Soop's kitchen for caring and sharing...

PS the fudge was very good!

Neine I almost fell off my chair laughing when I read about your "visitation". You could write a book about your experiences. It would be a best seller.

Nannytopsy Us lot wish you well.

corner I feel as you do, especially at this time of the year. All I wish for is that those people who are alone may enjoy some companionship., the homeless have shelter and the hungry are fed. I have so much to be grateful for. I certainly do not need gifts or extra food. Yet, it seems to me, that what I do want is beyond my capabilities. All sounds rather wordy and non-sensical. It's always been this way for me no matter how many so-called festive seasons come and go.

My love to you all.

Cornergran I hope you feel cheerier soon. Neine you are very funny!😂 Ladyleftfieldlover I live your wallpaper and duvet cover. Sumptuous. Brook enjoy your dgd.
I was at dgs1's school nativity this afternoon and it was lovely. Only half an hour long, perfect length, and dgs1 said his lines clearly and confidently. He was very pleased to see me and his dad there. I'm having a restful afternoon now because my hip and knee 🙄 are painful. I hope everyone has a pleasant evening.

Hoping you feel a bit brighter soon cornergran, I don’t think the dark winter evenings help at all, better days are on the way soon❤️

Gorgeous decor llfl 👍

Not long to wait until Monday nannytopsy hope all goes well with the pre op

We’re just sat in the car outside school waiting for DGD to come rushing out so I’ll pop back later!

My preop assessment has come for Monday! Very little to eat between now and then but I shall have chips on Monday night!! I can’t remember when I last had a potato!
All this talk of Christmas trees! Even our son says they go upon the night the schools break up although he has lost that battle at home - theirs is up already. We shall aim for about December 16th or 17th.
Chin up Cornergran. I hope you feel happier soon.

Hello everyone. I’ve been reading but nothing to report. Neine you gave me a much needed smile this morning. It reminded me of the years our tree was inside one of those now old fashioned wooden square playpens either to keep a toddler at bay or our dog who loved to demonstrate his ability to jump to reach any decoration that took his fancy.

That’s a very smart room ladylfl. We visited Cirencester often from our previous home, loved a wander there especially at this time of year. Something I miss.

There’s a general feeling of melancholy in me at the moment, a sense of undefined loss whuch I need to shake off as there is much to be grateful for.

The lights are cheering this time of year. We look out on what I call winter lights in our back garden from November through to March. All soft white Not to compete with neines runway, more a helicopter landing pad . Our frankly tacky front garden creatures will be installed this morning. Nothing as elegant as a stag out there! More nursery school level.

Time for our morning cuppa and a chapter or two of my book. Look after yourselves everyone.

Fudge factory! Yum.

I slept for 6 hours! 🥳
Sadly pain in my hip is stopping me going back to sleep. Yesterday I phoned the hospital and they are going to arrange a preop assessment to see if I have lost enough weight to go into their Hub instead of the main theatres. 23 lbs so far …. I hope they arrange that before Christmas as I am bound to put some weight back on.
I can just imagine your handbag Neine!
Off to a fudge factory with WI this morning. They have asked to go to the English whisky distillery next!
Hope everyone has a good day

Hello kitchen people.

OH and I had a good day today. I drove us to Cirencester where we collected a William Morris coverlet (see photo) and then had a delicious lunch. I’m sure it’s one of the restaurants where my sometimes difficult friend had a meltdown. Anyway, we had a very tasty lunch - the trifle was the best we’ve had outside of my kitchen!

We also had to collect our prescriptions and call into Waitrose to click and collect a Christmas present.

Sleep 💤 tight - I hope your arm stays pain-free FGT2.

So funny neine I bet there’s always lots of laughter in your house 🤣
Our neighbour across the road adds more and more outside lights each year SueD, we can’t compete so have just a few 🤷‍♀️
It’s been a long day travelling to and from Glasgow today for the Glesca meet up. But I’ve had such an enjoyable day with really good company so definitely worth it. It’s an easy enough journey, just sitting, reading and watching the world go by
Thinking of everyone in the quiet corner, take care all and sleep well x

‘Evening All’.

I had my Covid jab early this morning.
No side effects yet. 🤞🤞

Oh Neine, you’ve cheered up a lot of people with the antics in your house! . I’m now wondering what my cats will do when our decorations go up.

It’s lovely to hear of Grans’ Christmas preparations, it feels as though the festivities are well under way. There’s a particular road on our town, a main road, with some lovely houses in it. They seem to go in for competitive decorations at this time of year. Whatever people’s views on that, it makes a delightful journey for those of us passing by, gorgeous trees and outside lights and so on. One has a ginormous light-up stag rampaging through the front garden - I wonder where it lives the rest of the year!

Stay warm and dry, everyone. Xxx

Neine you have made myself and oh have a good laugh at your antics.
I have spent today wrapping presents more or less finished ✔
Sending healing thoughts to those needing them .

neine 🤣🤣🤣

We’ll do e Redcar small steps, literally!
Cards written, I’ll post them tomorrow, most of them are MrJ’s family. After my stretch class tomorrow I’ll hunt down a wreath and a poinsettia that sadly won’t last long if history repeats itself
We’ve just been for a drink with a friend, two pints and a shandy, £5, they’re phasing one lager out to make way for another.
On dear neine ‘another fine mess…’ 🙂

neine 😂😂😂🐶🐾

neine I have been in hysterics at the rude awakening you and your DH had on Tuesday! The more I’ve read it, the more I’ve laughed! I think I’d have had a heart attack if it had happened to me. When our girls were small and we also had a puppy, the Christmas tree was on a table fenced off from the room by chairs to stop either children or dog attacking it!
I managed a slightly longer walk outside today, then nodded off after lunch!

