Chitchat thread #24

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

My windowsills are empty for the day and cloches removed the little Robin back to following me around the garden he/she seems to have a friend now.

I've not tried word games but I do like doing a suduko during my second mug of tea.

Take care enjoy your day.

[Nicos]

Blue legs gf?…ha- that made me chuckle!

Yeh thanks they look great now - the curtains weren’t dirty as such - just accumulated dust which didn’t vacuum out as well as I’d hoped.

I’ve not seen our robin yet Bren, but I do think the woodpeckers hogging the feeders are scaring away a lot of birds.

[bramble]

Good morning all
No breeze and 10 degs so it's good.
Laundry out and housework done so I will go for a long walk.
I may plant out my sweet peas this afternoon.
The smiles arrived ages ago Snoop.
Nicos, that sounds like good exercise but we only have a shower.
Have a good day all.

H

[mothhawk]

Morning all.
Am I first in the kitchen today? I'll get the kettle on again then so the pot's full when you all get up.

It's cool and cloudy today but supposed to warm up later, so I'll be out in the garden. I've got to decide where to put the sweet peas this year, whether to put in the usual row or make teepees for a change. Also got to find a place for a honeysuckle cutting that is outgrowing its pot.

[greenishfing]

Good morning. Cool and damp here. I could hear the rain hitting the windows last night.

I got an email back from Sut**ns yesterday. They are sending me new tomato seeds. I hope they are better.

I'm taking Mr GF to the doctor's surgery this morning for his ears cleaning out. Hopefully this will stop him yelling. The nurse looked at them a couple of weeks ago and said one was full of wax. I've been dripping olive oil in with a pipette ever since. I am old enough to remember when the only olive oil you could buy around here was in tiny bottles in a chemist just for that job.

Yesterday, in a bout of organisation, I posted a couple of parcels to arrive for Easter. One an Easter egg for my young great nephew and the other an Easter pudding, (a.k.a. Christmas pudding) for one of my sisters. I've just realised that I forgot to include notes or cards with them. I can't believe the cost of postage these days.

I might do a grory hop later if it rains as for some reason the closer it gets to a bank holiday the more lunatic behaviour I tend to see in the supermarket with trolleys piled high enough to withstand a siege (and that was pre-covid).

Off to get a shower now the coffee has awakened me.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Well, it's very cloudy and chilly out there this morning. Just as well I put all the plants back in their bedroom last night. It was lovely yesterday and as I took them indoors, I spotted that maybe, just maybe, some of the tomato plants might be thinking about putting out their first set of real leaves. The rest look rubbish, but I'm being very polite and making encouraging noises so they don't just give up the ghost.

On the cards today is work and, if the weather cheers up and doesn't rain, I might venture outdoors and get a bit of weeding done, though the forecast says 100% probability of rain today and tomorrow. Ah well, there are lots of things I could do indoors. Mr Snoop has taken a load of what I regard as his junk and he believes to be valuable property into the little house in town for storage and then he's off shopping. Not that we need much to be honest.

Thanks for getting the pot ready, MH. Brought a smile to my face and sent the others off on their jolly way.

Have a great day, everyone.

Edited: I remember olive oil in tiny bottles at Boots too. I wonder why people thought only olive oil would do. Anyway, good luck to Mr GF at the doctor's.

[greenishfing]

Edited: I remember olive oil in tiny bottles at Boots too. I wonder why people thought only olive oil would do. Anyway, good luck to Mr GF at the doctor's.

I think at the time that the preferred fat/oil in our kitchen was lard. Some unlucky children got goose fat rubbed on their chests though.

[bramble]

Good morning all.
Dull, grey and raining.
Looks like a donestics day for me.

Snoop, I am afraid I will jinx myself but my tomato seedlings are flying along.
I used Westland multi purpose compost and so far, so good.

Have a good day all.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
I’ve not just got up!,,,honest!

OH needed to have blood samples taken so we got there stupidly early….then onto a mega hypermarket to do a trolly dash of a grory hop to last most of the next fortnight and fill up with petrol. There was hardly anyone there..only 2 tills open but one was free and the other had one customer…That’s my kind of shopping!

Just had breakfast - I was starving! Yup - he had to fast for his blood tests so I thought it would be cruel if I ate breakfast in front of him at the normal time. Tell you what though…I always thought shopping whilst hungry was bad as you tend to buy more or more sweet things….but when in desperate need of breakfast we just wanted to hurry home for some well earned toast and homemade marmalade. Mmmm.

