The Lockdown Gang - carry on chatting ⭐️

Boadicea the Dean at Canterbury has a number of different birds. A duck called Moby Ducky, 2 roosters, Russel Crow and Brewster the Rooster, tukeys Darcy and Jane, two pigs Clemmie and Winnie and a whole variety of different types of hens of all shapes sizes and colours Guinea fowl and 3 cats, three legged Tiger, her son Leo and tiny Lilly.
He also has a wonderful garden full of flowers and trees of all kinds which he shares with us daily. I often so intrigued by the background scenery I forget to listen what he’s saying. ?
Kaimoana your story if little Gubbins made me laugh. I remember so well my DGC putting their hands of their parents mouths to stop them talking. ?
Aunt Minnie in her 70s….well she didn’t look it.
Please try not to overdo things. I’m glad you are going to bed and resting when you feel like it. Your twinkling lights sound nice. Sweet dreams.?
Mamissimo of I hope Fergal doesn’t bring you in some poor pigeon as a present.
Ooh MrM is skating on thin ice. Poor you having gone to all that trouble. I’ll keep my eye out for him Mamissimo but I doubt he’d last long here. No lovely chicken pie for starters. Perhaps a day of my cooking would make him realise when he’s well off ?. Hopefully a visit from your DS will cheer you both up and keep MrM occupied.
Grammaretto not really but DH is a good patient he very seldom moans.
Glad you are on your way though I hope you’ve arrived by now (and not in Italy ?) . What glorious scenery and a lovely sunset. Hope you have a safe journey and a good time.
I’ve been wrapping up presents on the ironing board this evening. I raise it to its highest level so I don’t have to bend my back. Somehow I always seem to end up with my fingers stuck together with sellotape. All on me and non on the parcel.

Just as I was finishing typing DH got up from the armchair, started to cough and then staggered almost falling over twice before he grabbed the back of the sofa to steady himself. I was up out of my chair in an instant, iPad went flying. I thought he was about to collapse but no, he says, the coughing just made him lose his balance for a minute and he’s fine.
He certainly knows how to keep me on my toes. ?

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What a patient nurse you are Mamissimo and Doodle too.
I'm still in the train. I'm enjoying the sunset and earlier we raced past Lindisfarne.
Someone did ask me if I needed to be woken.
The Gasmen, there are two, arrived and were shown in.
The announcement s were in a Geordie accent but now we seem to be in Italy!

Good morning ?

As I tripe this I'm watching a fat pigeon being stalked by Fergal who is feigning ignorance of the grey squirrel watching him from the shed roof.....hm.....time to open and shut the kitchen door to break his train of thought!

Mr M had a close shave with the leg of lamb last night. I asked him what he fancied to eat and he asked for a chicken pie......while I put up the tree, answered the phone three times, sorted out the world and the children I made the pie.....come supper time he lifted his fork...idly dabbed at a few bits of meat and told me he didn't have much appetite. I was unamused....and he was surprised that I didn't seem to realise how poorly he is!!!

Doodle you're a coper....he's in the post with enough stamps over his mouth to cover the cost. Not signed for so check your mat!

DS is coming to lunch to tell us about his recent trip to Poland. I'm going to serve the remains of the pie with salad to cheer Mr M up.... get my revenge.

I also have to take H Beagle to get her claws done and a bath.

A day with some promise!

Boadicea Just be thankful you didn't sow dragon's teeth! Think of the weeds which sprung from those

Skyped early with my son and Gubbins and she was running about for a while, the little chicken, but then wanted picking up.

A few minutes later, she decided Daddy was talking too much and started waving her hand in front of his face and using her, 'Excuse me, I want attention' squeak.

When Dada ignored her, she put her hand over his mouth, at the same time kissing his cheek to soften the blow.
I suspect she's only pretending to be a baby and is actually a little old wumman.

Alan Tichmarsh got that saying from my Auntie Minnie who knew they were wild flowers not weeds, and each had its use.
By the way Doodle in that photo I posted, she was in her seventies, the little raver.

Like Boadicea but without the same excuse because I'm not taking medication for my heart problem, I am exhausted too. In fact, I'm about to go back to bed right now.
But my bedroom at least looks festive as I've put twinkling lights in it.

