Soops cosy kitchen for kind peoples and precious pets !

I used to see wee ones with Bronchiolitis when they were admitted to the Childrens ward and put in a steam tent , some had inhalations . Vick would help open airways , it is very distressing to see them fighting for breath, but they do get over it fairly quickly . Keep him warm and you can get baby vick to put on his pillow

Oh dear aggie that doesn't reassure me !!

DGS2 was in hospital 3 times when he was small as has DN's baby. They both appear to have grown out of it.

Looking back DD3 was diagnosed with 'childhood' asthma which doesn't seem dissimilar. It's blinking scary but fine -eventually.

Sorry Maw , but maybe treatment sounds better nowadays

Littlest is 21 months. Had bronchiolitis every couple of months for the first 18 months. It is horrid but he rarely needed more than Calpol, a regular attendee at his surgery as our daughter in law sensibly had him checked out. Try not to worry mawb Littlest was early, difficult first two weeks with breathing problems. He is still 'chesty' with teeth but soon shakes it off now. Sending get well wishes to Flynn and hugs for you all. I know it's worrying and a bit scary but not often as bad as it seems.

MawB in my professional life 100 years ago, many babies with that condition were admitted. He is still a very young little mite and although the GP turned out trumps I think that Whipps Cross let your family down. Is UCLH too far away from where they live?

I did not plan the vast majority of the work carried out here. The house was apparently badly built by a builder going rapidly out of business so many short cuts were taken. Unfortunately some of the short cuts turned out to be expensive ones for me. Another minor problem was the state of the electrics so the entire house had to be rewired. By the time it is finished it will be almost a brand new house.

The boss and the person who really runs it have had a bust up (apparently zilch to do with me but I do not believe it) and although the boss does not know it they are parting company at the end of the day tomorrow.

The second in command has been fabulous, making sure that the house is locked up properly and everything working before he personally goes home. He has kept me informed of the good and the bad every step of the way whereas the boss shies away from anything unpalatable.

He leaves nothing to chance so as he is setting up as self employed on Monday I will be his first client, carrying out the re-pointing of the entire house. Although noisy at times at least the work will be outdoors. The other builder is jumping ship too so will be here also on Monday.

Grrr! Spent a day with a judge I hate sitting with!
I'm now VERY GRUMPY and I've got him again in 2/52 weeks!
I'm definitely not a happy bunny!

On the bright side - I've ordered geraniums for the patio and sun flower seeds which I thought would look lovely against the end fence, so every time I look out of my window , I'll see this display of colour at the end of the garden! Gary thinks it's one of my best ideas so it must be good!

Walthamstow to Euston Road is really too far and up to now Whipps Cross has done well both for them and other SIL who was rushed in with appendicitis a couple of years ago.
I think they are sensible people and know to keep him hydrated (a syringe with water and also breast milk as he is off his food) and if they have any worries they will shoot him round. Sis in law (retired GP) was with them for he day yesterday and I know she will have given good advice.
Thanks for your concern.

MawB I am aware that you have a very sensible family and it puts my mind at rest that an ex GP in the family has been giving good advice. Hopefully Flynn has had a decent night. I agree that is a horrendous journey but it was where I worked for many years so I do trust the place.

I promise that I am not making this up but upstairs in the bedrooms the RSJ was placed the wrong way so now that the flooring is laid it feels as though one is walking over a step and me being me cannot live with that. In my bedroom the bed hides most of it but it is visible on the floor at the foot. It would be very difficult to sell the property. I must find out when the cavalry arrive in an hour if that can be rectified with thicker under flooring.

That is totally unacceptable Charleygirl!! No way should you have to accept that. Notwithstanding the inconvenience to you and Tara, really they should pay to put you up in a hotel and sort it properly I believe the Ritz and the Goring are quite happy to have cats or you may prefer the peace and quiet of Clivedon.
Seriously you could be left with a structural minefield if it is not sorted now - thinking surveyors' reports etc should you ever wish to sell up but also the complete buggeration of a bodged job.

