Soop's kitchen refuge for the sharing of...

How restrained! My language was much worse.

Galen Had my late father discovered the new oven smothered in cake mix he would have uttered the immortal words - "What a bloody mess!"

morethan I'm pleased to hear that the procedure on your scalp has been dealt with and that it didn't cause you too much discomfort.
The hospice would, in normal circumstances, be the best place for your daughter-in-law to receive all the expert care she requires. It would give your son peace of mind and the children would be shielded from the distressing proximity of their mother's heartbreaking illness. In normal times, the family would be at liberty to visit as often as they wished. Covid is a double-edged sword. Us lot are powerless to help. We do continue to keep your and your family in our heart and thoughts. Please stay with us. Do not be afraid to share your sorrow with us because we do care..

Galen, I was thinking about making a Victoria sponge, but on reflection, I have looked at my tins and think that they are of smaller diameter than my old ones. Will think again. I went to Waitrose late yesterday and what did I find? Having bought great quantities of strong flour by mail order, there were shelves full of it, both white and wholemeal - £1 for 1.5 kilos. I think they were short of plain and SR flour.

So sorry morethan

On a lighter note?
Lockdown is officially over!
At 9am today I received a spam Amazon call followed 5mins later by the BT one.
I’m now waiting for one from Microsoft.

We hold you and yours in our thoughts and prayers Morethan.

morethan,hope your head heals soon?
It is such a heartbreaking situation for your whole family.Just a thought but would the hospice or Marie Curie nurse be able to speak to your sons in-laws about hospice care being best for your daughter in law although if your daughter in law would not be allowed visitors I can see your son would want to keep her at home.
Sending love and prayers to you and your family

Yes, a truly awful situation so why wouldn’t you cry morethan . Sending love and a hug to you all . Hope your sore head settles soon. X

Morning all in the kitchen. Many thanks for your support. I haven’t had much time to read through all of them. You may remember that just before the lockdown I was diagnosed with a Basel Cell Carcinoma on my head. (Thanks to those of you who put my mind at rest about it not being too serious) At the time it was a bit of a shock because I thought it was a patch of eczema on my birthmark. Anyway I received a letter on Monday with an appointment for Wednesday. I assumed it was just a consultation about how they would proceed. The very nice consultant said the waiting list for the more invasive treatment may be many months away because of the suspension of list due to the Coronavirus outbreak (they were going to cut a flap in my scalp?) so he could do a smaller procedure now. So I’ve got a deep gash at the back of my head the size of an old penny stitched together. It’s still a bit sore and I’ve got a bit of a headache but that’s it. The whole thing only took about 30 mins and he was fairly confident that he’d removed the whole thing. I was back in plenty of time to watch peak practice with a cup of tea. I just haven’t felt up to much reading. The hospice are involved with my DiL . The Marie curie nurse come in three or four nights a week so my son can sleep in a bed rather than on the settee. She has to call him if she needs moving because the steroids have made her gain so much weight but he’s grateful for the help and a few hours in bed. She is becoming more and more agitated, it reminds me of my mil dementia symptoms. The children are privy to all of this and that is worrying him. The nurse thinks she needs something to calm her. Apparently someone is coming to assess her at home next week. There are many reasons my son doesn’t want her to go to a hospice. He thinks (probably rightly) that her parents will accuse him of abandoning her, that because of the Coronavirus she may not have visitors and be alone, he’s not sure that’s what she would want. I talked to the hospice sometime ago and voiced my fears for the whole household and they said there was little they could do if my DiL refused their help. They went on to tell me that what usually happens is that there is a crisis and then there is no option but to step in. So we wait. I’m not good or brave quite the opposite mostly I have to watch as this awful situation unfolds and I cry when I leave the house. I can escape while my DiL suffers and my poor son and grandchildren have to endure watching

Night all

Tried out the dried yeast I got from China today. It was a success so have left rolls and butter on the side.

He and Kate enjoy my lemon drizzle cake, Cunard scones and peach and amaretto ice cream.
Strawberry and Grand Marnier ice cream tomorrow.

Galen I love it! Better luck next time Gary!

Thanks. Mine are shallower.
Need new pans

Just measured,mine are 3cms

How deep are most folks sandwich sponge tins?

Oh galen?I feel your pain?

galen what a disaster . I hate cleaning ovens. An no cake to look forward to after. ?

ann your post about your hip operation is very sad but believable.
Obviously you must do as you wish but I think the GP surgery is worth another go. I worked in a surgery for many years and I believe everything you say. There are those who genuinely care and those paid to care and those who couldn’t care less in my experience. It maybe worth anotherU visit. Perhaps ask you DGD to contact the surgery and ask for an appointment with a sympathetic doctor who deals with older patients. The receptionists aren’t all dragons and they probably know the doctors quite well. Perhaps your DGD could go with you to an appointment. It often helps to have someone else there who can argue your case or give another point of view. Whatever you decide to do I hope you get relief from this pain soon.

Don’t talk to me about baking!
My brand new all singing and dancing oven arrived yesterday.
So, today I decided to try it out with a Mary Berry Victoria sponge!
1 the shelves were in upside down.
2 Ms Berry’s sandwich tins must be deeper than mine!
The mixture has overflowed all over my new oven!
No sponge for Gary to try tomorrow and I’ve got an oven to clean!?

Well, it took from 1.15 until 3.45 to unblock my husband’s bank card! We haven’t tried to buy anything yet though! Chocolate fudge cake on the table for afternoon tea. I’ve been in a baking mood today.

My love to you all. I've spent rather too long looking for a suitable gift for my sons. Too long being all afternoon. I'm a disgrace.

Will try to do better in the morning.

Puzzler61 Thank you for sharing the delightful photo. Wonderful!

I’m reading the thread but not posting today, I’ll wait awhile and be a “lurker” is that the term?
Thank you for welcoming me and you all are so lovely. Many are coping with dreadful health issues and I’d like to share some flowers to cheer you up.
It’s a photo of the confetti field in Worcs. that I visited last year. ?

ann I am so pleased to hear that you still have gadgets given to you post knee surgery.

Care for want of a better word, does seem to vary remarkably depending on where people live.

A package of care would be the way forward but the most important thing is a competent surgeon.

Please only choose one who does preferably hips only but no more than the addition of knees.

If you are "going private" you may choose who you like. Do you have any friends who have had hips replaced and were happy with the surgery?

The safest for you would be to choose somebody who does private work in an NHS hospital rather than in a private hospital whch may not have medics sleeping in overnight. If anything goes wrong it can take ages for an ambulance to get there and transfer you to an NHS hospital.
TOYA