The Lockdown Gang - still chatting ?

Bon Voyage! Doodle and the Dude.
I hope you have a lovely time and didn't leave any essentials behind.
We sang our song at the Folk club. Here is Pete Seeger doing it:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbwQXVcbkU0
She sang most verses in German but we did 2 together in English, with the help of a borrowed guitar.

Yarn group today so I shall leave Brunhilde to finish painting the chairs and to help my garden girl. I shall visit DMiL later.
Still no sign of Sparky.
How is everyone else doing?

Speaking of mushrooms, or at least fungi - I thought someone had strewn tissues on my garden until a friend told me they were fungi.

At the top you can see the grating which caused such a furore when I covered it with netting to stop newly hatched ducklings falling down.

I believe much room omelette is a rare treat….almost as good as a mushroom one. ?

Grammaretto Brunhilde seems to have different talents to Cushie. I hope your singing duo is a success. Perhaps she takes a while to settle in.
We never made a cake in,our bread maker but I know some who have.
I have had much room omelette before but with ginger? That’s a combination I would never have thought of.
Your photo is lovely. What a beautiful place you live. How nice to have such lovely countryside close at hand.
It hasn’t been so sunny today. We have been waiting for rain all day but it hasn’t materialised yet.
Packing is now done so apart from things we need to sort in the morning we are ready.
I can’t understand those who can pack a suitcase and just go. We have one small case that’s almost totally medication and another with shoes that feel comfy for our aching feet.
I thought I had been minimalistic in my packing but now I look at the suitcase and think…why am I taking so much. It’s only a week. Blink and we’ll be back.
Up at 6am tomorrow. ?
Kaimoana good for Gubbins not eating chocolate. I do like a piece of dark chocolate with my coffee but don’t really go much for sweets.
I’ve eaten pumpkin seeds and enjoyed them but never thought of doing my own.
Very sleepy this evening. I’ve had problems with my tinnitus the last few days so sleep has been restricted, I’m hoping tonight I can drop off quickly before the noise seeps into my brain.
I will post when I can gang as the internet will be a bit hit and miss but whether or not you hear from me I will be thinking of you all x

I do like this time of year though it is still quite cold. I shouldn't have switched the central heating off It is sunny and doesn't get dark until 9pm.

Brunhilde has been painting my garden chairs today and they are looking good. Tonight we have said we will sing a song at the folk club! I hope they will have forgotten because we have had no rehearsals.
I have loaned her out like a slave owner to the Community shop this afternoon and she also wants to make a cake in the breadmaker or the microwave.

How are you muse? feeling better I hope.

No chocolate for Gubbins Doodle but I suppose what you never have, you never miss.

I was very frugal with the sugary stuff when my own boys were young but as soon as they had their own pocket money, at 10 years old, first thing they bought was a Mars bar.

I found it, half-eaten and abandoned - they preferred fruit after all. :-)

The Devon holiday sounds lovely Mamissimo just what you needed

For the first time, I've roasted the seeds from a pumpkin.
Followed the lengthy and somewhat messy process and they are tasty but so much effort for such meagre results!

Grammaretto it must uplift your soul to be so near to such rural beauty - and lambs.

Hello Gang,

Well you are all up to something, that's for sure. I love the sound of the rambling Devonshire house. Mamissimo. I hope you get to eat out plenty.

Brunhilde cooked me a lovely tea tonight. An omelette with mushrooms and ginger and we went for a walk.
I'm glad you enjoyed the sunshine on the balcony Doodle.
What a lovely family DGS and Gubbins Kaimoana.
I went on a long walk this morning on part of the Southern Upland Way. It was very pretty.
Oh dear Boadicea your wild weather sounds a bit frightening.
I'm having hot chocolate and watching an old movie.

Boadicea seems strange to hear you talking of wild weather whilst I’m sitting in the sunshine in our balcony.
I hope you and all the chickens are ok. I can’t imagine the Mean girls are too impressed by being locked up even if it’s for their own good.
Enjoy your transcribing.
Mamissimo just what you need, a nice dose of sunshine and a rest. I didn’t realise you were all going. How wonderful. I hope peace reigns and you all have a lovely time.
I should think eating out would be good. You deserve a rest too.
Kaimoana a little improvement in Gubbins sleep pattern is a positive. Love the pic of your DGS in the bunny ears.
Yes I see Gubbins has her shopping bag at the ready. Plenty of room for chocolates in there.
I hope you and your DGS have a lovely time when he comes to stay. I’m sure you will both enjoy yourselves enormously.
Grammaretto I wonder what you and Brunhilde are up to today. Have you been gardening again?

Good morning ?

It's a glorious sunny one here on the edges of Dartmoor and we are up early to do holiday stuff......