Charley What a trial your renovations have been, and you are still chirpy.
Hope all is well in the end. I presume the RSJ was in place before all the work started.

Chin up

Good Morning all !

Safely home after a smashing week! It all becomes a bit Famous Five ( except there are 8 of us when we do these things) so my liver thanked god it got home in one piece yesterday afternoon.

Sam had a high old time as our young friends took him home to MiLs and he adopted FiL . So they spent a lot of time just eating and walking - Sam's two favourite things ! We will all be eating carefully for a couple of weeks ( don't tell Sam !!)

Lots to catch up on!

The wood carving sounds a real treat Kitty , I'm looking forward to seeing a picture. And further down the thread THERE is a pic ! I love it. What talent !!

I feel for your DD Grey - things have changed so much in the interview process in 25 years. Fingers crossed for her.

Good news on your hip op WB and being back here !!

The donkey was at the Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth Soop. Grampy and I were having breakfast in a farm shop the following day when we logged on to the web cam to sneak a peek at 'our' donkey and caught my 2 sisters and one BiL having a sneaky visits for photos. I don't know who was more surprised. We messaged them to say 'Wave you're on camera' !

Ann ordinary is not a word I would use for you EVER !!

Galen I love the pictures from the cruise line...what a treat!

Nellie my ears pricked up at mention of slugs...what do the nematodes do? We have Sam who retrieves slugs ---yuk ! We have to give him lung worm tablets in slug season as we have plenty!

Charley what a palaver eh? I hope you are nearly at the finishing line and you'll be happy with the finished product. Think how lovely it will be to sit and relax properly.

Maw I need a slice of your cake- it sounds delicious !! I think I've missed something..is young Flynn poorly?

Please look away whilst I boast about 2 of my grandchildren. Laura , aged 10 is on the school council and has just been to a Masterclass for Diplomacy we're looking forward to her practising [laugh]

and Jackson aged 5 has been made Class Ambassador. His teacher explained to Mummy and Daddy at Parents Evening that they had chosen him because of his good manners, his good communication skills and his willingness to help people. Mummy and Daddy were very proud ( as am I ) . He now helps new pupils and is a guide for any adults that enter the room. He has to go and greet them and ask if he can help them and then has to do his best to get what they want.

I feel that both children might be vying for prime ministership in years to come !!

I hope all are well , and although I had a lovely time. I'm glad to be home !!

Morning everyone,

cornergran, yeah I know size 12 is ok really ... just that I used to be a 10 until a couple of years ago, then my body sort of began to change into an apple shape - dunno where my waist has gone. It puts in a brief appearance if I lie down and try to get my tummy button to touch my spine, but all spills everywhere when I stand! Doesn't help that I am also challenged in the boob department - dunno where they've gone either. Maybe they're now part of my waist. That's it!! I need a boob reduction ... joking I need all I can get in that area.
Hope it's warm and sunny where you all are today. It is here and my gardening fingers are getting itchy. Might need to visit a garden centre this afternoon, while Himself is shouting at the telly. Apparently there's an 'important' rugby match on ...?
Charleygirl How on earth are you staying sane? I remember when our kitchen was being done and all was reasonably straightforward, I nearly went crazy. You're a better woman than me. Seriously, I hope those flippin' builders get their act together. I think Corners idea of them paying for a good clean is an excellent plan. Either that or a huge reduction in their charges, so you can do so. Still I expect you're just wanting it all finished with now - time to think about compensation for the mess afterwards.
Just checked the forecast for tomorrow when I shall be hollering my lungs out for the Alzheimer's Society at the Bath Half Marathon - it seems to change by the minute. The latest is for dryness, which is good. At least I won't look like a mad woman while jumping up and down and shouting wildly ... then again ...
Of to the garden centre then, to buy plants we don't need, have no room for etc...
Happy Saturday everyone. xx

Lovely to see you back N&G, glad you had such a brilliant time. TBH I don't think we laugh nearly enough as we get older - fair enough, not always as much to laugh about) but watch children and how just about everything has them convulsed.
(Flynn has bronchiolitis, so I was being a fussing concerned Gran. I understand his temperature is down but he is still miserable )
Today is DD1's birthday. I have already embarrassed her on FB with a pic of her as a little girl (dead ringer for DGD!!) but thought I would share this one with you instead.

