLady R I do so agree with your first sentence and Spicycushion with your final one.
My stepdaughter always says what goes round comes round.
Mr LJ looked after his first wife for very many years because of her illness and I understand also had to look after the children as well as do a full time job.
It is no wonder his two children think the world of him.
He is obviously frustrated that he is now unable to do the things he was able to do just a few months ago and it is his turn to be looked after but by golly he is finding it difficult!
Can understand Mr LJ feelings.
DeleteGlad to know his kindness has always been appreciated and then rewarded by gaining extra happiness for himself in sharing his life with you LJ 🤗
Thank you Lady R.
DeleteThanks Esscee,I will watch the programme about Frank Gardener.
ReplyDeleteThe only time I stay in pyjamas is if I'm ill. I would hate to stay in them all day for this reason. As for people who go out shopping in them - yuck. Sorry if that sounds snobbish but I think people should get dressed to go out.
ReplyDeleteThis season makes me want to cook roast parsnips, mashed swede with gravy, soups with crusty bread. I'm making myself hungry.
and me Anneveggie - what time are you expecting me 🤣🤣🤣🤣
DeleteI know that feeling - mashed Neeps + Tatties - braised red cabbage with apple, red onion plus nutmeg, dumplings - savoury scones on a stew (meat free or not), not forgetting layered sliced pots + leeks, cooked in half milk and stock, slow cooked in oven.
DeleteHa ha - you'd be very welcome Lady R!!
DeleteThe Christmas Pudding is all mixed, now just to leave it overnight. It smells good, even in this raw state, but then I always put in slightly larger quantities of spices, than the recipe states. This is increasing these from 1/4 teaspoon to a 1/2, so not too much. I also increase the amount of glace cherries, from 1oz. to 2oz, again it is suitable.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem I had, was that I grated my thumb, whilst doing the orange + lemon rinds!
This Pudding definitely has an extra ingredient, or two!
That's my trick, Miriam!
DeleteLily has presented us with her first trophy!!
ReplyDeletea slug.....😸🐱👤🐌
....and so it will go on 😹
DeleteHow old is she now?
One of my cats presented me with a baby mole, followed by a young woodpecker!
DeleteHe was so proud, but I was not amused. 😦
Gorgeous sunny day today, but I was slightly surprised to see a brimstone butterfly. MrNuts was clearing the leaves, can now see the lawn again, he will be rewarded with a tasty supper.
ReplyDeleteOur garden waste bin was emptied on Thursday morning and was full of leaves again on Thursday afternoon! We have a large sycamore tree on the opposite side of the lane at the front of the house. It has produced more seeds than I've ever seen in the more than 40 years that we have been living here, we'll be spending a lot of time pulling out seedlings next year.
DeleteLily update : mouse upgrade !
ReplyDeleteThere is an oak tree next door and the annual avalanche of leaves is falling! Dave, the gardener did a sterling job clearing the first lot. I keep finding mini oak trees around where the acorns have blown over. Still, acorns provide food for the squirrels! This year there were elder seedlings which grew at the speed of a triffid but Dave has rooted them out! He can do in two hours what would take me two days! 🐿🌿🌳🍂🍂🍂🍁
ReplyDeleteMy daughter did something very unusual this week - sent me a recipe she had cut out of her newspaper. She doesn’t have much interest in cooking at all, so I was very surprised! She said she thought it was just up my street because it uses the Middle Eastern spice I brought back from Dubai - called Za’atar.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe involves chopping up lots of veg (fennel, red peppers, onion & garlic). Putting them on a baking tray, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling Za’atar over. Then roast in oven for about 15 mins. Chop two salmon and two sea bass fillets into cubes & mix into veg with a bit more olive oil. Cook for further 10 mins or so, serve.
Well I did it tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I’m not normally a great fish lover & next time I will use all salmon & forget the bass, but this was so tasty I shall certainly be cooking it again.
Thank you daughter dear!
Testing
ReplyDeletePhew! Actioned iOS 14.2 this afternoon and on arrival here just now the symbol at the side is blue with a silhouette in it and not showing my name however my testing has printed so 🤞🏼 I can sort things out. If I disappear fear not 🙃 I intend to return!
ReplyDeleteFound tonight’s recorded “Service or Remembrance” very moving and well done under Covid 19 circumstances 🌹
I'm afraid I drew the line at 'Somewhere over the rainbow', which I thought was on the brink of corny.
