The Lockdown Gang still chatting

*Doodle•
Only just seen this. Bless you but the op will give you a fully functioning hand. My right one was operated on whereas this left one where they just pulled it into place I dont think will ever be the same. Much love xxx

Thanks all. I may be missing today. Had a phone call from hospital and I think they intend to operate. Told me not to eat anything. Didn’t sleep at all but discomfort rather than pain. Feel very nauseous. Back as soon as able

Much love to You Doodle
It's the last thing you need.
I hope the hospital have given you pain relief that sees you have a reasonably comfortable night.
Thinking of you and your DH
Sending you my very gentlest cwtch X

That's not the kind of break you need Doodle ! Hope you get some rest and that tomorrow brings hope and a family plan for help for you both. I'll have everything crossed for you. X

Oh no, no poor Doodle how awful on top of everything else. Thinking of you dear friend (and DH who must be upset).

I didn't go anywhere near the seaside. It rained cats and dogs or as they say in France: pis de vache.

Dear Doodle that is so unfortunate 😔
And extremely painful I'm sure
Poor you.
I hope you have plenty of pain killers and get some sleep tonight.
I'll send Jeeves.

Noooo😱
So sorry Doodle. Hoping you have pain relief to get you through the night- will be thinking of you and wishing you both well
💐

Sorry short post. Had fall and broken wrist badly. Just got home from hospital but might have to go back tomorrow for op. Hope all are ok. Much love xx

Doodle my local pharmacy is part of a chain that doesn't dispense it and the next nearest pharmacy is part of the same chain. I found out today too that the next nearest after that doesn't do it either. The hospital pharmacy can provide it but trying to get that process set up is a nightmare. I've been given assurances that someone will contact me on such and such a day at approximately such and such a time but no one has. At the moment it lies in limbo. I have an appointment with the epilepsy nurse next month, I may have to wait until then and beyond . Thankfully it's only a supplementary medication.
Why do parcel delivery services always make that claim when they don't deliver or deliver to the wrong address? We've had that happen but I must say we've been relatively lucky with parcel deliveries. We do sometimes get the entire post for several streets put in our mailbox though 😤. We just stick it all back in the postbox.
Oh, btw - you never know, my walkie talkie group members may be carrying tin cans with strings attached 😉 🤣

Aha, thanks for explaining the sawdust Grammaretto. May we have a picture of the result of Sunday's firing, please, pretty please 😁
I'm glad Sparky fixed the problem! I hope your poor lodger isn't too tired this evening.
Was your DMiL up for going out?

Ooh I adore shortbread Kaimoana 😋. The smell of it cooking, the smell when it's fresh out of the oven. It's so cruel to have to wait for it to cool enough to be eaten 😜.
That's such a sad situation for Artoa. Will she be able to go and see her do you think?
I hope your lunch went ahead 🤞

I finally had my haircut and am scalped 👍. After that we went into the village to do something very mundane indeed. We went to the library to pick up recycling bags, because there's a collection tomorrow, but they didn't have any 🙄. Drat! Very frustrating, paying parking for nothing, so we decided to have a look around the charity shops instead. Result! I picked up a beautiful Seasalt sweater in immaculate condition for a fiver. We'll have to pick up recycling bags from the main centre tomorrow if we remember.
I'll have some caramel sauce in my hot chocolate tonight please Jeeves.

Oooh yummy, gallettes; my favourite is spinach & cheese.

I've just put a batch of shortbread in the oven and its beginning to smell very buttery.

I hope your Mil is feeling a little better; all these disasters are bound to have knocked her back. She probably needs a long period of calm, quiet and TLC.

Doodle I'm beginning to think someone played a joke on that taxi driver, perhaps one of those childish 'newbie' things if he's just joined the company.

I agree Jan this is not our usual weather, not in my experience of NZ anyway but then global warming is doing odd things all over the world.

Artoa and I didn't go out for coffee after all due to continued bad weather but I made her a mochachino.

Her sister in Samoa is dying, so was glum today.

I put some laundry out regardless of the weather; it'll get an extra rinse

Old Codgers lunch tomorrow - it comes around very quickly.

That's sad Doodle and Jan that you can't cruise anymore if you would love to.
I've never been on a cruise so don't know what I'm missing.

I drove to the sawdust place and a nice young man half filled an enormous plastic bag with some. It's very much dust but it will be ok. It's for the Raku firing I'm planning for Sunday.

It was a lovely day today. Louis et Camille made a good start on the new garden for my lodger. She is a she Doodle and very nice. She said Sparky was there until 11pm and she almost told him to leave as she had to get up at 5am.
He fixed the problem.

I'm hoping to be cooked for tomorrow. Gallettes are on the menu. Yes they sleep in the house.
If she's up for it, I shall take DMiL out tomorrow, perhaps to the seaside.

Thanks for the hot chocolate, Jeeves. The spoon of honey was a genius idea!

