Soops cosy kitchen for kind peoples and precious pets !

N&G and soop it sounds like a good suggestion. Her CV does read very well - she has excellent language skills - but the main problem is that there's not a great deal in the way of experience to put on it. She has had the same job since she left uni. I will be going over to see her tommorrow and I will certainly put it to her.

Charley DH is happy to be "paid" in coffee but it has to be so strong you can stand your spoon up in it!

Not only a birthday but good news of Flynn, how good is that mawb?

Bracken's return is wonderful, soop, the tail is a shame but if it's not bothering her then it shouldn't bother us .

You will win, charley, hang on in there. Sounds better today.

Agree about a professional look at your daughter's cv greyduster, I think an outside eye is always helpful. Fancy not knowing the words n&g. Bet you knew more than I would

That confirmation was good to hear. galen, hopefully things will go smoothly for retro.

Congratulations on your return to health, gaga, well done you.

Off to see birthday granddaughter number two now, more cake, how will I cope?

So pleased to hear Bracken has returned soop. If she won't let you near her you can't check on that tail stump - do hope it's healing well.

One of the cats I had years ago decided to leave home. I had his mother as well and I think he just wanted to do the young male adult thing and find his own path in life. He was very much an inner city cat and had had 'the chop' so I didn't worry too much about him getting in a fight. After a couple of weeks he came back, but just for a visit then off again. For several years after he would call in every few months to say hello, have a meal and a snooze then off again. His mum would sniff him and they'd rub noses . He'd obviously found somewhere else to live and always looked healthy and then he just stopped coming, round about the time his old mum died

So pleased to read of the return of Bracken. What a relief. Cheers all round.

Been walkabout for a few days with the backpack so have 'missed' a lot of news.

Pleased you are ok after the ambulance scenario RL and have read the reassuring news regarding the insurance probability. What I don't understand (and I don't want to upset you)'is how the driver in front of you heard and saw the ambulance in the rear view mirror, and you did not. I think you need to prepare yourself for someone asking that specific question. As you say, no harm done, but the whole thing must have been quite scary and upsetting for all involved.

Home to find the daffs out and the local owls making a huge racket at dusk. Lovely to hear them. I have been putting off cleaning THE boots since returning, but I think I will adopt the middle ground and leave them to dry a bit longer. That's the best excuse I can summon.

i have orders for scones and fruit tea loaf with brandy. Will drop some in tomorrow.

soop I'm sooooo thrilled to bits for you. Wonderful l news !

grannyqueenie I offered my services as Project Manager because I thought that he needed somebody desperately. He did say that he admired my straight talking but I may well put some punters off.

I must admit I do not like the idea of scaffolding being up for so long because there are frequent burglaries around here. I live within walking distance (not me,I am not able) of where Winston Churchill went to school.

Happy Birthday MawB!
Soop, I`m delighted that Bracken is back, but sorry to hear of the loss of her tail, I do hope that there`s no infection in the wound, seeing as she won`t allow herself to be handled.

MawB has had first hand knowledge of how to treat an animal with most of the tail removed but Grace allowed her and the vet to treat the tail albeit reluctantly. I do hope that Bracken returns for her daily food and nose rubbing with Rory. He will be very happy.

I slept like a baby last night.I would like to get rid of the dust and filth around.

At least there will only be one man working indoors today, the other will be starting the re-pointing outside. He is on 2 rather than 3 strikes and he is out, playing music so loud I thought I had a disco set up indoors. That lasted all of 30 seconds. Also telling me that it was my turn to make the coffee and calling me mate. I am not his mate. He is not used to working in domestic premises, usually working on building sites. He probably means well, his work his excellent, he just has not learned any social skills on the way.

Ah well, another day at the office.

He will learn, charley. He has an excellent teacher. .

Your workman would have brought out my not very hidden inner Margot Leadbetter, charleygirl!! How very dare he.
I cannot imagine what you are going through - did you budget (time, stress, upheaval, not specifically money) for such a mammoth project?
Well back to normal for me today. It's not sunny, in fact it is quite chilly out, the cleaner will come later so I just have to tidy up it is a useful discipline, otherwise my artful "lived in, shabby chic" look tends to take over. And DH's pile of correspondence, envelopes, empty pill packets, newspapers, 3 weeks ago's sudoku and "griddler" at his end of the table is beyond a joke.
Grace manages very well with her little stumpy tail (but the long one WAS beautiful) but I wonder if cats use theirs more for balance? Does Bracken look as if she has been in a fight/in the wars? Or do you think her poor wee tail might have got caught in a trap? Doesn't bear thinking of. The reassuring thing to me is that however feral, she knows where "home" is and has come back knowing she will get a loving reception also known as "food". Treating or even checking the stump by a vet sounds like another matter altogether, but obviously good IF possible.

