Chitchat thread #24

[Containergardener]

Happy 19th soon then Bren

Morning
It's very white and frosty here, full sun forecast for the day though so it should disappear quick.
Going to have a garden day at mum's while OH is working, I need to drop her shopping off anyway.
I've got the washer on with towels though I think I will wait a little before putting them out.
Has snoop made is out of ikea? Or still there sleeping in the beds Hopefully some lovely purchases were made. Its a few years since I've been.

Right, brew anyone? I will get the coffee pot on too in case gf wants some.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

No rain due here today so a mix of gardening, laundry and a stroll at some point.

enjoy your day

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

We have a misty start with the sun peeping through…so a gardening day for me too!
OH will be stuck to the TV with the two rugby matches later on so one of us at least should be playing around in the mud!
Didn't a group of people get flooded out or something a while back in a shopping area and IKEA opened their doors to them overnight …or was that just a dream???

Our fridge is now working so I need to sort out things for the freezer…stuff which needs using soon so it’s easily to hand.
I’m hoping it’ll make me be more organised! Ice cream etc will be banned…one of us will need to trek outdoors to the cellar freezers for those

I best get a wiggle on…quick brew then out into the sunshine…Yey!!!

Enjoy your day peeps and remember to share those lovely smiles!

[Snoop Puss]

Afternoon all.

Well, Ikea was an eye opener. Bad day to go for starters. Turns out they do half-price main courses on Fridays between a certain time, plus yesterday was a day off for the local schools. And the pouring rain made the shopping centre a magnet for families. Oh, and Mr Snoop had set his heart on meatballs with sauce for lunch. Not on the menu. Ever it would seem. Plus only four coffee machines for hundreds of people all wanting coffee at about the same time (due to the half-price lunches during a set time period). I'm surprised there weren't riots! A surprising number of obvious thieves in the shop and cafeteria too. Even three dressed as nuns, but so blatantly thieves.

No chance of seeing anyone about kitchen designs. Asked the woman in the kitchen section and she confirmed that yes, the appointment booking system (based on post codes) is designed to weed out non-locals! She used the term 'weed out' (in Spanish), not me. Anyway, I've made some choices about door and drawer fronts and handles and we've already got a couple of lengths of work surface on their way so that I can at least have a bit of a kitchen expansion till we get the final stuff installed

I'm not in any hurry to go back to Ikea. If it weren't for the practicality of the door fronts and excellent drawers, I'm almost minded to get a local carpenter to make a kitchen for me. In fact, I very well might. Probably cost me less. Mr Snoop had hoped to make a kitchen for me but can't now.

Right, got that off my chest!

On the cards for today, domestics and some paid work. And mopping up water that has seeped up through the floor downstairs after all the recent rain and yesterday's downpour. More rain on its way too... Oh, pouring rain already here.

Congrats on your Vine birthday, bramble. And lots of Vine love and hugs to anyone who could do with them.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Dry but cloudy here today. Had an exhausting but wonderful day yesterday so I'm chilling today. The grandson in the navy is home for the weekend. It's a relief that he's safe for the moment. Enjoy organising the freezer Nicos. Have a good day

[Florence Fennel]

That sounds like my last visit to Ikea Snoop, so I sympathise. I haven't been back there for years.

[bramble]

Good evening all. A dry day but the breeze kept it cool, just got up to 17 degs.
We headed to a shopping centre and had a bit of lunch.

Snoop, your trip to IKEA sounded like a nightmare...you would want to in a very determined mood to face a day there.
My daughter and myself go there now and again, but try to pick a day when it might be a bit quiet.
Nicod, hope your fridge is up and running.
GF , thinking of you and hope to see you on here again soon.
Flo, bet you had a great day, but its good to chill out.
Have a good evening all.

[Bren In Pots]

Not a very good shopping experience Snoop it’s enough to put anyone off Ikea

Today didn’t go as planned but there’s always tomorrow.

have a good evening.

[Containergardener]

Morning
Shame about your trip snoop. I've never actually eaten in IKEA. I just get in..get what we need..get out

Another frosty morning here and mist. Due another nice day before rain comes tonight.

