Soop's warm and welcoming kitchen...

I was watching the Scotland v Wales match. Not now. The sound is on and I'm safely tucked away in the "art studio". Come on, Scotland!

What? Us demure, decorous delightful grannies?
Never!

N&G I have totally lost it- I saw that lovely photo of a smiling Jackson and thought- what on earth is N&G doing feeding him chicken for breakfast until it dawned on me that it was for the other handsome young man!

I will happily play with Jackson- the minor problem is the distance. Other children can be so cruel.

Before I got my expensive lock replaced it would have been good to know that I will have to travel miles to get a key cut as it can only be done at specialist centres and I need at least 2. I may get 4 done and then I can forget about it forever.

soop I knew that your friend would have "off" days and luckily you were there to help her. Monday will soon be here.

corner I hope that you slept well. I spent the night persuading all the locksmiths and builders in my house, at least 6 of them, not to smoke- my house, my rules. The place stank in my dreams. They were all beavering away and I had not requested any work.

Galen if you are very lucky you may be able to sell your car, hoist and scooter to a disabled person.

Yourself and N&G on the road on scooters would be a lethal mix and on a ship, the pair of you would be thrown off at the first port for causing unnecessary mayhem and disruption.

I think that Jackson's t shirt is a winner. Torben is a 'peacemaker' and 'befriender'...I'm more than happy to hear such things said about him.

The car I’m selling has a hoist fitted as well. I use my other scooter in there. Am going to sell that as well as I think 3 scooters is a bit OTT.

NanaandGrampy I have tears in my eyes just thinking of Jackson sitting on the friendship bench. I can recall a time, when as a new girl at school, I asked a girl to be my friend. She was not interested. It hurt!

I replaced the luggie with a smartie. It has the advantages that you press a button and it folds itself up and vice versa.
It’s so small that it’s supposed to fit behind the seat of a Smart car!
When I sell my car and get my big road scooter I’ll be able to beat you hands down. Top speed of 12 mph and radius of 32 miles. ( you need that here, I think this place is like the Welsh mountains)

Morning all !!

Don't worry Charley the handsome young man had chicken this morning for breakfast and a nice walk out to meet his friend Harry the Westie so he is on the mend !

I have a vision in my head now Galen as we race along , avoiding joggers ...we would need those tall pennants on the back of our scooter ... now that's what I call growing old disgracefully !! I think mine does about 8mph. Its not huge as I can break it down to fit in a car boot ( although I have a hoist in the beast to save me effort'!) I know you have a luggie which looks most useful .

Sorry to hear you had a horrid day Corner - will it help if you sit in the basket of my scooter as we race past Galen ??? :-) . My gran used to say , about horrid days, even the worst day is only 24hrs long my girl . Not sure if that helps though .

You're good friends Soop , its lovely to hear in this day and age of mans inhumanity to man.

I spoke to Jackson yesterday and he managed to break my heart!! The conversation went like this :-

Jackson : I am so sad Nana. I've got no one to play with at school. When you have no-one to play with you sit on the friendship bench and then when other children see you they come and play with you. But no one came to play with me.

Well , that's me off to knock a few playground heads together..... how could they not play with him !!

How our little ones hold our hearts in the palm of their hands eh?

Quiet day here - and I wish you all some of the same xx

PS This is Jackson's new t shirt...well he is THE MAN !! LOL

Galen, you are a shining star. SURELY one of us lot (who has no husband to consider) would be over the moon to join you on that rather grand cruise. How about you, Maw?

corner In spite of having some very upsetting and unsettling family issues to deal with, you show concern for any one of us lot who need a comforting word. You are a very kind lady.

We called in to see our friend who is recovering from hip surgery. She was having a weepy episode, which is a totally predictable reaction to the stress she's been living with for yonks.
Within less than hour we had managed a few jobs that she found totally undo-able. When we left, she was smiling. Result! One of her clips/staples is painful. I know how from experience how that feels. The district nurse will be with her right now. Hopefully, she can help to ease the soreness.
If the clips are removed on Monday, she'll be able to visit her husband in the care home. We can take her there as often as she wishes. Once she's recovered and driving again (five more weeks) her life will be back to a new and pain-free normal.

Love the thought of scooter races . Right now I could do with an escape to look forward to , galen, afraid Mr C would be less than amused though. There will be someone I’m certain. Sorry you’ve had bad days.

Been trying and failing to catch up. Horrid day chez Corners today, won’t go into detail, suffice it to say I will be pleased when it’s tomorrow. Or hope I will.

Pleased your daughter is home and can rest callgirl, life’s hard sometimes.

Oh soop, I hear such things from a neighbour, her husband died a little while ago and she can’t sleep because she misses similar night time things. I’m worried about her, she’s very unwell herself and oh so lost. I’m sure the recipient was delighted with the portrait, how could she not be?

