The Lockdown Gang - Indomitable Lobstars ?⭐️

Grammaretto I am so sorry to hear this. I hope the stroke has nothing to do with the vaccine and that it is mild.
It is true every family has its hard times but you are having more than your fair share.

Oh dear. Spoke too soon: MiL has had a stroke and will likely be going to the Infirmary. where her DH died of the covid
I daren't even phone the house for fear of clogging up the line..
BiL is with her but very anxious.

What a time we are having but as MiL said when she came to see DH the day before he died: Every family has its hard times and now it's our turn.

Hi. Just back from Covid jab. Very little waiting around and very efficient set up. Now just wait for the second one! Couldn’t believe the outside temperature was 11.5 when I got in the car. Had torrential rain over night and have lots of flooded roads

Good morning Gangsters.

I have just caught up with your posts.

So sorry to hear about the pain your DH is in Panache. Watching someone you love suffer is agony! I had that with my son.

I was pleased to hear your MiL is perhaps not suffering as much as her DD fears. These are terrible times made much worse by bereavement.

I have been trying to learn Welsh online but it is very difficult. We have some good friends who are Welsh.
I can speak fluent Dutch not the most useful language in the world but learnt it while living in the Netherlands and immersing myself in it.

I am envious of you all with paddocks and fruit trees and deer. Although I have to say I do not envy the work involved.

I have a counselling session by video this afternoon. It seemed like a good idea when it was offered a year ago but now it is my turn I am quite anxious.

I love your new name Kaimoana - it is a name my DGD would love.
When we named our daughter we spent months agonising and decided on two names. After she was born my DH rang all everyone up and when asked on the the name he reversed them so she did not get the first name we had planned. It all worked out for the best in the end as I think the original first name could have caused her problems in the Netherlands.

Sending love and strength to you all.

Glad to hear your MiL is coming to herself again Grammaretto. She's done fantastically well all things considered.

Its a pity your friend can't/doesn't control her dog. I don't think she could do that around where I live now. We went for a walk on Sunday and all the world and his mother were out. The fields and tracks are completely sodden forcing everyone onto the narrow roads - and it was Crowded! I feel sure there's more people walking around here now than live here!

All your talk of tiny mousey bodies reminds me why I'm happy not to have a cat. I have a phobia about dead things. It doesn't sit well with cat ownership. When the DC were younger we had two cats in our menagerie, one of them was into furry things. My house cleaning wasn't perhaps the most efficient and when I heard a crunching from behind the sofa, I thought Fred had found an empty crisp packet (he loved cheese and onion best) - it was the remains of a squirrel. He must have had it stashed there for several days as he'd eaten all the insides out. Head, feet, skin and tail were all neatly left. A taxidermist would have loved it. He also managed to get fully grown rabbits in through the cate flap, and I believe I've mentioned the mole before... Many times a door would be shut on a room and it was left until DH returned home to dispose of the corpse!

Gosh Doodle would I even dream of telling you a fib?

Good evening lobstars,
Late evening because I've been watching concerts but have come by to see you all and to have a laugh! Endangered Faeces indeed!
I went for a walk with another friend today who doesn't control her dog and seems to think he can run up to anyone, even small children in buggies and say hello. She also forgot to bring poo bags and believe me they were needed. I don't think I shall go with her in future - I find it too stressful although it is hard to refuse when people are being kind. There was a funny moment when the dog ran onto the frozen pond and skated for some minutes a la Torville and Dean. At last his owner called him and put his lead on.

I phoned MiL and we had a good chat. She sounded not bad to me. I think her DD just worries about her mum and she perhaps took a reaction to the vaccine which left her very tired and a bit confused.

How generous of your cat to bring in offerings Mamissimo and at least when Honey is taking it, you don't have to.
When we had a cat she only once, memorably, brought a mouse in and proceeded to dissect it so that half the creature was a skeleton and the other side untouched.

I have enjoyed my hot chocolate. Thanks Jeeves.

