The Lockdown GangSTARS still going

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Good ideas faifraise but for the fact I don't have a mobile phone or a working printer and large text doesn't work for me.

Oh dear Doodle I have sad memories of rocking chairs.
When I married, my mother gave me an old rocking chair which had sat, neglected in the attic all my life. It was the fashion to 'modernise' furniture so I told her I'd paint it white and re-upholster it. 'Fine' she said.
Not for the first time my mother conveniently forgot what she'd said and hit the roof when she saw it. I had desecrated our heritage.
I had it professionally restored to its original glory…but that episode had tainted it.

When I lived in rural Waitakere, a neighbour asked if I'd like the very plain rocking chair they were discarding. I said yes and he put it on the farm trailer to bring it down the hill to me.
He didn't secure it. It lurched off the trailer and was smashed to pieces.

I'd still love a rocking chair but it seems I jinx them.
The pictures shown are not my chairs but very similar.

I'm off to hobble up the road before the rain gets any worse.

I am glad to hear the Dude is doing well.
I didn't get to the show today. I began sneezing at breakfast then the nose started to run and I have been living on lemsips all day.
I took a covid test but it was negative.
Just a cold. I had forgotten what they were like.
I'm in charge of DGS this evening while his DP are out at a restaurant meeting their old chums and eating things DGS dislikes.
We shall have veggie meatballs with teriyaki sauce.
I possess an Ercol rocking chair but it isn't all that comfortable.
I have always fancied an Orkney chair.

Kaimoana certainly no rocking chair here but I have always wanted one. DH offered to buy me one once but after I sat in it for a while I felt sick so we didn’t buy it.
Well done for figuring out your cooker. You’ve had a busy day too.
Grammaretto I managed to turn on the child lock on my hob the other day (didn’t know it had one) and I couldn’t get it to work at all. Fortunately I keep all our manuals in a drawer so after ploughing my way through loads of them I finally found it and was able to fix the problem (didn’t find your deeds under them all though ?). Thank you for your nice comment on the Hero’s thread.
DH is doing well thanks for asking. Still coughing but otherwise ok.
Do you have plans for the bank holiday weekend with your family?

Well done on deciphering that manual Kaimoana. I have only managed some of the many functions on mine. Good advice from fairfraise I lost the manual so found one online.
Luckily the Kiwis have a very similar oven to mine so between us only a few things get burned each day
Doodle you are busy. How is the Dude?
We have to catch a bus soon and the Kiwis aren't up yet.

Kaimona you could perhaps download the manual online, and get it printed in large text, just in the English version. Or use your mobile to take a picture then enlarge the text, if that helps.

A busy day for you Doodle what a lot you accomplished!

Yuk, cold tea. Disgusting.

And Grammaretto too, with your home full of lovely guests. On the go Grannies there's no stopping us is there. Quiet retirement dozing in the rocking chair indeed!! Where does that delusion come from?

It has rained all day here, some of it torrential, so my walk was up and down the corridor between living room and garage - and it wasn't 30 minutes as I got side-tracked.

What engaged my thoughts was the feeling that I could discover for myself why the new cooker wouldn't work.

I have the manual but, as so often happens it is written in such unnecessarily tiny text that even with a magnifying glass it was hard to see. Also, as you may recall, text moves and undulates and I have to discipline my brain to make that stop.

But I did and discovered the On/Off switch must be pressed for a full 6 seconds before it responds.
I have no idea why it can't just turn on with one push.

I had to burn off the factory residue as instructed but while it was doing that, I assembled a tuna quiche, a slice of which I enjoyed with coleslaw.

In between I took several phone calls, wrote some notes for the book, folded and put away all the dry laundry and spoke by FBMessenger to an old friend in UK .

And now I'm going to retire to my boudoir (though not to sulk as that word implies) but to listen to an audio book and relax.

Tomorrow is another day

Kaimoana no one could accuse you of not trying. Three walks is good. I hope you get your cooker working soon.
Sounds so good…..working with my editor ?. So pleased for you.
Grammaretto must be nice to knit and natter but I would certainly not be able to do both at the same time. My knitting is a bit hit and miss at the best of times. What are the family up to at the moment are thy still staying with you?
I don’t drink tea at all so the thought of a cold cup of tea sounds dreadful to me ?
I’ve been busy all day. Church this morning with coffee and chat after which is always nice. Home for lunch then out at a meeting this afternoon. Then we went for a walk before dinner. Had a take away curry and now wondering how long I can stay a wake before bed.
I too hope Mr and Mrs BJ are ok. Hope we hear from Boadicea soon.
Sleep well all

Hello Gang,

We haven't heard from BJ recently. I hope things are OK.
Other Lobstars are missed too.

