Soop’s always open and very welcoming kitchen.

‘Evening All’.

It’s Baltic here in south Manchester! Brr! Thursday = date night so I’m about to put some makeup on, red lipstick 💄 perfume and wrap up warmly to go round the corner for a curry with Himself. He will be suitably togged up too by the wearing of his Harris tweed flat cap, his green wool scarf and his wool overcoat plus gloves. We like to eat early and be home around 8pm. Oh … yes … strange that Man. Utd have a ⚽️ match tonight! 😂

What a time you have had Soop you are lucky to have good neighbours.
SueD hope you Get some positive alternatives .
Baggs 💐

Good afternoon Kitcheners. Weenanni a furious wave to you. Enjoy your time with family. Grannmarie I enjoyed myself in the library again yesterday.
Today had good and not so good bits. My newish front door wouldn't lock from the outside no matter how I tried. It will lock from the inside, so that's something at least. I'll phone the door company in the morning. The food part was the Scots event at dgs1's school. Songs (Three craws, ma maws a millionaire and ye canny push yer granny affa bus); two Scots poems (the rid caur and Mince and tatties) and a 'scottish' dance, all performed with gusto. Then shortbread and irn bru. Dgs1 sang with actions and behaved reasonably well. More staff came to say thank you for my work in the library. Tonight I'm having the last of the chicken curry with rice and a glass of wine. Enjoy the rest of your day all

I am left-handed, and I cannot knit right-handed. My mother was left-handed, and a beautiful knitter, even doing fair isles, but she had no patience with me, who had two left hands. Need I say any more about knotting?

It is very cold here in London. I met a friend for coffee at the nearest shopping centre. The air conditioning was on so it was perishing. I was glad to return to my 4C house.

Please look after yourselves. Apparently, snow and ice are on their way, so I will be staying indoors.

Greetings, weenanni59 and a warm welcome to the kitchen. Are you a bonnie Scot? Mr Soop and I consider ourselves to be "born again Scots". We were born and bred in the heart of the English Midlands. Now, we are proud of our twenty year connection with this beautiful land.

I am continuing to play catch-up. There is stuff to do in the house. The washing has piled up. The dust has settled. Life trundles on...

My good wishes to all our Kitcheners. I consider you lovely lot to be the best.

Hello and good afternoon everyone on this lovely sunny afternoon .
I have been to 2 funerals this week so a sunny day today is very uplifting.
I will probably not post much in this lovely space but I like to catch up with what you are all doing.
I haven’t met Soop but I am full of admiration for her coping with the storm disruption.
Have a good weekend everyone.
I am visiting my family tonight for a few days so probably won’t even be able to sneak into the kitchen for a look 😀

Knitting:
My aunt sat next to me.
Push the needle in - open its mouth.
Wrap the wool - give it something to eat.
Do the needle twist with the wool - swallow it.
Slide stitch along - finish.

All those years ago (60) and I still remember that! 😂

Good afternoon.
I’ll be thinking of you both today SueD and hoping for a positive discussion.
Good news on Mrsoops recent medical interventions soop I hope he’s not in too much pain.
Yes Grannmarie* I was taught how to cast on and knit, I was very slow and couldn’t chat and knit as the others did, it was squares. I was started on 40 stitches, they were increasing and decreasing, clever lot, I’ll continue today.
Enjoy your afternoon all, we have sun ☀️

Good morning everyone!
Dear Soop, it's so good to hear from you. Great news about MrSoop's skin graft, brave man, I'm hoping and praying for successful healing. 🙏🥰 I hope you get your scan results soon.

SueD, thinking of you and your DH this morning, wishing you a positive outcome going forward.

How did your knitting night go, Jaxjacky? I hope some kindly souls kept you right. Remember, YouTube is also your friend. When I was knitting a wee cardigan for DGD starting school, it had a picot frill, which I had never knitted before, being the mother of sons...I found some great tutorials which showed every stitch in close up, very helpful. 👍

Hope Grandmabatty had a good time at the school library.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays, brook.

