The Lockdown GangSTARS still going

Hello Kaimona . We had exactly the same chair, only in a figured red plush material, in the attic of my childhood home. It always creaked when we sat in it!

I think there were a lot of those around way back then fairfraise.

Just to avoid confusion - I do have a new mobile phone and a printer but neither work until my DS can come over to program them.
The phone will have Voice-to-Text installed, so it won't matter that I can't see it.

Again, just passing through, sorrysorrysorry... It's been a very stressful time. At last the wounds are properly healing, but it's all very slow, with dressings being checked and redone daily, and age playing a part in the tardiness. I've lost my hearing in one ear as a result of covid and flying, and my hair is falling out in clumps. BUT, he's still here and bipedal.

My daughter in law lost her hearing after the Covid vaccine BJ but very gradually it came back.
I too have intermittent deafness since my vaccinations. It happens at night; in the morning I'm totally deaf but it slowly comes back during the course of the day.

Glad the CPO is getting well. Look after yourself too.

'morning troops!

Reading back it occurs to me that if they could harness the output of Grans the energy crisis would be solved. and harnessing our common sense would solve a lot more!

This weekend all our children are having their annual camping weekend together....and each of them has asked separately if they can swing by home to borrow stuff from us. We're lending our sleeping bags, a groundsheet, some electric hook up gear, two cold boxes, some solar phone chargers.....Mr M will record it on a spreadsheet.....

An exciting morning here.....Sainsbugs pulled into the wrong drive with my delivery. Realising their mistake they reversed out but hit neighbour's vehicle on the way out,....parked across our drive just as Mr M wanted to get out.....let him out, re parked, lady what does arrived.....he moved again to let her in.....blocked the lane....three cars and the bin men wanted to get through.....so Sainsbugs man drove off!!! Their customer service promises me that the food will arrive....eventually. Think I'll go out ?

Afternoon All

Just popping by after a hectic week with DGS staying, Camperbubble going to Gt Yarmouth for its MOT and habitation inspection, and health (various) appointments.

Apparently I've joined Best Beloved with an irregular heartbeat and have a doctor's appointment next week to find out why. I just hope I don't end up in the same state as him as we can't both be incapacitated at the same time!

And yesterday it rained!! I can nearly see the weeds growing but a lot of the planned plants have had it. A rearrange is on the cards.

Off now to run the hoover through and flick a duster before my oldest friend arrives. Its been a while since we managed to get together.

Hello hello oh missing ones!
Greatly relieved that it's merely busyness keeping you from us.
Do you suppose your heartbeat's irregularity is synching with best beloveds in an attempt at harmony? NfkD
My jokes are never that funny

We've had a less than harmonious morning with some stomping off and that was the grown ups!

I am seriously doubting the holiday plans are wise. I may decide not to go with them and hide here instead.
Lovely though we all undoubtedly are, the thought of being cooped up in a holiday house in 30° heat doesn't have very much appeal.
I'm exactly like my mum in my old age. She loved to be invited so that she could say no!

Mamissimo the roadside shenanigans sound like a Benny Hill sketch.
I never understood his humour and was amazed that he was incredibly popular in Sweden where, as we all know, they have no sense of humour.

Off to get my hair chopped.

Hi. Great to hear from Boudicea. Pleased to hear your man is improving albeit slowly. These things take time and as we get older they take even longer. Keep smiling x.
Nfk yes it rained in our neck of the woods didn’t it!! Haven’t seen any rain for weeks and weeks so we were so pleased. Yes as you say the weeds loved it and shot up 6 inches overnight! Our lawn is still a pale brown but the weeds in it are green!!
I had a packet of sunflower seeds earlier in the year. Sowed the lot and 3 produced plants! One is now flowering and there are 2 more to come! I’m childishly excited!
Nkf sorry to hear you’re having problems too. Hope all is well at Drs next week.
We are off to Horning on the Norfolk Broads a week today. Love it there. We will meet up with friends for lunch one day and have tickets for Les Miz in Norwich too. I’ve seen it so many times but just love it

