The Lockdown Gang - Indomitable Lobstars ?⭐️

Wow Dragonfly !! that is such brilliant news. I'm not jealous at all. suffering vaccine envy

A zoom cocktail hour sounds the way to go. I wonder if we are brave enough to do it.....
It would be hard for Kaimoana to drink cocktails at breakfast time or for the rest of us to come to that.

I lost one of my yaktrax somewhere in the mountains hills today so am only half protected in the ice.

DMiL is home but continues to be somewhat confused and wonders why they didn't bring her DH home with her. he was in the bed opposite

Here is my snowy photo from today

Hello Grandmafrench lovely to have you with us.
Hope you pop in often ?
Mamissimo hurrah, another gangster having the jab.
Perhaps you have room for the cow to go with your strawberry plants. I do like a drop of cream.?
Your zoom thingy sounds fun. Hope you enjoy it.
dragonfly that is such good news. So glad you’ve had the jab too.
We haven’t been called either Grammaretto do you think they’ve forgotten us ?
Wow that is some serious snow you have there. A lovely blue sky too. I have no idea what a yaktrax is but I guess some kind of snow shoe. You will have to hop from now on.
Must be difficult for the family that your MIL is asking about her DH. Hopefully back in her own surroundings she will pick up soon.
I am always up for cocktail hour. Do zoom cocktails arrive quicker ?
Take care gangsters. ?

I am still about, just not been doing too well. Nothing to do with my epilepsy though it doesn't help but I haven't been sleeping properly and have been feeling nauseous. It's one thing after another at the moment ?, what did I say about people telling me that I don't do things by halves ?

Fantastic news dragonfly, when I read that your DH was having the vaccine and you weren't, just yet, it felt incredibly unfair so I'm pleased the surgery had an extra dose ?. Similarly Mamissimo, great to hear that you will be having your vaccine next week ?

What? Never been to a festival Mamissimo. It surprises me for some reason ?. I've been to a fair few in my time, including a couple when I was still but a child and several as an adult. I haven't been to one for years however since it's not exactly the safest thing for me to be standing amongst a huge crowd thronging around a stage ?. Your zoom escape room sounds infinity safer. I hope you enjoy it ?

Evening All. I’m sitting in the car in pitch dark and it’s cold on hospital car park waiting for DH. Had to go to A and E this afternoon as he was in so much pain. Dr changed the catheter and said a huge blood clot was blocking it. He says pain has gone and he would be ready. Got here and there’s a hold up! Heigh ho!

Oh Jan, do you know if they've managed to deal with the clot? Do you know what the hood up is? Perhaps a case that the hospital staff are so stretched...
Sending you a cwtch xx

Oh Jan that’s such a shock. Good job you got him there in time. Has that sort of thing happened before? The hold up could be that perhaps they want to discharge your DH with some medication. It always takes the pharmacy a long time to sort out drugs. Hope you are both home safely soon.
cherry you’ve got enough to deal with having epilepsy without nausea too. Hope you feel much better soon. Do you have anything for the nausea that might help?
Sleep well all.

Goodness knows when I'll have the vaccine either Doodle. I was reading yesterday that as of the end of Wednesday that fewer than 25% of those over 80 year old have been vaccinated in Wales so I definitely have to wait a while.

Grandmafrench, nice to see you here, I hope Jeeves has been looking after you ?. As for making a book out of this thread.... well there are three completed chapters complete and a fourth in the writing, all published online of course ?.

I hope you're right about Hanna Kaimoana, proof may be in the pudding as they say.

Oh, before I forget... Grammaretto, less than a third of the population in Wales speak Welsh. If I'm honest I'm not keen on the language ?. Oh dear, some people will be offended by my saying that.

Pleased to hear that Mr P is sleeping better Panache. I hope you do find room for the aids, when are they meant to be delivered?

Back tomorrow ? LobStars ?

I do feel for you Jan16 with the ongoing health issues for your poor DH. No doubt you'll be our 2nd Cath Eter Queen.

You are so right Grammaretto, Hanna doesn't know, "You are what you eat" but whilst I'm no expert, I do know carbs make me tired and achey - they're more difficult to digest, especially as we get older and wheat particularly depletes our iron stocks.

