What are you all up to
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We had four nights at Englethwaite Hall, which already seems a distant memory. The weather was changeable, but Saturday was perfect - perfect for sitting outside and doing nothing more strenuous than reading. And raising the odd glass. On Friday? there was a knock at the caravan door and a voice said "I'm looking for Goldie". Helen & Trevor were also on site and it was good to talk to a virtual person in the flesh. I hope their journey home wasn't too bad. We're lucky - just 50 minutes door to door.
We only left the site twice - the first time as soon as we had setup. It was a last minute decision to go away, and we had eaten (or given away) all the leftovers from our Coronation Party, so there wasn't much food in the house (apart from a freezer full). So we nipped up the motorway to an M&S Foodhall on the outskirts of Carlisle. And spent a fortune!
Today I'm catching up with admin - how can it mount up in four days? And making soup for dinner. Meanwhile silaging is on the horizon. Not this week, but it's time to think about baking and stocking up with portable food.
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That is what OH is feeling too....the getting ready bit in particular.
Although we are at home much more these days than back when I first retired in 2007, that is because our daughter now has 2 little ones and we and the other grandparents each volunteered to look after them 2 afternoons per week.
So time away has to be negotiated between us, and also has to incorporate some school holidays, as Daddy is a teacher so can be home to look after them then, which means we can get 4- 5 weeks away in one go.
The oldest is 5 now, so off to school in August, but the other wee fellow has another 2 years at nursery. Once he qualifies for the free hours, next February, he may go full time if we find it too tying and if DD can afford the extra fees. Unfortunately their mortgage has to be renewed next month, probably at over double their present interest rate, so affording more nursery hours is probably not on the cards, plus of course we would miss seeing them all so often.
They get the use of our caravan and really enjoy being away, they do 3 separate weeks at present, so I think we will keep going for another year or two, as long as the van holds out, it is getting on a bit too!
I have had the lecture about being careful from DD, and I am always careful. I do have a good head for heights, which was needed in my work on oil platforms and large ships. I have been up some flare towers while offshore, but that was a very long time ago now, the knees would not be up to that these days!
After climbing up and down the scaffold tower the other day, I discovered muscles I had completely forgotten about!
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Fully understand your final sentence there, Kj !!
Went round to my niece's on the Sunday after the Coronation to be confronted by her daughter and a young ( 3and a half year-old ) gentleman who came straight to me for a fuss ! As much as I could do to pick the rascal up while his Mother and Grandparents tried so very hard not to laugh too loudly at my expense
.Then back home for a good dose of Neuromol or some such pain relief
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Kj
Do you have a local residents Facebook Page? Sometimes these are useful for finding local tradesmen and odd job people.
I find now that it takes me ages to summon up the enthusiasm to do things, despite having seemingly, lots of free time!!! Perhaps as you get older, thinking of my self here, you just don't have the capacity you once did. Such a change from when I was at work and the kids were young. I would come home from work, have a meal and then go out and wash the car or cut the grass or some other DIY job usually into the evening. Just can't do that now!
David
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I think, if I may say, that some of us are getting older but in our heads we still feel young, it’s not until we start to tackle some jobs that we realise we just don’t have the same energy anymore.
Today I’ve done 3 loads of washing - well the machine has, then I weeded all the front garden and cut a lot back. Then washed down the paintwork around the front door. OH mowed the lawn, it’s all looking presentable again now. I was about to start on the back and just felt I needed a sit down, that’s why I’m on here. A few years ago I would have just carried on and tackled the back straight off. My mind is wanting to get on but my bodies not so keen. At least it’s reassuring to know some others feel the same.
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That's good reassurance, thanks milliehull. I spent a long time trying to find Papworth site. Turns out they call it Addenbrookes.....
'Restful' productive day which was nice. Chilly wind still but good to see some sun between the clouds! Garage doors painted today, back tomorrow to door the personal entry door tomorrow.
