2023 Quick Daily Posts

[Mabel Figworthy]

Hope all goes well with the pre sessions and that the operation does all you would wish it to do - looking forward to seeing your stitching again!

[Serinde]

Carole, all went well here (including DH's "official birthday", which was tacked onto Thanksgiving celebrations with the neighbours coming in, so that was fun). I am the only "real" American in the village, but apparently it's a big thing in St Andrews (where I attended university years ago), with so many US students. They have cornered the T'giving turkey market!

Hope all the tests, measuring and surgery goes well with your eye -- and as quickly as possible. I can imagine your frustration not being able to do any fine stitching, but soon!!

[richardandtracy]

The road past our house was closed last Saturday due to a gas main fracture on Thursday when a digger driver got over enthusiastic near an excessively shallow pipe.
The closure is 15 yards towards the main local town from our garage (and immediately adjacent to our magnificent Plum Jam Tree). No work has happened since last Saturday when a gas pipe trench was dug across the road.

I learnt why yesterday evening.

The trench was dug in the wrong place in the road and a new application has to be put into the council to approve the position of the one actually dug as opposed to the one applied for, and now that there is no-longer gas leaking out, it's not an emergency and the usual 10 day wait applies to the application. You couldn't make it up. The road will be closed until the middle of next week when the approval can pass and only then can the road be re-instated.

Until then, if we want to go by car, the 10 yards of closed road adds 1 mile to our journey. If we go by moped, we just have to push the bike 10 yards along the pedestrian pavement. It is nice not having cars zoom past us though. And it's quite funny seeing self entitled drivers who've driven past 4 'Road Closed' signs finally realise that it really does apply to them too and find they have to do a 76 point turn to turn around in the narrow road.

Regards,

Richard

[Steam.Jo]

They closed the road in the village last Wednesday to fix a water leak. They fixed it and tarmacked over the hole in the same morning. They left all their stuff in the middle of the road with a steel cage round their stuff and the tarmac patch, leaving the road closed, until on Friday night I made contact with the water board to be told "they had a license to close the road to 17:00 on Friday". I replied "it is causing chaos as it requires a 5 1/2 mile detour and we have the Christmas fayre tomorrow morning and all the visitors will have to drive an additional 11 miles there and back round the closed road that is closed because your contractor is using our road as a store". I got a promise to chase it

18:00 came and my phone rang - it was the water board phoning back with an update - their contractor could not complete the job until Saturday. So I mentioned they finished on Wednesday and that they were now in breach of their license that ran out at 17:00 and were they paying the contractor extra time to collect their stuff on a Saturday?

By 8am on Saturday morning it had gone and re-appeared piled up on the verge on the other end of the village where it stayed until Tuesday when their license to dig another hole started and block our road from the other end

Jo

[richardandtracy]

Our road was unofficially opened yesterday afternoon. Bit of a bump in the road where it was filled, but otherwise OK.

There is a hole in the pavement, but that won't bother drivers unless they do something silly. It was nice being in a cul-de-sac. Ah well, had to be open for tomorrow when one side of the dual carriageway behind us is closed and everyone is directed along our road. Would have been fun otherwise.

Regards,

Richard

[wendywombat]

Today we have had fog...all day. Thick impenetrable Fog!
Not only fog but Freezing Fog!
The lady who delivered our veggie box told us that the main roads were clear of ice but our cul-de-sac was untreated and highly treacherous.
D/H ventured out to the grit and salt bin which had mysteriously appeared on the footpath outside nextdoor and gave our driveway entrance and paths to our door a darn good dosing. He also Strongly Suggested that I didn't go to my usual craft afternoon in the next village. When I contacted other crafting buddies found out that they weren't going either.
It's now dark outside and cannot see the fog...but we know that it's still there.

Oh and to cap it, we've run out of milk! D/H is suffering lemon in his tea...and complaining quietly
Oh the joys of winter eh?

[Steam.Jo]

We had Foxes Brewing's down here this morning : You think you are out of it and the next bit of woods its thick and impenetrable again.

Ice on the roads: they don't grit our village, they have never gritted or salted the road. They claim it is because of our quaking bog they dare not contaminate it (good excuse ... maybe ) One year the compacted ice was over 4" thick and we were stranded for two weeks. In the end one of the farmers was so frustrated with the local council he got his Tele handler out and got the forks under the layer of ice and lifted it off the road.

Jo

[richardandtracy]

...Oh and to cap it, we've run out of milk! D/H is suffering lemon in his tea...and complaining quietly
Oh the joys of winter eh?

