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

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Lovely garden kitty. I'm sure the masses will arrive just as you decide to have something to eat.

Maw have a lovely break, you know that Paw will be in safe hands.

Ann I hope you had a good and relaxing time last night. Or was it going to be tonight?

I've had six of the family staying this week, including grandson who brought his toys with him. He's 24.
He's going home tomorrow but we will still have four of them for another week.

Callgirl1 I hope you enjoy your new kitchen as much as I'm enjoying mine. The family visit has got me over the compulsion to tidy it every five minutes.

soop your photographs are as lovely as always, I love your outfit.

Back to the messages.

kitty Your garden is extremely pretty. The backdrop of your Victorian schoolhouse home sounds perfect. I'm hoping that sun continues to shine for you.

You too, Gaga and family. The moveable feast (together with warm new potatoes and lashings of butter)couldn't be bettered.

Maw safe and happy travels to you.

callgirl1 A new kitchen deserves to be photographed.

Ann I'm looking forward to hearing about last evening's treat.

NanaandGrampy The red dinosaur doodles would be loved by Torben. How expensive? I shall look online.

kitty a gorgeous garden- fancy having a look at mine and giving me ideas?

MawB I do hope that you arrived at your destination without too many hiccups. Enjoy the freedom and the rest.

Soop I am anything but a saint- if any of that lot walked through the door now my sharpened machete would be ready. It is the lack of communication which gets to me but they expect me to stay indoors 24/7. Not today, I had stuff I had to do.

N&G I am not sure what hat I would describe is on my head but it is to do with the plimsolls that Cooper has been bought. They should have stayed on the shelves as they are not good for his feet.

Corner it sounds to me as though it should be "feet up" time at your house. My BP is marginally too high whereas yours is too low. Mine I think is stress related although I do not show it outwardly.

Lovely garden kitty. Looks really peaceful. We in the kitchen are enjoying it anyway.

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I'm spitting tacks. I have been busy responding to all your recent messages. I also added three photos of an adult woodpecker feeding it's fledgling peanuts in our garden. The entire message has disappeared into the ether.
Right! First of all, I shall upload the photos yet again.

Pretty garden kitty, don't worry, the masses will come

Very pretty ! I really like the water feature .

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Sitting in the garden wondering where the masses have got to!

Good Morning all !

How was your evening out Ann ? Hope you enjoyed the company.

Thanks Gaga they are fun - mostly . The move drags on , 8 weeks now and we have been ready for 4. Considering the family buying our home don't have one to sell and had their mortgage offer in place it does seem to be moving slowly. We haven't packed anything as we have decided to have the removers in to do it all, including taking down any flat pack stuff and putting that up again at the other end. Lazy I know but its a stress too far to pack it all. Ill just pack up my personal stuff and underwear :-) Don't want any frisky removal lads running round with my pants on their head as boys are want to do!!

I love the sound of the weekends buffet food Gaga , you are a woman after my own heart ! Food is an expression of love in this house too.

Oh no you will miss your little garden helper Charley !

More chilling for you Corner until your BP settles down.

Oh I love a llama soop , lovely picture of you too!! Coop had his feet measured with an iPad LOL . Or similar. Shoes were dutifully selected and he is now the proud owner of red dinosaur doodles( like plimsolls only WAY more expensive!!).

Good luck on your travels Maw - it will be an amazing experience.

I'm off out this afternoon for afternoon tea with my youngest daughter, so wish you all a cooler day today x

Good luck this weekendKitty will there be pictures?

I am about to log off and retire to the kitchen to start preparations for the family feeding frenzy later. It will be a moveable feast as there are lots of activities going on all day in and around the village, and indeed all weekend.

I am doing mainly cold foods with warm new potatoes to fill in any spaces and feed the fussy ones. I love feeding my family - must be the Mothering-gene. My Mum was the same. She could make a lot from a little. I just do a lot!

Maybe all of us with busy days can meet up in the kitchen later for a refreshing cup of something? See you later!

Thank you all for your good wishes. I realise that I have been boring about the garden. We have been asked lots of times because of the fact that we live in the victorian village school NOT because we are gardeners or the garden is anything special, which is why it's looming large in my mind (and dh is panicking and rebarked everywhere yesterday!!)

Prize plants oldgoat one or two gardens overlooking the canal are offering cream teas. Now, they are worth going to!!

