Chitchat thread #24

[rary]

Good afternoon, cold and dull today,dragged out for shopping today and just back home, I should have forced OH to learn to drive when we were younger, rather than let her think she was the boss, when she said she didnt want to, if OH could drive she could have went shopping by herself and I could have got on with more serious things, like painting a bit of wall and watching it dry or similar important work.
I can relate to how your OH thinks Nicos, I have done several jobs during Christmas holidays, the most memorable being the time I turned a bedroom into our present diningroom this meant our sons bedroom going up into the loft, he had to access his room by ladders , so walls moved , and plastered, electrics repositioned, archway created between new diningroom and livingroom and of course a staircase as our 17 year old couldn't be expected to go up and down ladders for a week or two, well according to his mum, all done in four days before going back to work doing 12hr shifts
On something different, I feed the birds and get quite a number coming to the feeders, unfortunately I get gray squirrels as well and they destroy so many of the feeders, so I had made a cage to hold the feeders and prevent them getting into it, unfortunately one got in the other day, it would appear that it chewed through an electric cable and got inside, then couldn't get back out once I released it, I again sealed up the cage the following day there was a woodpecker trapped inside, so to avoil any birds harming themselves I have now used a lid from a dalek compost bin to use as a baffel on the pipe I use for hanging the feeders and on seeing a squirrel giving up on getting any feeding, I am hopeful that this will work, well time will tell, now off to prepair for my garden club so have a pleasant evening and keep smiling

[Snoop Puss]

Rary, any chance of a photo of your baffle and pipe arrangement? It sounds like something other people might find useful.

[Bren In Pots]

You’re right Snoop, Rary’s lid and pops sounds interesting.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all
Very frosty start to the day here
We’re off later this morning to take Hibou to the specialist vet to do an ultrasound on her heart to find out the best treatment for her.
She appears in perfect health at the moment with the medication she’s on… but I guess it’s important to keep the old gal more closely monitored. ( don’t tell her I said that about her!)

I didn’t do the grory hop yesterday but sat in front of the fire knitting leg warmers for my daughter. I’m not a knitter really and am completely flummoxed by the abbreviations so I keep having to YouTube them! What a handy tool eh? The amount of household/ building DIY tips I’ve picked up from there is amazing.
I did manage to do a fair bit of household cleaning and tidying away so we’re on target for getting the decorations out this week
Has anyone got their tree up yet?…We’re planning on getting ours on Friday.

Have a great day peeps whatever you get up to

Anyone fancy a brew?

[greenishfing]

Good morning all.

Coffee please, Nicos. I'm delaying getting out of my comfortable, warm, bed until the heating has has an effect. The air must be very damp as I can just hear a faint hum of traffic from the M1. I remember it being built. The first time my mother drove on it she just had to see if our car would do 100 mph🫣.

I did a grory hop yesterday. Nothing pre-planned for today but the weather is not overly encouraging for going far outdoors. 🌧, 🌧, and yet more 🌧. It's agood job it's not a degree or two cooler or we's be building ☃️☃️.

Nicos, I agree about Utube. So useful. Everything from plaiting garlic bulbs to stripping a laptop. Oh, and making the basics for Christmas wreaths from willow and vine stems.

I used to be an avid knitter until my hands got too painful. The more complicated the pattern, the better.

It's warmed up now. Coffee time.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Did she manage it, GF? I remember my dad once got us both from north-west London to south-east Bristol in an hour and forty minutes, a fair bit of it taken up by trawling round the North Circular. My mum wasn't in the car... You couldn't do it now. Not just because of the speed restrictions being more strictly enforced but simply the amount of traffic on the roads in the UK.

It's an extremely dull day here today. And it drizzled a bit in the night, so everywhere looks and feels very damp. Meanwhile, indoors, the little range is putting out a nice bit of heat.

Lots on the cards as per. Ought to add some domestics to the mix, but not sure if I'll have time. Not sure if I should be saying fingers crossed I do or fingers crossed I don't!

Have a great day, everyone.

[greenishfing]

Snoop, apparently she did, on a downhill slope. My eyes were tightly shut! I even remember the car. A Vauxhall Cresta.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Very sunny here. Nothing planned, maybe a bit of housework. Have a good day

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

Its sunny here as well Flo. I might make a start on Christmas cards I'll see how the day goes.

Enjoy your day

[bramble]

Good morning all. Its dull but dry st 6 dregs.
Domestics and s bit of shopping.
A trip to my surgery to get a prescription renewal.
Plenty to be getting on with.

Myself and my daughter are taking a dsy trip to Belfast tomorrow for some Christmas shopping.
We will put up our tree and decorations over the weekend.

Nicos, I was always an avid knitter, knitted aran sweaters and cardigans for my children through the years.
I did the same for my grandkids, but nowadays they would sll prefer shop bought.
I just know squares now and join them up for blankets.

[Florence Fennel]

How do you join the squares Bramble? I have loads of knitted squares, but I find the thought of sewing them together too daunting.

[greenishfing]

I really ought to think about writing cards. We got our first one this morning, from my stepdaughter in Greece, via moonpig. I will be hand delivering most of mine ... unfortunately not the Greek one.

It's easy to forget how little traffic there was in the 60s and 70s compared to now. I remember travelling from Bradford to Dover on a coach, pre M25, in 5 hours including a toilet break.

[mothhawk]

Afternon all.

Did a grory hop this morning, had to put my fog lights on, and it's been so long since there has been any fog thick enough to need them, that I had to get the manual out to find out where the switch was!
Bramble, I love Aran sweaters, wearing them and knitting them. And don't they last - I went out today in one that I knitted 50 odd years ago. Of course it helps that it only comes out in the very cold weather, and there has been less and less of that over the years.

Right, well, the Christmas cards I ordered from Guide dogs arrived today, so I'd best get on and write them. Still in two minds whether to bother with the tree this year, it's such a palaver heaving everything down out of the loft and carting it all downstairs.

[rary]

[Nicos]

^^^^ what a great idea Rary!