COLD DARK ROOM

[Maro2Bear]

Happy friday all! Rainy day today but rest of the wkend is gonna be gorgeous! Just watching nat geo channel with slinky lol

Good day to get your kayak out!

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Good day to get your kayak out!

For sure this weekend!

 

[Maro2Bear]

For sure this weekend!

ps - don’t forget your PFD too.

 

[Chubbs the tegu]

Yes.. i dont wanna pay a fine

 

[JoesMum]

Good afternooning all.

Today’s weather has been varied. Glorious calm sunshine, thunderstorms, hail, windy... I think we have had most things except snow and fog.

i went out for my walk in sunshine and drowned coming home as a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and started hurling marble sized hail stones at me. They hurt! I had a good coat on, but my jeans and shoes were waterlogged in the 10 minutes it took to get home!

Other than that, nothing much to report. Friday is cleaning day and, as JoesDad is now working as well as Son, that left more for me and Daughter to do. (Boo! ) Son and JoesDad will clean the rooms they’re using as their office space tomorrow. Life is so fascinating right now ?

I secured a supermarket delivery slot for a week today! This makes me very happy as I honestly thought I stood no chance for the next few weeks.

JoesDad and I should have been going bird/wildlife watching in the Shetland Islands a week tomorrow. Needless to say, that isn’t happening. The Shetlands are actually nearer Norway than the UK and are part of Scotland from the UK’s point of view. I am disappointed partly because I have a good friend who lives there (his accent is impenetrable) and I shan’t be seeing him

I have decided to do some research and make my menus Scottish inspired for next weekend. Haggis, Scotch Broth, Clootie Dumpling, Cranachan all come to mind. I’ll let you know how I get on

 

[CarolM]

Hi everyone form a wet and chilly Wales - but the rain is most welcome as the gardens need it and it keeps my neighbours indoors!
I hope everyone is OK I've been trying to catch up but still have 20 pages to go until I'm up to speed with you all.
Everything fine with me, managing to have a walk everyday to get fresh weeds for Lola which he is thoroughly enjoying. He still hasn't made it as far as the garden yet to enjoy the sun we've had, but likes to look at it from a distance. He's getting there - very slowly. I've been tidying up the garden but we have no where open to take the rubbish yet. There'll be such a queue for the local tip when it does reopen can't see me getting there before Xmas!
My brother has finished his radio and chemo therapy for now , but think he may have more chemo after his next review. He had to spend a few days in hospital last weekend as he was refusing food, drink and his meds, so he was dehydrated and had a temperature. He was tested for Covid which thankfully was negative. He remains a constant worry and we know that all the treatment has done is buy him some more time. We just hope that whatever tine he has will be happy and calm and that we'll be able to spend some nice family time with him soon, but at the moment we can only speak to him on the phone. At least he's been able to sit out in his garden on sunny days.
Anyway I'll get back to the last page I read now and will speak to you all soon.

You and your brother are always in my thoughts Lyn. Hang in there.

 

[CarolM]

Good evenooning all.

I have had a rather busy day and my brain is feeling the strain.

Today, I did finally manage to get JoesDad’s work emails on his phone and iPad. It took about 5 hours of wrangling as, for reasons best known to both devices which may or may not involve the Leprechaun, they were logging in to his new company, but trying to authenticate with the one he left in December.

Having got those working, I had a short break and then had an online school governor meeting which first involved telephone coaching to get the Chairman connected. I am even IT support to the governing board ?

Daughter cooked dinner fortunately, so I didn’t have to worry about that at least

Well done. Sounds like you had a really busy day. At least you can say you are not bored.

 

[CarolM]

Good morning all! I’ve had some connection issues after the last round of storms. Internet is back, cell service is still spotty and the tv satellite still needs service.. sure was quite!

Sorry I missed your sons b-day Linda! Hope it was great and thank you for the cake. Tell daughter it was delicious.

Good to hear from you Lyn. Hope things continue along positively for your brother and that Lola will behave himself and enjoy your Garden.

