A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

gardenia101

Ginny - you sound like another one needing a dodgy :grouphug: & a :coffee:. Bless you hun, you've also been through the mill. Try & take it easy (so easy to say I know).

Byatt - hope your knees are healing nicely. I can sympathise with the misjudging things & falling over! I was rubbish for months after my sight problems & l was usually covered in bruises. Thankfully I'm much better now, except in the dark. I got so fed up with putting the knees through on my trousers (just like my DS 9 ). Maybe you need an eye test - I think theyre supposed to be done yearly over a certain age? I can second the advice about frozen peas ASAP - I've noticed the difference when I don't put them on!

mardatha wrote: »

Life is a constant fight/struggle and we all get tired at times. Thank god we can all pop in here, drink tea, and laugh

Hit the nail right on the head there Mardatha. Forgot to mention the sweets though....

I have an Approved Food delivery to somhow fit into my cupboards. I was strong when I ordered it all & didn't look at the sweets - now I'm kicking myself :mad:. I did crack at the Baileys fudge though....

I also got some yummies from Waitrose £10 offer. As I'm on my own this week I get 3 meals out of it & all far nicer/faffier than I'd do myself & their veggie range is jolly good. Add in the box of chocs & I should be set for a good few days..... Anyone else do this? When M&S do their offer I can't usually get anywhere near the shelves for all the sharp elbows, but Waitrose seems far more civilised.

Bogwobbit - hello :hello: & welcome. Am I the only one curious about your name?

GQ - solid bike tyres? Really? Not a late April fool? I agree with your comment about knicking stuff from churches seeming more wrong - in our local'ish paper a chap has been found guilty of knicking tiles/stones from several rural churches (he is a roofer). Think it was around £31K worth of stuff :eek:. Shocking.

Stiltwalker - sorry to hear the news about DD - I think if it were me I'd be relieved that we had a diagnosis, so I had something to "work with" IYKWIM. Thinking of you.

VJsmum wrote: »

Said goodbye to my cleaner yesterday. She actually left a few weeks ago but came yesterday to drop back keys and get her pressie. We have decided not to get a new one ... Trouble is - I now have to do the cleaning. Have spent the last couple of weeks sorting everything and getting it to a level I can keep on top of. Kids are going nuts as every time they put something down, I scream "put it away" :mad: Wish me luck. My friend gives me 2 months - I think she's being optimistic :rotfl:

Oh I remember having a cleaner when I was working silly hours. It was such a relief to get home after a 12 hour day to an oasis of calm with everything in the right place - how I loved it. Sadly I'm with you in the having to do all my own cleaning malarky (although being partially sighted does have its benefits sometimes ).Good luck.... "Don't put it down put it away" & "Find your nose & look underneath it" are frequently heard in my house.

BitterAndTwisted

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

Its definitely wool and looks like the panels are stitched together with possibly cotton? Its like a double pearl stitch. It need freshening up as the dog has laid on it a few times:mad: Theres no visible marks on it. Maybe OH can just give it a shake and hang outside when dry.

I usually wash wool on a light wool cycle.

Thanks for the reply.

PP
xx

If there's no ribbing round it, it will most likely stretch out of shape when you wash it.

In the bad old days, pure wool blankets (and other items, too) were rarely washed or laundered. When I was at boarding-school we took the wool blankets out into the garden once a year and gave them a ruddy good shaking to remove the worst of the dust and then gave them a good belt with a carpet beater. Another way wool was cleaned was by sprinkling with dry Fuller's Earth (you used to be able to get it from the chemist. It also makes a fantastic face-mask when mixed to a paste with really hot water for oily or blemished skins) which is very, very absorbent and then giving it the same shaking and belting outdoors pegged on a washing-line.

This is something I would be minded to do with your lovely blanket rather than risking it in the machine: that thing is going to be VERY, VERY heavy when wet.. A dog kipping on it would not necessarily have soiled it. Just spot-clean any obvious marks and try giving it a really good airing first before you attempt anything else.

Can you pop back and let us know how you get on. please?

stiltwalker

gardenia101 wrote: »

Stiltwalker - sorry to hear the news about DD - I think if it were me I'd be relieved that we had a diagnosis, so I had something to "work with" IYKWIM. Thinking of you.

