Chitchat thread #24

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

This lark was busy sleeping MH
Tea would be wonderful please if there is any left?
I had to chuckle about your roller…firstly about it only lasting 40 years ( the last one I bought snapped on first use where the handle attached to the roller…but how typical that it could land on the carpet. Always one job leading to at least one extra one!

We have a karcha steam cleaner which is ( of course) outside its warranty but not used very often…but it started to trip the whole house so it clearly needed looking at. Is there somewhere to drop it off?…nope…have to box it up, including all its attachments ( no idea why they needed those) and send it to them by courier
Anyway…guess what…it got ‘lost’ in transit. And hats off to karcha, they have replaced it with a brand new one.
Frustratingly the new one doesn’t come with the same attachments ours had…typically they were the ones we used the most. However…hats off again to karcha again …they are sending those ‘extras’ to us. So , at the moment we are awaiting their delivery so we can crack on with our autumnal thorough clean of the gites ( actually part of our home)
Nothing is ever straight forward is it…it was probably just a simple loose wire which has knocked us back a month with waiting times. A corner shop would probably have fixed it in a couple of days
Still…hats off to karcha for their customer service, especially as it wasn’t their fault.

Busy day ahead for me, so I’ll catch you all later…

Fingers crossed your MOT is straight forward Bren!

Keep those smiles coming
Enjoy your day!

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Sunny here, but chilly. I put the duvet back on yesterday, so bedding blowing nicely outside. What fabulous customer service Nicos. Sod's Law MH! Good luck with the car Bren. Have a good day

[bramble]

Good morning all, it's dull but dry,
Just the mention of the paint roller reminds me I have a few small paint jobs waiting.
Must get it done and not just talk about itl.
Great customer service Nicos, it doesnt happen very often.
Nowhere I need to go today, I seem to be on the go the whole week, so I will happily stay put.
Have a good day all.

[greenishfing]

Morning all.

I've been awake for most of the night, but had a bona fide reason for once, a really upset stomach, which involved lots of trips to the bathroom. It seems to have settled now so it's kill or cure time with good strong coffee.🤞

Today I've got a parcel to post, a prescription to collect, and some shopping to deliver to my brother in law. I've just rung him to check that he's booked his blood test ... he has ... a nurse is going to call and do it, and he was telling me how gorgeous the banana loaf was. As I've got another spare, and no room in the freezer I'll take that for him too.

That sounds like excellent customer service, Nicos. Mothhawk, I'm sure that things used to last longer in the past. Built in obsolescence seems to be normal these days. If something can actually be fixed, it's often cheaper to replace it. Mr GF used to think that he could fix things. He "fixed" my Kenwood mixer about 20 years ago. It then had 2 settings .... Off, or whizz everything out of the bowl! He did then buy us a replacement, which is still going strong.

Time to hang some washing out as it's not raining.

[Bren In Pots]

Evening

The suns been out all day there was plenty of gardening and harvesting to catch up on. Plus the car passed its MoT
So a good day here.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Great news about your car Bren!…always a relief

This morning I was woken not by Hibou, but by a robin, chirping away right next to our bedroom window! Lovely to hear.

Today will be spent cracking on with a list of things needing to have been done at least a couple of months ago, both indoors and out
It does look like we’ve three dry days ahead of us so we need to make the most of things. Plus of course freezing down more apples.
We’ve enough apple cider vinegar on the go so I may well be tempted to make some chilli apple jelly instead of just composting all the peelings etc.

Yesterday we spent a couple of hours on the beach in the warm sunshine. I’d forgotten how lovely it is to hear the waves crashing and the scent of ozone. Arriving home, the first smell was that of fallen leaves and damp plants- from summer to Autumn scents in just over an hour!

Enjoy your day peeps…anyone got anything special going on this weekend?

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Congrats on the car, Bren. Always a relief. And so glad things are looking positive for you, LD. Excellent news.

As for drinking olive oil, rary, me, I'd just drizzle it on something like toast or vegetables instead of butter. Get the benefits of the oil and save the calories of the butter. I really love it on toast. Rub first with a bit of garlic and then the cut side of half of tomato. Drizzle on the olive oil. A sprinkle of salt as well if you must.

Definitely autumnal here, Nicos. Must have been lovely by the sea earlier. Feels like a while since I last saw the sea. Must try and remedy that.

Usual day here. Walk Jack, breakfast (beans on toast today) and then on with some domestics and paid work. Depending on how Mr Snoop feels, we might go into the village for a jazz concert this evening.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

It's feeling like autumn here, leaves are falling and soon they'll be enough to start raking.

I'm starting dehydrating my apples today there wont be as many jars as usual but its still worth doing.

