🦞 The Lockdown Gang still chatting 🦞

Difficult day, Doodle 🥀
Another safely negotiated.
Hugs xx

Grammaretto in my youth i went to Bexhill on sea for my holidays or Margate. My father didn’t drive so we went somewhere by train. Stayed in B and Bs.
My first trip on a plane I went to Jersey when I was about 18. Didn’t really start travelling until our sons were grown up.
Glad you’ve had a nice helper.

Ah, travel, Grammaretto. Best days of my life as a student, before responsibilities as a proper grown up took over.

Brilliant, even when the money ran out.

My mother woukd have had a pink fit

Thankyou Doodle. You are so kind and thoughtful. ❤️
I may have to rent somewhere in the short term though I'd rather not.
I wish I knew where I want to be.

I have my Australian helper here again.
She leaves today but has been lovely company. She says it's as cold now as it was when she was here before Christmas.
She has to be back in Aus for a wedding but she's been all over Europe since she came in September, plus a trip to Japan to meet up with her family. How these young people travel!

Did you Lobstars travel a lot in your youth?

Grammaretto at our age it’s important to feel safe where you live. To be somewhere close to shops or bus route if you can’t drive anymore but mostly to be somewhere where you have contact with others and aren’t in any way isolated.
I come into contact with many people who are lonely.
I would say it’s more important to find somewhere you think you could be happy. If you’re concerned about the location it’s probably not right for you. If need be rent somewhere till you find what you want. Hope all goes well for you.
Ixion i love Hector but it would be cheaper to put a real puppy in a hold-all than buy that bag. 🤣
Yes Kaiomana like the others I am interested in knowing more about where you might be moving and what is in offer for you.
Church for me tomorrow then a quiet time at the hospice.

Lovely to feel that others share your love of your house, Grammaretto. Are you doing the viewings yourself now? Let's hope they follow uo their apparent enthusiasm.

And yes, I think location is VERY important, especially for one who has been at the centre of a thriving community life.

Kaimoana - is your current home part of a sort of community of elders, geographically speaking?

Will you be moved, do you suppose, as a group, or scattered about town individually in random fashion? So discombobulating - and how is the request for a two-bedder going? Mention was made about the need to have space for visiting family - could you not stress that you might need provision for overnight helper stays in the future?

NN, I'm not sure how appropriate my exercise sets would be for you, ours are generic strength and balance classes, not specifically geared to targetted physio guidance. I'd hate to suggest something positively unsuitable. But I will send you a link to the Otago programme our hour-long classes follow. Perhaps, hopefully, you can extract useful bits for your own needs.

Let me know!

NB The figures are particularly unprepossessing😂🤣

www.ouh.nhs.uk/media/5xydterh/85619otago.pdf

Tennis starting soon, so lots of time off for good behaviour and chances to sit, watch and, most importantly, catch up here with good🦞friends.

A bientôt.

The viewers were lovely, again!
It was just one lot today.
No idea what they will say to the estate agent though. They were here for over an hour.

I am cold. I have come to bed with a hot water bottle - in June.
I put the heating on earlier.

My book friends came and were ruthless with books and clutter. I became ruthless too.
I hope I won't regret it.

Any more news of your move Kaimoana?

It is a real bonus if someone you like buys your home
Obviously you want to sell it - but it's easiest if someone else will love it in future

I need a new handbag but it has to be roomy . I think Hector is a bit small.
I do like him though.

I had viewers this afternoon. They were lovely and seemed to like my messy house.
I hope they decide to buy it especially if Music man doesn't.

Two more viewings tomorrow.
Tonight I am having 3 people to dinner and one until Sunday.

I have seen another house I like. It's perfect but the location is not great. How important is location?

Very important I hear you say.

What did you do in your art class Doodle?

Oh ixion! Hector is obviously very neat... I can use him as a plant pot holder!
Multi-use! Great investment!

Think I'll stick with my Hector, if that's OK with you all?

Thom Browne
Yours for £7,150

Oh! Just seen the photo. Not having one of those thank you.
Grammaretto I’m not sure I can remember accurately but I think it was something to do with a miss spelling by our dear Cherry .
That’s so interesting about your home and the pottery. Ooh fish and chips at the harbour sounds great, love the photos.
NN I can state categorically that it will not be compulsory to have one of those bags. I wouldn’t give one house room.
Hope everyone is ok. I’ve been to art today then managed to take some stuff to the charity shop before the rain came. Got back into my car just as the first drops came down.

