Soop's very welcoming kitchen...

Crafting I am so sad for you. I imagine you have mourned him for the last 5 years though. I hope the memories of the man he was will stay with you and bring you comfort

New Years Day bought us some sad, sweet news. My darling brother was finally released from the grip of dementia and is at peace. Now we can try and put the last 5 years behind us and grieve for the lovely man he was for over 80 years of his life. A wonderful raconteur, articulate, clever but oh so kind and gentle. Wry sense of humour but a listener not a talker. Never the life and soul of the party but the one everyone was drawn to as he always listened, comforted and helped. He was one of the best and even in the final stages of this dreadful illness was always a true gentleman. I will miss him.

Thankyou Marelli my thoughts will also be with your DH and you.

I’m rather superstitious so my cards are still up and also the wee Xmas tree in the front-room window.
annsixty, I hope this year is kind to you. x

Ham anyone?

Decs all down here except for outside ones which my S will do tomorrow, weather permitting.
My cleaner is having some time off while her S and Dil are visiting from abroad so I will have to get off my btm and do some housework.
Fridge cleared and back to normal (for us) not a lot to look forward to though.

Easter eggs
We haven't finished the Christmas chocolates yet.

It has been very dark and miserable here all day, I wish I could hear the waves but alas, the sea is too far away.

grannyqueenie Birthday greetings to your twin daughters. Any day now we should hear that our first great grandchild has come into the world.

callgirl1 I shall keep a look out for the calendar you mention. Should I come across one, I shall post it to you.

It is inky black outside. A bit of a blustery wind blowing. We can hear the shingle move as the water flows over the shore-line.

Time to log off. Ironing duty in the morning. Back with you all after lunch. Take care.

Jalima

Greyduster I like the sound of the needle-felt robin. I bet it's not as bossy as the real robin who struts about our garden. He's cantankerous and is ready for a dust up no matter what the occasion.
As for you feeling a bit grumpy. No worries. It's a perfectly natural reaction after all the hype that is part and parcel of the festive season. I'm pleased to be back in the normal (if boring) routine.
As for Easter eggs appearing on the shops shelves...all I can say is...what a barmy buggeration.

Thank you Soop, we`ll be up there in April to wish him a belated Happy Easter.
I wanted the Muasdale and A Chleit calendar, haven`t had one for a few years, but can`t find anywhere on the net where I can get one from.
Miserable, dark and wet here today, and windy.
We don`t see an awful lot of birds round here, maybe because there`s a preponderance of cats.

I’m usually like you gd, very keen to de-Christmas the house but it’s been cold, dull and damp here today and I can’t bear to take down the lights that are adding a wee bit of much needed sparkle to the house. I’m not a great fan of this time of year, everything seems a bit lacklustre. But we do have an annual weekend away with a group of longstanding friends scheduled for the end of the month which is a lovely thing to look forward to. Maybe a plan to visit your cousin might do the trick for you, gd?
Our twin daughters have birthdays today so we’ve been reminiscing a bit about the difficult few weeks before they arrived and those exhausting early days. 40 years, how can that possibly be true?
Having managed to conquer to the past seasonal laundry mountain, I now need to get on to the ironing. even more leftovers for tea tonight. Normal life will resume in due course.

My cousin, who lives in a very wild bit of the Irish Atlantic Way, sends me their community calendar every year, with its local photographs which make me ache to go and see it for myself. But it is always ‘next year’ and the clock is ticking.
Well, I have my house back. The monstrosity of a tree is down, we have daylight once more, and a view! The only thing that has not gone into the loft is a needlefelt robin that DD gave me for Christmas. It is too nice to be just for Christmas, so he will live with us all the year round. I have been very grumpy today - always like this at the start of the year. I will give myself a good kick up the behind, tell myself there is more to look forward to than to fear, and get over it. If anyone’s aim is better than mine, please feel free!

that sentence sounds a bit odd - we only realised we didn't have one for 2018 when we were throwing out last year's iyswim

We have just realised that we don't have a calendar for this year as we threw out last year's Countryfile calendar.