Morning all !

Oh we have eaten 'mystery meat' many times GrannieQueenie {smile} , this time , surprisingly one chicken breast plus veggies actually did the trick !

Re The CV Grey its amazing what the Cv people made of my CV , I had an area where I had several jobs in quick succession which looked iffy and they made it sound like a positive plus. It didn't mean I didn't have to tweak each time I applied for a job as obviously it needs to be role specific and highlight different skills , but it was useful. I hope your DD finds a job quickly. Its amazing how easy it is to get your confidence knocked from a redundancy. Its not personal but somehow it is.

How was the birthday cake Corner ? I have to buy make a cake for DD2 this weekend .

Oh you did make me chuckle Charley , I think I might even feel the tiniest bit sorry for the poor man.... he has met his match methinks !!

I was supposed to be having an ironing day , and it may well still come to that but our young friend who had Sam for his hols needs some crafting help for her sisters hen weekend this week. I am happy to help but I wish she had thought about this earlier. I hate last minuteism ( is that even a word???)

Have a good day one and all !!

The cake was lovely, n&g, have eaten so much cake this weekend I don't think I will be able to face any for a good long while. Or maybe I will .

I'm with you. Last minute anything has my shoulders up around my ears. We're on school run today, just had a message telling us here is some now overdue homework that will need to be done here after pickup. That's scuppered our plans for something a bit more relaxing, oh well, life I guess but frustrating all the same. A reluctant and grumpy child not wanting to do their homework because that isn't what we do here and was 'forgotten' because they don't want to do it anyway isn't my idea of fun. Guess the biscuit tin might help the process along - forbidden fruit .

Catch up day planned today, so best get in with catching up. .

N&G the young lad returned today, and has not said a single word except greet me pleasantly. I will be counting his cigarette breaks but it would appear that he may have learned a lesson albeit the hard way because he was without work after being "sacked" from here. His coffee breaks will be working ones but I do understand the law re breaks.

MawB 50% of the extra work is nobody's fault except the original builder and previous cowboys working inside and out. Storm Doris played a part also. Unfortunately those jobs turned out to be very expensive but I can hold my own re negotiating.

There is little point claiming on insurance because I was the loser last time with my premiums rising and unable to move to another insurance co. for 5 years.

Some of the stress could have been alleviated here by covering furniture and although jackets, coats etc were removed from the hall prior to painting they were returned when the paint was still tacky. Pure stupidity.

I have never forgotten or forgiven the electricians going home and leaving me without heat or light, kindly leaving me a torch. If they had a website my review would be lengthy.

The two fellows are beavering away here and the place is reasonably quiet for once.

It must be getting to me because I am doing stupid things like forgetting to comb my hair each day.

granniequeenie Your post made me chuckle.

Charleyg You have the constitution of an ox. How you keep going in spite of buggerations unlimited, is beyond me. Those electricians who left you up a certain creek, without power, should feel thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

The care home visit was a noisy affair. What with the television, vacuum cleaner and loud shouts from residents seeking immediate attention, my admiration for the staff grows in leaps and bounds. M claimed that her waterproof mac had been stolen. She told her Mother, 'you don't need to buy another. I lost it. I'll replace it'. One carer said...'your waterproof is in the wardrobe'. M responded, 'what colour is it?' Carer said -'white'. M said, 'wrong...it's blue'. Carer said, 'yes, that's the one. It is white with a blue pattern.' M went quiet. Carer smiled knowingly. Life goes on.

Bracken was seen briefly last night. She didn't enter the chalet or eat her supper. Thirty minutes later, the light went on and a young, tabby cat was sniffing along the ground. When she realised that there was a dishful of chicken inside the chalet, she desperately wanted to sample it. It took her some long time before she plucked up sufficient courage to go for it.

MacSporran Muttered...I do hope that incomers aren't going to invade Rory's space. This is HIS home and HIS territory.

corner Away to catch up. There is a very tall, strong, young man digging the new trench to help divert the water seeping from the forest slope into our garden and flooding the pathway. He's decked in oilskin with the biggest wellie boots I've ever seen. He's been beavering away since 10:30. I shall continue s few garden tasks after I've had a sadly minus

N&G 'Minuteism' is a word that I like. I shall look for an opportunity to use it from time to time.

