Soop's very welcoming kitchen...

kitty I may abandon my spag bol as your supper is much more appealing.

Maw I do hope that you enjoyed lunch out today.

It could be a good place to hide chocolate ...

Evening All.

Your lunch sounds both interesting and fun mawb. Definitely best behaviour .

Think there are a lot of struggling brains at the moment greyd, mine comes and goes and goes and goes. Sat in front of the computer this morning for ages trying to remember why I had turned it on. Turned it off eventually none the wiser.

So relieved to read your experiences kitty, not pleased you are struggling but relieved the missing brain syndrome isn’t just picking on me.

Can’t recall ever taking the side off a bath to clean soop, seriously impressed. Stay safe and warm if the snow comes, think we’ll soon need to build an ark. There’s some difficult weather about.

Sorted out my craft stuff today, reduced the heap considerably and it’s even possible I’ll use some of it now I can see what’s there. I’m on to the stationery muddle next. Can manage the automatic stuff, maybe there is hope.

Sorry things are breaking jalima, frustrating for sure. Wonder if the pigeons will be back the next time it rains?

Get better soon n&g, look after yourself, hope your head emerges intact and you don’t have the brain eating lurgy.

Off for an early night now. Maybe the other half of my head will be back tomorrow. Stay warm and well everyone.

The pump is completely noiseless Kitty but the air leaks around the mask and whistles if it has slipped. I stuck it until 2.15 then changed rooms. I heard the clock strike three - not impressed! I went to see Mum who has faded even since Friday. She has lost most of her hair and her pulse is fainter. After months of refusing fluids she is now thirsty. I am baby sitting in Suffolk from tomorrow but can go back on Thursday if she is still here. It is only for my benefit as she isn’t aware of anyone. The little ones will keep me cheerful!

Should be tucked up in bed but just wanted to say what a lovely time I had today- exquisite food, lovely company, amusing conversation and all in a wonderful old Jacobean (?) farmhouse with a roaring log fire.
We sat over lunch from about 1.30 until just before 5, which says it all.
It did me so much good to don my best bib and tucker and the best pearls, to be among entertaining but kind people, to make the effort to be good company and to be able to (just occasionally) bring paw into the conversation with equanimity and a smile.
He would have loved it.

Maw x

maw, so pleased x

So pleased that you had a nice time Maw, you need more of the same.

Glad you had a good time maw.

Lovely photos soop. Little one is sooo tiny ?

Off to babysit my little ones today which will keep me cheery! Sadly overshadowed by Mum, who has faded even since Friday. She is losing her hair and looking fragile. Every visit feels like the last but she is still here. Strangely thirsty, having drunk very little for months. I hope to see her again on Thursday when I escape from the littlest.

I don’t get GN - rewrote that cos the last one had disappeared!!

What a difficult time for you Jane It's so hard watching someone you love slipping away. Part of you wants it to be over and the other part feels guilty for wishing them away.
Enjoy your day with the grandchildren.
Thinking of you.

Maw, sounds like a splendid afternoon. Glad you had an enjoyable time. How about a run down of what you had for lunch?
Soop I only saw the inside of our bath panel when they ripped the bath out last year. The less said about what was behind it the better! I am in awe of you for actually cleaning it out!!
Jane I am sorry to hear about your mum. A very sad time for you. I am sure spending time with the little ones will lift your spirits.
We went to see ‘Darkest Hour’ yesterday. DH was unsure whether he wanted to see yet another Churchill film - neither of us thought that the last one was particularly good - but we were both completely in agreement that this is one of the best films we have seen in a long time. We both wept silently at some of the scenes, as I suspect did most people there, but there were some pure laugh out loud moments too! A completely mesmerising performance from Gary Oldman - he deserves a bucketful of awards for it - and a superb supporting cast of English actors.
I have just looked out of the window and it is snowing. Humph! I hope it is the sort that turns quickly to rain and goes away. The Snake Pass is closed apparently so it must be coming down in bucketfuls in the Peak District.
I will look in later.

