soop's kitchen for friendly folk and precious pets.

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Just to compare - how do we all look 9 years later??

Proud of my old girl's stubbornness to "go gentle into that good night"
"We're still standing"! (Albeit with a wobble!)

Love her to bits!!!!

And your garden border, Maw!

You lot could, if you tried, permit me to catch up at a leisurely pace. Or would that be unreasonable of me.

NanaandGrampy we're all rooting for you. Wouldn't it be lovely if, after this long, your patience and diligence could be celebrated with a proper rowdy knees-up select gathering of Granspals. We would wash the dishes and plump the cushions on the sofa before we left.

Pentstemmon and Swanny Very witty!

oldgoat MacSporran has offered to trawl through all the data we've filed away re the medical procedure and subsequent buggerations (some too nasty to share with even my best mates). We're to visit the GP tomorrow, and inform him that we are prepared to take matters further. We respect our GP. He is a good man. Tomorrow evening, a good friend of my son (a colorectal consultant) will be in touch. Time to get down to business.

Galen When are you going afloat? Or, have you recently returned? Difficult to keep up with you.

callgirl It was a beautiful day when we visited Muasdale. I thought to myself...if only the sun could have shone for you and your family.

wot Sophie certainly knows how to chill. She's a darling.

MawB Us lot are extremely fond of our resident 'sighthound'. She is a star. As is Oscar. All our animals are precious.

kitty I don't know of anyone who has botox injections. I assumed that it was "celebs" who favoured such procedures.

corner I like tortoises.

Should have said "to NOT go gentle into that goodnight"

Gracie is a trouper though, still struggles to her feet when I put my hand anywhere near the lead and had a jolly good bark at a local collie for whom she has an inexplicable hatred when we saw him out on the bedtime walk the other night

That Sophie certainly knows how to relax! Reminds me of our Heidi years ago, she was beautiful.
N&G, may I whisper my good luck message regarding your house sale?
Soop, good luck on your visit to the GP, and I hope that your son`s friend can be of some help.
Aw, Grace is such a darling, and so brave with it.
As for Oscar`s grooming, surely their job is to disentangle the knots?

soop 12 May. Only a quickie! 7 days Vigo Lisbon,Oporto, Guernsey then back to Southampton
Still trying to work out what to with a butler?

I'm sure you'll think of something Galen what with you being medical and all that!

DS1 has botox to help 'unclaw' his hand and arm following his stroke soop. They inject it in the pad of his thumb, in the webby bit of his fingers and somewhere round his elbow (I think) obviously, as he is 'not a child any more' I am not allowed in and have to wait in the car park! It is very successful for relaxing those muscles. I do keep asking if I can go in and have any 'leftovers' in my wrinkles but so far no luck.

We are very lucky to have such a fantastic NHS (DS was living in Japan at the time of his stroke and couldn't afford the treatment necessary) but why does it happen to go haywire at important times? Maw (well her DH!) had such a bad experience last week and both DH and I were spread very thinly today with lots of family commitments. Hey ho as the good bags might say.

Good luck with your medical shenanigans too soop - you have had shocking treatment!

Galen Do you honestly want suggestions from us lot? Surely you've a long and interesting list of pleasing services that your butler may perform. Start with peeling grapes...

kitty That's what I call sensible botox. My advice is...settle for wrinkles. They are natural. A plastic-like, gormless look is far from attractive.

MacSporran and I have had a right rummage through the medical file. By gum! We mean business. I shall tell you what our kindly GP's reaction is when he gets his well presented copy.

callgirl1 Sophie's chill pose reminds me of the photo I saw of the handsome Harry.

How old is Grace MawB? I know she's getting on a bit. DD's springer spaniel has a condition called 'wobblers syndrome'. It's caused by a weakness in the spine. It sounds like a joke but that's the actual medical name. I wonder how jud's little dog is getting along - hopefully out of nappies now.

oldgoat Yes, I would also love to read an update on Georgie.

Away to prepare for important boring stuff that has been on hold.

Feeling that we've achieved something this afternoon. It's good to take control.

Enjoy a pleasant evening. I shall return after tomorrow's care home visit. Bye for now.

Spending a lot of time on Gransnet today, trying to avoid reading newspapers or listening to the radio, to avoid hearing about a Certain Topic (groan).
OH has thawed out a box of something in a yellowish gravy containing a lot of onions and smelling vaguely meaty. Neither of us can work out what it is so we are having it with sausages and mash for dinner. Can't wait.

This is what it looks like. Tastes OK but we've just remembered that we are meeting friends for lunch tomorrow so this might not be a good idea. Must remember to label leftovers in future.

