🦞🦂 *What are we up to?*🦂🦞

Talking of cats - thought my Theo had been out a long time so decided to call him in. Went to the patio door 3 times calling him. Nothing, Then DH comes home. Tell sad story of missing Theo so DH goes to door and calls. Like magic the missing little so and so pops up from his bed behind the sofa like a jack in the box about 4 feet from where I had been calling him!

Fantastic news Ixion the wanderer returns. So pleased for you. Hope he recovers soon
Grammaretto the house sounds in an ideal spot for you. How would you feel about passing by your old house every day if you moved? Could well be a contender is you can sort out costs for work to be done.
Ooh if only I was closer. I’d join your U3A group like a shot. What a wonderful idea.
Goodness only knows what’s happened to Jeeves but I have a suspicion he’s off sunning himself somewhere to escape all the rain.
NN good your Dh likes his new job. Hope all goes well., being tired is part of recovery. Your body’s way of telling you to slow down. Hope the better weather lifts your spirits and you feel better soon.
Kaimoana i always think of being done over as either redecorating or being beaten up.
Been lovely and sunny here today. Had lunch out at the farm shop. Very nice but very naughty too

Barney's back YAY!!

Ixion What amazing news I am so pleased for you. Being a cat owner myself - or rather I am owned by a cat! i know what a worry they can be. Wonder where Barney had been. Bet hes getting very spoilt! Great news

Hooray Barney is back!! That's wonderful news ixion. So lucky he didn't succumb to traffic or some other mishap.
Pity he won't be able to tell you about his adventures but perhaps you could imagine them and write a story.......... 😅

You will be tired NN. After all you have been through. Give it time.

I have offered to run a pottery class for a U3A group in a few weeks so am using it as a spur to clear a mountain of stuff I never use - pots that can be chucked, glazes I never use, buckets which might come in useful one day.

DS #1 phoned last night but we were cut off before he had told me why he was ringing.
I haven't told my DC about the house because I know they will disapprove. They probably suspect. They know about the music school but think he is taking far too long to get his act together to buy my house.

They all want me to move to a small sensible bungalow or ground floor flat.

You are all so lovely... I was doing really well and then overcome with tiredness. DH said I was over doing it but I really didn't feel I was..
He is loving his new job...it's a main ( quite posh) main dealership so it's proper procedures and systems that he has used previously. I think he might be a little bit on the spectrum as he is at his most comfortable with a sort of routine.

How on earth he coped when we first got together I will never know as I can't cope with long periods of doing the same thing....a free spirit my sister used to call me. I asked him whether it was a challenge and he just said no because I made him laugh with my logic on why things should not always be done the same way. ( I think he may have just decided that post op and in pain that was the best thing to say to me😂).

Barney is back woo hoooooo, that's wonderful news, fingers crossed all is ok at the checkup
Notspag....I hope the probate gets sorted very soon not only for your DH sanity ( and yours) but your bank balance too. Solicitors fees are just something else.
Kaimoana, I really hope they don't reject your book and good news that you have got some aids to make life a bit simpler, they will come in handy after your op which by the sounds of it can't come quick enough. Breathing through pillows sounds horrible.

Your time with your eldest GD sounded just wonderful....yes you did do something right and her memories are testament to it.

I hope and pray that my DGS's remember their sleepovers at Neine's, the ritual made splashing at bath times, the bouncing on the bed to dry off, the three different breakfasts followed by ice cream....I keep those memories deep in my heart
Grammaretto...Good Luck with the second viewing, will you have to decamp to somewhere whilst the doing upping is taking place and is there a timescale?
Doodle...the mention of bread and cheese had me salivating even at 8.30 in the morning, I've given up bread for Lent...there is always the hope that my fast will benefit me spiritually and physically as I am an absolute sucker for crusty bread and Lurpack butter and throw in a chunk of cheese and I'm in heaven.
Ixion I've got 3 Wisterias , one well established and 2 that are 4 years old. The established one has survived the erecting of the raised borders and 2ft of soil being added to its base. The other 2 were planted in pots. All 3 are thriving ( on neglect and ignorance) pruned at probably the wrong time of year I expect but so far so good.
Sending you all a big cwtch for being so supportive over the last few weeks xx

Oh, ixion, what great news! I confess I'd avoided talking about him
Hooray!

Bearing good news - Barney is home!
On his birthday/adoption anniversary to boot.

Phone call from a vet's at 2am this morning telling us that a kind lady had caught him and brought him to them - thank goodness for microchipping.
About 3 miles away 🤷‍♀️
Need to take him for a checkup today (he is fine, skinny and ravenous), buy flowers and a card for his rescue Aunty and hopefully grab some sleep at some stage.

"Done over" isn't exactly wrong ixion, it was a phrased used in my younger days for refurbishment.