I used to keep them for years as they always seemed too lovely to throw away but I'm trying to be a bit more ruthless re decluttering these days.

Greyduster Our calendar is from 'Countryfile'. Wonderful photography. A joy to see on display in our kitchen.

JaneD3 Aren't gold crest beautiful birds. We occasionally see one or two, but the most frequent and numerous visitors to our garden are tits and finches. Our gardens are so much richer thanks to the presence of birds.

Charleyg Well done to your cleaning lady. Keeping a table top clear (in our house) is nigh on impossible.

Thank you Baubles and Crafting and every single one of you for the continuing new year greetings. You are amazing. 'Nough said!

Fennel What is your collie's name? I am particularly fond of the breed. Any photos for us lot to pin up on the kitchen wall?
Storm Dylan wasn't too destructive hereabouts. Storm Eleanor has dumped a quantity of rain and the roads are flooded. Ah well...'tis winter.

Thank you for your kind words, Lona and thank you for your companionship.

callgirl1 I wished David a happy new year as I motored by Muasdale camp site.

N&G Us lot will be expecting to see yet more happy photos when you return home. Enjoy the panto'.

Marelli Two of our closest friends (in their late 70s) have had triple heart-bypass surgery. Both are feeling like "new men" and their energy levels are better than hoped for. We'll all be here for you when Mr Marelli goes into hospital. We wish to support you. Please keep us updated. We shall all be sending positive vibes in your direction.

Gaga
Whenever our family get together, it is the custom to participate in quizzes. Isn't it fun to note that the competitive spirit kicks in after the first round. Every one wants to be on the winning team.
You cannot go far wrong with M&S. One daughter-in-law, with precious free time, always takes the stress out of catering by doing the entire shop in the food hall. It's more costly, but she considers it her one annual treat.

Crafting, thanks for your reassuring post. His old army pal had also undergone the same operation just over a year ago and by May of last year was wheelbarrowing gravel down the garden and relaying his patio! I think it’s just been a bit of a shock to us both, really. He always walked miles each day, until chest pains occurred, so now that’s been reduced to a flat walk round the park! At least the garden is dormant just now, so we don’t need to be worrying about that getting out of hand.
Dreich day here, with high winds to be coming our way later on. ?

It is dull and raining here. I intend to stay indoors and de-clutter which I started days ago.

I have a fabulous cleaner who is also a flat pack expert. I bought a coffee table and would have put money on it that it was fully assembled when I saw it on Ebay. She has put it together for me and it looks fabulous. I now have to keep it clear!

Ahoy there, dear Granspal Soopers. Apart from deep water on the roads, the trip to Campbeltown went smoothly. Back in the comfort of our home and am about to catch up with your many messages. Back very shortly.

Jane, in our last garden we had a very tall fir tree and used to get a lot of goldcrests. Charming little birds and, as you say, a pleasure to watch. I put up my new calendar yesterday which I bought from an RNLI shop. It has the most beautiful, fluid, understated watercolours of water birds by Rachael Toll. As both a (very poor) watercolourist and a bird lover, it will give me pleasure all through the year.

For you bird watchers and nature lovers - in the middle of London, I was looking out of my daughter’s bedroom window. Down below in an evergreen shrub was a gold crest! The best and closest view of one I have ever seen. Such as treat!

The first day of 2018 is almost over and so far nothing awful has happened.

Thank you for the beautiful poem soop, May I wish you and MacS as well as your visitors to the kitchen all the very best for the coming year. Cheers .

Happy New Year to all the soopers and Gransnetters x

Marelli my DH had a triple heart bypass 18 years ago. I too was very scared. There were many men in the same ward in their late 70s 80s and one man was on his 3rd bypass. All went well and the op made a big improvement to his health. I hope all goes well for your DH.