Soop's very welcoming kitchen...

That will do nicely greyduster

N&G that is a horrid buggeration especially as it is so cold. It is no fun in June but now- definitely not.

I have had builders here all week but I have now trained them to shut the French doors- I really cannot afford to heat the great outdoors as well as my house. The bill for this work will be more than enough without adding to it.

This was day 3 that Tara spent indoors but she managed to sneak outside I think when one of the fellows used the downstairs loo. She did not stay outdoors for long and is now reclining on my bed waiting for me to join her. She has enjoyed the fellows being here because she was made a fuss of each time one of them walked through the living room to go to the loo.

The house next door is permanently rented and I await new neighbours- I hope that they are not noisy and have loud parties.

Tomorrow will be marginally warmer so she can go out if she wishes. I am meeting 3 other GNs locally for coffee so that is good.

Thanks greyd. Chocolate sauce and vanilla will do more than nicely. .

Well, I’ve got the important things ready to pack.
4 bottles of champagne and 3 cans of anchovy stuffed olives, and a box of Chambord truffles. Oh and bottle of chambord to make the champagne cocktails.
There must be more I have to pack

Glad to see you have your priorities in order, galen! Hope the run up to your holiday isn’t as hectic as you fear it may be.
N&G you must have been frozen to the bone today, hope it gets sorted soon and that Grampy and the decorations has survived his ladder climbing exploits.
I’m gradually getting sorted here, everything is wrapped, most cards done and posted and parcels too . Between biscuit and mince pie making, for the parents at the Baby Group tomorrow, I’ve managed to put up a few seasonal bits and pieces around the house. My various voluntary commitments all finish this week until the new year which I’m more than happy about, to be honest I’m feeling a bit weary.
I’ve bitten my tongue again and again this last couple of weeks to ds about his constantly changing plans to come north, not come north, half of them come/not come etc. Now it sounds like they may all come for a quick visit between Christmas and New Year after all so it seems that keeping schtumm was the best thing to do... but boy was it hard! But it’s still only a plan, not yet firmed up that boy, my poor old boy here has had his ear well and truly chewed off about it all!
Right then time to go to bed for me, wishing you all a restful night, even if it’s rather a short one for you soop, have fun in Auld Reekie! x

Frustrating, isn’t it gq? We have had different but similar issues. Between fence sitting and lip biting there is much of my anatomy that is sore.

Least said I guess. I hope you feel less drained soon and the embryo plans grow to maturity.

Agree with gq, your priorities are exactly right galen, although it may be just a little chilly without clothes.

Hello everyone! I'm just popping in to apologise for being missing. I've actually been here reading and keeping up but have conjunctivitis and typing is difficult with only one eye open!

Well, it has taken just ages to catch up with all the comings and goings in here! Hope the lunch goes well in Edinburgh and that Galen has at least packed her swimming costume.
We shall go and get our Christmas tree on Saturday - we start Christmas once schools break up - and then to a fine food fair on Sunday. Yum!
Here is a box of cranberry and pumpkin seed flapjacks for elevenses - very Christmassy . Enjoy!

That sounds uncomfortable kitty, hope you’ve got something to help it clear up. Eyes are important, get better very soon.

The flapjacks sound yummy, jane, not so sure they will last until elevenses.

Blowing and rainy again this morning, need a food shop, oh well, I won’t shrink. Take care everyone.

Good morning all.
It feels milder here this morning and the last vestiges of the little snow we had has gone.
I girded up my loins yesterday corner and did a large food shop to get ahead for my family coming on Sunday for 3 days.
The GC are 18 and 15 and they surely know how to eat.
My neighbour is taking me to an out of town M&S this afternoon, I have mixed feelings, I am looking forward to getting out but not to facing the crowds, she said that last week it took her 40 mins to get through the tills, not my idea of fun, added to which I can't stand long now.
I may retire to the cafe while she shops, but it is so kind of her to take me that I will of course go.
She is a very busy Nurse Practioner at a nearby hospital and her time off is very precious.
I hope the Scottish grans enjoy their day, it sounds wonderful and a real start to festivities, be very careful with that wine!!

