Not Locked Down but may need to be locked up

Good, as always, to read of people's doings, but Mr.I is quite poorly at the moment and, whilst not demanding at all of my time, the mental and emotional bit is taking over a bit, so forgive me for only reading for a while.
Keeping my beady eye on you all😉
TTFN 😊

Oh heck Jan, what a shock for you. Such a scary thing to happen for your DD, for you all. I hope they uncover the reason why it happened asap so specialised treatment can be given and she can recover steadily. Sending you a warm cwtch x.

What an interesting thing to do, to take part in the biobank study, Grammaretto 👍 but no wonder you were exhausted yesterday evening! I hope you've enjoyed your meet up with your cousin and of course the time spent with your DGD.

Interesting project you were part of Kaimoana. Furniture hanging from the ceiling on a system of pulleys is probably safer for me unless I spend my time swinging from a chandelier 😉 but I think I'll pass 🤣. No, not a secret astrologer but I user to know someone who did birth charts and did mine. I think it's a load of old hocum myself.

Talking of the night sky .... did you manage to see the northern lights then Nfk?
I love the 9 year old's description of them ixion, brilliant 🤩.

The unit we bought is quite sturdy, but compact, Doodle certainly sturdier than the old one is now 😆. I see you've been shopping too and treated yourself 👍.
How are you feeling now, much better I hope 🤞.

I had my flu and covid jabs earlier today. The woman doing them wanted to give both of them in the one arm (because the other is heavily bruised) but I didn't really get her logic surely two jabs in the one arm could make that one very painful afterwards. I insisted she give one in each, she wasn't best pleased 🤷‍♀️. My very bruised arm is really quite sore now but the other one not at all - yay I'll be able to sleep on that side tonight as long as I don't fall out of bed again 😁.

Hope your daughter improves steadily Jan, and is eventually herself again.

Hello friends.
This will be brief as it's late and I've commented on too many other threads so now have come to an end.... but I really just wanted to send positive thoughts to you Jan.
They are always our babies
💕

Grammaretto 🤣🤣 not too posh. We’re off on the bus. Did pass the castle but didn’t go in it costs a fortune.
Friend bought trousers in M&S and I bought a candle………mind you it was a very posh candle 🤣
Hotel sounds good and an interesting trip. Hope you enjoy your meet up with long lost cousin and your DGD. Have a good time
Kaimoana your poor son what a dreadful thing to happen. Good job you were there to help him. His treatment sounds dreadful.
Cherry I hope your new bedside unit is sturdier than the last one but please pad it with bubble wrap because we don’t want you hurting yourself if you fall on it.
I am feeling better thank you or certainly was until about an hour ago. Now I’ve an upset stomach and feel like I’ve got a cold coming on. The stomach might be self inflicted but the cold isn’t.
Jan so sorry to hear about your DD. What a shock for her partner and the family. Yes hospitals are frustrating it does take a long time to get things done. I do hope your daughter makes a good recovery soon. Please let us know how she gets on
Ixion, no Windsor usually has visitors all year round. Not so many now but still groups of people with tour guides. Friend had a chat with 4 women from America and we met up with some people from “up north” who were visiting too.
Nfk I hope you get to see the lights. DH and I did in Norway but our son in Bucks took some good pictures last year. If DH was still here he’d be out all night trying to get photos.
Kaimoana I think your purchases were more tasty than mine.

Dear Jan I do hope your daughter recovers soon. Has she any ideashow she came to collapse?

I can boast about my shopping trip too:
I bought a golden kumara and with the massive bunch of silver beet and spinach (shared with Aatoa) and free from one of our Kaumatua, had a very tasty lunch, followed by a golden kiwifruit - quite the gilded, luxury meal.

Cherry I have a suggestions for your bedside table.
Hang it from the ceiling so it will swing away and do no harm.

In fact, that was once part of a project I did for small-space living-on-a-budget. In those long lost days you could get beer and orange crates which made sturdy sectional shelving, bookcases, seats etc.
Hanging them from a ceiling, especially on simple pulleys, left all the floorspace of a tiny bedsit free.