Carol, can’t wait to see your big reveal and I hope your back is not troubling you now.

I see that Cathie remains upbeat and I hope to see some Razberri antics and Saphire shenanigans...No new work from Joe??? I would have loved to seen you wrestling a big ol pike with a cane pole LOL

Mark, I see the weather isn’t slowing you down much. Your flowers and yard are looking great.. and I see that Wifey takes awesome photos too;-) y’all are a very talented family..

Ray! Ray! Ray ! (Just making sure I got your attention!) what are you doing today? How’s the walking coming? Did you know I caught a 63lb Appaloosa catfish out of the red river one time? I DID NOT stick my hand in a log for it!

For the one whose name I can not call, it sounds like you need to move to warmer climates. I think it will be better for you and the ones you care for if your beer drinking is not inhibited by the cold!

Happy Friday all!

Tomorrow I will be painting the inside of the big one, then I can move it to where it needs to go and I will post a picture for you all to see.

And very glad to know that you are back and that your internet problems are sorted. I did wonder where you had gone. And very glad that it was only internet and not the covid-19.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Good afternooning all.

Today’s weather has been varied. Glorious calm sunshine, thunderstorms, hail, windy... I think we have had most things except snow and fog.

i went out for my walk in sunshine and drowned coming home as a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and started hurling marble sized hail stones at me. They hurt! I had a good coat on, but my jeans and shoes were waterlogged in the 10 minutes it took to get home!

Other than that, nothing much to report. Friday is cleaning day and, as JoesDad is now working as well as Son, that left more for me and Daughter to do. (Boo! ) Son and JoesDad will clean the rooms they’re using as their office space tomorrow. Life is so fascinating right now ?

I secured a supermarket delivery slot for a week today! This makes me very happy as I honestly thought I stood no chance for the next few weeks.

JoesDad and I should have been going bird/wildlife watching in the Shetland Islands a week tomorrow. Needless to say, that isn’t happening. The Shetlands are actually nearer Norway than the UK and are part of Scotland from the UK’s point of view. I am disappointed partly because I have a good friend who lives there (his accent is impenetrable) and I shan’t be seeing him

I have decided to do some research and make my menus Scottish inspired for next weekend. Haggis, Scotch Broth, Clootie Dumpling, Cranachan all come to mind. I’ll let you know how I get on

Sounds great! I’m sure that i had cranachan a few times..


Cranachan

Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Scotland
Main ingredients	Whipped cream, whisky, honey (preferably heather honey), raspberries, oatmeal
Cookbook: Cranachan

Cranachan (Scottish Gaelic: Crannachan pronounced [ˈkʰɾan̪ˠəxan]) is a traditional Scottish dessert. It was originally a celebration of harvest, made following the raspberry harvest in June. The dessert of cream and fresh seasonal raspberries is bolstered by Scottish oats and whisky. It has been called 'the uncontested king of Scottish dessert'. Cranachan owes its origins to crowdie, a popular breakfast in which crowdie cheese is combined with lightly toasted oatmeal, cream, and local honey. Raspberries, when in season, might be added to the breakfast.

 

[CarolM]

Sounds great! I’m sure that i had cranachan a few times..


Cranachan

Course	Dessert
Place of origin	Scotland
Main ingredients	Whipped cream, whisky, honey (preferably heather honey), raspberries, oatmeal
Cookbook: Cranachan

Cranachan (Scottish Gaelic: Crannachan pronounced [ˈkʰɾan̪ˠəxan]) is a traditional Scottish dessert. It was originally a celebration of harvest, made following the raspberry harvest in June. The dessert of cream and fresh seasonal raspberries is bolstered by Scottish oats and whisky. It has been called 'the uncontested king of Scottish dessert'. Cranachan owes its origins to crowdie, a popular breakfast in which crowdie cheese is combined with lightly toasted oatmeal, cream, and local honey. Raspberries, when in season, might be added to the breakfast.