Morning all from a VERY nippy Norfolk !!

I now FULLY appreciate how miserable life can be for people who cannot afford to put the heating on. Even Sam with a fairly luxurious fur coat seems miserable.

I have all my fingers ( the blue ones) and toes crossed that the heating engineer can get us up and running again today at some stage.

Hope you have a wonderful ( and warm time) with all the GNetters- I am a bit jealous soop !!

Corner , Morrison's is looking more and more inviting , you're right !!

Sar how lovely to 'meet' your new grandchild...I bet you're excited !!

ouch Kitty that doesn't sound like much fun- hope it gets better before Bertie and Persie insist you start talking like a pirate !!

I like the café at M & S ann , so I can join you there ( bet its warm too) . I think if you wanted things and the queue was long, take them to customer service and they'll ring them through for you to save you queueing .

Well I am off to boil a kettle to do my morning ablutions and then you will find me snuggled up with blankets on the sofa with Sam !!

oh, a picture from yesterday ( not me shivering !!)

I hope you survived M&S, ann. I was thinking of going there myself yesterday but once I got home from the hospital I couldn't stir myself to get all wrapped up again. We might have bumped into each other! A few years ago, I was in a long queue to pay for a duvet and was pleased to receive a piece of shortbread from an assistant who came round offering it to the long-suffering people in the queue.
Are your fingers un-crossed yet. N&G? I lived in Norfolk for seven years during which we had some very cold winters - I was younger then and not so hardy now. My sister did a stint as a GP in Cambridgeshire and said she had never been so cold, even in St Andrews. That's East Anglia for you! Nice summers though.
Hope the Scottish grans are behaving themselves in Edinburgh. That's another place I felt the cold in the winter of 1963. Anyone else remember Waverley steps which funnelled the freezing wind like nowhere else?

N&G being a terribly cold mortal I really feel for you. Sounds like a nightmare. Today is a bit less cold so I hope you feel a bit better and thst the heating is back on very soon. Love the bluetit photo.

Soop won’t have time to read this but I hope all the grans up there have a lovely time. I’d love to be there. Don’t go too easy on the mulled wine soop - I’m sure you could ==belt out== sing a few seasonal songs to get the party going. Look forward to hearing from you when you get back.

Wonder why strikethrough doesn’t work for some of us ?

Bellanona it's dashes not equals sign that should do the trick

kitty been looking through keyholes again ?
Hope your eye is better soon

Hello, the kitchen. I sat down to this morning to write a post but didn’t have time to finish it before I had to go out. Gq we seem to spend our lives biting our tongues and walking in egg shells. The only saving grace is that our adult children will probably be doing the same in their turn and will know what we had to bear.
Ann it’s wonderful that your family are coming to stay, and you are probably like me and love to see the GC eat lots! I hope you enjoy your shopping trip. Every time we try and get into an M&S cafeteria these days it is standing room only, but that is mainly in the smaller ones.
N&G hope the engineer turned up and you now have, or are on the way to having, heating and hot water. I love the picture of the little blue tit. We rarely get tits in our garden, but were treated to a visit from a couple of coal tits yesterday scouting the feeders for sunflower seeds. Also a very territorial robin!
I put my back out last night, but was so desperate to keep my hair appointment that I took ibuprofen (which I am nit supposed to take) and carted myself off to the hairdressers as I was desperate to get rid of scary untidy old harridan that kept staring out at me from the bathroom mirror. My hairdresser is very distracted at the moment by protracted difficulties with selling her property (some of the actions of the agencies involved sound like they border on complete incompetence!) and couldn’t remember whether she had shampooed my hair once or twice and how she normally cut it. Not helped by having to take a phone call that apparently could not wait from one of the said agencies. In the end, she gave me a very good cut, and I gave her a very big hug. She is a friend of nearly forty years standing and I feel for her. I was relating my efforts to find some suitable hair gel to put in GS’s stocking, and she said “I have just the thing; don’t let the name put you off - it’s very good”. GS will love it - it’s called Muck! Not only Muck, but Filthy Muck (I kid you not!).
Kitty I hope your eye feels better soon. Conjunctivitis no fun.
DH is currently involved in a very lengthy telephone conversation with TalkTalk to find out why their box will not deliver terrestrial channels. I get the impression he is going round in ever larger circles, and a cup of tea may be called for, so I am off to make it.