What a busy day. DH and I have been thinking of changing our car for various reasons so today we’ve been out looking at used car sales in various places. Such terrible traffic jams. We’ve been out most of the day and are exhausted now
I never realised that having a rocking chair was fraught with problems. ?. What I would really love is one of those garden swing seats but somehow we never got round to buying one and there is no room here.
Baodicea thank you for being in touch when you obviously have so much going on. I’m so sorry life must be very stressful for you at the moment. Wounds do take quite a while to heal properly. I hope Mr BJ is starting to feel better, you really have been through it recently. My mum lost a lot of hair when she was really ill once but it did grow back when she started to feel better. Love to you both x
I haven’t heard that about hearing loss and the vaccination. That’s a worrying side effect.
Mamissimo glad Mr M has returned safely from his adventures at sea. Are you not going camping with your children? Don’t you feel as though you are missing out ?
Oh dear Sainsbugs seem to be causing disaster wherever they go today. Has your food arrived yet?
NFK oh the camper bubble is going for it’s health check. I hope it’s Bp is fine. I have an irregular heart beat too but after having a thingy (technical term for piece of equipment I can’t remember the name of) attached to me for a week, they decided things were ok. Hope you have a lovely time with your friend. I expect you have lots to catch up on.
Grammaretto actually I think your jokes are funny and witty ? oh dear I hope there isn’t a family upset. You don’t need that. I think we get used to a slower pace of life when we get older and can’t cope with too much going on.
Hope the family sort themselves out and have a good time together.
Hoe you are pleased with your haircut.
Hello Jan nice to hear from you too. Wow that is some sunflower. It’s huge. Hope you have a nice holiday with your friends and enjoy the show.
Have a good bank holiday weekend all (well it’s bank holiday here down south….not sure about the rest of you) ?

Dear gang,
You are a wonderful antidote for family tensions, I find.
Thanks for your soothing words Doodle
We are fine again and they are away this weekend with the sister so that will be nice for DGS to be with his cousins.
I met a prospective new tenant for the flat today. I think I told you that my lodgers are moving out soon.
It may be cheaper to move into the flat myself and not heat the rest of the house. I shall need to do some sums.
Did you find a new car?
DS found one for us on gumtree, from NZ, while we slept! We woke to find he'd made a list of all the best bargains in Edinburgh.

I took DGS with me to the hairdresser and he had a shampoo, cut and blow-dry too.
He said that thing had burned his head! He has never used a hairdryer before. He looks good.
I wanted one of those rocking garden swing seats, though we always called them bacon slicers due to the noise one made as it swung!

I love sunflowers ? Jan thankyou.
Enjoy your holiday.

Grammaretto I am looking at garden swings in a new light having heard you refer to them as bacon slicers (I know what you mean but hadn’t thought of it before). I could do with losing a few rashers. ?
Glad the family have sorted themselves out.and are off enjoying themselves.
Hope the new lodger works out ok.
Still looking for a car. It’s not urgent, ours is fine just that DH wants one with better visibility and a bit more upright.
Perhaps I should get your DS to look for one for us.

Glad all is calm again at your place Grammaretto, family tensions are upsetting.

Are you really thinking of moving into the flat? How would that work if you let out the rest of the house?
All your lovely things would need to be stored away wouldn't they?

Doodle I have the ideal solution for your transport dilemma. Plenty of visibility, definitely upright, safe from bad weather, no fuel costs other than grazing on a grass verge each time you went out... and a 'bonus' for neighbourhood rose growers.


I'm one of the Irregular Heartbeat Mob and it worried me a little until I used Phillip's oxymeter for a few days. That told me the oxygen levels in my blood and circulation were well within normal range.

I have to laugh at today's version of 'camping' compared to how we used to do it with two small children, no vehicle and certainly no electrical equipment or phones.

I'm not saying one version is superior to another, in fact carrying a phone is safer and can be a life saver.