Delete'corny' - mawkish is the word I was searching for. Didn't much care for what Mica Parish did to Amazing Grace, either. Sorry.
DeleteMaybe the circle always looks this way until I’ve written my piece all of a sudden I can’t remember if this is the case or not 😱 a senior moment....
ReplyDeleteThe circle always looks like that with me now. But when I press publish I pop up. Didn’t before. I had to sign in with email and password every time.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't you Lady R .
ReplyDeleteI am down as Google Account .
On the other blog there wasn't even"publish"
Then there was and I published as Google Account and it came up with my name?
See if this one does too.
It is very strange though because the symbol next to Lady R and me is the google symbol.
ReplyDeleteThe symbol next to your good self and others like Lady R is actually the "B" for Blogger symbol!
DeleteAh yes of course Gary I see it showing next to a reply I made earlier
DeleteHowever the symbol showing asGoogle Account on my IPad is tgat of a blue silhouette of a woman's face.
Could be me though
It changes to blogger once I have posted.
DeleteI don't care as long as it doesn't shut me out.
Testing again
DeleteThat’s what I thought Gary I will work out how to restore but at least I am coming through. This was the reason I skipped iOS 14.1 something always tends to go awry 🙃
ReplyDeleteAh just written I reply to Lanjan and did not go through. Will be back later watching 🌹 Cenotaph Service now and awaiting Big Ben at 11am.
ReplyDeleteToday, Remembrance Sunday, I am remembering my dear Mum, Miriam Levy, (also known as Queenie) who died on this day 45 years ago.
ReplyDeleteBriefly Grandma to our daughter and son and who would have been a wonderful great grandma to our 5 grandchildren. It is thanks to her I owe my upbringing and family values. It is so sad that she wasn’t able to enjoy watching her emerging family grow up.
Watched the Remembrance service from the cenotaph and thought how much I had missed David Dimbleby at such occasions. His relaxed, natural style is also sincere and dignified. A difficult act to follow.
ReplyDeleteI watched last night's service from The Albert Hall and this morning's Cenotaph ceremony. I did like the RBL ceremony but I'm afraid I don't like it that the now 'go to' hymn is 'I vow to thee my Country.' I am sure it used to be 'Abide With Me.'
ReplyDeleteMy trouble is the line in IVTTMC is the one that says 'the love that asks no questions.'
We were not permitted to choose this hymn at school (each form in turn chose 5 hymns for morning assemblies which were mini church services,) because we were always told 'You should always ask questions about what is asked of you.' That has stuck with me for over 50 years!
I also read many years ago that Gustav Holst was not best pleased when the words were added to his music! The Jupiter suite was supposed to represent 'The Bringer of Jollity!'
Latest lot of oak leaves raked up this morning but hardly any thinning out on the branches as far as I can see.
Will probably marzipan a couple of the Christmas cakes this afternoon before eldest rings from Germany for our online board game session.
But as it's now 1.30 I supposed I'd better get dressed!🤣🤣
That's a very sad picture, Spicycushion.
DeleteYes Basia. It was sent to me on facebook. The caption reads
Delete"When Mozart was 8 this tree was 40 years old.
When first steam engine was patented this tree was 50.
When the Wright brothers flew the first motorised plane this tree was 180.
Now at the age of 300 it was felled for a service road to HS2."
It is just so typical of so many many trees and wild spaces disappearing, especially here in Kent. In my local paper there are three 'developments' of between 500-800 houses being built on farmland.
I cry inside for the animals with nowhere to go and for the children who know little or nothing about wildlife!
I finally arrived here in Cornwall at 8 last night.
ReplyDeleteWatched the Remembrance Service on a TELEVISION, such a change from watching on my IPad, from the beginning and like Soz, realised how much I missed D Dimblebly, and still miss their father. He was the act they have aspired to follow.
Like Archerphile, the 11-11 is an important day in my family.
My fathers birthday, my Grandmother died on his 40th B day, and my father marched at the Cenotaph every year. He attended the very first Service in 1920 as a boy on his 15 th birthday, and the music especially Nimrod was his lasting joy. He had always hoped to be able to end his days as a Chelsea Pensioner, but it wasn't ever very likely as my mother was eleven years younger than him.
The older I become, the more I understand how much I owe to him and how very like him I am. My deepest regret is how shallow a relationship I had with him when he was alive. But my feelings for him have deepened expendentially each year since his death.
