Chitchat thread #24

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Bright but very chilly here today. Am pondering whether lighting the range would raise my productivity levels or just be a waste of wood.

Well done catching that mouse, Jay. Our friend M up the valley had one indoors in similar circumstances but couldn't find it the morning he had to fly back to the UK. When he got back here, the mouse had chewed its way through a new down quilt and had made a huge nest inside an expensive mattress that had never been slept in. One very expensive mouse. And not a good advert for the fancy mousetraps we put down for him.

Not sure what the day has in store for me other than work and a dog walk or two. Oh yes, starting another sourdough starter. While the builders were here, mine got taken out of the fridge and left out. This will be my fourth starter. I know you're supposed to keep them forever and name them, but I'm a bit unsentimental about mine.

Right, decision made. Time to light the range.

Have a great day, everyone.

[bramble]

Jay, what an exciting end to your holiday...😃

[Jay22]

Evening, just had a chilly few days in Ayrshire. OH brought in a box of logs for the fire and while sitting watching Raffles on DVD out of the box came a mouse!!! 3 hours later and two rooms turned upside down we caught the little blighter and put him outside. We were absolutely exhausted afterwards!! My son texted to make sure we had released him…it was a close call between that and the frying pan I said!
I refuse to use these self serve tills, would rather stand in a long queue for a manned till.
Anyhoo, off to bed catch you all tomorrow. Goodnight x

[greenishfing]

I am going to have to give in and defrost the car manually ready for doing the grory hop. It is in the shade and it is still frozen solid. Unless I also warm up the interior, I'm sure Mr GF will object to going out.

[lottie dolly]

Morning all,it is cold ,the heating is on for longer now,i cannot be cold,the sun is doing a dance,self servis tills can be usefull,if only they worked as they meant to do,more often than not they got a mind of their own,my word Nicos them are big snow flakes,FF are you getting better aquainted with the new curtains,good luck with baking snoopand nicos with your craft work,i start of tidy when doing these things,and very often end up with a mega mess to clear up,i hope the weather stays ok this afternoon,or my group will be cancelled,i have to get the car cleared anyway,need to get some milk and bitsalso been watching cars go by,and think it safer in the car than on foot,

[bramble]

Good morning all. Bright and dry and its 2 degs.
Must do a grory hop this morning and a trip to the post office.

Our Tesco stores have some self service checkouts.It saves queuing up if you only have a few items.

Snoop, I am the same with the sterling money.If I go go London. It's even worse in Northern Ireland...some take sterling,,,some dont.

Anyway, must crack in with everything else on "to do list".
Have a good dsy and stay warm.

[Snoop Puss]

I've not been into a single shop here with self-service tills. One of the major supermarkets will email you your receipt rather than give it to you at the till if you want, though why you would I couldn't say. That's as high-tech as we've got. And it's something Mr Snoop, our main shopper, would hate, as he always likes to check the receipt to make sure he's got his special offer deals.

[Florence Fennel]

My son told me that in his supermarket you scan the items yourself as you're shopping, then pay at an automatic till. I wouldn't have a clue! Waiting for my Grory hop now - much easier

[Nicos]

Still snowing!
50p size now and very fine …and it’s sticking.
Why is it so exciting to watch…and strangely calming at the same time?
I hate it when it slowly starts to melt, so dangerous, but at the moment it’s so pretty to watch.

[greenishfing]

Good morning again.

The temperature has now crept up a whole degree to -3°C, but the sun is shining too. My car is doing its best impression of a large ice cube and still has some bits of snow attached too. I dread to think what our next gas bill will be, but I'm so glad I don't have to get up in the freezing cold to clean out and re-lay a coal or wood fire. Been there, done that, got a wardrobe full of T shirts.

My grory hop is now getting urgent. It's fresh stuff I'm running out of mainly. We could live on frozen, tinned and packet food, chocolate, and Christmas cake if we had to. My sister who lives in a large Victorian terrace accompanied a friend looking at new-build houses last week. Her comment afterwards was, "Where on earth are you supposed to keep you kitchen equipment and food?" All integrated appliances, hardly any kitchen cupboards, no pantry, no cellar...... And this was in a four bedroom show home. When she was young she had a small Victorian terrace and she had shelves put up in her spare bedroom to hold her "glugging" demi-johns of wine. She only realised they'd collapsed when she came home to what looked like a murder scene with a huge red stain spreading across her lounge ceiling.

Snoop, Asda is the worst offender around here for not having any/enough staffed tills open. I'm more than happy to use them for a few items but not for a trolley full. The checkout staff at my local Aldi, who work at the speed of light, while chatting, never fail to impress me.

Off to bung a croissant in the oven now for Mr GF and make more coffee.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

We still have plenty of snow, its bright sunshine just now so plenty of icicles hanging of the roofs.

Snoop the first time I used a self-service till it kept asking me to place my bag on the bagging area, I use shopping trolly so had to call the assistant. Using the till is much easier and seems quicker overall.

Keep warm and enjoy your day

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All It's -4 here too, but sunny, so should warm up a bit later, hopefully. Have a good day

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Dull at the moment, but not cold. If the forecasts are right, we should be getting a frost overnight, though. A month late. It'll be a shock to all the spring insects that have been emerging. 50 p sized snowflakes? They sound lovely. Last time I was in the UK, I was flummoxed by the coins. Had to hold out the money to the girl at the till and ask 'is that a 5 p piece?' She looked at me like I was mad. The same look I got from the woman staffing the self-service tills when I couldn't work out that system either. Can't put things down here, can't pick things up there... What amazed me most, though, was there wasn't a single staffed till in the whole place, a big Asda.

Was up early this morning to make peanut butter cookies as gifts and a few leftover for us. Haven't made these in at least two years. They're OK, but I should have added a drop or two of milk. Our first biscuits in a while and first home made ones since at least Easter if not longer. I cut back on the sugar by 20% but we both find them a bit sweet still. So that's good. Will cut back a bit more next time.

Paid work on the cards, as per for me. Mr Snoop is out and about today on assorted errands, or messages as rary would call them. Including picking up my Christmas baking flour delivery. Just need to get chocolate and maybe some more dried fruit and nuts and about a ton of butter and I'll be good to go.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Well, I woke up to the sound of pattering rain and checked in the vague hope it was heavy snow……but nope.
5 mins later OH went to make a brew and called to tell me to look out of the window!
Yep…huuuuge 50p sized snowflakes falling Very wet, so I doubt they’ll stick but that’s made me happy this morning.

-4 gf? ….thats cold!…brrr….

Unusually , I slept like a lot last night so am feeling extra bright and chirpy and ready for a busy day crafting. The last push….then I can start tidying up the house. My crafting stuff is absolutely everywhere. It starts off with a system….bit like my veggie growing…

Keep warm peeps, and enjoy your day, whatever you get up to…

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

Aren't I the early bird. Actually I hope any birds have found somewhere warm to roost as it's -4°C here and we've a frost. Still at least the bed is nice and cosy and warm, even if not sleep inducing.

Hopefully a grory hop today, after the car has defrosted.