Soop's warm and welcoming kitchen...

Thank you all for your kindness in thinking of me.
I think my present low mood is that once again friends are planning ang talking of holidays they are going on.
It is 4 and a half years since we had a holiday and I feel I will never get another, it is so depressing.
I have seen 3 friends this week and they all have cruises booked for the spring and they will be doing others ,two, more than one other during the year.
Last year I spent 7 nights away and 3 of those were in hospital. 2 were with H visiting friends and that was such hard work for me I won't do it again, he didn't know where we were and he was scared and confused.
I try to accept and deal with it but it is a double whammy as I really need a break. Going without him isn't an option, he would be worse when I came back.

annsixty I'm so sorry that your life is so hard and frustrating. My mum had dementia but I realise that it is not the same as your husband who you are living with 24/7.
and virtual hugs.

He did Bella and yes I made a lovely carrot cake ( his favourite) we'll gloss over the slightly iffy frosting ( I used light cream cheese) !! Who knew how dangerous that was going to be ???/

It nearly never happened. I baked the cake , put frosting in the middle, plopped the top layer on, frosted it, picked up the platter , turned sharply round and watched in horror as the top layer slid right off the bottom layer, bouncing to the floor and giving Sam a glancing blow on the way down!

Oh for a camera. I was stood holding the plate and the bottom layer, Sam had cream cheese frosting dripping off his head and his paw on top of the top layer and there was splashes of runny frosting as far as the eye can see !!!

So Grampy's cake turned out to be a single layer affair dusted with walnuts :-), you're welcome to a slice - the cakes lovely .... the frosting slightly less so !!!

I'm sorry both you and ann are feeling down today , totally understandable !! Sending you both a cream cheese frosting free hug xx

annsixty you have such a huge burden to bear. I’m sorry life is so hard for you and wish I could do more than just offer words.

Bellasnana don't worry I was only up just before you, almost unknown for me.

I was feeling so very tired and so very down, I just stayed there.
My H won't go outside and is safe so I decided my needs came before his for once.
As it was ,as happens every morning I came down to him standing in the hall asking me the first question of the day. I am sorry to say I snapped at him.
It is like the Spanish Inquisition from morning till night and it gets so wearing.

Has anybody seen a posting from Swanny recently?
I have not noticed her in the kitchen and I don't read all the other threads.
I hope she is ok.

Business as usual here now, in spite of my not feeling well my H has just asked if I am getting lunch, I could weep with frustration if I thought it would make the slightest difference.

Happy belated birthday to Grampy. Hope he enjoyed his day. Is there any birthday cake going begging?

It’s a while since I’ve stuck my head into the kitchen, but I’m glad to see it is a hive of activity as usual.

It has taken me until almost noon to surface today. I feel ashamed of myself, but a phone call from my brother in law cheered me up and spurred me into action. Don’t know why I’m feeling so blue, but there it is.

I’ve promised myself I will sort out my ‘filing system’ today, but if I can put it off I won’t need much of an excuse.

Will visit my pal in hospital later. She’s recovering from a hip replacement after a bad fall. I feel sad as I walk the corridors to her ward. So many bad memories. However, life goes on and I mustn’t wallow.

Love the painting of the fawn, soop, you are so fortunate to have such a gift. I’m full of admiration. ?

Morning all !

Sorry I was missing yesterday , I have much to catch up on I can see but it was Grampy's birthday so the day was consumed with that . You lot might chuckle though because when he asked me what we were doing for his birthday I had to say 'Well, first off 'we're ' going for a mammogram !!' !! me not him of course

We lost a couple of fence panels in the high winds here yesterday but the lovely builders popped them back in without even being asked. They had Sam while we were out yesterday and apparently , he not only shared their lunch but when they worried he was getting too chilly they popped him in their van to warm up !!

How was Bertie's birthday Kitty ?

Another lovely painting soop , perfect for the nursery x

Sorry to hear about the washing machine Corner , what did you decide in the end?

Must dash.... I have been summoned for breakfast!! Back later !

Maw,the picture made me laugh! Went to see DD and GCs tbhis afternoon and her Rufus (wire haired vizla) kept asking for door to be opened and would stand staring into garden before deciding it was really too cold to go out!

Tegan this is in reply to your question about sighthounds.
I think Hattie just wants company but last night the garden furniture was being buffeted round the patio which might explain why aforementioned sighthound had me up THREE times. . Then the noise of the wind stopped me getting back to sleep and I feel shattered.
I hope nobody suffered any damage or injury last night and that those of you with snow are keeping toasty and warm.

I love your touching faith in young men to deal with shelves, soop . I was almost 9 months pregnant with DS2 when a shelf unit fell on me - bruising my nose. It had been put up by my then H and his brother. The next important thing I bought for myself was an electric drill.

The talk of shelves made me laugh. We had just finished redecorating the lounge in the old house, new curtains, carpet, recovered suite and new book shelves on the wall in the alcove. It looked fabulous.

DH and I were awoken in the middle of the night by what sounded as though it must be an earthquake (at the very least!!) We eventually realised that the house was still standing and went down stairs to investigate. Shelves, books and most of the plaster were in a heap on the floor!!

And, then there was the time DH blacked out the whole of the small village in Shropshire by 'mending' a fuse!!!

It's Bertie's 6th birthday today. He is going out for tea with the Idiot - what could possibly go wrong!! We spoke to him this morning and he was so excited about all his presents.

Greyduster OOOer...that sound awfully spooky. Honest to goodness, I haven't put a curse on you. I'm a very easy-going little old lady.

callgirl1 Such a sensible thing to do (with tonight's meal).
As for the shelving. Get a handsome, fit, obliging young man to take a look on your behalf.

