Soops place of refuge and friends

I thought I would just pop by as I have had a lovely couple of hours pottering in the garden from 5.30 till 7.30. Sun almost setting so not dazzling my cataracty eyes and the temperature felt like a summer evening.

I gave all the pots a good water as they were a bit thirsty. And I started a tidy up of a 3 foot by 2 foot bed and will crack on with that tomorrow morning early before it gets too sunny. If I can do 2 hours every evening and an hour every morning I should make good headway.but I need to keep to a plan otherwise I get side tracked so easily.
Have a lovely Saturday evening all.

Hello kitchen people,

We have a pigeon nesting in our orange blossom. The nest looks too small. Milo and Ripley are going to have a field day.

I made a batch of rich chocolate muffins today. A family favourite. I also made a new recipe - chocolate and coffee cake (three layers) filled with chocolate frosting.

Here’s that pigeon:

Hi everyone, good to see Gransnet back again, I was definitely suffering from withdrawal symptoms this morning!
A beautiful day here again, and much warmer this afternoon, with very little breeze.
DD2 came over this afternoon and spent an hour and a half gardening for me. She enjoyed playing with my new weed pulling tool! Still lots to do, but more manageable for me now, I did an hour out there with her.
A high pollen count here, so I was coughing, and my DD had itchy eyes and a sniffly nose.
I took her back to our new station, to get a train one stop down the line, so she could collect the 8 year old from a party. Her OH had taken littlest to another birthday party.

I hope those who are suffering in any way find some relief over night.
Thinking of those in the quiet corner.

Enjoy the rest of Saturday folks.

Hi all, another sunny day and I’ve done little - Grandmabatty puts me to shame!
My son called in this morning, his hay fever is bad this year too, he borrowed our strimmer.
We’ve just watched my football team lose their FA semi final whilst eating pasta.
Have a good evening.
👋👋 quiet corner.

Good news from your MOT FGT2.

We’ve had a few days of warm sunshine, been getting out as much as possible. Hope it continues 😊

Brook I'm sorry to hear about your hay fever woes. My entire family, including dgs1, suffer from it too. I have no idea why I've been spared.
Today I stripped the bed, washed, dried and ironed it all and remade it. I washed the bathroom floor, cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen, polished and hoovered throughout. Tesco delivered this afternoon. The delivery driver is the nicest man. He's Portuguese and speaks English really well. As it transpires, he also delivers to my dd and to her in-laws! So today has been productive. I've rested my blooming feet too. I've just had chicken and chips and I'm feeling full while watching Murder on the Orient Express. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday kitchen folk

Congratulations to your CD grannysomerset.
Glad to see your bloods etc are ok Fgt and counselling going well.
I had a good catchup with friend yesterday when we got back in car temp was 30c ,it's been a lovely day again today we had a walk this morning and a lazy afternoon.
Chinese takeaway for tea.
Hope one's with hay fever feel better soon,mine was bad last week not bad at the moment.
I hope everyone gets to enjoy some 🌞

I can sympathise with you over the hayfever cornergran, mine’s kicked in with a vengeance this week. In fact today has been awful, a stuffy sniffly nose all day and horrible itchy watery eyes. It makes me weary and tired 😞 So much so that I decided to call the gp this afternoon to see if they could give me a stronger antihistamine as the over the counter ones don’t seem to work for me - we’ll see!
Pleased today’s session was a bit better for you fgt
Well done with the cooking Jax
Congratulations to your DD Grannysomerset it sounds like a lovely family celebration
SueD sending a gentle hug your way ❤️

Cornergran your missing head is in Ladyleftfieldlober’s fireplace!

I’ve had a couple of lovely days here in Hampshire. I’m enjoying getting to know new places. Winchester yesterday, Farnham today.

I went for my second session of bereavement counselling this afternoon. I called it a ‘one tissue job’. Last Friday was a ‘5 tissue chat’ as I cried pretty much throughout the hour, couldn’t stop. The counsellor is very nice. He’s kind. He cautioned me to remember that grief isn’t a linear experience and that ‘because we are here today it does not follow that we will be there next week’. I’m doing well. I’m stronger than I ever thought possible. Baby steps.

Oh well done your daughter GrannySomersetnot surprised you’re chuffed.
Up before 7 today, groan, MrJ was working, so being rather shell shocked I forgot about trying the car, tomorrow will do. Kitchen and cloakroom cleaning, garden wandering and watering, a lovely day, we went to the pub for a tea time catch up, it was cooling when we left.
I actually cooked a proper meal, MrJ has been acting chef for weeks, doing a great job too (under instruction), he said ‘you owe me 3 months cooking’, my response, ‘you owe me 26 years’ - I win.
Lovely pictures llfl. Enjoy your dinner GG13 🍷
Have a pleasant evening all.

