Soop's warm and welcoming kitchen...

soop please, please you need some rest. I live too far away to help you but that can be arranged especially as you would love Tara. I know I am being a bossyboots but somebody has to take over and do some nagging.
TOYA

Soop,glad that you feel you have achieved something today.I do like to feel that I have achieved something in a day,it doesn’t always happen!!
Baubles,a beautiful picture of Stella by soop??
Nannyand grampy,love the portrait and what a lovely moment the photographer captured between your daughter and son in law?
Been a busy day today helping to prepare for Miss Matilda’s 4th birthday party tomorrow.She wants a unicorn and rainbow theme.Her little Shetland pony,Stanley is groomed to perfection and tomorrow will be sporting a unicorn horn and if the weather is kind all the little ones will have a pony ride round the garden.
Sending love and prayers to Panache and Mr Panache.
TOYA

Ann When those shoes arrive, us lot would like a photo.

dragonfly Having the support of your daughter during chemo is priceless. Rest as much as you are able.

Maw I also think that Paw's stone is indeed elegant.

anno that phone call could have raised concerns in your mind. Never the less, it was a favourable outcome. Although "wear and tear" wherever it may be is an ongoing buggeration. Part and parcel of life's rich tapestry. Rest...when possible.
Raffa is gorgeous, isn't he? He's my number one favourite tennis player of all time.

The new owners of the rambling farm house are working on refurbishing it. The owner doesn't want cats in or around the barns. A lovely lady has borrowed two traps. Tonight she hopes to entice the remaining feral felines into them. We then need to talk to the man at the cat's protection league in Campbeltown. Whatever the outcome, if we can help, we will. MacS has re treated the chalet. We also have insulation and a new carpet for inside. Should the aged cat remember that he has, in the past, called by for food, he can rest assured that there will be shelter etc for him here. He is old. He lives three miles away at present. Watch this space.

Painting is progressing. I feel that I've achieved something today.

Time for log off. Back tomorrow. TOYA

You know what...^You lot^ are beyond amazing. The kind support that you share for those of our Granspals in need, is truly heartwarming.

Thank you for hanging around in the kitchen and doing what you do for each other. that was the dream I had long ago when I first opened the kitchen. Bless each and every one of you.

N&G Thank you for sharing the delightful family portrait with us. It's perfect in every sense.

A friend in the village has an aged, deaf, blind in one eye terrier. I am painting Daisy's portrait for her. Wish me luck.

An early good afternoon to all of you.

I apologise for my tardiness of late. So much to do...so little time to do it in.

Baubles Your happiness has made me doubly happy. It was a pleasure to paint Stella's portrait. I could sense her gentle nature as I did so. xxx

Morning all,

What a dull, wet few days we have had here. Hoping for some much needed respite over the weekend- poor old Sam is missing his walks but cannot be persuaded to go out if the weather is bad !

So sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved friend Baubles and what a lovely memento - Soop is very talented.

I do love a bargain Ann , enjoy your shoes when they arrive.

Nothing much happening here but Ill leave you with a lovely picture of my youngest daughter, her husband and 'erbert and sherbet !! The company she works for included them in a photo shoot for some of their products . It has captured Jackson without his teeth, Cooper looking a bit bemused and the perfect moment between my daughter and SiL . I'm feeling quite Christmasy now .

Sending a hug and kind thoughts to all those in need x

What a beautiful picture, Baubles. What a handsome dog Stella was.

Hello kitcheners, I don’t drop in often these days I’m afraid but I know how much our soop is loved by all her friends and I wanted to share yet another example of her unstinting kindness.

We lost our lovely dog, our companion of many years on 30th October, and less than two weeks later the postie brought us this beautiful gift from soop. Such a talented lady, she has captured Stella’s lovely nature in her portrait. Thank you Soop I’ll be forever grateful for your thoughtfulness.

Ok, who stole the lovely long post I did this morning? I can't recall what I said but it was erudite, witty, compassionate and caring!!

One thing I did say was that I think soop is a superstar for starting this lovely, caring, supportive place.

panache please take of yourself and DH. I echo corner's post - hunkering down is good but so is distraction.

syn, I swear that the photos that come from those booths are of the very much older, more haggard person who had a go three weeks ago.

Ann you are sounding rather more upbeat. I hope the shoes appear quickly.

I hope your chemo passed off ok dragonfly. It will have been good to have your daughter there.

morethan just sending love - I dont know what else to do or say.

Love the stone maw, you've done paw proud.

Sorry if I have missed anyone but TOYA.

Panache, what a hard time you poor husband is having which makes it all the worse for you too. Take care of yourself, won't you,
An over-zealous secretary in our GPs' surgery sent me a message to contact the GP to discuss the results of recent tests. So I booked a phone appointment with him and today he rang me to say that he could find nothing amiss with the blood tests and couldn't understand why I'd been contacted. Neither could I! I asked him also about the X-ray of my neck and this confirmed wear and tear in two vertebrae which is causing pain in my shoulder and irritating tingling in my hand. Not much can be done, but hopefully the physio will be able to recommend some exercises.
soop, I've just watched your idol, Rafa Nadal, playing very well in an ATP match. I've never seen him playing at the net before - and very successfully too. Sad to see that he is losing his luxuriant locks! He was given a trophy as No 1 for this year.
I was treated to lunch today by a friend who missed my birthday. I had the best-cooked sea bass ever. So no need to feed myself tonight!
dragonfly - a nice choice between wig and turban - both attractive. I too was at the NWR quiz last night and I hope your group did better than ours! Lots of fun though, pondering possible answers.

