Breast Cancer Now Forum

Sitting in garage as the hail hammers down. Luckily, OH keeps a chair in here.  I literally JUST managed to finish mowing both 'lawns' and edging the front one. I knew rain was forecast so I was a bit speedy after fetching OH back from his library volunteering. Back edging will have to wait until it stops or, more likely, I can be a****! Had to go to Dr with OH this morning. After his phone consultation with PD nurse, when she recommended contacting Dr about swollen ankles, feet and middle (he's put on 5" round his 'waist') we didn't bother, but Dr must have had the letter and surgery rang him to make an appointment. Had a phone appointment on Tuesday but Dr said he wanted to see him. Lungs, heart, BP all listened to/checked and bloods taken to see if it's a heart issue. We're almost certain it's just the newest PD drug,  as this happened after the dose was increased, but it's good they're being thorough. Will probably have to have hospital appointment for ECG. 🙁 Not started the painting yet. Busy doing what I do best: procrastinating! Actually, it's one of those jobs that, once I start, I just want to see it through to the exclusion of everything else and what with shopping, Drs appointments, taxiing OH etc, I've not had a full day to get at it. Soon. Still raining. The edging will have to wait until another day. Much too soggy now. Contemplating a dash into house as I'm gagging for a mugatea and cake. ... View more

Forgot to say: while GD was at nursery for her 1st full day, her parents snuck out for a sneaky adult lunch to a place recommended by DIL's friend. It turned out to be the hotel we stayed at last time we visited! This was the first time since GD was born that they've been out together without her! It seems the food was delicious.... Not just GD stuffing her face then! 😂 ... View more

Hope you had a lovely lunch.  That's the great thing about having to wear a mask: you can hide your messy face behind it. No, seriously, just be glad the cream is doing its thing. The alternative would be worse!!  Hope lido goes OK. No cannula nightmares and no ickiness after.  I've been swimming. It was wonderful to be in the water again, at last, but after 6 months of not going (walking doesn't use the same muscles!) my arms were screaming at me after 3 lengths. I managed to do 56 lengths in 55 minutes, so although it's not the 70 I was doing, I'm pretty impressed with myself. Whether I shall be able to move tomorrow is another matter!! I've bought the paint for my room today: Du**x "mint macaroon" for the walls, white for the ceiling, skirting boards and door frame. So even if we do have another lockdown I can still get on with it. Won't start it tomorrow because we need a supermarket shop. I hope people haven't been panic buying again! GD had her 1st full day at nursery today and came home with a report card! YD sent me a photo of it. Apparently, GD was happy, it listed several activities she enjoyed and all the snacks/meals she had. She had seconds at every food time and ate the lot. Definitely my GD!! 😁 ... View more

Hurrah! I've booked to go swimming tomorrow evening. Yeh! 6 months since I last went. I'm going to have to do some serious deforestation on the old bod because I look like a gorilla from the knee up! 😂 The Thursday Ladies only session that I used to go to no longer exists 😕 so I've had to swap to Mondays. Hopefully, some of the familiar faces will swap too. They charged me full price - there doesn't seem to be a concessionary (fogies) discount on the online booking. Ah well, I suppose that makes up for the years they've charged me concessionary rates when I wasn't really eligible. Last night I was chasing apples down the road wearing my SU2C "Star Baker" apron and flip flops (I did have clothes on too!) because, when I was cooking dinner, I looked out of the window and noticed a plastic carrier bag blowing about. Oops. That's one of ours. Hang on! Where's the apple tub gone? Oh no! Either some twonk has run off with it, or it's blown away! I went out to investigate and saw that the empty tub had blown 100yds UP the road whilst the remaining apples and rolled DOWN the road and the bags were blowing everywhere. DOH. I collected them all in. They've gone out again this afternoon and they've all been taken except 1: the one that got the most bruised during  the escape attempt! ... View more

