Soop's welcoming and supportive kitchen

ann, I almost guffawed at the latest idiocy over the care-call bracelet. Just another example of the incompetence of the local Adult Services Department! I hope, once you have given them a piece of your mind, they will sort it out to your satisfaction.
Charley, not sure I like the idea of your sleeping 'like a baby' if it means you wake up at 3am screaming for a bottle!
Panache - so good to know you were able to get out for a nice breath of sea air. I hope it has enabled you to get a good sleep tonight.
I'm about ready for my bed right now, having done little to earn it. My poor old knees won't let me do what I would really like to do and I am looking forward to having a steroid injection in my rump which the rheumatologist thinks might help - but not for another 10 days.
Good night all

I have had to resort to using the tumble dryer today, I am tootired to put all the stuff on the line today.
annsixty my friend is convinced that it is just as cost-effective to use a tumble dryer because most of it does not then need ironing and she says that running an iron is expensive too.
She assured me she had done the calculations!

Jalima that will help to salve a few consciences! Maw I so agree about places to sit for people with back problems. My other gripe is turning about 70% of our city centre parking disabled. The disabled drivers can park on the normal parking because it is closer to where they want to be but those who are just a bit old or in a bit of pain or heavily pregnant and you end up on the multi-storey! Grrr!

Nobody here? Well, I shall put the kettle on and have a I know all about the wakefulness when you just want to sleep Panache just hope you are sleeping peacefully.
ann we had a similar experience with care call as I had it first and then Himself needed it but they sorted it out themselves and I was pleased that although we needed more and different equipment it didn't cost us any extra. Hope they get their paper work sorted very quickly!
DD arrived eventually after having car trouble on the way so I had better creep back to bed so that I can make the most of her short stay.
Sleep well everyone!

Ooh you made me jump Nannytopsy I didn't see you there! Enjoy the rest of the tea on the table and do what I am doing - try again to get some sleep!

I should of popped in here sooner for a chat, been tossing and turning since 3am finally gave up and made a cuppa now I’ll either read my latest Lee Childs thriller or find a game to play. Maybe I’ll be able to catch up this afternoon.

Plans for dinner today went awry when GD1 finally arrived last night and they decided they could manage to eat something after all - fish n chips at the seaside today it is then.

Panache it's lovely to read your posts regularly again. We were just saying yesterday when we lived by the sea years ago we loved the end of the season when all the holiday makers went home and the town was ours again. We were looking forward to being able to stroll down the prom again now except for himself's sciatica which seems to have resurfaced despite the turmeric tablets. He has been doing a lot of heaving and stretching lately though so hopes its just a blip - he did manage to get round the supermarket yesterday without resorting to hobbling off to find a seat

Talking of which I agree there seems to be a lack of seating in some places - especially in areas which seem to be ideal to put one although our hospital thoughtfully provide pull down seats along the miles of corridors between departments. I've never actually seen anyone using them but the thought is there.

All is quiet here apart from the ticking of clocks I have around me - 3 at close proximity (none telling the same time) and I have been up since 5 trawling the net for toilet tissue boxes (I know - I really should get out more) which seem to have disappeared. I may have to resort to my old crafting ways and design something myself.

Have a good day everyone. I will leave the toast and marmalade out for all to share - it's a bit burnt but the toaster is on the blink

Hello the kitchen. Golly, some of you are real night owls! I was awake at six but them managed to get another couple of hours, but woke up feeling as if I had fallen down a mountain. Everything hurts this morning, so I am not in any hurry to get up, even though the sun is shining.
We had a nice few hours out yesterday watching GS run for his club in the Northern Athletics meeting. He did pretty well considering that two hours before, he had run a cross country for his school, got a personal best and came in with the top twenty percent again. Two meetings in one day was pushing it a bit for him I think. They are coming to lunch today so I have promised him extra pork crackling for his efforts!
I cooked the chestnuts yesterday that I foraged during the week, following a recipe I had found on the internet, because I have not had any success peeling them in the past. It worked on the first few, and then not on the rest. Getting the shells off was okay, but it was the brown skin underneath that proved the sticking point. Shame, because they were a good size and the ones we ate were lovely and sweet. I have some left, so I will give it another try and if it doesn't work this time, I’ll leave them all for the squirrels next year!
Well, I will look in later. If there is any Eve’s pudding left after lunch, I will leave it in the kitchen!

anno around 3am I am usually staggering towards the loo-food and drink being the last things on my mind. I crawled out of bed at 9am only because Tara was insisting I move.

