Evening all.
Sunshine and heavy rain showers today, It started with rain, so although there were some brief sunny spells, it was really too wet to get anything done.

Hicky. Were you at the hospital all day? That was a long haul. I suppose it's good that they gave you sandwiches and tea to keep you going.
But at least it sounds like you got the eye injections over with. Hope they give you some improvement in your vision, or at least stop it getting any worse..

Your OH's roast saved you making something yourself.
Only right that they replace the damaged chest.
Good luck at the dentist tomorrow.

The forecast for the next week and a bit is for warmer weather, so hopefully that means no more frosts.
I'm thinking about planting my tomatoes out at the weekend, as they are getting too big for the windowsill.

Mollie. That's good that you got some paperwork out of the way.
Your bin bag situation does sound very complicated.
I've got 2 wheelie bins. One for general waste, in which I can put bin bags if I want, and one for recycling (paper and plastics). I have to take glass to a recycling centre myself though.

If you've already had a towbar fitted to your car then that will likely come with a connection point for the trailer electrics, which just plug in.
But if you haven't had a towbar fitted, then they can be quite expensive.

Watched The Secret Life of the Zoo, then Rich House, Poor House, then Benidorm on +1.

Evening Both.

Not too bad today, 13c sunny spells, light winds of 10.

My eye seems ok today, don't think the injections help the vision any, hard to tell yet, but it's not worse and thats what matters.

Had bacon and tomato sandwiches for brekkie,

Ordered some grafted potted plants from Suttons Seeds today, 2 cherry toms, 2 water melons, 2 mini cucumber.

Went to Dentist, need another appointment for a filling by an old filling on the 23rd.

Just fancied some Salad tonight after noticing o/h doing some so used up some of the salad stuff in the fridge as we restock tomorrow, made a bit too much so might have to have some tomorrow if it keeps ok in the fridge, had 3 spring rolls with it as well.

Mollie, I can't see that the damage on the left of the chest was done after it was packed, unless it was done during packing it, it's heavy and all solid wood with real solid draws.

That arrangement with coloured bags sounds a nightmare, wow, glad we don't have that.

I can only imagine that the garden centres lost a lot of money on the grafted veg last year, they have to be sold quick or they outgrow the pots and grafted plants are very fast growers, i had some last year from Burley Dam but the plants were from Suttons, so i've gone direct.

There are 2 pages this page has 80 items on it. http://www.suttons.co.uk/Garde...ants/list.htm#?pl=80

Emptybox, I arrived at the hospital at 8.15 am ready for the 8.30 appointment, i was first there, they were just setting up the what rooms they were using, a lot of staff of course, they did advise i could be there 3 hours, didn't think about food so earl though or i could have taken some with me, because i was scheduled for other tests i didn't have a spot in the lineup for the doctor or the injection theatre so of course i ended up at the back of the queue just before they went home.

It's a pain waiting a week for the new chest, i have the old one filled with my stuff at the mo.

I was hoping i wouldn't need anything doing at the dentist, but bit so lucky, another £59 +.

I think it should be ok for the toms to be out at the weekend, i'm warmer here though so you better check as they aren't delivering my toms till the 21st which is a week later that normal to grafted tome.

both xxx

Emptybox

shame it was too wet to work yesterday. But I guess you haven't done bad lately work wise, as you haven't lost much time due to rain lately. Hope the forecast is right and we have some good weather to come.

So you too have those mod cons known as wheelie bins.    Wish we did.

Yes we do have a tow bar fitted, so that is interesting that it already has the electrics. Yes it was very expensive when OH had it done years ago, it was about £500 then, he had it for the bike carriers.

How long will it take your brother and wife to drive to Liverpool this weekend?

Hicky

glad to hear your eye seems ok today. I bet you felt tired after such a long day in the hospital though. I suppose it was better to wait   for the injection theatre, as you were already there, than go back another day. You must of been starving though by the time they offerred you the sandwich!

Pity you need to go back to the dentist, it is horrible having to spend money on something that is far from fun. But as it is only one filling, I guess it could of been worse.

Yes very odd that a chest so strong came out so badly damaged. Hopefully the replacement will be 100% in good condition, but shame you have such a long wait for it to come.

On that link from Suttons, you can see you are spoilt for choice with them.

Not a bad day today, no rain and even got a bit of sun.

Managed to get the sheets washed and dired.

However the wind was really cold, needed my coat when we took doggie out about 7.30pm, wish I had put my scarf on too!

Bored with tv again tonight, ended up going for the 999 one. It is that annoying night where we have the Ambulance on bbc1 and 999 on C4 at the same time!

Viewing day at the auction tomorrow, we find it hard to keep away now.

Goodnight both xxx

Hi both.
Dry day here, but mostly cloudy and windy. Some sunshine, and I saw 12 degrees in the sun, but it was only 8 degrees in the cold wind.

Got quite a few smaller jobs done today, including my 102 year old customer.
She certainly speaks in Scottish dialect Mollie.
"Are ee gaunae gie iss a redd up the day, laddie?"
(meaning 'are you going to give me a tidy up today, sonny?' )

Hicky. That's good your eye is OK today, with no ill effects from the injections.
Pity you need a tooth filling. ;( But at least it's a replacement, rather than a new one.
Hope your new grafted potted plants come OK.
Yes, I'm thinking the toms plants should be OK in the greenhouse now, as they are quite sturdy. Of course we could always get more frosts later, but the next week or so seems warmer at night.

Mollie. That's good that you got your sheets dry, but a pity it was cold for your doggie walk.
Yes, all car trailers and caravans have to be fitted with lights, and they have a standard connection that plugs into the one that's fitted with the towbar.

ETA: Brother says it takes him about 3 and a half hours to get to Liverpool.

It's all down the west side of the country, much of it on the M6.

Watched Location, then Ambulance, then 'Lost in Space' on Netflix.

Evening Both.

Not bad today, cloudy a lot though, 15c, it's sunny now, winds at 7.

My eye seems so much better today, can even see the day/date on my watch with my bad eye, very pleased.

Had fried eggs on toast for brekkie, for tea decided to have the rest of the salad from last night, it was just as good, kept it in the fridge so it's still crisp, had it with ribeye steak and mushrooms, with the salad.

My shopping arrived, plenty of fruit, and have had to take more stuff from the inside freezer to the outside one, i make so much food it's filling the freezer.

I had run out of salad cream yesterday so used a recipe to make my own, but put it on the shopping list of course.

The Blueberry mush has died, when i looked at the roots, very few but no new ones, maybe it didn't like my compost although i bought the special one it needs.

O/H is having trouble getting her fresh Mint Sauce from the supermarket so we are going to make our own, have some mint growing in the greenhouse but was thinking of growing it in the Blueberry bush tun, which is pretty big.

Got some good growth on the Kiwi, problem is the shoots are growing upwards and the main branches are over 6ft in the air with the plastic wires running horizontal.

Got flowers coming on the summer fruiting raspberries, the apple trees have blossomed so have the pears and the cherry and plum trees, the fig trees should have a good crop of figs this year, some good growth on the vines as well.

Mollie, Yes, you are right, i went to bed a bit earlier to rest my eye, it is great now, not sure how good it will go but it's fine the way it is, very pleased.

The dentist just allow enough time on a checkup for the checkup they don't have the time for doing work so you have to rebook.

I got a shock when i looked at the Suttons site, couldn't believe how many varieties they have.

It was pretty how today so i took my jumper off, and as expected the sun went in so i had to put it back on.

Good luck at the Auction.

Emptybox, Looking at the weather here for the next 2 weeks the minimum temp is 8c and it shows sunny every day so i should be able to plant stuff outside, the weather frost forecasting website said last frost here end of April anyway.

I seem to be undated with repeats, every thing  i look at i remember seeing the other day, so annoying.

I've got a garage wall to scrape brush loose paint off and repaint, oh well, it's got to be done, and i need to do it before i put the cherry fruit cage up as well.

Hi Hicky.
Quite nice day here. Some nice sunshine at times, but cloudier and windy at others. Up to about 14 degrees.
I was able to take my sweatshirt off and work in my shirt sleeves for a time.

Got two or three jobs done, and also picked up a new customer.
Well, it's not really a new customer, as I used to do their grass 13 years ago, when they lived at a different house. When they moved to their present place they did their own garden, but now have decided they want me to cut their grass.
Quite a big place, so at least 2 hours every fortnight.
I was doing a house nearby, and he just sauntered over.

That's great that you are actually seeing an improvement with your eye. Hope it's permanent.
Good that your shopping arrived. Good idea to make your own salad cream and mint sauce.
I've got loads of mint here but I never do anything with it. I think the neighbour takes some from time to time though (she asked first).