I can just see you in your full BENCHLAND party regalia twirling the buggy above your head, balanced on your little finger! 😂 Maybe with a sweary sparkler in the other hand?  Fingers crossed that ED's tests don't throw up anything scary and that they can fix her "issues". Hope YD's tooth is recovering. Ouchy indeed. I had to have my wisdom teeth out, so I can sympathise. We are back home now. It is still sunny but there's a cold wind blowing. I picked all rest of the apples off the tree before they fell off in the wind and got bruised.  I put them in a couple of old plastic tubs, with a "help yourself" sign on them, at the end of our drive. Half of them have gone already. Glad your cream is working, and I'm sure your face doesn't look as much of a mess as you think it does, especially if it feels like it's burning. Is your leg OK now? OH actually went swimming tonight! First time in nearly 6 months. He didn't go to his usual pool, 10 miles away, because his friend wasn't going anyway, so he went to the nearer one that I go to. I was glad about that because I'm tired after driving back from holiday and I don't like driving in the dark very much - and it was even more wearing in the new car - all those strange red lights on the dashboard and steering wheel: so distracting! My ladies swim, on a Thursday night, no longer exists so I'll have to go to a different session, probably ladies only on Monday at 7pm. I'll probably keep going for a walk on Thursdays too. Maybe. Although it's tougher to do that now it's getting darker earlier.  My friend (the one I had lunch with last week) was supposed to be at a W****rs (famous film brothers) Hotel holiday (the ones for retired people: no children allowed) near Harrogate this week. They went on Monday, expecting to stay until Friday, but everyone was sent home on Tuesday afternoon because the hotel had to close due to staff members self-isolating with Covid-19 symptoms! Oh no! No confirmed cases yet, apparently, but my friend has to be sooooo careful because she is diabetic and therefore at greater risk. It makes me realise how lucky we were to get nearly 2 weeks away uninterrupted. The rest of September is very empty on my kitchen calendar though. 😐 DIL and GD both had to have Covid-19 tests. Both negative. Phew! GD did 2 settling in sessions at nursery, 2 hours each, on Monday and Wednesday, and she has 2 more next week, then she will be there all day Mondays and Wednesdays. I'm told she loves it: when they ALL went, for a taster session, GD was rattling the gate when they had to leave, trying to get back in to have sandwiches with the other little ones. Definitely my GD - wants to be where the food is?! 😁 ... View more

Oh dear. That's terribly sad about your cousin's daughter's partner. When you said he was very ill, I assumed he had been for a while, but 3 weeks? That's awful. Was it COVID-19 related?  Car behaved beautifully getting us to our holiday cottage and I'm managing to turn it round in an odd shaped space; I'm gradually getting used to all the beeping noises from the parking sensors all round the car.  Walked to the nearby little shop for bread and milk, this morning, (they close at 1 or 2PM every day- if they're open at all!) and when I walked back past the car, I noticed several scratch marks on the back bumper! I know I haven't put them there! Don't know if they've been there since I bought it and I've just never seen them, or if some careless ****** has done it whilst it's been parked somewhere. Ah well. It's just a car,  I've got to stop thinking about how much it cost! VERY glad I didn't let OH persuade me to buy a brand new one!! The weather has been brilliant. Warm and sunny ‐ spent most of the time in the courtyard outside our cottage. It's not quite as idyllic as the garden where we were 2 weeks ago because we're adjoining the owners' house and they need to regularly access the shared utility in "our" courtyard. No sitting out here in my dressing gown this week! 😊 We are invited to share their lovely garden but I'm not really comfortable doing that! Not doing very much. Couple of cafe visits for tea and cake and last night we went to the pub for dinner - probably the first time since August last year. There's an art gallery within walking distance, (even for OH!) and we went and had a browse in there on Sunday. Some nice things but nothing I would pay the eye-watering prices for (one painting was £6000!!)  When we came out, I left OH to make his way back to the cottage while I went to explore the village. Apparently, he went back in the gallery and bought something which we have to collect on Thursday. Oh lordy! I dread to think what he bought. Or how much he spent! 😱 I suspect it's my Christmas present (oops! Shh. Too soon) and his taste is VERY different to mine. Practicing my grateful face!   ... View more