My father slept like a log, thankfully I inherited his sleep genes and did not take after my mother who was awake half the night most nights.

I do not possess a tumble drier and iron zilch but still my electricity bill is high. I do hang clothes outside at every opportunity.

Grey - that’s the perfect description of how I felt this morning - “like I’d fallen down a mountain”. Somehow family staying (however much I love it) makes me feel a bit out of sorts physically and this time my back has gone into spasm. I suppose DD’s situation hasn’t helped anybody relax ...
It’s dreich here today but I’m hoping GDC will manage to spend some time outside wrapped up and in their wellies.
Ann I can foresee that my tumble drier will be in all day tomorrow getting the bedding and towels dry. I try not to use it but I won’t feel guilt in the circumstances and neither should you - and that’s an order!
I hope you all have a lovely day and that the weather is better where you are.

Morning everyone. Just thought I’d pop in to see the new kitchen and a lovely sight it is too. Wish I had longer to stay and chat but Georgie is waiting for her walk and I have to pick up an order at M&S for DIL birthday. Roast chicken tonight for dinner in honour of DD1 who has left her family for a month to work in Belfast on a film for channel 5. She is staying with us.
DH is recovering well from hernia op but anaesthetist discovered he had bradycardia and needs an emergency pacemaker. Such a shock as he has always been so healthy. Problem is it may coincide with DD2 C-section. Life is never simple ! Hope you all have a pleasant Sunday though family visits seem to be on the cards for some. Lovely but not restful.

Oh yes. We have a new grand puppy. I’ll try to find a photo and post it.

`Morning all and as usual here I come wearing my usual sleepy head!

However it helps hearing I am not alone.
So frustrating wanting to nod off in the evening but when its time for actual sleeping you feel as bright as a button.
Seemingly my dose of the briny did not work its magic,perhaps I shall try again this aft..........the weather is holding, and it seems a shame to waste it.

I keep missing your posts "Willow" so please forgive me.
Although I understand and appreciate we need to share our golden beaches with those perhaps only visiting once or twice a year, but it is another world when we get the area back to ourselves........and our dogs are again allowed in the main to roam free...........they so enjoy the freedom!

I remember times when shops,the chemist and all those places most of us needed, they always had a few seats dotted strategically around,yet today they are barren.
Do these shop owners.......even if multiple stores......realise as we grow old,weary and our bodies not so active, we need those seats at intervals.
Shame on them I say.

Nice to "see you" too Annodomini,sometimes certain paths meet frequently and then there seems like one huge gap!

You lead a very active life it seems GreyD......your posts always have lots of fresh chatter and how I envy that.
Could it be these youngsters help to keep you on the go and very motivated?

My chilled white wine days seemingly are behind me Corner so I cannot enjoy a toast alongside you or our Ann

Whilst it sounds as though love`s young dream may not be for much longer Ann......sadly we oldies remember those painful times and at the time thought the pain would never leave!

Time I left I think....not much on my agenda save get my act together for another little outing ......before it is back to Hospital duty.
I certainly do not even expect that empty beach today as the locals will be joining those on Half term!

Have a good day my kitchen friends,hopefully may those troubles and/or aches be minute.

Greyd, your GS thoroughly deserves his extra crackling. He is quite an athlete - I foresee you standing on the sidelines applauding his efforts for years to come. One of mine is difficult to detach from his X-box except for his football on Sunday morning. On the other hand, DGD2 is somewhere in the wilds, on her DoE Gold Award expedition. Thankfully, at present, the weather is good and the forecast not too bad at all.
Lovely morning here and I still haven't put my washing out - three pairs of trousers and If I don't get them dry and ironed I won't have anything to wear tomorrow. (shudder)

So much for strolling in for a catch-up. You lot are extraordinary. Am I repeating myself? Yep!

tanith I am a huge fan of Lee Childs. What are you reading at the moment?