We tend to have a small supply of Powdered Milk for such emergencies, and frequently a couple of containers of UHT milk (which is much nicer than it used to be in the '70's/'80's). Means we can usually last a day or two after our milk runs out. The big problem is when the cat food is finished. Then it's an emergency of the first degree.

Regards,

Richard

[Mabel Figworthy]

[rcperryls]

It isn't just when the food bowl is empty. If you can see any little bit of the bottom of the bowl, starvation is only a few minutes away.

Carole

[Roland]

This is going to be one hectic weekend.

Two of my grandkids are coming to decorate our tree. They are bringing their younger cousin too. They’ll be here for 3 days. I picked up a cookie game. Each player gets a cookie and there are decorations & icing.The winner is the person who gets to the finish with their cookie the most decorated and least eaten. lol. Different places on the board allow you to decorate..but some tell you to take a bite.

We are also making baked apples with cinnamon, brown sugar, caramel and chocolate.

But first

DH & I are driving up north to check out adopting a cat. Skye has been trying to entice a neighbourhood cat to come inside and play with her.

[Mabel Figworthy]

The cookie game sounds fun! And goof lucj finding just the right cat - or rather, have the right cat find you

[richardandtracy]

Just got back from seeing my dad in Devon.
Due to the M3 motorway being shut in both directions and two storms rattling through over the weekend, I had to go via the M4 around Bristol, adding 60 miles and 2 hours to the normal 4hr 30min journey. It was amazing how many people drove as if the weather was fine and stopping distances were unaffected.

Anyway, my dad was asleep for most of the time I was at the nursing home. The staff were friendly, over worked and not really able to respond fast at peak times. The place was nice & clean, but could do with a bit of maintenance. My dad was on the ball for most of the time, but obviously had no idea where he was or why, & wanted to get up & leave. Sad really. He's also still loosing a bit of weight, and hasn't put back any of the 70-80lb he lost when he got covid.

I do feel a bit re-assured, but he's never going to go home again - which means my brother, my step brother & I have another problem to deal with. Keep his house & maintain it, or sell it & divide the contents among those who feel they have an attachment. My step mother got rid of most of the stuff that my dad had when my mum was alive, so there isn't a lot that my brother & I would feel attached to. Thank goodness that's a problem for after Christmas.

Regards,

Richard

Edited for tripe writing errors.

[Mabel Figworthy]

So glad there was at least some reassurance, even though there is now another task awaiting - but as you say, that is for later. I hope you and Tracy and the girls will have a peaceful Christmas, knowing that you are there for each other to support and encourage.

[Serinde]

Don't believe I could express it better than Mabel had done. Concentrate on your dad while you can. The house, while needing to be kept wind and watertight over winter, can otherwise wait.

How's Enya recovering, by the way? Been thinking of her lately.

[richardandtracy]

Enya. Yeah.

Her wounds still hurt and she doesn't feel fit to go for walks or anything similar yet. She is supposed to have a 5 week appointment with the consultant. Nothing through the post & it's 4 weeks yesterday that the operation happened. Need her to phone & find out when it's happening. One of the wounds is still red and painful.

But, on the plus side, she's not in agony like she was. And the cats are looking after her diligently.

Regards,

Richard

[rcperryls]

Don't believe I could express it better than Mabel had done. Concentrate on your dad while you can. The house, while needing to be kept wind and watertight over winter, can otherwise wait.

How's Enya recovering, by the way? Been thinking of her lately.

Couldn't say it any better than either of the ladies. Hope Enya gets her post op visit soon and that the wound is healing properly. So glad that the agony is over. It's been a long time coming.

Hope y'all have a quiet Christmas. I expect you will be ready to welcome in a new year also.

Carole

[Serinde]

It must be rolling up to the hols, because the gremlins are out in force. Just deleted about 150 "notifications" -- people trying to become members. Of course they aren't people at all, but trolls of various sorts. So just a reminder that this is not a "secure" forum, and that anyone anywhere in the world can read what we write here. So no personal information that might identify your addresses, emails, etc. Anything really personal can be put into PMs, which are secure.

Merry Christmas

[rcperryls]

I am so sorry, Serinde, that I have been AWOL from my share of the moderators duties as in dealing with all those crazy notifications you have had. I hope the holiday onslaught is over but I will be checking back more regularly. Daily for sure. I've not been at the computer much, so I've been using my iPad for a lot of things, but its much easier to type on the mac. But I am getting back to old routines which is very nice. You can leave the next 150 trolls for me to decimate.

Carole

[richardandtracy]

On leave this week. Picking MIL up from care home this afternoon. Hope she'll still be at home on Friday.

Regards,

Richard