Well done on your walking Kaimoana. You are serious about the VAD aren't you
Exciting about the book progress.

I tried to catch up with the yarn group today but I was so busy chatting that the couple of rows I managed to knit will now have to be unpicked.

It was so lovely it was to have a cup of tea brought to me in bed this morning for the first time since DH died
DSis agreed and recalled how their young son brought them tea in bed and said, after they had gulped in horror, " Oh are you supposed to use hot water?"
I am thinking of investing in a teasmaid.

ixion an Oscar fan! I have that quote on my FB page as my motto...although I'm not quite in the gutter - yet.

This old ruin went for 3 walks today, short but sweet.

No sign of the electrician but he's a good, reliable man and thus very busy, so I'm not packing yet.

I too love that raku - gorgeous.

I'm reading a Jenny Colgan Grammaretto and she mentions a potter 'up from England' doing raku with children - and I thought of you.

Have been working with the editor on my book today. I think we have a polished draft.

The preliminary sketches for the illustrations are so cute.

I wonder how BJ and CPO are faring? I hope he's not back in hospital.

Grammaretto looking at the picture I thought it was like looking down into a cardboard box. Now I can see it’s a tile on a flat surface. As Fairfraise said it’s very pretty. I like the mix of colours. Children are always drawn to ruins and places they can hide in. Bet he and his pals had a good time there.

Thankyou fairfraise . It's a tile made by one of my DGDs and yes that's it finished.
The ruin was a small castle or fortified house. Doodle It has been ruinous for hundreds of years but lately has deteriorated.
DS was recalling his youth when he and his pals hung out there.
Good thing we parents were oblivious

Grammaretto my son is very good at putting things together so the IKEA shelving should soon be up in my DGDs room.
DH and I however are not so adept so we resort to different methods ? ?
The pottery looks pretty. Is that the finished piece?
Was the ruin a house? Time for a Jeeves restorative brew I think.

Mamissimo I haven’t been to IKEA for years. I didn’t know the stores were so big. I used to love going to The Ideal Home exhibition and go in the pretend houses there.
Glad you had such a fun day with the little ones. Hope Mr M returns safely from his voyage.
Kaimoana what a disappointment with your new cooker.
Hope it is fixed soon. My son used to take our DGDs to John Lewis on Sunday afternoons when they were little. They loved playing with all the toys and looking at the sofas and chairs.
ixion sorry your team isn’t doing well. Perhaps you should be like the Lionesses and don a pair of football shorts and go and show them how it’s done.
Hello fairfraise how are you?

Oh Grammaretto that raku pottery looks so good. I used to watch it on the Pottery Showdown programme and it seemed a really complicated procedure.

Oh no, Doodle. I certainly couldn't display our snazzy outfits without raising eyebrows somewhere along the the line?.
I think Kaimona that I would be better donning a team trainer's outfit, the way our boys are playing.
We may all be in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. In our case, Liverpool and Chelsea?.

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We did some Raku pottery today in the garden, and walked to a nearish ruin and now I am totally zonked.

Grammaretto We have our own version of IKEA, only better. Family bought/buy all their baby equipment there.

Mamissimo apart from the pleasure of your sweet dgc, I cannot imagine a scenario in which a Great Day Out, is spent in a store. Totally alien concept.

My new cooker is installed and looks bright and shiny. But doesn't work.
Electrician coming back to examine.

Good morning ?

I had a great day out in Ikea with the DGDs yesterday! They love the first floor with the pretend houses.....it brings out their nosey side natural curiosity and they had interesting views on what was cool.

Our branch has travelators to ride up he outside of the building and the smallest DGD (3) immediately christened them robot stairs. Can't argue with that!

We had a meatball lunch and bought......a bag of Daim sweets and four boxes of resealable plastic bags which I use for freezing our crops.

No tears, plenty of walking, they slept all the way home! Great day out!

Mr M comes home either tomorrow night or Thursday morning so today I guess I'd better put his house back how he likes it and fill the fridge with his preferred solid olde English food and do some laundry ?