 Pity your Blueberry bush died. Might have something to do with the unseasonal late winter weather we had?
Quite a few things seem to have died off in gardens up here anyway.
One of the potentillas in my garden seems to have bitten the dust.
Good that the Kiwi and other fruits are doing well.

The weather forecast here is good up until Tuesday, then it gets a bit greyer and cooler again, but no worse than Today, which was fine.
I suppose if your garage wall has to be done, then you'll just have to get down to it? Or get someone in when OH is out?

Doesn't seem to be much on telly tonight, so I shall probably watch an episode of Game of Thrones.
Got some mince cooking away in the oven, so i shall go down to that in a minute, and I'll use it to make a big batch of Bolognese tomorrow.

both xxx

Emptybox

sounds like summer is on its way for you now if you were able to work in your shirtsleeves at last. Let's hope the forecast is right and it lasts some time. Are you intending to work over the weekend/Bank Hol Monday?

That is brilliant you have a new (but an old) customer back again and handy too it is just across the road from one you already do.

Gosh that is fascinating you have a customer who is 102 years old, and I love your quote of her dialect. Do you have trouble understanding her, or are you used to the dialect as you have lived there for so long now.

I take it you will freeze some of your big batch of bolognaise to keep for your Saturday night meals?

Is it tonight your brother goes to Liverpool? I know you said they were staying in a hotel overnight there.

Hicky

that is brilliant your eyesight is much improved now it has settled down after the treatement.   Yes that was the best thing for you to do, to take an early night after such a long time at the hospital and in order to rest your eyes.

Shame about the blueberry bush, but as Emptybox says, maybe it is to do with the late cold snap we had?

Like your jumper, my cardy has been on and off like a yo-you today.   Its still chilly in the wind when the sun goes in. But at least I didn't need to wear my coat out today.

That's handy if you can make your own mint sauce and salad cream. You will have to let me know how they turn out.

I agree, not much on tv lately. I watched my recordings last night of the GP show.Will watch Gogglebox tonight as I enjoy that.

Enjoyed browsing the auction. I am getting OH to bid on some trainers for me as there were loads of the same size, and all in my size.

Fingers crossed for the promised sun for us all for the next few days. My swing chair is getting impatient waiting for me.

Goodnight both xxx

Hi Mollie.
Yes, I've got a job to do tomorrow, and if Monday is nice I'll probably just work as normal.

Don't have any trouble understanding anybody up here now. After all I've been here for more than 50 years. I'm bound to have picked up a bit of the lingo by now.
Some words are strange. A 'w' is often pronounced as an "oo" sound. So swim is "soom", sweep is "soop" and we is "oo".
So when I worked in the pub, at the end of the shift the bar staff had to "soop the flair" (sweep the floor).
I could go on.

Yep, I'll have one portion of Bolognese tomorrow, then there'll be 4 or 5 portions to freeze for subsequent Saturdays.
I think it's today they were going down to Liverpool, and coming back on Monday.

Hope you win the trainers in the auction. That's lucky that there are loads in your size on offer. Not sure I'd want second hand trainers though, as someone else will have already worn a foot shape into them?
I think you are getting addicted to this auction?

Evening Both.

rather nice and hot here for the start of the bank holiday, 20 ish very hot in the sun, light winds as well, only 6.

Had our first BBQ today, yummy beefsteaks and sausages, had cleaned the bbq up in the week, cleaned the drip trays out today.

Have started on cleaning off the garage wall, it a concrete garage, slabs fitted together, well made and strong, also very heavy of course, the roof struts are steel structure, not sure what the original roof was, o/h said we will get some paint Monday.

Just had cheese and tomato sandwiches, have to put tomato ketchup on though, yummy.

Have hung up the hanging baskets with the tumbling tom tomatoes in, set up auto watering for them.

Have planted 2 melon plants in a greenhouse tub, have some others coming though.

Moved the Mint plant from the greenhouse to the old Blueberry tub.

Forgot to tell you, had a call from a feller claiming to be from BT fraud squad saying i need to help him as someone if trying to hack into my home network and am i by my computer so i can type in what he says, to tell the truth he has rang the wrong person as my security background doesn't give out any information requested by an unknown person, but i played along for the fun, he said close the browser windows and press the ctrl key with the windows key and go to run, i didn't actually do anything so i just said yes when he asked if i had, then i said can you give me a minute to run a check on the phone number on my phone, which was a strange number as it started with 01006, then i said why are you calling me if you are BT, then he gave some excuse, then he said read to me what it says on the screen, that was after he told me to type stuff which i didn't, i said to him are you serious, do you think i am going to give out information to some nutter on the phone, he hung up..

Mollie, My eye is even better today than yesterday, i can even read the day date on my watch with the bad eye, which is really good.

Had another appointment through from the hospital for the 30th May, but it says again it might take 3 hours which is strange.

Took my jumper off again as it was not needed, will be changing to my shorts soon as well, and sandals.

I've ordered a herb cutter, it's the one with lots of blades that you roll over the mint.

Have ordered a big pond liner that i can cut up for making new covers for the tree tubs as they will lose too much water left open.

Emptybox, That was good getting a new customer close to another customer, 

You are supposed to plant Mint in a confined space as if left to roam it will take over everywhere, so i am using tubs.

I didn't put the bubble wrap covers on the trees last winter, maybe the Blueberry got some frost, but the root system looked strange when i took the bush out, didn't see any new roots at all, and the ones i saw where not very good.

I'm fit enough now to do jobs around the place so i don't mind, don't like to be rushed though, but when retired you want a leisurely life.

I'm going to have to eat more of the food i have already made as the freezers will be full, the problem with space is, you can only fill it once.

Hope the weather stays nice for you anyway.

Watching Rich House, Poor House.

  both xxx

Emptybox

you have been up there for over half a century!  I never realised it was that long, as I associate you with Norwich as well. It is Norwich your uncle still lives in, isn't it?

I like the "sweep the floor" dialect. My OH's first language is Welsh, as he is from North Wales, but it is quite rare to hear it spoken round here, as  it is not a first language. When the English came to South Wales many years ago (manily from their farms I think), they wouldn't let the locals speak Welsh. The kiddies got smacked at school for speaking ther own language in school, so it died out. But now the kiddies in school are being taught it again.

Hope you manage to get your couple of jobs done over the weekend.

Is the mower still ok? Hope you are remembering to do your new handling method with it.

That is handy that you can make 4 or 5 portions of your bolognaise at a time.

Oh no, the trainers are definately not second hand. All of the clothes shoes, boots etc are brand new. Still in bags and boxes. It is just ex display stuff that is sold as used, eg sofas that have been on display in the shops, and this week they had lots of commercial kitchen equiment and chairs, tables that came from pubs. They had a lot of ex unused Maplins stuff this week too. OH is tempted with a weather station of the price is right. The only obvious problem is if anything is faulty, there is no returns. So we don't really buy electrical.

HIcky

that is good news that the jumper is off again and the shorts are on their way. Great that the weather was good enough for your first BBQ.

My sundress was on again,and OH got out the cover for the swing chair. So I enjoyed some time sitting on it and reading today.

Hope it doesn't take too much effort to sort painting your garage out. I am sure you would prefer to do your gardening stuff instead. Sounds like you got a lot done in the garden today.

Well done how you handled that scammer who pretended to be from BT. What a daman nuisance they are. Wonder how they knew you used BT?

I am so pleased your hospital visit has helped your eye so much. Maybe they won't need you for the full 3 hours again, but they just put that as standard in the letter as they can't differentiate between who needs full treatment and who doesn't? 

A herb cutter should come in very usefull for the mint sauce, I am sure you will think of plenty of other herbs to use with it.

We went to costco to do a bit of shopping today, and enjoyed the usual free food samples. I had jacekt potato with cheese and coleslaw for lunch. Good value at £1.50.

Then got home and pegged out 4 washloads, that all dried nicely and enjoyed a read of my book and magazine on the swingchair.

Enjoyed BGT , a good variey of acts tonight.

Watching Millionaire now, as there is not much else on for the rest of the week!

Goodnight both xxx

Hi both.
Started grey and cloudy here, but turned into a lovely warm sunny day. Up to about 15 degrees i think? Not as warm as down South, but warm enough when you are working.

Got my one job done, took about 2 hours, then I cut my own grass and planted my tomatoes out in the growbags in the greenhouse. I just put 4 in the growbags, so have 4 left over in case something goes wrong with the others.

Hicky. That's great that you were able to enjoy your first BBQ of the season.
Hope your hanging baskets of tomatoes and your melon plants do well. 
Don't work too hard on the garage wall. It's great that your vision has improved, but you don't want to overdo it physically.
Wonder why you have another appointment at the eye hospital? Is it a series of injections that you get?