For the third year running I will not be able to be standing looking at our dedication to him in the book of remembrance at Putney Vale cemetery on Wednesday. I had planned to go to London for the occasion and had found day care for Lady.
Hope for normality again in 2021.
Mrs P, Mr R dad died on Remembrance Day 11/11/89 if we are unable to visit the Crem we view the book online. Could you do this? Goggle the Crem in question and click on Remembrance Book online 🌹
DeleteNovember is my least favourite month.
ReplyDeleteIt is the month in which both my mother and mother in law died.
It is the month when it gets dark earlier and it is the month when poor Percy cat gets upset because of the fireworks which carry on past bonfire night because of Divali
At 11am I went outside because I thought we were asked to spend our two minutes silence at the front of our homes to remember those who have died in battle.
Did I get that wrong?
I was the only one who was doing it as far as I could see
Dudley was much better with the fireworks this year. Katy gave them all a calming tablet but last year even with this he was beside himself and quite hysterical. This time we had a few barks but mainly he stayed next to us and was not in such a panic. We are gradually seeing a much more confident and trusting little dog although he still has issues notably barking frantically every time someone goes in or out of a door. Hopefully we will get past this one too! When Katy leaves for work I was having to distract him with a treat but just this week he has been sleeping on through her departure. Result, we hope!
DeleteI hadn’t heard about standing outside for the silence but did observe it in my kitchen thinking of Grandad who served before and during WW 1, my Dad in WW2 and the uncle I never knew who died as a Japanese POW. Of course of Mike too who served in the RN for 34 years and then as a retired officer for 12 years.
I read of standing at our front doors at 11am but preferred to hear Big Ben live on tv and observe with the small gathering at The Cenotaph.
DeleteMy Mum’s birthday was in November and always felt sorry for her as it is such a miserable month with the thought of winter ahead. I much preferred my birthday in April! After two years in Hong Kong we came back in November and I was shocked by the cold and the early darkness. Over there sunset only varied by an hour and summer lasted for nine months. I did miss spring and autumn though!
DeleteMy birthday is in November, a month I love! Like you, Ev, my mother, born in June, could never understand how I could possibly like the short days and wintry weather but I think it’s because it feels so cozy and warm to be at home by the fire in the lamplight.
DeleteI’m with you Hilary. I love the crisp, cool mornings with such a clear light. I really like atmospheric foggy mornings too.
DeleteThen the coziness of evenings over the fire. Total bliss.
Maybe the time of year you are born has something to do with it! I love the spring!
DeleteNot convinced about that Ev .
DeleteI was born at the end of October and much prefer the Spring .
On the other hand according to "Colour me beautiful" I am an "Autumn" .
I love the Autumn colours and certainly look better in shades of green,brown yellow etc than blue, red or pink.
I like a bit of purple though and maroon.
Did you know that periwinkle blue suits everybody?
I’m early part of October and adore the “Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness” the smell of the earth and the colour of the leaves 🍁 cosy evenings 🤗
DeleteSpring is a very close second snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, bluebells etc we are so lucky to have seasons - when they work (!)
Several comments have not been published.
ReplyDeleteJust trying one more time.
Fingers crossed.
🎉😀
DeleteI really enjoyed the Festival of Remembrance and The Cenotaph today. In both cases, I thought the organisation was brilliant, to put on both these events, with the current rules + regulations. I appreciated the effort, that went into these traditional events.
ReplyDeleteI was very moved last night, as it was so up-to-date, as to the how the armed forces are helping, at this particular point of time. It always moves me, but last night I went to bed with a "tear streaked" face and a snotty nose.
Christmas Pudding update. I had too much mixture, so I was able to do an individual one, in a ramekin, and steamed this in a smaller steamer. It is not known yet, as to what rules + regulations will be around then, but I am already prepared to be "solo" at Christmas (which has been done before). It is far too early to predict anything yet...
PS The large one, still has an hour to go.
Spicycushion, I put in 'oak tree and HS2' and could see it in its glory before the sad end. You mentioned raking up the oak leaves with the branches still in place, so I was a bit confused;) In real terms we're always fighting off nature, including in our gardens, that's why some neglect is good to let it take its course.
ReplyDeleteNow in the second part of life I embrace every month and season and am glad of the change. If I feel cold I remind myself that it's not a heatwave. November was the ninth month in the Roman year, in some languages it's a month of falling leaves.
