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General => The Stay Safe Board => Topic started by: River Tyne Lass on Friday 06 November 20 22:51 GMT (UK)
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My Birthday is today - the 6th.
Thank you everyone for Birthday greetings - much appreciated. Louisa Maud has your November Birthday been or is it still to come?
I got some lovely cards and presents today, including a couple of certs I have been after and a book on Irish genealogy and a biography of Harriet Tubman. Looking forward to reading those.
My bus was quite full this morning during rush hour mostly full of school kids. I was fortunate, I think, to get a seat. Even though I said last night that using public toilets is risky, I had to go and look for one when I reached Newcastle. Dismayed to find M&S have barricaded their toilets up again. Tried another place but these were shut too. Finally, found some open in Eldon Square near the bus station. A very close call. I think no more breakfast drink or other drinks before leaving home until all this is over again.
I am really quite tired now on my way home. Only a few people around at the bus station and no sign of any homeless people lying around tonight. Perhaps these people have all been found accommodation again. I hope so as it is really cold. I am looking forward to getting in and perhaps reading a little from my new books. I won't be staying up for too long though as I have another 12 hour shift tomorrow again.
You are being so industrious with all this knitting Annette. I bet you can hardly wait now for the little ones to arrive!
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Good to hear you had such lovely presents RTL, hope you've managed to read from your new books before a well earned sleep.
Not so good to hear that you'll be foregoing your breakfast drink, that must be so hard.
My day:
Really foggy this morning, it brightened up mid morning and eventually the sun came through.
Art class on Zoom, the teacher as promised, told us all that she would mute everyone and they should unmute when she came to them. The woman who had been making such a racket last week still managed to bang about a bit before we were muted but after that it was so much better and I enjoyed the class, didn't feel exhausted by it as I have done previously.
Had some lunch then was furious to see that the childminder across the road had three cars and a bike parked outside her house, one of the cars was parked on the lawn. These were not people dropping off or picking up children, they were her own personal visitors. Shortly afterwards several people came out of the house, they were chatting outside and one woman was going in and out. The others then left. A few minutes later I went upstairs, saw from the window that there was a police car parked on my side of the road, I didn't know how long it had been there or whether the police officer had got out of the car. I'm pretty sure it arrived after the people had left, I wonder if someone had reported the woman. She always seems to act responsibly with the children, not so otherwise, she often had visitors during the first lockdown.
Went for a walk about 2pm, it was nice out, lovely walking through the woods with the sunlight slanting through the trees onto the colourful fallen leaves.
Went into the back garden to cut down some more dead stuff, quite a lot of plants are still green, particularly the fuchsias.
I have had two bin bags full of confidential waste that I sorted out months ago and have been waiting to burn. The air still smelt slightly of smoke from last night so it was an ideal time. My neighbours nearly always have their windows open even when it's freezing, but I noticed they were all closed and no-one had any washing out. The burning paper doesn't make much smoke, it just flames, so I set fire to it and it was soon done. I came inside while it was burning as I didn't want to smell of any smoke it did make, as an extra precaution I tucked all my hair under a woolly hat, I must have looked a right clip! Better than having smelly hair though .
Came in and did some ironing, everything else just as usual this evening. No wine tonight.
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Lovely pressies RTL... always nice to have books to look forward to reading. Sorry that you’ve another long shift tomorrow.... I thought during this lockdown that public toilets were to be kept open...not good to go without a drink....
Hope your right about homeless, nice to think they’re in the warm out of hat S way... hope you enjoyed your birthday despite working.....
Roobarb - as ever busy gardening and walking, well done for your perseverance...
Pity about your neighbour... but really should take more notice.... sure she will now if the police have been!
Great to gear your art class was more relaxing from the noise of last week!
Rather than burning your paperwork couldn’t you get a cross shredder.... they work well and are environmentally friendly?...
Today was bright and sunny, low mist about first thing but soon cleared.. the grass was heavy with dew and took some time to disappear... more washing out... new mattress and pillow protectors.
After breakfast did some tidying up... was going to do kitchen windows but couldn’t face it.. there’s always another day.... yesterday’s ones looked fine and no missed bits or smears when the sun shone through!
Phoned SiL to discuss Christmas presents and got some answers from her so all good... we had a good chat, they live just outside Brighton but she’s not been in during these times, they can walk along the beaches outside the city and over the downs... going to miss getting together with them all this year and nephew not coming from Singapore...
Sorted out the very large patterns for tge 🌈 tops .... chatted to friend in tge village on the phone trying to persuade her to do some of sewing,,, there’s lots to do as they’ve had another 200 metres 🌈delivered... she’s going to think about it!