Yoo-hoo! Where is everyone?
I miss you all, come back please

Doodle - thank you for the picture! The hens look very well cared-for and loved. My girls have a snug area indoors, out of the rain, too, but they are, shall we say, willful, and WILL go out and peck about in the drizzle.
And thank you for the Tichmarsh wisdom - he is so right...it's just that when the docks come up en masse and make a right mess of my lawn, I feel, like Mamissimo, a murderous urge ...

Boadicea I was thinking of you yesterday when I watched my usual morning service online from Canterbury Cathedral. The Dean has many, many birds and animals in his garden and yesterday he did the service from one of the bird runs. Normally they run round outside but because of the avian flu they are kept undercover at the moment. I took a picture to show you.
Oh I loved the story of little Bella and her dress. I bet she was so pleased. It must be sad for you not to see them more often especially when they are young as they change so much.
Sorry you’re not feeling too great. Hope the new medicine settles down soon. Have a lovely time with your U3A group.
Don’t worry about the weeds. Alan Titchmarsh says weeds are just flowers growing in the wrong place. ?

Grammaretto - what I can't understand is why you have not been driven to distraction (or to a wee dram, purely medicinal, naturally) by all this! Everything crossed, sending mental images of the perfection you just might come home to! I hope you have a safe trip and a wonderful visit.
Doodle-loved the story of the sausage. These little incidents make history come alive, don't they?
My daughter in Adelaide sent me photos of Bella, aged 3, in her pretty M&S party dress just received from Granny. She was so thrilled by her dress that she refused to take it off and wore it to bed last night. She's an absolute darling, and as pretty as her Mummy. I have no idea when I will see her, and her adorable little brother, aged 18 months, again...so sad. I had a week with them in June, meeting little Freddie for the first time.
Blood tests (for MrJ) done, in preparation for yet another trip to the distant hospital for yet another MRI. I hope that they will get it sorted this time. I'm supposed to be at the U3A picnic, but new heart meds have bowled me over, and with my French group coming here tomorrow, I need to "sober up" as it were.
The garden is a total mess from all the rain and the gales of last night. No energy today to sort it, so it'll just have to stay that way. How is it possible that you pull out a weed, turn around, and a new one, full formed, has sprung from the ground? Or for plants to grow 3 inches overnight? I must go out and check on the plums and their survival after the storm. I see the birds have had a wonderful time wth the first figs of the season, though they did consent to allow me one. Just one. But when I see Mrs Thrush out there with snails she has pulled from under the flax bushes, busily bashing them on the paving stones, I can forgive them anything.
Right, time for coffee and a sit-down. Have a restful night, everyone.

Graammaretto we were obviously typing at the same time.
Fingers crossed everything goes well for your visit to your son.
Ooh the gasman commeth too. I think you are exceeding your allocation of workmen.
Well I for one hope the little elves get to work and fix your cooker for you while you’re away.
Yes we do have wi fi in England ? but please don’t use it all. Make sure there’s some left for me.

DH is a bit better today thank you all.
I made him stay in while I did the Christmas shopping. I came back laden with bags after collecting ordered items and doing a M&S shop. Phew.
Grammaretto ooh a plumber and an electrician. I wonder what they will come up with. Do you have to pay extra to have two at a time?
Mamissimo I think I have enough to cope with with DH in his own. Not sure I could manage MrM too.
I’m glad he is a bit better, even if he won’t admit to it.
Your sleuthing skills made me laugh. Caught out by a packet of hoopla hoops. I wonder if he shared with Honey Beagle and Fergal. When you say arranged to your satisfaction downstairs I hope you mean all 3 are on the naughty step for leaving everything up to you to sort out.
Wow you must be so proud of what your girls have achieved.
Hope MrM is in his best behaviour for the rest of the day. I don’t fancy his chances of avoiding the leg of lamb if he’s not.?
Boadicea yes DH is much better thanks. He has these odd episodes when he seems to go down hill quickly. I have to keep my eye on him ?.
I don’t really have many war tales but I do remember another about a sausage. My mum was sitting with my dad and his numerous brothers round the table (war time) and there was one sausage left on the plate. They all eyed it up and made a quick stab at it with their forks. The sausage ended up in the milk jug.
Oh your description of Kaimoana clinging to the tree made me laugh. I can just picture it. If anyone could turn it into a picture book it would be the lady herself. How about it Kaimoana? The Adventures of Gubbins Grandma ?
Sorry to hear your son has had trouble with flooding Boadicea . Hopefully his home is ok.
Good luck with the blood tests. Hope you are both ok.
Enjoy the Christmas shopping. I’ve done mine …….she says smugly ?