My profuse apologies to ALL of you. I've been kept busy all day long. I've done nowt aboot the hoos. Please will you understand that I am TOYA and will do my very best to catch up tomorrow.

I've just been to one of those horrendous photo booths in a supermarket so that I can renew my blue badge and seem to have come away with photos of someone I don't know! Why do they always look so dreadful? It took four of us to get the thing working and then it told me that it looked as if I was smiling even though I thought it seemed as if I was shell-shocked!

I might just do that as my Sainbury's delivery came half an hour ago and is all put away.
If only my new shoes were here.....

Ann Now just take a wee walk down the road and back!

I hope everything goes well too Synonymous
You and your H have been through so much as are others on this so supportive thread.

With that in mind I gee'd myself up this morning, it is time I stopped feeling sorry for myself.
I still haven't made it out of the house yet, my Thursday friend has been on holiday and on Wednesday she rang to cancel yesterday as she had a chest infection .

However this morning I had a quick tidy round, then had a shower and did my hair, put on decent clothes and ordered a pair of shoes from M&S.
I had been admiring them and received a coupon for 20% off.
That had to be a sign?so I have ordered them.

Reading that back it looks ss though I could only order them if I was clean and tidy!!

Have as good a day as you can everyone.

Seeing you much love and keeping you in our prayers Panache and MrP. So very hard for you both but hang on in there and try to find something for which to be thankful as that is something that keeps us going. Sometimes we are trying so hard to do that we have ended up laughing at our absurdity and end up laughing at ourselves but funnily enough we have found that helps us.
Love your wig dragonfly it is lovely and I hope it makes you feel better about the hair coming off. My best buddy got her husband to do the deed for her and found some beautiful, warm turbans which she still uses 13 years on because she found they suited her so well. She had a pretty wig too and it was impossible to tell that it wasn't her own hair.
Maw that is a very elegant stone and has been done beautifully with those lovely words. Beautiful roses for him too.
corner I understand about the comfort eating I have had to have serious words with myself!
ann I am so glad that Molly turned up and know exactly how you felt when she was missing. Smokie is very naughty and has stayed out all night now and then. I have discovered that when he eventually returns then if I don't speak to or look at him he is very good for a good long while afterwards! He knows that he is much loved and can't bear us to be cross with him. I just wish he was a lap cat but he is certainly not that
Dear soop I hope you are resting because it doesn't sound as if you are! Hope you are enjoying the lovely sunshine and super sunsets. We still have quite a bit of leaf colour which is making all the difference to how everything looks and how it makes you feel. Don't much like the cold but if it is also sunny then it is a joy.
Everything here is carrying on carrying on and I am continuing to cream the hurts etc and hoping that Himself will be able to start wearing the leg in the next few days. We are off to the big smoke again next week for a 'service and adjustments' for all the hydraulics in the joints of his new leg which will be a bit pointless if has not worn it. I am hoping that the new skin will stand up to it all and he will find it comfortable to wear it!
TOYA

Panache,As others have said it is so much worse to see those we love suffer than to suffer ourselves.Sending you much love,strength and prayers.
Maw,paw’s headstone is beautiful.
TOYA

Panache it is true it is harder to watch our loved ones suffer than suffer ourselves. Sending you both much love, you are in my thoughts.

My, DD who wishes to come to the hospital today, had her train from London cancelled at the last minute and didn’t manage to get here until midnight. Fortunately I was out at the NWR National quiz so could pick her up.

A beautiful stone Maw, hugs for the Panaches and keep b.....ing on dragonfly.
We are back in Leicester for one night so , of course, we had to have an Indian meal! Excellent food. The brook in the village used to flood regularly and sure enough, it went over its bank while we were eating.
TOYA

Many thanks for all your ongoing prayers and thoughtful posts. Special thanks to Panaches who is coping with much more than I but still takes the time to think of me and mine. dragonfly your wig is very realistic and the style suits you. I’m not sure if it’s any consolation and I hope I’m not being insensitive in saying that after the first time of seeing our DiL without her fabulous long hair we hardly noticed that she had lost all hers. I hope all goes well. I do think of you often maw paws stone was a lovely tribute to him.
I’m glad the cat has turned up ann
I’m hoping that tomorrow I will
1, stop self medicating on chocolate and biscuits.
2, keep up with your posts
3, get back into some sort of routine
We can but try.....and try and try.
An extra hug for panache you are both in my thoughts tonight.

Panache. Sorry you have to watch your DH go through this suffering.
My thoughts and prayers are with you

maw paw’s stone is beautiful. I love the wording. ?

That’s a really nice post ann

panache I always feel it is harder to watch those we love suffer than to go through it ourselves. We can only hope that this treatment is worthwhile and the blip was an infection. You can always tell us how it is in the kitchen panache, we will give all the support we can.

Oh Panache whst a heartfelt and sobering post.
You must know our love and prayers are with you both.
I so hope our support boosts your spirits and makes you feel more positive.