The Lockdown Gang - Just chatting ⭐️

Evening ? gang ☺️

I've had an exhausting couple of days. This kitchen fitting lark is surprisingly tiring . My floor has not been laid today! ? In fact it's been quite a peculiar day ... the plumber reappeared with quite an odd query. He came to ask about the toilet we are meant to have fitted #even more . We're having our kitchen done! I remember seeing something on the news a little while ago about someone having a toilet in their kitchen (it might have been the living room but you get the gist) but it's not on any of our plans not would it ever be!
He saw I was completely bewildered but I noticed that he didn't seem to be ?. Apparently it's on the recommendation of the OT and is nothing to do with the kitchen but the grant is there. It's for upstairs. Not only that either but she recommended a wet room ?. Yes, when she came she did look around the whole house band was surprised I didn't have a wet room (I had the bath taken out years ago as I'm not safe in the bath). I'm very suspicious of all this to say the least ... what would be the expense to us if I went ahead ?. The upshot is that someone from adaptation grants is coming in the morning! It's very weird, very weird indeed ?.

I hope Mr P is home Panache and you are both comfortable, sending my love x
I hope your blood test worked out dragonfly ?
Kaimoana have a lovely day with your friend Kathy.
Wonderful harvest for your DD Mamissimo, I'm wishing her and her husband every success ?
Hope the eye test went well Grammaretto ?
Don't tell me that you are still wearing those broken glasses Doodle?. Oh, by the way ... why convert to being Welsh when it seems that the majority of the gang already are part Welsh even if it is only 2% ?

Sending sandwiches cwtches to all the LobStars. Night night x

House band? ?

Hello Cherry wow a toilet in the middle of your kitchen. That would be novel but somewhat embarrassing I would think. Sorry your floor wasn’t finished.
So no sooner is your kitchen nearly done and they want to put in a wet room. That would be nice as long as it doesn’t cost too much. Hope the grant man is amenable and explains it all well.
Actually I am still wearing those broken glasses. ?. Don’t watch much TV except on iPad so don’t use them much.
I wonder what filling is in my cwtch ( cheese and pickle is a favourite ?)
Kaimoana have you tried looking on the internet for Velcro fitting shoes. I think quite a few companies make them now.
My right foot is much bigger than my left so if one shoe fits, the other doesn’t. I find the Velcro straps a boon.
Panache hope things are going ok. x

Good news for your DD, Mamissimo. I send all good wishes. Not so good for MrM awaiting the gall bladder op.

I hope the Panaches are safely home with help.

There was I picturing you Doodle with your neat hair, new shoes and crown . Today the image has changed to specs mended with sellotape and different shoes on each foot.

I hope Cherry you agreed to the bathroom conversion paid for with the grant. It sounds an excellent idea.

I decided I would claim from the contractor for all the damaged dead plants caused by the building works next door so yesterday I made a long list from a nursery catalogue. Such a pleasant way to spend waste an hour.

When we first moved into our house 40 years ago we had a toilet in the kitchen. It had previously been the Ladies loo and was our mains water source (not the loo). There was a pipe at shin height across the room, put in by mad plumber as a temporary measure to trip us up
Luckily we were young enough to withstand the frequent falls.

Yesterday I had a strange request via facebook: could a pilates teacher hire a room from me!
If she could see the state of the room..... but it did make me think. Once I clear out the 3 church pews, antique pram, sewing machine, 6 tables, 20 chairs, 2 beds, a huge settee and 5k books (and shelves), and accompanying clutter, there could be a space...

I offered a pew to the new climate challenge centre which opens this weekend. They are grateful but not yet ready...

Just play your house band Cherry and all our troubles will melt away.