Are you a secret Astrologer Cherry? what do you have to say about Aquarians?
Hee Hee.

Oh, gosh Jan! How scary! I do hope your daughter is better soon, very soon.

My DD1 near Aylesbury shared a post from the Chilterns to say to look out tonight for the N Lights any time from now to around 11.30. I figure we should be able to see them too, but the Met Office report says between 3.00 am and daybreak.

I keep going outside.

My Facebook was bombarded with photos of aurora. I managed to miss it though I was out at right time.

Newcastle is lively! I'm in an Indian buffet/eat all you want restaurant.
It's delicious but I'm not very hungry. I could only manage 3 small courses!
The long day having total body, brain, eye, throat, bone scans, hearing tests plus dementia testing quizzes exhausted me. I've left wearing a heart monitor for 2 weeks.

Oh Jan how worrying for you with your DD in hospital. I hope she's on the mend now.

Love to all the gang, errant or well behaved.

Oh, poor Jan. How worrying for you all. I do hope diagnoses and treatments follow pdq.

That was a bold move, Kaimoana, but I bet one carried out in sheer anger. I wonder whether your DS was involved in the initial decision making. What if he'd needed urgent suction or airway management? Think you were a wise mum.

Have our shoppers any nice purchases to report? A sort of vicarious shopping buzz required here. Is Windsor relatively tripper free now, Doodle? I don't know Newcastle, only the Freeman Hospital, a work trip, but the glimpses I caught of it from the taxi to the station seemed very favourable. I hope you acquired a sturdy bedside table, Cherry. Jeeves will be able leave you your standard measure tonight in relative safety 🥃.

Various cousins have sent wonderful pictures of the Northern lights from north to south of the country. One 9 year old refers to them as night rainbows. Nothing from chez nous.

Good Afternoon everyone! Yes I know I’ve been absent without leave but I have written out my 100 lines and stood in the corner for 20 minutes so think I’ve done my penance.
Like NfkDumpling I’m not stopping long but just to let you all know I’m still alive! My daughter is in hospital. Long story but she was found unresponsive by her partner last Sunday. Drs think she has a very bad chest infection and has been on oxygen plus umpteen other pills. Oxygen mask is currently off for 4 hour sessions and they are testing her tonight for sleep apnea. The hospital is moving at the speed of a dead snail and she is still waiting for a CT scan. I know how busy they are but this delay is so frustrating for us all.
Sorry to hear about our Cherry bless her and also Doodle who actually must be feeling better if she’s doing posh shopping in Windsor!! Can’t think of anywhere near me to do “posh shopping” but doesn’t matter because in my current state I wouldn’t be able to wobble far enough to get into a shop!
Turned much colder in Norfolk but has been a lovely sunny day. Apparently I missed the Northern lights last night. Why didn’t I think to open the curtains! Grrrrrrr

I'm not stopping.

Just dropped in whilst finishing my coffee and read the story of the wired jaw without seeing who was posting it. Actually, I didn't need to. I'd guessed before I scrolled back up!

Back later.

That sounds fraightfully posh Doodle!!
I'm doing the Biobank study for medical research. 5 hours of scans, probes and memory tests.
After a night in a rather nice looking hotel, I'm meeting a long lost cousin for breakfast and then meeting my DGD for lunch and an afternoon of something of her choosing.
She has started university there and loves 2nd hand shops.
I will be shattered 😴

Just popping in for a second to wish Grammaretto a good trip to Newcastle. Are you visiting friends or just sight seeing? Hope you have a lovely time and your feet aren’t too tired after the dancing last nigh. Safe journey
catch up with everyone else later. I’m off to Windsor for some shopping

Such grim stories 😕

I am glad you did what you did Kaimoana but sorry you had to.
Such a dreadful thing to happen to your DS.
And NotSpag and ixion have had such worries with their DS.
We never stop worrying do we although I hope that they won't take deliberate risks.

