Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Afternoon everyone.

I'm nursing a sore throat, and trying to persuade myself to write Christmas cards. Not really in the mood, to be honest... might have a snooze instead... but at least I felt fine yesterday, and had a great day in the garden in the sun (only 3-5C, but ok when working).

I like Showa Thermal gloves too, @lizzie27 , and have finally found an Irish supplier of the small sized ones. For some reason, most outlets here only sell large, or extra large. My old pair have unfortunately gone into holes in two fingers on each hand, the result of wearing them when pruning blackthorn, so are not repairable. I must remember to treat the new pair with more respect! They are lovely and warm, partly because they keep your hands dry, unless you're working with very wet vegetation which soaks into the backs.

Glad you're getting the better of Cosmos's eye infection, @Obelix-Vendée . Hope you manage to stay the right side of those claws!

It's great that you've found a new handyman, @Busy-Lizzie . That must be a weight off your mind, to know that your garden will be taken care of when you're away.

We lit the first candle on the Advent wreath at church last Sunday. Symbolic, but not nearly as attractive as yours, @Ante1 .

 

We've had a really nice afternoon.
After dropping the trays/shelves from the old oven at the tip, we went to Ruthin. The light over the Clwydians was perfect. Hub wanted to go to the GC and buy a 'bauble'. He is looking forward to Christmas and it will be the first 'normal' one since 2019, D.V.. He bought a gorgeously tacky table centrepiece and who was I to be a Grinch and put him off?
Just lovely to see him looking happy.
Got a beef daube in the slow cooker, so that's all sorted.
I'm definitely with Possom in the dislike of mushy peas, @Obelix-Vendée. Vile things

 

Today turned out ok in the end. OH decided to come with me when I went into town to collect my new glasses, so we took the car ( I usually take the hourly bus, courtesy of my bus pass) We didn’t leave as early as I’d planned, and arrived in town to discover that our preferred car park was closed, didn’t see any notification when I was checking the prices last week. That meant we had to drive round to another car park, where I wasted several minutes trying to work out how to pay, before discovering that the ticket machine I was trying to use didn’t have a card reader. Had to go to an alternative machine to get the parking ticket. At least, I was able to pay by card or cash, my dear old phone can’t cope with a pay by phone system.
Had planned to have a coffee first, and leave OH to wait in comfort while I went to the optician. However, the queue to be served was so slow, that we abandoned that idea, and he headed off to look round the Christmas market instead. I had received both an email and a text from the optician, advising me that my new specs were ready. Got there to find that the distance glasses were ready, but the reading ones weren’t, being put together at the last minute and wouldn’t be ready for another hour. Thank goodness we had splashed out on an extra hours parking! I was not best pleased!
Anyway, it meant we had time for coffee and cake, and for me to buy a jumper I’d seen and admired last week! Home via the farm shop, where we stocked up on bird food, and treated myself to a Homity pie for tea. Haven’t had one for years.
Hope everyone is managing to keep warm. It was chilly here, but comfortable in the sun.
Sorry for the lengthy post! Once I start typing, I can find it hard to stop!

 

Evening everyone. Some busy and productive days from the reports. I have done the rest of my C’mas gift shopping in just 3 shops in town so chuffed with that. I did buy some puzzle books for myself too (‘Murdle’ - brilliant logic mystery puzzles). M& had some lovely potted bulbs so that was two gifts (oh and one for me!). Oops. Well I rarely go into town nor splash out on myself so…

 

Good Evening from me too.
I've had a busy day in the garden as it's been mildish (with 4 layers on), no wind and sunshine. Managed to shift two trugs full and one bucket of clay lumps which had been dug out the post holes last week . I had to transfer the clay into a much smaller bucket so I could lift it, lug it right up to the top of the garden using a sack truck and then dump it on an old bark path we don't use that often. Used muscles I didn't know I still had!