Those scam calls are a serious nuisance. No doubt a lot of less technical folk get caught out and either lose money or have all sorts of malware installed on their computers.
The mint is in a bed outside the back door. It's been there ever since I've been here (26 years), so the previous people must have planted it. I think it might be in tubs set into the ground, but I've never investigated. Certainly it has escaped beyond those now.

Mollie. Great that you got washing drying and chair swinging weather today.

Yes, I've been in Scotland since I was 7, but was born in Norfolk (where my Uncle lives).
I think Welsh is in quite a healthy state now? In a better position than Scottish Gaelic, which is the Celtic language of the Highlands and Islands (not to be confused with the Scottish dialect of English, which is spoken round here).
I think there are now only about 60,000 native speakers left, but they are trying to teach it in schools in that area, and have bi-lingual road signs etc.

The old mower is going very well. For some reason I only occasionally have to pull on the cable to open the kill switch, whereas before it was hardly starting at all. Very strange.
I only have to put the choke on when the engine is cold. After that it starts fine without it.

Ah, I was just assuming everything at the auction was second hand. Much better if it's new ex-display stuff. But yes, I guess you have to take your chance with electrical stuff.

I also watched BGT and Millionaire.
I love that quiz. Not sure Clarkson is striking quite the right tone though. Perhaps a bit too much banter with the contestants. But very enjoyable.

Evening Both.

Rather nice here today, 20c sun and no wind really.

Had brekkie in the BBQ, burgers and sausages.

O/H working so cooked the lamb for us and made a salad ready for eating outside when she gts in, she was going to pick up a few bits extra for the salad but the shop was empty so she couldn't get anything, the shop is open tomorrow, you wouldn't think so.

Replanted the onions from the fruit tree tubs as i have ordered stuff for new covers, am going to set up a watering system for the bug hotel as i moved it to the sunny spot.

Mu eye is even better than yesterday, more of the Wet has gone, it's that that gives you distortion, it makes straight lines have curves in them, pretty annoying.

Mollie, If you do a search on a phone area code it tells you who rents the lines, or it seems to, i did a search on mine and one of the results said BT.

I thought my next eye appointment was just for another injection, although maybe they test to see if you need it, i know the doctor does look at your eye first before he does injections anyway.

I don't know when we will go to Costco again as i have plenty of raw materials in the freezer.

I son't blame you going, and you can get some free snacks and a good meal cheap.

I watched BGT and Millionaire, not sure how they can let the contestants come from all over the world, seems a bit strange, why call it Britons Got talent then?

I keep bumping into repeats, it's so annoying.

Emptybox, I think you toms will be fine now, i have some flowers on a couple, they seem to be growing ok.

The eye injects are supposed to be a series of 3 each a month apart, the next one should be for the 2nd injection but maybe they need to inject the dye in again, no idea but i might take a bag of food in case.

It seems to be well known that you don't plant mint loose in the ground as it spreads like wild fire, but i can see us making our own this year so will plant a big tub full, i found about 8 recipes but o/h doesn't want salt of sugar in it so that cut the list down a lot, i am down to 2 now.

I have a feeling that the mint can spread above ground, almost like the Strawberry can, and does,m very well.

I noticed a big stalk of Asparagus had grown when i looked this morning, got quite a shock, as my eyes aren't very good at seeing different colours in the raised beds, i thought it was a stick, with not being able to see the colour i have to rely on other senses, like, what that sticking up?

I like Clarkson, but that 1st contestant hadn't a clue, how on earth did he get on the show? they all seem hopeless so far, it's like showing idiots on BGT.

both xxx

Emptybox

glad you got good weather and a big job and your own garden done. Hope your tomatoes do well now.

That is not many native speakers for Gaelic. I am not sure how many native speakers of Welsh there are, but probably not many as there is not a large population of locals. There are many moving into North Wales from the cities now. (probably people who watch that tv show "Move to the Country!").

That is good your old mower is doing so well.

Wonder how your brother is getting on with the Liverpool visit? At least they have had nice weather.

Hicky

Great news that another day on and still the eye is improving.

how nice you were able to have a BBQ brekkie.

Shame your OH couldn't get the salad. Yes they seem to of gone crazy in the shops early today, no bread rolls left at all at Lidl or Asda when we went. All these people dashing out for BBQ's and picnics I guess.

Yes perhaps they need to do several checks on your eye, as well as the next injection, so allow up to 3 hours. But I guess as it has helped you so much, you don't mind that at all.

Good job you did not pick and throw away the asparagus thinking it was a stick.

My OH found some mint growing at the bottom of our garden last summer. It is starting to come up again now. Now I know we too have some, you will have to tell me how you get on making your own mint sauce and how I can do it too.

I agree that first contenstant off Millionaire was useless, and so boring. Why choose someone like that to kick off this new series. He did well to win £8k, but he hardly even looked pleased!

Yes rather annoying why they have to keep dragging in contestants from abroad for BGT. Surely we have enough British ones?

Went food shopping this afternoon after pegging out more of the family's sheets to dry. Huge queue of traffic down to the coast. Which meant, lucky for us, the supermarkets were dead quiet.

Very warm day, so out in the garden till 7pm. Couldn't sunbathe for too long as my skin went a bit pink (i don't usually burn but didn't want to risk it), so sat under the sunshade on the swing chair. Very usefull that is when it is real hot.

I had a salad bread roll and bag of crisps for tea as it was too hot in our kitchen to cook for the family today. Plus they were all due home at different times.

Watching Millionaire now.

Goodnight both xxx

Evening Mollie and Hicky.
Lovely sunny day here.
My van said 23 degrees this afternoon as I was going to Sainsburys.
Didn't do much else. I did do a bit of weed-killing in my yard, as the weeds will be very thirsty in this warm weather.
Pity the weather isn't set to last much longer.

Hicky. Nice to enjoy a brekkie from the BBQ.
That's good that the eye is still improving. Maybe the subsequent injections will help keep the distortion of vision away?
That was lucky, identifying the asparagus stick, before you threw it away.

I noticed Sainsburys was a bit empty of some things as well, but I got most of what I was after. They only had 2 people on the tills as well, which meant a bit of a wait.
The people on the tills in Sainsburys never seem too hurried, unlike those at Lidl, who seem to want to rattle through the customers as fast as possible.

I think the mint spreads by roots rather than above ground? I think the stuff at my back door must be in tubs right enough, because although it's spread a bit, it hasn't actually gone very far. There is some coming up through the flagstones at the back door, so I tend to spray that with weedkiller to stop it taking hold. But I just let it do what it likes in the bed, and just cut it down in the autumn.

Mollie. Judging from the pics she is posting on Facebook, my SiL and Brother are really enjoying themselves in Liverpool, and have met up with my nephew for a couple of meals.

That's good that there weren't many people in the supermarket when you went.
Great to take advantage of the good weather, to be out in the garden until 7pm.
It's not too warm in the house here. It was much warmer outside than in today.

Really enjoyed Millionaire tonight. Clarkson is quite good at it. Also quite like the new lifeline 'Ask the Host'

Good Evening Both.

A lovely hot day here, 20c sunny and low winds of 3 to 8.

Got quite a bit done considering how hot it was, o/h took an old chest of drawers to the recycle place with the packing of the new chest, the damaged one.

I carried on scraping and brushing the old paint on the side of the garage, O/H painted it, very good job done.

I planted 2 chilli plants in the greenhouse with the watering system as well, also made a watering system for the bug hotel roof garden with 4 spray heads which each have a variable tap for control.

We had brekkie in the gazebo on the BBQ, only bacon and blackpudding, wasn't sure what to have for tea ands decided on a pack of Satay as it's quick and i have lots of Satay sauce.

I forgot to tell you, i made some planting aids for when transplanting seedlings from the  veg strips you can get, i have 2 sets depending on how big the roots are, they are plastic tubes, one is a 42mm tube with a 38mm that can fit inside, the inner one has the end blanked so it can act as a pusher to push the compost out of the bigger tube, you use the bigger tube to insert in the compost for say 3" or so, depending on how deep you want the hole, when you pull it out you have a planting hole for the plant roots, you then push the inner tube into the outer to push the compost out, that can go back into the hole, i also have a narrower set with a 22mm tube and a 16mm inner that i use for spring onion seedlings.

Just popped back in to say, changed into shorts and sandals now for the summer, far to hot for long pants, socks and shoes.

Mollie, The eye even seems better today, it's great seeing the difference each day, it must be the wet thats going but of course i still have the AMD, it will be interesting to see what they do at the next appointment.

Have got the COPD nurse tomorrow as well, that should be interesting now i have changed surgeries.