Thank you for that Mark. As I did not know what Cranachan was.

 

[CarolM]

Well that is me all caught up. We have not heard anything from Maggie and Yvonne, Does anybody know if they have been online? I don't go into the other thread only come into the cold dark rooms. As I need the cooler rooms to combat the heat from outside.

Today our level four started. Which means that more shops are allowed to open and some of them can sell un essential items. So I was able to buy a paint brush. So tomorrow I will be painting my last flower pot that I made and then can move it to the front garden.

I am waiting for the garden centres to open as I need some for potting soil. And I need some more items to make those pots that Mark showed me.

I also need to find an old plastic doll, so that I can use the head as a mold for my planter which will look like a head. Or at least a mask or something. Oh wait I can ask my son to 3d print a mold for me. There you go, you guys helped me figure out what I was going to do for a mask.

It is 21.45 here and dark, that reminds me I need to ask our complex guy to change the lights from summer timing to winter timing.

Until tomorrow. Have an awesome Friday everyone.

 

[Cathie G]

Hi everyone form a wet and chilly Wales - but the rain is most welcome as the gardens need it and it keeps my neighbours indoors!
I hope everyone is OK I've been trying to catch up but still have 20 pages to go until I'm up to speed with you all.
Everything fine with me, managing to have a walk everyday to get fresh weeds for Lola which he is thoroughly enjoying. He still hasn't made it as far as the garden yet to enjoy the sun we've had, but likes to look at it from a distance. He's getting there - very slowly. I've been tidying up the garden but we have no where open to take the rubbish yet. There'll be such a queue for the local tip when it does reopen can't see me getting there before Xmas!
My brother has finished his radio and chemo therapy for now , but think he may have more chemo after his next review. He had to spend a few days in hospital last weekend as he was refusing food, drink and his meds, so he was dehydrated and had a temperature. He was tested for Covid which thankfully was negative. He remains a constant worry and we know that all the treatment has done is buy him some more time. We just hope that whatever tine he has will be happy and calm and that we'll be able to spend some nice family time with him soon, but at the moment we can only speak to him on the phone. At least he's been able to sit out in his garden on sunny days.
Anyway I'll get back to the last page I read now and will speak to you all soon.

Hello. It's wonderful that your brother can now just recuperate from it all. When I was really ill it would've been just as good to get a phone call. I was so tired. The visits really cheered me up but I could only stay awake for a little while. Then I felt like I was being rude to my guests if I snored...

 

[Cathie G]

Good morning all! I’ve had some connection issues after the last round of storms. Internet is back, cell service is still spotty and the tv satellite still needs service.. sure was quite!

Sorry I missed your sons b-day Linda! Hope it was great and thank you for the cake. Tell daughter it was delicious.

Good to hear from you Lyn. Hope things continue along positively for your brother and that Lola will behave himself and enjoy your Garden.

Carol, can’t wait to see your big reveal and I hope your back is not troubling you now.

I see that Cathie remains upbeat and I hope to see some Razberri antics and Saphire shenanigans...No new work from Joe??? I would have loved to seen you wrestling a big ol pike with a cane pole LOL

Mark, I see the weather isn’t slowing you down much. Your flowers and yard are looking great.. and I see that Wifey takes awesome photos too;-) y’all are a very talented family..

Ray! Ray! Ray ! (Just making sure I got your attention!) what are you doing today? How’s the walking coming? Did you know I caught a 63lb Appaloosa catfish out of the red river one time? I DID NOT stick my hand in a log for it!

For the one whose name I can not call, it sounds like you need to move to warmer climates. I think it will be better for you and the ones you care for if your beer drinking is not inhibited by the cold!

Happy Friday all!

Ok it's a Razberri antic for you. She was posed and it was so cute but she caught me trying to shoot her.