Socks that need handwashing!! Whatever next? What are they made of..... Gold?! I bet it's just to cover themselves if they fall apart when washed: they can say "it says to hand-wash". I'd shove them in my "synthetics" or "delicates" wash (depending which was going on!) and hope for the best! Questions, questions, questions! 😛 I've only packed the food bag so far (essentials first? 😀 ) because we can't get to the cottage before 5pm (FIVE ???!!! It's a good job we're not just going for the weekend!) so I can pack everything else tomorrow: we won't need to leave until at least 2:30pm. Google maps says it's a 1 1/2 hour drive, so even allowing for old anxiety pants in the back (I stay below 60mph at all times when he's in the car) we shouldn't take more than 2 1/2 - though I suspect we'll stop somewhere en route for a cuppa - from the flask if necessary. The suitcases are still out and partially packed from last week. I've spent most of the afternoon picking the bramley apples off our tree and either wrapping them in newspaper to store in a box (only the unblemished ones) or peeling, coring and slicing them for the freezer. Tons of the bu*****. Usually, I do a few a day, as they're ready, but I knew in a week's time they'd be all fallen on the ground and bruised so I just had to go for it.  There's still quite a few left on the tree but they can just take they're chance - I've got enough stored now so we'll probably only give those ones away.  I'll decorate my room after we get back from holiday; it will give me something to do when all the excitement is over.  I don't think I've really registered that I'm retired as the first 6 weeks were school holidays anyway, then we've been busy with being away and sorting the car out. I do see the kids coming home from the local schools, past our house, at 3pm and realise I've barely done anything with my day! I don't know where the time goes! Yesterday, I had lunch at a local garden centre with the other TA that retired. We had a nice egg mayo baguette and cup of tea each and a good catch up. We've promised ourselves that we'll do it once a month. Ladies who lunch! 😁 ... View more

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Hurrah for tele and broadband fixed. Not sure I'd have liked to be the manager of that shop when you were on the warpath! 😛 Good you went back to say thank you. Been out to town in new car. Couldn't find it in the supermarket carpark because I was automatically looking for a slightly smaller, scruffier, blue car. Polo is dark grey and very shiny after its full valet yesterday. It also looks bigger because the wheels are bigger so it's higher off the ground. Loving it so far, but I'm still very nervous of pranging it. At least OH decided not to come with me so that was one less anxiety to worry about! Supermarket toilets now open again. Hurrah. Just as well... see previous about nerves! 😁 We go to the Peak District on Friday, for a week. The weather forecast, at least as far as Monday, looks good. 🤞🏼 ... View more

Car back. Shiny and clean and the tyre fixed. Let's hope it'll behave itself now. 😁 🤞🏼 They didn't ring me to collect it but brought it back to my house. We were out, in Uncle Fester, collecting OH's prescription (oddly, it was the day we were going to do that, last time, that Uncle Fester wouldn't start: going to be nervous next month - I wonder what will happen then!!) and going for a little walk. Garage manager rang me to say mechanic was on his way to our house with the car. Oh no! Of course, OH can't hurry, so by the time we made it back to the car and then drove the 4 miles home, the guy was pacing about on our drive! 😀 Serves him right. They should have rung me BEFORE he set out!!  ... View more