That gets me thinking of you maw, please care for yourself as you care for others, there is bound to be rough weather as well as calm spells, sunshine and showers. Wishing you sunshine for tomorrow. Be brave fennel, surely anyone would have qualms in your position? Hugs for you both and anyone else struggling.

Oh dear charley, how dare he? Pleased your lock is now impenetrable but sorry you had to deal with inappropriate selling.

Hope Sam is back to his usual self soon n&g, how is that orangery? Finished other than a need to dry the plaster? Life’s little things can squash us as much as the big things sometimes I think.

We also have a thick curtain across our front door. Our family don’t understand, oh the ignorance of youth

Off to sleep now, I hope, apologies to anyone I’ve missed, not intentional. Sleep well everyone.

That might send the antiscooter brigades tongues wagging! Minesonl a very small one, but the suite is disabled accessible.
I’m trying to visualise scooter races round the deck! We’d e cllidong with the mile a day joggers and the more sedate walkers.
Mine does 6mph what does yours Do?

That really is a very generous offer Galen. I agree you did sound down the last time you were in touch with [us lot]. Make the most of your job, I know that it is very frustrating at times as well as being mentally demanding but you have mentioned before that you will miss it horrendously as and when you retire.

N&G I am so sorry, I totally missed that Sam has not been well. I do hope that he is on the mend again and eating heartily. Scrambled egg and rice?? That is not food for a handsome fellow like him even if he is a tad out of sorts. No wonder you received baleful looks and rightly so.

Greyduster Are you sure that the kitchen is out of bounds to biscuit or cake baking? Ifwhen on the mailing list I promise not to be too demanding, especially as I am supposed to be losing weight.

Ah , another reason I can’t go as I too have a scooter!! Mind you we could race round the promenade :-)

So do I. I can manage on my own, but it’s so much easier if I have someone to open the cabin door for me to get out on my scooter, rather than call the butler!

I’d love to Galen but I am the worlds worst sailor ! Hope you find a great travelling companion !!

You could! But as we are on deck 4 you’d need a very longline!

Sorry Galen, if I can’t fish over the side, it’s not for me, but what a tremendously generous offer that is?. Hope you’re feeling better, you sounded rather ‘down’ upthread.

Ladies ! Or you lot if you prefer, Bella will probably not be able to come with me on my xmas cruise this December.
I’m wondering if anyone else would be interested? I’m not very demanding. It’s from Southampton to the Canaries and back on Cunard Queen Elizabeth.
I pay for the cruise and all you have to pay for is your drinks and any other extras you want.
If you want to google the accommodation, it’s a Q3 suite and we get a butler! A bottle of champagne on arrival and a bottle of the spirits of your choice plus mixers. You can have wine if you prefer. The bottles are replaced as you use them ( apart from the Laurent Perrier champagne)
If you’re interested please pm me.

Clicked by accident there, was about to say Soop that your gentleman acquaintance in Campbeltown sounds a treasure, and I hope his missus appreciates him if she comes home.

Thank you Ann and N&G. Ann, I`m so in awe of how you cope from day to day, I`m sure I wouldn`t be as able as you. My daughter is enjoying being at home without the stresses and strains of taking care of her husband, who is still in hospital. She is still on painkillers, the pain hasn`t gone away yet, she`s been told it could take several weeks to disappear.
I haven`t done much today, but prior to ordering my new bedroom furniture tomorrow I`ve been browsing for carpet, curtains and bedding, also lighting.
N&G, I hope that Sam is soon back to his merry little self.

The care home lady loved her portrait of Bruce. We cropped it and had just the right frame to do it justice. I was pleased to see her reaction when she opened the parcel.

I'm logging off a little earlier today. The washing machine is being put through its paces. I need to knuckle down and appear to be busy ...which isn't strictly true.

Until tomorrow, my very best wishes to you all.

Fennel I can sense your apprehension. The next two weeks will be a testing time. We believe that as long as we're together, we can cope with whatever comes our way. Should I outlive MacSporran my heart would never mend. You will remain in my thoughts. Please update us lot because we care.

soop your story about the elderly man who misses his poorly wife - it could happen to so many of us (at our age).
Made me think even more about our move back to the UK.
I'm a good bit older than my husband, and he dreads losing me . Thank God we've been so close though.
Otherwise, the day of doom approaches - we're leaving this beautiful place in just over 2 weeks. Back to reality.

Charleyg Good thinking! The man who gave you "the quote" was taking advantage of you. Bloody cheek! You do not need his smooth talk. Lock changed. End of!

soop that has left me speechless and that does not happen often!

Maw The lock was changed and then he went down the double glazing route saying he would get a %age off if he rang his boss! You are aware how thick I am and did not realise that this was going on! The price was mind blowing for 5 minutes work as there was zilch wrong with my old lock. I had it done for security purposes.

I have a very good lock now and if I want to get a key cut I have a small card with a number on it to take to whoever will cut the key for me. I must not lose that card! Apparently nobody should cut a spare with the number which is good security.