I love coming on here and reading such descriptive accounts of all your daily happenings.

Here I wonder what else will prevent me going to visit DS tomorrow. Train is booked and not yet cancelled. ✓.
They are expecting me.✓. All I have to do is pack my bag. ✓

Oh but fancy! The gas man is coming tomorrow. Not today but tomorrow while I am on the train.

A friend is going to let him in and best possible scenario would be if I came home at the weekend to find everything done and dusted. New cooker in place and working. Old cooker removed. New radiator fitted. That is not going to happen but it would be wonderful.

I hope the Dude is feeling OK Doodle. Did you enlist the nursing skills offered by Mamissimo?
The picture of MrM in bed with the cat and the beagle is priceless.

I may be able to keep in touch . You have WiFi in England don't you?

Oh, Mamissimo! (tugs forelock) We are in the presence of greatness! What very clever daughters you have! I've never met a Geographical Fellow before! The hula hoop thing made me hoot with laughter - isn't that just typical of blokes! And the image of you arranging them to your satisfaction downstairs, like Kaimoana's plucky saving of the tree will live with me for a ,ong time.
It rained. And rained. Last night, I mean. This morning the sun is out. The steam is rising off the garden, and I can just hear those nasty little fungi and bugs attacking my fruit and tomatoes. It's going to be hot. And sticky. The Aucklanders are arriving en masse today, with lockdown lifted and school out for the summer. Our town is literally taken over by holiday makers in the summer months.
My poor feathered girls were looking miserable and bedraggled this morning, but happy to see some sun after all the rain. My DS who lives down towards Wellington sent me pictures of the flooding in his basement and garden. That's gong to take some cleaning up.
We're off out for blood tests and to do the Christmas shop-up...trying to avoid the crowds by an early start. So, girls, cheers until later. Keep warm and dry.

Good lunch time ?

Oh Doodle I feel your concern.....if you would like the Dude to be nursed in company I could scare him back to good health drop Mr M over any time that suits!

Mr M is stubbornly refusing to admit that he feels threatened better but he most certainly is! That man was ruined by his mother.....I did the 40 mile round trip to the hospital this morning for a routine MRI scan for myself and was home by 11 to find him in bed with Honey Beagle and Fergal Cat......all three snoring! I soon put paid to that game and all 3 have been fed, watered, toileted and arranged to my satisfaction downstairs.

(I know he's fine because I found an empty packet of hoola hoops in the bedroom bin.....he'd been down and got them while was out....)

Boadicea proud Mama moment warning ⛔️ my DD1 was the youngest girl ever to be awarded a Fellowship by the Royal Geographical Society....followed ten seconds later by her twin sister..? in the physical Geography world they're well respected but at home.....nah!

Mr M has now asked for the lunch menu so I offered him curried eggs or a seaweed stir fry.....he's settled for a ham sandwich
?

Doodle oh my goodness! What a scare! Could it have been an allergic reaction? Just shows how useful an oxymeter is to have around the house. I really hope he is tucked up in bed and snoring peacefully now. I loved the story of your Mum refusing to give up her cake - that's the British bulldog spirit in action! Do you have any other stories about life in the Blitz? All these little gems...
Mamissimo - how is your blood pressure doing, with the invalid?? A murderous glint, indeed! Hmm...Don't kids today study interesting things in Geography! Plate tectonics hadn’t been invented when I was at school. Glad your daughters could use the link - that little video clip is really good. Fancy having TWO Geographers in the family! You’ll never get lost, and can have everything about tricky stuff like oxbow lakes explained to you! (I never studied Geography properly, so it’s all a mystery.) I had a chuckle about the nurse, and her “15.10 h”.
Kaimoana - the image of you holding on to a tree and lashing it to a fence while being lifted off your feet by a cyclone is quite something – wouldn’t that make a wonderful, illustrated, children’s book? “How brave Kaimoana saved the tree”. That was interesting about the Egyptians and the 24-hour clock – I never really thought about it, but someone had to think about it, and it was after all the Egyptians!
MrJ has a movie ready to go that he REALLY wants to see, so I’ll stop there. Rain lashing outside, wet cats all over the floor…perfect for a rip-snorter. Nighty night

Oh dear poor Dude and poor Doodle
What a frightening time. Well done coping so calmly with the incident. Here's hoping you are ok now. I hope you had some lunch!

