Soop’s kitchen, filled with kindness, understanding and some damn fine cake ! Come on in.

soop I love that photo of Brodie. He looks so relaxed sitting there but if he had seen or heard a curtain twitch he would have been up and away. Do you realise you have two spellings of his name? Brodie and Broadie. Having had a closer look at him, he does look a tad elderly which is probably why he visits frequently for hotel services. Please could Tara and I come?

I do hope you are resting.

corner the weather is apparently changing on Sunday to sunshine and showers. The paperwork could survive.
TOYA

Broadie looks quietly in charge soop. A very superior look. That garden looks very peaceful, a calm image.

Oh Charley I wish the flipping stuff would keep, you see I have been thinking 'I'll do it tomorrow, plenty of time ' all week. Now there is no more time, 'stuff' is overdue. I've done some, needed a break from thinking will plod on, tortoise sort of a day today.

Hello lovely kitcheners on Friday afternoon.
A bit hot here. 85.1 farenheight just now so I went shopping very early and did some washing.
150km from Paris where apparently it's very hot! ?

DH is hoping for his back surgery very soon and I pray that it will be soon. When he goes into hospital I'll go to a B&B nearby so I can be there every day. The hospital is 90 minutes drive from where we live so it makes sense to be as close as possible.
He's had three knee replacements and two hip replacements over the past 20 years but has never got rid of the daily pain which the doctors in France have said is operable?!
He takes the sort of painkiller cocktail everyday that leaves him never quite as alert as he used to be. BUT I am aware I am very lucky to have him with me. If I could take on his pain I would. That sounds trite I know but, I would.
Sometimes a secret weep is the best thing.

Brodie looks to be a bit of a 'character', soop. I was wondering about wildcat ancestry, but I looked up Scottish wildcats and the picture is of a cat with upright ears and a short, stubby tail. So I wonder why he has flattened ears. Maybe wear and tear!
Interesting information here conjour.world/conservation/scottish-wildcat

GG and kitty
kitty are you suffering from sunstroke with all this hot weather? Does that account for the Hell Kitchener, pavahes and the sunahine in your post ? (or have you been at the bottle again? ?)
That’s a mighty fine looking cat soop. Wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him that’s for sure ?
Hope all is well with the panaches
TOYA ☀️?

Maw Enough said

corner A peaceful place. Heavenly!

Charleyg A senior moment. Apologies to Brodie...at least I believe that to be the correct spelling. If you and Tara lived nearby, you would be warmly welcomed to our patch.

corner It's okay to have a tortoise-like day. I have done the same. It's too warm to sit outside. How daft is that.

Carrilion Your caring post, which is far from "trite", made me smile. You have made the right choice to do B&B when your husband goes into hospital. MacSporran has done the same whenever I've been in a Glasgow hospital. It will be a lot less tiring for you AND, being able to visit whenever you wish, will be the best tonic for your husband's post-op recovery.

anno and Doodle "Our" Brodie is elderly. There is a lot of interbreeding going on between feral and wild cats. I would think that it's possible a great great great ancestor was possibly wild. His ears look war-torn. We are very fond of him.

I am logging off until tomorrow. My love and best wishes to all of our Granspals. Please, if you can, keep Maw out of trouble.

PS A photo to show you the enormous growth of the gunnera...

Soop you will have to put Brodie on the scales soon!! He is obviously enjoying the high life, bless him?! He’s not shy, is he? Lovely photo of the Linda McCartney statue - very true to life.
Corner that bit of coastline reminds me of Manorbier Head in Pembrokeshire. You haven’t secretly moved it have you?? Lovely beach!
Callgirl lovely news about the new baby; and doing something constructive to help you could be very beneficial to your son. If he felt he was doing too much I’m sure he would listen to his body and know when to stop, but a maternal hand on his collar can’t do any harm if you’re worried, can it?
Ann I hope the ABs are helping your GD’s condition. Doesn’t sound as if she is getting a lot of joy from the doctors, but I hope she will feel better soon.