Glad the Gaelic is going well Grammaretto. You’ll be catching up your DGD soon.
Sorry to hear your MIL is not too good. You and your family have been going through a really tough time.
Hello Nortsat Missy and Minnie. Glad you are comfortable. ?.
The birds I mentioned don’t so much as visit out garden but swim or float through it or fly over it. We have a river at the front and a stream at the back and many of the birds are attracted by the water. The Mandarin ducks are beautiful. I love seeing them but they are only around for a short while.
No news of vaccine here yet. Hopefully soon.
Mamissimo I didn’t know dogs eat mice too. I can see Honey and Fergal having fisticuffs if this continues. I wonder how long it will take Fergal to think of another hiding place.
Trifle soup, that’s one I haven’t tried before. I wonder if it is similar in consistency to my cheesecake sludge? ?
Jan ah I see we have another gangster cat. Theo.
I would have liked to see you trying to encourage a little mouse out from its hiding place. I’m not sure I could cope with mice but certainly not stoats. ?
Kaimoana I’m not sure I 100% believed your Endangered Faeces until I saw that photo ?
Panache I hope you and MrP are feeling a bit better today.
I am wondering how the X-ray went. Hope you are safely home now.
Cherry I was thinking of you today when I was watching the morning service from the garden in Canterbury Cathedral. As part of the service, the Dean read an extract from Winnie the Pooh, the bit where Pooh meets Tigger for the first time. It’s a lovely story.
Hope you are ok, you too Dragonfly.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202101/medium-408639-artpooh.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202101/medium-426231-artpoo.jpg

Mamissimo As you arrange your muck artistically, here's a bit of inspiration.

“Mamissimo”. Love the story of your cat and cheeky dog. Our cat Theo is a mouser. Usually leaves them half eaten outside patio door but we’ve had a couple of live ones in the house. Cue me and DH crawling on the floor trying to bet a mouse out from behind a wall unit! Also had a bird flying round the house and a stoat! No idea how he got it through the cat flap! Kaimoana. Talking about people ignoring the rules. Had a couple here driving from Northampton to Horsey on the Norfolk coast to watch the seals! Were caught and fined!!

Good morning ?

Panache you could have so done without side effects of the jab but it will be one worry lessened for you to have had it. I hope very much that the book is providing positive answers for you. There's a lot in The Times today about Wales and the way things are being not managed with regards to health services. I suspect that sadly you are not the only ones feeling adrift. Lack of pain management is inexcusable these days! ?

On each of the last three days the teenage cat has brought in a mouse. His normal routine is to charge in through the cat flap at ninety miles an hour, right through the house to the study and then to consume it under a rocking chair.

Well the old dog has learned a new trick....when she hears the particularly loud bang of the cat flap she is three rooms ahead of Fergal. She now charges to the door of the study and relieves Fergal of the mouse. He comes to sulk in the sitting room and Honey saunters back licking her lips.

Neither of us is fast enough to thwart the pantomime. By the time we've stood up and remembered how to run the deed is done. Thirty seconds from start to finish. All the wildlife means super regular worming....maybe that will cool their behaviour!

So once again worming animals comes onto my list of chores for the day.....but I've moved the muck and merely need to arrange it artistically. The ironing really should get done....oh and I need to have think about Trifle. Last night I served an interesting dessert Trifle Soup! ?

Good morning gang-stars I am here with coffee and the ‘Gangsters Molls’ Missy and Minnie and we’re all sitting comfortably (thank you Doodle).

Panache, I am so sorry that the pain management is failing your dear one. It’s dreadful that the xrays and scans can’t be organised simply. You must feel as though you are banging your head against a brick wall.
Have the after effects of the jabs subsided? I hope that is one less issue for you both to bear.
I hope today brings better things ...
Grammaretto I remember the snow of 1963 and being off school with the flu. I was on the sofa wrapped in a blanket watching the snow fall and fall. It must have been about 4feet deep at the back of our house and everywhere seemed so silent.
Mammissimo, Doodle says your photo is her and theDude. I thought it was me and my partner... taken yesterday...
Kaimoana, I feel your frustration about the Eye Clinic appointments and the very poor scheduling. It is such a simple thing and could have made everything far easier. Sometimes careless, shoddy, thoughtless behaviour makes me despair of the human race.
Nfk your garden looks lovely in the snow. Ours is just rather dank and untidy. Though my Winter Flowering Jasmine is hanging on ... bless it.
My word Doodle what a lot of birds visit your garden, I would love Mandarin Ducks to visit our garden but the Gangsters Molls probably prevent that.
Dragonfly and Missedout good morning and wishing you both a comfortable, easy day.

