Soop's welcoming kitchen...

Swanny that reminded me of my Dad, who shared a birthday with the Queen Mother (4 August). The BBC used to play the National Anthem before the morning news on the radio for her but for years I thought it was for my Dad!

Hope you had enough puff for your candles Gd and I wish you Many Happy Returns of the day - enjoy what's left of it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Greyduster!
Soop, what a lovely photo of MacSporran, hope he enjoyed the cake.
The very last radiator has been installed today, in the central heating system that was installed over 3 months ago. It had to go where the airing cupboard was, so had to get that taken out, plus the hot water cylinder, then the walls had to be painted, new skirting put in place, so finally, it`s IN!

Sorry to disappoint. The chocolate cake is long gone. Thank you for the offer of a wee dram of Highland Park, Greyduster It's a very good whisky. Mellow, not peaty. MacSporran saved up some Tesco coupons and treated us to a bottle of Old Poultney. We each celebrated with a couple of drams last night.

Charleyg

corner Delightful photos. A dash of seasonal colour to lift the spirits.

It's time to log off. Wishing you all a peaceful and pleasant evening.

Bit late in the day but Happy Birthday Greyduster and I hope you enjoy the malt

Hope you have a good day tomorrow annodomini and that your day is a sparkler

At one time I worked with a girl who's birthday is the same date as Prince Charles. She said she was at senior school before she realised the 'gun salute' was for him and not for her, which was what her mother had told her

GD happy birthday ? from me

What a super young man he sounds, Charley!

corner that is the type of daft thing I can do at times. I ma sure we forget that we are no longer working. I find life so much easier now that I do most of my shopping on line. I loved the photos.

You may be a tad cold in the garden shed in winter and maybe too hot in summer.

My nephew has just left- we have had a great 3 hours, I did not feel as though there were around 45 years between us. He loved my Amazon Echo and had great fun with it. I loved the food he brought and there is sufficient for me to re- heat when watching Strictly.

I’ve just been down to the supermarket too, corner but only to buy cake candles - DH thought we had some but I must have thrown them all out (best thing to do in my opinion!). I counted up the packets they had left, and multiplied by the number of candles per packet - and there still weren’t enough ?! So one pack will have to do! I’m saving my strength now to blow them out. And yes it was, as you say, very busy here too.
Good to see the bees are still busy in your neck of the woods. Is it a last hurrah, do you think? I like your other photos too! There seems to be plenty of berried wild holly around too this year - I always say it’s a sign of a bad winter. DH always says it’s complete rubbish, and for the past few years, it has been, but who knows......?

Oops. Posted too soon.

Don’t suppose there’s any of that delicious cake left, soop? Thank you for sharing that happy image.

Hope your sister in law recovers soon, mawb. Shame for you both.

I also am not surprised at the weight loss, n&g. Same happened to both of us. Think some of it is nervous energy. You are getting on well there, lovely to hear your excitement about it all.

Really off now. Best tidy a bit before a Saturday pizza and tv fest. Take care everyone

https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/201711/medium-937250-d1c2a993-2ace-4ea5-a8fe-8e461c227165.jpeg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/201711/medium-383825-8f9487ad-5a76-4f8e-bb28-d7db692b3aac.jpeg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/201711/medium-6211-c4f24cdb-45ec-4673-a2f7-e44480927207.jpeg%3C/span%3E

Think your son would get on well with one of ours greyd. He has decided a care home is too expensive and so his shed is a better option. . Good job we love them .

Hope you have some cake for later and do enjoy that dram, or two.

Someone please remind me never, ever to do a big supermarket shop on a Saturday. It was manic. Oh well, we got there without trolley rage, well, not much . I’ve attached some of yesterday’s photos, not expert but much more fun.

