🦞 The Lockdown Gang still chatting 🦞

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Would help if I put the photos up!

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Are those the two you've bought NS?
😉

Can someone remind me why we are Lobstars?
Or is it lost in the mists of time?

Doodle One of the reasons I liked the house is that there was a laboratory with a drain in the concrete floor so that it could be hosed down. I thought it would make an excellent workshop and so it has. It dates from a time when the house served as a testing laboratory for different kinds of paper. It belonged to the nearby paper mill, long since demolished.

I used to teach classes here up until just before DH died and now share the space with other potters. There are 4 of us.

I would like to have a much smaller workshop in my next place. I haven't seen anything else yet apart from the fixer upper which has a double garage.

I've just been to yoga so will need to rest for a few hours 😂

I was at a lovely concert last night. It was my friend's DD singing. It was in Musselburgh so we walked around the harbour with our fish and chips before the show, dodging showers.

Absolutely Grammaretto! One for holidays and one for "spares"!

Thought a couple of (rather small) bags might be a reasonable cost-cutting measure - after all can't buy a lot of shopping if they only hold a credit card and a notebook!

Incidentally, we had a beautiful hand-machined analogue paper strength tester from a lab until a couple of years ago when I couldn't justify keeping it any longer!
Maybe I should have sent it to you???

I hope it's not going to be compulsory for Lobstars to have one of those bags...it would be a downward slope, next thing it would be lobster tassels for the cheerleaders and heaven knows what else.

I’ll buy half a dozen Notspaghetti 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Guess what girls were trend setters.!

Oh! Just seen the photo. Not having one of those thank you.
Grammaretto I’m not sure I can remember accurately but I think it was something to do with a miss spelling by our dear Cherry .
That’s so interesting about your home and the pottery. Ooh fish and chips at the harbour sounds great, love the photos.
NN I can state categorically that it will not be compulsory to have one of those bags. I wouldn’t give one house room.
Hope everyone is ok. I’ve been to art today then managed to take some stuff to the charity shop before the rain came. Got back into my car just as the first drops came down.

Think I'll stick with my Hector, if that's OK with you all?

Thom Browne
Yours for £7,150

Oh ixion! Hector is obviously very neat... I can use him as a plant pot holder!
Multi-use! Great investment!

I need a new handbag but it has to be roomy . I think Hector is a bit small.
I do like him though.

I had viewers this afternoon. They were lovely and seemed to like my messy house.
I hope they decide to buy it especially if Music man doesn't.

Two more viewings tomorrow.
Tonight I am having 3 people to dinner and one until Sunday.

I have seen another house I like. It's perfect but the location is not great. How important is location?

Very important I hear you say.

What did you do in your art class Doodle?

It is a real bonus if someone you like buys your home
Obviously you want to sell it - but it's easiest if someone else will love it in future

The viewers were lovely, again!
It was just one lot today.
No idea what they will say to the estate agent though. They were here for over an hour.

I am cold. I have come to bed with a hot water bottle - in June.
I put the heating on earlier.

My book friends came and were ruthless with books and clutter. I became ruthless too.
I hope I won't regret it.

Any more news of your move Kaimoana?

Lovely to feel that others share your love of your house, Grammaretto. Are you doing the viewings yourself now? Let's hope they follow uo their apparent enthusiasm.

And yes, I think location is VERY important, especially for one who has been at the centre of a thriving community life.

Kaimoana - is your current home part of a sort of community of elders, geographically speaking?

Will you be moved, do you suppose, as a group, or scattered about town individually in random fashion? So discombobulating - and how is the request for a two-bedder going? Mention was made about the need to have space for visiting family - could you not stress that you might need provision for overnight helper stays in the future?

NN, I'm not sure how appropriate my exercise sets would be for you, ours are generic strength and balance classes, not specifically geared to targetted physio guidance. I'd hate to suggest something positively unsuitable. But I will send you a link to the Otago programme our hour-long classes follow. Perhaps, hopefully, you can extract useful bits for your own needs.

Let me know!

NB The figures are particularly unprepossessing😂🤣

www.ouh.nhs.uk/media/5xydterh/85619otago.pdf

Tennis starting soon, so lots of time off for good behaviour and chances to sit, watch and, most importantly, catch up here with good🦞friends.

A bientôt.

Grammaretto at our age it’s important to feel safe where you live. To be somewhere close to shops or bus route if you can’t drive anymore but mostly to be somewhere where you have contact with others and aren’t in any way isolated.
I come into contact with many people who are lonely.
I would say it’s more important to find somewhere you think you could be happy. If you’re concerned about the location it’s probably not right for you. If need be rent somewhere till you find what you want. Hope all goes well for you.
Ixion i love Hector but it would be cheaper to put a real puppy in a hold-all than buy that bag. 🤣
Yes Kaiomana like the others I am interested in knowing more about where you might be moving and what is in offer for you.
Church for me tomorrow then a quiet time at the hospice.

Thankyou Doodle. You are so kind and thoughtful. ❤️
I may have to rent somewhere in the short term though I'd rather not.
I wish I knew where I want to be.

I have my Australian helper here again.
She leaves today but has been lovely company. She says it's as cold now as it was when she was here before Christmas.
She has to be back in Aus for a wedding but she's been all over Europe since she came in September, plus a trip to Japan to meet up with her family. How these young people travel!

Did you Lobstars travel a lot in your youth?

Ah, travel, Grammaretto. Best days of my life as a student, before responsibilities as a proper grown up took over.

Brilliant, even when the money ran out.