I think I would like an almond croissant and a cappuccino please Jeeves ... ☕️? and a nice bowl of creamy milk for the Molls ?. Have a pleasant, peaceful day, all.

I could do with a pisting machine Doodle. I had never heard of them. I could push it over the snow with my aerial on my head to get radio4 you understand
I had my first Gaelic class this evening. What have I taken on I'm now total immersion watching BBC Alba.

MiL has taken a turn for the worse. I don't know how to help. She has her DS with her and he andher DD are taking turns staying with her but we all miss our DHs so much.

It has been a tough time.

It's tough for you Panache . I hope someone can help you and see sense. I hope that your dear man can be free from pain.

It is exasperating when there is no joined up thinking.

A friend had a hip operation in the days when you could but having waited over a year he was sent to a hospital 2 hours away to have it done. That was fine but when he had to have his check up, the hospital insisted he go back for a 5 minute appointment. His DW questioned this and wrote to the Secretary of State for Health, and eventually it was agreed that he could be seen locally and others could too. So well done Panache for keeping on reminding them of the right thing to do.

Double shot of chocolate for me please Jeeves.

Grammaretto This could be part of the reason why there's so much traffic - people are just not listening !!

www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/123975383/covid19-british-people-in-lockdown-flock-to-packedout-beaches-amid-deadly-coronavirus-outbreak

I trust your pisting machine is in good working order Kaimoana. Obviously you and Nfk had similar thoughts ?

Panache I am sorry the vaccine has had such an impact on you both. Hope the effects wear off soon and at least you have some protection for these hospital visits. Good you were able to re arrange the X-ray for a local one tomorrow. Hope you make it ok.
I am so very sorry that MrP is still in such pain. Will the palliative care team visit this week? Hope the news from the book and the meal front are an improvement.
Lovely to hear from you. In my thoughts and prayers as always x
Nfk I love watching the birds. Although we don’t have a bird table we are visited often by the gulls, parakeets, magpies, robins to say nothing of the ducks, geese and swans. We also have a pair of Mandarin ducks who come here in the summer.
Hmmm I wonder if perhaps they are not called pisting machines......(now I read it back it does look odd....it’s not toilet related I assure you. I wasn’t taking the piste ?) . The gadgets are like small lawn mowers that flatten the snow. We saw them in use several times in the mountain villages.
Jan has your snow gone now? It’s been mild here today too.

I am so very sorry the jab has added to your woes Panache. I hope you both feel better soon.

I'm aware 'inefficiency' is often down to just one person not the whole department or hospital.

When I was diagnosed 11 years ago, a monthly trip to the Eye Clinic - an hour away - was necessary for injections in my eyes.
I still had my car then but the treatment meant I was not allowed to drive so was dependent on the shuttle.
All the schedulers knew about this as many eye patients used it.
I was booked on, every month but _not once_ was I ever given an appointment to fit in with shuttle times.
Every month I had to ring and change it - to the exasperation and sometimes anger, of the scheduler.
I felt like saying, 'If you'd done it right in the first place...'

I even made an official complain in Year 3 after a barrage of rudeness about something I couldn't help.
I was assured it was fixed. It wasn't.

It still isn't but at least I now go only 6 monthly just for a check-up, but can't see the point of wasting a day of my time and that of the hard-pressed ophthalmologist's when there is no more that can do to save my remaining eye.
So I may decline.

As all other staff at the Clinic were more than fantastic, it really was down to just one lazy woman scheduler.

Mamissimo as usual.

It would almost be worth the snow to say I had a pisting machine

Panache I too echo NfkDumpling words re your poor mans illness and his dreadful pain. Seems unbelievable that I this day and age he cannot be given something to alleviate his agony.Hugs and love to you both.
It’s been very mild here today after yesterday’s snow. Such a change.
Hope everyone has had a good weekend not that there’s any difference in any of the days at the moment

The spots on the snow on that photo are the drops of water on the French window Doodle - and thats as far as I went yesterday - four steps to the bird table to put some mealworms and mouldy cheese out. The rooks love mouldy cheese!

