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

Congratulations soop and you know there is no limit to the number of baby pictures you can post.

I fully expect to become a great grand mother in a few years and my mother only missed out by a year or so to being a great great grand mother. We are a family of early starters!

jalima SIL is an international fraud investigator, and partner in one of the big accountancy firms. He gave his motor insurance company the benefit of his professional expertise.
It was indeed that classic roundabout shunt, car in front prepares to set off, you look to the right to make sure all is clear then the stupid driver stops for no apparent reason. It might even have been one of those deliberate shunts where they hope to clean up because the car behind is always liable.
Paw having trouble wth his breathing tonight, on 3l oxygen and Salbutamol.

Wishing paw a comfortable night with easier breathing, maw, so pleased your digestive upset has settled, hope you sleep well.

Huge congratulations to you and macs, 'soop'. Wonderful news. Your whole family must be beaming.

Know what you mean grey, many moons back we won a rugby ball signed by the (then) Welsh international team. Mr C, being Welsh, wouldn't part with it. What on earth do you do with it, though? A charity raffle makes a whole lot more sense than putting it in a very high cupboard. It has been passed on to our small grandson. Guess what? It's back in a very high cupboard .

Jackson is quite a character n&g, that picture says it all. So sorry about your planned move, disappointed for you.

Pleased Seb was a star, kitty, also wishing you a very sturdy, long lived filling .

Hope you are feeling better today swanny, children eh?

Take care all

Morning all .

Hope Paw had a restful night Maw and you too !

Jackson rang me before school this morning as he had thought of something that might be of interest to your SiL.

He suggests calling out Kevin the RAC man because he has a computer in his van so will be able to fix the Maserati.

( I once had to call the RAC out to get us started and Jackson took a shine to him !! So obviously Kevin can fix anything )

Thanks Corner , it is what it is re the house move or lack of it. I'm sure it will be for the best reasons.

Thank god I'm an optimist

Quiet day here before the start of the school summer holidays !

Bless him N&G!!
Please thank him from me, I really appreciate the thought ??

N&G that little lad! What a good 'un! ????.

N&G would you consider renting and putting your house up for auction but there would have to be a minimum starting price.

Thanks everyone for all your kind thoughts. DGC's class picnic did not go ahead yesterday as apparently the heavens opened just as they were about to go to the park. It takes me less than 15 minutes to walk to the school and we didn't get a drop of rain here! Plenty of heavy rain clouds about though.

Along with some of his schoolmates DGS goes to a weekly after-school music therapy group. He's been singing and dancing at home for weeks but when it came to doing it in front of others last night - he just didn't open his mouth Poor lamb was so distressed he just ran to his dad and cried at the end. I think the problem was that although all the children recognise each other's parents (and me), there were 4 strangers in the room and these children do not like unexpected change.

Maw thinking of you and Paw. Do hope he feels more comfortable very soon (((hugs))) and

Oh, swanny. It's not been the best week for the little lad, I'm sure you are right, the unknown did it. Here's hoping for a happy day today for him.

Yes, n&g, optimism is useful . I do try to always think if something doesn't happen it just wasn't meant to be. Not always easy though, is it? Hope you have some fun ahead, school holidays leave plenty of space for it. .

I think we need to stock up on and as Laura has been recommending Gransnetters come here as a refuge from the controversial threads

I came into our kitchen wearing a smile. I then logged onto FB and my sister (a true guardian angel wherever an injustice is seen to be done) had invited me to sign a petition. I did so. When I saw the photo of two lads who had chopped off both ears of a living dog - for the purpose of taking "selfies", I crumbled. So sorry. I shall have to take a break before I continue. I feel numb with distaste.

I'm baking as fast as I can Tizliz

That's horrid for you soop. Hope you feel better when you return.

I'd just like to point out that my praise of Seb's acting was very tongue in cheek. His friend, on the other hand, was mesmerising.

Maw, I hope Paw is feeling better by the minute.

N&G, I don't think you will really be able to leave those DGC and that's why your house sale fell through.

