What are you all up to
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We have a few days away near Matlock. Visited Haddon Hall today and saw some of the Christmas Fair, far too busy to bother with it all. The decorations were very good though and OH bought himself a model of a bi-plane (SE5A); it’s an old fashioned balsa wood model, with wing and fuselage paper to finish it off, he hasn’t done anything like this since he was about 10!!! 🤦🏻♀️😳. Maybe it will be a cold winter and he can finish it! Very cold day but bright and sunny. Fortunately there was none of the snow we appear to have had at home. Anyway, it certainly gave my new hip a good work out. Heading home via Nottingham to visit our grandson who started University there in September; he eventually decided (after taking a year out) on an Engineering degree, a bit of a change from his initial interest in Sport Science and seems to be enjoying it so far.
Best wishes to all still recovering from operations and colds.2 -
You certainly seemed to have picked the right area to miss the snow @heddlo Lovely photos of Haddon Hall.
Thanks for the video @Takethedogalong it really captures the atmosphere and interest that there still is in steam engines. I hope you find more train trips out to suit you.
Nice to see all the Xmas trees in the Cathedral @milliehull
I hope that your wife's blood test produces a result that will result in her doctor being able to decide on what treatment she requires to alleviate her pain @KjellNN
We have been very fortunate with the weather, and although it has been cold, not above 2C this afternoon, we had no frost over night and the sun has shone all day. We had to take the car in to the dealer's again to get a replacement engine sensor fitted. As the appointment at the garage was for 13:00 we took our morning walk along the Prom at Grange, and could see that all the hills from the Pennines, across the Howgills and onto the Lakeland Fells were covered in thick snow, down to quite a low level. It would have been the perfect day to be up there as long as one had the right gear and proper cold conditions clothing.
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Haddon Hall is one of my favourite places, looks lovely dressed for Christmas. Thank you for the pictures😁
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Don't think I'll be doing much today - other than lighting the wood-burner after breakfast! Heavy snow here overnight and it's snowing like mad at the moment.
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Won't be trying out the grip on your mobility scooter then? 😉😉
Very beautiful starry night, bright start but clouding here. We've had a frost. Little if any breeze at the moment. Just left eating my breakfast to break the ice on the bird water. Didn't think they were frozen until I watched the same birds try several times to drink at 3 of them. The one that stands on the wall took real force to get through, and the ice held the large stone that sits in it 🥶🥶🥶. The stone one is so solid, I daren't risk smashing......
Beautiful photos @heddlo thank you.
@DSB Good to hear Carol is making progress. Panic attacks are extremely unwelcome and unpleasant experiences.
@KjellNN I do hope your OH gets some relief- she's been suffering for a while. Very miserable.
Personally I've suddenly realised it's 5 weeks until Christmas. How did that happen? 🤣🤣 Never not started this late! Won't today, I'm going to have a good walk, then haircut and it's history society tonight, next village so I hope no snow. The gritters for the A1M live in our village, so we get some salt 😉.
Right enjoy your day folks. I really must start mine! I blame the dark mornings.....
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Overnight snow, about two inches, but now sunny, main roads clear.
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It’s been a difficult couple of weeks, granddaughter taken very ill, paramedics undecided whether to call the air ambulance and she wasn’t far from the hospital. Then very poorly in hospital. Now home but they are undecided whether she can continue her course, which has made her very sad and will cause more difficulties. Some kids might be glad to stay at home and draw benefits but not her.
Our boiler started to have problems, well it is 23 years old and owes us nothing, and parts are becoming difficult to obtain, so we’ve opted for a new one. They started yesterday and two chaps here now installing it, one on the roof, of course it’s just when the weather got cold and freezing here. We are ok if we sit in the living room with door closed and fire on but difficult during the daytime. We can see Exmoor from our bedroom window but no snow on the hills there and that’s usually the first place to get it.
OH still coughing but hopefully on the mend, just slowly, the cold house at present isn’t helping. I was going to cook the Christmas cake today as stuck indoors but they say the electric might have to go off for a while so probably not, the fruit is steeping in brandy though.