Soop, I hope MacS enjoyed that cake! I will save a couple of wee drams of my Highland Park just for the two of you! It is not a malt I have tried yet, so I hope it won’t disappoint!
Many thanks for all your good wishes. DS enjoyed his lunch and I enjoyed seeing him eat it. When he’s in the right mood he is very good company. I told him today that when GS was here in the week, I looked at him and thought “when R was just a few months older than you, we packed him off to boarding school! How could I have done that?” and I suddenly felt dreadful. DS said “Oh don’t worry, mother, it did me no harm at all - and anyway, I will get my own back when it’s time to find you a care home!” and he rubbed his hands together. Horrid boy!

I almost forgot...here is a wee pic of MacSporran taken on his 77th birthday. It's for his ladies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Greyduster I hope that you are well-spoiled with treats galore. And, anno an early birthday greeting to you too.

granniequeenie Your photograph is a winner. I would have it enlarged and printed on canvas. Just sayin'

Maw That beautiful Hattie is such a lucky girl. Bah! That's sad news about your sister-in-law's fall. The wee treat would have done you a lot of good.

annsixty I would husband-sit for you if I lived very much closer.

N&G I would have keeled over had I heard that you hadn't lost weight. I'm surprised that you had time to eat in between all that packing and rushing around. Enjoy putting your clothes away in the brand new wardrobes. I managed to sell six garments on eBay for the princely sum of £40. One item alone, unworn with tags, was worth well in excess of £70. Hey ho! As our Baggs would sigh.

Happy birthday greyduster hopefully you will be able to have a glass of wine or three this evening with your meal.

anno an early happy birthday to you also- make the most of being 30.

It is a dull day here and has been raining. My nephew is coming for lunch and he is cooking the food so I will be a happy bunny.

Maw definitely sod's law at work. As you said a good job that your plans are not written in tablets of stone. I also hope that Hattie is okay tonight, or better still, the heavens open- that is the cheapest option for everybody! That is what I am wishing for here but I know I am a misery guts.

N&G we know why you have lost weight, you have not stopped working since you moved. It will be good to at least hang clothes up even if the wardrobes are short of the odd door.

I am so pleased that Sam has been taken into consideration and the lawn will be mowed shortly. Hopefully the weather next week will be dry to allow the outside work to start. You should be well settled inside and out before the harsh weather descends.

I’m glad I’ve found the the swanky new kitchen, I’m currently at the seaside visiting ds and his family so haven’t been popping in as usual.
Belated birthday wishes to MacS, sounds like you both had a lovely celebratory lunch. Happy birthday to greyduster also, tough job you have there (hic), I’m glad Mr gd came up trumps, enjoy the rest of your day. annodomini, birthday good wishes to you too, hope your day is all you’d wish it to be.

n&g I’m exhausted just hearing about your nesting activities and not at all surprised you’ve lost a pound or two! It’s very satisfying seeing a plan come together and a dream become reality too, enjoy every moment of the doing of it all.
While it’s good to be with the family, I’m saddened by our beautiful 15 year old gd, who is such an unhappy young woman these days, her younger sister is a delight, making the situation so much more obvious. I feel for my ds and dil who are trying to do the best they can in a hard situation, and there’s nothing much I can do other than love them all and offer support or advice when asked to. Hey ho that’s life, never simple as you’ve clearly illustrated maw, hope your sil recovers from her fall.
Wishing you all a happy weekend and a peaceful one for all those anxious pets. Apparently there’s going to be a firework party here tomorrow evening in the postage stamp garden, I’m not sure what the resident dog and cat will make of that!

Just adding that the Law of Sod has struck yet again, Paws sister who has recently retired, offered to come up from London on Mondays to keep him company and thus freeing me up to go to my Art History class (or on the razzle!) .
But
Last week she had a wee fall coming out of (or going into) a restaurant where she was meeting a friend and has sprained her ankle and broken her wrist, poor woman!
Good thing I wasn’t counting on it!
C’est as they say, la vie!