Many thanks to you lot for the kind messages related to Bracken's homecoming. I shall keep you posted.
I'm wondering how Georgie is. Any news?

R and S my two "new" builders need a Project Manager also. Silly me would work out the day before if any tools, blades etc had to be bought for the next few days work so that one of them is not wasting diesel travelling to the ends of the earth to pick up items. That will be mentioned in my daily litany methinks.

Tomorrow the electrician is returning to give me the piece of paper stating he has done the work satisfactorily. Unfortunately it does not need my signature- he signs off his won work apparently. I will lock the door so that he will not be leaving before he has finished odd jobs.

The Blinds man is also coming to measure up etc. That is definitely more pleasant.

I have worked out the basics on my new recorder so I am slowly getting there. I cannot believe how light it is, the last weighed a ton.

A fellow who lives in the next street knocked on my door, almost accusing me of scratching his car very badly. I did have words a few weeks ago re parking because it is private land here and he is not entitled to park. I discuss, I do not scratch out of spite. It could well be children, I do not know.

Galen, thank you. The answer to that question, of course, is that the ambulance would have hit that child. I shall phone the insurance company and tell them. One of my cousin's husbands (only one husband, lots of cousins!) was an ambulance driver and he said the same.

Just driven along that same bit of road without problems - in fact I'd not thought about it until afterwards.

I think my initial reaction of "Sorry, it's my fault" was at best misguided and at worst cutting off my nose to spite my face. Seriously, I always tend to lack confidence and accept the blame for many things which probably aren't my fault ... need to address that.

Thanks for all your help, advice and support - everyone in the kitchen.

xx

soop another flying visit from me just to say so glad Bracken has re appeared. however she lost her tail, she must feel safe with you to find her way back. Hope she stays around now and doesn't venture too far. I wonder what happened to her. Poor Bracken.

Retrolady one should never admit blame even if one is at fault and you were not. One should exchange details in a civilised manner and keep quiet.

Hello everyone. I'm so pleased to hear about Bracken too, soop. There is soooo much to catch up on when one has been absent from the kitchen for a few days.

Despite employing a Funeral Director for Mum's funeral, there are a million and one things to be decided and I also have 2 brothers to keep in check. They both go off at tangents and think we've decided what we are doing when we haven't at all. The catering is getting me down. DB2 forgot to mention that I was gf and that we need some vegetarian food. Too late for me to have gf pudding although I suspect that I'll be glad of it. So DD3 and I are making cakes too. We''ll all be too fat to move after.

And, what to wear? I've bought and sent back so much stuff, I'm a bit . DH paid a credit card bill yesterday which will be seriously in credit when everything that has gone back has been credited. I need

And, I'm blinking sure that you do too Charley - please share my bottle!! And gaga, so long as she isn't driving of course.

Wonderful result re long, deep channel dug across the fence in the forest. Water diverted at long last. A brilliant job of work, thanks to a lovely local pal. I did a couple of hours work beneath the ancient willow, the branches of which are gnarled and low-lying. Was about to tidy away the tools etc and tripped on a tree root...pitched forward and gashed my shin on jagged edges of a lopped branch, twisted over and fell hitting my head on the corner of the drive. MacS took me to A&E. Not sufficient skin in the area to stich. All cleaned and bound up and a tetanus jab to be arranged. I've been barred from future toil in the garden. Bless him, MacSporran was horrified when he saw the wound. Held my hand tightly during the treatment. Not a good way to finish an afternoon.

Love to you all. Back with you tomorrow.

Oh Soop ! You must have had a terrible tumble , hope you don't feel too horrendously sore and shaky xxx

Sending you more hands to hold dear Soop and {{hugs}} but very gentle ones.
Now will you (and McSporran) rein back the creative gardening DIY urges and please please look after yourselves.
Failing that - take more tonic in it!

Oh soop !! I am sending a large roll of bubble wrap .....please wrap yourself up , sit in your chair and don't move !!

Please xx

soop I am so sorry to hear about your fall. I am sure McS will be looking after you very well, bless him, and I wish you a speedy recovery but NOT so you can rush back into the garden. Take it easy.
kitty always a trying time, organising a funeral. I've been involved a time or two. It will all come together like clockwork I'm sure.
I am planning my first fishing day of the year tommorrow. Tying up some rigs I find that my fine motor skills seem to have gone down the tubes since last season and it takes me ages now to tie a knot. It does not bode well, but it will be a joy to be out on the water again. Watch out trout! Here I come!