Soop's welcoming kitchen!

A warm, breezy day here and the washing is drying nicely on the line.

My word, it is a bit of a free-for-all out there yesterday and today. I have popped in to spend time with civilised people.

Charleygirl, I always feel thrilled if I empty receipts out of a purse and find a fiver in amongst them.
I am glad you found your reading glasses, you didn't come across two pairs of my prescription reading glasses at the same time did you? Gone for ever I fear. At least I found my bi-focals again the other day!

soop it was not all together- there was a tenner in a glasses case. My brain is such at present that I forget where I put money for a rainy day. The remainder was £5 notes and single £1 coins, tucked away in drawers.

At least I found everything which I had "lost" eg my reading glasses and the package containing the bumf for my car. That is to hand in case I have to sell it. I doubt if anybody would fancy buying a non working, low mileage car with a service history.

The weather here, like yesterday is glorious. I naturally am washing for the surrounding houses I think as well as my own.

Tara and I slept well last night with the knowledge that we would have a dry house if it rained.

Good afternoon soop and it is very hot here,actually too hot to sit outside.I have always popped into your very welcoming kitchen but until recently have been reticent about posting.

soop

Well there was the lovely story recently told of the American youngsters who bought a settee from a charity shop and found, I think not sure, about £40.000 stuffed inside. They thought it was 'lumpy' so had a peak.

They found out it belonged to an elderly lady who was in hospital and her home had been burgled. They gave her all of the money back. Hoo ra.

Perhaps Mac Sporran has been secretly stashing away dosh, perhaps he should be Mac Squirrel.

x to you today you dear lady.

A bright and muggy good morning to my dear Granspals. I don't 'alf love you all. Rosequartz I've enjoyed a bowl of your home-made ice cream, strawberries and fresh cream. The beauty of our virtual kitchen is that nothing ever goes to waste. With imagination, anything is possible.
It would be sad to replace the potted plants that have put in yet another appearance. We tidied a good few pots of plants that had succumbed to the salt air. Delicate plants such as sweet peas, don't stand a chance. I did find a lovely clump of lily of the valley under the shade of a large shrub. I had forgotten that MacSporran had been given them some time ago from the garden of an elderly lady.

annsixty Lovely of you to call in. Are you enjoying the sunshine? It's less overcast today. It's also very much warmer. May sit outside this afternoon...providing the midges allow it.

Charleygirl You have had to deal with a lot of stress recently. Bless you. You deserve to find £25. Where was it? Surely not in small change lodged down the side of the sofa . I must check ours, when I get five minutes.

Thank you everybody, your kindness is much appreciated. I have settled a bit now that I know that there will be no more ingress of water when the deluge starts I believe on Tuesday.

Yes, the local council sorts out wasps nests but at double the price of somebody private. That is the least of my worries. I have to wait until Tuesday to find out how much the loss adjuster will allow the insurance company to pay. The cost at present is £2.5K and rising.

soop the malted loaf sounds delicious. I would prefer coffee please as I have not drunk tea for over 40 years. I would sit beside Rory and probably fall asleep which is what I did today when I sat outside in the sun for nearly an hour managing to burn my left arm as it was exposed. Talk about stupid, I am no.1. At least it is fine now. I will look odd with one sunburnt arm and the other pale.

I must tidy the house so that the loss adjuster does not think that I am a total slut. I started earlier and so far I have found £25.

I am totally exhausted, Tara and I are going to bed. I will talk with you all tomorrow.

*Charley girl*what a frustrating and very expensive time you are having.Things don't come in ones for you do they?
just a hope things get better soon and that the rain stays away until you are sorted.

Hello, have just popped in with some home-made icecream made with fresh strawberries and real cream. Hope you enjoy it before it melts!

To tell the truth, it is becoming a bit strange out there, more like a party political broadcast than the usual Gransnet, so it is a wonderful peaceful refuge in here.

I have been busy re-potting some plants and trying to tidy up other pots - my spring are still busily bursting into flower with more buds to come, it seems such a shame to unpot them and plant summer plants that I have left them. That's my excuse anyway.

Charleygirl, you have been having a time of it lately, and I do hope that things are now on the up and you can start getting everything back to normal. At least the roof is OK before the rains come again next week. Will the Council come and sort out the wasps' nest for you? We have had one or two very large wasps around, obviously looking for a place to make a new nest. One came into the bedroom, but I managed to get rid of it before it took up residence.

Best wishes to all who may visit Soop's later on today, hope the icecream is still waiting for you.