Who is that to mabon1?
It is rather disconcerting if you don’t say and you mean it as a joke.

Stop boasting

Ladyleftfieldlover I was also pregnant that summer with son No.4. a few months less than you 🙋‍♀️

Great story, Neine though lucky you didn’t have a heart attack from the shock! Hope today is less dramatic.

Good morning kitchen pals. I am nearly back to normality. The big Christmas clean up began at the weekend...shelves emptied.. polished..refilled. skirting boards dusted and washed... window sills and windows..cleaned...likewise lights ...chair and sofa covers removed and washed ( not sure they are supposed to be but we'll soon find out) and the list goes on., and that was just the sitting room. On Sunday the Christmas trees made their appearance...long gone are the days of two 7ft trees either end of the sitting room...the cottage as we have discovered permits is one 5ft tree in the sitting room and then only if it's placed on a table behind the sofa too stop naughty pup careering into it when he has his zoomies. Anyway it's up as is the outside tree...the reindeer are looking wistfully across the fields and there are enough lights bedecking the garden to ensure that we can be seen from space. ( DH was left in charge of outside lights...so I only have myself to blame for now having an alternative runway for Bristol Airport). 🤣
Monday disaster struck. It started off so well too...pretty sparkly nails done on hands and feet and a quick trip into Aldi to pick up some bits seemed a good idea ...and I could use their toilet too...no I couldn't it was out of order but I was informed the M and S garage over the road had one. By now the need was getting to a dangerous stage so at speed I fell into their facility flung my handbag onto the nearest surface which happened to be the sink. Moments later and emergency over....it actually wasn't as unbeknown to me....the tap was an automatic one and all the while I had been ....well you know... my handbag has been steadily filling with water. Purse...cards...tissues...pen..lipstick.
.inhaler....and PHONE all sodden. Upshot of it all my phone died utterly. So hence why now on Wednesday morning I am sitting here tapping away on a brand new phone having spent hours looking to see which one would be a good replacement for my loved and trusted Nokia 5.3. In case you are still reading and interested I've got a Motorola G55 ( never had a MR before but so far so good). Thankfully everything was backed up to Google so it looks as if everything has transferred across Phew.
Goodness knows what anyone popping into the facilities in M and S in Honiton in Monday afternoon must have thought...it was like a Tsunami had hit in there. I did offer to mop but the member of
staff I spoke to took one look at me clutching a sodden bag..etc along with damp patches on my jacket...knees and boots and probably thought it better to get me out of the store as quickly as possible. 😱😱😱
There's more...if you are still reading... Tuesday morning 3am...I woke and felt the all too familiar panic attack symptoms fast approaching. Not wanting to disturb DH I sat up and I tried to stay calm and breathe through it hoping it wouldn't go into a full blown attack when all of a sudden out of the darkness came 'a voice saying Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas'
followed by naughty puppy hurtling across the bedroom up onto the bed over the top of DH head and into my lap ( he's not light either). DH rose like a creature from the deep saying 'what the hell was that'. I was beyond speech by that point and when the lights were turned on panic was replaced by hysterical laughter as we realised naughty pup had helped himself to one of the reindeer ( that I had when the Grandsons used to visit) that was sitting on the stairs and inadvertently had pressed the
button that set off the 'Ho ho ho' . Terrified he'd dropped it beside the door and leapt to a place of safety. You honestly couldn't make it up could you? Cups of tea all round restored calm to us both and we managed to drift back off to sleep with naughty puppy wedged between us. !!!!!

I’m also in my night things & sitting up in bed, reading your posts.
I made a start on the Christmas cards today, without much enthusiasm, but will carry on tomorrow. Sent a long catch up text to my sister in law and had a reply, which was good. Our grandchildren are very similar in age and all very sporty, so lots to chat about, especially as I hadn’t heard from her since May!
In the last week I’ve actually managed to change the names on two accounts from my late husband’s name to mine! He died nearly four years ago and I simply couldn’t be bothered to change the names until now.
Night night all, I hope we’ll all have a good nights sleep.

Hello kitchen people.

I’m relaxing on the sofa after having egg, bacon and hot buttered toast. OH is at his Shooting Club so I’m watching the making of ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’. Back in July 1985 I watched Live Aid from the comfort of my sofa while 8 months pregnant with younger son.

I managed to squeeze in one V&A lecture when I got back from taking my hip replacement friend for her physio appointment in Oxford. Driving around that city is a nightmare at the moment,

Sleep 💤 tight.

‘Evening All’.

We’ve not long eaten. It went dark so early tonight didn’t it? Anyway I’m now in my pj’s, I’m warm, well fed and content. There’s a lot to be said for that these days. I’ll be making my mug of Horlicks soon - I just need to keep away from the biscuit tin …