I hope there are still city and suburban people who do it to get away from all that and closer to nature.

It's said we are losing touch with nature, I certainly have, it's one of the saddest parts of my old age.

Hello Lobstars,

DS would probably like nothing better than finding you a car Doodle
His DSiL could find you a horse if you were going with Kaimoana's suggestion I believe she has several.
About the carriage though ....
The tenant I met yesterday was really nice but somehow I don't think it would be ideal for her so we shall both keep looking. I make it sound like a dating agency!
I haven't advertised so all this is word of mouth.
I suppose I could rent out the main house but it would be difficult to organise. It's the monster bills which have made me think I should move back into the wee flat like I did last winter. It is a big house for one person so I should think about downsizing seriously.

My DD has the irregular heartbeat. It was discovered when she was having her baby #1 at the antenatal stage. She had pre-eclampsia too and an emergency c-section so a very scary time.
I will go for a walk this morning.
How are the walks Kaimoana?

Kaimoana I love my new mode of transport. I think I would feel happier with a horse and carriage than driving. Not sure the horse would feel the same though. Not much pasture here.
We bought an oxymeter at the beginning of Covid plus a Led thermometer. Can’t tell you how much use they have had. With DH and I both having asthma and himself coughing a lot we check ourselves with the oxymeter quite often. So useful.
I have never been a fan of camping. Sitting out under the stars appeals but not the insects. The closest we’ve got to roughing it was a caravan with its own toilet and shower ?
How are your aches and pains now. Is it getting any easier?
Grammaretto sorry the lodger didn’t work out. Do you want to move or is it one of those things you feel you should do?
It’s hard when you have a home you like and a garden you enjoy. Plus your pottery studio. Lots to think about but certainly heating costs are going to be bad. Do you have wood or coal fires? Could you shut off some of the rooms and only heat some? When I was a child we had coal fires in our rooms and it was warm next to the fire but chilly when you moved away from it.
Hope the family are still enjoying their stay and you are not worn out yet.
I have hurt my back/hip. Not sure how but it might have been moving a heavy box the other day. It is quite painful when I move and I have developed a limp. Early night with some pain killers I think.

Doodle dear, how's your hip?

Grammaretto word of mouth is good. That's how all my students came to me.

Instructive day here.

Chaplain from SA came to be a bridge between me and An Authority.

She made the call and got a recording, "Your wait time is 51 minutes.'

I would have put the phone down there and then but she hung on and we chatted for 45 min when the call was answered.
She gave all relevant contact details, stated the case, and the person at the other end said, 'I need to ask about this, do you mind if I put you on hold?'

So we held and held an held - and were cut off.

Knowing they had our number, she waited to be called back. Thirty minutes later we knew that wasn't going to happen.

Nothing if not dogged, she intends going into their offices tomorrow and demanding answers.

This is a welfare agency and what today told me is:
they abuse their staff by not employing enough personnel to cope with demand.
They abuse clients by deliberately making it more difficult for vulnerable people to get help and answers. This affects everyone from new-born to the elderly and may result in serious consequences, even death.

They are not doing the job they are paid to do by us, the tax payer.

And most of all, I learned it was a darned good job New Zealand is not a gun culture or I would have been down at that office waving my AK47 in fury.
I don't wonder violence is on the increase.

Bah humbug!

Wow Kaimoana this chaplain is someone to keep on your side. I wouldn't have waited.
I hope you get some satisfaction before resorting to violence.

I'm not feeling too well just as I'm packing for going away tomorrow. It's not Corona but maybe a virus of some kind. The runny nose and sneezing has gone but now it's a headache, aching all over and cystitis
How is your back/hip injury Doodle? I hope it's not too painful.

A carriage could be rough on the bones, I was thinking, unless it has excellent suspension and comfortable seats. How's the car
carriage choosing going?
I was thinking of you yesterday as I hand sewed a patch on my short trousers. I don't need summer clothes so have to keep the old ones going. The patch is on the pocket but alas, although it looks fine, I've managed to sew the pocket closed, numpty that I am.
Now Doodle would not have made a mistake like that.
I hope all the gang are ok.