Had lunch.... more on the news about US elections... talk about long winded their processes are certainly drawn out!
After lunch de iced to cut tops out so folded fabric in half lengthways put on the landing and it stretched from one end right into one of the bedrooms and I’d got plenty of room either side to mark it all out...crawled around the floor doing it all and managed to get 8 tops .... cut up rest of Christmas duvet into bags managed to get 26 out so good use of fabric...
my friend who works at Gatwick called me via WhatsApp and we had a video chat... lovely to actually see her... looks like she’s ok for tge moment but working less shift but awful combinations... she’s also miffed that golf clubs are closed as that’s her relaxation and exercise on her days off...
Dinner was just extras out the freezer... one turkey bake other fish pie..
Usual evening of tv... restarted the baby blanket again ...
That’s another day of excitement ... traffic through the village very light... almost none...
Take care all keep smiling!
Caroline
PS to tired to read through and change mistakes...
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Very quiet day Friday for me.
Daughter and dog came over early, ate breakfast, then daughter and her father headed out to a couple of shops while I dog sat. They were only gone a couple of hours.
Did some washing - great fun. ::)
Took dog for a walk in the afternoon - I am trying to change her body clock so she doesn’t nag for her walk too early. With the weather warming up here, I want to leave it later to cool down a bit before taking her out. It was still too early at about 5pm with the sun right in my line of vision near the horizon - can’t see a thing - so will have to aim for 5:30 I think.
Dog embarrassed me by barking and lunging at a perfectly nice well behaved border collie. Then she ate something she found on the footpath - I suspect it was a mushroom as I have seen a few in that vicinity over the past few days. Sun was in my eyes so didn’t notice it. It always unnerves me when she nabs mushrooms because I’m sure a mushroom led to her having three days of a very upset tummy a year or so ago - which required a trip to the vet.
She then eyed off a grey tall thin poodle type dog - they were fascinated by each other, though no barking luckily. Owner was good and held poodle tightly. I can’t work out why some dogs send her into a barking frenzy when she is hardly bothered with others. Dogs - odd creatures.
Meatball pasta concoction for dinner - not too good. Slim pickings on the TV so half watched some American nonsense - NCIS something or other.
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RTL, my birthday was 2nd
I had a nice day and my daughter and grandson visited, son in law had a cold and granddaughter is in Sheffield
My daughter had remembered I have a necklace that was my mother's, given to her by her father when she was young and told it was her grandmother's, so my daughter asked my husband to look for the necklace and she was going to match it with a pair of stud earrings, my husband was absolutely no help at all, he couldn't find it and had no idea what he was looking for, so the earrings my daughter bought were turquoise and the necklace is blue, she was really disappointed but I told her I will wear them and I was pleased with them, I showed her the necklace which I don't think she had ever seen or taken much notice of before, must have been given to my mother between 1910 and 1927, my granddaughter bought me some hay she said, she then followed it up with the email gift she had given for a horse sanctuary I often speak about, what a lovely thoughtful girl I thought, at my age I don't really want or need anything and like most of us it is difficult for close relatives to buy presents
Everyone seems to be busy gardening, I just want my ground to dry out a bit more so I can mow it possibly for the last time
I am having one of those " I can't sleep nights", have lain awake for nearly 2 hours and have resorted to some time on Rootschat to tire me out before I get back to bed
Night Night All
Louisa Maud
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Happy Belated Birthday Louisa Maud, sorry to have missed sending greetings then. Hope you had a good Birthday pre lockdown?
Re: toilets, I wonder if it might only be shop/cafe public toilets which are shut? I have had a message from sister in law saying my brother has also heard that public toilets have to stay open this time. All I know is that the M&S toilets & another place have closed. The ones in Eldon Square near the Eldon bus station were open yesterday. However, I am not going to take a chance and so will do without my tea this morning just in case the powers that be on a whim might shut the Eldon ones as well. Drat! As I do love a nice cup of tea especially first thing in the morning. Perhaps I had better email the council next week and find out what their plans are. At least, this lockdown is only going to last for a month this time. (Although, I have heard others speculating, as people do, that it might be longer).
I am looking forward to reading new books but found that despite my intentions I couldn't keep my eyes open when I got in bed last night so just turned off the light. Perhaps tomorrow when I am off I might not be too tired to read.
This is just quick as I will have to set off soon.
Hope everyone has a good day. :)
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To all those who have had birthdays over the last few months (and there have been a few) a belated Happy Birthday from me. I hope you have all enjoyed your special day with your loved ones.