Sorry didn't make it clear. We have had lots of leaves on the lawn which were raked up last weekend and today but still the Oak tree at the bottom of the garden seems full of all its leaves. So many more thousands of leaves to go!
DeleteSpicy - re your picture of the felled tree..... It makes me so very angry that these magnificent trees are being felled to make way for a railway line that few ‘ordinary’ people want. A government ‘vanity’ project which is costing untold millions, disrupting lives and destroying countryside.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I’d better not go on for fear of being too political.
But I do want to tell you of a similar operation which is really upsetting me, very close to home.
Our route into Basingstoke (our nearest town, where we do all our shopping) joins the road from Junction 7 of the M3 into the town. It goes up a long incline, between the golf club on one side and farmland on the other. Both sides of the road and the central reservation have been a glorious corridor of mixed trees for many, many years. Beautiful in Spring and Autumn, a real welcome into the town for visitors.
Imagine my distress when, on my first trip to the supermarket after (the first) Lockdown, I discovered the road reduced to one carriageway while huge machines were felling these tress, opening up the vista on each side and erecting ugly wire fencing to replace the trees.
Since then, almost the entire length of the road, on both sides, and down the middle have been de-nuded of greenery. Earth movers are dumping huge mounds of earth and chalk, remodelling the landscape and piles of building materials have been shipped in.
Without any notification, a vast housing estate is being built on the farmland; the Basingstoke Golf Club on the opposite side has been sold and will also be covered with housing, a school and shopping centre. I can’t understand why the trees had to go. Surely it would have been nicer for future residents to have a tree lined boundary?
In addition to that we are to have a huge new A&E hospital built just along the road from us and are still trying to fight off an enormous distribution centre for Amazon on the opposite side, again on farmland.
I despair of this desecration of the countryside. There are plenty of brownfield site around, why don’t they use them? If we get to vote in Local Council Elections next year, this year’s having been cancelled, I shall make my feelings very clear!
Sorry everyone, rant over. See what your photo did Spicy?! 😉
Sorry about that. However as two governments since 2009(of all different colours!) have been responsible for HS2 it wouldn't be politically biased! 😆
DeleteShould have been three different Governments!
DeleteArcherfile, can appreciate your concern over green fields disappearing. All the time we are told more houses are needed and it is easier and cheaper to build on fresh fields rather than on derelict sites which have to be cleared and often decontaminated. It is all down to money I’m afraid! We had affordable housing on our estate in Ledbury opposite our 4 bedroom house. The block of four or five terraced small houses were bought by landlords who divided them up into individual rooms and let the rooms out to 3 or 4 tenants who all had cars or work vans. There were only two parking spaces per house so vehicles were parked in the road making it sometimes difficult to manoeuvre out of our drive. There was never any interaction between us and them which was one point of mixing housing like this so as not to form ghettos. All very well in theory but in practice it didn’t work! I digress but like that misconception this drive to build so many houses in each area is very misguided and ruins our surroundings. There is a fight here against a scheme to build houses on farmland near into Ryde which is already the biggest centre of population here. The infrastructure isn’t there for instance GP surgeries. Not many GP’s are attracted to the island and we already have a shortage of them. These things are never considered though! As you said, AF, rant over, onwards and upwards!!
DeleteAutumn has definitely arrived - it's getting very foggy.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I enjoyed the ceremony at the Cenotaph even though the restrictions limited the number of people who could attend. I'm always so touched by the veterans who usually march by and I end up in tears. My dad served in the RAF and mum was in central London during WWII and they endured so much.
ReplyDeleteI also like Autumn very much. Don't mind dark evenings and like the cosying aspect of it all.
Agree with you 100% Anneveggie (particularly with your last line) 🍁 🌗 🔥 🍁 but I will add that Spring is a close second it’s just that Summer follows and the possibility of 26 - 30c + 😱
DeleteI responded to Ev just now and it didn't publish so I went into Safari and then cleared the cookies whatever they may be
ReplyDelete(A kind friend told me to do that)
I have repeated the message and Ithink it got through 10:43am.
Hope this one does too.
LJ I still have my blue circle with a silhouette and comment as: Google Account - but at least I can post and as soon as it publishes the Orange blogger circle and Lady R appears so 🤞🏼 this continues. I very regularly go to settings, Safari - hit the highlighted clear history and all data then double click home button to swipe away any unwanted open apps which can be done of course without clearing history/ data in Safari. Learnt this and many other things mostly from B-I-L 🤗
ReplyDelete*** FIVE OF THE BEST ***
ReplyDeleteMrsP, over to you. Enjoy!
