Soop's welcoming kitchen...

It's more the clearing away of stuff that's the problem. The S.O. has spent 3 days clearing ivy and honeysuckle off a shed roof that is booked in for a new roof next week. He has filled several green bins and has been to the tip as well. And that was just the shed roof. I've realised just how overgrown the garden is. I need someone who can clear everything away plus the mess it creates and it will probably require power tools of some kind . It always seemed to be the sort of garden that looked after itself, and I like things to be a bit overgrown for all the birds. Along with the house it's just become overpowering...

Kettle's boiled baggs

???

Love the tree of life idea, soop, I’m sure the finished articles will be treasured.

Congratulations on the decorating Greyd, record finishing time?

Don’t let the garden get you down, Tegan, the shed is ready for its new roof, so a major achievement. As for the rest would it matter if it wasn’t done immediately? I’m sorry if I missed something and the garden is time critical. If you can get someone to give a firm date even if it’s a couple of months away, you can stop worrying, You do sound squashed by it all. There will be someone who will do it. Try not to worry.

Well, n&g I made a start on shopping. It’s good to be prepared, have gifts ready in the cupboard, can’t stand last minute dashes to the shops. Such a good selection, they are bound to be wanted.

So there are several boxes of chocolates with the nutty ones missing, better for the recipient’s teeth. A couple of cases of wine with screw tops, good vintages but they do seem very odd as the wine doesn’t go to the top of the bottles but hey, ho never mind. Then there are a dozen crinoline lady toilet roll covers, bargains and always good stocking fillers. The stockings do need imagination, though. Silly me forgot they should be Christmas stockings, still if anyone is planning a bank robbery they could be useful.

So, with that done may I please go back and help with the lights? There seem to be a couple of thousand that need untangling. Keep me quiet for a while.

Your Black Forest hot chocolate sounds wonderful, hmm, wonder when we are out next?

Goodnight everyone, take care.

Morning all !

Its true Swanny despite those who 'poo poo' the Kitchen there is something that flourishes here that isn't found on most other threads - might be tolerance :-) I'm not sure !

Perfect poem Anno , its looking a touch brighter here today though thank goodness. That 'leaden' sky is depressing !

If you are a lost cause Anno then so am I . At 9am I decided to have a strict week, at 11am I was mugged by a large ( and I mean large) slice of Victoria Sandwich !! Buggerations !!

That picture was gorgeous Grannie ! You have a real eye for a picture.

Its a Costa Coffee offering Charley , Grampy tried one but it wasn't his cup of tea or hot chocolate

I loved the term 'soopers' Baggs and think we should all be 'soopers' going forward !

Looking forward to seeing the Tree of Life soop !

Tegan I totally get where you're coming from, with our recent boiler fun and games I was stunned when 4 out of 6 people called never even bothered to return the call !!

Corner you have done a fine job with the shopping ( I quietly chuckled over the whole Christmas Stocking debacle !! You obviously have a knack for this stuff !! Who is making the Christmas Pud and Cake by the way ? Shouldn't that be underway?

Off to meet my new GP today - should be fun !

I feel very chastened by everyone's Christmas preparation as I hadn't thought much yet, however cheques are easily written and can be done at the last minute, that sadly is the limit of my Christmas shopping.
But, a very big but, my sprouts are on, I hope you are not behind in that particular prep.

Tegan why not put a wee card in the local shop window? There is usually someone willing to help around the garden. Our village of 200 peeps can boast three fit, ready and willing chaps who make a good job of clearing overgrown stuff (but who are not necessarily well-versed in planting and nurturing well-manicured gardens.) You would like a local Scot called Ralph. He's rather dishy with it.

ann Snap! I've barely thought about Christmas. The earlier the shops start the "come on in and buy in time for Christmas", the less likely I am to pay attention. I am happy for those who celebrate big time. That's fine by me. A few extra treats for we two, is a bonus.

N&G I so admire your lovely sense of humour. Seeing that photo has made me think...what's in the cupboard that will complement my cup of coffee. Answer...zilch! Haha! I've just remembered that MacSporran has a private/personal stash of dark chocolate brownies. What's the betting there is only one left!

As for the start of the tree of life thingy...I had at least four rubbishy attempts at translating my ideas to a sketch. None pleased me. I've photographed the bird cherry tree outside our window. I am now considering adding the creatures familiar to our garden - deer, ferret, cats, woodpecker, field mouse...and so on. Off I shuffle to start all over again.