My friend is treating me to an evening at the newly refurbished, art-deco-style cinema tomorrow. The film about Churchill. In return, I shall sit with her Mum, so that friend and friends can have an evening out.

Thank you all for your company. You are a right lovely lot.

Care home visit in the morning. Back with you early afternoon.

Callgirl at least David’s shelves have stood the test of time. If they fall down now, you can salute their good service. I’m not at all sure that will be the case with ours . Give him his due, though, he could have heaved them into the bin, but i have to give credit that he has had a go at recycling them to the garage. He’s not a naturally practical chap.

That`s a lovely painting Soop, fawns are such pretty creatures.
Talking of garage shelves Greyduster, I was in our garage earlier, and there are some shelves down each side of the garage that David put up years (and years) ago, and one side is seriously bowed, today looks even more so, and there`s loads of stuff up there, I can`t reach, so haven`t a clue what`s what, so will just have to wait for the catastrophic day that they give up the ghost and collapse!
I am having a do nothing afternoon, the tea is in the oven already, all I have to do is serve up when it`s ready. I love food that can just be prepared then left to itself till cooked!

A very strange thing just happened; I typed a reply to Soop’s post, and without a word of a lie, the word ‘Soop’ detached itself from the text and started floating about on the page. I then lost the keyboard, so I couldn’t get rid of it. So I shut down GN and it was still floating about on my home page!! Ended up having to close the iPad down to get rid of you Soop!! are you trying to tell me something? All I wanted to say was that you surpass yourself with every painting; they are charming!

Greyduster Very funny!

Dear cornerI wish that I had some good advice regarding your latest buggeration. It is at such times that us lot need a friendly chap who would take a look, give an honest opinion, and settle for a slice of cake and a brew.

Have just finished yet another watercolour painting of a fawn. I think they are adorable creatures. What do you think?

Hello the kitchen! Well, Soop, I was happy to take Elegran’s explanation for the slush circles, but to have it backed up by Himself, I will take it as read! My GS thinks it is aliens! I will not disavow him of that just yet!
“Why oh why do these things happen at absolutely the worst time”? It is called “sod’s law” corner, and you have my complete sympathy. It happened to us, fortunately just before the new floor went down for the kitchen, so it didn’t matter when water got under the laminate; it was going anyway. I’m glad that you are managing to be sanguine about it. Probably just a seal on the blink.
DH has been putting the shelves he took down from the spare bedroom into the garage today. There was much wailing and gernashing of teeth, and plasters had to be provided and soothing noises made (soothing noises are not within my remit - I have a recording for the purpose!). Whether said shelves will stay up remains to be seen! They don’t have anything on them yet!
I was pleased today that DD finally decided on something she would like for her birthday on Monday and that is now sorted and off my mind. Now I have to get to grips with the other small personage who is vassilating about his birthday next month. Why can’t people be easy to please, like me ?
Must go - a couple of pies to make for tommorrow and a bit of ironing to get out of the way.

Can I join inwith buggerations please? Flipping washing machine has just washed the kitchen flor for me, kind but not needed.

The dilemma is do we decide its past its useful life (inherited with our new home five years ago, no idea how old it is but worked well) and get a new one which means moving the fridge freezer to get old one out and new one in or pay a call out fee to see if its fixable? We tried an empty wash, if you know what I mean, and it only dripped a little bit - could be a one off? We've friends staying all next week, no time to sort it before they come, oh blimey, timing eh? I know I can use a neighbours machine if I need to so won't get too irate about it, but why oh why do these things happen at the absolutely worst time?

Sorry, moan over, there are worse things in the world.

Hope you had a quiet night grannyq, hope your busy day is fun as well.

Goodness, soop when will the confusions end about those hospital appointments? You seem to have vanished from records at one and are being sent invisible invitations to another. What next I wonder? Good job you are both patient and self sufficient

Oh well, best be off, I may feel more at ease if I have some lunch, serious tummy rumbling going on.

Stay warm and well everyone.

Tegan2 Munchies That's such a lovely word.

Is it a sighthound thing, needing to go out in the early hours of the morning, I wonder? Strange thing is, her bladder control throughout the day is phenomenal. My Hattie also gets the munchies in the middle of the night.

Elegran To be fair, the letter didn't attach any blame to it. Had it done so, I would have been extremely miffed.

As per, you lot have been awfully busy. I shall therefore need to return and catch up when I've done a few jobs. No snow here. All of you with slippery pavements to negotiate, please take good care of your selves. A fall can be very nasty, especially at this time of the year.

If MacS thinks it is so, it is. He knows about things like that.

Yet another bit of buggering about by your medical advisors, Soop, but you are getting the blame for not turning up. Put MacS on the phone to them!

Buggerations galore! An exceedingly long and detailed message has disappeared into the ether. Don't you just love it when that happens?

I could eat some of Greyduster's steak and kidney pud and callgirl's apple pie right this minute. I fear that I shall have to settle for coffee and NO biscuit. I'm on a virtual diet.

Elegran MacS thinks that your explanation for the slush circles, is more than likely correct.

Okay...the letter at the surgery was to inform the GP that I had failed to keep an appointment at the Glasgow hospital. I had not received any such notification. In fact, way back in the summer, I had informed the hospital that I would not pursue any further investigations regarding my double "drop bot". The private hospital in England, in which I was a patient for ten days and had undergone pelvic floor surgery, had failed to produce any notes on the matter, I therefore I ran out of steam and decided to manage the problem without further to-ing and fro-ing.