Soop's kichen for friendly folk and pampered pets

Swanny especially for you
I wondered why the cricket ball was getting bigger?
Then it hit me!

Best wishes to all with problems! My middle name is Margherita, spelt that way, from my German grandmother.

Galen I'm going to have to compile Alexa's jokes for my Great Nephew, he will love them. Mind, I do too

Maw I felt very selfish and petty after reading last night's post. You have a mountain of worries to cope with daily and mine are insignificant in comparison. I do hope you all manage to have a good day

Crafting Thanks for your suggestion and yes, we've got all sorts of fidget gadgets for DGS. Some have been specifically designed but his favourites have been plastic spoons (that he likes to chew, or flap in front of his eyes) and a floppy-legged stuffed toy frog that gets flapped at high speed too. I gave him one of those fidget spinners yesterday but he just wanted to throw it - not a good idea!

N&G Your comment about my patience made me smile as I recently recited the ode to patience to DGS. Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can. Seldom in a woman, never in a man. I'd then added ... or a little boy. He thinks it hilarious, although there's a few words in it he's not met before, and keeps asking me to 'say that patience thing again'

Did you hear the one about the man who tried to climb a hill without a watch?
He had neither the time nor the inclination.
Alexa

You can get mini cameras to put on cats to check on roaming habits.

I will be amazed if anybody turns up here today as it is now after 11am. I did have a phone call earlier and I was certain that somebody was coming. If I had carried on when I was working, I would have been unemployed before the end of the first week and that would have been with my warnings etc.

Thanks Maw I do have heating, hot water etc. but I do have holes in the walls and the most disgraceful plastering ever seen. I could go on but I will not bore you.

As said before I do not know where Tara goes, it is very residential here but she must have found a hidey hole or two. This Mews was a farm before houses were built here in 1988. I am not allowed to farm sheep or cows but I am allowed to open a dental practice! Any takers?!

Sadly not Oldgoat , a very talented friend of my daughter has made all our cakes for about 5 years and each one is a delight. They taste as good as they look too .

I'm with Ann that could be anything from a main course to dessert( or in our house Sams dinner!) , pizza it is then!

I would certainly have a pizza or something in reserve oldgoat

Love the cake NandG Did you make it?

OH has just excavated another bag of mystery food from the freezer. It's reddish brown, smooth and doesn't smell of anything? Any ideas? Will we be eating it for dinner tonight or should I just chuck it away immediately?

PS The large green talking lizard Cooper is cuddling is one half of our present to him...obviously a hit

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Good morning all !

Well , so long sunshine. I woke up and thought it was very early , so grey was the light coming in the window. I am longing for some sunshine with some heat in it !! Not too much to ask is it?

Maybe we should send soop a quick breakdown of the posts she is missing ? Its going to be heck of a catch up , that's for sure !

Kitty all normal so far in the 'poo' front ! I am told this by Grampy who has that peculiar male trait of looking intently at what comes out ! I on the other hand, trust to god that nothing untoward is going on and just exit as fast as possible !!

Sounds like you have plenty of patience Swanny amazing what love for our grandchildren can get us through.

Charley sounds like you need some cake , bright blue or not ! What a palaver eh? Have added a picture of young Cooper at 6:30 last night , and his cake in all its glory ! I thought you might also need to see his new superhero certification if you need someone to give your builders a good talking to!!

You're right Poshgran . Whenever I feel a bit grumpy with the kids I remind myself how quickly this age flies by. I love a good craft fair so hope you have a lovely time. I love how you came about your name ... and here was I thinking you maybe wore a tiara when ironing

Oh Maw a hug for both you, Paw and Grace. I do hope you won't miss the celebrations and Paw is feeling better this morning. As for poor Grace , wise words. Its a great responsibility for us pet owners to do the right thing for our beloved pets .

Sorry if you got an ear bashing Corner. Why don't idle commentators realise that a rant is just that ...its not indicative of how you generally feel but in times of stress is a great release. Stay here while I send Grampy in to bash some heads together

I have a middle name so I MUST be posh my one claim to fame is that on the phone I have what people have described as a 'young' voice ! I well remember talking at length to a customer before I retired and when we eventually met he was most disappointed. He had envisaged a young sylph like blonde and he got a beach ball shaped grandma {smile] ! Ha!!