[lottie dolly]

Afternoon all,silly weather,saw GP up shot is,he will remove it beg next month ,plus i am feeling much better,darned pills ,had GGboys yesterday,got them again tomorrow,i enjoy having them,we have fun,so is very good for me,got some marigold seed to sow,ref the poly mess up,nothing to save,so sowed some more,apart from sweet peas,i simply pushed the compost under the bench,at least they have a chance of some sort,might have another kip,Bgood 2yourselves

[rary]

Good evening, it been a busy two days, yesterday started listing everything in the storage cupboard, due to the fact when we go shopping we are picking up things that we use but not sure if we have it in the house, the number of things that we have 3 or 4 of isn't real, and before anyone thinks we are hoarders, you might be right😀 anyway we now have two lists one showing what is in the cupboard, the other showing what we have upstairs for storage, actually the practice started when we were young, both our mother's always bought tins of food when it was on offer and we have practiced the same, when you didn't have a lot of money, that practice helped a lot, FYI when the lockdown started we had 6 packs of toilet rolls stored, and there is usually that amount in the house, so the shortage of toilet rolls never effected use and we gave some packs to son and daughter, anyway cupboard all sorted, I that spent the afternoon sawing wood and by night time I felt shattered,today we have done a shopping, then some housework and finally have been out in the greenhouse transplanting some seedlings, now going to sit and read, so have a good day tomorrow, keep safe keep smiling, a smile passed on might be appreciated Goodnight

[Nicos]

I also raise my hand to being a storer rather than a hoarder Rary.
We could probably survive for 9 months on most things we have…although we’d run out of many basic things at one month.
Its a good feeling being self sufficient.
I think of my cellar as being my ‘little shop’ of Uk produce, French produce and home preserved produce.
My 3 freezers store more of our own produce..plus food bargains and basics I come across.

My mom was a war teenager and instilled in me the need to be self sufficient.
I’m glad she did and now I live in a rural environment am very pleased with the store I have ,especially as a lot of it is home grown.

Having two gites to provide for is probably excuse enough to store many household domestic products I wouldn’t otherwise go out of my way to stock up with - everyone’s needs differ.
Some families get through 4 toilet rolls in a week…other need ten!
Some need clean sheets each week, others are happy to last two weeks, but change towels each week.
There are loads of other egs.
It just emphasises how different we all think ‘ normal ‘ is defined!

Am feeling shattered yet again

Not far off Easter is it?
Has anyone got plans?

[greenishfing]

Evening all! It has hardly stopped raining here all day and is still pouring now, but it's not cold.

The nurse washed a vast amount of wax from one of Mr GF's ears which has improved his hearing, for now at least.

We also did a grory hop but it was really busy so I got out as quickly as possible. I am another storer but not to the same degree as Mr GF. If he is in charge of shopping he always buys far more fresh food than we can eat and the freezers are full so he is not allowed to shop. I would also never stock up on chocolate these days as if it's there the temptation can just be too much. I remember when I was younger and wispa bars first came out and I was living in the Netherlands taking two boxes from the wholesalers back there with me.

Hopefully the weather is going to be better tomorrow but no doubt the soil will be soggy.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

We have a heavy mist this morning with the promise of a sunny day ahead when the sun burns through.
I noticed that it’s going to be UV 5 so I best go and get the suncream to hand.

Domestics this morning then I’ve promised myself a decent play in the garden

Glad to hear Mr gf can hear better- it’ll make all the difference. I bet Rary will pass some comment on about that!

Time for a brew eh?

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Yes, with Mr GF's new and improved ears, he'll have a better sense of balance and be able to go up ladders more safely than some or at least one of us... That said, Mr Snoop went up a ladder yesterday to effect some roof repairs before today's rain. Just as well as it started in the night and is absolutely bucketing down. The sooner the kitchen gets properly reroofed, the better.

It's raining so much that the dogs didn't want to go out for breakfast (they eat in the garage). Frankie decided to stay in too, but he's in playful mode so Mr Snoop is not going to get much of a lie-in. In fact, the smiles were the only ones keen to be up and about today, probably to get out of Frankie's way, to be honest. Hope they reach you in good form today.

Not much choice about activities today. It's indoors or indoors. The onion seedlings are outside, getting drenched. Everything else went back indoors last night and it looks like they're going to have to stay there too. Fingers crossed it'll be dry tomorrow.

Right, have a good day everyone.