Charleyg Hells Bells...do you have any hair left. I cannot praise your stalwartness (is that a real word?) enough. I'm sure that the rest of us lot agree. I'm wondering whether MawB might bake a special cake for you to scoff nibble on as you oversee the final however many days until you are rid of all workmen, and able to draw a well-earned deep breath.

MawB Little Flynn is a tough cookie. By the time you next see him, he'll have fully recovered and will be wearing his very best grin for Granny.

MawB The photograph is wonderful. Darling wee baby. She reminds me of the 'Rosebud' doll that I treasured. Happy birthday to your daughter.

Galen, dear Pussycat, put that judge down, and carry on planning your floral display. You need to conserve your energy for the next boat trip.

Charleyg Just when you start to think that nothing else can possibly raise your blood pressure - I'm speechless.

N&G It is a treat to have you back and to read all about your happy, carefree week. You have every right to feel chuffed for Laura and Jackson. big cheers from Kintyre.
On one occasion when we were visiting Torben, we visited some ponies (I cannot recall whether they were donkeys, or not) I must search for the photo of Torben looking agog as the pony/donkey attempted to eat the jacket that I was wearing. Torben couldn't wait to get home to tell Mummy all about it.

I agree that a surveyor would say that the house was mortgagable but it would cost money to repair. Luckily I have only paid for the kitchen fitting to date. It was the original house builder in 1988 trying to cut corners who did the shoddy work of fitting the RSJs the wrong way around. The floor fitting people said that their repair work would work well- so wrong.

I went out to buy food but I really wanted a cup of coffee on my own. When I returned one of the youngsters was painting the staircase but had not sanded any of the spindles first. The two bosses were out so I took charge.

It is 2.30pm there are only 6 ceilings to be painted + gloss the doors at the downstairs loo and the bathroom upstairs. The entire house and rear garden has to be cleaned, holes filled and painted over so really not a great deal- they should be out in a couple of hours!!!

I am having a bottle of wine with my supper tonight- maybe I should have bought straws.

Tara slept in "her" room last night with her back to the door, not visiting me once until the alarm went off this am. At least her room was clean if very untidy.

My kitchen mop has been used outdoors I have noticed- there is a limit to what I can lock up! I have removed all paper kitchen towels- I have told them to buy their own. I am certain that they are "loving" me through gritted teeth. Tough- it is my house and amazingly there is only a finite amount of income coming in monthly. Sorry for the mini rant.

Welcome back, N&G! Glad you had a rollicking good time! I'm very pleased for your grandchildren, Laura and Jackson. They sound as if they are going to grow up into splendid people. I hope they carry on achieving.
MawB that's a very sweet photo of you and your DD. I don't have many photographs of mine when she was very tiny, for some reason (we had hundreds of DS from day one), and it exercised her considerably when she was growing up to the extent that she began to suspect she was adopted!! I showed her some photos of my mother, who she resembles very closely, and that seemed to clear matters up! I do hope Flynn is getting better.
I was in the garden from 09.30 this morning until about three quarters of an hour ago and now I am in my knees. We have light at the end of the shrub bashing tunnel at last. When we started, I knew that last year we had bought a very good pruning saw for just such a contingency. Could we find it? We could not. Garage, shed, no. Today, when trying to uncover a box of Growmore in the shed, what should fall onto the floor, but the saw. Sod's law. Now we don't need it, it turns up! The shed is a mess. DH is Oi/c Shed. Say no more.
We had a lovely walk down through the valley yesterday. All the best walks have a pub in the middle and this one has just changed hands so we thought we would have lunch. I had pan seared salmon on a bed of mixed greens vegetables with butter samphire sauce and new potatoes. The sauce was so delicious I nearly asked for a slice of bread to wipe the plate! DH had lamb shank pie, which he declared most satisfactory. This bodes well for future visits. We washed it down with a pint of Guinness. The walk home was considerably slower than the walk there!!
I am off now to clean out the bird bath, which is the last outdoor thing I will do today.

