Soops kitchen refuge for gentle ladies

Syn and Ann. Sending you strengthening wishes for your ordeals ahead ?

I must have Molly’s twin here Ann. You have described my wussy cat to a T.

I choked on a sip of coffee when I read the end of your post Grey?.

oooops missed your post - welcome Kalu !!

Morning all !!

Its a bright start here chez Nana & Grampy and doesn't that make the getting up worthwhile?

Lovely photo Soop that's food for the soul !! Lovely words about your friend , I am sure she valued your friendship just as much as you valued hers.

I'll take a Danish please gaga !! I made a Slimming World lemon drizzle cake which mostly resembled polystyrene tiling !!! Lets gloss over that eh? :-)

Shortbread would be most welcome too Grey !! Hope DH has recovered from your 'callous' remark lol men eh?

Ill leave you with a picture from young Cooper. His class have hatched 12 chicks to learn about growth and life and here he is proudly handling 'his' chick !!

Ha! Charley don't they look smart ? They are growing so fast , I just want to capture every moment .

I'm glad things seem to be improving Susan .

Now you can make proper plans then Synonymous and I think that will help. Your DH is facing quite a change but it sounds like he's a strong character and the sooner the op is done the sooner he can recover and get on with life. Will be thinking of you all.

Sorry to hear H is not doing so well Ann and its obviously playing on your mind. I hope things can be improved for him quickly to give you some peace of mind. As for little Molly , she's still a baby, she'll get bolder with time I suspect and summer is on its way ( I hope) so you'll be able to leave the door open for her to stand guard at the door lol

I am more than willing to take up your offer of coffee and a Danish pastry Gaga. My favourite twosome?. Delish!

Hello, you lot! My, we are moving swiftly along...... coffee and Danish sound just the ticket, Gaga. GS and I are (apparently) making shortbread this morning. It might be a bit rustic, but it will taste okay and I promise that he will have washed his hands!

Soop my heart aches for you losing your friend. She sounds like one in a million and I can imagine your sorrow. I have that kind of relationship with my friend. We have always had a “sense” of each other. Please be kind to yourself and look to your health. Your photograph is beautiful and very meaningful.

N&G those boys look the bees knees in their suits! The other guests had better scrub up well to even come close! As for Cooper looking like one of the Krays, how very dare you! He’s an angel!

Ann I am sorry that your DH is struggling and life is kicking you in the teeth again. I hope things improve for you both. As for Molly, we had a cat who was a complete wuss to begin with but he got better as he got older!

Syn I suppose it’s understandable that your DH has gone into pre-op overdrive, but I can understand that it is wearing. It’s good to hear that you will have your children at hand to help when he comes home.

I will have to go now - time, tide and twelve year old boys wait for no man! I will look in again when he has gone home, if I am still standing. DH dropped my iPad on his foot this morning. “Oh”, I said, “I hope it’s not broken!” “No, he said “It feels ok.” When he found out I was talking about the iPad he went off in a huff .

Ann , it seems things go pear shaped every time you get sorted xxx
Soop please rest , your friend will be a sad miss in your days xxx

I think the kitchen needs a bit of cheer so in my usual way I have brought some goodies to try and do just that.

Freshly made Danish Pastries from my lovely, local Swiss Bakery on the side, plus a big pot of coffee and a teapot full of Yorkshire tea. Both piping hot and ready to go.

I am full of sympathy for all our Grans who are struggling with sad or worrying times or with health problems. Life is hard sometimes but there is always the kitchen to recharge batteries in, when it gets too much. Thanks to soop and her always open door.

What bonny babies and children keep showing up in the kitchen too! I love those two handsome boys in their "posh" suits! Bet they don't look quite so posh at the end of the wedding though!

Keep chins up and a smile on faces, ladies, however difficult that can be. We have to KBO whatever comes our way.

I can almost hear the sadness in your voice Soop. The loss of such a dear friend leaves a terrible void?

I lost my closest friend a few years ago but it’s with mixed feelings of joy and sadness having been around her 3 DDs being a part of their lives when they married and had babies. She would have been so,proud,of her girls as I always tell them so.

Quick morning visit. Flipping arm woke me an hour ago.

Oh ann, you sound so worried, understandably. No words of wisdom just a big, gentle hug and sending love to you both. You are often in my thoughts. Molly sounds as if she needs an umbrella, a sensible soul.

Oh dear, synonymous, while understanding the impulse to do ‘stuff’ can there be an agreed day or two off? For enjoyable things? Or just a rest? The anticipation must indeed be a mixed blessing, as you say a breathtaker. I’m full of admiration for you both. Please care for yourselves. I’m delighted you will have famly with you immediately after the operation, good not to be alone. Love to you all.

Things sound to be settling susan, take space now your husband is home to rest when you can. It’s been as hard for you, if not harder, than it has for him.

A beautiful image soop, saying goodbye to such a good friend must have been hard. Please rest when you can, I worry you’re overdoing things.