Needless to say, Hanna breaks these 'rules' and wonders why she's tired all the time.

Over the years, I've discovered many favourite foods (chocolates, citrus, all wheat products) give me pain, or like carbs, make me tired - so I've cut them out. I'd rather live pain and drug free. Doesn't mean I don't miss them, I love food but I is stubborn have a will of iron.

Mamissmo may laugh at my fish and cauliflower breakfasts (and it IS a bit unusual) but I listen to my body - not diet books.

Oooh, strawberries! I wonder should I grow them next summer? I have Vegiebags (one is currently holding my Autumn harvest potatoes) so it should be easy.

Usually, I wear only a lavalava in summer. Today I started off in t-shirt, skirt and that beaded tabard I once showed you. Then I had to add a silk scarf as my neck was cold and now I've just been forced to get a cardi. Wretched La Nina.

dragonfly I learned yesterday that there are 15 different kinds of dragonfly on Alderney.

Wot? Never been to a festival?
Cherry and I can tell you they are a vital rite of passage as well as being great fun.
Does anyone remember the Elephant Fayre in Conrwall? Absolute magic.

Gubbins is trying to crawl!

Artemisia Gentileschi had a very dark side (see Wikipedia for why) but this is the lady herself as a Lute Player. No doubt practising for the next festival.

Grammaretto I believe there was every possibility that Fil was in the opposite bed - after a lifetime of looking after her, why would he stop now?

Hello Gangsters,

I hope you have DH safely home again Jan . Not a happy picture of the you waiting out in the cold without news.

An old friend, broke his hip in his own house this week. His neighbour is collecting things to deliver to the hospital today. I couldn't find a nice card so he's getting a book of sayings of Robert Burns. He will not be allowed to return home if social services inspect it. He lives on 3 floors with a steep stair case and no bath or shower.
reminder to self to tie my laces before venturing out

I can't believe baby Gubbins is trying to crawl already. Where has the time gone! I hope you are seeing her frequently Kaimoana

DSister is having a birthday party on zoom tonight. I may pop in and say hello. but what shall I wear?

Interesting about the Welsh language. Cherry, Panache , I thought all children were taught in school. On holiday in Mid Wales in the 1970s I was surprised to hear teenagers speaking to each other in Welsh and everyone in the shops and pubs, unlike in Scotland when, even then, only a few older folk were speaking Gaelic and that was on the Isle of Mull.
There is still controversy about the bilingual road signs which seem to pop up even in non Gaelic speaking areas.

I hope you have all had a reasonable night/day?

Good morning Gangstars I am sitting with my coffee and two Gang-stars Molls (Missy and Ollie ... I have told Ollie he hasn’t got the attitude to be a Gang-star’s Moll, but he just looked at me and purred ...so he’ll have to be an honorary Moll).
We are all sitting comfortably (thank you Doodle).

Wow Dragonfly that’s great news. I can imagine you both getting to the surgery, with haste.
Mammissimo you’ve got your appointment too. That’s wonderful.
Grandmafrench good morning.
Grammaretto I have been enjoying your snowy photos on Mick’s GM thread and this one. Hope it’s bright there for you today. We haven’t had any snow, at all.
Your poor dear MIL, what a difficult place to be. I was going to say that I send her my good wishes, but that’s of no help. I do however, hope she has a better day, today.
Strawberries for your DGD ... of course. When we were children, my sister and I used to sneak into next doors garden and eat their strawberries. They never complained to our parents bless them, but it must have been frustrating for them.
We used to eat the pea pods from our garden too, your DGD might enjoy some snow peas?
Cherry sorry to hear you’ve been having a hard time. Hope today is a better one for you.
Kaimoana thank you for the lovely portrait of Atemisia Gentileschi playing the lute. I love lute music and often listen to Julian Bream playing the lute.
Panache, good morning and I hope you both have a comfortable, restful day.

