soop's kitchen for friendly folk and precious pets.

Morning all !!

Of course Bracken was not 'just a cat' soop we all get that. I catch Grampy having in-depth discussions with Sam on many an occasions and know he is one of his best mates .

A little girl at our viewing last night desperately wanted to take Sam home and sobbed when her Mum and Dad left( can't sell the house but can give the dog away it seems !!)

How lovely to be meeting up with callgirl I hope there will be pictures??

Oh Charley is the end really in sight for all your building work ?? Will there be champagne and a renaming once its all yours again !! The shed sounds another useful space ( despite the hole in the middle of the flooring ...men !!

Your lunch out sounds just the tonic you needed ann . And so glad it went well , that's one to repeat then !

Good luck today Grey , hope all goes well.

I took stupid stubborn SiL to see a specialist last night and its almost certain its a bulging or slipped disc. Tonight Grampy will take him to the osteopath and Saturday I'll take him back for an MRI before a visit back to the Professor on Wednesday evening for a decision about treatment. Its one of those times that paying for Health Insurance is paying off because of the speed all the tests etc can be done.

Having him in the car for nearly 2 hours yesterday gave me the opportunity to lecture explain to him about not being an idiot !! Hopefully, it will have sunk in. His brother is going over today to barrow in the sand for the garden so at least he will not damage himself further today.

Grampy is off for coffee with his old colleagues of 30+ years , I am not invited ( Thank God !!) so I'm away to my crafting room ...happy days

From me too, greyduster.

greyduster hope all goes well today.
Sorry no hats found!

N&G thankfully I do not like champagne but I do have my eye on a bottle of white chilling in the fridge. That will do nicely for Saturday and Sunday evenings, especially as there will be no workmen until Tuesday.

The builder has rung in sick today- my suspicious mind thinks that he has been offered a day's work elsewhere.

On Saturday he is supposed to be here at 8.30am when the plumber comes but who knows- he may still be on his deathbed.

I am going to a neighbour's house this pm for a cup of coffee, a welcome relief.

Best wishes Greyduster. I probably won`t be on here later, have to go to bed at teatime, up at 3.30am for 5.30am set off to Kintyre, so, see you on Sunday night!
Soop, see YOU on Saturday at The Royal!

callgirl have a good night's sleep and a good trip to the wilds of Scotland. I do hope that the weather is decent for you and enjoy your blether with soop.

Dear Greyduster...and the very same message from me.

callgirl1. Pack something cosy. The breeze has a bite in bonnie Kintyre.

annsixty Your message put a big smile on my face.

aggie I can share in your happiness. The moment the timber frame arrives...it's all systems go.

corner Happy pushchair pushing. I loved every minute of the long walks with Torben in his. He is seven today.

Charleyg Tara is a lucky lady cat. Rory has been sitting on the utility room mat. He hardly moves from it. He is waiting for Bracken. I would so love a roomy, clutter-free shed. I can dream

N&G I enjoyed reading your post. Get crafting!

You are all very sweet and I thank you for your good wishes. It wasn't too bad really - I have four stitches, which is a bit of a mare, and now the anaesthetic has worn off it is very sore. GS has a beaker here with a hard plastic straw through the lid, which is currently the only means I have of taking in liquid. They are great at the Charles Clifford - they tell you not to smile for a few days (shouldn't be hard for me) and then go out of their way to make you laugh! But I won't get the results for a few weeks yet, so I shall put it to the back of my mind until then. What will be will be.

callgirl I hope you have a lovely time in Scotland and a good old natter with Soop. How wonderful for you both! As N&G says, photos please!

Charley and Isabella you would know my fishing hat. It is disgusting, green (probably from mould and trout slime) and I suspect DH may have consigned it to the bin for hygiene reasons. If you happen upon it, lift it up with a stick, keep it at arms length and do the same ?!

N&G your poor SiL! I had a slipped disc. The worst pain (childbirth notwithstanding) I have ever experienced, and took some getting over. I had a good osteopath who helped me considerably, so I hope your SiL gets the same help. I hope you get some good news on the house front soon; late spring is usually a better time for viewings.

I'm off now to find something cold that I can eat that does not require a lot of chewing, as I am starving!!

Greyduster for you.

You sound very brave Greyduster well done and I hope it soon feels better.
Don't let H kiss you too hard for a few days.?

I shall fight him off with a stick, Ann! .

We've had a few light showers this afternoon. I'm hoping that callgirl1 and her family are spared too much of the wet stuff during their long drive.

I need to log off until tomorrow afternoon. Take good care of yourselves.

Update on Sophie dog.....I managed to get the results of her blood tests before the vets shuts for Easter.....they say she hasn't got Cushings and want her to have an ultrasound scan on her tummy. So that's me left hanging. She does seem down in the dumps but not crying. I bet she's got cancer. I am loathe to put her through painful ops as happened with one of my dogs.

