The Lockdown Gang - Carry on Regardless.

Hi gang, I finished shortening DH's new jeans. He bought 2 pairs of trousers online, both the same size and length but one pair is Slimfit and the other pair Straight cut. Anyway, I've taken 5 cm off the 'Straight' jeans and they are now fine.

DH and I also had our flu vaccinations today. Quick and simple. Last year we queued for ages.

Sorry to read you have had more seizures Cherry. I hope you sleep well and quietly and Mamissimo continues to improve too.

I spoke to my son last night about visiting them for a weekend. The trouble is, my DGD is at school now, her little brother with a new childminder. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go and stay with them (they have a very small house, social distancing not possible). My son says he understands but I feel so torn. Also, where they live has gone on to a 'watchlist'.

I'm tired tonight but am pleased that I will be seeing my youngest DS tomorrow (that's twice in one week). It's funny, he wanted to visit late morning - we still have a Sunday lunch, so he acted surprised and accepted an invitation to eat with us.

NfkDumpling, we have a Trail camera. We have night pictures of badgers and a cat seeing off a fox. Our trail camera is a bit slow though and faster moving animals/birds are just a blur. I think you get what you pay for.

Doodle, I have sore fingers sewing denim jeans but I delve into my sewing box with extreme caution, I'm not tidy and threads, pins and sharp scissors have become a tangled mess. I can imagine you and Mr Doodle giggling despite your blood loss. Have Mr D's grazes healed completely now? Although a lot better, my knee is still 'not right' (I fell off my bike the same day). I still haven't given up the idea of riding the bike on the road. We are on our boat again soon and I want to avoid injuries before we go.

I hope you all have a good night.

Am I missing something here...or am I not really understanding this thread..or is it cuckoo land..I dont mean to be offensive..but I was with my daughter in Dubai in January when my grandson was born...should have been there April &June..obviously didnt happen...so then the plan was to go out there for Christmas..then on to Australia to son and other grandchildren..
None of this is going to happen..not soon...if ever!!! So forgive me..because I am really trying hard to keep afloat..but I really dont understand this tra la la la thread...

Oh Mamissimo Honey didn’t eat your son’s lunch did she ??. Hope the news is good when you get the results back.
Thanks Dragonfly. I’ve got so many layers of plaster on my finger is very heavy ?

Missedout well done on shortening the jeans. It’s a job I hate
The denim is tough to sew through. I am feeling fine after my flu jab how about you?
I can understand how much you want to go and see your son and his family but it is difficult especially if there is likely to be local lockdown. Could they come and see you during half term?
Your youngest knows when he’s onto a good thing. I’d come for Sunday lunch too if you offered. ?
Thank you for asking about my DH. Yes his arm is healed now but there are a couple of large areas of scarring. It is getting better though I doubt they will disappear altogether.
Sorry about your knee. Knees take longer to heal. I would be careful not to do more damage before you go on your trip. It’s difficult enough to get on and off a boat anyway without an injured knee. Where are you planning going on your boat?
Have a peaceful night all.?

farview I am sorry for you that all your plans have been scuppered by this pandemic.
This thread began by and for people who were shielded or shielding others and we keep each other buoyed up as best we can.
I find it a huge support having my online friends who understand and accept what we are going through and share our joys and sorrows.
Join us if you think it would help you.

Just as well I made a late night call!
Oh! dearie me I feel I was not in the right place when you needed help Doodle.
Sorry hearing what happened to you.
Accidents certainly happen however careful you maybe,a fact of life I suppose.
Although you obviously have a great sense of humour in your home,and that is priceless,I do echo your difficulties in the opening of these plasters.
They are virtually impossable to manouvre, so quite frankly your dear man deserves a round of applause managing this feat ..... having such a tremor.
I sincerely hope the sting and loss of blood does not mean you have resulted in much pain,although I am sure that finger will take a while in healing.

Cherry you really have been "in the wars" and I can but hope you are soundly asleep right now.You certainly do not have the odd seizure,and it must well and truly knock you out.Hopefully a good long rest will help your body to recover,as you must know by now,we need you here!