We may be out later, singing and fireworks in town - better than the fireworks on GN.

dustyangel I shall help you to celebrate. One minute while I fetch a suitable glass. I love Champagne. The bubbles tickle my nose and make me giggle. Slainte! I'm pleased that you will now be able to repair the leaking roof in the old cottage. How lovely to be making plans to convert or upgrade the studio. My MacSporran is a retired architect. When we purchased a near derelict hay loft in Cornwall (many years ago) he designed the cottage that we built. We called it, The Lofthouse. Next to the barn was an ancient goose pen. He transformed it into a super office for himself. When we sold the cottage, he extended what had been his office and created a super art studio...especially for the new owner of the The Lofthouse who happened to be a professional artist.

Charleygirl I sense your frustration. Your patience has been tested to the limit. I wish that I could invite you in for afternoon tea and a slice of malt loaf smothered in butter. I would sit beside you on the chaise and you could let off lots of steam.
The wasps nest should be okay for a bit. One thing at a time. And yes, Tara would most likely rush to your assistance. When you mentioned the letter box incident, I remembered how, way back when Rory was fierce, he growled at the postman. Honest to goodness, postman Pete looked alarmed. He claims never to have met a cat with attitude...until Rory that is.

The roof was fixed this morning. I crawled out of bed at 6am expecting the roof man here early. 8.20am came so I rang the 24 hour service. Within 10 minutes the roofman rang to say he had discussed start time with his office on Friday and agreed closer to 9am. Nobody picked up a phone to tell me.

I know one thing and that is that firm will not be getting to do the internal work as I have been driven close to distraction. I do not sit at home knitting, I get on and sort things out. I cannot say anything until the photos of the damage and a receipt for today's work etc are in my hands.

I dod not know what Tara would do. She was sitting quietly with me outside whe she heard somebody fiddle with the letter box. She raced to the front door but the person had gone by then.

When I fell downstairs, dislocating and breaking my ankle, the ambulance men had problems getting to me as she was in the way, obviously worried about me lying on the floor. Ithink that she would help.

With today's trauma, birdbrain sat outside, fell asleep and I have burnt ny left arm which was exposed.

I now have a wasps nest in the loft but at present it can stay there!

The one positive thing is that I have sufficient quotes for the loss adjuster to see on Tuesday. He will realise I have not been knitting I think.

Over and out, I am emigrating.

That cat was amazing wasn't she! I'm sure Rory and Tara would rise to the occasion if they felt the need to.
I'm bringing champagne in so that you can all join me to celebrate. Found out last week that my share of the house sale that I will be receiving will be enough to repair the leaking roof in the old cottage. Charleygirl you have my sympathy. Having a leaking roof is horrible, especially when you know rain is on the way.
We are also going to be able to do something to the studio, which is very exciting and means another visit to the lovely architect.

Charleygirl Your self restraint is commendable. What a to-do! We had a car that was given to misbehaving and as a result we finished a few trips courtesy AA breakdown service. The problem was connected with the fuel pump overheating.

I can well imagine how reluctant you must feel about trusting it to get you from A to B. What if you broke down at night on a lonely road...or on a motorway... Stay put until the problem has been identified and fixed.

As for the leak. Hopefully the roof man has managed to fix it. It was decent of him to make such an early start on a Sunday. Mind you, enough damage has already been done, so further delay would be catastrophic. It's the loss adjuster's job to deal with such matters. The money won't be coming out of his pocket. You need help. Don't put up with any nonsense...as if.

Did you alert Tara to the heroic act of a cat living in America, also named Tara? The film of that cat, rushing to defend the wee boy against the attack of a dog, was amazing. My goodness, would your Tara or our Rory do such a thing? Erm, I cannot possibly comment. Rory is a bit off colour at the moment. Something appears to have upset his tummy. I've just checked on him and guess what...he is asleep.

It is overcast again today. I'm having my coffee, after which I shall return to the portrait of a Pomeranian dog (deceased) who was known as, Bawbee.

Enjoy your day. I hope that it is both pleasant and relaxing.

I was sitting outside with Tara, enjoying a cup of coffee. She was sprawled across the table, loving the warmth and being with her mummy but it is now very dull.

My car was towed away by an RAC man yesterday for the second time this week. Luckily I broke down in a car park space in the middle of town so I was safe. Nobody knows what is wrong and I do not want to see the car again until it is fixed because I cannot drive, wondering when I stop and switch off, will I ever get her started again?

the roof man is coming at 7am tomorrow Sunday to renew the valley on my roof. Once that is done I will rest more easily because rain is ecpected on Monday and I am still drying out the mattress in the front bedroom, the water having leaked through loft insulation, flooring, the bedroom ceiling, bedding and half way through the mattress. Luckily I also had a memory foam topper so the laminate floor was spared with all the layers of bedding.

