Good Morning Wednesday 18th October 2023

Good morning Mick and All.

Calm before the storm here in South Bucks.

Off for a second visit to our new cinema today to see the Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson film. We are going to what is called the Silverscreen showing which is for the over 65s. You get a free coffee and slice of cake, whoopee !

Good morning from a bright but blowy Essex coast.

Within the hour I shall catch the train on the start of my journey to Leamington. My daughter will pick me up about 1'sh at the other end. A long journey consisting of two trains and two tubes !!

I'm still not 100% but looking forward to seeing my 3 granddaughters, whom I've not seen since June.

Sorry about the shingles Nannagarra, I had it about 30 years ago and it is not very pleasant. I wish you well.

Have a pleasant day everyone and take care in the storms xxx

Good morning from a showery Glasgow, it's also 10°C here.

Sorry to hear your are feeling so awful Nanagarra and I hope you are feeling a bit better Blossoming.

Yesterday was one of the most stressful days I have had in ages.
DH was still consumed by his desire to get his new tablet up and running, but wouldn't accept any advice. ( I of course had sorted mine 😉).
He somehow managed to bu**gger up the Alexa devices, outside lights, the remotely controlled internal lights, the Hive and worst of all, locked himself out of his bank accounts. As usual he would not / could not accept advice.
To compound matters, he had not updated his phone number, so all the security alerts were going to his old phone, which he no longer had access to.
Phoning the banks was useless, as he could not get past the security questions.😡
I was in despair and decided to intervene, whether he liked it or not.
Two hours later, he was back into everything, phone numbers etc. were updated. I was so annoyed at having lost an afternoon of my life. DH is a really intelligent man, but he has little common sense and never listens to advice. He did grudgingly admit that he was impressed by my expertise, but I reminded him that I was used to getting staff out of locked accounts.
All I want is the peace of mind, if anything happens to me, that he can deal with the financial side of things without any stress.

This is when events took a turn for the worse. I was running late making dinner and didn't feel too well.
I was standing in front of the range, making dinner, turned away to the sink and heard an almighty crash.
I turned round and the double cooker hood had come away from the wall and had landed onto the pots. DH froze!
I rushed to turn off the gasses, as the food had caught fire. This is why we have a fire extinguisher and fire blanket .
The hood is extremely heavy and I was not strong enough to help DH.
I phoned DS1 for help, he was at a business dinner. 😒
Eventually, I managed to get a hold of SIL, who had just got in from work.
Between DH, SIL and DD, they managed to disconnect the hood from the electricity supply.
While all this was going on, I had a severe angina attack, which wasn't responding to my GNT spray. I could see poor DD was silently panicking.
However, after a sleepless night, I live to tell the tale.
Why is life so difficult, when we are old!!!

Today DH is taking me to see Babydoll for a short visit. I am so looking forward to seeing her. We are going out early because we have a flood alert and the last time this happened, DS was marooned!

Thinking of all the poorlies and hope you have a gentle day, 💐

Good morning from Severnside. A gentle breeze outside.

I’m up earlier this morning as I had a frightening dream. I’m not sure whether to go out later today, it’s nothing that won’t keep and I’ve plenty to do indoors.

I hardly had any cheese for about a year after my operation Whitewave. These days you would think it’s going out of fashion.

Have good day all ☔️

Just checked my phone, SIL, who was here last night has just tested positive for Covid. 😭

Gosh Marydoll you need a better day for sure 😱

Morning from a warmer S Hampshire, storm Babet due later when I have to go out to the dentist. Physio yesterday identified I have a pinched nerve causing thigh pain, it was on the way out until his ministrations.
Thoughts with the poorlies, hope you’ve improved Blossoming.
🦩🦩

The boiler has not fired so house is freezing and I foresee a long struggle to get the problem sorted. This is not being a good week, though definitely not as awful as Marydoll’s. Hope today is better for her. Meanwhile the new doors are being beautifully fitted so that is progress. Hope today is kind to all.

