ToadyI have been mainly Vol. 7

Glad you are feeling better Gally and what a thoughtful neighbour you have. Enjoy your meal.

Enjoy your new chair anno

Today we went to see Lottie and her big sister and, when we arrived, they already had visitors - DD3 and her two tots so I'm now exhausted. Lottie looks just like her big sister and her mummy so I'm feeling very proud.

Roast pork for dinner and a night in front of the TV in pjs and dressing gown beckons. [

This weekend has been glorious - summer has returned if only for a few days. I have rubbed down and oiled the teak garden furniture - phew it takes for ever - but I feel good about it. I then took the big 'snippers' to overgrown trees and shrubs and am now left with a huge pile of branches to dispose of - so yet another trip to the tip this week. I had been feeling very low recently what with one thing and another, but all this activity has cheered me up and yesterday my young neighbour brought me a huge box of chocolates and a dvd in an effort to put a smile on my face - wasn't that lovely! Now off for a late lunch/early dinner with friends - hopefully in the garden first

Today I feel very guilty because I took my old reclining chair to the tip. It looked fine from behind, but the arms were worn, the seat was sagging and it was dangerously falling off its base. I have spent far too much time on it in the past 8 years or so. A new one comes tomorrow!

I have spent the last three days painting, much to the amusement of my DH who will not allow me close to a paint brush....... I have been painting in readiness for the man coming to sand all the floors in DD house, I have painted the walls and ceiling in the w.c. utility and today I have managed to paint both the ceiling and the walls in the kitchen, I was glad that GN was down this morning as I could not get embroiled or the schedule would have gone out of the window.

But can someone tell me if there is a tip for cutting in... I dont have the knack at all.

I am now having a much needed glass of wine.

Thank heavens I can go to my friends Macmillan coffee morning tomorrow and dont need to look at a paint brush.

Well! I was not selected for the Colman's challenge! That's my chance of winning £150 down the pan! Do you think my observations about the large amount of salt in their sauces might have been part of the reason.

Same here, just a bit further north.

annsixty Macc catches the snow because its just where the clouds begin to rise to get over the Peak District. The minute they do that they cool and dump snow on the town. Just a few miles south of there it is often not half as bad.

Me too Kitty, mucked out the kitchen which was untidy and sticky after marathon jam-making. Took a break and popped up to Sainsbury's, I think OAPs shop on a Thursday spending the grey pound! Stuck to my list, for a change, and resisted impulse buys (which is what they hope for anyway!) I'm off the big supermarkets, can you tell?
Listened to Woman's Hour and heard that Constance Spry was a bit of a gal (not married to Mr. Spry, for example). Did I hear right?

Baked! A clementine cake, two quiches, one tarte tatin. Now having a and wondering what to have for dinner..

Glad you and your SiL enjoyed your day, Gracesmum

Today, I saved an hour by not being able to log on to GN so I got to Sainsbury's really early (well 10.00!) to discover that all the freshers were there, along with their Mums, Dads, brothers, sisters etc etc, doing their first big shop so my usual shop took an extra hour! [fedup] emoticon.

Hi nelliemoser I live just outside Stockport but love Macc. DD lived there for about 4 years when first married before moving to W Sussex and Macc was a nice place to live ,but bad winters,is that something you remember?

Anno annsixty I used to work in Macc. By the time I retired I almost had panic attacks when going over there. Mind you the whole show I worked for moved to Middlewich.

Sel, yes indeed - especially when the thriller is Jack Reacher.

Would have posted this last night if SOME PEOPLE hadn't clocked off early........

"Storm in a Flower Vase" turned out MUCH better than the reviews suggested! OK a light play, but beautifully staged and very well acted - apart from Spry's husband who failed to convince me.
It's a lovely little theatre with a sort of "theatre club" atmosphere and I felt so sorry for the cast who had acted their socks off to a half empty house.
Beforehand, Sis-IL and I went to the Laura Knight exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery which I cannot recommend too highly. LOVELY pictures, not too crowded, beautifully hung/arranged with time and space to really enjoy them. She was an amazing woman of her time and it fitted in well with the Constance Spry play which even referred to her (Knight)

TG GN back then to keep Anno on the straight and narrow

Much better than a cookery cock-up anno

Oooh annodomini a lie-in with a good thriller? What a way to start the day

I noticed GN was off last night and this morning I had a lie-in with a good thriller, so didn't notice how long it was off.

Quite Ariadne really bad start to the day!

Today I have been waiting for GN to come back on line! Amazing how important it is to check everything out before the day begins!

Today another great cookery cock-up narrowly averted. I picked up a bag of what I thought was golden granulated sugar and tipped it on top of a few ounces from my sugar canister. Just in time, I realised that this was not, in fact, sugar, but a bag of cous cous. Can you imagine how my brownies might have turned out?

Greatnan, Moi? Push a car?

Better luck with the CV then p

phoenix!

Today I have mostly been adjusting my CV (with the help of an ace GN'er!) so that it is ready to send with an application tomorrow.

After that I cooked an absolutely vile supper. Made so many notes against the recipe as to what to increase/decrease, add/omit if I ever intended to cook it again, that have decided it's really not worth it!

Now having to take the taste away.