My mother woukd have had a pink fit

Grammaretto in my youth i went to Bexhill on sea for my holidays or Margate. My father didn’t drive so we went somewhere by train. Stayed in B and Bs.
My first trip on a plane I went to Jersey when I was about 18. Didn’t really start travelling until our sons were grown up.
Glad you’ve had a nice helper.

Difficult day, Doodle 🥀
Another safely negotiated.
Hugs xx

Thanks Ixion xx

I hope today was ok Doodle.

Look at you Ixion quite the beautiful hippy!

I was at the cinema tonight and saw The Help . I've seen it before but it's sad to think that the level of racism in Mississippi probably hasn't changed all that much since the story of that movie. Early 1960s?

Quaker meeting this morning but not here. I hired a room locally and then my DD and family came for lunch and she was supposed to be giving me permission to throw her stuff out but in the end she left with several of her DGM handbags which she hopes to sell.
I gave the wee girls some of my DM's jewellery.
The older one who's 11 said it was like shopping without spending money. 😊
Their dad mowed the lawn and found a few books he liked.

Tomorrow I must find out if there's any feedback on the house viewings.

Night night. I'm about to take magnesium. I've been taking it for a while now but still can't sleep.

Poor you Grammaretto, you are probably stressed with all the upheaval
Hugs

Just trying to clear stuff is difficult but feeling under time pressure is another burden. It probably feels "so much to do, so little time".

We have our daughter's dogs coming for a week tomorrow and of course have holes in the fence one side and the terrible wind the other day means that the other fence has has to be strapped up.. Although the holey fence is next-doors rather than purs we felt it would be better to replace it than just block it off as one of the dogs is quite young.

Having asked if they minded, we spent yesterday cutting back... honeysuckle, roses, ivy etc to get to the holey panels. Now we have two new ones in... but lots has been trodden on.
😕

We are drowning onholiday due to constant and heavy rain! Have to say at only 60 miles from home this is the wettest holiday EVER!!
However the holiday house we are staying in is warm - well it is now DH has walloped the thermostat up and we are right on the river so are happily watching posh cruisers, what look like hand made boats and huge yachts sail by! The yachts are the most entertaining as people who obviously have no clue about them have hired them and then crawl past us at half a mile an hour looking embarrassed and panicked! Then of course you get the experts who complete with captains hat guide their yacht expertly past!
However we know all the good eating and drinking places around and are meeting friends on Thursday so its not all bad! We have always had good weather here on past holidays so the rain is a bit of a shock! We are back here in September so surely we cant get 2 weeks as wet - can we?!
Really hope Gramaretto gets a viewer who loves her house as much as she has. Such a stressful situation. And best wishes to all in worrying or sad situations.

I'm sharing this part of my post ( that I put on Soops Kitchen as I know you will be able to understand.
I am feeling at a loss a bit, We dropped in to see the little family I support yesterday. ( DH is involved now too especially with the 6 year old who from a previous relationship (same Mum). He is a sweet little boy but overlooked by both parents, Mum more involved with the newest 2 but trying to make an effort and Dad who he lives with spends most of his time on video games and the result is he misbehaves.
I briefly met the maternal Grandmother on the labour ward and again yesterday, she has a very troubled history, mental health problems, shoplifting, self harming etc and more recently diagnosed with cancer of the throat and has had surgery but has turned down chemo.
I was chatting to her yesterday and she told me that she wants to end her life and the reason for coming over for the weekend was to say her goodbye in her head. I told her how much she was loved and needed and that C would be distraught if she took her own life and it might even make her return to taking drugs ( and then losing the children...I didn't say that bit).
I was trying not to flounder and say the right thing and she did seem to be taking in what I was saying,
I came away deeply upset at how sad it was that her life had been such, children in care etc etc and now this, I felt hopeless that I couldn't help, other than to listen and maybe help her to see a different perspective.
It's left me troubled despite DH saying you can't cure all the problems of the world even though you want to.

Oh dear NN how very sad. Poor lady and family. Perhaps it’s her fear of the cancer is making her feel like this if she has refused chemo. I understand you care and it’s wonderful you try and help this little family but I can’t really see what else you can do as you presumably don’t know her GP
WHat a caring person you are.
Jan hope you have a lovely time despite the weather
Sorry all brief post tonight. I’ve been helping a friend cleaning all day and didn’t get in till nearly 8 tonight. I’m too tired to think let alone post. Take care all

That is so sad NN. I am sure you will have been a great help in her hour of need. You sound like a very caring person.

I seem to have become nocturnal!

The doer-upper has been sold. I'm cross that I was not told. Their agent apologised but it all seems unprofessional. They at least should have told my solicitor. My DC will be pleased. They all thought it was mad.

I had more viewers yesterday. This couple had driven a long way from S Yorkshire just to see this house.
They stayed for 2 hours and we had tea and biscuits. They have plenty to think about.

As do I. I feel it's back to square one.

Your holiday sounds quite lovely Jan 😊

Oh NN - how sorry I am that are you bearing the burden of your little family's troubles. You have been so supportive of them all and so it hurts deep down.
You do all you can, but the impact is huge.
Look after yourself too.🌹

Jan - has it stopped raining yet?
Hail, sideways rain, thunder, lightening and flash flooding here, interspersed with patches of drying sun and blue skies - all set to lure the unsuspecting into garden activities and outdoor laundry duties.

Both aspirations abandoned pdq.

Grammaretto- I am gutted that your fixer-up has gone. I was already adopting it as your own for you.

Make sure 'they' know that you are ready to pounce waiting in the wings, should it all go belly up🤞🤞🤞.