I had great excitement this evening. A plumber came to the house! He didn't do anything but he and the electrician talked and he will call back tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath.
Hope all you Gang-stars are ok tonight

Well, we had an eventful morning. We were going for lunch with friends and looking forward to it.
DH had a good night’s sleep and was fine when he got up.
Just before breakfast he started coughing and got really short of breath and started shaking and getting cold. My mind immediately went to sepsis again and I wrapped him up in a blanket, gave him paracetamol, checked temperature (high but not dangerous) and then phoned to cancel lunch.
Oxymeter gave a low reading so I considered phoning the GP but after about 20 minutes he seemed better and has been improving ever since. Temperature now normal, oxygen levels ok and cough has been quiet for a while. What caused it I don’t know but I am keeping a close eye on him (yes Kaimoana very close ?) so no going out.
GP has issued more steroids so hopefully they will start to help soon.
Mamissimo I hope MrM is ok and doing well.
Take care all

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Thanks Kaimoana but DH seems no worse for getting wet yesterday. Still coughing but he is not ill as such.
That chocolate log looks nice. DH would love it. I’m not so keen on sweet things .
I’m glad the Tsunami was no more than a small wave.
only you would tie down a tree in a storm…..well actually I might do too. Trees are very special.
Not sure I’d be calm if I knew a big storm was coming.
My mum, however, during the war, heard the air raid sirens (she lived in London where there was a lot of bomb damage). She refused to abandon a cake she was baking as it had taken all her coupons for the ingredients so just stayed in the kitchen with it until it was cooked. On a separate occasion they had 3 paving stones come through the roof of the house and end up in the hall.
Mamissimo. I have contributed to Soop’s fund too. I have “known” her for many years now. I do hope enough is raised for her operation as her quality of life is deteriorating day by day. Why the NHS won’t do it is beyond me. As I have a poorly DH of my own to look after, perhaps I will give your auction a miss.
Poor you and poor MrM . I hope he’s not in pain……er, you haven’t hit him with the frozen leg of lamb yet have you? ?

Good Morning ?

I'm holding a silent auction with a dubious prize to raise money for Soop's Happy Christmas Fund. Place your bid now to win one elderly, groaning, grumpy and petulant convalescent......*Mr M*.

I am yet again nominated as the World's Worst Nurse because I ask too many questions/don't seem to want to know about his experience/drive over a pothole in the dark/park too far from the front door/ provide the wrong kind of water/type too much on my iPad.....and apparently I have a murderous glint in my eye! if he's not careful I'll put Exlax in his Nutella.

Boadicea my twin geographer daughters both thank you for your link. They currently are both teaching Plate Techtonics to year 9.....

Must dash....Mr M wishes that I help him down the stairs....⛑

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/a-slow-burning-quake-is-unfolding-beneath-kapiti/QLS6IQDOEMN6X3OIQFX3RRZCAE

G'day Gang.
Doodle I hope you and MrD didn't suffer from the soaking as he already had a cough too, how's that going?

Bûche de Noël is what peasants like me call Chocolate Log but it's a light, flourless confection containing (according the the BBC recipe) well over 600g of sugary naughtiness plus cream, nuts maybe and chocolate - and that's not counting the alcohol people often sometimes add. Definitely off the menu for diabetic like moi.
Very, very yummy though.

The 24 hour clock dates back to the ancient Egyptians and we still use it today, especially when dealing with large groups of people, as in the military and hospitals, where many confused people can be found.

"You'll have your enema at 3:15" is very different from
"You have your tea an Bûche de Noël at 15.10." - and not just because the Bûche de Noël goes in a different end.