Wishing everyone what their heart desires today !! xx

Good morning from my bed. Nothing wrong but I have decided the days are too,too long when I get up early.
Poshgran I am happy with your explanation, you will fit in well here now we know you are not too posh. Very common me, no middle name, plain old Ann, not even an E and a five letter surname almost as common (as in well used) as Smith so I cant even try to have pretentions.
MawB my fingers are well and truly crossed for you.
charleygirl how you are coping I just don't know,
corner positive vibes winging your way, "it will pass,it will pass, it will...)
Positive thoughts to everyone who needs them today and come back soon soop we miss you.

PS I wish you did live nearer charleygirl you would be more than welcome to use the facilities, including central heating, hot water, a not smart telly and comfy chairs, but Tara if she kept her distance from Grace, might enjoy the fact that our garden backs on to a big farm garden and orchard and then just across the (very quiet) road from that, the grounds of the Manor House. Scope for adventure there!

Right now, pearls
Daytime -possibly 2, 3 at the most, will do, depending on what you plan to wear,
Evening
Again 2 or 3 depending on the degree of formality of the dining, but there must also be a showstopper string (or strings à la Queen Mary) for the big formal dinner/cocktail party or parties.
However remember the woman in our village who being complimented on how smart she looked, on her kneeler, weeding the front border, protested "but these are just my gardening pearls" . There's posh!
DH , Grace and I have all had a good night. She slept very well, only getting me up twice - at 4 for a wee and then (why didn't she do BOTH) twenty minutes later for the other. Good dog.
Paw is feeling cautiously optimistic, say no more, won't tempt fate!
If we go (whenever we go out for any length of time) I have a good greyhound friend also called Maw, funnily enough, who has had 2 greyhounds and 2 lurchers in her time. Icy, our last greyhound was madly and quite unashamedly in lust with one of her boy hounds and Grace is actually related to Gertie, her last greyhound whom she lost 6 months ago. She has been a great support in incidents such as the Cut Paw and the Tail in the nighttime Patio Door. However, she also has health issues and a teenage autistic son so while dogs are her lifeline, I try not to overdo the dependency.
Wishing you all a pleasant Sunday and hoping that Soop is surviving her enforced wi-fi detox. Does anybody live on a hill high enough for semaphore? (Very flat, N Bucks)

Wel, I have decided to give myself a right talking to and moan no more. No sign of 'stuff' not happening so I must get used to it and get on. Just a final note to crafting, of course your thoughtful post didn't rattle my cage, it was just the accusations about not appreciating the NHS. The surgery was just the final straw in a day full of last straws.

Ah, I see I missed your explanation poshgran, learned something about your area and can also join the middle name club. Mr C doesn't have a middle name, he's always wondered why but never asked his parents.

Please don't give up yet callgirl, there will be a way.

I'm worrying about you today mawb, is Grace steadier? I do hope you and pawb get to that birthday bash. You've had more than your fair share of disappointments lately and it would be a shame not to view the scaffolding in all it's glory. I wonder, did charley pass hers on? Goodness charley, how do you remain sane? All hints and tips gratefully received.

It seems our not quite yet a teenager has begun to practice grannyqueenie, Fortunately only for a couple of hours at a time but I can sympathise and know how valuable the breakthrough smiles are. Were we like that do you think? Not sure I would have dared .

Hope soop and macs are OK without their connection to the world. I was thinking how much harder day to day practicalities are without it. We have a friend who has never used a computer, she travels to make transactions that we do instantly. Wasn't a problem until she became house bound. Her experience has certainly encouraged us to keep up with technology. If it lets us that is

Mr C is still sleeping so I am going to creep about and get ready for the day.

charleygirl I always associate a hyphen with poshness. The GCs are at school with lots of children who have two surnames because their parents aren't married so they use both. Only one of my sisters was given a second name which was our dad's mother's maiden name. The rest of us were very indignant that we only had one.
maw I hope that your DH is feeling better today and that you can make it to the family get-together and that poor old Grace is steadier on her pins today.
We went to a car boot sale yesterday and I bought a load of bedding plants. We will have to get them planted because we are going away shortly and I want to get them established. The problem is that the tops of the daffodils are showing no sign of dying down. And it's still really cold at night.
callgirl Sorry that you can't find anybody to go to Cornwall with you. I think the problem is the distance that you would have to travel - otherwise I would love to join you. It would be a unique experience holidaying with a virtual friend.

