Soop's kitchen for kindly folk...

Oh goodness you have overkill with photos of me sorry.
I have no idea why they took several hours to post, it has never happened before.
I am tired and emotional today and the heat is getting me down.
I hope you are all finding ways to cope with it.

So pleased you enjoyed your birthday Usedtobeblonde
Fabulous photo

A happy birthday photo indeed. No matter it arrived several times, better than it not arriving at all.

There’s an overload of emotion here today too usedtobeblonde. The heat surely doesn’t help, neither did Mr C getting us stuck in the sand on the beach this morning.

Fortunately two younger men came to our rescue while I drove in response to their instructions. It will be funny - one day. Mr C was very embarrassed. He’s still muttering I live here and should understand beach parking . We do, just today it was the wrong route out. It won’t happen again! He reluctantly relinquished the wheel as his hearing wouldn't have allowed him to respond to prompts. He’s been quiet since, suspect it’s made him realise age comes with more challenges than we anticipate. I worry for rather than about him at times.

I was feeling low before we went, lots of concerning news yesterday, definitely more emotional since. Oh well, onwards. I’ll position a fan next to the computer and get on with some admin.

Stay cool everyone. Lots of liquid. The extreme heat will have passed tomorrow.

Cornergran, I really must read whole posts before jumping to conclusions! When I read that your husband had got stuck in the sand, I had a vision of just a little head (complete with knotted handkerchief) poking out of the sand, like Victor Meldrew, for those who watch that great programme!
Mr C shouldn’t feel embarrassed. We all do silly things, and it was very hot yesterday. Tell him he’s in great company!

Smashing picture utbb you look very stylish, glad you enjoyed it.

Lovely photo utbb, I hope you had a good day.
cornergran sorry you’re feeling down today. I’m pleased that people were on hand to help you off the sand.
Warm and humid here today with little breeze, I guess I’ll be watering the garden later! I think we may have a shower on Tuesday 🤞.

Oh dear Cornergran I totally understand your and your DH’s embarrassment and the feeling that younger people think we are just “not up to it”
It is frustrating and concerning.
Just put it in a box in your mind and forget it.
Sorry also that you have other problems, if like mine ,mostly other people’s that I seem to have to at least discuss over and over, if not settle.
I have had more visitors today and I am so tired, I just want to run away, not feasible of course.
Hope you soon feel more settled.
Clouding over here thank goodness.

Hi all, phew another hot day, we bbq’d here with the family, all sat out (under the sun umbrella) to eat, then scooted in speedy quick, it was at 2:30, about 28.
Granddaughter, Imogen, has broken up from college, grandson seven days of school left, he can’t wait, Imogen is looking for temp work - along with many others.
I hope you had a less worrisome day corner and are getting some sleep.
utbb I also am thinking of you and your worries, fingers crossed you’ve had a quiet afternoon and some rest.

Belated many happy returns, UsedToBeBlonde, I'm glad you enjoyed your special day. What a lovely photo of you, that's one for a frame!

Cornergran, I'm sorry to hear that you've had worrying news, thinking of you both, hoping for brighter days ahead for you.

Thanks for the recent kind wishes, much appreciated. I managed my friend's lighter wheelchair in and out of the car for the funeral we were attending, but it made me realise that my shoulder/ arm problem is not quite recovered yet. Thankfully I'm still getting regular massage at the surgery.

My sisters have persuaded me to join them on a wee sunshine break next week, so we're off to Menorca for a few days, whilst we're not required for childcare. The Wee Boy and his Mummy and Daddy are away up north ( in brook's direction) in search of Nessie, and DS1, DDIL1 and family are enjoying some watersports on the west coast. DS3 and lovely girlfriend joined me for dinner today, chicken tikka masala, and helped with some wee jobs in the garden.

Wishing happy holidays to Grandmabatty, Ladyleftfieldlover and all on their travels, thinking of our Soops, FGTs and all those with illness, worries or sorrow, and all in the quiet corner.
TOYA, NNGB.

That’s exactly it usedtobeblonde, other peoples issues, some family some friends, all people I care about. The challenge is I need more head recovery space now and struggle with long phone calls which leave me with a full head. The question I’ve not found an answer to is how do I tell others that without them feeling abandoned, something I have no intention of doing. Let’s hope for a peaceful day for us both.

Evening Kitcheners.
Great photo UTBB,love your top.

Enjoy your sunshine break grannmarie.🏖️

Thinking of you Cornergran🌻

Yesterday I made afternoon tea for eldest son and family.We all sat outside in the sun then watched the tennis.So nice to have them here.
DH got his appointment for his 3 month scans for next month,more anxiety till we get the results.🤞
Enjoy your evening everyone.