Well, some people get 21 gun salutes but macsporrran, greyduster and annodomini seem to qualify for entire ? fireworks displays!
Congratulations to you all but I may need to hunker down behind the sofa with you know who if it continues much longer.
Thank you for the thundershirt link, I had heard of them but wonder if I have left it too late. Hopefully (?) it will be over after this weekend, at least for the time being.
Very envious of those going to Edinburgh, if you are crossing the Border by train (or better still by car over the Carter Bar) give the Borders and then Auld Reekie my love -and have a wonderful time!

Hello the kitchen! And thank you! This old gal is deeply touched by your birthday greetings! DH presented me with flowers and a bottle of Highland Park Viking Honour Malt Whisky. Both the box and the bottle are such works of art that it seems a shame to sully them by opening and drinking the contents - but someone has to, so it might as well be me ?!
Oldgoat, I too am greatly looking forward to Friday (if I can stay upright after opening the malt!). kitty we have missed each other twice - maybe third time lucky in the new year?
It sounds as if you and Grampy are doing more work than a platoon of sappers there N&G! Well done to both! It’s always a pleasure when it all starts to come together, though. Especially the garden - when you can quite literally see the wood for the trees and start to plan its future. Glad you have a view, too. We’ve been lucky in that respect with both our houses.
Well, I will have to get a move on; match days are no respecter of birthdays and I am cooking lunch for DH and our first born - chicken and mushroom pie today. We have postponed my birthday bash until everyone has a free evening. I will look in later.

I am embarrassed to say I didn't send birthday wishes to McS yesterday so I am sending them now, with the same for Greyduster for today and to *annodomini for tomorrow. Happy Birthday to you all.
I am green with envy reading about N&G I know it is such hard work but so exciting.
I need some excitement and a change in my life. Fat chance as they say.

Morning all !!

First things first ...Happy Birthday Greyduster !!! Have a wonderful day !!

Then the link I promised Maw www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/thundershirt-the-best-solution-for-dog-anxiety

It has been recommended to me by several friends with anxious pets and all report an amazing result but I do believe there is a no quibble money back guarantee so might be worth trying ?

We're quite lucky , Sam has only had anxiety issues in the car , he's rock steady with fireworks.

We are determined not to be left with boxes of stuff we aren't using ( a kind of Swedish death clean ;-) ) so when we open a box, it must be emptied and that means donated, thrown or used! I am taking no prisoners !!

Grampy did a sterling job yesterday and I now have 2 wardrobes up ( no doors yet but ready to be filled nevertheless). Today we're aiming for one more wardrobe and a chest of drawers and then Sunday a kitchen cabinet !! The gardener came and will be back next week to cut the grass and start trimming trees and hedges ! Its all go here !!

I forgot to say I went to Slimming this week , to a new class and to my amazement I lost 2lbs ! I'll take that as our diet has been rubbish over the last 2 weeks. Back on the straight and narrow now although I was seduced by a slice of Battenberg cake yesterday!!

Time for me to go and assist ( encourage and supply tea) to the wardrobe fitter aka Grampy !!

Happy Saturday all !!

Many happy returns gd. I hope you have a lovely weekend and are thoroughly spoilt with lots of lovely presents.

Just popped in to wish greyduster a happy birthday. Hope the day is as you want it to be.

Poor Hattie, mawb. I feel for her. I quite like seeing fireworks from a distance but hate the noise, at least I understand what they are.

Oh well, shopping list and a supermarket or two for me today. Lucky soul that I am ?

Happy birthday tomorrow Greyduster Looking forward to meeting you next Friday.

JaneD3 I am intrigued by your DD's dog. It looks very hairy on its back. What did it's parents look like?
Oscar has just started getting nervous when he hears fireworks and runs round barking. He's normally a quiet little chap. Hope he won't get too upset tomorrow night and Sunday.

So sorry to be late, but MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY to MacSporran, and I`m so pleased that you both enjoyed your fish and chip lunch.
I love the new kitchen, by the way, so shiny and clean.