If I knew how I go about painting a watercolour I would share with you. I've not been to art school. In fact, it wasn't until I was in my fifties that I picked up my husband's paint box and painted a bowl of primulas. If I can locate the photo, I shall share. The painting hangs in the sitting room.

I am busy painting a portrait of a beautiful cat at the moment. When I pick up the paints, I feel whole...does that make sense?

By the by, talking of buggerations with household appliances...the 25 year old microwave has finally uttered it's last "ping."

Oh dear, those waves
which just wash over you!
I bagged up Paws shirts (24!) yesterday in a fit of activity, hoping they will be welcomed by a homeless charity (Emmaus) along with his cord trousers all in excellent condition.
I have just had to slide the wardrobe door along to dry my hair at the mirror and the empty space has punched me right in the face.
Add in “o mio babbino caro” on Desert Island Discs and I am right back at square one .
When does it end?

Panache, I do hope you you get an untrammelled stroll on your lovely beach. The only thing I regret about settling in Cheshire is that it's nowhere near a decent beach. I was brought up yards from a west of Scotland beach and yearn for the days when I threw big stalks of seaweed for my boxer dog and walked in the teeth of a westerly gale which blew my breath back into my lungs! Nostalgia ain't what it used to be! The sun has gone in, just as I've hung out the washing. Serves me right for being so tardy.
Hoping your stroll fortifies you for all those annoying hospital visits. (((hugs)))

Dear Maw it cannot "end"...what you are experiencing is yet another stage in the grieving process. Your pain will change. It will enable you to enjoy the most precious memories that you have shared over a long and happy marriage. Paw remains in your heart. That's where he belongs.

Here is the Primula painting...

Beautiful Soop - I don’t envy many people but I do wish I could paint something as lovely as this.
Maw, early days yet. You and Paw had a very special bond and I suppose the price you pay is the grief now he’s gone. But I believe you’ll be together again.
Sorry the salty air didn’t work its magic Panache but ??for tonight.

A hug for Maw I haven’t had time to read through the whole thread and I’ve got a busy week ahead with grannying at half term so I’ll hardly have time to catch my breath. I went for lunch a few days ago with my sick DiL oh she did look so very ill. but I popped over yesterday and she did look less bloated. She’s been able to cut down the steroids by half. We may find out a bit more after Wednesday when she has an appointment with her consultant. More chemo to start in two weeks. We talked about a big family Christmas Day get together and I booked a very expensive Christmas Experience for us all in December. She will never ever give up and so nor should we. I hope those of you who’ll see grandchildren can enjoy the half term and special mention to ann soop and any of you facing difficulties I hope thing get a bit easier to bear.

A hug and maw, it was a brave action to donate and of course a shock to see the space. Look after yourself today.

Sounds as if you need a gentle day greyd, that's not a good feeling. Oh dear jud, something else for you both to manage. Wishing your husband well.

Not a good night panache? I slept well until 7am, delighted with that although lights out were late for me so still about 6 hours. I often think I could conquer the world if I could sleep for 8 hours. We're staying put today, off to visit a friend tomorrow and it will be a long and tiring day so some down time is called for. Hope you get some air and sunshine and it helps with rest later.

Take care all, especially those with life's burdens.

corner can I whisper I slept for around 11 and half hours last night? I would be walking around more of a zombie than usual if I only had 6 hours sleep.

The sun is out here but it is cold. I have not switched on the washing machine but I should.

Tara is exploring the great outdoors.

A very quick post as I have a roast chicken dinner to make a start on.

I am chuckling at *Panache's post about loves young dream, I assume that is in response to my post about my D.
She is 53 Panache and I think that for her that boat has alread sailed.

morethan I wish that I had the means of restoring your daughter-in-law's health. I wish that I had the right words to comfort you. You are doing your very best to continue to make the most of shared family time. The special treat planned for Christmas, sounds delightful. My love is winging it's way across the miles.

soop that painting is beautiful- definitely talent there.