Grammaretto Doodle certainly would make a mistake like that. ?. I made quite a few today in trying to put belt loops on DHs trousers. Took most of the afternoon to get it right.
So easy to get things wrong with sewing. My most used gadget that I have is my seam ripper as I undo more than I sew.
Sorry you aren’t feeling too good. That’s a shame with you going away. Are you going with your NZ family? Hope you feel well enough to go. Early night for you I think.
Yes my hip is a bit better thank you.
Kaimoana well that Chaplian sounds useful. How ridiculous for an organisation to acknowledge that their wait time is so long. They obviously expect people to hang up. I do hope whatever it is gets sorted for you soon.
How’s the walking coming on ?

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202208/medium-205472-medulla.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202208/medium-89217-drag.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202208/medium-389472-baler.jpg

I do hope you're feeling better Grammaretto.
It's miserable feeling like that

I had a habit of falling ill just as my family were packing for a holiday but Mum used to say, 'You can be sick just as well on holiday as you can at home.'
And off we went.

Splendid time was had by all during Drag Queen Storytime at our local library. Special guest Medulla had as much fun as the children.

My homecare agency seems to have gone totally mad: someone comes every day now including Saturday. On Friday they sent TWO people.
Of course they never informed me this would happen. .
So when there's nothing to do, I just sign the paper and these dedicated, wonderful women get a work-free, paid hour.

I have been missing Nortsat, muse & dragonfly We're missing out on Missedout (is she floating and boating?) and who else is on walkabout?
Cherry are you around?

Here in New Zealand, Doodle everyone holds up their britches with baler twine.

Old school tie belts are de rigueur nowadays

Hello Gang,
I miss the posts from your list of Lobstars too Kaimoana you see what I did there

I am a little better thanks. On antiBs now all done by phone and sending DS to the chemist. I would like to agree with your mum but I never can forget sharing a wet caravan holiday with my DS with toothache. It was bank holiday and nothing was open.
What an old misery I sound.

Lovely photos of the children enjoying the show.

I don't know how easy it will be to post when I'm away but it's only a week.
Be good ?

Good morning ?

Enjoy your trip Grammaretto Mr M says that as we are retired we are on holiday every day so we go away on Trips. I almost see his logic!

The last few mornings have had a September feel and golly it gets dark earlier! I cooked the first roast for months last night and laid the table under the awning but we found ourselves eating in the glow of the solar fairy lights. Felt like a strange date night ?

I'm making another quilt at the moment and as usual it's driving me to distraction. I'm doing a pebble quilt and I have now made over 500 pebbles to be appliquéd on before the quilting begins. Mr M told me that he loves it when I'm quilting because I'm quiet! leg of lamb please!

Big week for our family next week....two ADC starting new jobs, eldest DGD starting school....and I'm going to the Isle of Wight by hovercraft for lunch in a fisherman's hut.

Life is never dull!

Kaimoana there seems to be a lot of controversy here about Drag Queen story time. The children seemed pleased though.
Wow you must have made a serious impression on your Agency that they are sending so many people now.
I think muse is going on holiday with her family from what I saw in Soop’s kitchen.
I’m sure DH would be happy with baler twine but you still need belt loops by the look of things. Perhaps baler braces might help him ?
Grammaretto so pleased you are feeling a little better. Why can we be fine for ages then as soon as something fun is happening we become ill. Hope you enjoy your trip away and have a great time.
Mamissimo it’s still quite warm here although today had a slightly chilly start. Never known such a long spell of hot weather in the summer. Your romantic meal under the awning sounds nice. With the cost of fuel rising so much I expect there will be a few of us eating by candlelight this winter.
I must look up pebble quilt. Sounds fun. It obviously requires concentration. I bought myself a set of drawers (not the knicker variety) for all my sewing stuff. Makes life so much easier.
Hope the new jobs go well for your children and your DGD likes school.
Have a lovely trip to the IoW. A favorite place of ours.
Kaimoana looks like being you and me and Jeeves at ‘home’ while the others go off on a jolly ?

