What are you all up to
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Really busy couple of days. Counted the money from the Scout Group jumble sale, £2400.00, great result.
Washed the caravan and gave the inside a good spruce up, so ready for our short trip next Monday
Spent today in the garden, mowed the lawn, cleaned the pond and tidied the borders etc
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Spent today in the garden, mowed the lawn, cleaned the pond and tidied the borders etc
Wot no rain!
We've just had a very heavy shower. Passed now but still moisture falling......
That sounds one feisty goose Bakers
I can assure you it certainly is. I was once 'goosed' many years ago at a visit to Leez Priory long before it became a wedding venue. And it HURT so take no chances now.
Oneputt that's a great result from the jumble sale. Didn't know they still occurred. I thought we did well at plant sale, £1571.
Well done takethedogalong, enjoy the discussions and the task.
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Rain, rain and more rain!! It started raining at about 8.00pm last night and only stopped about an hour ago. Our grass that we cut at the weekend now needs cutting again.
I swapped and did a morning shift on the Cathedral shop yesterday and then met a friend who I hadn't seen for a couple of months for lunch in Beckets the Cathedral cafe so we had a nice catch up. This morning I went to the Cathedral Guides meeting - we all arrived looking like drowned rats!I am always amazed and slightly intimidated by the knowledge of some of the other guides, they are like walking encyclopedias and I come away determined to 'up my game' and do more reading and research. It was a very useful and interesting meeting and good to get together with some of the other guides as we don't often see each other. As it was still raining after lunch I cleaned and tidied some of the kitchen cupboards - an exciting afternoon .Well done on your bike ride WN. It must have given you and real lift. And well done to MIL for behaving herself while you were out.
What an amazing result for your jumble sale OP. The Scouts must be well pleased. I have helped at many jumble sales over the years but haven't heard of anyone having one for a long time. Everyone seems to give their unwanted stuff to charity shops and even more sells them online these days.
I am now going to watch Chelsea Flower Show on TV and see them all trying to dodge the rain. I don't remember Chelsea week ever being to wet before.
Well done on managing to get away from that goose Bakers. Some friends of my parents who lived in the country kept geese and they frightened me to death as a child. I have never liked them.
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I don't know about drowning rats Millie but I've seen lots of animals, funnily enough being well behaved and in pairs. Absolutely hosing down here, has been all day. Mind you it enabled the painter to get a good start.
Both of the ladies like a border to break up a painted wall and we hadn't realised just how out of fashion they have become. Like gold dust unless it's for children bedrooms where we can have dinosaurs or Barbies'. Mmm.
If the rain relents we're off to Ruthin tomorrow as they've found some at the back of their store cupboard in a decorators shop.Great result Oneputt. What do they put the money towards?
We've come across many a gaggle of geese acting as guard "dogs" in farmyards as we've walked through.
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Reading all today's post I realise how fortune we are to be up here north of the border. It was fine when we got up and all good getting away from the site. Arrived at our latest destination and were all set up before we saw any rain. It has been quite heavy at times and is rather windy, but I have managed 3 walks so far without getting wet, and it is dry at the moment. As it turned out last night at Tarland there were just 8 occupied units, 4 German ones, 3 British tourists and one on a seasonal pitch!!
We are now on a THS with about 20 units at the moment on a disused airfield so acres of space for walking Flyte. At £7 pn, including a toilet and showers by the site which we can use, a real bargain!!
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Well done everyone concerned with the raising that sum of money, OP.
Guess you are pleased that the painter/decorator has finally started, WN.
B2, you need a shout stick next time you go walking on that disused road to discourage that nasty goose.
Sorry to read that many are having stormy wet weather, and hope that it will have brightened up for you all by the weekend. I think that the farmers up here are rather pleased with getting some rain, as the crops looked like they needed it.
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A sad day for us yesterday when we had to say a final goodbye to our lovely old girl Lady. She turned 14 just over a week ago and had been struggling for some time since her collapse from vestibular syndrome last year. Although she had had some bad days since then she kept bouncing back but eventually it all got a bit too much for her so we made the tough decision to save her from further stress.
I know not everyone wants to read long posts about dogs so I will post a bit more about her on the pets section when I get chance to think things through and compose something.
For now, here is the last picture we took of her with Ralph, up in Derbyshire just 3 weeks ago,
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How sad moulesy - thinking of you at this time. I honestly don't know what we will do when something happens to Meg. They really are one of the family, aren't they? Draw some comfort from the fact that you gave her the best life possible. One only has to look at the photograph to see that.
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Sad news Moulesy have been there with 2 Springer Spaniels.