My friend who is also shielding and lives about 3 miles from me in east London, had her jab on Thursday. Her last name begins with A. My last name is near the end of the alphabet so I guess I will be waiting quite a while ... My partner’s last name begins with B, so maybe if I had taken his name when we got married, that might have helped. Of course my feminist principles wouldn’t allow me to take his name ... so I will just have to wait.
I am so pleased to hear about others receiving their jabs and it makes mine feel a little nearer, too.

Have a peaceful and pleasant day, all.

Oh Jan that is rotten. I hope you got home at a reasonable hour. We used to have problems with my dad's catheter. We had to go to the hospital at 11pm one night because it came out and the district nurse couldn't get it back in. He was 96 at the time and unable to walk.

Gosh so many different varieties of dragonfly Kaimoana! I used to love watching them when our primary school teacher used to take us to the pond. For some reason I always managed to fall in!!!

I tried learning Welsh on Duolingo as we have two very good friends who are Welsh but I found it very hard. Learning Dutch was easier as I was living there.

Sorry to hear you are not too well Cherry. I hope you start to feel better over the weekend.
We haven't had any reaction to our AstraZenica vaccine which bodes well.

I remember when the strawberries first appeared for my birthday in June. It made them very exciting. Now you can get them all year round it doesn't seem the same.

Morning. DH kept in. He was bleeding from a very private bit!! Think it’s stopped now but obviously they have to find the cause and as it’s the weekend I doubt much will happen. Have just taken a bag up there with necessary items but obviously couldn’t go past the main desk. Kaimoana - believe me I’m the catheter expert and am very honoured to be the second Cath Eter Queen! Bit concerned as he’s on a surgical ward and it was an operation that started all this in the first place. Hope Cherry is soon feeling better and thanks to all for their messages

Oh dear so sorry to hear this Jan. Keep us posted. I do hope they sort your DH out soon.

It strikes me that these days everything is like a roller coaster...hopes rise and fall like a switchback. The intensity is equally paired with the utter mundane and the up/down pattern is exhausting.

Yesterday I was so pleased to get my vaccination appointment ...today I have DS self isolating yet again and a COVID test booked for him this afternoon. We've put operation save ourselves into action again and he's confined to quarters until the results come through.

Jan it's so hard when they disappear into hospital now isn't it? I'll keep my fingers crossed that your DH gets out safely soon and then you'll be able to breathe more easily. Hope you can get some ?.

Nortsat my surname is at the bottom of the alphabet too; Mr M thinks that for equality sake, they should start at the end and work backwards occasionally.

Today I'm planting garlic ?

Just popped in to see how you all are and astounded to find I've been away a lot longer than I thought! I missed your Birthday Jan - and it sounds as if you rather did too. (Perhaps you can be like the queen and have an official birthday in the summer.) Not a good experience for Mr Jan - or you. I hope they get to the bottom of it find the cause really quickly. I don't think they have weekends at the NHS now. Is he in the QE2?

Last Tuesday DH had a letter inviting him for a vaccine at the newly opened hub in Norwich. Tomorrow. All arranged and being in the next tranche, I expected a long wait for my turn. Then on Thursday I had a phone call from the doctors surgery inviting both of us for a jab. Yesterday. So he cancelled the first one and we both got 'done' yesterday. Yay!! Half an hour ago I got another phone call from the surgery inviting me in! It never rains but it pours! She said they were experiencing a bit of overlap! The surgery is getting through around 1,000 jabs each day so no wonder. My nephew who's a GP in Exmouth is running strictly alphabetically, but here it seems to be year of birth. Roughly, depending on who answers their phone!

It was good to read Grammaretto that your MiL didn't have a TIA or similar but its a bladder infection? Did I get that right? I can't go back on the iPad to see. Hopefully her equilibrium will return quickly when she gets back home into familiar surroundings.

And whats a lavalava Kaimoana? I have visions of a grass skirt?

Sunny Wales calling all indomitable friends!!!!

One of those afternoons that has provided me with just a tiny window to call in and pay a welcome visit,and as always a mixture of the happy and the troubled.
On one hand a belated Happy Birthday Jan,and commiserations for the problems your husband is having,hopefully getting sorted as I write.