Have a good weekend everyone - I could be some time!

Hoping for good weather and much fun for your garden opening kitty, I'm sure you will meet some lovely people.

Lovely photos, soop, wonderfully serene colours in your outfit.

That's good news callgirl, kitchens always take far longer than anticipated. Decorating will be a doddle by comparison. Having said that ours was done four years ago and is looking grubby round the edges, really do need to re-do it and would if we could only agree on a colour. One day . Looking forward to the pictures, callgirl, never bored with pictures.

Not sure when you are off mawb but hope it's neither too early nor too late for bon voyage

Take care everyone.

My post should have read "prophesied 1".

It is time to log off. I shall return in the morning. Wishing all our Granspals a peaceful and pleasant Friday evening.

Bless you Soop. Lovely photos.

Ann, enjoy your evening out.
MawB, I hope that Sweden is all that you want it to be, enjoy!
My kitchen is FINISHED! It`s only taken 3 weeks instead of the prophesied 2, due to several balls ups by the delivery and distribution side of B & Q, no complaints whatsoever about the workmanship. It just needs decorating next, then I can bore you all with pics!
Oldgoat, I`ve heard of it, but never had any, exactly what IS Tiffin?

kitty have just remembered that you are to open your garden to the public. I would also like to see photos. The weather promises to be decent on your behalf.

kitty Enjoy your weekend. Mother Nature will take good care of the garden. She has reclaimed much of ours. Weeds as high as an elephant's eye!

kitty is this the first time that you've opened your garden to the public? Do you do cream teas as well? Might be tempted to pop along for a look. I hope the weather stays fine for you and nobody helps themselves to free cuttings from your prize plants! Looking forward to the photos.

Lona the busiest airport we've managed to get lost in is the big one in Amsterdam. It is vast. Almost as big as a city.

oldgoat I would love a taste of your tiffin. The stickier, the better. The lemon drizzle cake to which you refer was made by our local friend. She is the bee's knees when it comes to cake baking.

callgirl1 Said hello to David earlier today.

Swanny I'm sending a gentle hug especially for you.

Gaga Lovely! Happy granny indeed. I'm counting the weeks to our annual family gathering. All blether and laughter. It refuels my energy levels and the memories are savoured throughout the time we're all living our lives in different parts of the UK.

NanaandGrampy I would also enjoy an outing with your happy clan. Pity that you live so far away.
When we were young, we had our feet (wearing new shoes) X-rayed in the Clarkes' shoe shop. Was that sensible do you suppose?

Charleyg I've said this more than a dozen times...you are a saint.

Maw Happy travels. I'm sorry to hear that Paw is having a tough time. It's a good thing that Paw's sister is coming. I hope that she can reassure him and that you will have a wonderful holiday.

My friends wee dog has been having runny tummy problems. Not sure whether it's down to a change in diet.

Love the way your outfit is colour-coordinated with the flower beds soop Lemon drizzle cake has been my standard bake for school sales and the like, but since I tasted an outstandingly delicious one on our Scottish holiday I've realised that mine are rubbish in comparison. So yesterday I made a big batch of tiffin for the village gala. It's really sticky. Hope the weather isn't too warm tomorrow or people are going to get in a proper mess eating it.I'll leave a few pieces on the side board for you to sample.
Have a good evening out with your friend Anne It will do you both good, and hope you find your way through Heathrow maw and enjoy your Swedish break.

Yes, I echo what Lona said.
Have a lovely family visit Gaga, (I love gammon with prunes!)
Corner hope bp settles & "weirdness" clears.
Have begun reminding garden who is boss this morning (does anyone need fresh-cut bamboo canes?)- no more of this lolling onto other people's property! Good fences make good neighbours & we've had same folks each side for 19 years now!!
Have a good weekend one & all.

Yes, have a good time Maw (I'd be worrying about Heathrow too, but I'm sure you'll be fine)
kitty best wishes for the weather this weekend, I hope you get lots of lovely visitors.
ann I hope you both have a good evening, and then you can do it again with a bit of luck!

Will you lot just sit still when I'm busy! We have been doing the last session of titivating the garden, taking the kitten to the vet and a bit of last minute shopping as we can't leave the house (well, the garden!) over the weekend. I'll be back eventually but wanted to say 'have a super time' to Maw. And to Ann - what a kind thought.