I’ll buy half a dozen Notspaghetti 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Guess what girls were trend setters.!

I hope it's not going to be compulsory for Lobstars to have one of those bags...it would be a downward slope, next thing it would be lobster tassels for the cheerleaders and heaven knows what else.

Absolutely Grammaretto! One for holidays and one for "spares"!

Thought a couple of (rather small) bags might be a reasonable cost-cutting measure - after all can't buy a lot of shopping if they only hold a credit card and a notebook!

Incidentally, we had a beautiful hand-machined analogue paper strength tester from a lab until a couple of years ago when I couldn't justify keeping it any longer!
Maybe I should have sent it to you???

https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202606/medium-ej31c5-1000024656.jpg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202606/medium-7f83kv-1000024662.jpg%3C/span%3E

Are those the two you've bought NS?
😉

Can someone remind me why we are Lobstars?
Or is it lost in the mists of time?

Doodle One of the reasons I liked the house is that there was a laboratory with a drain in the concrete floor so that it could be hosed down. I thought it would make an excellent workshop and so it has. It dates from a time when the house served as a testing laboratory for different kinds of paper. It belonged to the nearby paper mill, long since demolished.

I used to teach classes here up until just before DH died and now share the space with other potters. There are 4 of us.

I would like to have a much smaller workshop in my next place. I haven't seen anything else yet apart from the fixer upper which has a double garage.

I've just been to yoga so will need to rest for a few hours 😂

I was at a lovely concert last night. It was my friend's DD singing. It was in Musselburgh so we walked around the harbour with our fish and chips before the show, dodging showers.

https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202606/medium-50ugfr-1000051472.jpg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202606/medium-7m6iay-1000051471.jpg%3C/span%3E

Would help if I put the photos up!

Hello!
Just found this small handbag online and thought I'd share it here
I must have missed it last autumn when it came out

Pharrel Williams has collaborated with Louis Vuitton on their Fall/Winter 2025 season, creating a lobster-shaped statement piece

There may be one or two left if you act now - a "snip" at $18,000

Been out all day today and amazingly managed to avoid getting wet in the terrible storms we’ve had. Chat from the police at church about fraud scams which was good. Lunch in town then a bit of shopping. Got home in time for dinner. 🤣
Sleep well all

Kaimoana how lovely to hear from you. It troubles me to think of you being somewhere noisy and busy. I’m hoping it’s not as bad as you fear. I too think you should make sure it’s two bedrooms the your granddaughter or son could come and stay for a visit
How ridiculous to only give you half an hour to click and collect. Never heard of such a thing. Yes I too am wondering if you’ll have any help when you move. Will you still be able to see your Māori friends?
Im sorry you’re being manipulated this way. We’re all concerned for you
love and hugs
*Grammaretto did your house always have the pottery studio or did you build it on after?
I wish you’d write a story about your house and what’s happened whilst you’ve been living there,. I love the idea of a boat bein built indoors and the model railway enthusiasts 🤣*
Oh how ridiculous to turn up so late to collect something.
Are you due to have any helpers soon that can help with the tidying up or sorting things?
Sit fit was good Ixion. I just about manage to keep going through all the different exercises but I come out feeling like I’ve done a marathon. It’s actually a very well run class by a retired physiotherapist and she’s very good.
Jan hope you have a lovely relaxing time in Norfolk. Nice to get away for a bit
NN not having a garden I am quite safe in a garden centre. Certainly among the plants if not the cake stalls.
Im so sorry about the situation with your daughters. Must be heartbreaking for you not to see them or be involved in their lives. I do hope that somehow over time things resolve themselves.
Ive been at the garden centre again today to meet some friends. We got marooned there in a thunderstorm that went on for ages. Nothing to do but eat cake, drink coffee and chat till it stopped raining 🤣

Insist you get it in writing Kaimoana that you were promised 2 bedrooms.

Nice to see you. Jan and to think of you spending time on the Broads. I loved going there. What a shame noone told you that the long journey was unnecessary.
How were you supposed to know!