Those boys never fail to raise a smile n&g, very smart but don’t they still look. ‘Them’? . Oven shopping today? Pleased there was an alternative for the chef.

Two of ours have had similar experiences swanny, it’s very hard to watch and hear about, hugs for you all.

Now who have I forgotten? So many, my apologies as ever. Sending gentle hugs to all poorly and worried people and a huge thank you to you all for being there.

A bits and pieces day ahead here, admin [sigh], some sorting (shh, don’t tell Mr C but I have designs on his wardrobe) and maybe a recuperative cuppa at the garden centre later. Take care everyone.

Synonymous
I am so pleased for you that you have a date for your DH's op.
It is going to be a very emotional and stressful time for you both and I can only send my love and prayers that all goes well and he is soon on the road to recovery and a different but better life.

My H is not good at all, yesterday when I went he wsas asleep and the staff said he had slept all day, he wasn't at all interested that I was there when he opened his eyes and just dozed all the time, saying he felt dreadful.
I thought he was very warm but the staff didn't seem concerned.
We then had a very bizarre visit from a SW, won't go into detail, but I really don't think my H will be there for much longer and now really feel he needs a Nursing Home as opposed to the Care home he is in now.
He got very agitated while she was there so she saw him at his worst. I await developments.

I was very upset and very depressed.
Molly is a wonderful companion, but oh dear ,she is such a wuss, two drops of rain or any thing more than a slight breeze and she won't go outside.
We have a frequent squirrel visitor and she sits on the windowsill and watches it instead of chasing it from her territory.
Her life would be totally happy if she could have a door open all day, just to sit on the door sill and look out with an occasional foray to chase a fly or other flying insect.

I am sleeping very badly, hence my nighttime post.
Best wishes to all troubled or otherwise needing some respite from illness, recovery and all other problems.
My thoughts are with you all.

Maw Otis is really gorgeous - he makes my arms feel empty!

N&G the boy's are very smart in their wedding outfits, hope they don't grow too much before the big day as boys have a habit of doing that while you aren't looking!

soop that is a beautiful and spectacular photo, well captured. Hope you will be feeling less tired very soon, these medical things take it out of you more than you realise and we aren't such chickens any more. So sorry to hear about your friend, such a shock for you.

GreyD love your fishing stories - it's the way you tell 'em!

Anne hope you are starting to 'come up the other side' now. You have had so much to cope with and I hope you will start to enjoy life a bit more now that spring is nearly here. Try to think about all the good things in your life like your DGD and your Molly kitten.

So many others like dragonfly, corner, anno and Panache with botherations but my brain box is overflowing so I will just send (((((hugs))))) to all.

Himself has a date for his operation so it is both a relief and a breathtaker at the same time. We will both be very relieved when the deed is done and he is on the road to recovery. He goes in on 3rd April and he is now on overdrive trying to do all kinds of things which he really doesn't need to do. I know it is a protective reaction but I am finding it exhausting. DD will come at the weekend after the op, as she breaks up for the Easter holidays then, and will be here for a week and DS will come hopefully before she leaves to go home. It will be odd being the four of us togther again as it has been many a year since those days and I think it will b nice for them to have a little time together.. I am looking forward to them being 'home' but not the reason for it happening.

Glad to hear he is back home with you, Susan.

Susan your DH is now on the long list of kitcheners who should be resting!

Thank you for all the lovely messages.We are feeling calmer now and counting our blessings that things were not worse.My husband has spoken to his colleagues and we are going in to see them in a couple of weeks for a farewell party,he is back home,going back to the Drs in a couple of weeks to have his injuries reassessed and all in all we are feeling very lucky that things are not worse.We are both so grateful to the support from every one of you in the kitchen,it has meant such a lot to us.
We send our love and thoughts to everyone of you suffering in any way,I will endeavour to catch up on all posts over the next few days.Thank you all again.

Maw young Otis is seriously handsome.

N&G I did not recognise the two handsome young men dressed in suits. Are they visiting?!!!!!!

Susan I hope that you have recovered from the nasty shock of your husband's accident- by the sound of things, it could have been much worse.

soop after your very busy day you deserve a quiet meal at home and a very early night.

linamillion you also need an early night with your leg elevated. At least you were not waiting around for hours- it makes such a change.

I think a quiet weekend for everybody.

I shall log off for today. Feeling a little weary after a fulsome day.
Thank you for your company. It means a lot to me.

Fennel Our friend was a very private person. Somehow, we hit it off from the day we first met. I understood her wee foibles. I knew when to invite her to join in and I knew when the moment was the wrong one. We shared a wacky sense of humour. She was utterly loyal and very predictable. It took me two years to persuade to have her agonising arthritic hip replaced. Oh the words we had! She finally agreed. She made a very good recovery. She shed weight and looked ten years younger. We both loved her to bits. And then, in a matter of days, she succombed to this awful final illness. Our GP was stunned when she calmly parked her car (neatly) and paid her final visit to the surgery. She went in on the day we were travelling to Oakham. She died in the very hospital in which I had the mastectomy just three days later.