Fingers crossed for Cousin's SIL. I hope they can help him.  I feel your pain with regard to people not doing their jobs properly! I've just had to phone the garage and I now have my old car (Uncle Fester) back.... for the moment.  When I collected the new car (Polo), on Saturday, the garage owner said he thought I was picking it up on Monday (today) and it hadn't been cleaned. He's a pleasant guy, not a pushy car salesman at all - the main reason I decided to buy from there - but he's a bumbling fool. Anyway, I swapped the cars and brought Polo home. I was very sad to see them take Uncle Fester away. They told me to book the car in for its full valet at my convenience. Cut to later on Saturday, as I set out for my evening walk, I noticed the front tyre looked a bit flat. Oh no! Yesterday morning it was flat as a pancake. I debated blowing it back up, or trying to put the spare on (it's YEARS since I attempted that and OH can't do it anymore - although, at first he was going to try) but I've rung the garage this morning and, within an hour, they've sent 2 mechanics out who have inflated the tyre, taken the car back to the garage and left Uncle Fester with me to use in the meantime. They'll ring me when the tyre is mended/replaced and the car valeted. Let's hope that's all the problems I'll have with it and that I haven't made the most expensive mistake of my life!  I hope GS is better - and that he hasn't passed the bug onto GD... or you! My GD was supposed to start nursery today (delayed since April due to COVID-19) for 2 days a week, but she's all snotty so she can't go. YD and DIL both working from home at the moment so they're juggling their work and the childcare between them. Fun times. Yet again, I wish I was nearer to be able to help.    ... View more

So much for "weather is fab" It's persisted it down all afternoon and evening and it's quite windy now too! At least we have a solid roof over our heads not a flapping tent - even if I am sleeping on an airbed with my camping duvet because OH snores and there's only one bedroom!  We visited the local town and mooched about the shops for a bit this afternoon, as it wasn't the weather to do much else. The kids were coming home from school in their uniforms! That was odd!  ... View more

Weather is fab. Although the breeze is a bit fiercer and fresher today, the sun is shining intermittently between fluffy clouds. I'm sat in the garden,  in my dressing gown, reading. Spent most of yesterday here too. Very different from what I'd normally be doing on the first days of the new school year!! Part of me is sad not to be part of that team. I'm missing the camaraderie, but I'm really glad I booked this holiday because it is sooo nice to be enjoying idling about somewhere new instead of getting up early and dashing about. It doesn't feel like it's only half an hour from home; we could be miles away. Didn't even leave home until 3:30pm on Monday as we couldn't get in the cottage before 4!! Very odd way to start a holiday,  but OH is the most relaxed he's ever been on holiday. No stress at all getting here. Obviously, he's pleased I'm not going back to school and he's not got *himself* into "back to school stress mode" either. We haven't been and won't be doing any foreign holidays. OH just couldn't handle the stress (although I'd love to do some more coach trips abroad 😐 ) so at least the current situation hasn't affected us that way. Glad you're feeling better. I hope the new TV is wonderful- and not too confusing to use. Where is the bedroom tele going? In the "littlest room"? 😂 I should probably get dressed. Maybe. In a minute *picks ebook up again* 😛 I'm reading Graham Norton's "A Keeper". It's brilliant. I hope this isn't utter gibberish: I can't see what I'm typing due to the sun on my phone screen!! ... View more

Good grief! Scary! But as you say: tests and scans all clear so that's something to reassure you. I didn't know migraine could cause fainting. Perhaps you should take migraine tabs when you have "just" a headache. Glad you're ok now. I'm a bit wet. I cut the hedge and did some pruning in the garden and it started to drizzle (been raining on and off for days - weeks? - now) I thought "it's not much, I'll stay out here and get this finished." By the time I came in, my jeans and fleece were pretty damp but the CBA bench called and I couldn't be bothered to change. Soggy knees. 😞 I've been reading Ashley Gardner's Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries. I've enjoyed a couple of them before, and recently got a bargain Ki**** (light fire) 3-in-1 book. I made the mistake of reading 2 books, one straight after the other, and I wish I hadn't! The main character constantly getting into fights with people far stronger than him and yet still coming out relatively unscathed, despite being war-wounded and having to use a walking stick to get about, starts to grate after a bit. I can still recommend the books - one at a time- though. To answer your previous Qs, Katy, we go away on Monday (31st) for 4 nights, then we're back home for a week and go to the Peak District for a week from Friday 11th. Cue really c**p weather! I pick up the new car in between (paid for it yesterday! Ouch!) ... View more