Grammaretto I have to say your picture of me with broken specs and different shoes on each foot is the more accurate of the two . I once went to work wearing one black and one blue shoe. Fortunately both with the same heels so I didn’t fall over.
I have often tried to imagine your house. The plastered cornice, big rooms with high ceilings and lots of nooks and crannies but I have never imagined a toilet in the middle with a pipe running across the room ?
Wow that is some size room with all that in it. Might well be worth thinking about hiring it out. The antique pram sounds intriguing. I know you’ve told us before but the bad memory strikes again. How old is your house, if you don’t mind me asking?
Today is an at home day. It’s pouring here. I would like to say I’ll spend it sewing but I actually must tackle the ironing. I intend to borrow DHs cordless headphones and listen to a play on the radio while I do it. With my fancy steam iron, the noise often cuts out the sound so his headphones stop me missing bits. Back later to catch up.

I always have the ironing board up while sewing Doodle as I was told to press seams as I went along and anyway it keeps the room warm.
I intend to make myself a dress for the Summer not sure which Summer yet
I gaze at frocks in catalogues on-line and invariably the ones I like look simple enough to make but cost about £150. But maybe that's normal? I haven't a clue about prices.

The rooms are large but this particular one is stuffed so full it's unusable.
I have decided it's not a declutterer I need but an archivist.
The house was built during the Napoleonic wars,we think around 1811 to house the governor/doctor who was in charge of the prison camp below.

The pram is a silver cross 1970's vintage so hardly antique but great for getting babies off to sleep.

Hi Folks. I am sitting on Norwich hospital car park waiting for DH and munching my way through a tube of fruit pastilles simply because they are there and I’m bored! He was half a hour late going in so imagine it’s going to be a long afternoon then an hours drive home. Sigh! No rain here Doodle - fingers crossed. It’s really warm and a bit sunny.
Mamissimo hope Mr M gets his gall bladder op soon. It’s horrible waiting for a medical procedure isn’t it?
Cherry sure you will be so pleased when your kitchen is finished. It will be worth all the agro I promise but not sure about the loo - talking of which I think I might need a wee soon! Doubt I can get into hospital as DH was on strict instructions to attend on his own and had to sit in the car until he received a phone call!

Oh Grammaretto I had a new Silver Cross for my boys in the early 1970s. I loved it. I always wanted one and my mum and dad bought it for us. I loved the bouncy springs and big and small wheels and the canopy with a fringe. I’ve gone all sentimental now ?. You are so right about it being perfect for getting babies off to sleep. Much better than those things they have today.
1811 wow that is a long time ago. When you say prison camp below, you don’t mean in the basement do you? ?
Jan sounds as though you might be in for a long wait. Did you take a book? I would come and sit with you if you shared your fruit pastilles. They were one of my favourites.
Hope everything goes well for your DH and you’re in your way home soon.
It’s dried up here this afternoon too.
You might be able to get in the loo at the hospital if you ask them. Although they don’t encourage people to go in I have noticed others around going in and out.

Good evening ?
We've been to the pub......we sat in a marquee with two sides missing and shivered our way through lunch. It was lovely to see DSiL for the first time since October.....but now we can't get warm.

I see your silver cross pram and I raise you a navy blue silver cross twin pram with a broderie Anglais canopy and a silver cross pram bag clipped onto the handlebar....we had to buy a shed for it to live in because our hallway was too narrow to get it in and get the babies out. I still used to end up with one baby in the shed while I quickly plonked the other one in the playpen.

I loved the playpen even more....my DF made it for me from three secondhand cots so that it was big enough for two babies. It was also big enough for me to get the ironing board inside so that I could iron safely in the same room as the marauding twins.

Kaimoana wherever did you find that diet sheet for people who have had their gallbladder removed? ? current NHS thinking is low fat to stave off attacks before surgery and then, once the offending bladder is removed, the majority of people can eat normally. They recommend that you ease in gently and you soon discover whether something gives you the galloping gourmets. I was completely back to normal in three days after my op in August. I think the trick is not to eat fatty garbage and processed stuff.

The French beans have germinated ? yippe!