Sam and I would like to take cover in here from all and any dog haters ! It’s amazing that the world is split so definitively between the 2 groups.

Apparently .....Sam smells ! Because he is a dog ! Sam is now sat on the sofa in shock because firstly he didn’t realise he was a dog ! And secondly , having given himself a good sniff he doesn’t think he smells at all!!

Grampy on the other hand has worked up a bit of a sweat this morning!

We have brought cake soop and we don’t mind sharing !

I’m sitting quietly by the fire recovering from the shopping n&g. Good to have some company. I love dogs so Sam is more than welcome to come and keep my feet warm for a little while.

Nearly forgot. I brought some warm scones, jam and cream with me along with a wobbly looking but tasting OK (gluten feee but available to all) chocolate cake.

Have to go out in about an hour. Much more sensible to use the bus rather than the car today. It’s pelting and apparently wind gusts are over 50mph. Hmm. Wonder if the umbrella guaranteed not to blow inside out really works. Will let you know, that’s if I don’t blow away out to sea. .

N&G who on earth said that Sam smelled? What a blooming cheek. When he wants a change after staying with corner he may stay with me. He could cuddle up with me at night and he can have the sofa to himself.

He may prefer to spend his winter holidays with me and his summer holidays with corner because he would love running in and out of the sea where corner lives and it is a tad cold at this time of year.

corner I keep telling you to move. Wherever you have decided to spend your retirement years it is obviously a very rainy part of the country. It is a tad windy here in London but very mild.

I have just arrived home, the kettle had not boiled when white van man came with my new vacuum cleaner which was supposedly coming next Monday. My pea brain cannot keep up.

I am suffering a bit of dog envy myself at the moment. Everywhere we’ve been this week I seem to have been besieged with border terriers of various ages. They are my breed of choice but DH, who also likes the breed and dogs in general, has set his face against owning one. He says he doesn’t want the responsibility now. I would love a border - have even got a name picked out! He is content to make a fuss of other people’s dogs!

Dogs, cats, horses, elephants, mees, hamsters, deer...you name it, I love it. All animals are precious. Some more so than a small proportion of the human-kind.

The Tree of Life is giving me a headache. It is going to be an extremely tiddly thing to draw and paint . I'm now on sketch number five and still I'm far from chuffed with it.

Is xmas coming? Bah humbug,

I had a brainstorm this morning and bought a box of crackers ?. I have been lying down in a darkened room ever since. I may not recover.

Galen and Greyduster

My lower back aches. It's my own silly fault. Another fruitless sketching day with no progress whatsoever. Any of you lot got anything useful to say to me...other than, pack away the drawing pad and hasten to the bathroom for the wee that I needed a couple of hours ago!

Ironing duties tomorrow. Doesn't time fly? Anyways, I'm logging off and I shall pop in again tomorrow afternoon. [ moon]

Good news is I've found a gardener who can do the quite heavy duty stuff I need [small trees removing etc]. Bad news is he broke his rib at the funfair [dodgems; he didn't dodge fast enough] the other week and is out of action for a while#youwinsomeyoulosesome

Galen, less of the bah humbug if you please! We are going to have a lot of fun this Christmas, in fact, for the first year in a very long time, I'm actually looking forward to it

soop, I'm desolate that your cupboard was bare. I have some delicious mini-stollen, bought from Lidl, which are extremely hard to leave alone. I have three boxes of them so you are welcome to share

Leave it for a couple of days Soop and come back to it with a fresh eye. That has often worked for me. The babies won’t be in any particular hurry and neither should you be! If you are true to form, the finished article will be nothing less than amazing ?.
I had a conversation with my daughter today that went thus wise: Me: “anything planned this week?” D: “I’m doing a club run on Thursday night”. Me: “Oh good, anywhere nice?” D: “i’m not telling you - you’ll only worry.” I’m worried immediately. Me: “Give me a clue!” D: “I’ve had to buy myself a head torch!” No further information could be wrinkled out. This means that they will be out in the Peak District somewhere on horrible terrain in the pitch dark. I always thought my children would have nice hobbies, like sewing, not thrashing about doing fell runs in the dark! ? she was such a dainty child.
I made three meat and potato pies this afternoon, one of which was for our dinner. DH has been to the dental hygienist this afternoon for a “deep clean” and the injections have not yet worn off, after which he is not sure he will be able to eat anything, so there is no point in me having M&P pie on my Todd. I also made two fish pies, but they need topping and frankly I can’t be bothered at the mo. Toast anyone?