Curtains are back up. They appear to be still matching. No shrinkage. Phew! I have put a deposit on a car today (but it should wash off? Lol) The garage will pay me £400 for my car (more than I dared hope!) and the swap is planned for Sat 5th September. I got a VW P*** "mint with a hole" or " sport on horseback". It is a lovely pebble grey colour. It's at a local family owned garage in our nearby small market town and the car is just 3 years old (same age as mine was when I had it 11 years ago) and has very low mileage, so I spent much more than I intended, but hopefully it will be worth it. Didn't even have to trade in OH!! (Though I had a panic that he had read my threat to do that: hence his change of heart) It will probably be the last car I buy. We took it for a little tootle around town, with most of the wheelchair in the back. OH said he was OK on the small seat and thought the suspension was slightly better than the F**d (road through a river) Fi**ta (Spanish festival) I have now. I'm glad I'm not swapping the cars until after we get back from our holiday, next week, though, because the cottage is up a very narrow road. I'd be having heart palpitations at the thought of scraping that lovely shiny paintwork! I hate massive TVs too. My "rule" is that, if you're watching the news, for example, the person on screen should not be bigger than if they were in the room in person. But I'm considered VERY old fashioned for that! I hate the cinema because it's all too big and too loud. I suddenly seemed to have developed an inability to swallow the pesky Tapoxyfen. What's that about? Been taking it no probs for 8 years and now it takes me several attempts to get the da** thing down. I take 2 calcium tablets, each twice the size of Tapoxyfen, both at once, in the morning. Straight down, no bother. The last few nights it's taken 9 or 10 swings of water to finally swallow the T. tablet. Now it's becoming a psychological issue. And it tastes FOUL when it stays stuck to my tongue. Yuck!   ... View more

WeeeeeeeHooooooo!! No more skin C. Time to paaaarty! We've been to look at cars today so OH could see how comfy they are. He has to sit in the back because he gets too nervous in the front. The back seats of small hatchbacks - or, indeed, any hatchback, ie: practical car - aren't especially comfortable or spacious. We also need to accommodate the folded wheelchair (even though he refuses to use the ****** thing 99% of the time!) I wish I could just keep the car I've got but I think it's going to get too expensive to keep on the road. The new version of the same car (Road going through a river and a Spanish festival) has things I don't like and the shape is more sloping at the back so I think we'll struggle to get the w.chair in. I'd really like another small hatchback (2 adjacent letters close to end of alphabet and a mint with a hole!) as I love the look and feel of them. I loved the one I had 12 years ago, except I bought a dodgy model with awful electrical problems. Unfortunately, the back seat of this car splits the opposite way, meaning to get the w.chair in, OH has to either sit behind me or squashed onto the single seat. Neither of which he wants. Grrr. Back to the drawing board. I'm already sick of thinking about cars! May have to think about getting something bigger like a (game played with clubs) or a (what your eyes need to do to see). Or maybe just ditch the OH??!  Finally got my velvet curtains cleaned. It's only been 20 years! (what a tramp?) We have a big picture window and patio doors in our living room, so these curtains are huge. (And horribly expensive when I bought them!) Every year, I've promised myself I'll get them cleaned. Every year I end up just hoovering them. This year I actually got around to it!! I risked washing the slightly smaller pair, one curtain at a time, on the "silk hand-wash" cycle on my washing machine then a very light spin and drip dry on the line. I got away with it, although for a scary while, when it was wet, I thought I'd turned it into crushed velvet! Noooo! The bigger curtains were too big to go in the machine - they'd definitely get crushed, may even break the machine because they're sooo heavy, so I took them to be dry cleaned £35! (glad it wasn't both pairs!!) I picked them up today. Staggered across town, with them draped across my arms like a dead body in a plastic bag, to the car. They look fab. Not sure they're the same colour as the washed ones: I haven't braved taking them out if the plastic and re-hanging them yet. They're heavy. I hate hanging curtains. I'm tired. They're draped over 2 armchairs. I'll deal with them tomorrow. As YD so cheekily (but probably truthfully) commented: that's that job done for another 20 years.  Parkinson's nurse rang today. She advised OH to see GP because he's put on loads of weight round his middle, gets slightly out of breath and has swollen feet and ankles. This is most likely oedema, a SE of one of his tablets that he recently increased - the one that's made him so much better! But PD nurse says he needs to be checked out. That's a hassle we could do without and it's made him grumpy... and he wasn't in a great mood before that conversation!  The weather has been pants this week: I don't think the weather gods got the memo that our caravan holiday was cancelled!!    ... View more