The quote is almost a telephone number. It will be interesting to see what the loss adjuster makes of it on Tuesday. My apologies if this is a repeat but I think that the men in white coats will be here soon.

Hello, Gagagran It's good to welcome you back. I've missed you. bags and I didn't partake of alcoholic beverages. A tempting thought but not with a car to drive with due care and attention. Your poached apricots sound delicious. As for sweet peas...I'm so envious. They are in my top five favourite flowers. Our salt air isn't to their liking, I'm sorry to say.

anno your sun trap sounds very inviting. There is a clammy chill in the air at the moment. When I lunched with bags yesterday it was exceedingly windy. And I'm not referring to my personal troublesome condition.

Galen Damsel flies are very pretty creatures. Am I correct in thinking that they have a very short life span? We've a weeny tit that appears to believe that the image he sees in the reflection of the woodland on our bedroom window, is for real. Unless we lower the blind, he attempts to gain access to the reflection from dawn 'til dusk. He must be exhausted. Rory finds the constant fluttering and pecking at the glass somewhat amusing. But then, Rory is easily amused.

Really hot at my back door which is a sun trap. The air is full of little fluffy white seeds and I don't know what they are. It's too early for the rosebay willow herbs and they are nothing like dandelions. No doubt my towels are covered in the things by now.

I've just had a quick peep at the lovely photos of Soop and Bags on their day out yesterday - how happy the pair of you look! I trust there was no alcoholic haze causing those lovely smiles Soop?

The sun has now come out from the thick layer of cloud which was over us this morning and another beautiful afternoon beckons. What shall I do? I have poached some apricots, wiped some paintwork, watered my sweet peas, done the big GK crossword and had a rather unsatisfactory 'phone chat with my very dominant and demanding elder sister. I feel quite ruffled!

Maybe I'll sit and tinkle the piano keys for a while if that is agreeable Soop? Music hath charms to soothe................etc.

It must be summer!
Just seen my first damsel fly of the year!

So...how are my Granspals? Bet that most of you are enjoying warm sunshine. Alas, we in bonnie Kintyre, are not so fortunate. The sky [which was blue yesterday] is overcast. It's a grey-ish day. Grey sky, grey islands and grey sea.

I made it to the post office in good time to catch the only collection of the day. On Saturdays the chap collects between 9.15 and 9.30. Paintings are therefore en route. bags has described my feelings very well. I'm very jittery. The problem being, that working from photos [some indoor, taken with flash and some outdoor in sunlight] I need to use my imagination regarding true colour of the animal's coat and such. A painted portrait is just that...paint and water. It isn't a photograph. There are brush marks and the likes...one needs to hang, or stand the painting, and view from a distance. Oh, for goodness sake, do shut up, soop.

Blimey O Riley! Aren't I having fun with my computer this morning. You would think that in this age of advanced technology, it would be simple to upload a few images. Wrong! I've been stranded on Facebook for an age. All became too much for my delicate constitution. Have used very bad swear words (bags knows) and have just about coped with uploading yesterday's photos in my GN album. Talk about ruffled...

Galen, it will depend on the yarn how much (what length of) yarn is in each skein or ball.
(You probably know that already, sorry, being an experienced crocheter!)
If it is pure wool there will be less length per skein or ball , as I found when I knitted DGD2 a jersey, normally I would use 3-4 x 50 gram balls of acrylic but I needed 7 x 50 gram balls of pure wool. Does it give a total length of yarn needed for the pattern?

It's going wrong for me as well.
I've found a lovely pattern for a throw that my 92year old aunt wants me to crochet.
The wool is in American skeins. I buy in balls, the given measurements are too small. I have too juggle too many mathematical variants! Darling daughter is on holiday!
I need to order the wool in the next few days!

bags

Oh dear! It's all going horribly wrong!

I've managed to upload a pic of Soop the right way up (by turning my iPad t'other way up!! Are you listening TECH?) but I'm still coming through upsidedown onto my GN profile.

Ooooo*Soop*. I'm getting excited. Believe me, your painting will be on my wall regardless of your doubts, I will love it and now that I read of bags approval, I know I,will not be disappointed so away with the artist's jitters

Pleased to,hear you and you too bags enjoyed your day as I was sure you would.

I didn't have time to pop in today Dragonfly as it was GD2's Nursery Sports Day. She fell at one point during her race, bounced back up and continued running, that's my girl! The added bonus to the day,for me, was, GD1's playtime coincided with the event and when I heard. 'graaannnyyy', I knew immediately who that voice belonged to as she ran up for a cuddle. A very simple but wonderful day.

Bluebell time in Argyll is indeed glorious bags