I can imagine waiting for the test results must be like watching a kettle to boil Mamissimo,but hopefully the time of waitig is ticking by.............and yes,we live in hope.
Certainly there are folk with sniffles all around us,and perhaps this is exactly all your DS has picked up.

Off to bed land to rest my weary eyes,sweet dreams all

farview this is a thread for people who are on the shielded list who have been in some form of lockdown since the beginning.
We are just lockdown friends trying to keep each other company and keep our spirits up. We have a pretend butler Jeeves who makes us hot chocolate in the evening to cheer us up.
Sorry you are unable to visit your new grandson. That must be very hard for you. We are all missing a lot of family contact at the moment. We just hope that the situation improves .

Grammaretto how is MrG doing, has his appetite improved at all? Hope you both have a good night.
Panache you’re up late. I hope you and MrP haven’t been out clubbing ?
My finger is much better now thank you. Yes we did have a laugh with the plasters though I was a bit worried DH might cut himself with the scissors whilst trying to save me ?
I think there are quite a few people round with cold like symptoms too. Hope you are keeping safe.
Sleep well all.

We've got your wild winds now, blowing gustily. My full-length curtains are billowing into the room and every now and then there's a extra strong blast which knocks something off the dresser opposite

Oh Doodle how awful and how I know how hard it is to open a plaster when you're injured. I had to do exactly what your poor DH did. I'm glad you could laugh about it.
What I did afterwards was get a little plastic box and thoroughly sanitise it. Then I sat and took every plaster out of its straightjacket cover and put them in there.
Now if I cut myself (a frequent occurence) all I have to do is fight open the box lid.
For extra health security, you can actually buy (or beg from hospital) sterile bags in all sizes so you could make sure you were gloved and santised first, then pop a couple of plasters in each bag.

When I was 12, I used, for the first time, the electric sewing machine at school.
I was used to Mum's old treadle, so this magic thing sewed at a rate of knots and straight through my finger nail.
I'm not a panicker but I was surrounded by screaming girls, none of whom could help, so I had to reach over, with my left hand and manually turn the wheel (on the right) back in order to lift the needle and free myself.

I applaud those of you who've hemmed thick fabrics. That's absolutely guaranteed to cause me to stick myself, thimble or no. The resultant blood dripping onto the garment, unless you're aiming for the batik look, is not good.
So now I use iron-on hemming web. At least when I burn myself it doesn't damage the fabric!

Grammaretto pandas find it hard to procreate even in the wild. The female is in oestrus only once a year and fertile for only 2 days of that Nor are they mature until they are 4 or 5. . Talk about playing hard to get

I'm glad your penguines seem happy. I do NOT like the situation at Kelly Tarleton's which I'm sure you know, has them confined inside so totally against what they need.

Nortsat as Jeeves is out and about delivering cake to Nfk I'll send him to your place with meatloaf - you too Doodle. It turned out pretty well but that's my meat ration for the year. I'll stick to hoki - and speaking of which...
As I walk down the corridor here, I can smell fish, not an uncooked, sea-salt smell but fried I don't fry fish.
It's been hovering about for 3 days now, never changing.
I suspect it's the ghosts of all the hoki, tarakihi and snapper I've enjoyed, telling me I should be vegan.

dragonfly How lovely to have you back. I do hope you're feeling better these days, you've had quite a time of it, eh? Congratulations to your Mum too.

I'm sure you ALL know what this ? really is but all I can see is someone in a gas mask?

Cherry I hope you're able to get food soon and if you're not keen on using Lamb's Ears; that's Stachys byzantina not Aures agni as substitute loo roll, Dock leaves were another suggestion. Mind the nettles though

Missedout and farview this wretched virus has caused havoc and so much pain for families. We can't help but mourn those precious 'growing up' years of the very young which we're missing forever.
Fortunately, phones have video facilities and can record, to watch later - but it's not the same.

farwiew this is a tra-la-la thread for a reason. Some of us have been isolated and alone, or in extremely poor health for a very long time.
Doodle started the idea, determined the doom and gloom such situations caused would not beat us and that if we joined together and shared, we could prevail.
And we have.

