Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 3 March 2019

Good morning, all. OG here again.

ANNETTE - fire officers have put me on a special list to get me out if necessary - I would have a dedicated team of my own to rescue me! Pleased your Daughter arrived safely.

LINDA - I hope the hospital can keep G in a while - and maybe even consider hospice care after that. Hope you can get the teeshirt/shoe balance corrected today! Is this a three-week holiday again?

Funny weather last night - a sudden snowshower from 9-10pm last night - about 2cm on the ground. Then precipitation stopped, the temp rose by about 3 degrees and it all went away again! Sunny this morning. Not enough on the shopping list to justify mileage to M&S today, so OH will shop at Tesco on the way home from taking J to work. Hoping he will clean the study this afternoon - it's been written in the diary every day since he finished painting in the wardrobe!

Hope nobody has trees down or building damage from the storm.

Hello all.

Dull here and not too warm but the unseasonal weather has made roses shoot suddenly and horror of horrors! Greenfly and whitefly on them.

OG - My brother is making steady progress, thank you. He is in his 70th year so things are taking a bit longer than might have been the case - he is still in some pain at times, especially first thing in the morning.
Talking of smoke alarms - the one in the hall here started intermittent beeping early today! I poked it with a broom handle (!) and the cover came off and fell to the floor. Now to find a replacement battery. I was in the process of making my early morning coffee and being caffeineless, didn't have the patience to get out the small step ladder.

ANNETTE - Good that you are having a happy time with your daughter!

We had the Firemen here a few years ago. Everything seemed to be OK. I remember them being extremely impressed that OH had the key for each window lock hanging from a small hook at the side of all the windows.! Not visible, of course.

LINDY - I agree with OG - hospice care might be the way to go for G. It is easy for us to say, though.

My friend's son has moved a single bed downstairs into the sitting room in preparation for his Mum's eventual homecoming. No shower or bath downstairs though , only a cloakroom.- she seems to be OK with that - talking of 'topping and tailing'! back to the old days, I suppose.....

Greenfly, Heather!! Argh! At this time of year, too...

Please don't fall off a ladder looking at the smoke alarm.

Been to nearby town to return some dubious trousers to M&S. Bought ourselves a nice Viennese slice to enjoy with our lunch. Spring sunshine this morning, but now it's trying to rain. Must get some things into cases this afternoon, we leave at crack of dawn on Wednesday (2 weeks this time, OG, we weren't sure if we would like the accommodation.)

I know what you mean about my Friend. The hospital have promised her OH that if she goes home, it will not be without a proper care package in place. But I said to my OH that the way she is deteriorating, it might be that she goes straight into a hospice. We will have to wait and see. Nothing much has happened over the weekend, as the consultants are not much in evidence then.

Me again!

HEATHER - OH found some evidence of greenfly in the greenhouse - urgh! And it had been treated with a "smoke bomb" (don't know the correct name!) in the autumn! Pleased Bro is doing okay for his age - know just how it feels! Hope you found new battery for smoke alarm.

LINDA - my word, that is last minute packing for you - usually had it in the case and out and back in at least twice by now! Will email you before you go.

Just heard someone put something through front door - probably the Invoice from Fix It Guy. Skip wasn't collected till this morning, but I told OH I am not paying for it through the weekend when it was only needed for the one day on Friday! OH wired a two-way socket in place of one-way and extension in the hallway for the Call Care hub this afternoon; he did clean the study, and I made birthday cards.

LINDYBIRD: Have a super vacation.

Busy here (didn't really do anything) but lots of chat with daughter.... Out tomorrow early...

Take care all.

LINDY: I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing holiday! Hope it's everything you could want.

Thank you, everyone. We are looking forward to it, of course: it's been a tense few months for me, worrying about my Friend, and plus my OH has started a head cold in the last few days so is hoping the sunshine will help to dispel it.
A sunny start today here: my OH has gone off to fit in a golf game, leaving me to dust the house and do last minute things.
Annette, glad you're having a nice chatty time with your daughter. Hope you enjoy the whale watch.
Heather, glad to see you're still with us, so presumably you left the smoke alarm for someone else to do!
OG You seem to have found someone to help with the outside work, at least, with Fix It Man!

A dreich start to the day - but plenty of indoor jobs for OH to get on with.

LINDA - although Fix It Guy eventually got on with the garden work, I wouldn't recommend him and don't think we would use him again - sigh! He doesn't seem to have much idea what he is doing, and I certainly wouldn't use him indoors. I think for future landscaping we would use the company who look after our trees - more expensive, but a proper job!

OH is busy with an editing job on the church website - filling in time before taking J to work. I have some kitchen paperwork - menu plans and checking freezer records for next shopping list.

OG - Yes, I agree, stick with who you know is a good idea. I just carry on with the same tradesmen that OH always used. Stepson pulls a face and says I should get estimates.... maybe that is why he has lots of money in the bank. I'm not looking for the cheapest, I tell him, I'm looking for a good job and peace of mind and a guarantee that actually means something.