Enjoy your day

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Bit cloudy here. Good news about the test Bren. I'm on apples again too Nicos and rapidly running out of freezer space. Hope you get to the concert Snoop. Have a good day

[bramble]

Good morning all, it's a bright morning and it's dry.
out for a walk and then a trip to the library.
The leaves are falling here and the big chestnut tree behind our house now looks bronze.
Bren, great to hear your car passed it's test, it's always a relief.
My daughter gave me a big bag of apples yesterday so I may cook them down.
Snoop, I hope you get to the concert this evening and Mr Snoop feels up to it.
Have a good day all.

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

It definitely feels as if Autumn has arrived today. Definitely on the chilly side. I must be winning the lack of style award this morning with a below the knee oversized hoodie, originally Mr GF's I think, and crocs! It's definitely not first up, best dressed here. Warm and cosy though.

I'm not ready for winter yet, and the mere thought of the clocks changing and dark afternoons/evenings is totally depressing.

I think I'll go and make some chicken stock in the slow cooker next, and some soup too. I'm toying with the idea of making some kind of aubergine soup.

My sister is back from her holidays a couple of days early. She wasn't planning on seeing the inside of an italian police station or the British consulate, but she got her bag stolen which contained her bank cards, passport, phone, etc. It makes a change from airlines losing her luggage.

Oh Snoop, you've got me fancying 'Pa amb Oli', which goes down so well with some red wine. I sometimes wonder if I've got some Mediterranean DNA among my Yorkshire roots.

[lottie dolly]

Morning all,just anyway,hoooray the sun has a smile at last,was warm early on,then it went cold so got the heating on for an hour to top the place up,a Snoop that will be good for you both,a moral booster,hope MR will be ok,always good Bren when the car passes,mine is booked in for the 18th,having read over the last few months about car taxes going up,and us younger/old ones having to have this and that tests to prove ability,i am very happy and pleased to say,it seems a load of hog wash,i applied on line not 2 weeks ago and the licence has just come this morning,so relived,plus the tax reminder for end of month,and it has not changed,it is still £35 for the year,the skip is still here,yasterday i looked up another councilor,and gave her a ring ,upshot,she is coming my way today and will take a pic of said skip then give them a call herself,and hope that works,if not trading standards,so keep your fingers crossed,son coming to put me a edging in,between the footpath and my front parking area,then i can go ahead and get the kerb dropped,i am cheesed off with getting blocked from using my own front,simply because they have more than one vehicle/big vans,so when i got it done,i can park on the front instead of the street,as i am braking the law by driving over the public footpath,and the council have the legal right to come and install ballards and block my entrance,hence the need to sort it out,i am on a mission to sort problems out,soap box put away,i have some sewing and sort out the mass mess of paperwork in the room first,how on earth i found time for kids,a job,cooking sewing ext ext earlier in my life i do not know,have a good afternoon and evening all,and Mothhawk,good luck with the new roller,hope you get on with the rollers themselves,as i have had bother getting them to fit on new ones grrr,

[rary]

Good afternoon, didnt have that good a sleep last night, actually for the past three nights, usually if I have to get up I can get back to sleep, no problem but not happening the past three nights, I believe its thinking on jogs I have to get done before I have my hand operation, and Snoop thats the reason for the olive oil to try and reduce the blood pressure, hopefully it works. Have been a bit busy showing youngest grandson how to prepare an area for painting then how to paint into a wall without painting the wall, got him a!l set up, so left him to it and went to collect some bags of burn sand, one of the jobs I need to do maybe I will get the sleep sorted now, LD do the notify you when you need to renew your driving licence or do I need to contact them and talking of renewed licences, how is it you had to renew dog licence,(now stopped) but have to renew tv licence, road tax which is really a licence, a number of insurance policies all needing renewed annually and yet the most expensive item in a mans life only cost 7/6d (old money) never any reminders to renew or court summons for not paying a renewal fee, there are some peculiarities to life when you stop and think on it🤔 now while pondering on that question remember there is something you can do that doesn't cost you anything, and thats passing on your smiles

[greenishfing]

rary, you forgot your marriage licence which cost 10 shillings back in 1597. Can you imagine if it had to be renewed annually. There might be a "few" arguments and more divorces.

If the DVLA have your current address you should get a renewal form automatically for your driving licence.

Snoop Puss, I've just realised that I haven't seen the sea for nearly 6 years. It's even longer since I had a paddle, swim, snorkle, windsurf or sail. I hate swimming in chlorinated water. These days it's impossible to park near, let alone on, most beaches in England. Too many people, not enough sand, when it's actually warm enough not to get frostbite.

[lottie dolly]

Rary they send you it automatically,aprox 2 or 3 months before your birthday,every 3 years from 70 onwards,and i believe 10 years for the younger ones,