What we are now is not just a group of occasional posters on GN but close friends who (in my case at least) don't know what we'd do without one another.
Almost my first* thought when I wake each morning, is what's waiting for me here: stories, laughter, battles won, and real, genuine caring.

The wind has just lifted, whirled and dumped my neighbour's 240ltr wheelie recycling bin and there are dozens of cans, bottles and other detritus bowling crazily and noisily down the road like drunks from a party.

I've just previewed this and realised I've almost written a book, not just a comment.
Have a great day everyone.

*are you wondering what my first thought is?
How quick can I get to the loo?

Apologies...I vented my hurt/fear/frustration....x

No need to apologise farview my children are not so far away as yours but they may well be as I haven’t seen them since January. We all have our down moments but try not to dwell on them.
They are a lovely group of people here.

farview no need to apologise at all but if you're hurt (and who would blame you?) stick with us and be part of the gang

Oh Doodle I hope you didn't bleed all over the furniture! It was always the instruction from my DM when I cut myself - "Bathroom, Now, and don't bleed on the furniture!" Or in your case, any of your sewing. The thought of your DH trying to free a plaster from its wrapper hindered by his tremor and both of you laughing made me smile as we've been in the same situation when I sliced my finger on the vegetable knife. Both of us laughing and squabbling with me waving the offending finger above my head in an effort to lessen the flow. I should have more sympathy and I have, really I have, he could have ended up needing a plaster too! I too have unwrapped some now for emergency use although they're not in a sterile box I'm afraid.

I do hope you get those results back soon Mammissimo. My friend was told 48 hours and they were back within 24 so fingers crossed.

Did you have a better night Cherry? Are you still on a supermarket vulnerable list? We kept our slots going with Tesco with a monthly order. Its depressing to think of going back to lock down deliveries, I'd really hoped this second wave wouldn't happen but ...

DGS is enjoying his birthday. He's a bit autistic and seeing people a few at a time and then vanishing back into his iPad is much preferable to the stress of a birthday party or even just a birthday tea.

I love your photo of the billowing curtains Bradford, those old black and white films often had blowing voiles to add atmosphere and imply hot sunny days. Wonderful on a day like today (although the rain has stopped).

We haven't seen Bottom for a couple of nights but the food is still vanishing. I'm sitting here watching a couple of very busy squirrels taking the nuts from our walnut tree and stowing them in the wood shed. We've had a really heavy crop this year, but the drought means they're quite small. I tried to get a photo but they're too fast.

I hope you had a better night Cherry and that everyone has as good a Sunday as possible. Now off to skin and reduce down the loads of ripe tomatoes DH is picking. We've had a very good crop and they're all splitting with the overwatering they've had.

Where did it go? Some one stole my post!

I commiserated with Doodle and suggested the kind of plaster that comes in a long strip and you cut a bit the right size. No wrappers but does involve sharp objects ?

For everyone with grandchildren or from an education background this article is interesting as it calls for a total assessment change. Both my DDs are teachers and are very much engaged with this new groups thinking.

One DD commented to me that they don't need to be tested on facts because you just google them but they need much better skills in critical analysis. I think they need testing in the essential building blocks of knowledge at the end of year 9 and then perhaps move towards apprenticeships with relevant further study, straightforward academic study for those who really want/need it and a healthy dose of problem solving/ analytical skills/ IT for the rest. It has never failed to amaze me how little schools really understand about employment and entrepreneurialism - or IT. The world is moving so fast that as soon schools teach something modern it's out of date.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rethinking-assessment-mutant-exam-system-is-failing-our-children-svwkzvx7n?shareToken=17aae822cf3d2844ece31bacee33274d

I feel much better this morning so I guess there's no excuse not to tackle Tomato Mountain or the ironing....so Tomato and Vodka soup wins ?