R.I.P. Lady.
At last some warm sun today so mowing to be done after lunch and dry tomorrow as well with more to do outside, off to lunch with friends on Sunday and catch up with all their news.
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Tough one moulesy, we lost 2 dogs in the space of 12 months, we have just returned from the site where we had to take the decision to have Rufs put to sleep, now we have the aweful dilema of do we take on another dog or not, i am resisting the temptation mainly for practical reasons, e.g. since my OH had her stroke she is not well balanced and i fear walking a dog for her may not be possible so most of the walking would be down to me and although i cycle and swim a lot, walking for me is not great since i had both knees replaced, we are both in our 70's, i am 77 and although i consider myself to be very fit who knows just how fit i will be in 10 years time, and then there is the cost element, in Rufs last few days it cost us £1700 for various test and then the final end treatment, ok we had insurance but this is very expensive and policies are full of get out clauses as to why they will not pay etc.
miss not having a dog, very much, but when i look out on those cold wet windy mornings and think, thank goodness we do not have a dog to walk. Surprisingly the boot of the Sorento is still made up for Rufs and we still have all his indoor beds & toys, feeding bowls, is this telling us something ?
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Moulesy, you and your wife gave Lady the most wonderful, caring life that she could have hoped for if she had been able to ask you and you've proved by your actions that you've given her dignity in her passing.
Our obligations to our pets extend to not only providing them with a safe and loveable environment to live in but to think of the pets needs first and foremost when coming to a decision to end their suffering or save them from suffering further. Unfortunately too many owners do not think this way but you both can be proud of your role as guardians. Still tough to handle but you've done the right thing by Lady. Best wishes.
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If you would like to go for a walk round our farm, sit down, put your headphones on and click onto Countrystride. Sit, relax and listen for an hour.
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Sorry to hear your news M
We arrived on site here near Stirling early afternoon not very bright but quite warm site is quite busy it is bank holiday weekend though. We had a lovely meal at the on site pub here which was excellent and a couple of pints. Now back at the van not much planned tonight just a couple of pints in the van and watch the telly.
Hope everyone else has a nice weekend
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Goldie, that was a wonderful listen. Thank you.
I don't know about sit and relax. I listened whilst I cleared 2 weeks, more to come!, of fine dust from our well used rooms. But it certainly helped me along and made the house look presentable for my brother and sister in law's visit tomorrow.
I generally listen to countryside, and when I saw the title of this episode I did wonder if it was 'you'. I hadn't listened until now.
We now have a door back on the bathroom, I've given the bathroom a whizz over for now. Looks lovely, but very echoy 🤣. Cloakroom now empty of useful facilities and walls almost tiled. When it's all done I'll 😱🫣 spring clean all through...... Hopefully they'll be another week 🤣🤣.
Had a fabulous guided tour of Buckden Tower with our WI this afternoon. Was once the Bishop of Lincoln summer Palace. Katherine, using their spelling, of Aragon was there for a year before going to Kimbolton. Came into private ownership in 19th century, now belongs to the Catholic missionary. I grew up very near Leez Priory in Essex, now a wedding venue . Lots of similarities. Both worth a visit uf your in the areas. I also went into the even earlier church next door.
It finally got warmer and we saw some blue sky!
Right enough respite,must tidy up and find a crust - I'm certainly not cooking now 😉
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Annual eye test today. Proved to be fairly expensive. Having said that the current ones are two years old and recently one of the arms decided to part company with the frame! Rather than a Jack Duckworth repair I used super glue which seemed to work quite well! For the new ones, rather than the traditional tortoiseshell frames I have gone for a fairly bright blue. Probably end up looking like Christopher Biggins, but I felt like a change!!!!
After a nice lunch in JL we went down to the Electrical Appliance Department. We had our kitchen redone about 4 years ago and decided to have an integrated fridge/freezer. Whilst looking very nice we have not been that happy with the performance of the fridge part as it seems to create too much moisture. For many years we have had freestanding completely frost free products where this just was not a problem. So we started to think about swapping it for a new one only to discover that all integrated models seem only to be the same as we already have. To change to a Bosch model would cost about £900 including installation. So the dilemma is just to put up with what we have or rip out the housing and go back to a free standing model which we are reluctant to do.
David
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We both are so sorry to hear your news, Moulesy, she was a lovely dog and we know just how much you all will miss her company on your walks.
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Things have been pretty hectic the last 2/3 weeks, could do with a rest!
DD has not ordered a new car yet as she is swithering over a few of the options she would like to add, plus the initial preferred dealer has gone very quiet on the price. Instead we have been kept busy with this flat of hers.