I think I was born the same year as you kaimoana - only in the November. My DPs blamed the snow and cold for my conception!

'Pisting' machines Doodle? Really?

I am unbelievably sorry for your Best Beloved Panache. It's so awful that he can't get enough pain relief and must be unbearable for you not to be able to help. All I can do is send virtual (((hugs))) and hope that things improve for you both.

Just a short message to let you know we are still alive.
However gratefully we recieved said vaccine,but it has truly hit us hard.
My dear one was bathed in perspiration the first night,clothes changed 3 times and aching in all manner of new areas........I too ached as if I had been hit by a `bus,whilst I have slept for Wales,much needed for sure.
plus I had a long standing filthy headache.........

My man`s x rays request came through late morning saturday.......for 12.30 today,sunday, over 50 miles away.
Firstly he was in no state to travel that far,we have no ready transport and on phoning the department immediately I found it closed.
It meant much contacting our usual Hospital`s xray department,also closed........but after much time and trying eventually had the appointment re directed to our local Hospital for 2pm tomorrow.
I know expect the MRI Scan request to cause me similar headaches.
Why is it so very difficult to get these things organised in such a manner as best fits the poorly patient...............I Despair.

Sadly even doubling the pain relief is even failing to control the pain,and my poor man is virtually a cripple.

Much more news on the Book front "Broth again for supper"
but will share another time,also developments on the meals front.

Time is scarce, so I send all my friends a very peaceful and pleasant evening,you remain much in my thoughts but my body is keeping me away.

Grammaretto my youngest was born on a day when it had been snowing for hours. It was touch and go to see if we would make it to the hospital. The sister in charge said that if any of the mums in the maternity ward didn’t think their labour was far enough advanced they could go out and shovel the snow off the path to speed things up a bit ?
Mamissimo we’ve got a sunny day here today too but it’s very cold. Wow you certainly lead an exotic life, muck spreading and ironing. I will wait for you to finish then pop round for the roast beef course please ?
Your nother bench sounds a good idea. I love a good view and just sitting and watching life. Perhaps, as you say, not bright red.
Where did you get that photo of me and DH? ?

Nortsat hope you are feeling a bit better now. It made me laugh when you said Missy was named because she was a self opinionated little Miss. We had a little yorkie like that. So tiny but what a character. I think she had image issues. We looked at her and saw a tiny dog. She looked at herself and saw a Great Dane.
Nfk your garden looks nice. I bet it’s lovely in the spring and summer. Can you see the bird table from your windows?
kaimoana wow that is some snow. It’s an issue in this country. In Switzerland, they have huge snowfalls but of course they have the equipment to deal with it so life can continue mostly without interruption. Houses have mini pisting machines like little lawnmowers that tamp the snow down to walk on.

Darn, forgot to post this which seemed so apt!

Good morning.....the sun has got her hat on and I'm going out to play ? I will muck spread the morning away and then --have a nap--do the ironing before roasting some beef. Feels like Sunday - hope I'm correct!

I've finally found an idea for a nother bench for our garden. We have a spot we can see from the house which looks out over fields and hills and we idle away a lot of time perched on a log and watching the nothing. I've found an idea that looks like an overgrown hay rack but that vast Swedish furniture emporium has designed it in pillar box red, so I'm going to ask the Blacksmith if he can make me a similar one that won't be a blot on the view.

Hope it's sunny where you are...

That could well have been 1963 as well. Kaimoana but your poor mum. My DS was a baby that year and my mum also had horror stories only they were living in a bombed out flat in London, rationing, DF had the flu, no washing machine, doctor cost money (pre NHS)
I can see why they were determined to go to NZ.

None of us can get to gigs so there is a strange, and rather nice, levelling out. Although I do wonder where all those cars are going in our new tight lockdown. They can't all be essential workers.

Perhaps the BBC should have stayed on my nose. I wouldn't need to have a radio at all.

Your stories of how animals found you are lovely. Nortsat Doodle and Nfk

Hope the Panaches are OK? Cherry, Dragonfly, Jan
I'll pop back later on.