 

[Cathie G]

Nice to hear you, thought maybe the storms blew you away! Rain n more rain today. I get very depressed during these rainy cold wet damp blustery days. Forget about COVID....the rain & wet grounds are depressing. I worked on another bee/bird house yesterday. I’m thinking of a straw thatched roof for it. My first two were hits with my TWITTER @GardensHour folk....so i need to up my game with No 3.

Luffas are growing, but i need WARM weather to plant them outside....starting to form their true leaves now.

Send some ??????

Sending some☺☺☺

 

[Maro2Bear]

Sunny & bright already this morning. Hope the sun is shining on one n all today!

I’m off kayaking....catch you all later. Enjoy ?????

 

[EllieMay]

Nice to hear you, thought maybe the storms blew you away! Rain n more rain today. I get very depressed during these rainy cold wet damp blustery days. Forget about COVID....the rain & wet grounds are depressing. I worked on another bee/bird house yesterday. I’m thinking of a straw thatched roof for it. My first two were hits with my TWITTER @GardensHour folk....so i need to up my game with No 3.

Luffas are growing, but i need WARM weather to plant them outside....starting to form their true leaves now.

Send some ??????

I understand the depression.. I can’t stand being stuck inside for any amount of time! Hopefully today has dawned brighter .. warmth and sunshine sent your way!

I think the straw roof will be adorable though I can’t imagine any of your work not being a hit.

 

[EllieMay]

Good afternooning all.

Today’s weather has been varied. Glorious calm sunshine, thunderstorms, hail, windy... I think we have had most things except snow and fog.

i went out for my walk in sunshine and drowned coming home as a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and started hurling marble sized hail stones at me. They hurt! I had a good coat on, but my jeans and shoes were waterlogged in the 10 minutes it took to get home!

Other than that, nothing much to report. Friday is cleaning day and, as JoesDad is now working as well as Son, that left more for me and Daughter to do. (Boo! ) Son and JoesDad will clean the rooms they’re using as their office space tomorrow. Life is so fascinating right now ?

I secured a supermarket delivery slot for a week today! This makes me very happy as I honestly thought I stood no chance for the next few weeks.

JoesDad and I should have been going bird/wildlife watching in the Shetland Islands a week tomorrow. Needless to say, that isn’t happening. The Shetlands are actually nearer Norway than the UK and are part of Scotland from the UK’s point of view. I am disappointed partly because I have a good friend who lives there (his accent is impenetrable) and I shan’t be seeing him

I have decided to do some research and make my menus Scottish inspired for next weekend. Haggis, Scotch Broth, Clootie Dumpling, Cranachan all come to mind. I’ll let you know how I get on

That’s too bad about the bird watching trip... hopefully you will get to reschedule...

How exciting for us about the Scottish fare! I enjoy seeing all your fares and even trying something new now and again..

 

[EllieMay]

Good morning! They have lifted our travel restriction and allowed some of the non-essential businesses to open to 25% capacity!

We promptly loaded up ATV’s and camper and headed out. Us and two other couples have all migrated to another friends in North Louisiana who lives way out in the country. We are going to boil some crawfish, drink some beers , and have a great time .( 6 ft apart) ...lol.

 

[EllieMay]

Passing the time earlier in the week Cinder LOVES the water. Once she figured out the jacket would float her, she was swimming with Duke 50 yards out...

 

[JoesMum]

Good afternooning all

I checked our trail cameras this morning and finally have photographic confirmation that we have a hedgehog in the garden again. In 2018 we had 3 visiting our feed station and then, mysteriously, they disappeared last year. We have opened up a couple more hedgehog holes on our boundary and it’s good to see we are back on the route. The image is very grainy, but it’s definitely a hedgehog



Out on my Permitted Exercise, I make sure to pass a pond where Moorhens hatched their brood of 8 on Good Friday so they’re 3 weeks old. This week’s bad weather hasn’t been good news and the 8 seen last weekend has declined to 5. They look very cute lined up on a plank floating in among the duck weed. Dad appears to be in charge of crowd control. Mum has been refurbishing the nest this week and has started sitting again today. Google tells me the first brood will help rear the second.