I too watched the progress of that tsunami about which the authorities were so hysterical - and laughed as BJ did that when it hit NZ it was little more than a ripple. We’d been told it was the Wave of Doom, destined to cause millions of dollar’s-worth of damage.

My first earthquake was in Dunedin in 1974 when all my decorative plates flew of the Delft rack as the house rocked from side to side.
Animals know because they hear on different frequencies to humans. Whales can hear other whales up to 4,000 miles away, in good conditions. That’s astonishing, like someone in London being able to hear a shout in Mongolia.
I can’t even hear my washing machine 10 metres away down the corridor

I once rushed out into a hurricane, lashing rain, wild, wild winds, to save a precious tree which was in danger of being uprooted. I tied it to the fence as my neighbour opposite shouted to me to get inside where I was safe. The winds were 110 kph, easily fierce enough to uplift a 10ft tree but not a hefty Yorkshire lass.
I did feel in need of a nice hot shower and a cuppa decaf afterwards though.

I also have a photo of a tornado twister heading towards my house but it must have seen something easier to tackle because it decided to take the roofs off homes in Henderson 11km away instead.

But today is calm, 19 degrees and the rain is soaking my thirsty plants.

And my laundry.

Grammaretto you are one of many I know who are getting concerned that their Christmas and family visiting plans will be thwarted by the new outbreak of Covid.
I hope you make it safely, How far south are you going?
We are due to have lunch with friends in Monday and Thursday. I wonder if those will go ahead too.
I wonder what sort of sense it is that animals have of impending danger.
Mamissimo that’s good news. I do hope you are back home safely now and MrM is not in pain or discomfort.
Hope you both have a good sleep tonight. If MrM is too demanding I will send Jeeves to help. Hope all went well.

Went to get DHs meds from pharmacy this afternoon and got wet by constant drizzle. It wasn’t cold or raining much but surprising how wet we got.
Spent this morning making lasagne (DHs favourite to cheer him up) and with the leftover mince made some beef burgers with carrot and breadcrumbs and egg to bind them together. I was very pleased with myself when I slid the trays in the oven only to see the egg sitting quietly on the worktop laughing at me. They turned out ok though and were tasty and moist so the egg can be used for something else. ?

Wet and dull here today but not cold fortunately as a trip to the chemist was in order.
Boadicea I have never lived anywhere where there was threat of natural disaster. I’m glad you have some high ground to retreat to even if it wasn’t needed.
I like the idea of your ladyshed, complete with tea making facilities ?.
What a fascinating story. I’m not sure how I’d feel with the possibility of earthquake or tsunami. Is it something you can accept as part of living in such a beautiful place?
I’m afraid I have no idea what a bunch de Noel is and will have to look it up but how lovely that you will have it provided for free by the cafe. Your group will love it I’m sure.

Good news I hope Mamissimo .
Thinking of you and MrM.

Good Morning ?

Mr M has had his operation and I can collect him at 15.10 - the nurse honestly said 15.10! I've got my stopwatch running as he won't want to be waiting! hope they're going to help to heave him into the car as he will be a tad comatose.

We were up at 5.30 to get him there for 7.30 so I'm off for a quick snooze so that I can cope with answering the Master's bell nursing duties.

Hello Gang,

Glad to see you back on dry land Doodle. I like watching boats too and loved the photo Jan
I am getting anxious that my trip south next week won't go ahead for either covid or weather reasons - or both!

Several lunches and celebrations have been cancelled. Perhaps I should cancel the pottery tomorrow?

The moth freezer left this morning and in its place is a patch of carpet eaten away by moths. Some irony there.

I can just imagine the stink of the rotting seaweed and fish. BoadiceaJ. I think I will stick to my own compost and leaf mould.
Findhorn foundation in Northern Scotland was famous for its huge vegetables grown next to the sea.

Thankyou for the geography and geology lesson.
Interesting about the birds.
Just before the first Christchurch earthquake in 2010, my cousin said the cat left the house. She was relatively unscathed that time - their chimney came down but it was the big one in 2011 when she had to leave the city. The building where she worked was destroyed as she was out getting a snack for her lunch.

I am confident that Mother Earth will survive. Not sure about the human race though