Mamissimo you got me beat. I had a brown silver cross. Your twin one sounds big. We didn’t have a shed for ours but had a huge worktop in the kitchen and the pram used to fit underneath with a bit of a three point turn to get it there.
Having twins must have kept you on your toes. Even with one at a time it was a bit full on.
Good to hear your beans are progressing.
Talking of kitchens, I wonder if Cherry has a floor yet. Hope things are going well.
I have done a mammoth pile of ironing today. So pleased it’s done. I usually do it frequently so I don’t have to do so much.
We had chips tonight. Naughty but nice as they say.
DH had a new razor delivered today. His old one just wouldn’t turn off, we had to wait for the battery to run down.
I hope my new shoes will arrive tomorrow. Hope they fit.

Hiya gangStars

The kitchen floor is done ?! Thank goodness for that ?. We also have white walls, no not their final colour. It feels like we can see the finishing post but there is still quite a bit to be done . It's all those smaller but essential jobs that need doing but they take time ?. Taking more time at the moment too, courtesy of all the covid protocol. Would ordinarily have been finished by now.

The toilet ? saga continues ?. I can't believe there was a toilet in your kitchen when you moved in to your house Grammaretto! I think your explanation clarifies the matter though ?. Unbelievably it would be if it wasn't true they want to install an expensive all singing and dancing toilet, one that washes and dries important little places ?. That and the wet room I wouldn't have to pay for!! The grant is there to cover it ?. We'd only have to pay for tiling and flooring. I'm in shock if I didn't have epilepsy I would have fainted and lost consciousness . My WP wants to go ahead with it I want to recover from the kitchen upheaval first.

I've been thinking of Mr M throughout today ... did the consultant not give any idea when his operation is likely to take place Mamissimo or was it just a matter of whenever his name reaches the top of the list? All these delays etc. by the NHS if they weren't already are irritating me now ?.

Doodle, your odd shoe story reminds me of something that happened to my mum once. She had quite a formal appointment to go to, I was very young so I can't remember exactly what it was for. She was cutting it fine to get ready and catch the next bus to get there on time. When she came down stairs before she went I noticed she had of shoes on, one navy, one black, and told her. She was adamant I was mistaken (as I've said before she had tunnel vision in one eye) and she really didn't have time for that business. She arrived at her destination and as she entered the building was greeted by the usher, who discreetly whispered in her ear. The appointment went well anyway ?

Jan, I hope your wait for Mr J wasn't too long but if it was longer than you could have hoped I hope you were allowed inside the hospital ?. I hope Mr J's appointment went well ?

Cherry Wasn’t as long as I thought it would be. He had to have a mask made before he starts his radiotherapy in June. Then we will be doing the 90 mile round trip every weekday for 3 weeks! Has to be done!

Hurrah for Cherry well on the way to a finished kitchen.
Wow will they really pay for the wet room and one of those...er intimate toilets. I would grab the offer with both hands if I were you. Sounds as though it would be really useful.
Please get it done (so you can explain to me how the up and under washing thingy works ?)
Funny story about your mum. Glad she managed to carry it off anyway.
Jan that’s going to be quite a journey for you every week. How long will MrJ have to be in the hospital for radiotherapy? Glad you got home ok. Hopefully by the time the radiotherapy starts you will be allowed in to use the loo.

This thread is has become all about toilets. ?
Panache hope things are ok for you and MrP
Kaimoana not heard from you yet today. Hope things are ok.
Jeeves on his way round with the drinks.

Finally I have a moment to myself Doodle. I notice the Dean is sporting one of those shaggy Tony Blair haircuts It's his birthday on Monday (the Dean), do you think he'll treat himself to a trim?

I had to go back and look Mammisimo and that website is a collaboration of what seems like hundreds of doctors and specialist across the USA. So of course they'll have different ideas to the NHS.

Cherry such great news about your refurbishments and as Doodle says, grab it with both hands.
I lived in two places with toilets in the kitchen; built in the days before it was mandatory to have 2 doors between loo and food prep. It seems it was an economy - all plumbing in one place.
My grandma had a bath in the living room cupboard. It had a lid which came down and was used as a work bench (tiny terrace house, unheated scullery).

Beats the loo at the bottom of the yard I grew up with oh, those awful winter nights in Yorkshire. You had to be desperate to brave the spiders, hail and the snow.