Liver and onions?

oldgoat you are not the only one who has resolved to label things more diligently (or at all!) before putting them in the freezer. DD stayed here on Sunday night and when she left on Monday morning, I gave her some soup, and a fish pie for her dinner. She said she was looking forward to it. I went into the freezer today and found the fish pie she was supposed to have had. I had given her a shepherd's pie I had earmarked for DH. DD doesn't eat meat - he doesn't eat fish! She never mentioned it to me, but of course she had thawed it out and cooked it before she found out what was under the mashed potato!

N&G sounds like real progress on the house move front! We settled for slightly less than we could have got when we sold our last house because they were cash buyers and so were we and we didn't want to lose this house which had come down quite a lot in price. Fingers crossed it goes well for you.

soop go for the jugular! These medics have messed you about enough!

I went fishing for a few hours this afternoon, after feeling uncharacteristically down in the dumps this morning. The stitches in my lip are making me feel like Frankenstein's monster, although i know they're not actually that bad; and like many of you I am fed up with seeming to be permanently tethered to one hospital or another. I didn't catch anything (nearly got one, though), but I was not in my own. The wind was a real problem today for everyone, and it was cold, but just being there lifted my mood considerably. So now I'm going to have my tea (and it isn't trout!).

I think the wind may be a problem for us too greyduster. We ate all the onion 'gravy' which tasted strongly of cinnamon. Still can't remember when or why I made it but we won't be having it again, I'm sure.

oldgoat hope the wind passes soon!

NandG fingers crossed for you. Hope things work out this time.

grace is lovely maw. Doesn't look a day older

So Galen is off for a quickie with a butler . I'm saying nothing

soop you tell em. Hope your visit to GP has a good outcome.

Grace is 14, oldgoat which is old for a greyhound especially a big one, so every day is a bonus, but in the same way every ache, pain limp or weakness has me up to high doh worrying that this is "it". We have had her for almost exactly 9 years after her "retirement".
She is entitled to take life easily now.
What's my excuse!!
I have just come back from a highly enjoyable evening at a live broadcast of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead from the Old Vic at a small cinema in Northampton at the Derngate theatre complex.
It is only 30 minutes' drive away, cost £1 to park and £13 for the ticket. Compare and contrast with a trip to London at £15 for the train, parking at the station at least £50 for the ticket plus probably not getting home before 1. No brainer!

Going off what you say then MawB, our Heidi had a good run then, she was a month away from her 15th birthday when we had to have her put to sleep, bless her, we had her from 7 weeks.

Good Morning all !!

Good news for SiL , he has an apt on Tuesday at 8am for the first of his spinal injections. They are wasting no time. Huge benefit of private health care . Our NHS is so over stretched that not adding to that burden seems sensible. Grampy will be doing that early morning run though thank goodness.

Sam came back with the best cut we have seen Oldgoat. My lovely niece confirmed Sam was impeccably behaved so his previous dodgy haircuts were down to poor skill not a naughty Sam. He looks lovely now in his Summer coat .

Yes Kitty we have had a look. We're moving about 100 miles away and there are a large number of properties available so its just down to some final decisions. For instance we can get 2 bedroom's for about £70,000 less than 3 bedrooms. So as we only need 2 on a daily basis ( the third would be for guests) Grandchildren will just be squished in we are debating whether to buy 2 beds and just put people up locally if they visit. Seems mad to tie up money 'in case of visitors' . Lots to think about.

Corner funny old thing , someone else came yesterday and they too made an offer ! Its like buses ...nothing comes along for ages then 2 come along at the same time.

ah soop I would love a Granspals knees up ! How much fun would that be. I imagine we would not stop talking

Grampy managed to get us a £50 fine for not parking in a bay properly yesterday whilst we were having lunch nearby.
I shall be contesting it. We drive a large adapted vehicle for my scooter and I have to be able to open my door fully to get out. The car next to us was actually parked on the white line of the space so to get out we hade to park on one side not centrally.

However when I measured the actual parking space it was exactly 8 inches wider than our vehicle !!!! How the heck are you supposed to park in that???? So I shall be lodging my repudiation this morning...I am ...as my Nan used to say -- in high dudgeon !!

N&G, did you take a photograph of your car in the parking bay? Don't you have a blue badge? Were there no 'disabled' spaces available with space to open your doors fully?

Outrageous, NandG. I would certainly contest this parking ticket. I bet you're a force to be reckoned with when you are in a high dudgeon! I find that many parking spaces are too narow these days. Think councils are trying to pack in as many cars as possible to get the extra revenue. All the damage done to our last car happened in the same car park, where people bashed their doors into the side of ours trying to get in and out. I don't park there any more.

I love arguing the point. I had to pay a customs fee the other week, but on looking closely I realised that they had worked it out as though the amount was £ when it was quoted in $. I complained even though it was only a few pounds. Got a letter back saying "sorry, I should never had been charged and I would get the whole amount back". I wonder how many people just pay up without querying it?

Don't believe it! I've just seen two parent blackbirds feeding two fledgling chicks! It's only April!