With not being able to see the colours of the Asparagus i have to look sideways to see if something is growing, bit of a nuisance really, funny how it suddenly shoots up, i have lots of shoots coming through all ready, just in the last 2 days, i can only pick it till mid June, some is very thick spears about 12mm or more.

There are dozens of recipes for mint sauce, but because o/h doesn't want to use sugar or salt this is what i am going to do, blanch the mint in boiling water for 10 seconds, rinse in cold water, squeeze all the water out, put the white wine vinegar into a bowl, shred the mint or chop fine or roll with herb cutter till finely cut up, put mint in the vinegar, only use the amount of vinegar you need to cover the mint.

I put sun lotion on and now i have flakes of old paint stuck to it, will have to sort that in a minute. 

Emptybox, With the o/h working there of course she's not allowed to shop while she is working and by the time she finished the place was empty, lucky we had some of the stuff in which we got on Friday.

I was thinking the mint might spread above ground as well as under because i have some shoots which seem to be running above the ground unlike shoots which grow upwards, we will see anyway at some time.

It certainly spreads by roots if you have it coming through the flags.

Saw Millionaire again, Clarkson is ok, saw a bit of £100k drop, but you would need a miracle to win om that so pointless watching, love Tipping Point, am addicted to that, just a pity they don't tell them how to play the game. 

Got some rain tomorrow from 3pm otherwise is should be nice.

both xxx

Emptybox

that is good that at 23 degrees, you got a good taste of summer. HOpe it continues for awhile.

Did you work today or take bank hol off?

Yes Lidl do move quicker at the tills, but I guess that is one of the reasons they can sell stuff a lot cheaper than Sainsburys. I find Aldi a lot worse though, they shove stuff through so quick, they practically chuck it at you. At least Lidl staff give enough time for me to put in straight into carriers in the trolley before I pay, and checkout staff are quite chatty, but no chance of that in aldi.

That is good your brother and SIL are enjoying themselves in Liverpool. Me and OH fancy visiting there soon, I read there is a lot to visit there. Did you see on FB where they visited? And was your nephew with them?

Hicky

glad you too got summer weather, and the summer clothes are being worn again. Very warm and sunny here too again today, so sundress is on.

That is good you and OH made such a good job with the garage now.

Sounds like you did a good job making your planting aids.

Yes it will be interesting to see what they say the next time you go about your eyes, but its great news that so far, it is so good.

HOpe the visit to the new COPD nurse goes well tomorrow.

Thanks for telling me how you plan to make the mint sauce, I will have to have a go.

I shouldn't think specs of old paint stuck to your sun tan lotion looks too fetching.

After you said rain due at 3pm, oh dear I checked our forecast and the highest temp tomorrow is for a couple of hours mid afternoon of 14degrees and rain showers arriving by 1pm! What a shame, I had just got used to summer arriving. 

Sat on the swingchair today, OH spent 2 hours giving the dog her spring hair cut and then we put her in the shower. So she looks all cute, fluffy and puppy like now.

I got 7 washloads dried today, 3 of them were the dogs towels and blankets and basket covers.   But at least it all dried real quickly.

Had salad sandwich for tea with Brie cheese, as it was so hot in our kitchen again.

Watched Corrie and now watching Millionaire. I quite like Jeremy doing it, but am getting bored with it now being on so many nights in a row.

Goodnight both. xxx

Hi both.
Another lovely day here. My van was again saying 23 degrees at one point.
It was a bit windier than yesterday though, so didn't feel as warm as that.
Did my invoicing this morning, then went out to do a job this afternoon.
It's great working when it's warm and dry.

Hicky. You did get a lot done.
That's good that you got the garage wall finished, and made a watering system for the bug hotel.
Making good use of the BBQ as well.
Those planting aids sound ingenious.
Good luck with the COPD nurse tomorrow.

 Mollie. I've come to the conclusion you have a nicer Lidl than me. My Lidl does the same as your Aldi in almost chucking the items at you at the checkout.
But I suppose the operators vary, some are more friendly than others?

Brother and SiL took an open top bus tour of the city. They saw the Albert Dock, some chinese gate thing, and the Beatles Story and some other things I can't identify from the photos.
I think they just met up with Nephew a couple of times for meals. He didn't go round with them.
But if you want to know about Liverpool you'd be better asking our resident Liverpudlian. (or our resident of the Wirral anyway)

 You must have a very quick washing machine to get through 7 loads. My washing machine is 26 years old and takes about 2 hours to do just one wash.
Your doggie must be looking very smart after her spruce up.

Really enjoying Millionaire. Don't think I could ever get bored of it. I love it when I know the answer and the contestant hasn't got a clue.

Good Evening Both. :

Today not as nice as yesterday, ok this morning, 16c with sunny intervals, hardly any wind.

Had brekkie on the bbq again, only bacon and blackpudding.

Checked all the watering systems were set up ok

Had a little phlem this morning as usual and thought i would see if having the coffee with no milk powder or fresh milk would make any difference because i had the COPD nurse this afternoon, it certainly seemed to make a difference.

At the surgery the nurse did a couple of tests, BP, fine, weight, fine, blood pulse and oxygen ok, then came the lung test, wow, it's up by 25% on my last test, also she said i can stop using one of the inhalers, the one with steroids or something, so all in all a very good result, she'll check again in 12 months unless i think something isn't right.

For tea i decided to look through the heap of meals in the freezer that i have previously made, decided on a butter chicken so made some rice to go with it and added some chopped up green chillies as i have rather a lot, and i mean a lot, love them, it will take years to use all these and i haven't even opened 1 tin of 2.4kg. i've probably only had about 200g from the first tin.

Mollie, O/H brought home 2 bags of 30g Mint stalks in each for me to make the Mint sauce, she only wants it simple and she doesn't want other stuff to overpower it.

My eye is fine, don't think they can improve the AMD, not sure but the WET part is a lot better than it was meaning a can see a lot better without distortion.

Very pleased as i've mentioned with the COPD visit, very pleased.

I'm in my shorts and sockless sandals now, but have a funeral to go to Friday morning so will probably have to get dressed up again, the neighbour from across the road did, thats the 4th within 50 metres.

Thats an awful lot of washing for a dog

O/H managed to get some salad stuff after work today so we are ok now for salad.

I watched a bit of Millionaire, think he won £32k.

Emptybox, It has been hot by you, hotter than i have had here i think.

I'm going to make a new list of jobs to do and with the weather picking up it's far easier and nicer.

Here is the blossom on the Apple trees, well 3 tress, 3 others are down the garden, the cherry trees on the left by the garage have already flowered, so have the pear trees in the middle, the newly painted garage wall look sok.

 To see the big picture, right click on picture and select 'Open image in new tab'.

both xxx

Emptybox

glad to see you got to enjoy going out working in some warm weather.

Sounds like your brother and family did  a few interesting things in Liverpool. I too fancied that Beatles tour. I see there is even a Beatles based hotel called "the Hard Days Night" hotel. The open topped bus tour sounds fun too (if the weather is right), Yes I expect HIcky knows a fair bit about where to visit in Liverpool.

Yes our Lidl is a pleasant experience to shop in, so hopefully yours will improve over time ? OH especially likes the cheap price of the wine/beer. The bunny loves their lettuce.

I have a Miele washing machine, and it has a quick wash option on it that I use most of the time, unless it is sheets/towels or anything dirtier than the odd days wear.

Sounds like you should give Millionaire a go if you are quite good answering questions. On Millionaire it would indeed be a rare thing if I got an answer and the contestants didn't!

Hicky

hope your visit to COPD nurse went ok today and that the weather was good enough for you to get in your garden.

A lot cooler here today, so the cardy is on again, and the jacket was too when I went out as it was raining too. Cleared up now, but still chilly.

OH has collected my new trainers, they are High Tech ones and Lonsdale and some Lotus slippers. All new and in their original boxes, so not a bad buy at £21 for all 3 pairs of them.

Going to watch the 5 year olds on C4 tonight, they are so funny.

Then the bbc1 drama about the divorce lawyers on bbc1 after.

Goodnight both xxx

Evening both.
A mixed bag here weatherwise. A nice sunny start, and up to 15 degrees this morning. But as the afternoon went on it got cloudier and windier, and then the rain came on at 3.30pm, and it went down to only 10 degrees in the rain.
But sunnier again in the early evening.
Had to cut the working day short, but got a couple of jobs done anyway.

Hicky. That's great that you got good results from the COPD nurse, and can give up one of your inhalers.
Good idea to use up one of your freezer meals for supper.
That paint on the garage wall certainly sets off your trees very well.

Yes, probably better to put your long trousers back on for the funeral.
Certainly seems a lot of your neighbours are kicking the bucket since you moved in? 