Hi all, a cooler day.
How thoughtful of your sisters Grannmarie that’ll be smashing.
How tiring for you both corner and utbb anxiety is exhausting 🌹
Quiet day on the voluntary phone, I nipped to the library, not having a book to read unnerves me!!
Gardener, who I’ve not see for a few months tidied and weeded, it looks much better.
Quiz tonight, I hope my daughter comes, we need her, having someone in their thirties helps for music in particular.
Yia I’ll be thinking of you.

Thank you, YiaYia and Jaxjacky. I have spent afternoon ironing in front of Popmaster TV, packing nearly done now.
A very rainy day has dried up to a sunny evening, and I think 'my' quizzes are back on 📺 tonight, yippee! Reasons to be cheerful...😀.

YiaYia, sounds like a lovely family afternoon. Hoping and praying for the best possible outcome for your DH's scan, thinking of you both.

Jaxjacky ITIKWYM, I can't go to sleep unless I have something to read, always need to have a few unread books on my kindle. I'm also taking a few magazines with me on holiday, I like them for around the pool. Good luck for your quiz this evening, I agree it's good to have the next generation along for music, we also invite young nephews to answer the sports questions!

I hope Cornergran and UsedToBeBlonde have had a more peaceful day today, worry wears you down.

I just checked the temperature for Menorca for this week, around 32 degrees, ☀ scorchio! I see Grandmabatty is in Mogan, one of our favourite places. DH and I had a great holiday there many years ago, we stayed in the hotel at the port/Marina, beautiful setting.

Wishing happy times to all on their travels, thinking of all with worries, illness or sorrow. Hope everyone has a peaceful evening and a good night's sleep. I will ask Alexa to wake me at 3 a.m. cos the taxi is coming at 4 a.m. The early flight will give us the good of the day.

TOYA.

grannmarie hope you have a lovely break!
yiayia fingers crossed for your DH’s forthcoming scan, an anxious time for you both.

I went into town today and had a little browse in Marks & Spencer’s, but only bought food! Spent some of my birthday vouchers in John Lewis, which was satisfying.
Did a little gardening when I got home, warm but with a really strong breeze.
jaxjacky I hope you did well in the quiz!

Night night everyone, sleep well.

Good evening dear Kitcheners. I’m struggling with fatigue at the moment but I’m feeling well and doing OK. I keep peering across from the quiet corner to see how you’re doing ♥️

Goodnight, TOYA x

Morning! We have woken up cold this morning - that’s a big change. There’s a really chilly breeze although it’s sunny too. I hope we get some rain.
It’s our 47th wedding anniversary. I am going to get a month long by subscription to Sky sports so that we can watch the British Lions and the rest of the test matches.

Happy Anniversary Nannytopsy 🥂 enjoy watching the sport and have a lovely day 🥰

A very Happy Anniversary to you both NannyTopsy enjoy your special day together! 🥂💐❤️

We’re safely back from our holidays now, we had a lovely relaxing time away but I’m feeling tired as travelling seems to wear me out these days. I’ve lots of kitchen news to catch up on so I’ll do that as soon as I can

Hoping everyone is doing ok, especially Soop and everyone in the quiet corner, take care all x

Happy Anniversary NannyTopsy wishing you a wonderful day 🥂🍾

Hello kitchen people.

It’s good to be home. Our flight was on time and elder son picked us up. He is staying the night and will go back to Kew at 5 am.

Milo and Ripley were so pleased to see us. It was good to see them. They had their 15th birthday while we were away. That is 76 in human years.

We have a busy day tomorrow. I will pop over and see my neighbour who has been feeding the cats. I have a couple of treats for her. Then it is the U3A lunch. Afterwards we will drive over to the Potter and collect our pots. Finally, it is WI tomorrow evening. I think a Buckingham Palace footman is giving a talk.

Have a good evening. I’m afraid I haven’t had time to read all your posts yet.

Hello everyone. Happy Anniversary nannytopsy, I hope you’ve had a good day.
It’s been a lot cooler today and we’ve actually had a light shower this evening! I doubt it will do the garden any good, but it’s a start!
I had a bad night last night, awake until 2.00, worrying about silly things that I can’t do anything about! Hopefully tonight will be better, it’s cooler so that may help. I spent most of the morning choosing new vertical blinds to replace all those that are broken. Ordered and paid for new ones, they should be fitted in a few weeks.
llfl exciting for you to be able to collect your pots at last! I hope you’re pleased with them!
I’m signing off now, night night everyone.

