Soop's warm and welcoming kitchen...

Bad luck for your Scottish boys Soop but so pleased for Japan!

Found you all at last! I have not been joining in as was discharged from hospital on Friday after the hip op. Should have been Thursday but they decided that my blood count was a bit low,so I had a transfusion on Friday morning. Although it was wonderful to be home I was a bit weary yesterday. Much better today and we went to my lovely Dd for lunch today which made life much easier for Dh! Dd has been a star and as Dh is no longer able to drive she has been ferrying him around . Hope all dealing with health or falling ceilings or any other buggerations get all the help they need. TOYA

Evening All. Good to see you grannysb, get well soon, your daughter is indeed a star.

Greyduster it sounds as if you have a very wise husband . Love the photos, sun finally came out here at 4pm, late in the day but very welcome.

Well, charley our plumber was back today as the shower temperature seemed to be fixed on cool verging on chilly. I messaged asking that he come when he could, thinking one day in the week, an hour later he was here, an hour after that all was sorted. He’s a gem.

In spite of that I feel very flat today, head full of worries for the future, the grey weather isn’t helping I know but it’s not been a contented day here today so I’m off feeling embarrassed at my lack of resilience.

TOYA, take care everyone.

Some idiot here has started to set off fireworks and they are horrid, sounding like bombs going off. With luck he has very few because they are not cheap.

grannysyb pleased to hear you are home again but you will be feeling exhausted having done little.

soop are you still feeding the feral cats?

corner that plumber sounds a very decent man- have you a spare room so he could perhaps move in permanently? I agree, I would not have expected him to come today to finish off the work.

Greyduster the photos were fabulous.

Nothing on TV for me so I will join Tara, go to bed to read my book and give her the affection she expects.
TOYA

How ever do you manage to keep up with this lot soop? I am finding it much too hard so am just sending love to everybody.
The colour of the toadstools in those lovely photos is just amazing. So sorry not to remember who posted them - was it GQ?
Izabella you are an amazing lady!
Dragonfly I am keeping you in my prayers - and everyone else with such needs especially Panache and MrP. The Lord knows who you all are even if I can't get all the names right and even if they are pen names!
TOYA

Cornergran never feel “embarrassed” by what you call your lack of resilience- I would put real money on that not being the case.
It is in our nature to feel things deeply and I sometimes wonder if the younger generation “dump” things on us, leaving us to do their worrying for them.
I was awake from 3.30 this morning, I think worrying about DD1 doing today’s Birmingham Half Marathon. She has had trouble with her knee (so why she runs I cannot imagine) and some years ago had a cardiac infection so I somehow had a stupid premonition that she would collapse and die - she didn’t, of course, but at 3.30 in the morning it felt like a real possibility.
Then DD2 rang me en route to the airport flying out to Minnesota where she is working on a production (alternating with Manchester and Amsterdam) .SIL is under huge pressure as both his mother and uncle have dementia and he is invariably the one everybody turns to in an emergency of which there have been too many recently. . Little Flynn is of course in the middle of this , being passed round like a parcel at a party, and I am needed to pop down to London on Tuesday as otherwise there is nobody to collect him from preschool and look after him until daddy gets home!
Why I am whittling on like this I don’t know, but I do worry about the strains my AC are under as they all push themselves to and beyond reasonable limits.
I hope tomorrow brings you some degree of resolution or at least a more positive light at the end of the tunnel.

DS was running the Royal Parks Half Marathon today; the last one he ran was ten years ago when he collapsed at the finish with a stroke, so I was anxious until I knew he was safely round. He was cleared by his consultant several years ago, and has trained properly, but I still worried. We never stop really, do we?

Good heavens grannysomerset what a dreadful shock.
So glad to hear he is fine now, but it absolutely vindicates our worries!

I’ve been locked out but I’m in now. I’ve got quite a bit of reading to catch up with. See you later.

Out of the Kitchen, not my home!

Good to see you back Bellanonna

Wide awake and as Mr. I. will not, I am sure, enjoy a conversation at this time in the morning or my philosophising about life in general, I thought I would poke my nose into the kitchen.

I forgot to take the hearing aids last night so have been serenaded by the most amazing owl in full stereo. Just the one owl with no responding calls. Now it may be just me, or my state of mind, but unusually it was one of the most sad sounds I have heard for a while. Usually their calls I find mystical, uplifting and slightly haunting. This though was different. So do we have a sad, lonely (mateless?) owl, or is it more a reflection of me at a moment in time? I know not, but I wonder what words the wonderful poet John Clare would have used to describe my experience? His amazing ability to describe nature through his open and direct observation has been a joy to me over the years.

Those fungi (lovely pics greyduster) would no doubt have found wondrous descriptions from Clare. Pleased to note Mr. Duster was not on the receiving end of a frozen leg of lamb, and hope you all enjoyed the roasted version. Sounds wonderful. Nannytopsy at last wonderful food in the kitchen. low calorie chocolate fudge cake. Just the thing for an early morning snack ?

So, more phone calls later to try and sort out our future housing needs. What a monumental decision involving many circles and dead ends. Arrrrrgh!

Well fellow kitcheners, my tea is drunk so I may return to bed, but I feel sleep will bypass me this particular night to return when I should be doing something useful later in the day.

And cornergran remember that resilience is merely a social construct and not something you HAVE to live up to. Just be yourself, live in the moment and never feel embarrassed about your feelings. They are you, part of you and a natural reaction to the buggerations of life in general. We all travel that road at times.

to all who need them, safe travels to anyone going to appointments, hospitals and the like. Hoping all knees and myocardiums coped with the running etc. etc

I shall slope off now and leave you all in peace.

