Soop's warm and welcoming kitchen for kindly folk...

Phew! You lovely lot are obviously running on super-charged energy.

I sincerely apologise for needing to be brief. Yesterday was a no-go in all respects.

Today I have serious catch-up sessions both in the homestead and especially in the so-called art studio.

You are marvellous Gransnetters. Your support for each other is heartwarming. I shall try to return for a chat a little later this afternoon.

In the meantime...my very best wishes to any of you with problems and health issues. I fully understand how concerning such matters are.

Hello and good afternoon everyone from not a chilly Northampton, but a warm and sunny Cape Town!
Arrived here at lunchtime and just settling in to our hotel for three nights, and looking forward to exploring this lovely city.
I have already met some lovely people, and am looking forward to meeting more of our group.
Just sad that my darling late DH isn't here to share the adventure with me, but he will be with me on spirit I'm sure every.step of the way.
A welcome dinner tonight, looking forward to the food; I have already partaken of the wine....
Best wishes to all.

Good afternoon dear Kitcheners. I hope your daughter has had her op and is now recovering Jax. AnnSixty I meant to say yesterday it’s good news that your DGD is now much better and things are looking up. GrandmaBatty I am still keeping on with the Gaelic but I’m looking for something a bit more structured than DuoLingo. It was an easy, fun way to get going but it hasn’t really taught me any grammar, though I have picked up some rules from the exercises - when to use certain words and spellings for example.

It was such a wild night last night I had a disturbed sleep but wasn’t unwell or in pain so not feeling too bad today. Mr.B took me to collect my prescription from the pharmacy in Morrisons. The staff are so helpful and had everything ready for me, such a change from the dreadful service I had from my previous pharmacy! Also it meant I had time to have a quick wander around the shop and pick up some bits and pieces. I have a weakness for ‘Rhubarb and custard’ sweeties and Morrisons sell a sugar free version. It’s been sunny here all day but the local news has been showing deep snow and huge traffic jams just a few miles inland. The Gulf Stream keeps us relatively frost free. I hope your daughter isn’t on the M62 today Urms.

It’s very cold here so I’m snuggling up in my
Oodie and Mr.B has just brought coffe.

BlueSapphire your holiday sounds amazing, enjoy yourself.

BlueSapphire I was born in Northampton.

I have had a scare. Mr Soop came in from the garden smothered in blood. A pal has taken him to A&E. The cauterised head wounds have opened up. His jacket, jeans, the floors throughout the house are smothered in droplets and the paper kitchen towel is saturated. I now need to mop up and prepare for his return. We put a tourniquet around his head and he's wearing a towel turban. I am a bit jittery. I was so shocked by his appearance and, as I cannot drive, our pal in the village came round as soon as I told her what had happened.

I shall report back tomorrow.

Oh no Soop I hope he is ok.

What a shock soop I hope your H is ok and soon sorted.
It is a beautiful sunny day here but bitterly cold.
The small snowfall we woke up to this morning went very quickly.
I am at my friend’s tonight for a meal, although we go out together frequently it is the first time in years since I had a meal there.
Her H died first then mine, then Covid reared it’s head and we never renewed our mutual meals together.
I am so looking forward to it.
Bluesapphire that all sounds idyllic, I hope very much you have a wonderful time and make new friends.
To all others who are under the weather or acting as carers I wish you well.
Have the best weekend you can everyone.

Gosh soop very scary, I hope he soon recovers. Dropped daughter outside Southampton General at 7:10, picked her up at 12, the op took 17 minutes, signed off for 6 weeks.
Did the school run both times and now they’re all home, Imogen at 15 will be chief chef for a while!
Have a great holiday BlueSapphire not a place I’ve been.
Enjoy your meal and chat annsixty sounds great.
ttfn.

Soop I hope Mr Soop will be ok and home soon. What a fright. Jaxjacky your poor daughter. Annsixty enjoy your meal with your friend. Blossoming " I'm finding the same with Spanish, although I'm much further behind you. I need the grammar rules too. I bought a couple of books on *Brook's recommendation which help.
Today I have done most of the washings and housework. I only have floors to clean which I'll do tomorrow. A busy morning tomorrow. A trip to Aldi, then the pharmacist for my prescription, then a jewellers to get a ring repaired then the opticians to pick up my new specs. Spaghetti bolognaise for dinner tonight, steak fajitas tomorrow. Have a good evening Kitcheners.

Naughyneine I forgot to say thank you for your kind words about my friend. A gentle passing would be best for her now.

Jax glad that your daughter is home.Wishing her a speedy and trouble free recovery.