This sunset is for her and all our Granspals who need special tender loving care.

1inamillion Well done for going through what would have been a most uncomfortable hospital procedure. Bravo! You are on the mend. The very best place to be.

N&G The boys are looking incredibly smart and bursting with confidence. I love every photo that you share with us. All our grandchildren are the Kitchens's lucky mascots. What a wonderful team we have.

kitty I'm also hoping that Bertie is recovering well now that he's where he belongs - at home.

Susan I'm also thinking about you and your husband. Very best wishes to you both.

Wow!!! Delightful photos. Gorgeous Otis. Cuddles all round.
granniequeenie you have a first class eye for taking a superb photograph.

Swanny "Falling out" between young friends is the very hardest to deal with, both as a child or indeed as a grown-up looking on. Things will be sorted eventually. It's the bit inbetween that is painful.

Annaliese As a little of both. You know your friend as well as anyone. Straight from the heart. That's what I'd do.

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Afternoon all !!

Sorry Ive been away, had a lovely visit from my brother and his wife and far too many alcoholic beverages consumed :-)

On the plus side Grampy got his dates wrong and our daughter and the 2 big kids are not arriving this evening so we can recover gently !!

I shall post a picture once the 'Oval Office' is up 1inamillion :-). Its ok Panache we have an average sized plot , just some clever positioning makes it all possible as we need to leave football space too lol !!

Poor old BertieKitty , glad he's home and feeling heaps better .

So sorry to hear of your husbands accident Susan - it all comes as such an unexpected shock doesn't it ? Its a shame he wont be able to go back to work before retirement but his health is more important I think. Hope he feels much better soon.

We had a bit of a buggeration last night as Grampy was cooking dinner, the fuses all blew and when reset we couldn't get the oven to work- a challenge as we had pork chops to cook!! We do have a combi microwave that I use for reheating stuff lol but we dug out the trusty old Halogen that I have been campaigning to throw out !!

Lucky Grampy didn't listen to me ! So it looks like a new oven is in the offing :-)

Hello Otis !! You're gorgeous ! Congratulations again maw .

I feel your worry for your GS Swanny we have just gone something very similar with our 12 yr old granddaughter. I have never seen her so upset and reluctant to go to school. The school were quite hopeless !! Luckily, things have improved but her parents will keep a close eye on things. Children of that age are brutal to each other. I hope your GSs situation calms down quickly.

Loving the squirrel GrannieQ , my favourites. I thought of you yesterday when as I left the West Wing I cam face to face with a tiny muntjac deer!! No camera to hand and I don't know who was most surprised lol

Ill leave you with 2 pictures I just received. The little boys are in a wedding party in April and they were trying on their suits..... is it my imagination or does young Cooper look like one of the Kray Brothers in that pose lol ????

Hospital visit this morning was much better than anticipated, traffic wasn't too bad and parked easily. I was the only one in the plaster room and had the sole services of a sister and staff nurse. Friday seems to be a good day for an appointment is all I can say. The only downside was that I couldn't mount the two steps for a weight bearing X-ray after the plaster was removed, ( which embarrassingly reduced me to tears )so X-ray was done on the bed. I am now the somewhat dubiously proud possessor of a moon boot which enables partial weight bearing for the next six weeks. No more daily clot busting injections (hooray) which made nauseous.
Gaga, Swanny, Greyd, and Panache - so nice of you to send good wishes, it means a lot, thank you.

Sorry to read of these school pal fall outs, it causes such angst and pain. I saw a lot of this as a former teacher.

Anneliese you do have a dilemma, professional references are often rather bland but maybe an option as you are close to your friend. On the other hand you are ideally placed to give a character reference, which is so important for potential employers to gauge if the applicant will 'fit in' and whether they will be able to work together.

* Soop* glad everything is progressing well.
Anno ? for your sister.

kitty hope Bertie is now fully recovered. As an asthma sufferer myself I feel for him. Fortunately for me, as I got older my asthma improved a lot.
anno I’ve missed somewhere reading about your sister. Sorry to hear she is so poorly. Good that you can keep in touch though.

soop - your poor friend! I've just looked up that disease.
Maw what a bonny little lad. He looks so mature for a newborn. Bless him.

panache thank you for your post. Such a shame there isn’t somewhere close to the hospital where you could get some support. More and more of these retirement type homes are being built as I expenct the demand is increasing. Certainly in our part of the world there are a number of options (though none of them cheap). Many more than there were a few years ago. Sheltered housing then seems a good option but I imagine the demand is quite high. I would have thought with both you and MrP with health problems you would be high up on the list. Hope things work out for you soon.

swanny it hurts doesn’t it when your DGC have problems. Hope your GS makes up with his friend or makes new ones soon.
soop hope the visit to the GP goes ok then home and rest for the remainder of the day I hope.

Dear soop, what a woman indeed, you’ll miss her sorely I’m sure. Good friends are very precious