Pleased the fires still alight. Just need to chill a bit before attempting sleep.

Blew back in about an hour ago. In case you were wondering the umbrella stayed up, only needed it for about an hour. Bit of shopping, a meal with Mr C then a concert staged by all years of a local Academy school. Superb, to be honest was very surprised. Goodness, though, don’t 18 years old look, well, old. I was convinced several were teachers .

You’ve got a point charley. This area was carefully researched before our move. Checked out the hospital, the GP surgeries, dentists, where the bus stops are, was there a bank branch and my preferred supermarket. Even was there a nice cafe on the beach. Did I check the climate and prevailing howling gale? What do you think? Still, we’re used to it now and love living here -when we can stand upright.

I’m more than usually obtuse today. When I read your post greyd I thought your daughter was talking about driving friends to a club, a very different sort of club run .

Have no idea about art soop but I’m with greyd about walking away for a while, it seems to be a good tactic with many problems.

Sleep time for me. Off in the morning to visit our not so but still poorly friend who needs a hand with Christmas ‘stuff’, suits me as I think bah humbug is a new type of sweet.

Take care all

I am with Galen why waste your money? It is just another day in the year.

Morning all !

Oh Grey you cannot leave it there....what is the name of your virtual dog? I feel for your DH , a few years ago I had an 'under the gum clean' . They did it in quadrants so it was 4 visits and it was truly one of the worse things ever !!!

ah* see the way this is going Galen and Charley you will both have to dress in green ( pearls are allowed for you Galen) and you may be our Christmas Grinches ;-)

Tegan that does not bode well for the dexterity of your would be gardener ! But hope he gets well quickly and can do the work for you. We had a very nice man come and cut the jungle and hedges when we moved and he was worth every penny .

I'm glad you are looking forward to Christmas Bellasnana - you and me both! I love a bit of tinsel !!

We're looking forward to our orangery man coming back but not looking forward quite so much to the quote . I think it will be too dear and that's a shame as I love the style he proposed. But maybe I will get a pleasant surprise....what do you think?

Happy days all xx

Good morning everybody in the kitchen!
I have been peeping in but not quite able to summon up the energy to post, but have been thinking of you all.
I am wading not very successfully through phone calls, emails, letters and the paraphernalia of “arrangements”
I know they are meant to be therapeutic but I just seem to move bits of paper from one pile to another, then lose them, then find them in a different pile. Normally very organised I just quailed at the business of applying for probate as decreed by the life insurance company (in my innocence I thought they just paid out) so I am handing it all to the solicitor who will no doubt charge a considerable fee. As she is on holiday next week I can’t see her now until after the funeral so I can “happily” (sort of) shelve that side of things.
Feeling a bit bleak and rudderless if truth be told, the adrenaline has obviously receded and I just feel as if I have lead weights attached to my feet. Managed to send a massive round robin email to everybody last night about funeral details and forgot to put the date on!
So email Take 2 was sent
Please reassure me my marbles are intact and this is normal?
Wishing you all a pleasant day now that the gales have blown themselves out - last night was very noisy!

Corner we have been to some truly awful school concerts, but also to some that restore your faith in the abilities of our youth. Yours thankfully fell into the latter category! Glad you enjoyed it!
N&G my virtual dog will be called Henry. I did toy with some bluff earthy Yorkshire names, for I think they are quite a bluff earthy breed, but they didn’t suit him (for him it will be). But ‘tis all a pipe dream! Hope your conservatory chap has something sensible to say about prices - they are all anxious to get a deal, so work on him!
Maw I think you are expecting too much too soon. My BF was the same when she lost her DH a couple of years ago. Be reassured it is normal and be kind to yourself.
I will look in later. Off out for a walk in the woods and coffee at the sawmill with DD this morning. At least it is not blowing as hard as it was yesterday!

Grey that is a highly suitable name for your virtual dog. I see you now in tweed and brogues off to the river bank where well-trained ( god forbid he be anything but!) Henry waits eagerly for you to finish fishing !!!

Maw I think you are in exactly the right place to be. The massive change in your life can leave a soul nothing but rudderless and that is as it should be. Its time that changes things and that's one thing that differs for everyone. So don't rush time, or yourself- be gentle to your soul.

I am off to look poor for the conservatory man ;-)