Thank you so much for the well wishes and tips. It means a lot. x

Grannysomerset, if you are getting hot water then it should fire

couple of easy things you can do

There is a diverter by the main pipework and that can get stuck, it channels hot water to the rads and back to hot water for washing etc. There is a little black bit of plastic below that can easily be pushed, if not stuck then it will move back again

Boiler pressure needs to be between 1 and 1.5. That is an easy fix, knobs below the boiler, you will hear the water comin in to raise pressure. Youtube for your specific boiler info

Check your thermostats, raise them higher and see if they call for heat, the modern digital ones show a fire symbol. If calling for heat and the boiler does not fire after doing the above, it could well be electrical and would warrant a callout.

btw hot water has priority to central heating wrt the diverter

sorry, not pushed as in pushed in but pushed sideways, it will feel as though it is moving through stiff treacle

Good morning Mick and everyone from greyish and breezy Carlisle where we're not expecting the worst of the storm.
It will be an indoor day though as I want to catch up with reading and shorten my list of little jobs to do.
I've finally sorted out my winter clothes and identified a need for a pair of smarter black trousers. They seem impossible to find these days, they're all either too casual or they are ankle grazers or wide-legged, both styles I loathe. Still, a trip into town beckons in the next few days.
Yesterday, I found something had been investigating my newly planted tulip bulbs in my raised bed. A neat conical hole had been dug down to a bulb which had then been left in situ. It can't be squirrels here which would probably have taken the bulb anyway so I assume it was a rat or mouse. This happened last year too and only the once.

Marydoll your life would make a good subject for a tv sitcom but it's just not funny in real life. You are due a good day today.

And wishing you all a good day.

Oh Marydoll, how awful. I do hope you have a calm and restful day today.
Nannagarra wishing you and everyone else feeling poorly a speedy recovery. Off for a chilly walk now with furry feller,
hoping he will pull me into our favourite little coffee shop on the way home for a pumpkin spice latte, lets just say it has been known! Stay cosy all x

Good morning all from dull grey N Bucks where it is at least not as cold.
Commiserations to Blossoming, nannagarra ( have you got the Acyclovir? It makes a huge difference) and Marydoll - that sounds terrifying. I hope your nerves have recovered. GrannySomerset I hope your heating is sorted soon, I am so glad I now have a contract for my boiler and everything to do with it - peace of mind is worth so much.
If I have missed anybody else in need of commiserations, my apologies as I have only skimmed the thread .
Rosie had a poorly back paw last night and wouldn’t put her weight on it (coming out in sympathy with my plantar fasciitis?) so I fretted. A dose of Metacam seemed called for and I remembered how she had twice had an acorn/lump of mud stuck between her pads on yesterdays walk. Easily and quickly removed so perhaps her foot was sore but I worry about arthritis in ex- racers. (Being me, I worry, full stop)
It seems OK this morning but it hard to walk around here and avoid a carpet of acorns or those prickly beech nut shell thingies. They must hurt.
Wishing you all a pleasant (and in many cases less eventful) day .

SiL has done a second Covid test and it is negative. What is that about?

We have decided however that is wise to not visit Babydoll. DS2 is a chronic asthmatic and baby looks like she is also asthmatic. Better safe than sorry.
The problem is that we are supposed to have Dollie all day tomorrow and she was a shielder, so is vulnerable. You couldn't make it up! I would run away to a desert island , but I haven't the energy, nor can I get travel insurance!! 😉

I often think that when reading my posts, those Gransnetters, who do not know me, may think my life is fictional.
The Glesca Grannies, who know me will confirm, I am a real person and rather quirky into the bargain!🤣

Good morning from Durham. I’ve overslept, but I find I’m going to bed later and later now. It’s grey and windy here, but I’m off to a local garden centre to meet a friend for coffee and peruse the plants afterwards. No afternoon plans and with Little Dog here, I don’t want to be out too long. I’ll walk him later.
Marydoll I don’t know how you manage! Your health problems are so overwhelming and you seem to have a DH who morphs into an idiot at times! Who said ‘these things are sent to try us?’ I hope you have a better day.
Best wishes to all. X

A later good morning from a grey Northampton; 12° outside, rain forecast later this afternoon.
I am later this morning, because it is the day for my weekly tablet, so rather than coming on here I decided to do a few jobs while waiting for said tablet to 'take', as it were.