I am not dressed anything like Karen. She sounds gorgeous. No I think it was my lack of dress sense and any kind of coordination which caught hurt her eye. Or maybe my lack of teeth? BTW I now have new dentures so I don't look quite as frightful 🤣😂😅
I took her number and sent it to my Druid ex lodger. Is that religious?

Cherry you are so brave. Do you get a gold 🌟?
Doodle still feeling rotten and missing your class. I hope Jeeves round tonight will make you better
I'm on my second cup of Heartwarming tea.

I'm just home from ceilidh dancing.
Tired now and I'm leaving for Newcastle tomorrow morning.
No, before you ask, I'm not going clubbing.

How are you Naughtyneine?

I'm off school without a note as usual

Welcome to the lobStar pot Naughtyneine, lovely to meet you 😁. Now you've got a ⭐️ you can't possibly lurk at the back drat, I was hoping that you could eat the notes I pass you without being seen. A Sagittarian eh, aren't they half human half horse heritage 🤔 and here's me thinking that you might have a French one.

Yay, I survived the night last night 😁. We've actually been out today buying a new bedside unit. I wanted to do it straight away, where would I put my morning cuppa otherwise 😂.

That seems a high number of people be leaving NZ Kaimoana. In Wales a Ymgartrefu (settle in) initiative has recently started offering financial assistance to families to relocate/move back to the Welsh speaking heartlands to encourage Welsh speakers to return to reverse the drain of people from the areas. Too many younger people are leaving.
A real shame that the Sallies lunch was cancelled 😕.

So the question is Grammaretto - do you wear flowers in your hair, flowing skirts and sandals at all times, are you secretly a hippy at heart or not 😅.

I like the sound of that recipe NotSpaghetti except for the artichokes 😂.

It sounds like you're jabs have produced nasty side effects Doodle. Shame you weren't well enough to attend your art class. I hope you feel better soon 💐.

I hope Mr I is okay after his jab ixion.

In the days when I could attend Folk Festivals (no, I'm not a hippy) I returned home from 3 days away, phoned my son and heard "Hllo Mm,"
"Why are you speaking like that?"
"Be cz m jws are wrd tgth"

He was in Middlemore Hospital, 50km away, having had surgery on his face, a metal plate inserted to keep his broken jaw together and being monitored for brain damage.
He'd been brutally attacked by 3 drunks as he was on his way home from work.

When I got to the hospital, it was to see him perspiring with pain and pale as wax.

He said the worst pain was from his teeth, as plastic thread anchored them together, top to bottom, right across his whole mouth.
"Because they say I'll have an overbite if they don't do this but it's killing me."
As he'd been kicked repeatedly in the face, this seemed an added cruelty.

Not only that, this wiring was so tight he couldn't even drink water and was very thirsty.

I took out my nail scissors and cut every plastic loop and he sank back in bed with relief, then drank 2 glasses of water.

Of course this act of defiance had been observed and a doctor called for. He was outraged .
I asked him if the wiring was vital to keep the jaw in place.

He said, 'No but he'll have an overbite, so as soon as you've gone I shall wire his teeth again."
I heard my son mutter "Over my dead body"

"In that case," said I, "I shall come back and snip the threads again."
Doctors don't like uppity visitors defying them, do they?

I was, as you might imagine, not only shaking from the shock of the attack on my son but now my own somewhat daring actions in cutting him free.
However I wasn't going to meekly sit there while DS, no wimp suffered such obvious pain and was unable to eat or drink into the bargain. Ludicrous.

They didn't wire him again (I like to think they didn't dare ) and he never did have an overbite.

When I asked him later why he hadn't phoned me as soon as possible once out of theatre, he said, "I didn't want to spoil your weekend."

Speaking of hippies, Doodle you describe Karen to a T.
Her hair, always worn loose is deep auburn and to her waist and she wears the flowing, boho garments you describe.

