Soop's kitchen for friendly folk and precious pets...

A good Saturday afternoon to one and all.

granniequeenie I like your photo. We have two pairs of Oyster Catchers nesting on the pebble beach across the way. The gulls can be a right nuisance. From time to time, the Oyster Catchers take off and make a heck of a noise as they attempt to drive the unwanted marauders away. Is it the merganser that makes a strange, repetitive "awoor" type call?

oldgoat Nothin' to do with me, guv!

Callgirl1 Kian is a very well mannered young man. He is delightful. Hope that you enjoyed a VERY happy birthday, Kian.

Charleyg It's good to hear that Tara is improving. Us lot do fret when our pets are "off colour".

Nana&Grampy Wow! What splendid dogs. They must have cost a fortune to feed. What were their names?

rosesarered Enjoy your barbecue. I'm willing the weather to be kind to you and the family.

Don't think there would be room for your beautiful dogs in our campervan N&G They look enormous.

Happy Bank Holiday weekend to all. just popped in for a slice of whatever is going and a coffee, as have to log out now and prepare for the family descending on us for a barbecue ( I am demoted to salad and puds as himself is a bossy barbecuer.)
Hope there are no storms heading our way!

Good Morning all !!

Had a lovely afternoon yesterday swimming in the outside pool at the gym. Bitter sweet really as it was our last swim there with Jackson. He has been going, and had his own membership for just over 3 years and we have swum with him at least once a week in all that time.

The real pleasure was not only can he now stand up in the pool ( how did he get so tall) but he is a confident little swimmer and I was able to lounge around yesterday watching him playing with a group of little boys , diving and jumping in. That's a job well done I say!!

Until we move we will now have to do something else once a week with him but hopefully the good weather will mean we can do outside stuff.

I loved the idea of taking the pets to school downsized . When our children were smaller we would take our Bernese Mountain Dogs in to school once a term to talk about how to stay safe with dogs. The Bern's are a giant breed and well suited to cuddles with small people. Ive added a picture of me about 20 years ago with 2 of them.

Had to laugh at the whole tale of the aran sweater Posh !!

Hope Tara is feeling better Charley !

I always offer mine a choice Corner , the bath....bubbles and boats included, the shower --its quick and we can wear our wellibobs to splash in the 'puddle' or they can stand in the garden under the sprinkler !!! I don't mind which :-) works a treat!!

What a polite young chapann , its nice to just be thanked isn't it?

Sorry to hear your night out wasn't all you hoped wot , still next time it will be better.

Just reading about your trauma maw made me tired ! How lucky your neighbour is to have you.

Hope DH's eyes are better this morning Grey

Smashing pictures soop .

What lovely pictures to bring back the memories Callgirl .
Time flies doesn't it?

Still working on my baby shower crafting today , and no visitors expected

Happy Saturday all x

A very polite young man, long may it continue.

Tara has been out in the lovely very early morning sunshine but returned when there was a drop of rain. I am so pleased that she appears to be back to normal, moaning her head off if something is not to her liking.

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Soop, what on earth have you been up to, lol!
It`s my youngest grandson`s birthday today, can`t believe it`s 9 years since we went to the hospital to see new baby Kian. He rang earlier to thank us for his cards and money, which is more than the older ones do these days.

Then and now

soop We were amused by these news headlines in Campbeltown .

Now I never knew it was one of those, greyduster , I thought it was a grebe by the way it and it's partner were diving in the water as they swam along past me! It was on the Mawddach Estuary which is where we stay. Yes the weather was very kind, we've been coming here since 1975 and we've have had some very mixed weather over the years and very damp small children too! But this year it's been dry all week with some really hot and sunny days thrown in, I'm feeling very blessed, especially in the light of events in Manchester earlier in the week.

GQ brilliant photo of the female merganser! I've never seen one in the flesh. Was it on the sea? Looks like north Wales was kind to you in a way it seldom has been with us. Glad you had a good holiday.

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Patchy internet in my hols so I'm way behind in kitchen happenings. But so pleased to see you're hoping for an an evening out Ann but sorry to see you're faving a down day callgirl. The oldgoats looked very happy to see you and MacSporran, soop. maw you're a neighbour and a half!
There are a pair of Oyster Catchers Nesting just yards away from the cottage we're in, it's been fun watching them and some entertaining grebes too. Beautiful beaches and lots of lovely walks, it's been a good week and it hadn't rained once...always a bonus in Wales!
Back home tomorrow and into a week full of various family visiting, I may need another holiday next week!

callgirl There are days when every inch of me hurts too. You are most certainly not a moaner. Try to relax and I hope that you'll be feeling much improved very soon. Yes, the photos were taken in the garden. The Oldgoats will most certainly return to Muasdale. And, we said hello to David, as we always do whenever we pass by.

I'm away for now. I'm wishing all our lovely Granspals a peaceful and pleasant evening.

Good on yer MawB, I`m glad the little dog is going to be alright.
Lovely photos Soop, the weather will show Kintyre off in all it`s glory. Were the photos taken in your garden? I want to be back there! I hope the Oldgoats enjoy their time in Oban, a nice town, but it`s no Muasdale!
Ann, enjoy your time with your friends.
At the risk of sounding like a right old moaner, I`m having one of those days when everything hurts, and am feeling reluctant to get up and do anything, will try to feel more cheerful before too much longer.

wot Enjoy your freedom. Enjoy being yourself. Smile...a lot. No need to feel nervous. Except, of course, I now see that you returned home early. I agree with corner You've taken the first all important step. Anyways, I'm well tucked up in my bed by 10.30.

callgirl The weather is at it's best right now. Oldgoats told us that the Boathouse has had a fire. They enjoyed visiting the gardens. We saw them just before they set off for Oban. As we were looking at family photos, I shared some dust with Oldgoat from a shelf that will be cleaned any day now (so that we leave the house in pristine order).

corner Please take note of Galen's excellent tip for getting a stroppy reluctant child into the shower. It has to be fun!