I am giving my mouth a rest (that’s a first!) after talking non stop with my best friend all afternoon - we don’t see each other so often these days but just seem to have the knack of seamlessly picking up where we left off! Lunch went well, and despite my having been awake most of the night, I didn’t fall asleep face down half way through dessert! I had actually woken up at ten past two worrying about whether I had enough potatoes to top my shepherd’s pie. Then I remembered that we weren’t having shepherds pie; we were having lasagne!! So I laid awake worrying about the possibility of having GS’s guinea pigs to stay while they are on holiday instead, with a hundred possible doomsday scenarios looming large! Tomorrow DH is going to the junior football tournament and I am cooking a roast dinner for the family afterwards, then GS is staying over, so I hope I can catch up on lost sleep tonight! For now I am enjoying the cool of the garden, serenaded by a blackbird. Have a pleasant evening folks.

He might be elderly and a bit worn soop but your Brodie has a wealth of character in his expression. I am sure a bit of your wonderful TLC will do him good.?

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Oh dear bordersgirl perhaps better to stay here? I’ll say again, if you aren’t staying here just be careful out there.

Admin accomplished thank goodness, it was worrying me, All will be well greyd, no harm will come to guinea pigs in your care. I just know it .

Isn’t it good to be with an old friend? I always think my oldest friend knows more about me than I do and so it’s easy to relax and just ‘be’. We chatted for over an hour on the phone this week. She’s about 250 miles away so we aren’t often together. Those miles feel longer each year. How does that happen?

My eyes are driving me crazy this evening, hay fever, nothing major but the eye drops just aren’t working. So here I am with real tears trickling down my face sneezing my head off. Poor Mr C .

TOYA and be good everyone.

As we said goodbye to our dear friend today we realised that we have known him the longest of all our friends. He was a person who asked how you are and listened to the answer. Something very few people do these days. He will be sorely missed.

No news from the Panaches they must be exhausted.

I have to try and sleep now as emotionally exhausted and must concentrate on my DH’s and my medical appointments in the coming weeks.
TOYA.

Evening all.
Corner, pleased to hear that the admin is all done, now give yourself a well deserved pat on the back...………………..if you can reach, I wouldn`t be able to!

Soop, another lovely photo of Brodie, it`s obvious from his expression that he`s mulling something over in his head, a very characterful looking feline.

Ann, sorry your granddaughter is still poorly.

I wonder how the day went for the Panaches?

GreyD, you could be right, he says he`s fine today, but suffered last night, mostly his feet though, from spending all afternoon up a ladder. It`s all finished now.

Certain people have been trying to convince me to book a holiday, but I`m not confident enough to holiday on my own, I can still look though.

MawB, hopefully you`ve had a day full of peace and goodwill, from this direction anyway.

TOYA!

callgirl
Holidaying on your own can be fine.
I’m a widow, disabled and relying on a scooter to get around. I’m currently on Cunard’s Queen Victoria having a lovely time. Cherbourg tomorrow.
I would add I’m almost 75.
I enjoy it more when I have someone with me, but, it’s fine on my own.

Any news of the panaches Do hope all went well. I had a bit of bad new today, rocked me I can tell you. I have been told I have AMD, (age related macular degeneration of the eyes). My ex late MIL had this so I know what the outcome could be. Not talking to family yet, have to get it straight in my mind first. Bit of a shocker, lots to mull over. A glass or three should help me sleep tonight. Hope all have a peaceful night, TOYA.

Sorry to hear that Gransal but I hope they have caught it early and can help you. My mum self diagnosed as cataracts, so was too far down the road for treatment to achieve much by the time she went to the doctor.

Unfortunately dry Macular is untreatable as I know to my cost.

Can understand the shock Gransal, you’re sensible to process the news before sharing it with family. I know very little about the condition but believe several Kitchen folk do so someone will be along soon with informed comment.

Sleep well, you deserve to..

Sorry about your news Gransal. I don`t know enough to make comments, but wish you all the best regarding treatment.

Galen, you seem a more confident person than I feel. I`m still turning it over in my mind, but still unsure about it all.

Many thanks for your support. Means a lot. Will keep you updated if I may. Don't want to worry my family until I have all the relevant info.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ouch Gransal that is a bit of a blow.
Have you been given any advice about treatment? I understand things are now much less gloomy than in our parents’ day.
My sister in law who is 65 has just had the operation for a macular hole (or tear?) which involves lying face down for a minimum of 45 minutes out of every hour for three weeks.
Two weeks down, one to go. Kings in London where she had it done, are very hopeful of complete success.
You are not on the point of going blind- please don’t think that and do not despair

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.