Hope everyone recovering from operations etc is feeling much better soon.0 -
Hiya @Takethedogalong . True story. At our last home, we had a very good size garden, and was keen to make a success of veg growing. To that end, I wanted to know the PH of the soil. I tried several methods of testing, all of which contradicted each other. I gave it some thought, and came up with the bright idea 💡 of trying a local chemist, thinking they might be able to help. Anyway, I went in and said “do you have a test to determine the PH of my soil?” She remained silent for a moment, and replied “you should see your doctor “. The penny didn’t drop first of all, when it did I was so embarrassed 🙈. Anyway, when I collected my thoughts, I was able to clarify. Upshot was, they couldn’t help. I did laugh after 😁
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This if for TDA. Commiserations on the loss of the hound but you will have been left with wonderful memories. I have buried 9 dogs in 39 years now where we live, along with quite a few cats as well. I like to think that being buried in the garden, they are all still with us.
I am afraid that the electric Brompton that I bought was for me, a huge waste of money, as often, I am nervous about taking it anywhere in case it gets stolen (even though it is insured) and having to carry the battery around is both very inconvenient and far too heavy.
I laughed out loud at the amusing and often hilarious comments you listed, but can't help but wonder, why on earth none of the tenants made no effort to do some of the very basic jobs themselves or simply buy another toilet seat. Are people really so damn lazy and helpless these days or do they simply want everything doing for them for nothing?
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Lovely Photographs @milliehull and @heddlo enjoyed looking at them. Never been to Peterborough Cathedral, it looks beautiful. Been to Haddon Hall many years ago, it was really lovely.
@KjellNN I hope something can be done to help your OH with pain relief, it's gone on for quite a while and must be getting her down. All the best.
@DEBSC Really sorry to read about your granddaughter, what a setback for her if she can't continue her course. She must be very upset, really feel for her, so unfair. Boilers seem to have a habit of failing at the worst possible time 🙄 I hope the replacement will be completed soon.
As for me, I had to have laser treatment to one eye today, as the lenses which were put in after cataract surgery, are "filming over" as the optician called it. Apparently quite common according to her. I hadn't noticed anything, as the other eye was obviously compensating, but during a routine check up I couldn't read the big letters with just that eye. That's now done, a big improvement as I can now read quite small letters at a distance. Other eye is being done next month, after having this one done, that one is now worse 😏 it was an extremely quick procedure, just a few minutes.
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So very sorry to hear about your grand-daughter @DEBSC What a set back for her. I do hope she recovers well enough to be able to continue with her course. It will be such a disappointment for her if she has to give up. Also best wishes to your OH. I do hope he feels better soon. Not having heating during this cold spell won't help. Why do boilers always give up at the coldest time of the year. I also hope your OH gets some relief from her pain soon @KjellNN It seems to have gone on for a long time. Glad to hear that your laser treatment was very quick and worked @InaD
OH seems to have finally stopped coughing but is very tired after a week of practically non stop coughing night and day so we haven't done a lot for the past 2 days, just trying to keep him in the warm. I am having a day out tomorrow at Rushden Lakes with daughter, eldest grand-daughter and youngest great grandson. We are supposed to be doing some Christmas shopping but I think there will be more eating and chatting than shopping 😊
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We arrived on site early afternoon just local but good to be away again Very cold but no snow so an easy tow but the roads were salted. Got set up quickly although was cold then got the heating on to get the van heated up it doesn’t take long thankfully. We then headed out to the nearby Sainsburys for some supplies. Not much planned tonight far too cold to go a walk so will be in the van watching tv May have a drink or two think the heating will be left on overnight.
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Sunny day here with a heavy frost on the car when we ventured outside. Went for a walk around the lanes as we had to drive MiL to her bone density scan at 1 o'clock. Hospital about 50 minutes from home. We arrived about 10 minutes early and she was finished in half an hour.
She was mortified to learn she's lost a full half an inch in height!🙂 Anyway to compensate we called in at a Dobbies on the way home and she found 2 pairs of trousers as compensation.
Sorry to hear of your G'daughters episode @DEBSC. It really isn't fair.
Love the photos @heddlo.