I think my filling has already gone Corner - I hate having to go back but I think the problem is that dentist's wives make other dentists nervous!

I've had a bit of a surreal day. I went to be inducted (induced?) into a new role for the Alzheimer's Society this morning so I have come home a bit brain dead. The plumber turned up to replace my shower (yippee), I've been out delivering 2 condolence cards, had a phone call from an aged aunt, who never rings me but uses email, and then discovered that DS1 has written a blog for the Huffington Post - without telling me!!!!

I'm going for a lie down.

I haven't recovered from the sadness that washed over me when I saw that terrible, terrible photo of the poor, cowering, mutilated dog. I shall have to ask my sister to please forewarn me if she wishes to invite me to sign like campaigns in future. It's isn't that she is hardened to such atrocities, rather that she feels duty bound to take a stand and try to get justice done.

Maw We are continuing to hope that Paw will turn a corner and take the road to recovery.

Swanny children take certain things in their stride...however, the cancellation of a class picnic would be most disappointing. I also feel for your grandson when he had a dose of "stage fright". Something similar happened to my sister when, as a child, she was about to recite a much practiced poem at the end of term. The moment she reached the end of the first line, she forgot her words. She went into full-on meltdown and had to be carried off the stage.

NanaandGrampy Us lot have a very soft spot for Jackson and Cooper. Young children can be so wise.

kitty Seb played his part ably (with pride). Very well done, I say.
For a brief moment, before reading your post properly, I thought...by George, I didn't know that kitty was pregnant!
Silly me

Popped in hoping for good news of Paw, hope he's picking up a bit maw and your tum has settled down too.
swanny your poor little lad with his stage fright he must have felt really overwhelmed.
kitty no wonder you need a lie down! I do think your thoughts on n&g's defunkt housemove may have more than a grain of truth in it! I know you're feeling very deflated about it all n&gbut I'm guessing the family may not fully share in your disappointment and may be secretly doing the happy dance when you're not looking! smile]
I've had a week of waking up at stupid o'clock very early so after a busy morning volunteering sat on the sofa to watch a bit of tv and guess what slept for an hour! Then of course felt a bit muggy so delegated the cooking to my old boy, his skills are limited specialised i.e. steak or scrambled egg. Just as well there was some steak in the fridge!
My lovely daughter's boyfriend goes off to Africa tomorrow for the best part of 5 months. She's being incredibly gracious about it all, she's done similar stuff herself in the past so understands his motivation etc. But it will be hard for them both as they've become very close and find of each other in the 7 months since they met. But this may help them be clearer on how the future looks for them. But sensible, capable and mature as she is she's still my "baby" and as fretting is in a mother's job description I am of course very concerned for her.
So after a well cooked steak and a or 2 I'm now nicely relaxed. Have a good evening all.

You had a bit to absorb today one way or another, kitty. . Being 'induced' was a bit of a joke in our team when I was working, lots of thoughts along the lines of soops and much hilarity. Hope you haven't absorbed that filling. Can't be good for the, err, system. Your comment gave me a smile, makes a change from dentists triggering a nervous reaction .

That must have been a shock soop, sadly images stay with us. Hope you can sleep well and won't be disturbed by it.

Our children are always just that, grannyqueenie, no matter how old. You're bound to worry for your daughter. Our two are facing some challenges just now and for me it's true, we are only as happy as our unhappiest child. I feel flattened some days but pick myself up and glue the smile back on for them. No steak for me, sea bass today, have my glass of chilled white, it is helping . Hope the months pass quickly for your daughter and they reconnect.