She has had the place professionally cleaned, now looking much better, and we have been working our way round the various things that need to be done in the correct order. I have spent a few days lifting the old laminate flooring in the lounge and hallway, and the flooring in the kitchen, plus removing the old beading on the downstairs laminate, as it is good enough to keep but the beading needs to be replaced.
Last weekend we took most of the rubbish to the local tip in 2 loads, and now I am working on removing the glue that had been used so the skirting will be clean for the painter. Today I was removing various hooks and screws from the walls and filling holes, taking down curtain poles and light fittings, but there is still a lot to deal with.
Tomorrow DD will come with me to help, and make sure I am doing the right things, Daddy will be looking after the boys, and OH will drive us there and pick us up later as parking is very difficult.
The damaged window has been checked over by a joiner and pronounced OK after adjustment, so that has saved a lot of hassle, and money, the painter has visited to see what needs to be done and prepare his quote, OH is making lists of things to be purchased, and DD is trying to decide on the new flooring, which I will lay after the painting has been done, and working out when to order the new fridge/freezer and when to organise the removal of the old one. There is also a dishwasher to be re-installed as the tenants did not want it. That is currently stored in our utility room.
At this rate I cannot see the place being ready to put on the market until late July as we are all off to visit my sister in Norway once school stops for the summer, and that date is now just a month away, but we will see how things go.
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Good day today I was up early and done a nice 14 mile cycle round the countryside. We then headed in to the nice little town of Callander and spent a pleasant hour walking round the shops there had a nice pint in the beer garden of one of the pubs there it was dull but quite warm. Headed back to the van just in time for the football Scottish cup final today so spent the rest of the afternoon watching that then cooked dinner on the Cadac and sat out for a while in the sun. Not sure what the plan tomorrow is will wait and see what the weather is like
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After a wet day on Thursday, when we only managed a few walks around the airfield and surrounding area, followed by some essential shopping, yesterday was much better and we visited the House of Duns for the woodland walk before lunch and a visit around the house afterwards. It was a guided tour and as we were the only pair on the tour we had an excellent opportunity to ask lots of questions and be provided with very wide-ranging answers. Today, after a misty start, it brightened up nicely. We visited Balgavies Loch and saw the resident Ospreys, and had an enjoyable walk around the reserve.
Some photos from yesterday below.
Does anyone know what the strange looking object is?
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Had a fabulous guided tour of Buckden Tower with our WI this afternoon. Was once the Bishop of Lincoln summer Palace. Katherine, using their spelling, of Aragon was there for a year before going to Kimbolton. Came into private ownership in 19th century, now belongs to the Catholic missionary. I grew up very near Leez Priory in Essex, now a wedding venue . Lots of similarities. Both worth a visit uf your in the areas. I also went into the even earlier church next door.
B2, are they both open to the general public, or does one have to book a tour, to visit them? Lovely your photo.
Kjell, you certainly have been busy since your return from your last trip. Hope all goes well with your family trip to Norway.
Francis, Enjoy your stay near Stirling, we will be heading over there, to a THS, towards the end of next week.
There has been quite a lot of coming and going on the the THS we are on at present and numbers have increased to around 50 units, of which 70% are M/Hs!
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B2, are they both open to the general public, or does one have to book a tour, to visit them? Lovely your photo.
Tours must be booked, but the grounds - didn't walk those too little time!, anytime as far as I understand - sadly no dogs, but there is a carpark with trees. Didn't suss it out for leaving a dog in the car whilst the humans walk. If I get there again, I'll say if rather then when just in case, I'll post about it. They have a website. https://www.buckden-towers.org.uk/
The church was very interesting too. A written guide to assist exploration.
Started beautifully here today. Brother and sister in law visited, coffee in the garden, but needed to come in after an hour. I've been given some lovely tomato and purple sprouting 😋. It turned really chilly so lunch indoors. We all went for a walk with the dog around the village. Back indoors for tea and cake. As they headed home the sun, literally as they left the cul de sac, came out and stayed out! He texted to say they were home sun all the way!
Tomorrow its Cheese Rolling, not been held since 2017. Unfortunately the forecast is - you've guessed it!, rain and thunder storms 😪
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Moulesy I have just caught up with your news. Both OH and I are so very sorry. We remember meeting Lady at Ferry Meadows shortly after you adopted her.She really was a lovely Lady. I am sure you, Mrs M and Ralph are missing her dreadfully but at the end of the day we have to make that really difficult but brave decision to do what is right for her. You gave her a wonderful life and lots of love. Best wishes to you all.
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