Mollie. I think Brother and SiL stayed in a Travelodge hotel. Don't know if they'd heard of that Beatles one?
You definitely need the quick wash option on your machine, the amount of washing that you do.

When Millionaire used to be on, my Dad was always saying I should go on, as I'm good at general knowledge (though i say it myself ). But to get a chance at winning money you have to get through the 'Fastest Finger' round, and unfortunately I've got slow fingers.  

Pity the weather didn't allow you a swing today, but sounds like you got a good deal on those trainers and slippers.

Watched the semi final of Eurovision on BBC4. Saara Aalto got through to the final (representing Finland). Yay!
Then watched Millionaire on +1.

Evening Both.

Cooler today, 14c cloudy a few sunny intervals, winds stronger at 10 to 14.

They arrived to swap the 6 drawer chest, unwrapped and wrapped up the damaged one, the driver said they come from China, hadn't had any brekkie so we went to Carr Farm and had a meal, i had Cottage pie and peas with toast spuds and gravy, very tasty, while there i got 3 Mint plants, garden Mint to put in the Mint tub.

Rang the hospital about the next visit to the Urology clinic to see why i hadn't had an appointment, anyway, she made one for the 24th of this month.

Am going to have another meal from my freezer, having a Tomato Rice one with extra chilli and rice, will have the bacon ribs for brekkie with cabbage.

It was better having just one inhaler this morning, will see how it goes.

Mollie, You missed my post about my visit to the Nurse, you posted just after me yesterday.

You did well then with your new trainers, it's good they are in the original boxes.

I saw the 5 yr olds, great aren't they.

Emptybox, Yes, very pleased with the COPD results, to improve my lung volume by 25% is a lot, now it's 60%.

Yes, so many kicked the bucket by me, i've got about 12 buckets in the garden, will have to be careful.

Yes, not shorts for the Funeral, mind you i was in shorts at the wedding in Hawaii.

I'm trying my drinks without milk fresh or powdered to see if the phlegm is cut down as it's a nuisance.

The nurse also said that particular inhaler can cause pneumonia if taken too long, not a nice side effect.

It might take a while to be able to drink tea and coffee with out sugar and milk but i'll give it a go.

The bug hotel with the watering system installed for the roof garden.

Hi Hicky.
Cloudy and windy here today. I saw up to 12 degrees at one point, but for a lot of the day the temp was in single figures.
Then the light rain started at 4pm, when I was in the middle of my last job, so I had to carry on and finish it while getting wet.
Woolly hat and padded gillet for much of the day.

Hope they gave you a chance to make sure the new chest of drawers were undamaged, before they took the old one away?
That sounds a nice brunch you had at Carr Farm.
The watering system for the bug hotel plants looks impressive. Now all you need is for them to green up a bit?

Seems a bit off that you had to ring the Urology clinic for an appointment. They should be keeping up to date with you.
Good job you were able to give up that inhaler then, if pneumonia is a possible side effect.
Yes, really good that your lung function has improved so much.

I take my coffee and tea without milk and sugar now. Didn't take much getting used to.
It's mostly fake coffee and fake teas that I have, but even if I have real coffee and tea, I don't take milk or sugar. I used to before I got this condition.
Actually my 102 year old customer does put milk in the tea she gives me (without asking), but I don't want to complain.

both xxx

Hicky

yes I missed your post yesterday as I must of been typing mine the same time you did yours.

What a nice photo of your fruit trees in blossom.

that is brilliant that things went so well for you on your visit to the COPD nurse, and that you can give up one of the inhalers. That is the trouble with meds, they all seem to have one side effect or another, but at least this practice is monitoring them and telling you to stop taking them when not needed.

Sounds like you enjoyed your meal out. Is Carr farm a garden centre? Hope your mint does well.

I trust your replacement chest was problem free?

Wonder why they didn't send you an appointment for the urology clinic? Good job you remembered to ring them though.

Good idea to cut down on the diary in your drinks because they do reckon it causes phlegm, I find I get a cough if I have too much diary, even have to watch the cheese, which is a shame as I love cheese!

Your bug hotel looks very inticate and well designed.

Emptybox

Pity you got wet whilst working today, If it was mainly in single figures temperature wise, no wonder you needed your hat and padded jacket. It is cold again here too today.

We have stayed in travelodge when visiting mum's sisters, and find them basic, but were cheap and clean and well organised.

I still have milk in my coffee but have half cows and half soya. I was told I needed some diary after my op as I could be short on calcium (to do with the thyroid) so don't want to give it up altogether, but it does tend to bring on phlegm in my nose/throat  too if I am not carefull.

Pity the fastest finger would let you down on Millionaire as I am sure you would of enjoyed the winnings in one way and another. (and of course would not of forgotten your 2 forum friends here!).

Millionaire tonight....Oh gosh, that lady English teacher contestant was not too bright..... 2 lifelines used in the first few questions, and they were easy questions, even I knew the answers! (and I am ditzy).  What an old pecan she was! lol (surely she should of known the word was  chesnut!). She did well in the end even to go away with £1000!

I watched Corrie, then GP show, now Millionaire.

We went to pizza hut for tea as it was son's birthday yesterday, We got 20% student discount, so can't complain. I love the salad cart there. We couldn't go on his actual birthday as he was working in the threatre all evening yesterday.

Othe son has at last done his last assignment for Uni tonight. I have been busy proof reading for him, luckily not much other than the odd comma needed to be done to help read it easier.

Daughter not finished her uni year for another month yet, she has exams too, so she is still busy.

We are in for a cool night, so back on the bed with my warm quilt tonight,... oh gosh the coat and warm quilt is on and off like a yo yo with all this extreme changes in temperature lately.

At least they say to expect dry and some sun tomorrow, even if cool, which I don't mind as long as it is dry.

Goodnight both xxx

emptybox posted:

Actually my 102 year old customer does put milk in the tea she gives me (without asking), but I don't want to complain.

Aaaww bless her at 102 she is doing well remembering to make you a cuppa.

Hi Mollie.
Wonder why dairy products bring on phlegm? Even when I took milk I only took a tiny amount, so no great loss for me.
I have almond or soya milk on my cereal in the mornings. I actually find I prefer almond milk to cows' milk now. Bit more expensive though.
I can buy soya milk in Lidl quite cheaply, but they don't seem to have almond, so I have to get that in Sainsburys. Their own brand one costs £1 for a litre.

I'd love to win £1 million. Just a nice amount to win.
And of course I wouldn't forget you and Hicky. I'd still post on here just the same, don't you worry about that. (just perhaps on a more whizz bang computer).
Yes that lady teacher from County Down was a bit of a numpty. Fancy being convinced that Phosphorus was a metal??

It's a bit frustrating that nobody has gone away with big money yet. I was hoping they might bring the series back properly, but doubt they will now.
Wonder if it's because people are more willing to gamble with £8,000 or £16,000 nowadays, because the value has been eroded by inflation since the series was last on?

That was good, getting a student discount at Pizza Hut.
That's strange that your son has finished his uni year, but daughter has another month to go? As far as I remember, when I was at uni, the exams usually finished in the middle of June, then you were off till the beginning of October.

Yes it's much cooler here tonight as well. I've put my electric blanket on low to warm the bed up, as I changed from my Winter to my Spring duvet on Monday (perhaps a bit rash?). That's because I was too warm in bed over the weekend.

Evening Both.

Chilly here today, only 13c sunny intervals but winds starting at 17 dropping during the day.

Had bacon bones for brekkie with steamed cabbage, very nice, probably had too much.

For tea i saw a bag of spring rolls in the house freezer, there were 5 so put those in the oven, made the little dip with chopped chillie, light soy, dark soy, wine vinegar and 1 tsp sugar.

Have changed the spray heads on the bug hotel as that type are really for a larger area so hard to control even with the taps.

Started to cut the piece of pond liner, wouldn't want to use it for a pond, i use big plastic clips, like 5" pegs, they hold the sheet of liner against the fence, i just measure down one end and run along with the scissors and it cuts very easy at that height, have been cutting at 60cm for the smaller tubs and 70cm for the larger ones, i cut square pieces then put the big saucer on top and draw round with a marker pen then cut a circle, i have fitted 9 so far, plenty to do, want to cut down the water loss by evaporation,

Got flowers on a few of the tomato plants all ready so pleased with those, it looks like i could have a whole lot of bunches of grapes on the outside vine, fingers crossed. 

Mollie, I even told the nurse about the message on my repeat prescription sheet, it says a review in September 2015, it's been there for years as you can imagine.

Yes, pleased with the COPD results, and getting rid of one of the inhalers is great.