Took OH for his shingles jab. He had blood test etc Friday afternoon. Phone call from GP later regarding his BP being a bit low. Monitored it over the weekend, handed in results, so far no calls 🤞. They offered him pneumonia jab so that's next Monday.
Did some washing, all dried nicely in the breeze. Then took to the block paving with the heat gun. Very therapeutic and satisfying. Big drops of rain a while ago, but came to nothing.
Garden help tomorrow, turf laying to reduce a border width and neaten up the borders either side of the new steps into the garden. Had planted all purchased plants BUT church had a sale of plants on Saturday....... table's full again.
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It's strange isn't it? There are a few recent posts stating how people felt when they took the decision to sell the caravan/motorhome and there a few people like your good self, David, and myself who were overjoyed to find ourselves either contemplating packing the caravan or doing it and it is such a mundane chore. But after an illness and not being able to do this we find ourselves hankering after the places we want to visit or simply slipping back into our routine. No disrespect to anyone who has taken the choice to stop by the way.
I don't know about yourself, but suspect, but we were thrilled just to know we could carry on and hope that we too can venture further afield whether in the UK or abroad.
Glad to hear of the consultation results and wish you all the best.
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We had a gentle, if a bit longer than it should have been, drive over to our next CL, situate in a huge paddock. Pitch anyway you want. About 6-7 miles west of Scarborough. Sun has shone all afternoon and all seems well with the world especially with a glass of Adnams Broadside to help.
It was a lovely 6 nights at College Farm along with spending some time meeting up with the Ttdas'. Carers deserve holidays or at least time off themselves.
We'll probably have to do a bit more driving over the next week but don't mind that in the least.
ABM - Thanks. I like the Mandarins as well.
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Not bad today, mainly sunny with a few showers. We agreed to take childcare today from the other GPs, Granny had double booked a lunch.
So, down at DD's at 09.30 to look at why her spare oven in the utility room has been tripping the RCD on the main fuseboard. Was fine when I first installed it, so something has changed. OH had things to do at home so came at lunch time.
The house has a complex electrical system, not easy to ascertain what's connected to what, no proper labelling of circuits etc. We got the oven out and checked it over, could not find anything wrong, but it still trips the main RCD. I am now thinking there must be a problem in the existing wiring, so need to think how to proceed. Fortunately the wiring is accessible under the floor, so I can always just renew the all the cables.
Otherwise, we had the boys out in the garden for quite a while till a rain shower came over, then read stories, and played with their wooden train set until Mummy was finished her work. Daddy is away for several days due to work....exam marking meeting......so she is on her own for a bit.
Now lining up a few jobs to do here tomorrow, weather permitting, then back at DD's on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Such good news AD. It must have been very reassuring to hear. Enjoy your holiday you definitely deserve it.
The Cathedral arranged a coach trip to St Albans today for some of the volunteers and what a wonderful day we have had. I hope that I can add some photos. I particularly like the little addition of a man wearing face mask added recently when they were restoring the shrine of Sr Amphibalus.
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Early start this morning, weather perfect for drying all the holiday washing, so all pegged out before breakfast, and all dry when I came home from work.
OH has been busy doing a few running repairs on the van, discovered a few more screws that were missing, where do they go? Also had to replace the fitting on the gas pipe to the water heater as it had a split.
I was back at work, as usual after having some time off the paperwork was a mess, had been left a note to say boss had managed to mix up all the week's POD's 😫 took me ages to match deliveries to the correct paperwork.
AD, great news hope all goes well, and you can get away soon.
Lovely pictures Millie, glad you had a good day.
Enjoy doing nothing in Devon Brue.
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Great news David - must be such a relief. Just take it steady!
Ros has some good news as well - MRI scan booked for the 25th of this month and the hospital was most apologetic that she was having to wait that long - but that was the first available slot they had because they are so busy. At least we should know soon after, what we are dealing with.