Impressed you've finished your Xmas shopping @AuntyRach, I've only managed one so far, a pack of 3 French organic soaps for my hairdresser. She wanted Roger & Gallet sandalwood soaps but I've not been able to find them online so I hope these will be acceptable instead.

I hate those kind of shopping trips where things start by going wrong @Ergates, takes the pleasure out of the day somehow. Bet you're pleased you got the new jumper though.

@Penny_Forthem Lovely to hear your hubby is enjoying life again after what must have been such a tough few years, for both of you in fact.

 

@Goldenlily26, I was quite moved reading about your daughter and am sure that the flowers will have been a welcome and cathartic gift. You new dress sounds lovely @Obelix-Vendée and I'm pleased to read that Cosmos is rallying. It has been very cold here today but I've managed to get two washing loads done - not much drying in the air but I'm risking leaving the second load which is mainly Cricket's blankets out overnight as there is no rain forecast (kiss of death!) I've been writing some Christmas cards today as I'm going out for breakfast tomorrow morning with sis and some of our friends. Picking up one of them at 07:45 tomorrow.

 

I am going to wish you all good night now and see you around tomorrow - probably after I get back from the GC where we are going for breakfast. Enjoy your evenings.

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Having cut out my frock I found that out of the 30 or 40 shades of blue thread in the drawer, none is the right blue so I'll have to go shopping after physio tomorrow. The dress pattern is one I bought when I was still working in computing in the late 80s. Never made it but kept it cos it's a goody. We'll see.

Dance class was good tonight. Tired now. Lots of stars on the way home but no moon. I expect we'll get a frost tonight.

Sweet dreams everyone.

 

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Good morning everyone. Had a bit of an earlier rise this morning. I did smile when I read your post about not having the right 'blue' thread to sew your new fabric as I have faced the same problem with blue knitting wool. I am knitting scarves - which this time I am doing three at once on the same needles - and have just about finished them only to discover I am short of one royal blue ball of wool. I sent off for two more balls but neither of them are the right shade. My last resort is to check with my Bestie on Thursday to see if she might have one otherwise I will just have to use the nearest shade to complete the scarf. So annoying. Not too worry, the next ones I knit I will check I have two balls of each colour.

 

Good morning everyone, yesterday was a day for sorting out things on the cars. We had a mystery creak at the front of the Polo, we were being cautious because our GD has the same car (one year older) and kept complaining of noises and a feeling it was pulling left. To cut a long story short, after multiple attempts to get it diagnosed and fixed, it transpired that something was broken in the front suspension and she had been driving around like that for nearly 6 months. Anyway ours needed nothing more than a bit of lubrication, but while we were there they found a blown headlight bulb so we got that sorted.
In the pm I took the Toyota back to get the boot struts changed again. I had them replaced earlier in the year, but we tried non standard ones as genuine parts are so expensive, but they just weren't up to the job as it's got colder the rear wouldn't stay up. The garage were pretty good about it and only charged the price difference for the genuine ones. What a difference, even though yesterday was not that cold I can tell these will work out.
Lesson learned.

 

Had a lovely walk with Rob. Had a chat with a new dog walker who described the day as "pretty". A lovely word to choose. he was walking a young retriever they are fostering for the RSPCA. A place was closed down and they had about 40 dogs to find foster homes for while the case goes to court. They will have first refusal on the retriever if the RSPCA win the case. She is lovely and so good.
Didn't do much else, crippling back ache.
I DO NOT BELIEVE IT!
I had a call from my Dr. surgery asking why I had not booked a physio. session yet. I explained I had been to the physio. of my choice to make an app.but there was a page missing from what the GP had given me to fill in. The physio had phoned the surgery who said they would email it to them.
I waited.
Eventually I called the surgery who said there was nothing on my notes re physio, they would check with the Dr.
I waited.
I went in to give a repeat prescription and asked about the physio. The surgery said they would chase it up.
I waited.
I again called them and the receptionist did a reminder for the GP for action to be taken.
I waited.
It now turns out I cannot go to the physio of my choice unless I go as a private patient. I can only go to the physios. listed by the Dr. as a NHS patient. News to me and who are the listed physios. That will need another, different sheet of info. First I have heard about that. The required list was emailed to me but it was so small I needed a magnifying glass to enlarge it, where can I go? My local hospital.
So far it has taken me 4 weeks to sort, I am going to phone my hospital this morning, I am not expecting to get an app. until after Christmas. Grrrhhh!