Poor Sophie. Hope you don't have to wait too long to get her ultrasound done wot. Why do these crises seem to happen just before a Bank Holiday, when everything shuts down for days? Fingers crossed that the results won't be as bad as you're thinking.

wot how old is your little lady? She looked comfortable in the last photo you sent. I feel so sorry for her because as said, it is a nightmare when something like this happens over a long BH. I am aware that vets are open after hours but at a price.

Greyduster I do hope that you manage to have a decent night's sleep and that the pain wears off. Not the best part to have stitches but think of the weight that you will lose!

soop my heart goes out to poor Rory because he does not understand. His friend was in the house a few days ago and now she has vanished.

I'm all over the place today so please forgive me if I waffle a bit

Greyduster I thought I was inconvenienced with a painful arthritic thumb base joint but a snip off the blip on the lip must be very awkward. The beaker with the straw is fine and could be used for soup as well as drinks but how on earth do you clean your teeth? And I suppose you could each chips carefully, but don't put any vinegar on

Charley has the scaffolding come down yet? Some neighbours had some roof work done recently and the scaffolding was there for a couple of months after the work was finished - probably till it was needed on another job ...

N&G I thought of you this morning when I received a marketing email saying 'forget about Easter, our Christmas crafting stock is now in'!!

soop special cuddles to poor Rory, looking for his Bracken

I'm absolutely shattered today. Day 9 of DGS's school holiday and I've had him most of them. The timing has been absolutely awful as DS started his new job the week before, after being made redundant last year. Part of his job is to occasionally cover the night shift for 2 weeks 'just in case' and, of course, he's been on nights throughout the school holiday. DDIL's boss has been on holiday at the same time so as 2 i/c she's had to be at work longer than usual. DGS is autistic and doesn't understand all these changes to his routine. I'm glad for all of them that I'm here to help but it's hard at times. Thank goodness for this cosy kitchen where I can relax xx

Whoops! that should have been eat not each your chips in the message to Greyduster

Wot I am sad to hear that Sophie is not out of the woods yet with a diagnosis. Please try not to think the worst. ?

Swanny the sight of me sucking soup through a large straw sent DH into such paroxysms of mirth at teatime that I thought he might fall off his chair. I was tempted to Kick it out from under him! You sound as if you are having a tiring time at the moment - I hope things get easier for you.

Charley I'm sure that there are at least two kitcheners on here who can teach me about putting up with pain and stitiches - I don't have a right lot to complain about in the great scheme of things ? And if I had had to put up with what you have recently, well.......

Sophie is about six. Can't be sure because she is a rescue dog freedom m County Wicklow in Eireland from some travellers! This happened to me before, having a sick dog at the start of Easter and when we took her in to the vets she was put to sleep. I had to wait in the car so I have so idea what happens when they put animals to sleep. Prior to the aforementioned dog beingput to sleep, she'd had two big operations and we both agreed not to put her through anymore. Partners talking about leaving me so not in a good place atm. Mind you, I'd be relieved if he did, but just threatening is stressful on top of sophie worries.

wot poor you, you have so much to deal with. I send you my very kindest thoughts and good wishes that things take a turn for the better.

Thank you, Ann. I shouldn't moan when others have it much harder!

wot she's not having a phantom pregnancy is she? Or (whisper) pregnant? For some reason I thought Sophie was older, but if she is just 6.....
Whatever the future brings you have no need to fear the process of PTS.
Trusting of course it doesn't come to it this time but when our darling Lab was PTS she lay down with me posting strips of chicken breast in, (bless her, being a Lab she NEVER lost her appetite, ) and a quick gentle injection and she literally fell asleep in our arms. I had our 13 year old DD with me and she also found it peaceful and beautiful. The lady vet left us, saying we could stay with her as long as we wanted to say our goodbyes so we stroked her a bit more and then I thought we should leave before she became cold. We were let out the back entrance so we didn't have to face anybody in the waiting room and the vet nurses were wonderful.
I wasn't expected to pay any bills until I went back a week or so later for her ashes to scatter them on a favourite walk
Apologies if this has upset anybody but to go to sleep in the arms of the person who loves you best is a privilege denied to many of us humans and you could not wish for a gentler passing.
I am so sorry you have further worries with your partner and just want to send you and Sophie many {hugs} and hope "he" sorts himself out and doesn't cause you more grief.
There are plenty of broad shoulders here in the Kitchen anytime you need comfort and a hug. We are here for you and Sophie ?

wot it is bad enough with Sophie not being well but to have your OH threatening to leave you must be horrendous. It may be easier and a shock to him if you suggest that you help him to pack a suitcase.

You have enough to think about re Sophie without added extras which are so stressful. Moan as much as you like.

I would like the scaffolding down asap because to me it is a burglar's dream. The one thing in my favour is that the sensor light is working very well so may frighten off any tow rag.