Cuppa's all round is it ?

[mothhawk]

Morning all.

Yes please, CG, a cuppa would be lovely. It's raining here - not what the forecast said yesterday. I've only been to Ikea once, when it was new in the country and a novelty. Do they still force you to walk around every aisle of the whole store with a one way system?

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Misty here too and just starting to rain. Have a lovely Sunday

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Very thick fog/ mist here this morning.
I’ve not been to IKEA in the uk for about 20 years , so can’t comment on that, but here in France, all schoolchildren have Wednesday afternoons off , so Wednesday is always a no-go there…as are school holidays.
Their loos are always spotless and there are designated sofa areas where you can sit, read, and enjoy a hot drink…but as you say, you need to be aware of the quietest periods.
I like to pop in and get orchids and church candles…we burn a lot of candles and they are the cheapest I’ve found which burn well. Flowers here are a bonkers price, so an orchid plant lasting several months is probably about half the price of a bunch of flowers and superb value.
And yes…there is a designated route still MH…but there are short cuts, and you can miss out the top floor if you want to.
If you keep the receipts, then their after sales care is fantastic.
Snoop - you can buy frozen meatballs…veggie, chicken or beef…from their shop over here. Loganberry jelly is a good substitute for cranberry jelly at Xmas too.

Right…I’m not on commission for them…

I’m planning on doing indoor stuff today- we are going away for a week at the end of this week in the campervan, so a planned route etc needs sorting. Getting really excited about it! Northern Brittany. I’ll pop in here though when we have a signal.
I’d also like to finish off weeding the last section of the path behind the house today too. This year we seem to have a lot of oxeye daisies growing, so those will need transplanting into designated areas in our field.

Enjoy your day peeps. I didn’t see the smiles overhead but I did hear their foghorns as they passed by…

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

There were arrows indicating the starting point, MH, and all the different sections were numbered, but with side alleys off the main itinerary. I lost Mr Snoop more than once... It felt like the footprint of the building was slightly smaller than other Ikeas I've been to, so that might explain it. As for food, it took us maybe three hours to get there, so we had to eat at some point. The other options nearbyish were MacDonalds or KFC... They'd have been heaving too, I imagine. And not great. Next time we go, I think I'll at least take a packed breakfast with me. And we definitely won't go on a Friday and we'll make sure it's not a local public holiday too. Lesson learned. To be honest, I'm not even sure we need to go back. It was more of a window shopping trip, CG, so I could see their kitchens. I've identified the fittings and drawer and door fronts and handles. In terms of actual purchases, apart from the work surface, which is being delivered, we walked out with four glasses (M is a big breaker of glasses), a couple of pastry brushes, a spatula and two washing-up brushes.

Today's big event is lunch out at a restaurant I've been wanting to try for a long time. With a visit to their local wine co-op beforehand. Looking like a good day. Before that, some minor domestics. As for the weather, we've got a lull at the moment. Long may it continue, as we have water seeping in in a few places. Even though we've had more rain in the past than these last few weeks, the difference is this time it's very steady so all soaking in. I can't get to the well for boggy ground, but I bet the level is really high. We've got ground water seeping into the house in a few places now. So long as the house doesn't slide into the valley, we'll be OK (just kidding, she says, with fingers crossed).

Have a great day, everyone.

Edited: That's interesting, Nicos. Maybe this Ikea is a scaled-down version. The main shopping area and restaurant were on just the one floor. I didn't see any plants for sale anywhere. There was a ground floor, but it seemed to be given over to their warehousing and a small bistro, as they called it - a few tables surrounded by concrete walls and pillars, like a carpark, and perhaps the food shop, but that was tiny and definitely looked like an after thought, a few freezers, some packets of biscuits and no staff. We didn't even bother looking.

[Jay22]

Morning, after a lovely couple of days it’s dull this morning!
That sounds like some adventure there Snoop. My OH point blank refuses to enter any IKEA!
Is the tea still going CG or has it stewed and gone cold?

[Containergardener]

Never fear Jay, always a tea on the go here