 

Good morning all.

That's infuriating, @Goldenlily26 . So hard to wait when you're in pain. It's great that you have Rob to keep you company on your walks, though.

Today is wet and windy, and since I'm completely bunged up with cold, I'm having a "sofa day", spending it knitting and reading (and snoozing, I expect. Sleeping last night with a blocked nose was not very successful!). At times like this I really miss my cat, who'd have been curled up on my lap at this point. She liked nothing better than a sofa day!

My knitting pattern is an old one too, @Obelix-Vendée . It's a Norwegian design in two colours, and I'm using some of the wool "un-knitted" at Knit & Natter. I don't suppose it's in any way fashionable, but I don't really care any more!

We have a similar problem to your boot strut one, @Allotment Boy , but with the cupboard above the oven in the kitchen. I have to hold the door up with my head while getting the cake tins out. It's really time we looked for replacement struts...

 

Good late morning everyone!!

Cold start here with 4°C but once the sun came up the temperature did too. There's a nippy wind which intensified as I rode along on my bike this morning. I faffed around in the garage and the garden a bit doing things that I promised myself I would "get around to".

I am amazed @Goldenlily26 that you didn't have this information right from the start. Ah!! The saga of the missing page!! Looked up Homity Pie @Ergates - could be one in the oven this weekend!! Sounds delicious!!

I did some more gardening yesterday, planting some French marigolds - orange and yellow - and my groins were painful last night. So maybe after a rest this afternoon, I shall do something lighter.

I hope the rest of the day is a pleasant one for you all.

 

Hello everyone.

As expected we had a frost this morning and the car needed scraping - rare here. Lovely drive through to the village and beyond with frosted trees and pastures glistening in low sun. No new tortures at physio but more of the same and extra on the weights.

I've got my thread and also the rest of OH's birthday prezzies for Saturday and also prezzies for Possum's secret Santas at work and college. One of them likes gardening and t'other likes smellies so that's snips and smelly festive candles respectively.

@Allotment Boy we had our rear door struts on our old Zafira replaced a couple of years ago and they've been fine. That same car failed her MOT a couple of weeks ago - unevenly worn tyres and a broken strut in one of the headlights. We expected the tyres but the broken strut was first spotted in Belgium just before we left 8 years ago and was then forgotten. Dunno why this MOT chap's only just spotted it.

@Goldenlily26 that's a huge amount of bureaucracy and expensive, time wasting admin. Here we get a prescription and then find a physio. When I had my first new knee op none of the locals was willing to take on new clients so i ended up seeing OH's pal from the golf club. He's good and his regulars get to know each other and have a laugh in the shared "gym" section.

@Tui34 there's a Homity Pie on BBC Good Food site.

@Ladybird4 I should think a two-tone scarf would be fine.

@Liriodendron sorry you're feeling crook and hope it passes soon. Enjoy your sofa day.

OK. Admin jobs done now so I'm off to sew. Stay warm and dry everyone - unless you're into cold water swimming!

 

@Obelix-Vendée - yes I'm sure now I have proper Toyota ones they will be fine. My fault for trying to save money, even so, the after market ones were £70, just had to pay another £48 for the genuine parts, luckily the garage didn't charge any labour for fitting the replacements.

@Goldenlily26 , after my recent experience with NHS physio if you can afford private I would do that. In fact I did do that wished I had done it earlier. Got proper advice and proper exercises to do, not just a printed sheet emailed to me. I did 3 visits each 2weeks appart, once he had set me on the right track to improve there was no pressure to continue. I will go back in the new year only if I feel the need.