Cherry our minds think alike re The Germans are coming.
Then they turn out to be French.
I too have brown hair. Mum had black and dad had blond……I feel cheated although it’s retained it’s colour so I suppose that’s something.
What’s the problem with your meds? Are they just not available from your local pharmacy or not available at all? DH has some that he has to get from Charring Cross hospital as the pharmacies don’t dispense it.
Well done our team. Hurrah 😃🥳
Glad you all enjoyed your walkie talkie. Every time you say that I think of you walking along with someone holding tin cans with a piece of string attached. 😊
Like your taxi that wasn’t, we frequently get told our parcel has been delivered and handed to resident. Don’t know where they are delivering but it’s not here.
Kaimoana maybe you’re right. The Germans is more of a Fawlty Towers theme.
Oh my goodness I was just about to wish you well on your speech when I read about the torrential rain. Good job it didn’t happen while you were en route.
How strange about the taxi driver. Do you think he’d got his calls mixed up.
It does sound bad with people having to leave their homes. Hope you are safely high and dry.
Grammaretto are Louis and Camille staying in their campervan or with you? That will be interesting trying to explain to them what you want them to do with the language difficulties. Ah I expect Sparky was feeling left out, if he’d come earlier he could have joined you for dinner.
Your new lodger seems very sociable and reliable. Must be nice to have someone like that around.
I thought your lodger was a woman. Where did I get that from.? Did you have a woman lodger before.
What a good idea about using Google translate although it might make for some funny misunderstandings.
Jan our cruising days may have come to and end too. The insurance won’t cover us. Will try another company but I think it’s getting to the point where it might cost too much to bother. Like you we will be looking to travel the UK someplace nice.
So pleased you are having a break. Hope all goes well.

Not again Kaimoana! As if the people of Auckland and the surrounding areas haven't had enough! I did actually see a brief report on the news late last night and it does look dreadful. I hope no run off reaches you.
Shame the conference and therefore your speech with it was cancelled but it is understandable. I hope it gets rescheduled at some point.
Very weird from the taxi driver. That sort of thing has happened to me in the past. One time I ordered a taxi to the, it never showed up. I rang the company and complained and was told they had come to the house but couldn't get an answer. I told them that I knew that wasn't true as I was waiting outside. I was then told I couldn't have been .

Louis et Camille sound quite nice Grammaretto and Louis should be very handy in the garden. I'm intrigued though .... how come sawdust has entered your conversation if that's not being too nosey 🤔
I hope Sparky has fixed the wiring, even if it was quite a shocking time late in the evening better that for your lodger than a different kind of shock not 😱. I hope the bill isn't too shocking.

I'm pleased that you're going for your break in North Norfolk Jan. Us lobStars know you've wavered and been apprehensive about it. I hope you have a lovely time x
Oh, I wouldn't say my team's 1 nil win was a thrashing but as you've said it was I'm happy to call it that 🤣

It didn't rain on my walkie talkie after all 🙂 It turned out to be a lovely fair day. I was quite amazed how many steps we'd all put in by the end! We managed to fit in the recommended daily total and could have walked more if the parking time wasn't up. I'm so pleased, especially for one lady who comes with us as she walks with a stick and she wasn't sure when she came at the beginning she would be able to do it, but she has and she can 😊

Oh my! Kaimoana not another one!!
I never think of flooding when I think of NZ though the rivers are prone to suddenly rising and drowning people
I am so sorry your meeting was cancelled but understandable in a state of emergency.

Our posts must have crossed.
I have set Louis et Camille to creating a veg patch for my lodger. He was a market gardener for 7 years.
I shall make ortie soup for our lunch.
We are using Google translate a lot
Who knew sawdust is scuire?
Louis says "I don't understand" rather well.

I hope you enjoy your North Norfolk escape Jan. That sounds lovely for you
Travel is fine if you really need to go somewhere but overated as a pastime

Kaimoana. The weather with you sounds horrendous. No idea you had so much rain in New Zealand. Hope everyone is safe but cleaning up flooded homes is not an easy job.
Cherry Have just worked out who your team is! Well done for thrashing the mighty Man Utd!
It’s unlikely we will book another cruise. I wouldn’t cope with all the walking and hate being pushed in a wheelchair and anyway it’s not fair on Mr J. But we’ve done a lot of cruising and to be honest I’m just as happy in this country although other half loves travelling!
Just had physio here working on my hand. Hum! Painful or what?! Recovering with black coffee but could do with a gin!!
Well we are off to the North Norfolk coast tomorrow for a couple of nights. Bit apprehensive but hopefully it will be ok. Watch this space friends!!

I hope your rain has stoppedKaimoana
How was the conference?
I am sure you will have been a great speaker

Louis and Camille arrived in an enormous campervan. They seem nice .
My lodger joined us for dinner not nettles and they finished everything on their plates.
He has no English at all but she understands if we speak slowly.
I said goodnight at 8pm and soon afterwards Sparky arrived!!
He was here to fix the wiring in the flat so I left him to it and went to bed. Poor lodger.