I would suspect, though I could be wrong, that "done over" meaning to be robbed, has American origins.

Apart from his grizzly end, it's a great story Kaimoana which I am quite sure you will have made suitable for little children. 😀👏

The doer-upper, which needs to be done over, Ixion. 😂. is in a good central location only 5 mins walk from my house. It's single storey and spacious but not too big and near to shops and buses as mine is.

It's expensive and needs a lot spent on it so I'd need to do serious sums and negotiate while I try to sell my house
It is the first house I've looked at which has made me want to revisit.

My Australian helper is visiting tomorrow and has offered to help with books again.

Any news from Naughtyneine?

Is Jeeves around to bring refreshments?
I'll have a rooibos thanks.

Grammaretto is the doer upper in an area you would be happy to live? Good idea to take the architect and contractor with you. Just remember to add on a bit to whatever they quote. Something extra always needs to be done.
Ixion i tooo am a fan of wisteria. To me, the name conjures up an elegant great aunt 🤣

ixion written for children 0-7-ish, its based on this:

www.forcesnews.com/heritage/army-history/dead-famous-goose-saved-christmas-coldstream-guards-canada

The 'house' wisteria was a housewarming gift from my Aunt and Uncle, bought at the same time as one for themselves which never, literally, got off the ground.

The other is the pergola one, the thug. It grows as if in front of your very eyes.
Triffid-like, without the clattering, it throws tentacles far and wide and in high summer has its beady eye on next door's ornamental cherry, which, if unchecked, is embraced in a warm hug in a vice like grip.
All very embarrassing.

How exciting to revisit the 'doer-upper'!
Could this be the one? Do keep us posted.

My DM could never get the hang of 'doing up'. The first time she startled us by announcing that next door had just been done over. And thus, despite shrieking the correction umpteen times, it remained in the annals of family-speak.

How are you doing, NN? And Mr.NN's new job?

I'm jealous of your wisteria Ixion. I've always hankered after one and bought one which never flowered though it lived for at least 10 years, so I gave up. Too cold here or too high and exposed. Whatever the reason it wasn't to be.

I'm currently nurturing a quince and a Daphne. Both seem to want full sun, shelter and not too much rain. don't we all 😅

A helicopter has just flown over. I wonder what it's up to.

The film I watched last night, The Life of Chuck . A shade discomforting as it is set in the end of the world but strangely comforting as it reminds us we are all part of the universe.

I'm arranging to have a second viewing of the doer-upper house but this time taking my architect and a contractor with me.

Gloriously sunny here today, showing up previously unseen cobwebs as well as tubs of bulbs doing very nicely.

Mr.I pruned our wisteria at the side of the house, the one he maintains he can 'do' easily. This means it involves only a small ladder, but still totally inappropriate for a man of his age with delusions of capability.

I went out for coffee with a friend as the preferred option, but did compromise by taking my mobile with me.
Not that he would have had his anywhere the scene of the action.

Sounds like a busy and fulfilling weekend for the 🦞s.

No, Doodle, no spanking. Trust you🤭 Just me and my choice of words.😉

Can you share your projected book details with us, Kaimoana?

Grammaretto i had leek and potato although I could have had pea and mint. Both home made and excellent according to all at the lunch. Lots of lovely cheeses and bread. There were about 18 of us which was nice.
I think as we get older, living in a community where we’re known and know others is a good thing and being close to amenities. Has the idea of a house in your garden been abandoned now? Could you not have one of these Hoff houses that gets built somewhere else and then erected in a day or two on site?
Fellowship coffee morning for me tomorrow. Sleep well all

Grammaretto, at least your move is pending .. I think if you found somewhere "just right" everything would speed up!
🤞
I do hope so..

Yes Doodle I think that the tiredness is connected to your grief. It's nature's way of numbing the pain so very important. Sending hugs xx

Have a nice Lent Lunch. What do you eat?

I walked along to the dressmaker's shop yesterday but found she closes early on a Saturday. I want her to replace a zip in a coat that's perfectly good otherwise. Disappointed and as it was raining I caught a bus back.

You are quite right about my needing to stay living here too and not going to the middle of nowhere, lovely though it can look. I toyed with moving to the seaside in the hope it would attract the DGC but no that isn't sensible.
I knew so many people at the concert last night who mainly wanted to know about my house business. How many years has it been!

I'm sure you'll manage with the house sale and the probate NotSpaghetti You seem very capable.

