Chitchat thread #24

[Nicos]

We have about 8 clumps of various sizes on the same apple tree! 14 years in the making.

[Snoop Puss]

I haven't actually seen the rules, Nicos. Only been told. Mistletoe doesn't grow very widely here, just in localised patches, but with lots of it in these spots. Maybe the rules are more to protect the birds that feed on it rather than the mistletoe itself.

[rary]

Good evening, thank goodness we are just in correspondence and not in actual contact, all that mistletoe and all you ladies, giving you all a kiss under it would be fine, but giving you all a small gift would leave me skint or have I got it wrong is it the lady who gives the gent a present 🤔.
Anyway, it's feeling a bit cold here at present, had to get up through the night last night and it's the first time I have felt it really cold, so need to increase the overnight temperature for OH, if it gets to cold she will have health problems, but then again, if she feels it's too cold she might cuddle in close, no I will adjust the thermostat, otherwise I will just get wakened to turn the heat up, and by that I mean get out of bed and increase the settings.
Ah there once was a time!!!!
Was out this morning looking for a tray, as one of the trays we have got broken, how was I to know one handle wasn't strong enough to hold the weight I had on it🙄 anyway a couple of broken cups and a tray handle is a small price to pay to make sure no one gets hurt, well apart from me, I have been told I will be paying for it☹️
While out I bought more bird feeding, they are going through the feeding at a terrific rate just now, right off to have a read before heading for bed, so I wish you all a good night and keep safe and warm and ofcourse keep smiling

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

No snow or fog this morning just frosty, I've only been as far as the gate to collect milk so not checked the GH temp yet

A bit of shopping today and probably a walk to gather holly. You Mistletoe looks impressive Nicos.

enjoy your day

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all, morning Bramble.

We were due to go into the village early this morning, but neither of our cars wants to start! A first for us: two cars and not a one will go. Batteries charging as I write.

Fairly busy day today without the trip to the village, so probably just as well. Bills to write and a freezer to fill. The smiles set off before we tried to, so they're probably well on their way if not already in northern France.

Catch you all later. Have a great day.

[lottie dolly]

Good morning all,wow on the mistletoe Nicos,that is the 1 thing i do not need this year ,i think this coldness is a shock to us,as we have had some milder winters of late,plus coming on top of the heat of summer time,there is a holly in our local church yard,it hangs over the wall,and is loaded with berries,time seems to be flying again,had a lovely walk again yesterday,we wrapped up well,i did not have my gloves on though,and they were still warm,snoop,you need a bit of respite from the weather extremes,you had a horendously hot summer,but maybe get a shock when you land in the uk,and Rary with the sound of your posts maybe this cold weather will help,as always you bring a smile to our faces,this forum is full of lovely,kind hearted people,anyhow have to go and get ready to go out,for another wonderfull day,so stay safe eveyone,them smiles have done a big number on me,and are in full vibrant flow as they continue to sweep and swoop about everywhere,have a lovely day friends,

[greenishfing]

Good morning. I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I awoke early, turned up the thermostat and then got back in for half an hour. It was so warm and comfy.

It's still -1°C here. It hasn't even attempted to crawl above freezing in the last day.

The old man I took a chunk of cake to yesterday rang last night to tell me how nice it is and my hairdresser texted me to say she'd cut hers and it is beautiful. Really nice to hear. I must set the mark 3 version off this evening as we have nearly run out and also remember to buy more crumbly cheese to have with it.

I intend doing a grory hop today if possible. I must admit that when I look out the window it is not very tempting to venture out. I am not a fan of shutting the light out in Winter but today may be an exception. The thermal curtains may get tucked behind the radiator and I'll ignore it.

I had to laugh yesterday when I went to collect my "click and collect" presents. There were two young women talking about how happy they were not to have been born in the era before modern central heating. What amazed me was how they really didn't understand the reality of it. One woman was busy saying that at least they had fires in every room though and you just added another few lumps of coal. I just had to tell her that most people had one fire in the "living room" as that was all they could afford and often that was part of the "range". But NO, this woman had seen all the blazing fires on Downton Abbey and obviously the reason women didn't go out to work was because they spent their day laying them, looking after them and playing with the children. I gave up .....she would never have believed that children were the ones who cleaned out the grates, laid the fires and replenished the coal scuttles. It was always my job (eldest child). I was an expert fire starter but then my dad and grandad were coal merchants when I was a child. Another older lady did enlighten her however about ice inside the windows, the "lavvie" across the yard and cutting newspaper into squares to hang on the back of the door (softer than Izal).