Posh My mother was fond of spit-washing we children. I hated it! She would follow the spit-wash with a brutal brushing down of my school uniform. The number of times she rapped my knuckles with the wooden clothes brush, amounted to serious assault.

One more...

callgirl News of the death of the baby girl is horrifying. What a very stupid thing to do. We're forever being warned about leaving animals in a car in hot sunshine. A baby!!! Words fail me.

Maw You were most certainly a friend indeed. You were there for your friend in her hour of need. Treat yourself to a nice glass of chilled .

annsixty Good! That's what us lot like to hear. You deserve a pleasant, sunny evening sipping something to your liking.

Greyduster I'm hoping that your husband's eye is improving. Sad that a trip to the coast had to be called off. Never mind, enjoy whatever it is you'll be doing instead.

Gaga In a previous life I lived at Lee on Solent. A pleasant enough location. There appeared to be a constant wind blowing. A bit like Campbeltown. Extremely warm today. Nevertheless there was the usual wind blowing along the harbour-side.

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Have been trying to log on to GN for well over an hour. Not the fault of our computer, I hasten to add.
Before I return to play catch up...a few photos taken of the lovely Oldgoats this morning. They have had a lovely time.

Horrifying callgirl some people's stupidity is nothing short of criminal

We`ve just heard on the news about a 7 month old baby left in a car yesterday for several hours, and she has since died. This sort of thing makes me so angry! No matter how upset the parent/parents are, they should throw the book at them, it`s unforgiveable!

I am sure you are right Galen! Think DS was trying to impress us and his sister!

Doubt it heels to 180°!
120° more likely!
Remember I sailed a 29ft yacht before my husband died,
Didn't like heeling over too much. They sail better the nearer they are to vertical

Corner it is a battle to get my 10 year old GS to shower when he is here. We get all sorts of excuses - "your shower cubicle is too small", (it fits us and we're bigger than you), "the water is too cold/hot", (thermostatically set at 38, so no), "I had one yesterday so I don't need one today" (pull the other one). Give him another few years and he'll be in the shower all the time, I have no doubt. At the moment, he's just lazy.
You are a Good Samaritan, Maw, and I'm glad all was okay with your neighbour and her dog. Hope you can take it easy today. An NHS walk in centre is no place to be spending your time - last time we went there it was three hours before we were seen and it was very busy. I'm hoping that we won't have a trip there this weekend as DH has a problem with his eye at the moment that flared up on Wednesday. He managed to get some drops from the doctor yesterday but he said that if it didn't start to get better today he was to go to the walk in centre (groan!!). It looks a wee bit better this morning but is still red and painful. Fingers crossed. Having resolved our recent differences yesterday, we were going to make the two hour drive to the coast today but that is now out, and it would probably be heaving anyway, so we are going to look at bathrooms instead. A fun day out? Meah!
Ann do enjoy your wine and your friends and the lovely weather! ?☀️☀️
We were told yesterday that the man who lived in the house adjacent to the back of our garden died suddenly at the weekend. He had a brain tumour. We only spoke to him a couple of times and he lived on his own, but he seemed nice. He was in his mid fifties. I am sad for his family. He had two teenage children who used to visit him occasionally.

annsixty that sounds just what the doctor ordered - plus hearing from your GS
gagagran each to their own eh? I frankly prefer Galen's type of boat/ship especially one where the deck stays level enough not to spill my G&T!

Well done Maw and pleased all is well now and the dog is ok.

It is a beautiful start to the day, I just hope the forecasters have got it wrong for the Bank holiday weekend.

I was getting some money from the "money machine" yesterday while a friend waited for me and a mutual friend came out of a shop nearby and invited us both to hers tonight for a glass of wine (or two) in her lovely west facing garden. As my S will be here tonight I can go with an easy mind. Happy days.

What a kind neighbour you are Maw - well done you and no wonder you are somewhat fatigued! Hope your friend has recovered too as well as her little dog.

Coincidentally, my DS was sailing in the Solent yesterday on a team building exercise from his City Bank. They were on a 60 foot yacht which apparently heels over 180 degrees - not my cup of tea at all. He called in on his way back to London and I made him an omelette and salad to fuel his journey back up the A3 and M25. DD came round to see her brother and it was the first time in years that just the four of us were together. Felt lovely but strange - missed the DGC and their other parents!

Bit of a drama last night when probably my best friend B and also neighbour appeared distraught at the window in tears saying her Jack Russell had been attacked by a Staffie on the green in front of our houses. The staffie belongs to the 30-something stepson of another friend (of mine) L who is visiting at the moment. He is staying with his dad and stepmum because one of his 2 staffies (the other one) has been diagnosed with threat cancer and he is just not coping with the situation.
Keeping up so far?
Anyway B's husband was away sailing off Southampton so I said I would go to the emergency vet with her, I offered to drive but Alfie was already in his harness and in shock in her car. Off to the vets about 10 miles away where we had a long wait while they did various things, but he had nothing broken or torn , just (?) an ear and some puncture wounds on his back neck and leg which did not need stitching.
However B noticed that she had some scratches and a possible puncture wound on one arm on the side where her lymph nodes were removed when she had BC 9 years ago, so off we went to the emergency walk in centre as she was worried about possible infection. It was heaving , goodness knows what A&E would have been like but fortunately the triage nurse was able to give her a tetanus jab and a box of antibiotics. In the meantime her husband had got a taxi to Southampton station and was on his way to Waterloo, thence to Euston and Milton Keynes in the early hours of this morning I expect.
We got home at quarter to 12 and all was well.
Just exhausted!