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I guess you won't be going out on your mobility scooter then, unless, of course, you've fitted it with winter tyres!😄
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So sorry to hear that your granddaughter has been poorly again @DEBSC and sincerely hope she improves sufficiently for her to continue with her course. Fingers crossed that the new boiler is up and running now and that your OH's coughing is soon over.
Hopefully your OH has also got over his coughing and is recovering well @milliehull enjoy your day out with your daughter, granddaughter and great grandson tomorrow.
Have a good weekend away @Francis and perhaps you will have missed any of the snow.
Although it was very cold over night there was little frost on the ground or on the cars, and we have had another lovely sunny but cold day. I have just received a new battery for the caravan so hopefully it will be fine tomorrow so far I can swap it over for the old one which is not holding a charge. It has been a rather expensive month at home so I will be glad to get away in the van again and save a penny or four!😆
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Very cold overnight was minus 4 most of the night but we weren’t too bad in the van as we left the heating on. Still very cold this morning but the sun has come out don’t think it’s to be just as cold today. Site not too busy not sure what we are going to do today May go a nice walk somewhere. Below is the view from the van this morning as you can see the car is frosted over
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So very sorry to hear about your GD @DEBSC and hope that she can still continue her course. I am sure she will benefit from the loving family around her, and decide what is best to do for herself.wishing you all, all the best.
@vbfg thank you for your kind words, we too have buried a lot of dogs, along with cats and a horse as well. Very different this time as he was the only pet in the house, so nothing else to distract us, but it was our decision, we will at some point have another dog I am sure. Interesting about the Brompton as well. Of course they are wonderfully portable, but the battery will of course add a lot more weight. I think we only get away with carrying our current cycles because mine is actually a converted conventional bike (so battery travels inside over axle) and OH takes his electric road bike rather than a MTB. He keeps asking me if I fancy a new bike, but the electric MTBs nowadays are huge and so ugly. We both have electric gravel bikes as well, these are top quality conventional bikes that my OH has carefully converted with quality conversion kits. A lot lighter.
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Up early today as Margaret had a hospital appointment at 9.20am. We had to make our own way there today as both boys were busy. Fortunately taxi's both ways proved to be efficient and at least we didn't have to find somewhere to park! The doctor was happy with her progress and again examined the lump at the base of the wound. He did give her a few pointers on what to expect, and what action to take if certain symptoms appeared that might indicate an infection but hw was pretty confident that the lump would resolve itself naturally. to me it looks a lot less angry than it was. She was concerned that some of the physio exercises require her to lay on that side and she has been avoiding them. The Doc said to go ahead and lay on it. Whether that might help it disappear he didn't say! Certainly a lovely sunny day here but very frosty so we had to be careful where we walked.
David
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House nice and warm now, we’ve also noticed that the water is hotter. We now have a Hive so something else for OH to play with.
Christmas cake in the oven, an hour in, 3 hours to go. Well that’s what Delia says but I usually find that it does cook a bit quicker. My Christmas cake recipe is part my Grandmothers recipe and part Delias. The same every year so guessing it’s now my recipe to pass on, except non of the grandchildren like fruit cake so can’t see them ever cooking it. OH in the loft getting the Christmas tree down, yes I know, it’s very early, but, as we get older I decided we would do the decorations in sessions this year rather than one go. Also, I’m usually a bit OCD with the tree decorations and like to do them myself but Gdaughter is coming for the day tomorrow and I thought that decorating our tree might take her mind off things a bit. Also the following two weekend will be busy for us.
The birds are eating like dinosaurs, I can’t seem to fill the feeders fast enough. Had to break the ice on the bird bath this morning. The gas men were very interested in watching all the different varieties we have in the garden, I suppose over the years we have started to take them all for granted a bit.2 -
@milliehull Yes, the laser treatment has worked extremely well, I can't believe the difference. Everything looks crystal clear with that eye now. Having the other eye done a week before Christmas.
I saw a news article about Peterboough Cathedral yesterday and the Wonders of Christmas display, absolutely fantastic. We've been to Lincoln Cathedral one December, which was also very beautifully decorated. Must put Peterborough Cathedral on the bucket list. It'll have to be part of a tour, as it's quite a way from Lancashire.