Well done our team, Cherry ! I hope your hair is soon looking good and you enjoy your walkie talkie.

The torrential rain didn't stop. There's now a State of Emergency.

Floods have closed school, roads, public transport and workplaces. Everyone told to go home and stay home.

Of course I was unable to get to the meeting which, shortly after noon, was cancelled.

A weird footnote: my taxi was booked for 11:30am. At 11.45 it and the hui were cancelled due to flooding.

At 4:15pm, I had a phone call from a taxi driver saying he was waiting outside to take me to the meeting (he wasn't, I looked).
I declined but very odd.

People are already abandoning flooded homes - and cars are being washed away. Night is falling and so is the rain

Picture from my bedroom window down to the tidal creek, usually a mere trickle. High tide at 8:30pm.
It's not likely to reach me but water run-off which can't escape may.

Better dig out my swimming cozzie

!!Well done our team!!
Cherry I think it was 'The Russians are coming!' a comedy spoof when the USA saw reds under every bed.

I used to love Nettle Soup Grammaretto and Nettle Beer (non-alcoholic if you don't bottle it). Some Old Yorkshire rural recipes are still popular (with me, anyway) .

traditional-yorkshire-recipes.info/nettle-beer/

Today I'm a participant/speaker at a disability conference led by Auckland Council.
They are sending a taxi for me and I'll be paid a bob or two. I just hope this torrential rain stops.

Louis et Camille ? Parfait.

Not sure why but the words the Germans are coming reminds me of a comedy sketch (but I've no idea where it comes from) but it does. Yet, the Germans are not coming. In fact the Germans are French then Grammaretto and Doodle knows their names 👍
I hope they're hard workers and then you can tick off a lot of the jobs on your list. You didn't bring a sample of hemlock home with you for them, just in case did you 😲
Doodle is right, your DMiL has gone through a lot recently, she's a tidy age now too. I hope she is settled and comfortable at least.

Aww, how adorable is your DGD Kaimoana ☺️. I too love her red hair. There's red hair in my family but it missed me 🙁. Instead, mine was dark brown still is in places, although in the sun you could see the chestnut tones.
I'm glad you had a visit from your DGD, it must have been so nice to see her 😊

I'm playing catch up Doodle, I know you and your DH have been able to have a bit of normality after all the hospital appointments. I'm pleased about that. I hope you've both had a good weekend too.

Jan, do you think you'll book another cruise, if not later this year, maybe next year? I think you deserve a nice break and I do hope you can get away at some point.

I've had a bit of a mixed week 🙄, can't obtain the new (supplementary) meds my neurologist prescribed and had the obligatory seizures but my team beat the mighty Man U yesterday and I've finally got an appointment to get my hair cut! Yay 😁. Going on my walkie talkie tomorrow, it's forecast to rain 🤣.
Glad you liked my shaggy dog story Doodle 🙂

Kaimoana what a lovely photo. Such beautiful a hair. Daddy must be so proud of his little girl waiting for him. 😊
Jan it doesn’t seem 5 minutes ago that we were wondering when Gubbins would be born. Quite a little lady now.
Hope you are getting on ok.
Grammaretto your Germans are French oops.
Wonder if they’ll be up to cooking some nice meals. I certainly hope they are hard workers.
Good job they have sac de couches if the sheets are still wet.
How about some current names Louis and Camille. They seem to have been in the press recently.
I bet there were a few who thought twice about your nettle soup after you mentioned the hemlock 🤣🤣. Have you checked they’re all still around today?
I Hope your DMiL is ok. She has been through a lot recently.

The Germans have just called. They're not Germans at all, they're French!
How did I get that wrong.
We'll need another name for them.
Doodle
They have their own sac de couches. That must be sleeping bags but sounds better in French I told her the sheets are on the line and it's raining.

That's so sweet Kaimoana Thanks for sharing your dear little redhead with us!

It's raining. I washed the sheets yesterday ready for the Germans who are supposed to be arriving today but I've heard nothing from them.
I do hope they turn up as my wish list of jobs for this couple is getting longer by the minute.

DS saw his beloved DGM yesterday and noticed a decline.

I made nettle soup yesterday for the Quaker meeting. It was ok and certainly got eaten. Luckily someone brought a homemade loaf to accompany it. Unfortunately, having told about my foraging experience and the deadly poisonous hemlock, I had to promise there was none in the soup.

Bless her. Getting so grown up. And all that lovely hair. Gorgeous.

Mummy: What are you doing out there?

Gubbins: Waiting for my Daddy.

Mummy: But it's raining.

Gubbins. Yes.

Mummy: Don't you want to come inside?

Gubbins: No. Waiting for my Daddy.