Sorry I didn’t come in last night. I was so tired yesterday I kept falling asleep. Even fell asleep in the hospice for the short time my friend went to get our coffee.
I’m on a bereavement group with about 6 or 7 others and it’s common between us all that we are really tired and lacking in energy. Must be part of grieving if it’s happening to all of us.
Ixion i wonder what you misread ashed as 🤣🤣
Excuse me but what were you doing with a young physio over your knee. Spanking is not allowed you know .😱
Kaimoana how lovely to meet up with your granddaughter and her young man. Sharing memories from her childhood days is lovely, Hope you get all the equipment on offer, I’m sorry your breathing has been so bad. Have you spoken to the doctor about it?
Notspaghetti i don’t envy you sorting probate or trying to sell your MILs house. Shame you can’t take it on if you like it so much.
Grammaretto you do seem to be out and about quite a lot. It would be a shame to move somewhere where there aren’t such activities. Having interests and meeting people are what keeps us going. Please don’t move anywhere isolated.
Had a nice day with my dear friend who spent the afternoon helping me with the worlds worst jigsaw (well almost) all blue and cream. Church tomorrow and Lent lunch which will be nice. A bit of company and home made soup

The DMiL house sounds lovely. NotSpaghetti Pity it's not in my neighbourhood or I would buy it for the fruit trees alone. 😆

Kaimoana a satisfying day at last for you.
Good.
I wonder what the new story is.

I'm going to a concert shortly. It's in the hall across the road. I am spoiled for things to go to.
Which is why I don't want to move away but nor does anyone it seems as there's hardly anything on the market.

Have a lovely rest of weekend Lobs. 🦞

Well I'm very happy Kaimoana that this has been quite a positive time for you -even if you don't think the new book is 100% right yet.

The tables on wheels are great - and not just over the bed. They are a good height for chairs too - and a seat for the shower will future-proof it as you say

How lovely to have the visit from your granddaughter - and so nice to meet her boyfriend too. I think she must really care for you and value both of you if she wanted you to meet.
What a lovely time you had reminiscing 🧡

I am plodding through the probate paperwork with MrSpaghetti. I did my mum's and it was so much easier than this. MrS is so fed up with it all and I'm trying to take some of the weight off him. He has a solicitor as a co-executor that my mother-in-law appointed in 2012 - so now she is very senior and costs ££££!

Her home has been valued now and so, as I think you know, we need to clean and sort it for sale. We did wonder if we should "buy out" the other beneficiaries and move in ourselves - but the 2/3rds we'd need to find means we'd have to clear and sell our own house first. 😱So that's a NO!!!

It's a fairly ordinary house but does have a lovely garden with fruit trees - and is 3 minutes from a huge park and 5 minutes on foot into a pretty town with lots of independent shops.
If it was easy, we might do it

Doodle, I don't think you are alone with the knit and natter unpicking problem. I think I'd have to just keep a scarf or similar to only knit there. I can't believe I'd have anything left if I was knitting and nattering. My mother could do this but I'm sure I couldn't!

Naughtyneine - thinking of you. By now I think you'll be feeling much more comfortable. 🤞 ... and I hope Naughtytide is enjoying the job.

Now the spring is coming along here. The daffs are up - they aren't open yet but the snowdrops are still looking lovely and the tiny irises are in bud. We have lots of life (including squirrels digging things up)!

Have a lovely weekend my friends
🌞

Interesting few days for me.
A woman came who wanted to know if I needes any aids in the home. We discussed various option and although I don't really need them right now, the day is not far hence.
She advised I should get them as it could be 12 months before she's back. Good idea.

So I shall have a seat for the shower and a table, similar to those in hospitals which can go over the bed but this will sit beside my chair and wheel away if I wish.

Then my elder grand daughter visited with her latest beau (and beau he was too!) and spent several hours chatting and catching up.
She's a quantity surveyor and is about to take advanced training as part of her BA.

It was lovely to see them, she and I have been very close since she was born and she reminisced about all the lovely thing we did together in her first few years of life - all good memeories and clearly remembered with joy. I get some things right then )

Next week its the ECG prior to my op., althought I don't have a date for it yet.

I shall be glad of it, I am finding it quite hard to breathe now and wake about 2am feeling I am breathing through thick pillows.

Submitted another book idea to a publisher but I don't think it was my best work, so I expect it to come flying back on negative wings.

I should have refined it a bit more. Still, I never mind rejection, its all part of the job and gives one a chance to do better.

Ha ha Ixion- neither did mine last week
I did the ones from 2 weeks ago instead.

Just coming in to wave, lest we drop off the 'last day' page.

Hope everyone has had a good day.

Helpful session with young physio over my knee - but a reprieve as he hasn't forwarded the exercises and gruelling planned exercise schedule.

Will rest up for the weekend instead.

What a wonderful circle Ixion with your au pair's son helping with the next generation!

I love mashed neeps with black pepper and butter.

I had an energetic day beginning with yoga. Then a U3A meeting. An excellent talk about the fire service. Edinburgh had the first fire brigade in the UK. Tonight was ceilidh dancing. A welcome addition was a young American engineer who has moved here recently. It's always good to have younger people.

Enjoy your day of action tomorrow Doodle.

Night night Lobstars. 🌙