Well, Friday was an up and down day for me.
Had a restless night's sleep. Don't think I did much sleeping. I was still in PJ's and dressing gown at 12.30 when my dear friend S rang to see if she could pop round. I haven't been to the club I belong to since September so the member's had clubbed in to get me a gift and card wishing me all the best and looking forward to my return. S had got a potted tomato plant. One to pop into a pot, so no need to go in the garden. (No room anyway.)We were outside when my phone rang so didn't hear it. When we went inside my phone was beeping. A private number so no big deal, if it's important they will leave a message. No message.
Last month I contacted someone on Ancestry as they had my late husband's birth family in their tree. The reply came back that it was only a twig on her husband's side of the family and didn't know anything that would help me. As my membership is due to run out on the 12th, last week I thought I would have a last look as you never know who may appear. Well, a new tree had appeared with the family I have been looking for. So sent off an email not expecting a reply. I added my email address and phone number just in case.
While having a cupper with S my phone rang so I answered it. The person I was now talking to was my late husband's 1st cousin. I ushered S out so I could concentrate on the call. The birth family had been sure that their sister and aunt had had a baby and had hoped to meet him one day. We were both excited that we were finally in contact and sad that Doug wasn't here. Over a 2hr phone call, we had both become friends and family. We will be meeting soon.
The missed call was from P's doctor letting me know that P was going through a tough time and not doing as well as we had hoped.
After dinner watched a bit of T.V and headed to bed hoping for some sleep.
Stay Safe Stay strong
Carol
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Carol - it certainly was an up and down day for you... so sorry to hear your Son is having a tough time.... it must be difficult to stay positive but thoughts are with you and willing things to turn a corner...
How thoughtful of your club friends to get together with a gift for you... plants are always welcome...
How wonderful to have new contact with a side of the family you’ve been looking for and to gather more information is always exciting... so pleased you’ll be able to meet up too.
LM - your necklace and earrings sound very pretty and I’m sure you’ll wear them both with pride... hope you get a better nights sleep tonight..
RTL - a good idea to get in touch with the council as I’m sure the public toilets will be open as it was such a disaster during last lockdown.... hate to think of you having to go to work without a cuppa....
Enjoy your day off with a little reading!
Ruskie - hope your dog survives her mushroom eating episode!
Caroline
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Oh Carol, I am so very sorry to learn you and P are having an up and down time, it is good you are getting some support from your community, but what a joy to make contact with some family you having been seeking for such a long time.
Even more fabric Caroline. How amazing to have sufficient room on your landing to do the cutting out.
Roobarb I can't even begin to gauge the fury I would feel about your neighbour. Glad to know the police have been involved. I never have reported local goings on to the police, but I think I would have to in these circumstances!
Glad you had some spoiling on your birthday RTL, but I am very sorry to note the public toilets are being closed in your vicinity. I did notice yesterday that some of ours have been shut too.
Diary: Woke up a beautiful dawn and was surprised the sea was very lumpy. Actual white water waves which is most unusual in this little bay of Torbay.
Sadly the sun disappeared quite quickly and we discovered the wind was fierce and cold when we walked over to the lakes later. We had hoped the ground would be fairly dry, which it wasn't, but I managed to pick my way through without getting my feet overly wet. We saw the heron and egret roosting in trees, and plenty of water fowl.
Someone has put up a new feeding box and I was delighted to watch various songbirds popping in and out busily.
A little lad was racing around on the playing field, like a demented puppy, and grandma wasn't pleased to note the amount of mud he had splashed all over his back.
Not much else to report, except a call from oldest step-son who has postponed his wedding from December this year to Christmas 2021.
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Just briefly popping into say how wonderful that you have connected with new family Carol, but so sorry to hear about your son. I hope for a good outcome for him, and can’t imagine how worried you must all be.
Caroline, yes, dog’s tummy seems fine thank goodness.
Added: I think you deserve a medal for all the work you continue to do to help keep everyone safe.
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Woke to another beautiful sunny day but so very cold. Another delivery from Hermes - always the same cheery driver. Said I'd seen so much of him this year I'd have to add him to my Christmas card list and we had a laugh.
Doorbell rang around 1.30 and it was my downstairs neighbour - wanted to check I was okay and if I needed anything which is sweet of him. We see so much of the neighbours in the summer months but when winter closes in everyone hibernates indoors. Dug out a large bag from the kitchen cupboard to house all the christmas presents I've ordered so know they'll be together in one place when the time comes to wrap them. A lot of ironing to do and I so hate ironing - manana, manana! Would rather wash a load by hand than actually iron it! Strange, aren't I?