Grammaretto You are sitting on a gold mine.
20 chairs, 2 beds, a huge settee and an antique pram.
You have the ideal wedding venue as well as a couch for exhausted in-laws, a bed for the honeymoon and pram hire for what it leads to.
Go for it and tell them the ghost of Napoleon is extra

<sigh>
Support workers are not servants and I'm not an employer going round in white gloves deliberately finding dust and fault.

In fact I hate the whole idea of standing over someone as they work but I fear I shall have to with Grace. At least where my bed is concerned.

When I went into the bedroom this evening, long after she'd gone, I found she'd taken off the quilted mattress protector and put it in the washing machine.

The fitted bottom sheet was under the electric blanket, its leads trapped beneath the bed.

Fortunately I've had castors fitted to the bed legs specifically to make it easier for homecare workers, so moving it was no problem - but remaking the bed properly exhausted me.

It has a deep mattress and it's hell's delight to lift it and tuck everything in all round so I don't trip over trailing blanket or the counterpane.

I needed a stiff drink when I'd finished but had to make do with sugarless cocoa - made with UHT milk which I see should have been used by December 2020 Oops.

Blindness tomorrow.
www.aucklandlive.co.nz/show/awf21-blindness

Take care LobSTARS

Definitely press the YES button Cherry. The work won't begin straight away will it?

All the talk of prams reminds me how jealous I used to be of the baby when I was pushing the big pram up the steepest hill in town. Not twins but 20 months apart so the older one was in the toddler seat and liked to kick me. A huge load of shopping on the rack below. No wonder I was slim back then .

I had my eyes tested which was an ordeal what with a mask on so all steamed up. I couldn't see any of her letter board and was prescribed glasses for driving and long distance. I have cataracts in both eyes but not bad enough to operate which is just as well because there is an 18 month waiting list at the eye hospital

I began this hours ago. before your mail arrived Kaimoana and then daily life got in the way. I will love you and leave you now and go and have some lunch xxx

Kaimoana yes the Dean needs a haircut but bless him he probably needs the hair to keep him warm being out in all weathers. He even did the morning service in the garden when it was pouring with rain as he thought we’d like to see the rain.
Oh dear. Sounds like Grace doesn’t understand beds at all.
How you enjoy the show.
Grammaretto my boys were just two years apart and I also used to push them up a steep hill. One in the pram and one on the seat. It was hard work wasn’t it.
DH also has cataracts but like you not bad enough to get on the waiting list. Hope you enjoyed your lunch.

Well I had an eventful afternoon. DH and I went on our usual circular route walk. When we were about half way round my nose started bleeding. It did the same two nights ago but I thought it had healed ok. Between us we had about 6 tissues but that did nothing to stem the flow. I had on a white scarf that had blood all down the front. Blood all over my hands and blood soaked tissues held to my nose. It was a long walk home.
Don’t know what people thought who saw me ?
Hope Cherry and Panache are ok.

I had a delivery from Amazon today. This is what I ordered. DH didn’t know what they are, can you guess?

Give up Doodle a clue?
I thought it might be a disappointing delivery from Hotter!!
How awful, the nosebleed. Have they happened before?

Lobstars are really stoical considering all they endure.

I had an unexpected afternoon too. I discovered they were doing Covid flow tests so I turned up and had the test. I then drove round to MiL's and invited myself in.
We had tea and I got my negative test result texted to me.
She was in really good form and hopes to come with me to visit DD in the Highlands soon. She had her son with her who is not quite such a guard dog as her DD.

The weather has improved at last and it was actually warm I had to take my coat off

I do feel for you Kaimoana with the bedmaking.
I can picture it but I am sure if you give her a good lesson, she will understand. Won't she?

The kitchen is coming along nicely Cherry I hope it won't be long before you are using it.
What are you doing about food now?

I will now go and get my cauliflower cheese and white wine.
see you later.

Ooh Grammaretto cauliflower cheese and white wine how lovely. Tonight as a change from chicken we are having Feta cheese salad also with white wine.
Clue you say. Ok it’s for use with my sewing hobby.
Glad you managed a visit with your MIL. Be nice if you can visit your DD together. ?