Still at home. Still sulking. I have managed to book us a week in the Peak District for the middle of September and YD has promised to take us to the seaside as soon as we feel it is safe to get to Norwich on the train (will that ever happen??!) It's not the same as spending a week 10 minutes walk from the beach, but it'll have to do. Hopefully, OH will still be able to travel next summer and we can book the caravan again then.  I've spent hours scouring car websites and I think I know what I want. It's just a case of finding it in the right condition, age, price and colour.... not necessarily in that order!! Then I look at my car and I get upset at the thought of parting with it. I love it and it's been so reliable - so far! I also hate spending money, especially as I know I've had my last pay check and my pension will be rubbish for the next 6 years! I have enough savings, but if I spend too much on a car, I'll be terrified of driving it! The girls went camping at the weekend, just 30 minutes from their house as they needed to take both cars due to that massive tent which we bought when ours was destroyed in Anglesey in 2016 and then gave to them. GD absolutely loved camping, despite the rain; kicking a ball about the field and making friends with other families on the site. YD has had to put the wet tent up in their garden and sort all the other stuff (whilst they're both back at work, from home) so she says they've had 4 hours work for every hour spent camping. Maybe it'll seem worth it, in hindsight, once everything is put away! They have plans to find a campsite in the Midlands-ish that has a Static Caravan, lodge or cottage for hire so we can holiday together next year; them in a tent (new, not quite so enormous and with a "new" bigger car so they can all travel together) and us under a roof. I'd LOVE that but I expect it'll be tricky to organise. I've spent the last week meticulously repairing a big patchwork beanbag cushion I made as a teenager. Every time I thought I'd replaced every worn out, ripped patch, I found another one! In the end, I've practically re-made the whole d*** thing. By hand. It should last a few more years now. Has your leg dropped off yet, Katy? Any effects - side or otherwise - of the cream. When is your virtual appointment? (hahaha it's just occurred to me that we Benchlanders have been excelling at virtual meetings and entertainments long before all this Covid-19 malarkey!! 😁 )  ... View more

Glad you had a good lunch.  We had lots of lightning and some thunder last night but only a little rain. Eventful day today (yesterday actually, I suppose as it's after midnight now). On Tuesday, we tried to set off to pick up OH's prescription and have a couple of hours away from the house, somewhere shady because it's been sooooo hot. Got in the car. Wouldn't start. Battery OK because it's firing but engine just not kicking in. Oh no! Due to go on holiday on Sunday. That's all we need. I was about to phone breakdown company (not the one with the same initials as Alcoholics Anonymous, the other big one) and upgrade our cover to "at home", when I remembered that the teacher (and friend) I've worked with for the last 2 years has a boyfriend who is a mechanic. He agreed to come and look at the car for me. Friend came too, for a chat. Couldn't fix it immediately so he came back Wednesday, after work, with his tools and eventually fixed it (by smacking something under the car: fuel pump apparently). He says it'll probably be OK now, or fuel pump could fail completely "in 10 years or 10 minutes". Lovely! He said we should be OK to go on holiday on Sunday in it but suggested that we think about changing the car before too long as it's starting to rust. That's a task I'm not relishing, but he's agreed to come with me when I go to buy something so I'm not ripped off. I had to force them to take £20 payment - I told them to get something for the house they're buying. Hurrah. Should be able to go on holiday (closes car hire website)  Cut to later, I'm panting in the heat in the garden and I get a phone call from caravan owner. We can't go! 😢 😞 😡 Apparently, they told the site owners they weren't hiring it out this year, as they intended to stay in it themselves. Because one of them had to go home for a cataract op. - and I enquired about it - they decided to let it to me. Site owners say they can't due to Covid-19 rules. She said she'd spent an hour ringing round all her friends on the site to see if anyone else had a van for us, but no joy. Boohoo! Allegedly my cheque is being posted back to me. I hope so and it wasn't all a scam.  I've just spent the last 4 hours trying to find somewhere else, either for next week or in September, after we come back from Calke Abbey. Nothing anywhere for next week but I've found a few places for 11th September, but none of them are Conwy next week, and that's what I want. Having a bit if a toddler tantrum about it all. I was sooo looking forward to seeing the sea after I thought we wouldn't be able to; first because of OH's ******* PD, then because of the ******* Coronavirus. What a flippin roller coaster!! Ah well. I've saved some ideas and I'll sleep on it and make a decision tomorrow. Perhaps spend the week car hunting instead. 😕   ... View more