Well I am just back and enjoying a coffee.
It was not busy anno we chose a good time.
I really enjoyed it and managed to walk round just fine with paracetamol and ibuprofen as my good friends.
I bought some nice foodie bits for us but nothing extra for myself, such restraint.!!

warmest wishes all from a house with a working boiler !!!!

Oh I could have hugged the heating engineer !!! And the oil delivery showed up ( although there was a small panic about whether it was heating oil or gas oil - don't ask what's what I don't know ( or care!!)

and now I am warm!! I have bare....yes BARE toasty toes - Sam is sprawled out on his back ( no dignity that dog) chilling in front of the fire and all is well with my world !!!

Glad you enjoyed your trip out ann.

Glad you got your haircut grey and I love the name of the hair gel !!

I hope the Edinburgh Grans are having a wonderful time , I am sure there will be pictures.

I messaged my daughter , as we are having the little boys for their first sleepover here this weekend and I had warned her, to tell them it might not be possible. She told me that Jackson had cried when she had said we might not be able to have them but when he left for school that morning he had told her to phone the school if we got it fixed so he would know !!!

She managed to contain herself but i know he got the message because he texted me with a list of snacks he and Cooper would like and Cooper wanted to be sure we had the RIGHT breakfast cereal !!

The things we do eh ?

I am off for a HOT shower - oh the luxury of it all !!!

Brilliant news, N&G! If it were me I would be under that shower until my skin wrinkled - but actually in my case you would be hard pressed to tell the difference! .

That’s better n&g. I’ve just come in and turned up the thermostat, luxury isn’t it? What fun you will have with the little boys, I’m sure they will have everything they asked for. We’re doing a bit of a buffet on Sunday for some of ours. Filled the trolley this afternoon with things we don’t usually eat but which will bring huge smiles. Worth every penny.

Sounds a good outing ann, so pleased your family will be with you. Isn’t it a treat?

Hair cuts with a distracted hairdresser are always a lottery. greyd, pleased yours worked out. That hair gel is just magic, what grandson of whatever age wouldn’t be impressed. There seems to be a lot of tongue biting and eggshell walking, if they were Olympic sports a Gran would surely win gold every time.

I’ve also been wondering how the grans are doing in Edinburgh, did wonder if they may run the risk of eviction for disorderly behaviour - can just see the headline in the local newspaper .

Right, tea time. I’m heading for some soup to warm up.

Take care everyone.

N&G that is the best news for a long time. We only appreciate simple things like hot water and heating when for some reason we do not have them. You will really appreciate this evening's shower.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your small outing ann.

I do hope that soop is not letting the kitchen down- she knows how refained we are here.

Supper beckons I think.

Bed beckons here!

Another cold day but at least the sun is out. I will be so pleased when the builders finish here hopefully tomorrow evening.

I have posted all the cards for this country, I just have not got around to posting abroad yet.

It has worried me this year how many people who have exchanged cards with us for donkeys years, but with whom we don’t otherwise keep in close contact, have suddenly dropped off the radar. I hope it is that they have just decided not to send cards this year. My DD showed me a card she had from one of DH’s sisters yesterday. We have been concerned about her memory recently and the card simply said “E, R and “ as if she had either forgotten the name of GS, whom she adores, or simply forgotten to write it in!

We had a lovely time in Edinburgh and managed to persuade Santa to pop his head around the door. However, when we tried to persuade him to come in properly, he disappeared. I wonder if we were too much for him. He was actually visiting the RBS pensioners, who were having a party in another room.
If you look at the Edinburgh thread you will see a couple of pictures.
Soop is a lovely in real life as she is in her virtual one. Poor Soop was exhausted after her seven hour bus journey.