Good to hear you're feeling better Grammaretto. It's all very well Mothers spouting platitudes but the truth is, you can't enjoy a holiday as much if you're unwell.
Doodle I know your DH is far too dapper to allow this but large safety pins make good belt loops for baler twine, especially if you're driving a horse and buggy.

I've failed the walking part of my dog owner test .

If it were just a matter of working through the pain, I'd do it, after all, I've lived with arthritis 52 years, we're old adversaries but yesterday my left knee let me down and had I not clutched at a mailbox, I'd have been down too.
You are allowed to laugh at the image of my clutching a mailbox mid-walk.

Therefore, I've been investigating alternative ways of exercising a dog.
Dear Karen has offered to take us to the park and once I'm confident the dog will obey me, I can allow it to run free as I throw a ball or stick up our cul-de-sac. I also have a long lawn here to play on.

There are a couple of local companies who do dog play dates and if I ask for $$$ for my birthday and Christmas, every now and then I could send the dog on an hour-long jolly And, of course there's my dgs who has energy and loves dogs.

All is not lost.

What a shame there's controversy about Drag Queen Story time. I suppose the people who object think it's better to bring children up to reject others with prejudice. Weird.

Mamissimo you do know, don't you, that quilting is supposed to be fun and even relaxing?
The garden picnic with fairy lights sounds absolutely divine.

Kaimoana. Bless you. Sorry to hear about your knees. We have people round here who will walk other peoples dogs but of course it costs. Ive always had dogs and hate being without one but we need to face facts and as we’re getting older we are really not fit enough to be able to give a dog the exercise it should have. I don’t think I could face having an older rescue dog as the pain when you lose them is immense. My knees are a bit iffy but not actually painful just very stiff. Hope you get sorted with your guide dog. A lady I know has had several and the dog walks her to work at the hospital every day. Sure you will find some way of exercising your friend. Hopefully the society who are providing your friend will be able to help. Good luck!
Everyone seems to be very industrious at the moment. Cooking quilting potting! I’m soooo lazy.
Grammaretto hope the anti bs have kicked in and you are feeling better so you can enjoy your holiday.
Mamissimo yes we’ve noticed that it’s nearly dark at 8. Quite depressing really. Still quite warm here but rain is promised for our week on the Norfolk Broads. Great!
I’m impressed by your quilting. A friend of mine used to do beautiful quilts but she was diagnosed with early onset dementia a year ago so doesn’t do them anymore. Such a shame she is a lovely lady

Oh Kaimoana I’m so sorry about your walking test. I have problems with my knees too so know how it can be a problem. At least there was a mail box to hold on to. Shame it wasn’t a dashing young man but there you go.
Is there any dog walking help where you live? Lots of people round here do it. Perhaps someone you know has a dog and would walk yours at the same time.
Hi Jan how are you? Yes it is always sad when we lose a pet isn’t it. They give such love it’s hard to say goodbye.
When are you off to the Broads, is it next week? Hope you have a good time. We are planning to go to Bournemouth soon for a couple of nights. I need a sea fix. ?
Grammaretto hope you are feeling better now.
Mamissimo I looked up pebble quilts but there seem to be different ideas as to what they are. How do you do yours?
Have a good evening all.

Busy day today. Meeting tonight so just relaxing a bit now.
Made the mistake of putting a tissue in with a load of dark washing ?. Have spent ages today with one of those sticky roller things getting all the little pieces off the washing. I’m normally so careful I don’t know how the tissue got in there.
Another warm day. Making the most of it before winter sets in.
Hope Grammaretto is enjoying her trip with the family.
Jeeves is going to have a hot chocolate with me to keep me company till someone else arrives. Tum te tum…..twiddles thumbs…