Volunteering tomorrow, always good for distraction, take care everyone.

grannyqueenie I'm sure that if your daughter's relationship is as strong as you intimate that it is, they will endure the five months apart and be stronger for it. DH and I had only known each other for around the same period of time when he was sent off on a one year posting. It was hard on both of us, but made us realise we were right for each other. As corner says, your children are always your children. I worry constantly about mine too, even when they don't give me anything to worry about!
soop I can't imagine how you must have felt seeing that photograph. There are some dreadful, cruel people in the world.
My son came back from his holiday yesterday and announced during a telephone conversation that they thought they would come down on Sunday and bring the boys if they weren't busy doing anything else. I have already invited DD et al to lunch on Sunday as they are going away on Thursday so we won't see them for two weeks. I didn't like to say '"well I'd rather you left it a week" so now I am faced with the prospect of having nine of us for Sunday lunch - possibly ten if one SGS brings his beloved! That is, if the boys come, and until they deign to say one way or the other (they are now adults and cannot be press ganged into family visits any more!) I won't know who is actually coming! At one time the prospect wouldn't have phased me, but the older I get, the less organised I am even at cooking a Sunday lunch! DH said I should have insisted that they come in another day, but I was rather caught on the back foot. They will have to take pot luck. I may just stay in bed and pull the covers over my head!!

I am just catching up on here. I hope Paw and Maw are both more comfortable.
Better lay off the spicy food Maw take lots of plain yogurt to restore the "good" gut flora.

Soop I have to admit I deleted that picture because such cruelty is more than I can stomach, I do not even dare think about it. I agree about the warning - some images are hard to dispel.
On the home front they are talking about planning paw's discharge. OK not immediately. I am not putting out the flags as IMO he is a long long way away from that and I don't want us bounced into some bedbound/housebound hell (for both of us) .
It will need him to be able to move around without needing 24/7 oxygen, it will need a limited amount of mobility within the house, to get to the loo for instance and I am sure it will mean the expense of a stairlift which I am investigating now. I hope OT/SS will provide more grab rails, perching stools, wheelchair ramps (?)
Yes they have "fixed" the immediate worst problem, but his breathing and mobility (non existent) have nose dived and they cannot decide he is "medically fit"
Love our house, but it does not have anywhere for a downstairs room (or washing facilities) wish it was a bungalow.
Must dash, my "treat" fir DGS. (Well me actually) off to Birmingham for The Red Shoes.

Morning all !

It looks a bit damp outside here today so I foresee a day of crafting in front of me !!

Maw Jackson rang this morning to check on the health of the Maserati ( he is concerned that the mechanics will not know what to do and suggested google !!) .

Funnily enough Charley we talked about renting the house we want to buy if allowed yesterday and leaving ours for sale but that leaves us in a precarious position as renting is really just taking money out of the pot. My IDEAL scenario would be to rent but having the rent money taking off the sale price LOL . I'm almost positive he wont run for that.

Ah Swanny sorry about the picnic, and the tears . Poor soul , must have been overwhelming.

Yes Corner lots plans for the hols for the 2 little ones but for the older 2 they have their tonsils out on the 27th and then have to stay at home for 2 weeks , so I am assembling care packages. I don't remember that being the case for tonsil removal when I was a kid though.

Sorry for the shock email Soop I too dislike being 'surprised ' by that sort of stuff- oh and close up pictures of insects !!

You're right I'm sure Grannie my youngest is saying all the right stuff but its not ringing true LOL. With new technology hopefully your daughter and her beau will at least be able to keep in touch. A good test I think if they can weather that sort of separation .

Sounds like good weather would be a bonus for Sunday Grey and maybe a BBQ :-)

There is a parade of 71 Ferrari in a nearby town this afternoon I have been informed by a certain small someone - so bang goes my crafting. Mummy and Daddy have all their friends round for a BBQ so good old Nana and Grampy will pick up the slack !

Happy Day all !!

Glad to hear Paw is a little better Maw and what a buggeration about the house.

I feel your pain as mobility is one of the most pressing reasons for our hoped for move to a bungalow.

Enjoy your treat today x

soop that was a nasty shock for you. It's hard not to dwell on such an image and I agree you needed to be forewarned. I didn't see it but just hearing about it sickens me.
Maw I do hope you find that Paw has improved when you see him later. Thinking of you.

They put a jinx on that house sale N&G they couldn't manage without you.?