Thanks Gardenia and everyone else for the good wishes. It's lovely to know there are people out there thinking of us. We're kind of getting to grips with it, at least we now know what it is and that awful nagging worry in the back of my brain that it might be something worse has finally been quieted. We've been in touch with the UK support group (a select group due to the rarity of the syndrome) and from this and looking at the scant amount of medical stuff available it does appear that DD is on the milder side and so hopefully with a lot of work we can be looking at a good outcome and potentially a relatively 'normal' future. With her mix of charm and determination she's not going to go far wrong in any case!

Had to ask for an extension on my OU essay as I couldn't face trying to write anything coherent, the down side of that is that I am now behind on both courses and need to do some serious catch up over the next couple of days. Won't have chance at the weekend as our village community group is doing a felting workshop on Saturday (all pitching in with skill swapping but people tend to turn to me as the expert in all things crafty as I've been doing it for years) and going to PIL's for Sunday lunch. Explained the diagnosis to MIL last weekend and thought she was ok but she has been googling :mad: (whoever invented google should be shot!) She's now convinced Charlotte has or will get or should have all of the symptoms and that it's all going to be terrible and difficult and generally awful!

OH did manage to get his essay in but only because it was his final one before his EMA and you can't get an extension on those! He's got the computer stuff from Disabled Students coming on Friday and his first training session on Saturday.

Apparently when I was small I once asked my mum, just after Christmas, if tomorrow could be an 'ordinary day' (imagine in slightly pathetic voice!) well I could do with a few ordinary days now.

I Know some of you are having a harder time than me so I'll quit whinging now - thanks for reading and hugs to all in need.

gardenia101

VJsmum wrote: »

Anyone tried chocolate philadelphia yet? It's scrummy...

Firm favourite here - think it is slightly healthier than ordinary chocolate spread (but sadly much more expensive) so I'm frugal & don't let the kids anywhere near the pot with a knife! Pots are great for small leftovers though & seem to freeze OK too.

Byatt wrote: »

I go to places n my own, always have done.

One venture in this country involved going to a Cardiff castle banquet. I wasn't going to miss out just because I was on my own. For some reason I thought I would have my own table and could be fairly inconspicuous...however, on arriving there were 2 coach loads of tourists, some Brits, mostly Australian and American/Canadian. We were all herded into a room and given a drink of mead, when the person in charge loudly announces my name and that I am on my own, so could everyone be nice to me.:o:o:eek:...mortified beyond belief I tried to merge in with the walls as 60 or so pairs of eyes looked at me.(I did try the looking about as if I didn't know who they were referring to, and might have worked if everyone didn't already know each other). I am then tagged on to the end of a trestle table of one of the coach parties. Later, on leaving, I am walking behind 2 of the women I had chatted to, and heard one say, "I felt so sorry for that woman..." (meaning me). I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. I had enjoyed myself no end, food was pretty awful though, but entertainment was good.

I love being able to do what I want, when I want without worrying about another person.

VJ, it's Catbells who went to the Far East. I'm hoping she will read here and know we are waiting to hear about her travels.

I used to travel on my own too - more a case of my OH not enjoying the same things/places/anything as me (yep, that one didn't last ) that a choice, but I did enjoy it more as I got older & I'm trying to summon up the courage to go again this summer.

Your Cardiff Castle story is what puts me off though! I've only been on one arranged tour in my life (only a day) & it was torture - the host kept looking at me sympathetically & asking if I was OK on my own, shaking her head. I don't want to feel forced into speaking to people who have been told to look after me.

Looking forward to hearing Catbells's stories - hope she is having fun.

GreyQueen wrote: »

I know women in their 60s and 70s who'll hike all day, have a shower and a drink, go en masse to a restaurant (and cheek the waiter-lads to make them blush) before drinking, singing and dancing half the night and then getting up to do it all again. And they have the BEST stories. I'm hoping to be mad, bad and dangerous to know when I'm a senior. Better start praticising already. I've got the dirty laugh down pat, just need some more silver hair and laugh lines and I'm good to go.

This is what I'm aiming for too! When you've sorted out how to pay for it all would you mind sharing please?

