El, it's a Mole Massacre.

Phew!!  Thank goodness that (so far) I am only using toy windmills

Good morning to all my lovely buddies.    It's grey and dismal here today.

 

Sorry I've not been about but I'm not doing too well at the moment and find it hard to sit at the computer long enough to post.  The district nurse is due to visit on Tuesday to take the clips out so I'm hoping things will improve a little after that.

 

Have a great weekend whatever you are doing.  Love you all. 

Good morning everyone

 

Joyron, I'm sorry to hear you are not doing too well at present . It will take time to recover from your knee replacement, so try not to get discouraged. Things will get better. The doctors will have given you exercises to do at home, and it is important to continue doing these.

Good morning everyone, it was very misty first thing (as you predicted EL) so I went back to sleep.  Its nice now looks like its going to be a lovely day.

 

I'm so sorry to hear you are not doing so well at the moment Joyron but it is very early days and I am sure there are brighter times ahead.  This is your time to get spoiled as you work your way towards a complete recovery.  We are always here and happy for whenever you pop in but even when you don't you know you are on our minds (and in our hearts) God Bless

Good morning everyone, it's a lovely sunny morning up here.

Joyron, I'm sorry you aren't feeling very well. Hopefully, once you get the clips out on Tuesday your recovery will speed up. We are all thinking of you and wishing you well.

Hi everyone xxxx Just a quick visit got my granddaughter and we are going out to enjoy the sunshinex
Sorry to hear you are not too well Joyron, it will get better, honest! Take care and we are always here if you want a good old moan

Enjoy the sunshine, Skylark - and don't let the wee one tire you out too much.

Been pottering about in the garden, planting some flowers into the garden and containers. I've bought some nice dianthus (lovely scent) but I'm not sure where to put them. I might need to buy another planter for them - back to the garden centre tomorrow.

Our Palm Sunday procession went smoothly, and we didn't get rained on . The church had its annual auction yesterday. Quite a lot of things sold would have come from my parents' house. You may remember that some time ago I said that my mother had quite a substantial collection of art materials. The people who bought the house passed the art materials to quite a few establishments - schools and colleges. Some of the material went to one of the Welsh universities, so not just local. Some of the material went into the church auction and this raised £150. So it is good to know that the art materials will be of use to many people, because I know that is what my mother had wished for.

I'm glad the procession went well EL and that you didn't get rained on.  You and your brother have done a good job dealing with your parents' house and contents and raising money for charity.  I am sure your parents would be delighted, well done

I echo what Squiggle said ^^^^, El.

Thank you squiggle and Yogi

Hi buddies Glad you had a good day today El Loro

Hi Summer hope you have been enjoying the sunshine

I did sit in the garden today yes How was your weekend?

Evening Summer.

Have you planted your sweetpeas yet? Mine were planted about ten days ago and (touch wood) they are coming on nicely.

Not yet yogi, I'm going to do it early may, we could easily still get a frost here.. How tall are yours?!

They are between 1 and 2 inches tall atm. Mine have been growing indoors (from seed) in my sunny hallway and I've now put them into the greenhouse. They won't actually go outside for a couple of weeks yet.

They are trailing sweetpeas and go into a hanging basket, rather than climbing ones.

Oh fantastic, I looked at seeds for those kind but opted for the grow from seed outdoor kind instead.. How beautiful are they tho! My dad used to grow them so I think of him when I grow them I think it's exciting when they're just an inch or 2 tall.. So promising

Isn't it nice how flowers can remind you of people.

Carnations always make me think of my paternal grandmother. She grew them in the borders near the pathway to the house and they had the most beautiful scent - I love them.

Quiet and restful, but I was tired.  The weather is supposed to be good all week

Quiet and restful sounds like bliss to me, Squiggle.

It really was Yogi, lovely to see all the trees coming into leaf and the birds collecting nesting material. I love to see them when they land on the decking right outside the patio doors with a fluffy moustache as they look for more bits.  They work so hard, and when they start feeding the nestlings they work until it seems they must drop from exhaustion.

I know what you mean. I've been watching a pair of coal tits, building a nest in the nestbox on the roof of my birdtable. Some bluetits started building a nest in there last year but I don't think it's a quiet enough spot and they gave up. I think the coal tits might change their minds too.

 

I'm signing out for the night but I'm leaving hugs for any nightowls who may pop in.

Yogi I LOVE carnations!! Gardening, birds, chilling out.. This is a delightful thread

Good morning everyone

 

Another warm sunny morning today

 

I'll be going into town to bank a cheque - it's the one I've been waiting for

 

Morning all x
El
Just waiting for my daughter to pick up the wee one to take her to nursery, she is running late, as per usual!

Good morning everyone, another glorious morning here.  I have changed to my summer duvet so its bound to be glorious from now on right?

 

Ooh a good task this morning EL

 

I love carnations too, one of my favourite smells, that and roses wet after the rain.  I am not a cool person and can never understand why some people consider carnations naff I love 'em and sweet peas too (my hubby used to grow them and the more you cut them the more they produce, they are so pretty too).