I did 4 loads of washing yesterday (well, the machine did!) - all dried and ready for my Iron Man session later. Think I need to hire a housekeeper
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Good to hear progress with investigations is going forward. I heard pre pandemic that private health care has waiting lists these day as so many folks paying for themselves.
Your house is too becoming a purple zone 💜. Our house became one four and a half years ago. No pink or blue jobs, not that there were many in our case to begin with. Always good to have the human manual to consult 😉.
Got up to find dishwasher hadn't done its job, one of the few blue jobs to put it on as he retires. Mutter mutter 🤐. All lights come on with symbols and programmes.manual doesn't cover that..... Try it whizzes down the hours and minutes numbers within seconds. Google reminded me turn it off and turn it on 😃. Why doing never try that?? Not done any good. Luckily it's under warranty. But that doesn't make the dishes clean now!
Quite a double taken looking out the window - to a sunny morning 🌄. Garage doors appeared open, then remembered they've been painted to blue not yuk green 🤣😉
Garden help this morning and I may need to labour for turf laying! Painter to do personal door to garage...
Milliehull we 'did' St Albans cathedral several years ago, lovely. We went to a remembrance event, name of which escapes me, very immersive with poppies appearing to fall, poems etc. Takethedogalong well worth a trip, lots of history and a lovely area to explore.
Must shift dishes to do, dog to walk etc,I don't reckon I'll make garden club tonight - it's an outing but 5pm start at gardens 7 miles away. If chores are finished will I have the energy? 🤣😢😢
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Good news that Ros has her MRI date. When I mention to OH that I have done a pile of ironing he always replies, ‘why’. He just wouldn’t bother, but I have to have my clothes and definitely the duvet covers ironed.
Very late start this morning, two nights now coughing badly and little sleep, think I may have or be getting a chest infection as generally under the weather again, Covid really did a number on us. I had to cancel my hygienist appointment, can’t go like this.
Going to start on the back garden though, getting on my nerves looking at it and it might do me good, I love cutting it all back. Beautiful weather not a cloud in the sky but not too hot, perfect for the job in hand. Hope you are coming to Devon soon Brue to take advantage it looks fair all this week.
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Good to hear there’s progress for those who are or have been poorly. When OH was really bad a few years ago, our solace was the occasional night or two out in between treatments. Same now with my caring duties. And lovely to say a proper hello to likeminded chums and share some laughs, thank you to the Wherenext’s👍😁
We treat ourselves to a delicious full breakfast yesterday from the CL’s village tearooms. That set us up for a day of discovery across the Humber, back in Yorkshire. Drove through Hull and out the East side up towards a coastal village we haven’t visited before, Aldbrough. Sadly, church was locked, but we walked round outside, then went past to coast itself. A real soberer, the road just drops over the cliff, and there’s serious erosion, Cliff rock falls. Some of the little homes are in serious danger, and staff were busily evacuating the front pitches of a static caravan park. You could hear the waves pounding underneath the drop off, and there’s only around 20 metres or so between the edge and those pitches, so they could disappear soon.
After a short walk with the hound, it was back on the coast road heading South again, called in at another small church, sadly again locked, but still interesting. Garton, looks very interesting inside. We passed Admiral Storr’s Tower, listed monument, another church rebuilt in the 1950’s after the old one was hit by WW2 bomb and destroyed. Called into Winchelsea for a coffee and bun (as you do🤣). This place is a bit of a fishing secret, some of the best crab’s in the UK are caught here and it has a thriving crab pot industry. Lovely statue of a………….crab.😁
Swung back inland, towards Partington, and could see a very tall ornate church steeple in front of us, drew us like a magnet, and yes, it was open. Fabulous very old church, huge given it’s location. Superb inside and out, very ornate with some beautiful gargoyles and carvings inside. History booklet says it might have been a practice run for York Minster. Well worth a good look around if anyone is in the area. A good end to a great day exploring. Back via Hull and Humber bridge.
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