Today I shall be Mainly...

[Cathy]

[plaques]

Yes Maz, that's one way of looking at it. I prefer to see it as a precious commodity and somewhere to warm my feet on a cold winter's day!

I've heard of people boiling eggs in a steaming compost heap but never warming their feet. Takes all sorts as they say.

Do you ever see 'people' on your cameras? When we lived in Burnley and after Dad died my mother would stay with us for the odd week. She spent all her time watching people walking past the house. It wasn't that she was nosy but she said she enjoyed seeing people again.
The main problem with the lockdown 'stay safe' is that you don't meet people. Mrs P's phone needs recharging every day. Ping Pong. WhatsApp on the down line. What's for tea? Salmon for her Ladyship, Kippers for the serf. I think Wendy and myself have something in common, nobody will dare to come near us.

[Marilyn]

A big pile of poo like that “should see you out” I should think...

[Sue]

I agree, the worse thing about lockdown is not meeting people or in my case havi g a right good gossip.

The Tesco delivery man had a socially distanced natter today. He was saying he hadn’t seen us for ages and were we ok. We think the last time we saw him was a year ago, just about now, when we had the accident in our Volvo in a freak hail storm , on our way back from Ramsbottom after spending my birthday money . He passed us when we were off the road not knowing it was. The next Sunday he brought our groceries and we chatted about the freak storm and how bad the roads were. We reckon that would be the last time we saw him.

[Marilyn]

I love a good gossip too. We have a nearby neighbour who used to be a Newspaper Editor before he retired. He is full of gossip! If he catches us walking by, he always wants a long socially distanced chat. He lives alone, so I expect the chat does him more good than us ( at least we have each other to natter to). The things he knows...well...you wouldn’t read about them! On the down side, he is quite a “nosey” bloke, but I guess that was how he made his considerable bread and butter in his day.

Today is cooler but steamy, after some rain this morning - quite tropical.
Unfortunately I need to pop to the shops because a few things I needed to buy on Saturday were missing from the shelves. Unfortunately, they were all on special too. Hubby needs to collect a script too. A walk first, shopping afterwards.

[Stanley]

Today I shall be putting the final touches to Margaret's engine and finding a place on the sideboard for it.
I have a cannon to make. I have had a request. I have to decide on the next engine..... Perhaps a clean up.
Lovely midden Wendy and such an asset. Just imagine what would happen to that if it was on an allotment site in the town, it would be stripped bare in no time.

[Sue]

Morning

It’s foggy morning and we have had a sprinkling of snow that was not forecast here. The forecast was/is for a foggy start ,clearing to sunny for the afternoon. We were planning a walk and being adventurous intending trying another bridle path on the moors and completing a circuit but we will have to see how the snow fairs. Yesterday was fine here, no snow so we managed one of our usual 4.5 mile routes but did it in reverse. ( thus we are now at Rochester on our virtual walk to Paris) .It certainly made the 2.5 mile climb up to Lobden in Whitworth much easier. It was wild and cold up there but as we dropped back downhill it was more sheltered. The rest of the day was a day of sewing and jigsaw.

Today will be much the same. I have a pilates class followed by a relaxing yoga session this morning, then walk if possible. We should be having the burglar alarm serviced and we hope the roofer will come to mend the leak in our roof. He is a neighbour and is a good roofer, having reroofed many of the houses on the estate, but covid ( he caught it from his young daughter) and the weather seem determined to stop him getting to our leak which is now getting quite bad when it rains.

I have my quilted table runner to hem, the jigsaw only has few pieces left and I am now planning sewn birthday present projects for Eve and Erin. I can’t believe Eve will be 12 this time and Erin 7 . Time flies.

So thats our day, have a good one, take care, stay safe.

[Sue]

Anyone for a jigsaw

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[Stanley]

That would have driven me potty Sue. Well done for persevering!

[Sue]

Once we cracked the system we speeded up considerably . Of course we did it using the letters on the reverse side then flipped it over when finished

[Stanley]

I approve! They call it lateral thinking.
I shall not be thinking about Margaret's engine, it is on the sideboard and is history. I am making cannons for a while. At 11:00 I am expecting a call from the diabetes nurse, better than going out to the surgery! Apart from that an easy day.

[Sue]

Morning

So the engine is finished, excellent Stanley, now for something different ?

It was a busy morning yesterday. The burglar alarm was serviced, causing my yoga teacher to chuckle as I hardly had a relaxing session with men walking into the lounge to check the camera and alarms going off at frequent intervals. Anyway it is done. I had just tidied up after yoga when the roofer came to repair the leak. We hope he has got it this time. We will know next time it rains. That won’t be long as both snow and rain are expected today. We managed a good 5 plus mile walk in the afternoon following our noses as they say. We think we have worked out a couple of new circuits to ring the changes from doing the same old routes. We are now 34 mikes in to our virtual walk to Paris

Today will be inside activities all day I think. Pilates and yoga aren’t until 5.15 pm, so plenty of time to get on with my new sewing projects. I shall probably hem the table runner whilst sitting with a cuppa. I have cut out the Japanese shoulder bag I am making for Eve for her birthday, but need to do a couple of practice pieces of embroidery . So as usual I shall be busy.