It's cold and frosty here, beautiful blue skies and lots of sunshine. I spent a wee while in the garden yesterday tidying up. My neighbour showed me a UFO which landed in their garden on Friday, her husband thinks it's off my chimney 🤣 so we'll be trying to get someone out to replace it and check the chimney and the roof. Oh joy....
Wishing everyone a pleasant Thursday, TOYA, especially those in the Quiet Corner.

I know that you will all understand that I am out of touch with many important health concerns affecting several of you. Stay strong, and share with us, if it helps. You are very important people and if we can help each other through tough times then our kitchen is serving it's purpose.
MrSoops staples have been removed for the second time. This skin graft is 90% successful. The previous was 50% Dressings will continue to be replenished regularly. His thigh is sore. Skin was harvested from it and transplanted onto his scalp.
I still await news regarding the scan results relating to the parastomal hernia.
Sleep soundly dear Kitcheners. I am away to tuck up with my book and hot water bottle.
It is so go good to be back.

Before I take myself off to bed I wish to thank you lovely lot for keeping our kitchen in tip top shape. Thank you for helping me to sort out my haste to open and subsequently close a duplicate meeting venue. You are dear friends.
A big hug for FriedGreenTomatoes2 I wouldn't have known how to transfer my message.
Several of you, including Baggs, SueD, Ladyleftfieldlover, Nongrannymoll welcome and may the good news continue to go from strength to strength.

Hoping tomorrow’s appointment goes well SueD with a positive outcome sorted 💐

Very best wishes SueD for your meeting tomorrow.
Many of us have been through the tension of waiting for those appointments so know how you must be feeling.

I am so glad the Soops are back with us. I can imagine the stress of it all, after our experience with Storm Arwen in 2021. It’s very discombobulating.
What a shock, LLFL. I hope your brother is getting good treatment and can celebrate his birthday in some way. You’ll be desperate to visit him.
It’s such a shame when a friend is so draining, UTTB. You are an angel for caring about her. 😇
Good result, Nongrannymoll! 👍
Thinking of you, Baggs. Xxx
Granmarie my gels need to come off and I am dithering about whether to let them have some fresh air or to have a jolly colour put on to see us over the last winter month or so. 💅🏽
Hope you’ve warmed up now, Cornergran. Some brandy in that hot choc might help.

We had a normal day today, taking GD to her ballet class after school, as usual. She seems to have suddenly matured quite a bit. My handbag tipped over in the car. She scooped up all the contents, put them back and zipped it closed so it wouldn’t happen again, all without any prompting. ❤️

Tomorrow we have a meeting with dh’s specialist when we’ll be discussing the next move, after his severe reaction to treatment two weeks ago. We are rather concerned as to what will be said.

Still, today we saw snowdrops and japonica blossom basking in the sunshine so that brightened our day as well.

I’ve brought some banana muffins, made in my air fryer. I think they’re the best I’ve ever made, so light and airy!

TOYA. Xxx

Hello everyone. My thanks to Utbb for moving us and fgt for transferring ‘soops’ post. Goodness what a time Mr and Mrs soop have had, delighted to see soop was able to join us for a while.

What a worry for you ladylfl, my love to you and a hope your brother will be stable for his birthday and your visit.

I’ve come home this evening feeling cold and am being warmed by a large mug of hot chocolate, there’s a flask on the side for anyone who would enjoy some.

Look after yourselves. TOYA.

Hello! A little update on my brother. I am flying out in a few weeks whatever. Although he’s cancelled his big party my sister has suggested hosting a small family party at the AirBnB that a few of us are staying in. If he starts to get tired he can either have a lie-down at our place or his partner can drive him back to their home. It is all very distressing and I feel for his two daughters, one of whom is expecting her first baby in March.

Good evening, Soop and lovely Kitchen people. How wonderful to be reunited after your ordeal, dear Soop. What a terrible time you've both had. So sorry to hear that. What good friends you have! Sounds like no effort was spared to improve your situation. Coorie doon noo!

Ladyleftfieldlover, so sorry to hear about your dear brother. I hope the hospital can help him, and your visit can go ahead.