Doodle I know! They're thread huggers! Have you got the matching bobbin locks so that you can fix your bobbins to the top of the relevant reel? They're ace too......as are sewing clips....you're having fun!

Hi gang-lob-stars, I attach a photo from today's narrowboat journey. I have caught up with what is happening by following your posts but have little time to post, plus signal comes and goes as we move.

So far (thankfully) our trip is uneventful although the weather has not been kind. We have been soaked several times, thank heavens for modern wet gear.

We saw our northern family on Sunday - in their garden. It was wonderful to see them all.

We have chatted to interesting boaters. Despite the weather, we are comfortable and entertained by the gently passing landscape and wildlife.

Stay as well as you can lobstars - sorry about your bloody nose Doodle.

Well done Mamissimo that’s exactly what they are. ?.
Your prize ? (it’s a chocolate donut in case you were wondering ?).
No I didn’t buy the bobbin locks as I have a special bobbin case for them but the threads have been driving me mad. I have loads and they keep getting tangled up.
Hope your DD is ok and not too anxious.
Back later.

Missedout what a lovely photo. It looks so tranquil and peaceful. That lovely yellow field.
I hope you are enjoying your trip despite your reservations.
Good you had a nice meet up with your family. Send us some more photos if you can, it’s nice to see where you are going.
Have a lovely break.

Jan, when Mr J starts his radiotherapy in June I take it that you will be driving, 90 miles round trip, every weekday ?. Of course it has to be done, the radiotherapy that is. I had mine about the same distance away but I arranged volunteer transport as I knew it was too much for my WP to do every day because of his chronic pain syndrome. Would you rather you went with him every day then? Not being nosey but it is hard going.

For goodness sake Grace! Like *Doodle says she really doesn't get beds at all does she Kaimoana. You obviously don't need to answer that. I'm thinking that maybe she needs a "step by step" pictorial instruction card on how to make beds, A4 sized, laminated maybe ?
The Blindness production sounds interesting. It's important that we all reflect on how society is geared toward the visual (increasingly so). My example above is a demonstration of how things can end up being engineered toward the visual ( in Grace's case it might be a useful tool though). We live in a world where there can be sensory overload, especially sound and light. It's "taken for granted" (by government and business) that the use of visuals and/or sounds are integral to the design of equipment all members of society need and anything else is niche. Any sensory impairment, either permanent or temporary, virtually becomes an inconvenience.

Grammaretto, did you previously only have a prescription for one type of glasses before your eye test today? When I first had two prescriptions I got two pairs of glasses and switched when I needed. It became a bit of a nuisance for me as I was switching umpteen times a day. Getting varifocals was the best thing I did, for me. If you only need to use a different lens for one activity, like driving, then it's fine but I couldn't go back to two different pairs now. Expensive though. I didn't know you had cataracts in both your eyes, you have told us but I thought it was the one eye. Sorry to hear that you have them in both.
Glad you saw your MiL, sounds like she was in fine fettle ?. I hope she does manage to come with you when you go and see your DD ?

Mr D has cataracts in both eyes too then Doodle. ?.
Two nose bleeds within a couple of days of one another doesn't sound good. It sounds like you had a nasty one too. Are you prone to them sometimes then or is this something that has only really happened in recent days? I'm concerned that they both happened when you were on your walk (that is what you meant isn't it). Please take care Doodle

I'm still undecided, I know, my WP doesn't understand why I'm not biting their hands off, about this bathroom business. I think I'm just a bit tired at the moment, I got up this morning and fell asleep three hours later and slept for three hours ? It's remarkable how wearing the kitchen upheaval is. I'll be able to relax ? this weekend and then I'll be able to decide I think.
What are we doing re. food? It's been a bit of a mix really. We had a few things we had made and froze, only lasagna left now. We've used the steamer and will do fish in that on Sunday and we bought some ready meals to microwave. We also have a small air fryer and have used that once, naughty but nice sausages (to have with mash) cooked in that tomorrow ?. All this talk of food is making me peckish at the wrong end of the day ?