But now you have to put them together! Mamissimo and Doodle
Do they have IKEA in NZ?
#notflatpackqueen

Ixion I can just picture you in your cheerleaders outfit. ?
Kaimoana you are such a prolific cook. I do hope you can continue what you obviously enjoy doing. What a lot you prepared for your family at the weekend. It is obviously something you have passed onto your DGS.
Glad your son fixed all your gadgets. Hope you had a good walk.
Jan I’m another that doesn’t cook anymore. I make brownies for my DGS and made a cake for his mums birthday and that’s about it. DH and I eat very simply in the evening so not a lot of cooking required.
I’m so sorry you had Covid for so long. You must have been quite badly affected. I was testing negative after 5 days. It does take a lot out of you though so I’m not surprised you’re still tired. I’m still coughing too and DH . Not as badly as we were before. Hope you are feeling better soon.
It’s funny what searches come up with sometimes isn’t it. Lots of Lobstars here during lockdown not so many lobsters ? ?
Grammaretto your family gathering sounds like a great success for all concerned. The young cousins having fun and the adults enjoying a chat in the evening. I’m sure your MIL must have loved being with everyone.
Hope you continue to enjoy the company of your NZ family.
Mamissimo my son and DGD spent many hours at IKEA on Sunday. If I’d known you were going I could have sent you a list. What have you been buying ?

Good morning ?

Does anyone need anything from IKEA?

Hello Gang,
I hope everyone had a nice weekend.
It sounds like you did Kaimoana . Your family is lucky to have a built in baker and teacher!
The family gathering was really good. It's a joy to watch the DGC playing happily together and when they left or went to bed we adults could drink wine and eat all the leftovers. A bit like Christmas in Summer.
DH's mum, our matriarch was star of the show and she entranced the lodgers who had not met her before.
Jan ours are roe deer and they go for the geraniums! They have stripped the plum tree's
lower branches but we collected a bucket full of fruit to freeze.
The family who came last week for pottery are due to come back on their way South to collect their art work.i had better get a move on.

Kaimoana I’m very impressed by all your cooking. I’m getting so lazy nowadays. When I think of all the cooking and baking I used to do when the girls were young and now apart from dinner every night virtually nothing! We used to have friends over for meals a few years ago but now it’s so easy to go to the local pub! You’re doing very well with your walking. So hope you get your guide dog. It will make life so much easier for you and how lovely to have a furry friend living with you. Good luck.
Haven’t done much socially recently. Have to admit the wretched Covid was far worse than I had expected. DH was only off colour for a day or so but it took 2 weeks before I tested negative and I’m still struggling to find any energy and still coughing as though I smoke 60 a day!
Grammaretto. We too have deer or muncjacs that come in our garden. Unfortunately they like to eat flowers and plants. We had some beautiful pansies in a tub. Planted them one afternoon and in the morning all the heads were bitten off! They also enjoyed feasting off our Bizzie Lizzies! The runner beans went the same way. They are so sweet though - well to look at!
I’m sure this is just me but has anyone else when trying to find our Lockdown page found themselves directed to where to buy Lobsters during Lockdown!!

ixion photos please!

Almost all the cooking and baking was done before they arrived Doodle although dgs made the crumble topping for the apple & blueberry which was going home with them for tomorrow.

He also put together a simple dessert: baked banana and marshmallow parcels from my friend Joanne's cookbook, 'Never Trust a Skinny Cook.'
I think it was the first low-fat dessert book I ever read, published 22 years ago.

I made two loaves of sunflower seed bread and an apple cake with almond icing, most of which was devoured by the family, although I think a small chunk of the latter went home with the 24 muesli bars and the Banana Fruit Loaves.

Every time I bake I wonder how long it will be before I can't but it's such a joy to do.

DS and dgs washed all the pots and plates but the afternoon was cut short as Gubbins, who has a cough, had been socialising with Mama and friends all morning and was due a nap, so a wee bit tired. As she won't sleep here, they went home.

DS did wonders with the wretched devices; all I have to do now is learn how to use them.

The sun is still shining but for how long I wonder I better go for that walk.

And that's my day!

You should spearhead a cheerleading team: short frilly dresses, low cut tops, lots of sparkles and sexy dancing. grin

Aha Kaimona. Maybe me and my Fab Footie Friend are doing that already??
Well, at least til it gets colder. Beats over-60s exercise classes any day!

Kaimoana it’s not an expression I’ve ever heard of either.
Oh Gubbins I can just see her wanting to be a dragon.?
How nice to be asked to contribute to the school lunches. You’ve had a busy day at home. Hope the weather is better for walking tomorrow.
What a shame about your earring. Is it possible it’s caught up in your clothes somewhere?
Are you and your DGS cooking tomorrow or will you have done it all before they arrive?
Thanks for the link to the festival. I will have a look.
Another warm day here today. DH and I went for a walk and we’re about 50ft from our front door when we met an acquaintance we hadn’t seen for a few months. Three quarters of an hour later we made it through the front door!
Going for a meal with family tomorrow so no cooking which will be nice.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.