Soop's special Kitchen for kindly folk.

Hello to all in the kitchen and a mixed bag of news to catch up on.

I’ve been AWOL as we are here in Lake Maggiore to celebrate our Ruby wedding anniversary today. It’s a stunning place and has been the perfect choice for it. Today we have been over on one of the ferries to a beautiful tiny island Isola Bella. Despite its size it has a very opulent home of the Borromeo family on it and some very pretty gardens. Worth a visit.

Thinking of all with worries over loved ones.

Will catch up properly when am back in a couple of days.

Good evening, Soop and lovely Kitchen people. It's bright and breezy here today, but definitely feeling cooler. At least it's dry!

Nannytopsy, good to hear from you, glad you're enjoying a super family holiday in France. 🇫🇷

Brook, best wishes for a wonderful relaxing week in the sun ☀ for you and your DH, you have had a busy summer.

Grannygravy, your dinner sounds delicious. 😋 Yours too, Grandmabatty, very tasty. Enjoy your roast chicken, Cornergran, that's a favourite here too.

We ate out today, super Sunday lunch carvery at an old riverside hotel in the Clyde Valley. We were celebrating with my side of the family, my brother has recently retired. I am the eldest sibling, but now feel particularly ancient cos two younger siblings are now retired...ages and stages.

I am now reclining on the sofa, wonky knee being iced and elevated, it's painful after a few busy days. Hoping to make it to the pool tomorrow to do my physio exercises.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Sunday evening and a good night's sleep.
Thinking of you all, especially those with illness, worries or sorrow. 💕🙏

Crossed posts, Grandmadinosaur. Many congratulations 🥂 ❤️ to you and your DH on your Ruby Wedding anniversary. Your location sounds idyllic, enjoy!

Grandma dinosaur happy anniversary to you both. It sounds like you are having a lovely time. Grannmarie rest that knee! My toad in the hole was very nice albeit a little soggy. I will tidy up soon and then an early night as usual on a Sunday. Take care all

Tackling the job in small bites corner ✅ sensible.
Everyone is on holiday and brook going, I hope you all have a thoroughly lovely time with lots of ☀️ and 🥂, Happy Anniversary Grandmadinosaur 🥳
The party last night was lovely, we left as the DJ started, caught up with friends of my son not seen for years.
No luck in the meat draw and a roast chicken on the way, yum!

Enjoy your holiday Brook have a lovely time doing very little.

Grandmadinosaur congratulations on your ruby anniversary 🥂

I am wilting, definitely in bed before 10pm, (waiting for dishwasher to finish)

Nightie Night 😘

It’s more than a week since I last posted, it’s been a delightfully busy time. I’ll do a bit of a catch up first, though won’t go right back.

NannyG4 I’m so sorry you had to say farewell to your beloved. Thinking of you as you go forward.
Soop I was sorry to hear of Mr Soop’s further health troubles. I do hope the MDT can come up with a good plan for him.
Yiayia my heart goes out to you, too. It’s a horrible time. Best wishes for your son’s wedding and the birthday boy.
That’s great news for you LLFL!
I hope all the new GC school starters are doing well and that the exam-takers all had results they are pleased with!
That’s very sad about your friends, Corner. I hate it if I’m unable offer any help, I feel so useless.
Hope the party was fun, Jax!
Enjoy your holiday, Brook.
Congratulations on forty years married, GMdinosaur!

We have had such a lovely week with ds. We got out and about every day and managed to fill up his stores of culture for the next wee while! His dw says he’s a culture snob, he says she’s a philistine. Unfortunately our ds2 didn’t manage to join us for a few days, as planned. He came back from a work visit to the States feeling unwell and tested positive for Covid. He didn’t want to pass it around the family so instead went home, which was empty because his dw had taken the children to see their other GM in France, because he was away! Such is life, I guess.

We waved ds1 off back to the US on Thursday, which was a wrench for us all. I had the joys of the dentist in the afternoon then dh had to see a specialist dentist on Friday morning followed by caring for our GS for the rest of the day. He’s now toilet trained, which is a pleasure - no more nappies!

We’ve had a quiet weekend although today I’ve built a ceiling-height cat tree for the kittens, with dh’s help. The boy cat loves it, the girl hasn’t shown any interest in it yet.

The house repairs are all but done with just a few bits and bobs needing attention. It’s so nice not to have to think about it all now.