I think that the list on the Urology clinis waiting list is so big they wait for you to ring in to find out whats happening, if i hadn't rang i wouldn't have got an appointment.

The chest changeover went fine, they were only here a few minutes, like lightening.

I was checking on the dairy products in regard to phlegm, it doesn't cause it but it makes it thicker, same as chocolate and cheese etc, have had no milk today.

Edit: Just remembered, couldn't get the Freeview to talk to the tv, tv has been acting strange lately, making funny clicks when no input, it turned completely off yesterday, but when i tried to get the station on i got nothing, played around for a bit then asked o/h if she could tell me what lights were on as i can't seem them, they are on the bottom of the set top box somewhere, she said it's on red so i pressed the on for the remote, she sid it went blue which is good, still couldn't get a signal so tried all the cables and changed the input from HDMI 1 to 3 then changed on input and the stations came on, weird or what.

Emptybox, Yes, they checked the new chest and o/h did, seems crazy they come from China.

I'm struggling a bit with the no milk, i use Kenco coffee, at night i use decaf.

Do you have Almond Milk in coffee? wonder what thats like.

The £100k drop is a waste of time as the questions are so crazy they know you can't know the answer, 

I saw one program and so you couldn't know the answer in advance they took the question from the morning papers, just so you couldn't read up the day before.

The BB has been put back as they didn't want to clash with Love Island which starts June.

Got a Funeral in the Morning, dread them, we won't be staying as o/h doesn't like socialising with strangers.

both xxx

Emptybox

hope today was ok for you weather wise as i know you are so busy work wise this time of year.

Good idea to put the electric blanket on again, its not nice going to bed feeling cold. Yes I think you were a bit rash changing to the spring quilt the other day, but I did just the same. However it is the thick winter quilt back on again for me now and I am wearing the fluffy onesie in the evenings again. I am not putting the central heating on now we are well into May!  i just saw the weather forecast and it is for another cold night, around plus 5 only which is cold for the south this time of year.

I'll have to give that almond milk a go, and see if I like it. I know it is good for you.

Yes millionaire is a bit annoying in that not much has been won. As you say £8k is worth a lot less now that it was back on the old series.

HIcky

sounds like you are making good use of that pond liner now.

Hope your tomatoes do well and your grapes sound promising, let's hope you get a good crop.

Are you saying the other place should of reviewed your meds back in 2015, but didn't? Good job your new practice nurse has, and she has worked out you can reduce the meds.

Yes seems like you are right, if you dont' ring for a hospital follow up, they won't contact you. So its a good job you thought to ring them. Not enough nhs money to go round, with all the cut backs, that is the trouble.

Interesting that you read dairy makes the phlegm thicker. That makes sense.  I think that we all realised you should avoid diary if you have a cold but weren't sure why. A doc also told my son to drink lots of water because that also helps make the phlegm not so thick and so easier to shift, when he had a bad cough once.

How annoying your freeview is playing up, hope it sorts itself out.

I am not pleased about them putting back BB just because of Love Island! So are they saying we now have to wait until the autumn to see BB?

Shame you have to go to the funeral. Yes not a pleasant experience at all. Don't blame your OH not feeling like socialising after especially if you don't know the others well. I don't like socialising either outside of family and the odd one to one friend.

A nice day here today even though the wind was cool,  as we had quite a bit of sun inbetween the clouds. Got my washing dry easily any way, and even sat on the swing chair for awhile, but did need to put my jumper on.

Auction viewing day again tomorrow at the auction... think we will go again to see if there are any bargains.

Watched the Mary Berry cooking show, trouble is it makes me hungry especailly the cheese scones and pumpkin soupt bit....yummy.

Watching millionaire now. We need a big win!

Goodnight both xxx

Evening all.
An improving picture weatherwise today. Started cool and windy, but a nice sunny afternoon, up to about 15 degrees.
Got my new customer done for the first time. Unfortunately he has decided to do some of it himself, leaving the rougher areas to me. So it only took an hour to do.

Hicky. Can't say I like the sound of your brekkie - bacon bones and cabbage? One thing bacon should never have in it, and that's a bone.
That sounds a nice dip for your spring rolls though.

Good idea to put the pond liner to another use.
My tomatoes aren't quite at the flowering stage yet, but they are thriving in the greenhouse so far.
Pity your TV is playing up. The clicking doesn't sound good. But at least you got it to come on eventually.
Haven't watched the £100k drop this time, as it's on early.
That's a pity if we have to wait later in the year for BB?

No I don't have any kind of milk in my coffee. When My Brother paid me a surprise visit on his motorbike last year, and I didn't have any dairy milk in, he tried almond milk in his coffee, but wasn't very impressed.
I have the almond milk on my cornflakes/muesli/granola, and sometimes just have a glass of it. The Alpro stuff is the best, but it's also more expensive, so I tend to go for the own brand stuff if the Alpro isn't discounted.
(I always go for the unsweetened variety)

Mollie. I haven't been too cold in bed with my Spring duvet so far. I think the house warmed up last week, and it hasn't lost the heat yet. Might be a different story if the cold spell continues for much longer though.

That's good that you got your washing dry and got a bit of a swing despite it being cooler.
I had a load of washing out on Tuesday, but of course the rain came on and soaked it while I was out. So I just had to finish drying it inside.
Hope you find something you are interested in at the auction tomorrow.

Millionaire was much better tonight, with two people getting decent money.
And yes Mollie, before you ask, I did know the answer to the Loch Ness question.

Evening Both. :

15c today with a few sunny intervals, cold winds though 10 rising to 20 dropping to 10 again.

The funeral went ok, got up early to get prepared, was at the Cram at 9.15 waiting, nice service, then we went to Carr Farm for brekkie, had the usual sausage, egg, hash brown and beans, with white toast then went home.

Got a refund from Amazon as the brackets that they sent were not as ordered, it was the wrong picture on the site so have had to order some from another sauce, they are retaining brackets for the Venetian Blinds, a release bracket got broke (o/h takes them down to clean behind).

Was in the garden but pretty cold so i cut more pieces pf the pond liner into the sizes i want, marked the circles and took them into the house to cut out, thats done.

O/H bought a couple of scones from the farm, they are massive, had one at 1.30pm, o/h was going to make a roast dinner, i said you could leave it till tomorrow as i couldn't eat all that.

Anyway, found a couple of pieces of salmon in the freezer so cooked them with some chillies (seem to be addicted to them).

There is a possibility that we could be going to Oz again for Christmas, wow that would be super wouldn't it.

I'm putting normal milk in the coffee for now until i can try some others, will try Soya and Almond.

Mollie, Not sure if the other surgery checked my meds or not, kept seeing different doctors so they wouldn't and it was only the COPD nurse that i saw every 12 months and i only moved onto the new once a day inhalers when i came back from holiday, they were on trial i think, but only replaced the other ones so would still have given the same problems.

https://www.nativeremedies.com...oat-mucus.html#close

-------------

I saw this as well, maybe Soy not a good idea.

Along with milk products, caffeine, sugar, salt, non- herbal teas, (especially black tea), all create excess mucus. Soy is one of the most mucus making plant foods there is. Those who give up meats and dairy and switch to soy products, have a greater risk of creating an unhealthy mucus build up in the body.

--------------------

The TV box and TV seem ok now, think it's an old 28" LG.

Glad you got your washing dried, too cold in this wind to even put any out here.

Emptybox, Strange the new customer doing some of the grass himself, is he short of cash?

I'm going to try the Almond milk, if o/h doesn't get it i'll order from the web.

I didn't make a shopping list last night as o/h didn't got to work today because of the funeral so will make a list in case we go out tomorrow, not that we need much.

 both xxx

Emptybox

glad you got some sun yesterday.

Pity the new customers business was a bit of a let down.

Sounds like that bit of sun you had has done your tomato growth good. 

I have seen that alpro in the shops, yes best to go unsweetened where you can. 

They sell it in Costco in packs of 3 for about  £1 a pack, so not bad. 

Thats handy your house keeps warm. Our old stone house used to be the same but this newish one is awful...so cold in winter and far too hot in mid summer! The only bad thing about the stone one was it used to encourage mould. But with the stones being so incredibly thick, it was a good insulator. 

Yes good to see someone win bigger money on Milliionaire last night. What a relief you knew the answer to the Loch Ness question. 

But oh dear that goat question cost that guy £15k, and not only him, but neither his friend nor Jeremy knew the answer. The question is, did our Emptybox know the answer this time? 

Hicky 

that was an early funeral. Good job you could go to one of your fave places for a good brekkie after. 

How annoying Amazon had the wrong info and you had to get a refund. 