Morning all !!

I survived Grampy's attempt at poisoning me and all is now back to normal here in the country!! The builders have been supplied with toast and tea , the sun is shining ( after a downpour that made me think we'd need to build an ark and all is well in my small world !!)

Just catching up with all of you now.

soop i never knew you could take the bath panel off without a qualified plumber hats off to you !! You remind me of my Nan who moved her wardrobes weekly to clean behind them !!

Sorry to hear about your Mum Jane , its one of life's tragedies that just when we get to a place where we truly appreciate our parents they begin to slip away from us. Even today, there are moments when i think to myself' I want my Mum' and no-one else will do !! Hope the little ones succeeded in cheering you a little.

Sounds like a wonderful time Maw , I'm with Grey what was for lunch?

Now you have sorted out your craft stash Corner you can buy some more !!! That's my motto- I like to think of it as keeping the free market economy circulating !!

Its funny isn't it Kitty no matter our relationship with our parents once they have gone it all seems a little less harsh. My Mum was a tartar or the first degree but I miss her still.

Hope you don't get snowed in Soop but you can be kept warm by all this new baby stuff - how exciting. Your babies are like buses, wait for ages for one then 2 come along at once [laugh] !!

I have managed to lock myself out of the surgery's online system so have to go and get unlocked...i do hope its not too painful :-)

No nature picture today but my daughter sent me this and i think its something we all need to remember every now and again.

Have a lovely day all x

Maw it sounds as though you need to be booked into a lovely meal like that weekly. So pleased that it all went well.

N&G could I suggest cooking lessons for Grampy?!

It is really cold here in my patch of London but at least it is dry with no frost. We will be in a new kitchen by the end of the day, please do not get lost like the last time.

Snowy drizzle here in Cheshire. My weather app says 'freezing rain' which is nasty. I hope it lets up before I have to drive down to Macclesfield this afternoon. I have never removed a bath panel. Think it would be beyond my capability to unscrew it. The bathroom cabinet is another matter. I seem to be stockpiling handwash, When Waitrose has the 'nice' ones on offer, I buy two. So at the last count I had six large containers of different 'flavours' and they last for aeons! Maw, what a lovely lunch and interesting company, and giving the 'glad rags' an airing. Just what you needed.

Yikes! The weather is preventing the usual trip to the care home to take place. Rarely, in almost three years that the visit has been taking place, has such a thing occurred.

My greatest fear on removing the side of the bath, Baggs, was the chilling fear that a large spider may have been lurking and would rush out to attack me! There was no such thing. Fluff a plenty, but no beasties.

On the subject of spiders. The advanced spider spray that we've been using around certain areas of the house, (for two years) does what it says on the label. It's based on chestnut oil extract. Spiders don't much like the stuff.

Right! Time for catch-up. I shall wait until the coffee arrives. MacSporran is attending to it right this minute.

soop or whoever else is around- will we do the honours- it will take 5 minutes.

corner be reassured...you are not alone. I have often sat staring blankly at the blank screen with a brain that is equally blank. Yet I can describe in vivid detail (to anyone who is patient enough to bear with me) the days way back in the 1940s. I remember all the faces and names of the children in the infant school. I remember conversations. That time, those experiences, have a special place in my memory box. And then I can read a chapter of a book, and forget the name of the characters in the time it takes to start a new chapter. It's not funny. It is scary. I don't like it one little bit.

Sorry to hear that you cannot visit the care home today because of inclement weather.

Maw The time spent with friends did you a power of good. I'm happy for you.

Greyduster I would also enjoy 'Darkest Hour'. The wee cinema in Campbeltown has had a facelift. It's a listed building, I believe. Art Deco in style. If the film comes to Kintyre, I shall make sure that we visit.

Hail stones are hammering on the window. Best stay indoors where it's cosy.

It appears that the kitchen is about to close. I shall dash across to unlock the new kitchen door. Please pop in when you have a moment. There will be and and

Okay! I'm off...see you very soon.