All for now, take care everyone. Xxx

Congratulations grandmadinosaur on your Ruby wedding Anniversary, what a lovely place to celebrate together ❤️💐🥂

Well where to start..so much has happened since I was last in the kitchen....
I'll begin with our beloved leader...Soop I hope and pray that tomorrow brings positive news for Mr Soop and an effective treatment plan. You are both so stoical when facing your medical buggerations. ♥️
Grandmarie...what a lovely start to the wee boys school life. Bless him..I wish him only happy times in the years to come.
SueD.... I'm so glad you had lots of fun times with DS1...memories made and reassuring for you to see him well.
Brook...a quiet week sounds perfect. Enjoy your special time with your man.
Grandmadino... Happy Anniversary to you both....wishing you many more happy years together.
Corner...I hate all the prep work and have to really discipline myself to do things at a sensible speed and these days ability too. Grrr
Fingers crossed your dear friend is settled somewhere safe soon.
Yia...Prayers for you all that some good news is forthcoming very soon.
NannyG4. Brave lady...hold those wonderful memories of your darling husband in your head and heart and may they carry you through these early days of your new life. Doodle I wish the same for you too. ♥️
Jax...the party sounded lovely...have they set a date yet?
Grandmabatty... Caramelised onion sauce...that had me salivating..and then there was mention of raspberry jam too. Yum
I am pooped today...we had friends over on Saturday for dinner ( Prawn cocktail...chicken basque and French toast brioche with caramelised apples and blueberries) and we have some of the Wirral family arriving on Friday so I set to on the cleaning at 9am on Friday and by 5pm had deep cleaned the Winter and Summer Kitchens and the dining room. I am not proud that it took me that long....and I know I can use my fractured knee cap as an excuse not to have touched a skirting board for a few weeks but there really was no excuse for what I found behind the dresser....if anyone locally is wondering why there is a new breed of hairless cats it's because they have sneaked into mine and systematically shred every hair and left what definitely looked like a litter of kittens behind aforementioned dresser. I casually mentioned my find to DH and said maybe we should pull the dresser out at least once a month from now on...he replied he has never pulled it out to hoover behind it since we've lived here ( 2 years). I thought he'd been doing it and he thought I had....what can I say!!!!!!. Anyway everywhere is spotless now...and a memo to self ..just like those posters that say a dog is not just for Christmas....from now on ....a feather duster can be handled more than once a month!!!!!
HUH...I didn't want the domestic Goddess award anyway.
A bit of good news...the mole on DH leg is just that...the special photo that was taken early on Thursday morning was analysed and the results back on Friday morning. Well done NHS.
The same lady who saw him...saw me two hours later...she thinks the right breast pain is just a gland but because she could feel a slight difference has referred me to the breast care clinic. The appointment is for the 3rd...I knew it would be quick but thought it was just for a mammogram but the letter says it could be 3 hours...if it was a bit sore before goodness knows how it's going to feel after 3 hours. I am not panicking because I know I am only being referred as again precaution.
But if any of you feel like offering up a prayer for right boob....feel free.
Last weekend was hard...my darling twin GS's were 18. I was the first person to see them when they came out of theatre and I loved them from that moment on...I did write cards and put money inside with a message to say use it to make a memory. Their Uncle ( my former lodger) said he would pass them on but in the end he was not allowed to and their Father told me that my love for them was not reciprocated. All I could think to reply was the the pernicious influence that has been brought to bear on them may well have something to do with their feelings towards me. Who knows now they are adults they will make up their own minds about their Neine and will remember all the happy times we shared. In the meantime I will never stop loving them.

Nein I’m so sorry about your grandsons. How sad that must make you. Of course you will always love them and I hope in time as they get older they will realise that. Thank you for your kind wishes.

Good morning all.
Things to commiserate with and things to be happy about with today.
I hope the poorlies and their carers have better times ahead.
I am waiting for more tests myself in a matter that may cause a lot of anxiety but more about that when things are clearer.
That little matter made my weekend more precious to me.

I was unable to have a stay with a friend last weekend as she had an accident to her right hand.
Sensing my disappointment, my lovely GD asked if I would like to go to Llandudno, one of my favourite places, for the day on Saturday.
She said that she would try to get my scooter in her car.
I was delighted and she said her friend would like to come too as her parents were away for the weekend in Anglesey.
Then friend’s parents said they would like to come over to meet up with us in the afternoon.
Next thing was B said that she had decided to go back with her parents for the night and travel back with them on Sunday so I suggested to my GD that we stay over in Llandudno and have an extra day.

Long story short ended we did that, had a just ok meal , an early night and got up at a reasonable time and proceeded to Chester for breakfast in the food market there and had a lovely few hours in the city, all due to my scooter.
These are things I thought I would never do again and it was so good.

My scooter isn’t a boot type but taking it apart into 3 components and having a very strong GD made it possible.
I was so thrilled and grateful.

I must now do some necessary phone calls and catch up with myself after my exciting couple of days.
Have the best day you can everyone.

Thank you for all your most interesting posts. It has taken me an age to read through them.

An afternoon of ironing is planned. Helps to keep me out of mischief.

Now is a good time for me to ride the bike to no place in particular. I shall listen to some Elvis classics as I do so. Bye for a wee while.