Sorry, Cornergran. I got mixed up. I meant you, of course

Llfl I love your vase! Grannygravy that's rotten for you. Have a virtual hug from me

Another lovely sunny day again, the wind was a little less strong today so it felt a little warmer. Sprayed some weed killer on the weeds growing on the paved drive. Will do more tomorrow as it’s a long drive! I hosed the car to get rid of the dust and will give it a proper wash either on Sunday or Monday , depending on my back.
I won £10 at bingo lunchtime, which was nice. It doesn’t happen often!

grannysomerset what a lovely occasion for your family and how rewarding for your DD to have her work recognised in that way.

cornergran I sympathise with your sinus problems and now the double whammy of hay fever! I hope you can find some treatment that gives you some relief.

nannytopsy well done for cleaning the pond! You are doing very well!

llfl the vase looks beautiful especially full of lilies. Your cream tea sounds delicious and very reasonably priced I think!

Have a pleasant evening everyone.

Just back at DDs after splendid day watching her being awarded an Honorary Fellowship at her local university and making an excellent speech at the ceremony. Am hugely proud and just so sad that her father wasn’t there. We had a very jolly lunch with DGD, DB, DDiL and two very close friends from school and university, the sun shone and it was all wonderful. Am surprisingly exhausted!

We are on our way way to meet friends at an Italian restaurant, just waiting for the taxi.

Enjoy your evening everyone 🙋‍♀️

Hello everyone. What a glorious couple of weather days. Chilly early and late, positively hot in the middle.

We took ourselves off to Longleat yesterday, a last use of the annual pass we bought early May last year. Although it’s been very enjoyable visiting, we think five times in the last year, we’ll not renew. Just too far for a comfortable day trip now. We’ll look around for an alternative, along with our NT membership these things give us easy answers to the where shall we go question.

To be truthful I’m a bit grumpy, horribly blocked sinuses for a week and now hay fever has arrived. The combination has knocked the stuffing out of me. Walked up a flight of stairs in a shop earlier and had to be led to a chair by a vigilant assistant as I was so out of breath. How embarrassing was that? Of course both will pass, they always do and there are worse things.

You may well be right about time of day jax, definitely worth a try. There will be a way.

🤞 from here for your lunch party nannnyt, stay positive. Really pleased you’re experiencing such hip progress.

Apologies for not mentioning you all. There’s a wanted poster out for my head, it seems to be missing .

Wishing you all a peaceful evening.

Younger son bought me this vase for my forthcoming birthday!

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202604/medium-9g7mms-img-4281.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202604/medium-80iggw-img-4290.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202604/medium-dgdlwl-img-4292.jpeg

Hello kitchen people.
I’ve had an interesting day.
I started with a cafe breakfast before going to an Arts Society lecture on Sevres porcelain. Then a quick lunch at home before driving to a Bluebell Wood. After that we visited our nearby NT property. We enjoyed a Cream Tea - two scones each with jam and clotted cream and a pot of tea each. The total bill was £11.60. Then home via the Health centre to collect a prescription and a quick trip to Waitrose.

That sounds very nice NannyTopsy. I worked for a while in the school library this morning then home to do some weeding. Then I put my feet up. I've just brought in the washing which I'll iron in a bit. I've made a vegetable lasagne which is in the oven. Enjoy your evening kitchen folk

Quiet in here today - are you all out enjoying the sunshine? We have spent the afternoon doing more tidying up in the garden. Our pond is a cattle trough and we were too slow covering it last Autumn. I have spent a happy hour scooping out muck and leaves from the bottom and now it’s refilled. I came down the garden to a glass of a chilled French fizz, sitting on the patio. Cheers everyone!

Hello kitchen people.

A quiet day spent ironing and reading. A birthday present arrived from my sister in Australia - fizz and chocolate. She knows what I like. An early present too from younger son. I had admired a vase he has a while ago. It is shaped like a Greek youth’s head. He bought me one! I’ll post a photo when I’ve put flowers in it.

Sleep 💤 tight.

Well done Nannytopsy I’ll keep my 🤞 for the third.

Hi everyone. Another lovely sunny day but it would be nice if the wind was warmer! I went to the garden centre and bought the things I needed, but unfortunately I find pushing a loaded trolley round the shop quite difficult and painful. I did manage to sweep and wash the kitchen floor and do some of the ironing, but have been sitting ever since.

My neighbour cut the back grass for me, it’s looking tidy but a bit short.

fgt girlfriends are definitely to be treasured! Good that you had such an enjoyable afternoon.

jax it sounds as though you’ve got to the bottom of the problem with your feet, fingers crossed you’ll be able to move them more quickly in the morning,

Have a pleasant evening everyone.

Evening! A busy day today, trying to get the garden perfect for my 70th lunch party on May 3rd. We are hoping the weather holds so that we can eat outside. I’m thinking of sending our neighbour an email asking her not to light the usual bonfire.
I’m feeling that the hip has turned a corner - if I concentrate I can walk quite comfortably without a crutch. I do limp a bit by the evening but getting there. Tomorrow is 4 weeks since surgery and I get a phonecall from the physios. I need to think what I need to ask. I work slowly outside, leaving the big jobs for the gardening lady next week.
You seem to be getting there Jax . I will be glad when I can drive again.
I’m glad you had a good day FGT. The sunshine must be an extra boost.
Sleep well everyone