Asda delivery around 1pm - when brought to the door I saw it was all loose in the crates and not in bags as requested. When I said this to driver he then spotted bags which had been placed underneath the items in the crates! Another thing for him to report. I was the second one who'd not had their order placed in bags. Someone back at Asda not doing their job properly.
Potato skins with cheese/bacon for dinner followed by salted caramel cheesecake. Watched TV - some old NCIS which I love - and knitting of course.
Started a new book when I eventually went to bed and had a good nights sleep.
Stay safe everyone.
Annette
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Caroline, hope your friend has agreed to help with the sewing, you've done such a massive amount. Good to hear that your other friend still has her job at the airport, such worrying times for many people.
I used to have a paper shredder but it jammed all the time. I only burn papers about once a year and they take literally two minutes with very little smoke, I wouldn't burn anything for any length of time.
Ruskie, glad the dog is okay after eating the mushroom. I know you get quite a lot of British programmes over there, I wonder if you get Dogs Behaving Very Badly. There are some really naughty dogs! I can't help laughing at some of them, the Dogfather (as he's known) soon has them behaving perfectly, even the few that are quite nasty.
LM, what a thoughtful family you have. Hope you managed to get some sleep eventually.
RTL, hope you get a favourable reply from the council, it must be so hard doing without a cup of tea before you go to work.
Carol, I'm really sorry to hear that P isn't doing so well, I hope he has some improvement soon. So lovely for you not only to have made contact with your husband's cousin but to have become friends too.
MH, lovely for you to see all the wildlife despite the weather.
Annette, I don't think you're strange for hating ironing, I'm not keen either but there again, not keen on doing washing by hand! Hope you got it all done.
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Well some very late Birthday wishes so:-
A very merry un Birthday to you to you .
A very merry un Birthday to you to you!
So sorry to hear your son is having a bad time Carol, and sincere wishes for some improvement.
Busy people , all of you ,I personally hate routine but it can be a good stabiliser at times.
A bit sad and annoyed this evening,TV announcer said Rememberance Sunday was to remember those who died in WW2,well sorry missus ,it was WW1 first then WW2 was added on. , And the salaries they get!
Lovely day today,,so outside ,good tidy up ,especially the lawn , looks decent
now ,lots of chats with passers by..
Sorted out Body Shop order with Flash Harry’s mummy .
Need to transfer money now.Theyare just little presents as I send money mostly.
Got another order in at Tesco’s .
First week of December, things with long dates.
One later this month too.
I tear my name and address off communications ,have an old biscuit tin and every so often have a mini bonfire!
Have a shredder ,but am impatient and jam it up!
Well Donald Trump is to all effects no longer President.
Good he has a Woman of Colour as Vice President ,the analysis of voting
shows they voted in great numbers for him.
Had a lazy tea, bacon,eggs, mushrooms .
Will have my yoghurt later.
Weighed myself today 9 stones and 3 ounces.Starkers!
Well another cuppa, bacon makes me thirsty.
No Morse on tonight ,he does look like my OH ,those so blue eyes,white hair
and I notice his small hands ,just the same.
A good tiredness now.
So early to bed tonight .
Cheerio folks ,keep up the good work and look after yourselves.
Thanks for the news.
Viktoria.
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Ruskie, glad the dog is okay after eating the mushroom. I know you get quite a lot of British programmes over there, I wonder if you get Dogs Behaving Very Badly. There are some really naughty dogs! I can't help laughing at some of them, the Dogfather (as he's known) soon has them behaving perfectly, even the few that are quite nasty.
Oh yes, I have seen that programme Roobarb. ;D Dog watches it too and barks at the dogs on TV! ::) Oh dear, I’m not painting a very good picture of her ... she is lovely, but a bit of a weirdo and a bit nervous at times. I recently saw a repeat of the one with the two naughty labradors and my daughter was offended when I sent her a message to turn it on quickly to get some tips
Oops sorry for my comment about NCIS Annette (as you say you like it). :-[ It is the SVU one that I half watch on occasion.
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;D ;D She sounds great Ruskie, they all have there little foibles :) I can just imagine your daughter's face! ;D
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Hi Carol,
I am sorry to read that your son is going through a tough time just now. I do hope things improve for him very soon. I really feel for you having to cope with all of this and I hope you will keep strong and safe. That is good that you have these good supportive friends from your club.
What a wonderful story about the DNA connection you have been able to make on your late husband's side. :)