Soop's Special Kitcheners

Snowing again- am pooped as today we have 43 for lunch and tea- the elderly people's monthly luncheon. What really gets to me is all the clearing and cleaning afterwards- there are several of us helping, so it is not too bad- will finish the kitchen and all tomorrow.

The east wind is strong and bitterly cold today!

Someone came to show a really good amateur film about Sardinia and Corsica- and it was so good, that will be our destination for next year! The flowers were gorgeous (film taken end of May).

Crafting my darling girl...you are my Granspal Kitchener...therefore you are far from "beige"...so, let's not hear more of that nonsense. As for your apple turnovers, who cares whether they are all neat and tidy...not Soop she appreciates the very fact that you have made them and, what's more, have thought to share with us lot. I would love one right this minute...smothered in thick cream. Sigh!

granjura Well done for putting so much effort into the elderly people's luncheon treat.
The bitter wind has subsided. It was really rather mild when we walked this morning. The daffodils are about 3" through the ground. A beautiful sunset this evening. Must upload images sometime soon.

We're off to collect a mount from the Lochgilphead art shop tomorrow. The pussy cats (I opted for head and shoulders only) are ready to be popped into the post. I shall wait to hear from the owner of the pussy cats (need to know that she doesn't object) and then I shall show you the finished painting.

Must dash but will return early tomorrow afternoon. Do take very good care of yourselves.

Hi all, I'm here but I've been really busy with one thing and another. I have been keeping abreast of things but not posting. I have not been sledging!!

Anyway, something to make you laugh (I hope). I think I mentioned that Mum had lost her dentures but, luckily, I had kept an old set (that DH made 25 years ago) when she first went into a home. DH has made some adjustments to this old set and we are now having a duplicate set made so we won't be caught out again. We arrived this afternoon to fit the latest set and, lo and behold, they had found her old ones behind a water cooler! No idea how they got there, not Mum who can't stand or walk on her own, but isn't that just s**s law? I could start a second hand stall selling dentures now!

I've done a foot of my latest afghan. It's a shell pattern and I'm doing it all in white. The wool is lovely and soft from Peruvian highland sheep.

Good evening all. Have enjoyed reading all your posts. Not much news from here. DH has had a nasty dose of the flu and DD3 has yet another chest infection. She is an acute asthmatic so suffers a lot and seems to catch one thing after another from the little ones she teaches.

Weather here has been quite warm, definitely no snow. It looks so pretty in the photos but I am glad we don't have to deal with it.

Take care dear granspals and keep warm

That sounds lovely. I would love to knit a ivory pure wool cable throw, but I think it would prove too expensive for me.

I look at the knitting club sometimes and am scared to ask what it is that they are knitting/hope to knit. Complete beginners are hoping to knit fancy lacy scarves on 7mm needles, a cable cushion cover, a long waistcoat that is very shaped, several lacy scarves in amazing wools that split easily so that they knit two stitches out of one, and one lady has amazing wool with ready-made loops of flowers every foot or so - so ended up with 47 stitches rather than 31 in her very first row. Last week I took in balls of nice plain wool and size 8s and made the worst offenders learn how to plain and purl before I would let them loose on their projects again.

I have had 'the call' from several of them this evening, though, so must put on my boots and crampons yet again in a minute, and the intrepid knitter will go forth into the darkness once more.

Glad you got the puss paintings finished, soop. And oh how I would love an apple turnover with I think - whipped cream. As for the teeth - it seems to be quite a common occurrence that people end up wearing someone else's dentures, according to a friend. It took months for a friend to discover which mouth her mother's teeth ended up in, and vice versa. They wander into a room and help themselves, she thinks!

I have just been reading about everyone's creative activities and feeling very impressed and lacking in talent . I haven't knitted or crocheted anything since my children were babies and they are all 30 something now. I used to dressmake, but have not done that for years and I have absolutely no talent in drawing or painting. Small children used to patronise me so kindly whenever I had to draw on the whiteboard. "You're not as bad as all that Mrs Purple". Well done all you creative ladies!

You are creative purple you have come up with a really nice and lovely username. I bet you are really good at lots of things. I can't paint, draw, cook or make clothes. No good at gardening or housework (or apple turnovers!) but I am not too bad at lego, army games, dressing up and making paper flowers so DGC aren't too disapointed

those are extremely creative abilities. purpledaffodil If you don't have the urge, you don't. I didn't make anything except new curtains and cushion covers every time we moved for at least ten years, and then only because it was so much cheaper.

Jane rowena try crochet instead of knitting. It's much easier. Mikes tutorials on U tube are free and so easy to follow.
It also grows much quicker than knitting

Kitty, my grandma told me, many years ago, that she once accidentally flushed her dentures down the toilet when they dropped out. Not one to despair, she toddled along to the sewage works, they had quite a few sets of dentures they`d salvaged from the mire (for want of a better word!), and she picked out her own, and quite happily took them home and used them for many a year!

Dentures are always a problem with people with advanced Alzheimers. My mil use to lose them all the time- but I think it is because she got frustrated with them. Worst of all, she would take them out sometimes during lunch and use them with her hands to pick up the food to take to her mouth. It was so so sad and tragic to see- the sort of thing that made me feel very strongly that I do NOT want to ever get to that stage, ever.

Good to know you have a spare set ready Kitty.