We have rented a huge place that sleeps 12 and is splendid.....until you want to cook anything! I have two ovens....but no roasting dish for my leg of lamb! The saucepans are big enough for one carrot and three peas. Nothing for it, we will be forced to eat out ?

Enjoy your days......

Happy Monday everyone

My dgs is coming at the end of this week Doodle and whilst I have plans to set up a Test Kitchen to trial some of the (very easy) things in the cookbook I've put together for him, we may get a little distracted or lazy.

Gubbins is sleeping a little better: 2-3 hours a night in between scream for "Dada!!"

She had bunny ears for Easter and looked cute - they lasted 5 seconds before she yanked them off with a 'what is this nonsense?' look.

Needless to say, they were worn...by my dgs as he made family breakfast.

Gubbins is hunting eggs which have fluffy chicks inside.

What's the collective noun for chicks? Oops the rabbits stole it.

Yes BJ ANZAC Day next Monday. I wonder if dgs will be game to go to a 6am service?

Wild, wild weather here...the tail end of another tropical cyclone slamming into the garden. It's warm and very wet. Thank goodness we left the bracings on the trees, or we'd have no grapefruit or mandarin trees left. Got to go out and check on the Girls shortly...they will be very miserable about being confined to barracks.
I'm so very sorry about those gang members who are suffering ill-health just now. Those antivirals sound magical, Mamissimo. Have a lovely break in glorious Devon.
Doodle - take good care of yourself, and enjoy the build-up to your holiday. Well-deserved choc-feast, too!
Beautiful dolphins, Kaimoana! Talk later, shall we?
Going to spend the day transcribing letters and diaries, inspired by the rapid approach of ANZAC day. Perfect weather for it.

Keep well and happy, everyone.

Happy Easter all.
Ooh I’d love to have a fluffle of bunny wabbits. That sounds really cuddly.
I think I’ll give the lemurs a wide berth ?
Having given up chocolate for lent, today I had a hot chocolate for lunch. I’m having chocolate ice cream for pudding and a piece of chocolate with my after dinner coffee. ?
Boadicea please wish Maureen , Doreen, Flora and Jill a happy Easter from me too. Tell them thank you for the eggs but could they lay chocolate ones for me next time!
Grammaretto hope you and Brunhilde are enjoying the Easter sunshine.

How lovely Boadicea happy Easter to you too and all Lobstars.

And a very Happy Easter from them!
Love from Maureen, Doreen, Flora and Jill. xx

I discovered yesterday that the collective noun for a group of rabbits is a "fluffle", and for lemurs, it's a "conspiracy".
Don't you love useless facts?

Happy Easter, everyone!

Kaimoana .
When is your DGS coming over? Have you great cooking plans for his visit?
Mamissimo I can understand how you and Marydoll feel. After fighting so hard to avoid Covid to finally succumb but have had the antivirals and vaccinations must be something of a relief. Get over this and you can relax a bit.
Glad MrM has finally tested negative. Enjoy your time in Devon. Lovely place. Where abouts are you going?
Have a lovely time with the family (hope everyone gets on ok ?) Relax and enjoy yourselves.
Grammaretto I’m sure your lovely family would take care of you and I’m sure you are more precious to them than your realise. I think you must be a fantastic grandma. All the things you do with your DGC.
I think what you need are more Cushies. Or as you say two at a time to keep themselves company. How long do you have Brunhilde with you?
How’s the knitting coming on?
What a lovely evening with you DF. Fish and chips and wine. That would do me fine. ?
DH and I are back isolating. We have found out that near neighbours have tested positive for Covid. As we are due to sail soon we thought we would keep ourselves to ourselves. Been a lovely day weather wise. Been on the balcony a lot sunning myself.
Holiday packing doing ok. Both of us having trouble finding trousers that fit due to weight increase.
Hope all the gang past and present have a good weekend.

Ah a relief for the Mamissimos!
I can imagine a weight has been lifted.
I musn't have any friends because despite going on buses, mingling at cafes but no cuddling, I have not yet succumbed and I had a teary moment when I wondered who would look after me if I did get ill!
Other people manage don't they so it must be possible.
Have a joyous time in Devon.

My tenants have gone to Somerset for a week's camping.
Brunhilde is trying to be helpful. I think it is just that she is young, she doesn't know anything. I have had to show her how to sow seeds, transplant, rake and compost. Now to teach her how to mow the lawn.
I wonder if it might be easier to have no more helpers for a while. They seem to require a lot of maintenance. Or better to have 2 who can entertain eachother.
This one is a bit like Bob-a-Job, tenfold. (sigh)
At least the weather is better today - not like England - but proper gardening weather! It also stays light well into the evenings now.
My df came for supper last night (fish and chips) and a bottle of German wine. We watched the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie as it is set in Edinburgh and although dated, that art master would have been arrested for child abuse is still rather good.