Whey!!!!! I think you need to start selling vaccine places NfkD...........quite honestly another time when either too many cooks.....etc, or each one does not know what the other is up to...........
On the subject of "jabs" I do think when husband and wife arrive together it surely makes sense to vaccinate together,there is not usually a huge age gap difference.

How absolutely lovely of you dropping by Grandmafrench and you are so very welcome,of course you already know many of us.
A welcome hug from me.
Doodle`ssecond name of course is kindness!!

I bow my head in shame as I certainly owe Soop and her sanctuary a visit,she and friends made there have been a pillar of kindness over several years.
Time is really something in short supply these days though!

At long last my dearest seems to be having a fair amount of pain relief,especially overnight,though he is in considerable pain in areas with very poor mobility.
However the Home Hospice team sent in their Physio and a handful of aids to help,whilst the Palliative care nurse is constantly behind us.
Sadly the much needed MRI Scan has been delayed because the scanner has broken down.............needless to add,we live in Wales!!!
The xrays revealed there were no fractures though his femurs are one cause of the main pain.

So good to share although it would be so good to spend an afternoon with you all...........stay safe and yes,please stay smiling!!!

My what an active lot you are.
Cherry hope you had a good night without acrobatics.
How is the nausea today, better I hope?
My mother spoke very little Welsh. I don’t think my father spoke any at all at least not in my hearing. My mother did sing Welsh songs though.
Kaimoana you must have a will of iron to give up chocolate. ?. I enjoy two squares of dark chocolate with my coffee every evening (well ok then....2 very big squares)
A lavalava? Not come across one of those before. Is it decent?
I’ve never been to festival either. Is it too late to start do you think ?.
gubbins trying to crawl already. Doesn’t seem possible.?
That’s a very handsome lady in the painting. I can’t help thinking she would find playing the lute easier if she didn’t have such large....adornments. ?
Grammaretto sorry to hear about your friend. So easily done. I must admit a broken hip was my first thought when DH fell down the stairs. At least we do have a lift here so we can get to our apartment without needing to climb stairs.
A zoom party sounds like fun. Do you only have to dress up the part of you the camera sees ?
Nortsat I have a soft spot for Ollie so please let him be one of our Molls too) . Ooh you naughty girls eating the neighbours strawberries ?. I used to eat the peas out of the pods but I don’t remember my dear dad growing soft fruit although we did have a few apple trees.
Well if they are vaccinating people in alphabetical order I expect DH and I will be at the far end of the queue. Couldn’t get much further down the alphabet than us ?
Dragonfly that’s good to hear there have been no side effects from your vaccinations.
I bet your teachers loved taking you out if you kept falling in the pond. Your classmates were probably just waiting to see how long it would take ?
Did you live in Holland for a long time? Was that a while ago?
Jan so sorry your DH is still in hospital. That catheter problem must be quite an unpleasant experience for him. Hope they manage to sort it out soon. Your right about nothing much happening weekends. Hope you get him home soon.
Mamissimo how true your first paragraph is. Sums up life completely at the moment.
Oh dear. Sorry to hear about your DS. Hope he’s not too poorly. Yes you must keep yourselves safe.
Hmm expecting visitors from Transylvania are you ?
Nfk what fantastic news about your jabs. Both of you getting done and locally too. That’s really good news. I hadn’t thought of a grass skirt. I wonder if you are right ?
Panache oh now you’re making me blush ?
Such good news to hear MrP is at last getting some much needed pain relief. Having help on hand will boost your spirits having battled on so long on your own.
Good news there are no fractures showing on the X-ray but what a shame the MRI is being delayed. I hope you too are having some sleep at night as well.
I won’t spoil the post by asking how the food is.
Glad you got some sunshine today to lift the spirits.

DH and I went for a long drive (in circles) this afternoon as he is worried about the car battery. I just wondered what would happen if we got stopped by the police whether that would be classed as a justifiable excuse for being out ?
It started to hail while we were out and was really cold. We are due snowfall here tomorrow too. I might get to play snowballs. ?