Mamissimo you too ?
I’ve just typed a really long post and the whole thing has gone ?
Bradfordlass guess it’s still not quite summer where you are.
It is chilly here but I do have a ray of sunshine warming my feet.
We don’t usually have a problem with plasters as it’s usually DH who cuts himself but in view of my recent accident I think your idea of a box of opened plasters sounds like a good idea.
Ouch ? I have often pricked my finger with my sewing machine needle but never gone through it.
Your story reminded me of one from my school days.
(Are you sitting comfortably Nortsat ?)
We were a bunch of girls having dressmaking class in school one April 1st. One of the girls had an idea for an April Fool to play on our rather strict sewing mistress.
During break time, the girl arranged herself on the floor as though she had fainted and threw a bag of crisps down as though it had fallen from her hand as she fell.
The sewing mistress came back from break and saw the girl on the floor (we all followed in behind saying oh look she’s fainted, in mock horror) . The sewing mistress then picked up a glass and filled it with cold water from the tap and threw it all over the prone body on the floor. The girl leapt up screeching and drenched .....and the sewing mistress turned to us with a wry smile and said “Girls, I have been a teacher for a long, long time” ?
Bradfordlass I hope if you get flowers in real life you don’t see a gas mask. ?
Your first thought in the morning is the same as mine
farview you are understandably upset by being so far away from your family. No need to apologise. This thread may look a little odd to others but we have been posting together since the start of lockdown and have made up a few fantasies to lighten the mood and give us something to laugh about. You are welcome to join us if we can help. I hope your new grandson is thriving and you get to see him again as soon as possible.

Dragonfly how are you today? Hope your family is well.
NFK your mum would have been proud of me, I grabbed a tissue and ran into the kitchen without dripping on the furniture ?
Glad your DGS is enjoying his birthday weekend. Hope he has lots of fun.
I hope it is Bottom who is eating the food and not some interloper (especially as it’s expensive hedgehog food) ?
Good luck with the tomatoes. I am hoping to have some time for crafting today.......while I’ve still got some fingers left. ?
Mamissimo funnily enough I have just read that article in our online paper this morning. I agree with what you say.
Glad you’re feeling better. Hope your son is too.
Tomato and Vodka soup.....is that a hot Bloody Mary ? Wins my vote ?

We have tomatoes skinned and reducing down on the stove. No vodka though. Any suggested substitutes? DH refuses to have vodka in the house, something to do with a memorable night out in his youth which he can't remember but which scared the life out of him.

Afternoon gangsters all.

Having popped in late last night,I shall make this "short and sweet" today,perhaps if I am honest,it is a glorious day,I have spotted several residents walking about with big smiles so my idea is to get us out there too as soon as the great event.........main meal of the day..........is over.
We have few of such days at this time of year after all.

We may have come over as odd Fairview but please believe me,this thread was started by warm hearted Doodle when times were really rough for those of us shielding.......whether shielding for self,or one`s loved one (In our case both of us were shielding)..............and the bond of friendship,understanding and humour grew into this beautiful thread which has become "A must go too" when life gets rocky........or not.
We do understand how you too must feel, all our lives have been virtually turned on its head!

Hope there are signs of much improvement in the Cherry household today..........and so good having you back with us Dragonfly
Fingers well crossed for those long awaited results Mamissimo

NFKD The first thought I had when I dropped a drawer on my leg and the blood started pouring down..............was to hop QUICKLY away from the vicinity of our cream coloured carpet!!!
(I succeeded!!)

Bradfordlass........my first thought this day...........How quickly can I make it to the lovely outside today?!!

Wishing you all the joys of sunshine,the peace and understanding from caring friendship.............and good health for all.
Take extra care .

Here's a link to the soup recipe......I think it's the best recipe for slightly dull tomatoes because the Worcestershire sauce and vodka give the flavour a massive boost and the roasting brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes. I do add one tablespoon of sugar though because otherwise it's quite sharp!

www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/food/recipes/a537279/roasted-tomato-and-pepper-soup-with-vodka/

I'm off to clean the kitchen now because I put a little too much soup in the food processor for it to cope with in one go.....?