More Yeay from me today as Mr M has tested negative so we're running away to Devon for a week's r&r. The children, dogs and assorted husbands are coming too so we'll kill each other have a nice post covid break!

Marydoll said on the GM thread this morning that she feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders by actually getting covid. I completely concur- two years of waiting and now I've done it. Perhaps my world will feel a little less anxious for a while.

Enjoy the sun!

Yay! Mamissimo

Just stay where you are though, moan a little bit, ask for a hot water bottle and hold the thermometer on it then show everyone your high temperature.
Say 'I think I could eat a little chicken and some fruit, can you bring it to me?'

Ask for a bell, ring it often and explain you need more liquids....whatever take your fancy...and assure them the anti-virals allow champagne.



Glad you're feeling so much better.

Mammissimo that’s great news. So pleased for you and what a relief.
How is MrM doing is he still coughing. I hope you can relax a bit now and enjoy what looks like being a sunny weekend.
Oh Muse that’s a shame. Still with 10 days to go hopefully you will be testing negative soon. I hope you have a mild version and are not too poorly.
A nice walk in the sun with Mya will do you good. I really hope you get your trip and have fingers and everything crossed for you.
Ooh dolphins Kaimoana lovely. I have seen dolphins on one of our cruises. We had a pod of mum and dad and 5 smaller ones keeping pace with the cruise ship and diving up out of the water. I’m surprised the ship stayed upright with all the people dashing to one side to watch them.
Grammaretto glad you got your laptop fixed. Lost posts are so annoying.
I think Sparky really should get his act together. It’s about time you had a working kitchen.
We had a bread maker for many years and DH used to bake us a loaf every day. Wonderful. Hope you enjoy using it.
What a lovely natural time you have with your DGC. Pottery, collecting wool and spinning. They must love their visits.
Have you got a pair (set ?) of bagpipes? I think that could be instrumental (sorry for the pun) in getting Brunhilde out of bed and working. Hope she’s not going to be a pain.
We’ve been for a lovely walk in the sunshine and are now sitting on our balcony with a glass of Chardonnay watching the world go by.
There are two blackbirds on the lawn having a tussle over some tasty morsel (they are birds and black, hence blackbirds but they might be anything)
People sailing past in their boats. Good weather on a bank holiday weekend means the boats are out.
Kaimoana I hope you’ve recovered a bit from your traumatic day and are getting ready for the arrival of your DGS.
Have a peaceful and relaxing weekend all.

I love those dolphins!
I wrote a long post last night, with good wishes and sympathy for all the miseries our Lockdown Gang has had to endure, but it vanished when I tried to add a photo.
I am back on my laptop today, thanks to gransnetters' advice.

Sparky was here last night but am I any nearer having a working kitchen? who knows.
One of the potters had a "word" with him and that is possibly why I have seen him twice this week.
DSiL gave me her dad's breadmaker so I shall be able to bake bread with no cooker. DFiL used to bake all the family's bread.

The trip to the Highlands with DMiL was lovely apart from the return journey when I met traffic jams approaching Edinburgh. so a 2 hr trip lasted nearly 4hrs I later discovered there was a lorry on fire on the Bypass. I was avoiding the Bypass to find petrol as I suddenly realised the tank was almost empty so there may have been a good fairy watching over.
I am so sorry Kaimoana that you "missed" Heather's funeral through no fault of your own and had to suffer fear and frustration.

DGDs collected wool from the fences and I have brought it home to wash and card it so next visit we can spin. I'd better get a move on. Brunhilde isn't up yet.

Good Morning ???????

And what a fine covid free morning it is! I've tested negative and am hot to trot! Thank you clever science doctor people!

And thank you Kaimoana for the leg of Lamb.....will come in jolly useful for dealing with miscreants lunch on Easter Sunday ?

O happy day!

Dolphins:

www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/300566728/dolphins-delight-wellingtonians-as-pod-races-across-the-harbour

I would never, ever want you to be caput Mamissimo and hope you rapidly recover from the bug and the dreadful effects.
I'm sending you a leg of NZ Lamb to replace the one your family probably ate.

Good evening ?

Kaimoana I am so upset at your week and I've sent a screaming thwack to the taxi driver. How very dare he! I think I love your DgS.

Marydoll and I seem to share a similar wonky gene but were made of strong stuff! The antivirals seem to be doing their job but the side effects aren't pleasant. I've lost 5lbs in weight this week with the loss of taste and accompanying galloping gourmets. No bad thing!

DD tested negative this morning so we're making progress. Im five days behind the rest but I have a feeling I am almost clear of it. Poor Mr M is nodding off a lot and still coughing. He will test tomorrow too. I do hope he's clear!

Im just really thankful that by the time I got it I'd had four jabs and the antivirals were there for me. If I'd got it in the early days I would have bern caput.

Wishing you all a peaceful and safe Easter. X