Hello everyone. Yes DH is home with antibiotics. Seems very chirpy and hasn’t stopped talking about the hospital experience and what he had to eat and he’s still talking!! Bless. So pleased to hear Mr Panache is not experiencing so much pain. It’s horrible watching someone you love suffer. Wasn’t too worried about Covid at the hospital as DH has had both jabs. He was swabbed three times! Yes Nfk he was in the QE. We had a little bit of snow but soon turned to rain. Very cold though

Jan so pleased to hear your DH is home and feeling ok. That must be quite a relief. Hope you get to relax for the rest of the weekend now,

Evening gangster LobStars and molls.

I'm sure Kaimoana can explain better than me Nfk and Doodle but I think a lavalava is a skirt; traditional Polynesian attire. If I'm correct it is essentially a large (but short) square of cloth tied, in a particular way, around the waist.

Artemisia Gentileschi's notoriety came up in a quiz question in one of my group quizzes a couple of months ago. I don't know about her having a dark side but dark patches in her history yes, she was the victim of a rape and an infamous rape trial.
I vaguely remember there were Elephant Fairs in the 1980s, are they the ones you mean? I didn't go to any of them sadly.

Drat, got something in my eye and it's stinging like fury ....

Grammaretto

?, don't quite know how your name came to be there Grammaretto.
You are quite right about all children in Wales being taught Welsh in school but it only became compulsory in 1990 and up to age 14. Prior to 1990 it was down to the LEAs (I think) whether Welsh was compulsory or recommended. It was a compulsory subject until age 14 for me. I actually did quite well ? in my last Welsh exam' and I remember the teacher trying to persuade me to take the O' level but I refused. I would tell you what I said to her but it rather shocking, but no I didn't swear ?.
Sorry to hear that your friend is in hospital with a broken hip. How has he managed to do without a bath or shower up 'til now, nevermind when he comes out of hospital. It is a worry though.

Gubbins can't be trying to crawl already, can she Kaimoana, she's only a few days old surely ?.

Thank goodness Jan, when you said the hospital kept him in and where he was bleeding from and the fact it's the weekend I felt quite scared for you both. Sounds like he's had quite a bit to tell you about his experience, is he normally the chatty type anyway? He obviously missed you, aww ?

dragonfly I think Welsh is a difficult language to learn as an adult, it simply has far too many verb mutations, mutations in general for that matter, in my book ?. My niece1 took a year's sabbatical (2019) to learn Welsh immersively and said she was drowning in verbs ?

Mamissimo, I agree with Doodle, you sum up the present time so well. I hope your DS' test comes back negative. Keep him well away from you. Is he quite nocturnal by the way, hence the garlic ?. Seriously I hope he's feeling okay, doesn't have the virus and if he does he recovers quickly and doesn't pass it on.

Nfk, fantastic - another gang? to have had the vaccine. Giving the vaccine by year of birth like your GP practice has seems much fairer than alphabetically in my opinion. My surname is almost at the top of the alphabet but what's fair about giving the vaccine to me before omeone else who has the same condition as me but is ten years older for example ?

Panache, whilst of course things are incredibly hard for you both and now Mr P's scan appointment has been cancelled there does seem to be some positives. I'm so pleased that Mr P's pain is under better control, the x-rays have shown he hasn't broken any bones and it seems that finally it seems that there are services, the palliative care nurse and the home hospice, that you can rely on. These things must bring some welcome relief in your lives. I hope you are able to relax a bit Panache, you need to look after you too!

Time for a cuppa I think.

Built in unfairness of the alphabet. My friend Y married a Z. Truly.
A cousin was a B and became a Y. She felt her children were disadvantaged.
So glad your DH is safely home Jan
and full of chat. Such a relief.
I am at my DSis birthday disco but am sitting this one out.

Evening cherry.
Well I would never be any good in quizzes. I don’t know much anyway and whatever I did know is lost in my mind now.
I’ve just looked Artemisia up. A talented lady indeed.
I am somewhat breathless today. I have no idea why. I suffer from asthma but it is usually well under control. I also suffer from Hayfever in February and March usually. I wonder if it’s come on early this year.
I think I’ll have an early night tonight. Sleep well dear gang ?
No aerobatics cherry please ?