Can I ask for some help/information please.
ReplyDeleteDoes any one have an electric steam floor mop?
I am thinking if getting one for our old Quarry Tiled Kitchen & laundry room floors.
I currently use a mop with a container of cleaner attached which squirts onto the floor which you then mop. But it’s not doing a very good job, especially in corners.
I used to get down on my knees every week and literally scrub every inch of floor with an old fashioned scrubbing brush & hot soapy water but I can’t manage that any more!
So I wondered if a new fangled steam mop might be the answer.
Recommendation would be appreciated before I fork out for one. Thank you.
I can't help, sorry.
DeleteThat though is another reason to talk to Mr. P. about, with the idea of moving. Keep a list of these thoughts:- re upkeep of an older property,
the cleaning and difficulty, no downstairs loo, etc.
It all adds up, slowly...
I think, he might will be surprised as to your thoughts, about the simpler things of maintaining a home.
Thanks for your reply Miriam, but we most certainly do have a downstairs loo!
DeleteWe had it specially refitted with a ‘comfort height’ loo before my hip operation which meant I didn’t need to have one of the seat height extenders offered by the hospital!
I have a steam cleaner and find it excellent. You need to use distilled water which is quite cheap and available at Tesco. My floors are laminate but think it would be good on tiles. Mine is a Shark and my cleaner says it is the best she has used. You can get into corners and a little water goes a long way. Another advantage is that it dries almost instantly. It’s also light to use and much better than lugging a bucket and mop around! Also of course you don’t have to buy floor cleaners which can build up and cause stickiness. I always found you need to rinse them off by going over again with plain water. Too much work!!
DeleteI have an H2O steam mop. I’m not keen. The idea of steam cleaning sounds good but I think when you’re using the same pad for a whole floor you are just dragging the dirt about. It doesn’t get right in the corners.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer a bucket of hot water with washing up liquid and a squirt of bleach in and a microfibre cloth on hands and knees.
I realise you can’t do this so maybe someone else could recommend a better steam cleaner.
I do that - hands + knees, with a bowl of hot water, with an own brand cleaner in it, with a squirt of bleach and using a sponge, with a non-abrasive side.
DeleteThe floor always looks great afterwards.
I realised today, that this needs to be done, ASAP.
The reason being that my slippers/indoor shoes, are now sticking to the kitchen floor!
Thank you too, for your reply PtbY. I sincerely wish I could get down on my knees to do the floor scrubbing! But a replacement knee on a large hard stone floor is just not possible , even though I tried with 2 kneeling pads, one on top of the other!
DeletePerhaps I need to engage a cleaner to do these jobs for me?
Wonder how much an hour they charge? (I am actually joking!) My Mum had a cleaner for 2 afternoons a week. Downstairs Tuesdays, upstairs Fridays.
She was paid the princely sum of £2 week, from which she had to deduct her train fare!!
I have four pads so that you can change them when they get dirty and can also flip the base over to use the other side. The cleaner came with four which I have since replaced with four from amazon. They wash in the washing machine. I usually put them in with bathroom rugs and dusters etc after Angela, my cleaner has been in action. She uses a lot of cloths! She charges £12.50 an hour and does two hours a week.
DeleteI hate Autumn, apart from the fabulous colours on the trees + vegetation.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it is the start of the long, cold, gloomy months, with long nights + short days.
I felt so much better today, as the sun came out and so enjoyed a short walk this afternoon. I still feel isolated, even when walking. As I walk alone, it is difficult to keep social distancing, and with no stopping to pass the time of day with others plus their children, and not petting the dogs!
I think I do have SAD syndrome, but in a minor form. I am off to research lights, which could give a normal, daylight equivalent light, at home.
To explain my comment about keeping social distancing on a walk. This relates to passing others safely, when on a narrow path, such as a walkway beside a canal.
DeleteA lot of people seem to have given up on making any attempt at social distancing on walks these days
DeleteMiriam, I believe there are various levels of SAD. I have a fairly strong version, which means I don't produce anything like enough serotonin and therefore need a lot more light than most people. I have medication for it, but it's difficult to get the strength right. I think mine really needs increasing in winter, as I still sleep a lot and am always hungry, a sign that my constitution wants to hibernate. My daughter in NZ has the full-blown version, which means she doesn't produce any serotonin at all.