Thanks for the link Mammissimo. I wonder if gin would substitute for the vodka. Will give it a go.

(And avoid using the food processor!)

Thank you my lovely gangster friends for all your caring and concern ?. I did indeed have a good night's sleep, in fact it went well beyond night - I slept through missed the morning .

No indeed Panache it's not an occasional seizure I have. I remember going to an ILAE (International League Against Epilepsy) conference many years ago now and listening to a speech by an eminent neurologist who said that someone having 10 seizures a year was classed as having severe epilepsy. On the one hand I was shocked and on the other I was thinking "you're having a laugh mate" ?. Ten a year would be distinctly occasional for me ?.
They do wear me out but my WP is amazing in every sense of the word, I get well looked after ?

Doodle, eek! You silly billy norty woman need to be more careful! Consider yourself reprimanded ?. Seriously, I hope your finger heals quickly. Your little story about the plaster difficulty reminded me of an incident that happened a few weeks back. My partner wasn't concentrating and cut him finger with our electric carving knife ? ?. It shocked him and he panicked a bit, so much so that I flustered with the plaster and destroyed it. The fact that I didn't have the right glasses on didn't help matters. We only had two plasters left ?. Meanwhile blood was dripping into the sink... so I distracted my partner by having him clean the cut with running water. Ker-ching, successfully opened the next plaster but, even though I dried his finger, the plaster didn't stick. I had to use the last one to stick the first one on ?. Success ! ?

Most of our gang seem to have had flu (and other) jabs now then. I hope none of you have any after effects. I have mine tomorrow afternoon. It'll be a nice little walk down to the practice and a not so nice walk back up to return home ?

Missedout it's a very difficult dilemma and situation to be in. I feel for you, honestly I do. My niece1 dashed down to see her brother (80 miles away) yesterday as lockdown starts here at 6pm today. She's already on her way back to beat the 'curfew'. I am pleased that you are seeing your youngest DS though ?

I think my friends on this thread have expressed themselves well about what this thread is all about fairview. You are more than welcome to join us here, to chat, to vent, to share your problems and/or your joys. We are here for one another and if you choose we will be there for you too ☺️.

BradfordLass what a ghostly looking photo, the sheer curtain blowing into the room like that. It has something of a late 1930s thriller film about it.
Yuk, did I really read it right about the machine needle? I would have reacted pretty much like you but I remember one girl in my sewing class whom I think might have fainted, actually two might have.

This post has taken me so long to write and I'm not nearly finished but food for later won't sort itself.. back later.

So pleased you had a good night (morning) Cherry. My daughter had a friend at school who suddenly had about 60 seizures a day. It was a long time before they found out what was wrong. Hers went from short absences to full blown seizures.

Very ghostly the curtain is Bradfordlass.
Thank you for the recipe Mamissimo I will certainly try it. Does anyone know what to do with a glut of mushrooms?

I have heard a lot about Jeeves but not come across him yet. Does he peel potatoes or does he just make cocoa? If not I had better get on with the dinner preps.

That's one heck of a lot of seizures your daughter's friend was having dragonfly. It can take a considerable time to get a correct diagnosis for epilepsy. I hope that in her adult life here is controlled.
Jeeves has been practicing his music scales I think, we were all wincing when we heard his sea shanties let alone his attempts at opera ?. Give him a shout (or I will), he will peel potatoes as he's at our beck and call, or should be! Jeeves, Jeeeeves!!
If you have sweet paprika and thyme mushroom our is lovely, uses a lot of mushrooms ☺️.

Dragonfly mushrooms are an unusual thing to have a glut of but I chop mushroom stalks very fine, sauté them very lightly, pop them in a small jar and cover with melted butter (like potted shrimps). I use this to spread over pancake before I put pastry round the parcel to make a pork or beef Wellington. I also use them for mushroom sauce or whenever I want extra mushroominess. Mushrooms also freeze ok for cooking if you lightly sauté them first but they only keep for a few months. OK in casseroles or spag Bol.

Unless of course they're special magic mushrooms? ?