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Excellent day today was freezing this morning so we just relaxed in the van and headed out in the afternoon. We ended up going to the riverside museum in Glasgow been many times before but it’s a good place to spend a couple of hours. Highly recommend it to anyone in the area it’s free entry and has plenty of old cars, trams.trains, bikes and some great stories of Glasgow life in years gone by. They also have a mock up of a 1920s street which is great with shops and a pub with real cobbled road. We had a small lunch at the cafe there too which was excellent at a reasonably price. A bit warmer tonight so hopefully won’t be so cold overnight. Not much planned for tonight site seems a bit busier.
Hope everyone else has a nice weekend
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The tops are looking very wintery and it's just just above freezing at valley level but we're all safely stocked up for two weeks in our 'cottage'. Might have a few walks but it's looks like Rudolph is getting in some early training for the big day, or rather evening.
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Lovely morning over here, plenty of frost and ice though. Had some time to ourselves so drove to Parkgate, a small village that sits along the edge of the Dee estuary on the west of the Wirral.
It's a very pleasant place to start a walk with nearly all buildings in whitewash. It has quite a history, being a port in the 18th and 19th Centuries, from where boats sailed to Ireland, once notably carrying Handel to Dublin for the first performance of the Messiah. Parkgate once appeared on a BBC series about villages. You may be able to find it on BBC iPlayer. It would also explain to you why the marsh became impossible for large boats
Just shows how cold it was as some of the marsh channels were frozen. Still it was a gorgeous walk. We actually came across some Hawthorn that was blossoming with more buds ready to pop.
The old "Watch" or Custom House and a view looking back up the marsh northwards from just across the road from the house.
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Lovely day out today. It was bitterly cold but bright and sunny. Some Christmas shopping done but just great to spend time with daughter and grand-daughter with the added bonus of youngest great grandson this year
I am now shattered!
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Thanks for the grand photos @Francis @Cornersteady @Wherenext and @milliehull it looks as if you each of you had a fine day out.
Good to hear that the doctor is happy with Margaret's doctor is happy with her progress, and hopefully the lump will resolve itself soon, @DavidKlyne
I'm pleased to read that the laser treatment has been a success @InaD and fingers crossed that it will be the same for your other eye.
We had a heavy frost over night and it was a fine day until it warmed up and clouded over around 3:00 this afternoon when we had a short shower of rain. I was able to swap over the caravan's leisure battery this morning but found that the control panel wouldn't respond to my touch. Thankfully a phone call to our local dealer solved the problem, resetting the panel, so all seems to be working fine now.🤞
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I love Rudolph @Cornersteady 😅 Great photos @Francis and and @Wherenext both look like lovely places to visit.
A change in the weather today. Milder, grey and wet. I think I preferred the weather yesterday.
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We had a family/farm night out yesterday. It was the North West Dairy Shorthorn Association’s annual dinner and prize giving. A chance to catch up with people we maybe hadn’t seen since last year. Every year in late summer we have a Herd Competition with a judge from another part of the country. We did well and came home with three cups. I think we’re going to need a bigger piano! Or squash the cups up a bit.
The cups are still in the car.It was too late and the rain too heavy when we got back so we rushed inside and abandoned them.
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Excellent day today we headed over to Edinburgh to visit son DIL and Gdsons had a nice lunch out with them lovely meal but not the cheapest. Had a nice walk around some of the shops in their area lots of places now have the decorations up and there was quite a festive feel in t he city today. Just got back to the van as the rain started again so not planning on doing much tonight just a few drinks in the van I may read a mag while SWMBO watches strictly.
@Goldie146 sounds like a nice night out. Good to read others are having good days out love all the pics
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Good to read that both @Francis and @Goldie146 have had lovely meals with their respective families.
It has been another decent day, for the most part, after a very wet night. I picked up my new glasses this morning so just getting used to one of the pairs tonight, but I think no will have to go back and get them slightly adjusted as they keep slipping forward, so will pop in to the shop after my visit to the dentist on Monday.
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