BlueSapphire I’m so pleased the snow didn’t disrupt your holiday plans.The holiday sounds amazing and I’m sure your lovely husband will be with you in spirit.

soop I hope Mr soop is soon home with you.A shock for both of you.

The snow has finally started to melt.DD has just dropped M and Henry off.As school was closed she has not got any work done for the last two days so the children will stay overnight while she catches up.M has decided we are having a girls trip to town tomorrow while grandpa looks after H.

We have decided on fajitas for tomorrow as well Grandmabatty!

Enjoy your meal Ann and take care all who are out and about.

Gosh Soop, I hope your OH gets sorted quickly. All that blood! I fainted once when I saw the merest speck of my own blood as I was having a drip taken out in hospital. I felt such a twit. Jax, I’m glad your daughter has had her operation.
OH and I went out for lunch today. A pub in a small nearby village which is overrun by peacocks. The village not the pub.
I am currently seething about the BBC’s behaviour. Some of David Attenborough’s new programme not being shown in case it upsets the right wing media; G Lineker having to step back for speaking the truth; Fiona Bruce on QT saying that Stanley Johnson’s attack on his wife was a ‘one-off’… I could go on but I won’t. Have a good evening. I will continue to seeth.

What a nasty shock Soop. Hope Mr Soop will be patched up and home with you soon.
Pleased your DD has had her procedure and is now recovering Jax.
Your holiday sounds wonderful Bluesapphire, enjoy.

We had all the photos and measurements of the house done this morning beginning to feel real now.This afternoon we viewed an apartment overlooking the Thames,it would have been perfect but sadly needed lots of work,not really what we wanted.Couple of bungalows to view tomorrow so onwards and upwards.
Enjoy your evening Kitcheners.

Have had a busy day, with village coffee morning for the oldies (when did I become one?) and then a trip to the surgery to collect my prescriptions. An afternoon at the computer and now I have signed off for the day. We have at least escaped the awful weather, though the wind has been vicious, and I am glad not to have to go anywhere.

Hope Mr Soop has been satisfactorily patched up and that a peaceful evening can follow. I share LLFL’s fury and feel that I am more and more living in an Alice in Wonderland world where the lunatics are running the asylum.

Poor mr soop. I wish him all the best soop.

Ooh Soop... That's a horrible thing to happen to you both. I'm sending lots of hugs to poorly injured soul and chief nurse.
Jax...brilliant news that DD is all sorted.
LLFL...I couldn't agree more.
Blue Sapphire...I loved Cape Town...I struggled with the vast difference between the white and black. I felt very guilty at giving someone 20p to look after the hire car and seeing a young girl washing in a metal bucket whilst I was on a tour bus taking me to a vineyard. The botanical gardens are just beautiful. Enjoy.

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Oh soop I hope mr Soop is a bit better now and back home, how awful for you both, sending ❤️
Very good quick service from the NHS Jax, I hope your DD isn’t in too much pain and recovers quickly
Another lovely day here, this morning we went on a boat trip around the harbour and then we had a lazy afternoon sat in one of the Plazas watching the world go by. We’re just back to the apartment after a wander around the town after dark as I wanted to see the illuminated monuments etc. The picture is the view from the apartment window looking down the street and the other is a sculpture of a Whales tail at the port
BlueSapphire enjoy every single minute of your well deserved holiday, I’m sure your DH would be so proud of you!
Enjoy your evening with your friend annsixty it sounds good