I was expecting someone tonight to buy the settee I'm selling on n Gumtree.
He didn't turn up when he said so I retired upstairs. He now asks if it's too late! Of course it is.

People can be 😡 very annoying - unlike Lobstars.

My bedroom is all upside down with everything everywhere. This is part of my attempt to sift through my own stuff and throw out what I don't need.

My vacuum cleaner broke halfway through so I managed to borrow one but I suppose I will have to give it back.

Night night everyone,

Kaimoana *Sorry you are having to face such an upheaval and having to leave the countryside for a busy city but as you say there could be better facilities regarding Drs shops and maybe groups you could join to make new friends. The trouble is you really dont want to move and why would you? Really hope you can get a 2 bedroom house.
I have just done my exercises with my personal trainer! Now worn out! Its really just to try and improve my mobility after my stroke but its really hard going!
DH just phoned the hospital to find out what time his next immunotherapy appt is to be told he has been transferred to our local hospital and no one had told him! Im just cross about it as Ive been telling him all along that he could have it done locally but he refused to ring and ask. So all the 50 mile trips were unnecessary. Grrrrrrrr!
Anyway we are off to the Norfolk Broads on Saturday. Only 60 miles away but we love it there and have friends living there so will have a catch up with them! Just hope it stays dry! If I see Nfk Dumpling about will say hello.
Basil our friendly blackbird is singing beautifully today bless him. My favourite bird song.
Looking a bit black now and heard a rumble of thunder. Oh well we need the rain here in East Anglia!

Hello Lobstars... Just been having a catch up on all you news. Fingers crossed Grammaretto that someone comes along and loves your home as much as you do.
When the divorce made selling the family home inevitable I thought I would be distraught but on the day I just went around every from and absorbed the memories and the stood in the hall and thanked it for being my safe haven during the horrible times and for being part of my life for more than half my life. Then closed the front door and went off to start my new life 200 miles away and I've never looked back.
Definitely plant up some memory tubs too...I managed to transplant lots from the garden too by putting them into planters. Aquilegia, natural geraniums,hostas, cistus etc. Then when you are in your new home you can plant them in the ground.
Ixion...what do the ankle supports do...I am trying to get physio for my right ankle, it had been caving in since the first hip op ( as the leg was set wrong) and it's still pulling onwards and making my knee turn too ( and the hip until I can build the muscles up enough again). I wish I could say I was pain free but something isn't quite right and I can't pinpoint what it is exactly yet.

Kaimoana...I am cross on your behalf. 30 minutes is no time at all. It must be obvious that your shopping is picked up by a helper ergo you are not able to collect it yourself. Will you have access to help at the new place? Maybe one of the positives will be more places to get shopping. Can you contact the SA to get clarification on how many bedrooms they will be. Is this new place closer to your son? I do hope so.
Notspag...is there no way you could still move to Dmil's home if probate is going to take a while
Doodle, I am trying to avoid going anywhere near anything that sells plants. For the last few weeks every shop has included another something, Asda on Sunday for milk and 2 beautiful deep purple petunia ( the ones that smell in the evening) hanging baskets came home too. Albeit they are in plastic pots that I snobbily will transfer into wicker ones at the first opportunity. Don't hate me. it's I just like natural coloured containers that show of the beautiful contents,oh ok then I am just snobby about plastic pots. 🤣
It's got to the point that DH automatically gets a trolley even though we have only gone shopping for one item. He was indulging me on Sunday though as I wept buckets on Saturday night...We were watching a programme about greatest hits of 1993 and Love is all around you came on and I was transported back to DD4 aged 2 singing along waving her fingers and wiggling her toes and the what finally finished me off was Meatloaf singing I would do anything for Love (but I won't do that) and remembering DD1,2 and 3 standing arms locked and belting it out.
Needless to say I looked like a hag on Sunday. Obviously losing Luna set the hormones off and I'd managed to hold it in mostly but I realised afterwards how much I miss the girls. I saw more of DD3 as she lived closest and near on daily tea and gossips happened...I wish they could again. One day maybe it will.

Plant special stuff, including sentimental, in your tubs, Grammaretto- then they are ready to come with you when you move!

So lovely to see you here again Kaimoana.

How annoying about the shopping. If you called them would they hold it for you in future?