Have a good day all

[Wendyf]

It's Col's 4th and last chemo day today, I'm hoping that we get more rain than snow this afternoon when I go to collect him. Apart from driving back and forth to Airedale I will be trying to fit a bit of cleaning in between the usual outside tasks.

[Big Kev]

It's Col's 4th and last chemo day today, I'm hoping that we get more rain than snow this afternoon when I go to collect him. Apart from driving back and forth to Airedale I will be trying to fit a bit of cleaning in between the usual outside tasks.

The weather app, I have on my phone, has been fairly accurate and is showing rain.
Not having any experience of these things, does Col now just need to be regularly checked over or is there a further treatment he has to undergo?

[plaques]

The weather app, I have on my phone, has been fairly accurate and is showing rain.

Probably the best instant weather forecasts comes from looking out of your window. Only 150 feet higher than Kev but its now snowing dropping on frozen ground. I hope it does turn to rain but care needs to be taken just the same.

[Wendyf]

It's Col's 4th and last chemo day today, I'm hoping that we get more rain than snow this afternoon when I go to collect him. Apart from driving back and forth to Airedale I will be trying to fit a bit of cleaning in between the usual outside tasks.

The weather app, I have on my phone, has been fairly accurate and is showing rain.
Not having any experience of these things, does Col now just need to be regularly checked over or is there a further treatment he has to undergo?

The BBC weather forecast has changed to heavy rain this afternoon.
The course of treatment for Col's cancer is 4 cycles of chemo prior to an operation and 4 cycles following the operation. He has a CT scan already booked for the 12th February to establish whether the chemo has shrunk the tumour, he is reasonably confident that it has.

[Stanley]

Give him my best Wendy.... I will cross my fingers for heavy rain! Good luck.

[Sue]

Our forecast has changed to light snow turning to sleet and rain, starting two hours ago and it is still dry at the moment thought the sky looks heavy.

Does Col have another round of chemo or is that it Wendy. Hope all has gone well and according to the medics plans. Best wishes to you both

[Sue]

Just read your message above. Thank you for the explanation. I must stop this scan reading.

[Sue]

Well thats a b....r. My machine has broken. There I was embroidering a big E on a bag I am making for Eves birthday when the whole thing started shuddering. I got there as fast as I could .the message was needle bent. So I changed the needle, checked the bobbin, went to rethread the cotton and the take up arm that feeds the thread to the needle isn’t there . I phoned Lords, where I got it from and they gave a few gave a few suggestions which Bob tried but there was no thread caught. I didn’t think there was because it was all threaded ok, and no mess on the embroidery. Anyway I am taking it in tomorrow. Luckily its under warranty. I did remember to write down the stitch number I was up to. I daren’t move the frame now in case I shift the fabric. I have no material to cut it out again . At least I have another fairly basic but modern machine to get on with Erins birthday present . I am gutted

[Wendyf]

That's more than disappointing Sue!
Col retrieved from Airedale in one piece and without snow, just some heavy sleet as I was setting off. He is back there briefly tomorrow afternoon for the 24 hour pump and his PICC line to be removed and then he gets a break....apart from the 7 days of self administered injections that start on Thursday. It has been a brutal attack on his body, you wonder how he can recover enough strength to cope with a major operation.

[Stanley]

I can't help marvelling at what he is coping with. I know that behind your brief descriptions there's a world of feeling absolutely lousy. I can't help, just marvel at his strength. Please give him my best wishes.
What I am doing is so insignificant in comparison. Resting on my laurels actually, a bit of cleaning up and contemplating two maintenance tasks that need doing.

[Sue]

Morning

I too am amazed at how Col is coping. To be wanting to go out for a walk and being able to do it is amazing especially in the present weather conditions. lets hope he copes as well with all the other chemo too.

Its up and out early today to take my sewing machine to be repaired. Hopefully the problem is nothing serious. I was told if I could get it there as they open at 9.30 he would look at it today. Its such a shame I was making great progress yesterday with Eve’s Japanese knot bag. So with that on hold I will cut our Erins dress and may start that on my other machine. Thats about it really, yesterday was filled with the bag sewing and the trauma of the machine breaking down so nothing else to report .

I think it is meant to be dryish today so we may do a short walk in our new boots. They need to be broken in before we start doing longer walks. Unfortunately for both of us our old boots leak, Bobs more than mine, so all these large puddles out and about are leaving us with wet feet on occasions

Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

I can well imagine how you feel about the machine Sue. They are complicated machines, so much to go wrong! I hope it's a no-brainer when they do the diagnostics.
I've just sat down after almost two hours in the shed and I'm knackered! I too have been bothering with a machine that wasn't working properly. My compressor. It used to hold its pressure for days but of late has been losing a charge in hours. Only one thing I could do, strip the pipework down and clean and re-make all the joints. That involved lifting the compressor around and lots of work bending down. I'm afraid that's very difficult for me to do these days. But I have managed and the machine is sat there with a charge in it, let's see how long it can hold it! That's the acid test.
I don't need another walk, that was all the exercise I need for the morning!

[Sue]

Normal service resumed, threads jammed in the mechanism, though I don’t remember a thread breaking and it was December when I last used light blue . He repaired it whilst we waited in the car

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