Well we've had a lovely, but completely exhausting weekend, but the girls are back at their home now so it's gone very quiet. 😞 GD is completely adorable. She and her mummies have been learning TinyTalk sign language so GD can communicate quite well. She certainly shows the "finished" sign whenever she's not going to eat any more of her (own) dinner or she's had enough of a game. She's got a wicked sense of humour and an endearing giggle but we managed to stop her either wrecking the place or hurting herself. The stairs were a worry, because, unlike at their house, we have no stair gate. GD can climb the stairs but she can't come back down: she blankly refuses to come down backwards, wanting to walk down forwards like the adults, but of course her legs aren't long enough! I'm on the very sad bench, that they live such a long trek away, but as soon as it is safe to use the trains again, we can go and visit - don't even have to wait for half term now!  I have managed to book us a week away next week, in a caravan in North Wales. It took me a aaages to find somewhere; everywhere was booked up, so I was just going to wait until mid September once the schools are back, and we're back from our 4 night stay in a nearby National Trust cottage, but OH was disappointed because we've ALWAYS gone away in August. Fingers crossed that it will be OK - it was ridiculously cheap, for August, near the sea, and let's hope OH can cope with the journey! 🤞🏼 Is your 6 weeks up now, Katy, or have you got one more to go? I can't remember. Any sign of it working? Any news on the lip? Roast pork dinner - with lots of crunchy crackling - and bread and butter pudding in the shed. Also some scones, jam and clotted cream because it's been too hot to eat as much as I thought we would! Enjoy.  ... View more

What are you like? You plonker, throwing away your Lynn sleeve! I hope the new one comes soon. Don't get it mixed up again! DIL sent me a photo of GD rifling through the spice cupboard, in their kitchen, selecting different jars. She said they could end up with some interesting flavour combinations! I suggested she make sure the lids were on securely or they'd have some interesting colour combinations on the floor too! We went to a shop today because OH needed some art materials (large, sell everything shop apparently named after an old fashioned cooker or a shooting place). I looked at the paint colours for when I decorate my little bolt hole/bedroom. I've promised myself it will be my first retirement project and I'll do it in the autumn once the weather's too rubbish to be in the garden. The room is still the dark grey ES chose, and it must be more than 10 years since he's lived here! The tin of biscuits (the actual tin, not the biscuits!) you bought me is exactly the colour I want to go with the new jade (teal?) Curtains and bedding I've bought, so I'll take it with me when I actually buy the paint. Don't know about retail therapy! I still find it very stressful, especially with OH, having to queue and wear a mask - although I am getting used to that, even though it does keep steaming up my glasses! Hadn't noticed the title had gone, but I was expecting it to. I did feel I didn't really deserve it as I don't very often comment on any other threads these days, which I feel a bit guilty about (wheeee! Splash! There you go alligators. Snack time!) and I didn't see the point in joining the special private group.   ... View more