NonGrannyMoll, excellent news from your cardiologist. What a weight off your shoulders, relax and enjoy!

Baggs, thinking of you and yours at this time. Firsts are hard.💐 Thank you for your updates .

Thanks also to UsedToBeBlonde and FGT.
As DGD used to say,
"Team work makes the dream work" ( a nursey catchphrase!)

Back to my tip on how to keep sane and preserve some positivity in the face of negative people, like UsedToBeBlonde 's friend. Many years ago when I was teaching full time, we had an In Service day which included a session on 'tips and tools' to help manage stress, in the workplace or wherever. The one which sticks in my memory because it made me laugh, was to protect yourself in such situations by imagining that you are surrounding yourself with an impenetrable forcefield/ dome which repels all negative and harmful vibes, whilst playing the theme tune to Thunderbirds!! Other strong, uplifting tunes 🎶 are available!
So you can nod, smile and support your difficult friend without becoming drained.🤞🤞 Worth a try?

I've been out all day, Mass and Coffee Morning with my friend ( a cheerful one!) this morning, then cut and colour this afternoon followed by appointment to have my gel nails removed, let the real ones breathe awhile! Time to wrap some birthday presents now.
Wishing everyone a peaceful Wednesday evening. TOYA.

fgt thank you for the update that soop had posted. What an awful experience for them. llfl sad news about your brother, I hope you’ll be able to see him when you go to Australia in February. I’ve had a busy day today, trying to organise the bits and pieces drawer in the hall chest of drawers. Threw away lots of leaflets from the early 2000s, with out of date information! Still more to do tomorrow! Have a peaceful evening everyone.

Thank you for the update on the soops FGT2 they like others in the north of Scotland have been really put through the ringer with storm Eowyn.

We have the 9yr old here for his weekly sleepover, he has steak for dinner (it’s one of his favourites). He is a good boy and finished all his homework and is now playing on DD’s iPad, I think he has more games on there than DH 😹

Thanks FGT, what an ordeal Mr&MrsSoop have endured, hoping things are ok from now on x

I’m transferring this in the hope soop doesn’t mind ….

soop Wed 29-Jan-25 14:59:29
“It has been a challenging five days. The hurricane was devastating hereabouts. I was told that a gust of 103 mph was recorded in a village not too distant from here. Being without power for so long was not something I would wish upon anyone. At times we were so cold and our friends (who had a generator) filled hot water bottles for us to snuggle up with. They also gave us hot food and helped to make us more comfortable. We were on the Scottish and Southern priority list but have since been further upgraded. We were loaned a small generator for the last twenty four hours. Also given a duffle bag containing snacks and a number of useful devices. Yesterday we had fish and chips in a Campbeltown restaurant paid for by the network. If we had agreed, we could have spent time in a hotel (no charge to us). The engineers have done a sterling job in the most difficult of circumstances. We are beyond grateful for their support.
It will take some time for me to catch up. I know that you will understand. I am very happy to be back with you all.
Once again, thank you to our Baggs. Love to all my favourite Granspals.“

Thank you all for the buffet treats, much appreciated… I’ll add some cheese and wine to the table for this evening
That’s great news from your cardiologist NonGrannyMoll so pleased for you!
Not so good for your brother llfl, I hope he improves soon and belated birthday celebrations can go ahead
Baggs 💐
Enjoy your WI knitting squares tonight Jax hope it goes well

Hello everyone. I’m at DD2’s in Edinburgh using a visit to my work’s National HQ to visit DD2 as well. It was good to meet colleagues I’ve only been in touch with online thus far but also quite stressful as everything is at the moment as we approach the first anniversary of DD1’s death in February last year.

I’ll now ensconce myself in the Quiet Corner with a glass of wine and some crisps while waiting for DD2 to return from her work. Then we’re off to the birthday tea (in Edinburgh) of one of her friends from her first job in Machynlleth Centre for Alternative Technology many years ago.

Ladyleftfieldlover, so sorry to hear about your brother. Hope all ends well.

This is now our official meeting place.

Thank you to our Baggs. Thank you, UsedToBeBlonde