That would be nice to go to Oz for some warm sunshine this Christmas. It did your chest good to get some warmth away last winter. I take it your son has suggested you visit? I know from when I lived in Oz it felt lonely at Christmas if you didn't have close family visit, even if you had friends around. 

Well blow me down, that is so interesting about soy being so bad for mucus. Such a surprise as it sound so healthy. I too will try almond milk and get some when we next go to Costco.

Seems even colder here today, my phone showed plus 8 but "feels like" plus 4 this morning. Forecast says only plus 2 and some frost in places tonight. 

Went to lidl shopping today and the cashiers didn't throw shopping at me, I had time to pack it into bags instead of shoving it in the trolley, and they all seem to chat to customers about eg. weather. It didn't smell either, so it does look like you were unlucky with yours Emptybox. Maybe it will improve over time? 

Me and OH decided tonight to go tomorrow to visit Llandudno for 2 nights to see his family. A long drive as with a couple of stops it is 5 hours each way. 

But I felt upset today when I saw mum's day centre bus go past and I found myself quickly checking to see if she was on it sitting in her usual seat like she used to. Hard to remember she is gone for good now, after she was such a huge part of our lives. 

So I think a few days away will do me and OH good. 

Kids staying with pets as one is working in theatre, one is gaming with his mates and one studying for exams. I am hoping for dry weather at least, but will take jumpers as they live in a cottage in Snowdonia so it is cold out there. 

So if I don't post over the weekend you'll know it is because I can't get online. 

Watched Corrie and Millionaire. 

Goodnight both xxx

Hi both.
Cloudy cold and windy today.
After saying that my house had remained warm, it's definitely colder here tonight.
Put my electric blanket on again.
And looking at the longer range forecast it seems, after a slight warm up on Monday and Tuesday, that it will be turning colder again towards the end of next week.

Strangely I got a phone call tonight from the customer who I'd asked to ring me if he wanted me to cut his grass. The one I'd seen another gardener cutting it at the start of the season.
Turns out he does want me to cut it afterall. Why he took two weeks to phone me is anyones guess?
I'll have to do it early next week, as I took a peek over the wall a few days ago, and it was looking pretty long.

Hicky. Glad the funeral wasn't too bad, and you got brekkie after.
Pity the Amazon brackets weren't right, but good that you got a refund.
Didn't realise that about soya causing mucus as well?

That would be great if you got to go to Oz over Xmas again.
Actually you spent it in New York last year, didn't you? Or have I got confused?
Surely you'll miss the cold winter weather of Blighty though?
Don't think the customer is short of money, but probably is reluctant to let go of doing the garden themselves?

Mollie. Hope you enjoy your few days away, even if it's colder up there.
Yes in a warm spell the house takes a while to warm up, but then it retains the heat for a few days afterwards. But unfortunately I'm feeling it cold again tonight.

It must be upsetting when you see things that remind you of your Mum. Hopefully the time away will take you away from that for a while.

Do you really need to ask Mollie? I thought everybody would know that an Ibex was a wild goat. Very surprised that Jeremy was so convinced he was right. Not sure what he was thinking of?
Pity the series is over now though.

Evening Both.

Not too bad today, 14c sunny intervals with light winds of 3 to 8.

Decided to get a few jobs done so fitted all the new tree tub covers, quite a job, then had the idea i better start getting the fruit cage up so have fitted all the framework, just got to fit the netting now.

Te cherry trees have cherries on so the birds could be eyeing them up.

Had soft boiled eggs for brekkie, got my shopping this morning as o/h got it after work.

I made a lamb roast for tea, just a small rolled jjoint with peas and sweetcorn with mash and gravy, had some home made Mint Sauce, o/h wasn't impressed, i had put a drop of Balsamic vinegar in, she didn't like the smell, she had some though.

O/H got me some Almond Milk don't thinks its the right one though.

Mollie, Yes, son suggested we go, he doesn't like Christmas without us really, and having it together last year was so good.

Yes, it will do you good to go to Llandudno, you are bound to get upset seeing the day centre bus.

Don't you worry about posting, just enjoy the weekend.

Emptybox, I did spend Christmas last year in NYC but we were all together so it was great, i think he wants to cook dinner, he is a good cook anyway, he will get a bigger place as he wants a garden to grow stuff and he wants 3 bedrooms and he's thinking he might need a live in nanny to look after the baby.

Of course i will miss the UK weather, who wouldn't.

I was thinking that Ibex was a goat, probably from one of the wild life programs i watch, good job it wasn't Jeremy that was last option and he said deer, that really would have been a disaster, i don't think asking Jeremy is fair to be honest, it could be a disaster, he'd never live it down.

I have some pictures from the garden to post, you will probably have seen them on my twitter but i wanted them for DS and have to post to twitter to get an address.

To view larger picture right click on picture and choose 'Open image in new Tab'.

The rest of the plants don't come till the 21st, they are grafted.

Hi Hicky.
Your plants all look great, and the tomatoes and potatoes are much further on than mine. My potatoes haven't even come through yet.
My prunus and malus trees are both out in blossom now though.

A nice day here, sunny with just a little breeze. Up to 13 degrees, but felt warmer.
Got one job done this afternoon.

Pity your OH didn't like the mint sauce with vinegar in.
hope she liked the rest of your roast?

Which almond milk did your OH get you? 
I had a glass of this one tonight. Very nice.
www.sainsburys.co.uk/sainsburys-almond-unsweetened-milk

This one is a little more expensive, but not too bad.

www.sainsburys.co.uk/blue-diamond-long-life-almond-milk--unsweetened

But the best one is the Alpro one IMO.
www.sainsburys.co.uk/alpro-fresh-almond-unsweetened

Was watching the Eurovision Song Contest.
As usual the UK didn't come anywhere. Very unfair that her performance was interrupted by some imbecile running on and stealing her microphone. (although she was given another mic very quickly).

Evening Emptybox.

Not a bad day here, 14c sunny and light winds of 8 to 11 then down again to 6.

Had brekkie in the gazebo on the BBQ, had a beefburger and some black pudding, tasty.

Finished the walk in fruit cage will post a pic at the end.

Quite easy even on my own, o/h was at work, i was cooking the chicken and making salad for 2pm with halved baby spuds, semi hard eggs, lettuce, cucumber, cherry toms, spring onions, celery.

Turned the watering off for the raised beds and the greenhouse so they didn't get water today, yesterday wasn't hot enough to dry the plants out much and they didn't need any, have put it back on for tomorrow, it comes on at 9am for 1st half then 9,15am for 2nd half of the system.

The Almond Milk o/h got me was Almond Breeze, Low Sugar, refreshing Milk Alternative, she said there was loads and she didn't know which to get.

Very pleased with how the plants are doing, i can imagine how far advanced they are further South.

I'm growing mint now so will be able to make what she wants, but she didn't want oil, or salt, or sugar, which leaves not a lot left but vinegar and water.

I had a couple of coffees with Almond Milk, not sure what i think of it really, it's certainly cut right down on the phlegm though.

Hope Mollie enjoys her break away, Llandudno should have been lovely today, i love the seaside, best thing ever, have always lived within a couple of miles of the beach.

I wanted to buy a net, something like this, watching videos of them using them is great, but can't get anyone to come with me/ take me. i always did a lot of fishing when younger as i made special ways of catching the flukes in the Estuary, i used to get about 300 a day, i caught a couple of Salmon as well, tried different methods and different nets

Must go F1 from Spain just starting.

Hi Hicky.
Your fruit cage looks good. Well done doing it by yourself. Should certainly keep the birds off your fruit trees.
(saw the pics on Twitter)

Lovely day here. Much better than forecast. It did rain overnight, so everything was soggy first thing, but it was a lovely sunny afternoon. My van was telling me it was 20 degrees when I was in town at Lidl.

That's good that coffee without dairy has cut down on your phlegm levels.
I only buy that Almond Breeze one if it's discounted in price, because it often costs more or less the same as the Alpro one, and it's not quite as nice.
It's not bad though.

Is that a fishing net you are talking about getting?
Did you not say that your OH's family were all involved with fishing?

Think I'm going to watch BBC2 tonight.
'Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors' at 8pm, then 'Burma with Simon Reeve' at 9pm.
That's the plan anyway.

Evening Emptybox.

A beautiful day here, 15c sunny all day and hardly any wind, forecast said 5 to 10 then dying to 5 again tonight.

Didn't realise i made so much salad yesterday, both of us had a meal yesterday, i had a meal for brekkie and just had another one now, so i had made enough for 4.

Getting harder to find things to do in the garden but i tried my new water pump and filled the plant feed water-but which is 100 litres, i hung it in one of the main water butts and had attached a hose pipe that went into the top, i have the feed water-but high to get most pressure if i attach a hose to the outlet.