I`ll join you listening to Elvis, Soop, I`ve become a little addicted just lately, lol!

grandmadinosaur happy anniversary for yesterday, what a lovely place to spend your special day!
annsixty lovely to have an unexpected few days away.
neine praying for you and your boob! Sad for you that your dear GSs weren’t able to have their cards and money for their birthdays, praying that eventually they may be able to be in contact with you.
I haven’t dusted behind the sideboard or glass cabinet for donkeys years! I don’t have any pets, but there are probably loads of long dead spiders etc behind them! I’m not planning on looking soon either, although will have to when I have that room decorated!
I’ve dusted the back bedroom and vacuumed everywhere today, DD2 may have a sleepover with her daughters later this week so I need to make sure everywhere is clean.
I hope you enjoy Elvis soop.
Enjoy the rest of the day everyone.

Good afternoon kitcheners. Redcar you've been busy! Soop* well done on exercising. My mum used to love Elvis music. Annsixty that sounds like a lovely break for you. *Brook are you there yet?
Today has been such a good day. Dgs1 happily ran into school and dgs2 went into playgroup quite happily too. He painted me a beautiful picture in orange, red and yellow. The ladies were impressed with how chatty he's become. Later in the afternoon, he decided he was Santa and kept giving me random things to open. Then we were getting married again 😂. He had a hyper half hour before his mum picked him up. I'm having the remains of the toad in the hole for dinner later. Enjoy your evening all.

Good evening, Soop and lovely Kitchen people. 🥰

Thank you, Grandmabatty, I been to the pool this morning to do my physio, and I spent an hour or two on the sofa, icing and elevating again. Hope you had a good day with your wee grandsons as they become accustomed to their new routines.

Safe journey and have a wonderful holiday, brook. ✈

Good luck for your quiz, Jaxjacky.

Sounds like you had a great time, Annsixty, your DGD is a lovely, thoughtful girl. Hoping and praying that all goes well for your health issues.

Neine, thank you for your kind wishes for the Wee Boy, I'm so sorry to read about your grandsons ' situation. Such a heartbreak for you. Hoping and praying that things will improve for all of you very soon. Prayers also for your boob!🙏 Great that you and your DH are being seen promptly.

Good to hear from you, SueD, sounds like you had a special time with your DS1. Great to hear that your house is restored to its former glory, you've been very patient.

Well done, Redcar 🚗, you're all ready to welcome your DD and DGDs.

Wishing everyone a peaceful Monday evening. TOYA.

Sounds like you had the best time SueD good news on your house.
Tricky times neine 🌻
How lovely ann where there a will..
A busy day on the phones, I ended up with 7 lifts to sort, it’s a cooler day and cloudy right up until a few minutes ago, I hope to see the super moon later when we return from quiz.
Shout out to brook who is by now ensconced in her Glasgow hotel with her husband and a 🥂before their week of bliss 🤞

Good evening kitchen pals, hoping everyone is doing ok
Neine hoping that your DGSs reach out and get in contact now they’ve turned 18, it must be heartbreaking for you. I’m keeping everything crossed for you at the breast clinic too
Good to hear you’re getting out and about ann, enjoy every minute
We’re not quite there yet grandmabatty, we’re at Glasgow airport ready for our early flight tomorrow- thank you all so much for your kind wishes. We’ve done the ‘twilight’ check in with Jet2 which means we’ve already checked in our cases and we can head straight through to departures in the morning - a few extra minutes in bed as it’s a very early flight, the alarm set for 4am 😳
You’re spot on Jax we’ve just come up from the hotel bar 🥂
Lovely to catch up on all your news SueD sounds like you’ve all had a lovely time, except the son with Covid - hope he’s better soon
Gentle hugs to all in need ❤️

Happy holiday Brooke and Grandmadinosaur.
You are lucky to get away, it is like early winter here.
We have resisted putting the heating on.

Hello kitchen people,
A very quick visit - I’m worn out with elder son and his family staying. A good sort of worn out though!

There is such a mixture of sadness and joy in the kitchen currently. I’m thinking of you all.🌹

Good Evening you Lovely Ladies.. Again thankyou ALL for your very kind and supportive messages, so uplifting. I'm sorry I've not named you all individually but my brain is still fuddled. I feel very strange at the moment but I realise now that my DH has passed and I'm alone. Oh I do miss him.
Thinking of you all, especially those with difficulties and worries.. I really hope you can find some peace at this time.
I've enjoyed the last couple of days at my son's beach hut with his family, the weather has been good too. Its lovely to watch the grandchildren playing in the sea without a care in the world... Heartwarming.
Love to you all. Smell the Roses🌹🌹

Just baked chocolate chip cookies and made lentil soup for my daughter. She’ll be here in a few hours…….hasn’t been home since Christmas. I cant wait till she’s here!

Enjoy your holiday Brook - we like Menorca. On our way to the tunnel in torrential rain - it has washed it clean anyway!
The photo was taken once the cars were packed yesterday. DGS thinks I’m hiding today. 😪

Nannytopsy That is a super-happy family photograph. I would frame it.

I have a busy afternoon ahead. No matter, you lovely lot are never far from my thoughts.

Bless each and every one of you.