Mister I not MRI

Dear Cherry not another fall. I do hope you’re ok. Was it an IKEA self assembly unit by any chance?
Kaimoana I do remember your suitor too. What a shame about your lunch. I now realise how a little trip out can brighten the week when you’re on your own.
Grammaretto I am wondering what your ensemble was that made the woman think you were a hippy 🤣 Long flowing skirts, flowers in your hair. Were you able to point her in the direction of something alternative?
Naughtyneine we have a drinks trolley going round every day catered for by our butler Jeeves. He does a good line in hot chocolate too if you prefer.
Ixion you get to the front please so that teacher can keep an eye on you.
Still not good to be honest. My throat is a little better but I still feel like I’ve got flu and an upset stomach. I didn’t go to art today as I didn’t feel well enough. Hope you and MRI are ok.
Notspaghetti my goodness what a shock for you. Glad to hear he was alright after. We never stop worrying do we

Yup.
Affable, Dependable and all the while irritating the hell out of you😆.

ixion
I was in London to see a show many years ago and had a similar call from one son that came through when i switched my phone on in the interval - "Don't be alarmed but I'm in A&E with my mouth sliced open."
He was on a hockey tour. 🙄

He didn't want me and said he had several people with him and I could call him back in about an hour - I did so after the show only to find him with his mates, grinning (somewhat wider than usual!) as we exited the theatre.

It was more stressful when he was in the emergency room in America during the pandemic though!

Ah. I had my money on German. But I'm sure NN will reveal all in the fullness of time. Are you clever, NN? If so, can I sit next to you at the back of the class so I can copy your work ?

Good grief, Cherry, you are like a one-girl demolition squad😳. Forget the furniture, how are you mending? Do take care, I'll send Jeeves round with a first aid kit, hth.🤕

Doodle, how are you feeling today? Did you get a good night's sleep? Would a warm Baileys help the throat tonight? I was planning a morning between the sheets, anticipating feeling ropey after my jab, but no chance - I have greeted the day bounding along🤷‍♀️.

Thank you, Grammaretto, for the mushrooms link. Marvellous viewing. Enjoy your weekend break, you hippy, you🤣. That did make me chuckle.

The tinned artichokes, NfkD, were left over from a recipe I made (just the once) for a puff pastry tart with mascarpone, sliced artichoke hearts and bresaola, which was actually really nice. Otherwise, I take your point totally about tinned veg. The mixed vegetable one always reminds me of school dinners, where I think that, in order to inject a little je ne sais quoi into the menu, it was always referred to as macedoine .. Hope the decorating is progressing apace.

I'm sorry you've been let down again, Kaimoana. But hopefully the arrival of spring foliage outside your window may engender a spirit of optimism for the forthcoming months.

I have one like yours, NotS. He was early 20s, on a scholarship year from Australia, spending 2 x 6 months placements in Europe. The first one was in Israel- when you go swimming, Mum, you can see right into the West Bank.
The second, working in The Hague and, fortunately, for the EU, resulted in a phone call (pre mobiles, so difficult) - not to worry, Mum, but I am in Coronary Care in The Hague. Yeah, right, but all resolved once the Dutch discharge summaries had been translated for The Authorities and permission to fly and continue studies granted.
Don't worry, they say!

Mr. I has just returned from his Covid jab - CEV, Kaimoana, hence us both having everything on offer. I must off and await developments😉

I'm assuming a Welsh heritage Naughtyneine
How lovely!

Naughtyneine we don't monitor wine! 🫢
* Just ask Jeeves to pop over and he will sort you out!*
🍷

Thank you for the welcomes....
Grammaretto... I'm definitely hippy and busty and long legged and wear just what I like and don't follow trends... but I'm not a fully paid up member of the knit your own denim club. A free spirited Sagittarian whose mouth often operates before her brain engages!!!!.
Kaimoana..a gold star on day one... I'll be milk monitor before the end of the week at this rate ( can I be wine monitor if that jobs going begging).

Premature posting.
Welcome to the Lobstars Naughty
Are you a bit hippy?

I hope Doodle is feeling better?

I think you should avoid any matches this weekend. Just shout at the TV.

Hope you had a much better night Cherry and are not too bruised.
Sending hugs.

I do remember the suitor Kaimoana