Hello everyone. I have made 3 attempts to try and catch up and post....each time thwarted. I managed to post Part 2 of the wedding tale on the Lobsters thread but it felt like cheating to copy and paste again.
We had a wonderful break in Tenby ...a minimoon as DH has promised a proper honeymoon in the Spring. In the meantime as a treat we went on the Quantock Belle pulled by the Flying Scotsman ( West Somerset Railway) on Saturday. It was sooooo hot and even wearing the flimsiest of dresses and underwear (DH said the dress was see through...I told him I didn't care) I was melting. The train was delayed by 90 minutes as there were sheep on the line and our journey took a lot longer than scheduled because of naughty sheep but that made the evening a longer trip which was lovely...we didn't get home until after midnight. I felt very sorry for the volunteers working in the 29 degrees heat. DH had chosen the venison and I did wonder if the heat would dampen his appetite....I need not have worried!!!!!
Way back after our first trip to Tenby in February I planted up some sprouting Pembrokeshire potatoes that were in a sack we had bought when we down there but hadn't been used in time. I have never grown potatoes before and really didn't know if anything would come of them and on reading up... There was lots of mentions of chitting etc and banking up which I said I was going to do and then got waylaid by life. Anyway I've watched with amazement as these triffids came to life but cautions from friends about not harvesting until after the flowers ( there were none) made me think that it was all going to be in vain so I pulled up one plant and spied ....a potato....gentle raking uncovered sack fulls of spuds....so spurred on I gave the beetroots a go...then the carrots. Now I know Jax grows her own so you may well want to skip over the next bit Jax but when it came to planting the baby carrot plants I heard someone on Gogglebox say they didn't bother thinning out so I didn't...I think I maybe should have as what came out of the ground looked like something Tracey Emin would put in the middle of a washing up bowl surrounded by maltesers and be priced at thousands of pounds. However once untangled and washed they tasted like carrots really should ...sweet and nutty. Happiness abounded.
Sweet corn and runner beans still to come..
Needless to say the Domestic Goddess hasn't made an appearance and slutty housewife is in residence...I keep trying to show her the door but she says the man of the house loves her and she's staying put. She did have an energetic spurt yesterday and hoovered and cleaned bathrooms and utility room but got bored after 2 hours and was lured into the latest Gardeners World mag that had dropped into the letter box. She got her comeuppance though when she raised her eyes from a wonderful display of Autumn colours and spied a long cobweb hanging from the beak of one of the wooden ducks that sit on the hearth. Was she ashamed...no she promptly sent a picture of it to DH with an laughing emoji. What a hussy.

I know I'm going to forget someone so please forgive me.
Granmarie... I hope you are enjoying your holiday with your sisters and lots of laughter fills your days.
FGT..I was over the moon to see the compassion had reigned and you were back with us. My prayers each day include you both as it does Yia and SueD and their loved ones.

UTBB... fabulous photo of you... I'm glad you were able to celebrate your birthday before the worries returned.

Blossoming I loved your hat and it's lovely to read about you getting stronger each day... Hopefully the fatigue is just due to heat etc.

LLFL.. wouldn't it be a coincidence if the Royal Footman turned out to be Marydolls former pupil..I bet it was a fascinating talk with lots of below stairs gossip.

Redcar...I hate those nights where things that seem absolutely copable with in daylight hours become utterly impossible at 2am. My worst panic attacks seem to happen during the night DH says he knows when it's about to happen ( sometimes even before I do) as my legs start to shake. I really hope you managed to get a better sleep last night. ♥️

Belated Happy Anniversary NannyTopsy.

Brooke... Lovely to know you had a good time in Tenerife and the post travelling weariness soon goes away.
Oh Corner... I'm sorry that life is tricky for you just now and I hope that you get some
moments to get your equilibrium back and processing of all that's happening just now becomes easier...

I'm meeting the new family that I'm going to be supporting for the next few months today. The baby is only 8 months so I'm hoping for some cuddles (if appropriate). Having set my mindset to replacing the hurt at not seeing my girls or the Grandsons with love , the only time the tears well up is when I see little ones and the memories of being a Mum and Neine overwhelm me. I don't suppose that will ever really go.

I love it when someone gets the growing bug neine brilliant, don’t they taste good. The best carrots I’ve ever grown was when I just threw some seeds on the veg patch, instead of carefully sowing in a line spaced out, never been able to recreate it again.

I’m only growing tomatoes, french beans and salad leaves this year neine and jaxjacky. The beans are in a wooden trough and the rest are in pots. I used to grow courgettes but as I’m now on my own I gave away more than I ate!
I’ve always grown a few vegetables, and love being able to go into the garden and pick something for dinner!

Thank you neine I had a good sleep last night, it was a bit cooler!