So this morning I have already washed up, wiped down worktops, sterilized cloths and sponges in the microwave, emptied, cleaned out and refilled cats' litter tray, emptied kitchen bin, and cleaned surfaces in the utility room. Then made a cup of tea, in front of me now....

Very pleased with my visit to the hairdressers yesterday, the colour is lovely. Had a quick lunch after that, then out for a good health walk in the glorious sunshine. Repaired to a local charity cafe after that, and had the most delicious lemon drizzle, made by some of the service users (adults with learning difficulties). The cafe is normally only open during summer, but our group can use it year round, they open only for us in winter. It is within a day centre for learning disabled adults, who do lots of activities there, while giving their carers respite. We are pleased to support the centre; yesterday we each paid £2.50 for coffee and home-made cake.

Got home, cut the front grass, then set up my new Alexa, which was surprisingly easy. My old one had disconnected itself from the internet, and I spent several hours on Sunday and Monday trying to reconnect, but it wasn't having it! I switched it off and on again, did a factory reset, all to no avail. Gave up in the end and ordered a new one. Think I might get one for the kitchen as well.

May go to the well-being cafe with my knitting this afternoon, but must Hoover the stairs first.

Hope today turns out better for those who had whatever struggles yesterday!

Good morning everyone from south Manchester where it’s windy - the trees are bending - but it’s dry. I’ve been offered a complimentary treatment by the Macmillan Centre at our local hospital up the road (where I used to work). Very kind of them. No idea what it is. I will take a box of biscuits for the staff as a thank you - fortunately for them I don’t bake.

Nannagarra my mum had the most awful shingles down one side of her face. It flared intermittently over a couple of years causing nerve damage. She had no feeling in her upper lip. It was miserable for her. She found generous application of calamine lotion, kept in the fridge, helped ease the pain.

Oh Marydoll what a disaster. Just when you need everything to be running smoothly. Luckily you are a very capable and resourceful woman although struggling yourself.
It was another lovely day here yesterday unlike at the moment where it is very grey but dry and not windy. The calm before what is to come. We had a trip out for lunch at a very busy farm shop yesterday near Perth which was lovely. The shop has lots of lovely produce but like all of those type of places very expensive. I came out having bought nothing, Dh was shocked!!
Had a lovely run home via Kinross along the Hillfoots (of the Ochils). Was a bit disappointed in the color of the trees they were not really displaying their autumn colours. Thoughts with those struggling.

Thank you for all of your good wishes, I feel a bit of a fraud as I don’t have the awful problems so many of you are dealing with!

Marydoll what a horrendous experience. I hope your SiL tests negative again, I don’t know how it works in respect of false positives.

I think we need a group virtual (((((hug))))) today ❤️

Good morning all. I haven't slept this late since I was a teenager!! Obviously I haven't read the posts yet, but from what little I have gleaned as I scrolled down it looks as if I will have some good reading later. No news from here - we're under a yellow warning for wind and an amber one for rain but nothing's kicked in yet, although the wind is picking up now.
Take care everyone x

Good morning Mick and all from Sunnyside northwest coast.
More music today when I get going, the usual lunchtime concert. Music club good yesterday and I even danced round with a Spanish lady member who jumps up at the drop of a hat to throw shapes. She had more energy than I had. I particularly enjoyed our guitarist who played some Beatles and I sang songs from West Side Story.
Glad your DGD is home with your DD Gingster hope you fell better Blossoming, falling is upsetting and thoughts to all with worries 🌺

FEEL better 🙄

Marydoll, you are such an inspiration. Your sense of humour and can do attitude are amazing. And the ability to describe things is wonderful. Hope things get better today.
Hugs to those in need.