Right, I must get on. Not done a thing yet, except sample some Wasabi chips from AF - wow I can feel my nasal cavities clearing so great for those with sinus problems. I can only manage a few chips at a time - & have 9 bags to go :rotfl:

Hope everyone has a good day & best wishes to all.

Penny-Pincher!!

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If there's no ribbing round it, it will most likely stretch out of shape when you wash it.

In the bad old days, pure wool blankets (and other items, too) were rarely washed or laundered. When I was at boarding-school we took the wool blankets out into the garden once a year and gave them a ruddy good shaking to remove the worst of the dust and then gave them a good belt with a carpet beater. Another way wool was cleaned was by sprinkling with dry Fuller's Earth (you used to be able to get it from the chemist. It also makes a fantastic face-mask when mixed to a paste with really hot water for oily or blemished skins) which is very, very absorbent and then giving it the same shaking and belting outdoors pegged on a washing-line.

This is something I would be minded to do with your lovely blanket rather than risking it in the machine: that thing is going to be VERY, VERY heavy when wet.. A dog kipping on it would not necessarily have soiled it. Just spot-clean any obvious marks and try giving it a really good airing first before you attempt anything else.

Can you pop back and let us know how you get on. please?

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I will get OH to shake outside, hang and beat:D....he can pretend its me:eek::eek::eek::rotfl: Might have some febreeze under sink, can I spray that?

Thank you again.

PP
xx

Penny-Pincher!!

Had to have a wheel bearing fitted on car today which is £120 and think it needs a special filter which will be another £350+, a tyre repaired as it was flat this morning thanks to a nail (about £30) and the tax is due next week:eek::eek::eek: ....yikes!

Penny-Pincher!!

Im really not in the best mood:mad::mad::mad: OH back from collecting car and although the wheel bearing has been changed, its still making the same noise. The mechanic thinks that it could be the gearbox....which is wait for it....£3,000:eek::eek::eek::eek: OH spoke to Citreon and the guy suggested hooking it up to their machine to find out exactly whats wrong which is another £60 + VAT, but at least we'll know for definite the problem. Only had this car 10 days!!!! OH spoke to the guy whom sold us it and explained we're not happy etc and he said he'll do what he can, but we'll see. Im so gutted!

BitterAndTwisted

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

I will get OH to shake outside, hang and beat:D....he can pretend its me:eek::eek::eek::rotfl: Might have some febreeze under sink, can I spray that?

Eh, fresh air is a great deodouriser, so I'd get it outside for 24 hours at least before you start spraying expensive perfumed gubbins around. A hard frost might come in handy as well. Unfortunately it seems we could be in danger of having one even at this time of year.

kidcat

Penny pincher - it may just be the cv joint, they make similar noises to wheel bearings. Relatively cheap to do.:)

GreyQueen

OMG, this is going to sound completely insane but I can barely believe my own eyes but I'm almost 100% certain that the blanket Penny-Pincher has pictured was knitted by me for Oxfam several years ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I KNOW that sounds insane and improbable but I recognise the blessed thing. Tell me PP, are the strips oversewn, back stitched on themselves so they form "xxx" where one length of joining thread stops and another starts? I often used to use a thin browny-gold synthetic to sew them up.

OMG, I have to go back and look at that picture again.............:eek:

ETA; that blanket was knitted by me. No doubt now. I can tell you that I very much doubt that there is any "wool" in there as it was made from pulled out acrylic jumpers and the oddments of leftover bits from decades worth of Mum's knitting projects. I've just rung Mum and they're loading the forum at hers so she can see it too. OMG I just don't freaking believe this!

ETa I've just come off the phone with Mum and we're gobsmacked and killing ourselves laughing. I'd emailed her that blanket pix and it's deffo mine, knitted at her house from her cast-off yarn. I've even got some of the garments whose leftover odd-and-sods went into that. It was 8 foot long when newly-made but I guess the weight might have stretched it out. I'd LOVE to know where/ when you got it. I haven't made one for several years now as when I took the last one to Oxfam the guy in the shop accepted it very grudgingly, said that they didn't take them any more but that he'd take that one as a favour. Fine, I thought, won't burden you with any more then! I made about 24-25 of them over the years and about 30 cute stripy jumpers for the Oxfam charity appeals...........I still don't believe my eyes!!!!!!!!