Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 14 February 2016

LINDY   Ladies in Lavender is a wonderful film. Anything with Dames Judi and Maggie together is not to be missed.

OG   Glad the paste is working

HEATHER   do hope the shower is sorted today.

Off into town this morning to collect new specs. They had to be sent back a couple of weeks ago as I could actually read better with old specs. I am hoping for better today!!!!!

DIBNLIB - The plumber will be here this afternoon.(Mathesons) He phoned late morning to say that he was a wee bit delayed. Did I have anything to do? I replied, a little shopping, so he advised us to go shopping and then he would not be panicking about getting to us by a certain time. It certainly is a saga, LINDY!!

OG - Waiting to hear what you had at the OTB!

ANNETTE - Hope that you will have a lovely day with Miss D. Great that they will spend a few nights with you. It is such a precious time, they grow up so quickly and while we still love them just as much, the innocence of childhood and wonderment at things just disappears. doesn't it?

After a beautiful morning the clouds rolled in, and eventually the rain arrived. We drove through some very heavy rain and very gusty winds, but when we arrived here it was all still dry.
Nothing wrong with the car, except for new windscreen wipers, which we obviously knew about. I didn't find the bathroom mats I was looking for, or new cushions for the sitting room sofas. I did buy some food at M & S though.

Dibnlib, I once had that problem with my driving specs. I hope you are satisfied with your replacements.

Heather, Hope the shower is now fixed. Why are plumbers always a problem to fix a time with. They always seem to be running late.

BRENDA   thank you, specs are fine now.

We had lunch at home, then a friend came round this afternoon. She left for the US ( Boston, New York and Florida) just before Christmas and hasn't been home long so there was a lot of catching up. Lucky friend was able to swim with Manatees which she really enjoyed. There was a detailed briefing beforehand when they were told not to approach these gentle giants as it would be invading their space, also to float rather than swim.

So very sad about the fatalities on our mountain over the past few days. No matter how expert you are nature cannot guarantee your safety

Shower is fixed. Lovely young man who took his shoes off in the porch before coming into the house.I only noticed as he was leaving because OH let him into the house. When he was leaving I commented- his reply was that he was well trained!

Shopping was successful and the promised morning rain only materialised as occasional light drizzle, although the afternoon showers were heavier.  Lunch update – after 10 days not visiting, we got a warm greeting at the OTB!  I had fishcakes (without the chips and coleslaw so they gave me extra salad) followed by a slice of beautifully light lemon and ginger cake.  OH had a chicken burger with chips and salad, and his usual Malteser slice.  Next visit in one week from now will be the “Old Favourites” evening.  We only needed homemade soup (minestrone) this evening, and J arrived home safely after having food on the way.  His hospital visit was satisfactory, but one of the consultants is recommending that his GP put him on statins – a bit worried about this as he already suffers from leg pains.

Brenda – good that you could make use of the time of the car service, but sorry you didn’t find all the things you hoped.

Dibnlib – I hope you will see (no pun intended) some improvement with the specs now!  Good that your friend came around and described her swim with the Manatees – amazing creatures.  Two hill deaths near here this week – three experienced hill-walkers, but two in their seventies died, presumably from exposure after a night out in the open.

Heather – pleased the shower is fixed – with the bonus of a “lovely young man”!  Not many think to remove their shoes at the door these days.

I seem to be developing a cold, and probably OH too.  I hadn't been out for a long time, so don't know how I picked it up - must have been a gift from school via J!  Still hoping to go to Lockerbie Farmers' Market tomorrow - got some meat on order there as their shop in Annan didn't have what we wanted, so the staff there phoned the farm to reserve it for us!

OG- so glad that J' s check up went well. Statins seem to suit some folk more than others as you will know. My OH has taken them for years with no side effects, luckily. We did reduce his cholesterol greatly by diet but oh dear, he did miss his cheese and once weekly bacon, etc. And we'll not mention the icecream and chocolates etc. So he went on statins and his cardiac perfusion scan last yearshowed no narrowing of arteries etc But of course, maybe J has been advised statins for other reasons?

PS OG- lunch sounds good! Particularly the lemon and ginger cake!

I hope you don't get a cold. Fingers crossed.

I had homemade minestrone this evening, too. Then some blue cheese and crackers.

Glad you enjoyed your expedition and lunch, OG - sounded really good. I do love a good fishcake. Hope that J can get relief from the leg pains. Sorry if you're both getting colds - hope they're short lived.

Brenda - You seem to have had a lot of wet weather lately. Bit annoying when you just want a simple thing like a bathmat,  but can't see what you want.

Heather - Hooray!  A fixed shower, and a barefoot hero!

I've been rooting out my holiday clothes, and wondering as usual how much I can cram into our cases. According to weather reports and comments from others, it's not been good weather lately where we're going. So I might put in more warm things than I do normally.

Yesterday, I dropped the small plastic lid from my cooking oil bottle on the kitchen floor, and Bonnie got to it before I did. It took both of us to corner her before she would give it up! Then my OH had a hot pack to relieve a slight backache, and afterwards left it on a chair......a merry dance ensued as we both tried to get it from her before she punctured it, as it's full of wheat which warms up in the microwave. Happily all was well.