The East wind 'la bise' is blowing so hard today- I am stuck at home. Drifts are building outside in the most amazing shapes- just like the big sand dunes of Namibia. When or if the sun comes out- OH will hae some amazing photos to take. In the meantime, he has man-flu- so it is all a bit of a miserable day here! Doh.

We are really enjoying the sunny weather which we have had for the last week in W Scotland. It reached 9deg the last couple of days so I even got a washing hung out. Still patches of snow in the garden which is slowly melting but apart from that, it could be spring

It's been the same here, Agus. Really nice, but a sudden drop in temp at night.

*Galen, I crochet as well, but for some peculiar reason prefer knitting, although I do like crocheting lengthwise scarves in lots of coloured stripes and varying wools. The children had colourful crocheted pram, cot and bed covers, but my mother overdid it in our house when I was a child I think, and it put me off.

Many dolly blankets here too when Granny wants to use up spare bits of wool and can only crochet squares or circles. The site Galen put me onto, as mentioned above, is very good.

I enjoy learning something new, Temari from bags and the crochet link from Galen. The only problem is finding the time to do everything I want to try.

Phew!!! I have unloaded the weekly supermarket shopping and we're now enjoying coffee and a date slice (from the Square Peg shop in Lochgilphead.) I didn't expect to find so many of you lovely lot popping in and out of our kitchen. What a treat! I'm so happy that those of you who have been busy with other pressing matters have taken the time to update us. I really do miss you if you stay away for too long.

kitty I love the tale of the wandering dentures.

number your gran's denture story has me hooting with laughter.

Long ago, my sister worked in a elderly persons home. Two of the female residents loathed each other. One night, one of the ladies died and the Co-op undertakers called by to carry out their duties. The following day, the surviving elderly lady complained that the dentures in her mouth were far too loose and could not possibly belong to her. In the meantime, a gentleman from the Co-op visited the nursing home with a black box which contained a set of dentures! The staff came to the conclusion that there had been a mix-up...the returned set of dentures belonged to the lady in who's mouth the deceased lady's dentures now resided. As I've already mentioned, the two ladies did not like each other one little bit...the swap-over had to be handled with the utmost delicacy...and it appeared that those in "the know" managed to do just that.

Crafting and Purpledaffodil You both have talents. We cannot all be alike. I would love to be able to knit, make clothes, crochet, sing (in tune) and many other things besides. Your grandchildren have a super granny. I bet they love you to bits. That is what I call a real and precious talent.

I would really love to know how the teeth situation was sorted out delicately.

It's more expensive to craft nowadays, sadly. It's a hobby rather than a necessity. It's very soothing, so maybe cheaper than going to a therapist, but I was shocked to discover that a quilting friend is prepared to pay £29.50 for a kit that makes a small patchwork rabbit. The kit consists of fabrics, threads and the pattern, so you even have to cut it out yourself. So in effect, you literally pay something like £300 per metre for some fabric.

I once crocheted a rug out of old tights for my mother to use in our scullery, which had a brick floor, using Tunisian crochet. It was freezing out there, she only really used it for things like boiling up pigs' heads for brawn, doing the flowers, that sort of thing, but that rug was horrible and just wouldn't die. She loved it, I hated it, it looked like a dead animal lying there.

jane perhaps the carer suggested that the owner's dentures had been taken away for a spring clean...who knows!

Friends have just this minute left us. They called by for a cup of tea, which we had. They then gave us one of those beautiful ceramic Remembrance Day poppies. Wasn't that a kind thought. We're chuffed to bits. We shared a wee dram to celebrate.

It s log-off time. Much love to all our Kitcheners...I shall return tomorrow.

Spent most of the day indulging myself, visit to new hairdresser (now shorter, silver and a bit spikey), followed by makeup session and couple of purchases, coffe and cake, bought a pair of denim Jeggings and finally got home an hour ago !
Now need to sort out supper and then I can collapse in a heap for the rest of the evening.....
Horrified at seeing myself in very unflattering mirror when makeup being applied -I need polyfilla not foundation! Problem with taking off specs to put on makeup is I see myself 'in a softer light' (that is I don't see the wrinkles etc!) ho hum !

Oooh me too loopylou. Without my glasses I am such a glamorous woman but with them on.... It sounds as though you had the full works today. Wonderful! I bet you look really nice. Does you good to treat yourself.

Thank you Crafting, certainly appear to look better when not wearing my glasses, sort of DIY airbrushing!
I recommend GNs make a visit to any beauty counter for a free beauty treat, there's genuinely been no pressure to buy, and some do a free mini facial.
I also noticed that C....que in H of F are doing a whole range of freebie pampering (I think you may have to book) in February, if anyone's interested?

I did it once and am still trying to

A work my way through all the little tubes

B work out what they are talking about, are meant to do and when to use them. As in - under or over makeup, at night, before or after moisturiser? Not a clue with most of it!

So I use them up one at a time and just hope that all of them are doing me more good than doing nothing.

Crafting Soop and janerowena. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I really ought to give myself a boot up the bottom and have a go at something. I used to enjoy dressmaking, but the availability of cheaper clothes and more around for tall women, has meant that I do not need to make things as once I did. It's all about apathy I suspect, so your encouragement means a lot.

When I have left things for ages, the need for a new cushion cover always seems to get me going again. I need two, but only seem to have had the energy for one! Admittedly it was an Aran pattern, so maybe I should take galen's advice and make a crocheted one.

Oh I do enjoy the chat in soop's kitchen.