DeleteWe both have a UtopiaLight which she found on the internet. It is small and portable with white light, but I would need to sit with it long enough several times on a dark day to have much effect. The old one, which has yellow light, was much more effective, but it's huge, very cumbersome and gobbles up the power.
The UK summer just isn't bright enough, so my condition greatly improved once we started our annual fortnight in Greece, but that hasn't happened since 2018. As next year is also looking doubtful, each winter is more of a struggle, especially in lockdown. I need the light reflected off the sea!
Testing again
ReplyDeletePhew!
ReplyDeleteWhat a day.
I couldn't send or receive emails today from my IPad
I could from my computer though.
In the end I 'phoned Microsoft and the gentleman I spoke to was brilliant .
I now have 41emails to check.
How I would have loved to have learned how to use the internet in easy stages at school rather than trying to follow everything from a book.
I do have an excellent one though -for seniors - and also use Utube which helps..
Testing
ReplyDeleteGood, still logged in! Last time I had to enter my password again.
DeleteAlthough we are in a red lockdown zone so non-essential shops are closed ( not bookshops however or, rather strangely, perfume shops) and any travel is forbidden except for necessity, I am a necessary carer so yesterday went to fetch my grandson from primary school and on the way saw the roundabout and the speed ramp in the village I go through carpeted with bright yellow (❤️!) maize kernels because the farmers pile the tractor trailers so high that some of the load is lost on bends and bumps. The birds are most grateful!
I love autumn colours!
ReplyDelete.... and thought I’d changed my profile photo but forgot to press “Save”! Like you, Lanjan, I realise I lack the basics of technology!
DeleteI have now pressed “Save”!
When we lived in Ledbury potatoes used to be spilled from the lorries as they went round the roundabout! They were soon mashed!
DeleteOne summer on holiday further south I saw tomatoes all over the road!!
DeleteI believe they have tomato battles somewhere in Spain.
DeleteThere's a Battle of the Oranges in Ivrea, Italy, still happening?
Your lovely photo was well worth the effort Hilary. Is it a maple, do you know? The colour is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI think so, Archerphile!
DeleteLanJan 6.30 yesterday
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough we are having great problems with our emails on the big computer which is Microsoft Windows 10, but no problems on my iPad - the opposite to you!
On the computer, which is mostly used by Mr A, we keep being unable to open various emails or to delete others.
I’m hoping it will sort itself out! One Of the problems, I think, is that he never does any computer housekeeping and has hundreds of emails and hundreds of deleted posts dating back several years.
The poor machine probably has constipation!
Mr A is probably pushing the limits of his memory capacity, especially if you are using Outlook, which saves all the messages on your machine. If that's the case, it won't right itself unless he removes a lot of his cobwebs!
DeleteI try to clear up emails as I go along and definitely have a good clear out once a year. It is also ecological as all those storage iclouds etc use a lot of power, I only realised that by listening to a programme.
DeleteI only had a problem with the emails once and a very nice John from Apple support (in Ireland, where else) sorted it out, but they warn you that they have to get inside your computer. There was no charge for it but I would ask next time.
The other time, a year ago I rang my service provider here because the browsing side was very slow and ineffective. My computer is set up in English but I know what's what and was told that somebody was using my IP address which apparently can happen!
Anyway, it was a year ago and I wasn't hacked to pieces.
I love autumn, cosying up by the fire...
ReplyDeleteAs long as the days are bright & crisp 🍁🍂🌞
✔️✔️✔️ 🤗
DeleteMe too parsley, but I DO actually like the dark days. I even like the rain. And the snow when we are lucky enough to get some!
DeleteSo do I, Gary! Even the fog - as long as I don't have to drive anywhere!
DeleteThe colours of autumn I’ve always loved but I’m married to a dairy farmer and work in the Winter is much more physically demanding. We try to keep the cows out at grass for as long as possible and the shortened daylight hours make it difficult to get them out in daylight. My husband hates the winter and working in the wet and the mud : I can see why. So we both look forward to being the spring side of Christmas when the days start to lengthen. Snowdrops, hellebores and the very early daffs are welcome sights.
DeleteSee entry at 10.47am.
ReplyDeleteWinter rain and snow are not welcome because I'm afraid to slip and fall, frost and sunshine, no problem, I just add an extra layer.
ReplyDelete