 

Hope you are feeling stronger Joyron

Off now, giving my sister a chum for an hospital appointment, talk about a busmans holiday 
Just a thought Joyron, if you look in, have a look at the painkillers you are on, sometimes some can have bad side effects which can make you feel ill. It may not be the case but worth thinking about .

Keep coming in, Summer, you are a very welcome addition.

 

Good morning everyone.

Excellent news about the cheque, El.

I love the scent of roses too, Squiggle - especially the big old-fashioned varieties.

Skylark, I hope all goes well for your sister at hospital today.

Joyron, if you manage to read the thread today, I hope you are feeling a bit better. If not, then make sure you speak to someone, don't suffer in silence.

*pops back in* hi buddies Hope you're all having a good day, I'm just sitting outside for my lunch break it's been a busy morning! Lovely news to receive a waited for cheque El hope it clears swiftly for you I didn't know that about sweet peas, I'll def try it! We're hoping to see our wisteria flower this year, it didn't last year.. But it is only it's 3rd summer this year.. I'll pop back in when I can, could be busy this avo too

You sound busy, Summer. Hope you got time to enjoy your lunch.

Wisteria is beautiful when it is in flower, fingers crossed yours flowers this year.

 

The weather has been nice today, although it is clouding over now.

I took the dog on a nice, long walk. It's lovely to get out and about when the weather is good.

It clouded over earlier but it is sunnier now.  How sweet is this, I have seen a number of times over the past day or so a pair of robins who have obviously mated for the season and they seem to be kissing   When they meet up they touch beaks and they are not passing food for fledglings or nesting material, just touching beaks briefly.  Awww

Now, that's what I call Love Birds, Squiggle.

Aaaw kissing robins I love it!!! I hope you get to see Robin babies! Robins are one of our favourite birds I went for a walk after work, we saw bluebells <3

Good morning everyone

 

Another warmish sunny day.

 

Although my cheque arrived on Saturday, my brother rang me yesterday evening to say he hasn't received his yet. I suggested he got in touch with the solcitors in case the cheque has been lost. He said that often he only gets post one a week. That's bad - he lives in Romford, not in the middle of nowhere.

 

Joyron, I hope you are feeling a bit better today and hope all goes well with the visit from your nurse.

Good morning everyone.    Bright and sunny here today.

 

I'm pleased to say I'm feeling a little better now.  Skylark, both hubby and I thought the same thing as you about the painkillers.  The ones I came home from hospital with just didn't seem to be working anymore so I switched back to my normal ones which I get from the doctor on prescription and they seem to be doing the trick.  I'm able to walk a little further each day and the pain is (thankfully) a little less each day.

 

The District Nurse is due sometime today to take the clips out and hopefully that too will make a difference.  Off to see the physio on Thurday to see what she thinks of my progress.  I am feeling a little brighter and more postive thank goodness.  God bless you all for your kind thoughts and words.  I really do appreciate knowing I have some real friends out there looking out for me.

 

Great news on the cheque for the house sale El Loro.  Is there anything you are thinking of buying now that you are able?

 

Will try and get back later after I've seen the District Nurse but if not I'll tell you all about that when I do next drop in.  Love you all. 

Morning everyone xxxx
Nice to see you are on the right track Joyron and hope all goes well today x You are doing well, but remember to rest too, dont try to do too much at this early stage x

My favourite ever viewing of baby birds was shortly after we moved here, we have wrens nesting in the hedge and one year they had 3 fledglings sitting on a bush just outside our patio doors learning how to fly.  The cutest thing ever can you imagine how small they were?

 

Good morning everyone by the way it looks like another lovely day, we are being spoilt.

 

Lovely to hear that things are looking brighter Joyron, and how wonderful that you have Skylark to give you such professional advice

 

Off out to Homebase to spend a small fortune on things that are so badly needed (lawn fertilizer, shed preservative etc.) which I have been putting off until I have my finances in order, catch you all later.

Joyron, I'm pleased to hear of your progress.

 

I have no immediate plans for the money - I'm looking at this money in the long term. I will be paying off my mortgage at the beginning of July (to reduce the fee for early repayment). Iit's one of these interest only mortgages covered by an endowment policy. As with most of these endowment policies, the amount I will eventually get will be much less than the original expectation. As a result I had already paid off some of the mortgage, but it will be good to clear it as the interest I will save on that is at a higher rate than any building society/bank account could give.

 

I have been keeping a track of the endowment policy history of bonuses. The bonuses are a mix of guaranteed annual bonuses plus a terminal bonus which will depend on the insurance company's results in the year the policy matures. Based on the results in the last couple of years, I am projecting a return of 4.675% a year, which is a bit better than what I would get from a building society account, but much less than what I would have hoped for.

 

If there is no terminal bonus then the return would only be 2.58% a year.