What a lovely post Izabella! Unlike you, I had a very solid night’s sleep and now I am ready for the day but DH is still well away. We have two bed frames from a well known department store to construct today. They didn’t arrive in time for the weekend, so folks had a mattress on the floor! I keep thinking of all of those who are post-op, Dragonfly and the Panaches. I hope all the Kitcheners have a good day today.

Such a beautiful post as always Izabella.
I think we all feel like you at times corner we can only be stretched so far. I often have that feeling on Sundays, I don’t know why, maybe more time to reflect. I hope you feel more able to cope today.

I don’t envy you your constructions Nannytopsy we generally get to the end and find something we put together first is upside down!

First chance I've had to catch up with everyone in this lovely new kitchen. Weve been quite busy with the holey roof.

Izabella, your post was beautiful - I'm feeling so sorry for the owl.

gd fungi are slightly scary for me.

maw, we never stop worrying about them in one way or another do we? DD1 has decided to embark on an MA - why? She's just started a new job which she loves, she has 2 children, a dog, a cat, a gecko and a big house to look after!

nannytopsy, sounds like a good weekend - is there any wine left?

Must get moving - dd3 and Bertie, Persie and the wonderful Wolfie are arriving soon after breakfast.

TOYA!

Good point dragonfly -about Sundays I mean.
Back when the children lived at home Sundays always seemed so busy- church in the morning, maybe someone to Sunday lunch, a healthy walk, getting three sets of uniform ready for the week, (for me) lesson planning and marking but now Sundays can be too empty and lonely for many of us. I watched my way brought the BBC Pride and Prejudice yesterday afternoon/evening.
The sort of peace I would have given my right arm for 30 years ago!
I have noticed how sometimes GN gets very grumpy on Sundays too - but that’s another story.

“ through” not “brought” - how do these things happen?

Meant to add this to my post.

I still relish peaceful Sundays though they dont happen often round here.

Lovely photo kitty.

Well I am back from a ridiculously early GP appointment and have been told that I have to have an endoscopy. Honestly I am terrified, and feel guilty about worrying about such a simple thing when so many kitcheners have far more to contend with.

Izabella I always find your posts uplifting, I hope your owl finds his/her mate.

As for worrying about our AC, I don't think it ever ends, just increases when we start worrying about the GC also. I know I would have less sleepless nights if I was not a "secret night time worrier". I try very hard to be of a sunny disposition and happy to listen to others problems but not very good at opening up about my own.

I am going to see if I can post some photos of our newest GS hopefully they will say yes.

Be good kitcheners I have left breakfast goodies on the side.
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A cheery good early afternoon to you lovely lot. When will you ever put your feet up and idle away the hours. Never, it seems. I amble in, thinking to myself...not too late in the day...time for a decent catch-up. Wrong!

kitty That darling wee one's chubby face and beautiful smile has warmed the cockles of my heart. Thank you. x

corner dear friend of us lot, please, please never be afraid to share your feelings. Good, bad or indifferent...we all experience much the same. It is what makes us human. We do care for each other, albeit from afar.

GrannyGravy I feel for you. A number of us have had such a procedure. It won't take long. You will have someone to hold your hand. When it's over and done with, you will realise that your fear was unfounded.

Nannytopsy I had such high hopes for the Scottish lads. They were outclassed.

Welcome home, grannysyb. It's good to have you back in our kitchen. Well done, your dear daughter has indeed been a star. You will need plenty of tender loving care. Please take things at a gentle pace. Wishing a speedy and fullsome recovery.

Charleyg, yes, we feed them every day. For the first time today, we caught a brief glimpse of one that had realised we were replenishing the feeding bowl.

Maw You are a splendid Granny. You do your absolute best to support your family. Bless you.

GrannySomerset Your son certainly is a trooper. I too would feel concerned. He has obviously made a full recovery and trained to maintain a high standard of fitness. Best wishes to him.

Bellanonna, welcome back. We've missed you.

Izabella Thank you for yet another kind, caring and considerate post. You have a poetic streak, methinks.

GrannyGravy We would all love another photo of your grandson to hang in the kitchen VIP gallery.

MacSporran had a phone call from Oban hospital earlier today. He's to have the CT scan on Thursday morning. I've also my appointment for seeing the oncologist and having the acid infusion on the same day the following week. That will be in Glasgow. Oh, almost forgot, flu jabs and dental appointments round about the same time. We two know how to enjoy ourselves.

Great grandson, Teddy, wearing his fox hat.

soop Teddy looks great with his fox hat on and if he is not careful I may be borrowing it as the winds here can be cold.

kitty I loved the photo of that gorgeous smiler.

Bellanonna I had visions of you locked outside your house at that time of night. It was easy to find this kitchen for once.

I am waiting for a parcel from Amazon before I can go out.
TOYA

It’s pouring here. Will it every stop? Need to swim out soon.

Well, the world is still the wrong wrong way up in cornerland so I’m taking izabellas advice and just being as I am. A build up of buggerations, I hadn’t realised how much it’s all been affecting me. Thank you all for your kindness, there was a tear as I read through your thoughts.

Goodness soop, you two do know how to live, good luck with it all.

Totally understand your fears grannyg, I’m sure the hospital staff will care for you and understand your worries. Wishing you well.

Right, off to swim out to collect a parcel for Mr C. I could feel the need for my head to toe raincoat, not the most elegant but it does keep me dry.

TOYA, take care everyone.

Thank you, Soop. There are times when having been a rather difficult teenager pay off - DS’s commitment to his physio and rehab certainly have, but needed the same mindset he brought to not always meeting the requirements of his mother! But I am proud of his determination and Shelter benefited to the tune of over £1000, so all in all a win/win.

GrannySomerset...my word, you have every right to be proud. Wonderful contribution. He is a true star. x