I do not intend to be the hod carrier today and the cheque book is no longer in existence. I am slowly getting it across that the flow of money has stopped permanently.

My new alarm clock appears to have died, nothing much works in this house at present.I have now reached the stage where I would like to put the clocks back to February and be sitting in my old house with a bit more dosh in the bank as is now. I still have to be careful what I say because I do not want the two coming today to down tools permanently.

callgirl I am Grace's unofficial dog sitter and walker when Maw and Paw are not at home. Such a pity that I do not live closer.

I so hope that the two of you do not miss the grand family get together today. I know that Grace will not mind if you stay at home but the pair of you deserve a day out.

Galen I agree, maybe ask Alexa and if she does not have an answer, surely a change of pearls with a change of knickers is order of the day?

callgirl please do not hand in your holiday just yet- can you not persuade a member or two of your family to join you? I am sure that we can find somebody.

Ah corner I also live on a corner and my poor house shields others from the rough weather, hence some of the work which has been done recently. I also have a middle name, my grandmother's maiden name so many people think my name is double barrelled- would that make me extra posh I wonder?

Hello all! Very late for me posting. I have not been posting much on here lately. I had a lot of garden work done last year to make it more manageable.

The sun has been out quite a lot and I have been trying to beat my garden into submission while I can.

So if I am not on GN I will probably be somewhere in my garden.

Good to see that Soop is still there, albeit incommunicado right now, roll on Tuesday!
MawB, I do hope that your husband will be well enough for you both to get to the party, you deserve a bit of light entertainment. Who will look after Grace if you do go?
It`s looking more and more like I`m going to be handing my prize holiday back, nobody wants to go with me, I`m poor Billy no mates!

Goodness poshgran I've got 2 middle names, does that make me extra posh??
Seems a few are skulking in the kitchen to recover from life "out there" where folks are less tolerant and understanding of the difficult issues many on gransnet face in everyday life.
soop hope you can join us soon.
Maw do hope you get to the family birthday party tomorrow, you and Paw deserve some family fun.
Well it's been a marginally better day today with the grunting granddaughter! She forgot herself and almost cracked a smile once or twice giving me glimpse of how it once was and hopefully will be again when this awful phase passes! Thanks to those in the kitchen who've been supportive. Night all, sleep well

swanny has you DGS got any fidget toys? My DGC (also with ASD) finds them helpful. You can find them on the internet as there are several places that sell them (sorry you may already know all about this). Some of them are not too expensive and perhaps you could get a few for your trip. Hope all goes well.?

N&G what a fabulous cake. Bet all the kids wanted some just to get blue poo

Maw do so hope you and Paw get to the party tomorrow. What a time you've been having recently. Poor Grace hope she's got over the panic now.

corner I replied on your surgery post with what I hope were some helpful comments. Hope mine wasn't one of the ones that upset you. Certainly not the intention

7 days Galen not sure. Possibly 3 or 4 sets of pearls. Have you tried asking Alexa? She seems to have an answer to most things

HI SOOP SHOUTING SO YOU CAN HEAR ME. HOPE YOU GET YOUR INTERNET BACK SOON ?

galen a special safety net and harness for you .

charleygirl you are paying money for the work on your house. Utterly unreasonable to expect you to function as hod carrier/gopher/builders mate!
I know you want -nay NEED the work finished - but they are the workmen, you are the chequebook, keep that distinction clear!
Thank you for your kind comments, it may seem rough, but I know there are others with worse problems, and while I would not wish misfortune on anybody (apart from Donald Trump perhaps ) it can be comforting not to feel alone!
Another day, another dollar as they say!