Dear Kitchener's what follows is a cautionary tale. You might want to get a tea, coffee or alcohol...or skip to the next post if tales of stupid blondes are not your thing.
It cannot be denied that I like a bargain. My heart sings when I see a yellow sticker in M and S.... A dish that doesn't appeal at all priced at £6 suddenly sounds delicious at £1.25. I've been known to do a double take and shout out loud...wow when I've gone past Primark and seen a large sign saying 'Reductions'.
Now last week on the way to London I stopped at Home Bargains and whilst picking up contact lens fluid and deodorant I spotted the bargain of the month....or so I thought. You know those items that are advertised on monitors in supermarkets... like ironing board covers...and things for doing indescribable things to facial hair...well it was one of those items that I'd spotted reduced to £1.99 from £19.99. A pair of leggings that if I read the blurb right would reduce me to a svelte nymph in seconds. I'd had a previous encounter with something which claimed to do the same 15 years ago prior to DD2's wedding that had ended most unpleasantly but I thought technology has come a long way since then so what can go wrong. There was only one pair left and it was marked small which I studiously ignored as there seemed to be a generous amount of elastine in the material. I didn't dare try them on at my friend's house where I was staying in case there was a repeat of 15 years ago when trapped in a pair of gripper knickers I attempted to try and get them off by putting both hands inside them and ended up like a penguin flapping around bedroom unable to ask ex for assistance as things were...not cordial. My friends marriage is not happy and the atmosphere in the house is permanently on the edge of hostile so I had no wish to even risk having to explain to either of them or ask to be assisted out of my predicament if a repetition occured.
This morning DOH had gone off to be wonderful to whoever needed it in South Somerset in his new role ( going very very well). So I decided to try on said leggings. I sensibly applied moisturiser to aid the manoeuvre and all seemed to be going well..they went up to my knees easily...then a lot of what I call jiggle to the left and then jiggle even more to the right took place and whoosh they were up over my hips and my stomach had disappeared. The down side of this was my bust appeared to be approaching a 50G and my knees like He Man..but my stomach was flat. At this point I became aware that my breathing was shallow and becoming more so...I sat on the bed which only increased the ever tightening grip these buggering things had on my midriff. The dogs were getting more disconcerted with the grunts coming from their Mum and retreated under the bed...By now I was seriously contemplating how ridiculous it was going to look on the post mortem that declared death was due to squeezing a generous size 12 to 14 body into a size not at all generous size 8 to 10 pair of leggings. Just as I was about to pass out I remembered that I had a pair of nail scissors in my make up bag on the dresser. Staggering like a woman possessed across the bedroom I grabbed the scissors and sliced through the vice like grip and my tummy burst forth and I fell back on the bed Thanking God that my final moments on earth were not encased in the most vicious garment ever known to man. (I bet a man invented them). Lesson learnt.... probably not!!!!

A late visit, we’ve been out for ages, 13 hours to be precise, enjoying a coach day trip gifted to Mr C for his birthday. Can’t believe how lucky we’ve been. Although the wind was keen it was dry to walk to the coach stop this morning. The snow that began to fall didn’t hinder the journey and for a Friday three motorways were remarkably empty. Arriving early we had plenty of time and enjoyed an excellent early lunch before setting forth. The trip back was as troublefree and we walked back from the coach under a clear sky. Think we’ll sleep well tonight.

Neine I truly don’t want to admit to giggling reading your tale, but hey, I just did. I’m more than pleased you survived the experience and sad your bargain didn’t.

Oh goodness, soop. I’d have been a gibbering wreck. I hope Mr Soop is home and safe now and you can both get some rest.

The NHS at its best jax, hope your daughter is resting comfortably.

Enjoy every minute bluesapphire, what a wonderful experience.

Sounds like a relaxing and enjoyable evening ann. Good for you

It’s going to be an early night for me. Foolish person that I am I booked a haircut at 9am tomorrow. What happened to common sense?

Goodnight everyone. Sleep tight.

Neine 🤣🤣🤣

‘Evening All’.

Not long in from babysitting. Make up off, pj’s on and Himself just made us both a brewski. I forgot to take Man. Utd iPad with me. L’il Miss had been given the Class Bear for the weekend she was so happy and took him up to bed with her. I think it’s a sweet concept. All the children in the class have him for a weekend and details of exploits with photos are entered into a book to share.

Right, I’m now going to finish watching the Fall on Netflix. 40 minutes to go but I was too stressed out with it last night to keep watching. I hate heights and this film is really tense! No.1 charting on Netflix this week.

Hope everyone has a restful night’s sleep. It makes such a difference to our well being if we can doesn’t it? x

Man. Utd? Pah! Should proof read first.
* my

Hello everyone. Hoping Mr S is safely home. DH is telling the DGC a bedtime story ( and don’t tell mum it was at nearly 10 o’clock!).
Friday nights are pretty dreadful - swimming for 2 at 4.30. Into town for tea then youth club at 6.30 for one and gymnastics at 6.45 for the other, about 20 miles apart. We rolled home at about 8 pm in two cars from different directions!
A Manhattan was called for!

I'm very late posting it's been mixed weather day here thick snow this morning nobody going anywhere friend I was meeting for lunch agreed another day then this afternoon sun came out and thaw started . Neine I had a giggle at predicament (sorry).Soop hope everything is quiet at yours now .to everyone on holidays enjoy. Sleep well all.

Back about half an hout from my friend's.
We had a lovely paella with lots of seafood and a dessert of chocolate with brandied cherries.
It was all delicious it was accompanied by a goodly amount of wine!!
Does it count at my age?
Now safely in bed and warm and cozy, I hope you are all the same.
A lie in tomorrow but have to plan a meal now as my friend is still stricken with covid.
Good night everyone sleep well.

Sleep well all of you lovely ladies.