I put 20 cap fulls of Tomorite in the water-but but won't feed just yet, will wait till more fruit is set, will give each tub 1 gallon.

Ordered my repeat meds online, must ring the pharmacy and check it was sent to them.

Had a couple of swings on the swing seat, lovely in the sun.

The side mesh on the fruit cage is pretty stiff in a roll, it came rolled up so i pegged it by the corner where the gate is and rolled it around clipping it as i went till i got round to the gate, carried on across the gate, then went back securing the top and clipping the mesh to the poles, the clips are supplied of course, the roof was awkward as it was a green of mesh so i struggled a bit as it was catching on the cut ends of the black vertical mesh which didn't hep.

If it was 20c by you that is good.

It's strange really, i leave the heating on but as the temperature inside is higher than outside it doesn't put the heating on, problem is even if it's 19c inside it can feel cold when sitting by the computer or tv.

I'm not impressed with the Almond milk at all, i had to put such a lot in to do anything, have gone to having it black will see if i can cope.

My breathing has been great, also not been coughing up phlegm which is good.

Yes, it's a Cast Net, you hold it a certain way and throw it out into the sea or water wherever you are, You can get all different sizes but they are usually about 12ft diameter, i will show you one in use.

Yes, O/H's family are all fishermen, her dad was a Shrimp Fisherman, her brothers are fisherman, some of them, so is her brothers lad, they have their own boats, they only fish local though. 

Hi Hicky.
A lovely sunny day here with almost no wind. Into the low 20s at least. In fact my van said 27 degrees at one point, but it was sitting in the sun at the time. Very warm anyway.

Got a couple of big grass cutting jobs done. I would have got more done, only the drive belt came off my Mountford mower.
Would you believe it was at the place that the customer rang up on Friday about. The one I was competing with the other gardener for.

I thought about repairing it there and then, but there were four people sitting out in the sun watching me, and I didn't fancy faffing about with spanners and screw drivers with an audience. So I just decided to push the mower for the rest of the job, which was another 1 ½ hours.

Actually that mower is quite pushable, even though it is heavier than my new one. In fact the new one is more difficult to push, for some reason.
But I didn't fancy doing the next job without drive, so I went home and fixed the mower, which took up a bit of time.
I know why the belt came off. The belt guard has lost a screw and is loose so lets grass get behind it which fouls the belt and makes it jump off the pulley. I'll have to try and find a screw that fits it, otherwise I have to clean out behind it every week or so.

Glad you found something to do in the garden. Not nice to be stuck indoors on a nice day.
I was just thinking this morning that it was nearly time to start feeding the tomato plants with Tomorite, as they are just setting the first fruit.
That was am achievement, getting all the mesh onto the fruit cage by yourself.

Pity you are not a fan of the almond milk. I suppose we all like different things. Some folk might find it a little bitter perhaps, but I like it.
I know what you mean when you say you need more of it in your coffee. Because it doesn't have the fat of dairy, it doesn't colour the coffee in the same way. But then it is that fat that gives you the troublesome phlegm I would think.

Looks like that cast net is what the survivors need to catch fish on the Bear Grylls prog?
Tonight I watched Police Interceptors then that new ITV drama 'Innocent'.

Evening Emptybox.

Another lovely day with 16c sunny and light winds of 6 rising to 14 tonight, it does say rain here at midnight, the other day it didn't.

Not a lot to do in the garden so was organizing the support cords for the outside grape vine, i have made all the support movable and removable so i can store them over winter, from what i can see there is a massive amount of fruit on this year, might have to thin some out, i have never used this method before but when i read what size this vine could grow to then why cut it short, i got this idea from a vine i saw in a video online and he had various canes at different heights, i also have canes on both sides of the bed, when we get a bit more growth i'll take a couple of pictures to show you how it runs.

Had bacon black and tomato for brekkie.

Midday o/h cooked a prawn tagliatelli but she didn't like the garlic so gave it to me.

Tonight i looked through the chest freezer and got a prawn biryani and added a few extra chilli pieces, those i got tins of are just so nice, so nice i chop them a bit and eat with a fork,

That was a blow to you the belt coming off, i suppose you don't have room to take 2 mowers round with you, thats what you need.

Yes, with 4 people watching not ideal working on equipment as they think you will book the time.

I'll have to check on feeding the tomatoes, have a feeling it's when the 2nd truss is set, will check.

The Almond milk was ok but i needed half a cup for the colour to change, then i had to reheat it, also that would make it rather expensive, had a few just black today.

I've seen lots of video's with the cast nets, they sure work, seen some amazing fish caught, had to laugh at one the fish dragged the angler off the stern of his boat it was that big.

 both xxx

Emptybox

Glad to hear you got the phone call from that guy confirming he wanted you to do his grass. Perhaps the owner waited till the other guy turned up then told him he didn't want him to do it, so he was off the scene, before ringing to tell you he wanted you to do it? 

I am afraid I didn't know what an obex goat was? But I guess you would. 

That is good you have had some nice weather too and your blossoms are out. Pity the belt came off the mower though just as you were doing that particular job too! Bet you were done in after pushing it, but at least you managed to get the job done. Fingers crossed you find a screw to fix it.

Interesting link about almond milk. I see the best one just happens to have the highest percentage of almonds in it, so that explains why I guess. I have bought some oat and some coconut milk to try too in my coffee. OH's family are also trying other milks. The suggested I try and oat and coconut too. One of them now uses goats milk which they think helps the phlegm too. 

Hicky

That is good you have had weather nice enough to get things done in your garden. A good idea to protect your trees from those hungry birds. Great photos, you garden looks so organised. I see you too got to enjoy your swing chair. They are just so relaxing sitting on the in the sun. 

We have a bird table that we put seed on, and they love it. We got a seed suitable for robins as we seem to have quite a lot of robins. Maybe if you had bird seed, it would put them off going for your garden produce?

That is good news you think the almond milk has cut down on the phlegm. Pity you are not so keen on it though. Perhaps you could try some of the other options I am trying? Have you cut back on cheese too? I love cheese, so will find that hard especially as I don't eat meat/fish. 

You did well getting a double portion of prawn tagliatelle for lunch. Hope your OH found something else she liked instead. 

Yes you are right, Llandudno was just perfect whilst we were there.  Sunny and blue skies every day, the sea so calm. We had chips one day on seafront and plenty of walks down the seafront. We took our little niece to an animal park on the Sunday, which she loved. I decided to have a latte outside the cafe when it was time to take niece to meet the snake though.   So I left OH to take her to do that, she enjoyed stroking the snake though. It was good to spend time with OH's family as well as enjoying the area. I waved across the narrow stretch of water towards  Hicky when we drove past the Wirral bit.   

Our little niece told me I don't have much hair, which I thought a bit odd seeing as it  is OH who is thin on top and my hair is quite thick. But then she went on to talk about Rumplestiltskin. So I think she meant my hair was not as long as the princesses in the tower.   She loves reading about princesses. 

Had 8 washloads to catch up with today, and still have more to do tomorrow. But at least it was a great drying day. 

Managed to get the vat off today, as luckily son put it all together whilst we were away. 

Am watching the Secret Life of 5 year Olds now. Great show, they are so funny. 

Then Innocent on itv. I enjoyed that drama last night. Anyone else watch it. 

It was a lovely day here today, but forecast not so good tomorrow. 

Goodnight both xxx

Hi both.
A lovely sunny morning, up to 25 degrees, but it got cloudier and cooler this afternoon, with more of a breeze. Still about 18 degrees though.Been raining tonight.

Got 4 jobs done which involved weeding, strimming and mowing. I used my new mower though, rather than the Mountford one.

Hicky. That's good that your grape vine is doing so well.
That was lucky, getting your OH's lunch because she didn't like it.

No I don't have room in the van for two mowers, not when I'm carrying strimmer and hedgecutters etc. I could have fixed the mower at the place, but I didn't know if the belt had broken or if it had just come off. I wanted to look professional, so i just carried on as if nothing had happened. Just sweated a bit more than usual.

Mollie. Glad you had a good time in Llandudno.
Strange that you didn't want to go and stroke the snake as well?
That's good that it was a good drying day today, and you got your VAT return off.

You might be right about the customer waiting till the other gardener came before contacting me, because the grass was fairly long and obviously hadn't been cut for over a fortnight.

Oat milk is about the only one I haven't tried yet. I'll have to give it a go.
I've tried Almond, Cashew (very creamy), Rice, Soya and Coconut.
I like coconut milk, but it's got too much of a distinctive taste to put in coffee or on cereal IMO, unless you like coconut cornflakes.

I watched the drama Innocent again tonight. It's very good. I haven't decided who the murderer is yet.