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Still no snow…not even a flocon ( flake). I will be patient

I never had central heating growing up either gf.
Pulling clothes into bed to warm them up before getting dressed under the blankets was the norm in winter.
Scraping pretty leaves of frost off the inside of the window was a joy as was peeping out through the ‘spy hole’
Standing in front of the coal fire at the train station in the ‘ladies only’ waiting area for the warm train to take me to school.
Rolling newspaper sheets into tubes then folding them into a triangular shape as fire lighters.
Placing a sheet of paper over the front of the open fire to encourage the draw when the fire was catching. I can hear that roar now.
Throwing used tea leaves onto the fire at the end of the day to ‘bank it down for the night’ so it was just alight first thing in the morning.
Rummaging through the filthy coals to find a few small pieces of coal for the snowman and New Years Eve.
Seeing the coalmen deliver sacks of coal carried on their shoulder with a piece of leather over that shoulder for protection.

Ah the memories! And I’m only a youngster still!

Bit of tidying up today and some reading - I want to finish my borrowed book asap as it’s about slavery and it’s rather upsetting and angry making - not the right sort of book in the lead up to,Xmas

Keepwarm peeps!

[greenishfing]

Nicos, it's amazing the uses for old newspaper, for laying fires, hanging on the lavvie door and any spare were given to the local fish and chip shop for wrapping. I'd just about forgotten about putting some in front of the fire to get it to draw and in desperate straits a handful of sugar would encourage a reluctant fire.

I sometimes went with my dad on his wagon and always remember when he had to go down the "backs" (a ginnel between two rows of houses) in the wagon as all the women would get annoyed as they had to take their washing in or let it get covered in coal dust.

Another memory is of cold lino on the floor and homemade rugs.

[Nicos]

My granny had an outdoor loo. When we stayed overnight we had a potty under the bed so we didn’t have to go outside in the cold and dark for a wee. They too were cold to sit on!
My granny used to keep her teeth in a glass of water next to her bed and I recall one year they got frozen in the glass and she had to run it all under the cold water tap.
Frozen and then burst pipes seemed to be a regular thing back in those days too.

[Nicos]

It does go to show how used people are now to central heating. When we were in the uk last month I was looking for some warm winter clothes for my granddaughter. None of them seemed to have any thickness or thermal properties to them. Pretty, yes, but synthetic and thin seemed to be the norm.
Because we are gardeners most of us will probably have decent warm, waterproof clothing but looking around I usually see thin fashion clothing for sale.

As Alfred Wainwright once said, 'There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.'
Maybe peeps need to review their replacement indoor clothing in the coming years?…and manufacturers start producing more of them?
Just a thought.

I’m going to go through more of my warm clothes and send more of them to a local charity.I’m sure someone will appreciate them.

[Jungle Jane]

Morning all,we’ve had snow,it settled Sunday night. My water pipes frozen twice this week,where it comes in the kitchen,melted with the hairdryer,that’s only ever happened one other day & that was years ago. I haven’t really been out in it,the birds have been busy at the feeders. I don’t remember the last time it was 0 degrees & below all week,seems too long & I don’t know where the suns gone,so much cloud. Here’s a photo,my poor broccoli looking cold

[bramble]

Good evening all.
For the first time in the last few days the temp is up above freezing.
It reached 3degs today and is now currently at 2.

Went to my line dancing this morning and we did tea and mince pies.

Love reading about the old days, I can identify with most of those memories.
My granny had no electricity when I was a child do 8t wax all oil lamps.
It sounds romantic...in thelsmplight...but it was hard on the eyed.

Nicos, that's a beautiful lot of mistletoe, I havnt seen any for years,
I must go and look for holly soon.p

Snoop, enjoy your trip to the U,K and wrap up warm.

Have a good evening all.

[Bren In Pots]

Evening

My winter memories.
As a child we had an Aga in the kitchen with the front room fire only being lit at Christmas I remember having an oven shelf wrapped in a blanket to warm the bed I shared with my sister.
Then in winter we played in the greenhouse i think it must have been warmer than the house.

enjoy your evening.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

The sun is making a showing at the moment. Back to drizzle later on. It has been so damp and foggy here that water is condensing inside the garage and is dripping off the ceiling. The ground is sodden and everything is wet to the touch. No wonder the cars wouldn't start. Mr Snoop has managed to start one of them this morning and has gone into the village with a shopping list of last-minute items for me to cook to go in the freezer for him. So that's my day sorted.

I've got similar childhood memories from our first home: newspaper over the fireplace and coal. The next place we lived had a storage heater. The principle was good but the practice was not. The house was always perishing cold. Jack frost on the windows in the mornings, warming up clothes in bed before getting dressed. The next place had fireplaces and a back boiler. Warm bedrooms at last! But they had gas fires installed in their place. Nowhere near as nice but a lot less work. As it's been so damp here, all our firewood, even under cover, is wet. So I understand the joy of convenience at the moment! Nothing like a real fire, though, and hot water bottles. Mr Snoop can give me no better gift than a hot water bottle for my feet at night.

All this reminiscing made the smiles late in setting off, but they've headed off full of energy, so they might make up the time.

Have a great day, everyone.