We are not happy here.
I think Scotland's only chance is to bring Princess Anne on for the last 15 minutes

Blimey, Charley, what a palaver indeed. Rant away, I know I would be murderous by now and doing more than ranting. Keep at them, its your house and it must be done to a good standard. Please try to stay sane, though, and do enjoy the wine. You more than deserve it. If stalwartness wasn't a word it is now, soop, sums up nicely I think.

Your break sounds to have been wonderful N&G. Nothing wrong with emulating the Famous Five. You are right to be proud of Laura and Jackson, wonderful achievements, congratulations to them both.

Flynn's temperature has gone in the right direction. MawB, he's a toughie. Love the photo, can't believe you would embarrass your daughter on Facebook though .

That sounds a busy day greyduster, I managed to put out some slug pellets (don't shoot me, apparently these are a new version and will not harm small creatures or indeed small children) and sprayed the roses to try to deter blackspot which is a real pain here, that's my lot other than my volunteering this morning and a quick visit to wish our birthday girl a very happy day. Thinking about it that's the most I have managed for weeks, the virus is definitely in retreat.

Didn't see any sun retrolady, but its been mild and hasn't rained so thankful for small mercies. I know what you mean about a changing shape, I blame gravity , well, its as good a thing to blame as any. My piece of wiillpower for the day was not stopping at the garden centre on th way back from the birthday girl. I was so pleased with myself that I stopped at a farm shop for some nice bacon and then just had to have tea and cake in their cafe. Well, a reward was in order. . Hope it stays dry for you tomorrow, try to have a voice left at the end.

It seems the day for gardens, yours will be very colourful Galen, you can think about it when you next see the irritating Judge. I do need to get to ours but first have a mountain of paperwork that must be done, haven't really had the head space for a few weeks and now there is a degree of urgency, so Monday is 'pw-day'. Wish me luck

Take care all

The fellows left at 17.30 hours and will be returning on Monday and I would think Tuesday as well.

The floor laying boss pops in and out when his fellows are working- he will get more than he bargained for on Tuesday, that is if the flooring is ready for laying. I have met him but that was before we noticed any problems with RSJs. He will be sorry that he agreed to start this job methinks as I am in full flow at present.

The height of my day was finding clean bedding so that I can change my bed later this evening.

The boss's son, the 17 year old gopher decided during this job that building work was not for him so his mother has set him up with a couple of interviews for plumbing apprenticeships. God help whoever takes him on, if anybody because he cannot sweep up after a job. Possibly meeting me did not help but he will meet far worse than me if he is a plumber's apprentice. Most young lads would automatically have swept the staircase and hoovered the hall but not him, it is probably a woman's job.

Oh dear! Scotland were beaten by a superior team. I have, however, coped with two mending jobs and a mini mountain of ironing during the match.

Charleyg Onwards with hope in your heart...^us lot^ are heartened that you've clean bedding waiting in the wings. There are few things lovelier than clean sheets...although you will have a long list of other options up your sleeve.

I have to go. MacSporran has called for my assistance. Good night to every one of you. I shall return in the morrow.

Should that have been...Scotland was beaten? If so, apologies to those in the know.

soop I was asked yesterday evening by the boss if I would be using my shower that evening because it was full of "stuff" from one of the bedrooms. My hair was so sticky with dust I had to wash it and I did not feel clean either so yes I would be using it. I know I do not normally shower until Christmas at the earliest but occasionally I have to make an exception.

I think that Tara has had enough, she slept on her bed last night with her back to the door and did not come near me until the alarm sounded early am. She also came home later than usual.

soop I do hope that Rory is not pining too much for Bracken. Are there traps in the woods?

charlieg