The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

MisterPym

Hi, re mouldy shower curtains - I know it's not very money saving but I just replace mine with a £2 white one from Asda.
I have a lovely fabric outer one which washes up well and feel it's better to have a regular replacement at only £2 than risk any unpleasant bugs!

nannywindow

Oh Monna I'm so sorry to be so logical and spoil your fun :rotfl:. That's not like me to be so sensible, I'm going to blame the snow . Chuckled to myself about the "for today" though, DH thought I was going mental....... :eek:.
Elona warming up a brick for heating the bed is certainly OS :T.

karcher

ivyleaf wrote: »

I was awake at silly o'clock myself today! I was woken by a vixen screaming, and couldn't get back to sleep. I thought to myself "I bet Joy and karcher are awake, shall I go and chat? but the laptop was downstairs and it was very cold so I stayed put. I was thinking of you though, ladies

I hope you went back to sleep quickly. Sleeping is preferable to chat in the early hours

Hard_Up_Hester wrote: »

We're frozen in, surrounded by ice!!

CHS is fitting secondary double glazing to the bedroom windows, they were icy on the inside this morning.

It was minus 5 last night and the Marina has run out of diesel that some boaters run their heating on.

Have you thawed yet Hester. I do hope you managed to stay warm

ETA I would love an electric blanket too, but like Monna, I have a fear of them.

I always loved staying with my Nan as the bed I had there she filled with hot water bottles.
There was no heating apart from a fire in the living room, but I was always warm

MMF007

monnagran wrote: »

I have always been a bit suspicious of electric blankets since a friend had one that burst into flames. To be honest, that happened more years ago than I am prepared to admit so I will certainly revisit the idea. I do have a couple of hot water bottles but you can guess where they are.......mmm.... in the depths of a barn a few miles away and barricaded in by furniture.
I am much warmer now. The temperature has risen to a giddy 15 since I realised that the bedroom door was ajar, letting in the cold air from the rest of the house. Millie hasn't mastered the art of opening and shutting doors yet.

It looks beautiful outside, sunny and bright. Looks can be deceptive.

How's it going MMF? I hope your Mum is having a bit of a break with your brother and I hope you are having a chance to look after yourself for a change.

Well, you'll be sorry you asked -
we visited dad yester and he looked poorly but doc said they are going to start him sitting in a chair and progress from there. He is still eating hardly anything, despite best efforts,of staff and ourselves. As we got to hosp mum announced that she can hardly see out of one eye (she has wet macular degeneration). We rang hosp where she gets treated, they suggested nearest optician for screening test as to whether she needs hosp. Went to optician, too busy to see her. Rang clinic back, got emergency appointment for today.

This morning, I spent an hour trying to make the driveway safe today (breaking up ice where it formed in wheel tracks), defrosted the car, drove to hosp No1, visited dad, (who complained that doc had told him be won't be home for xmas!), encouraged him to drink more fluids, drove a further 50 miles to hosp No2, arriving at 3.15.
Mum's eye clinic was running an hour and a half late. I made a few calls and ate a shortbread xmas tree! We left at 5.30pm.
Queued for about 15 mins to exit hosp, queued round a road accident, drove 50 miles back in the sleet and dark to visit dad again. Dad complaining it is too noisy, too cold, too everything. Spoke to nurse to ask if they could check if he has a temperature.
Dad told us we might as well go home this evening cos he was tired.
Drove the last 20 miles home. Had a bite to eat at 7.45 and am about to pour a g&t and I think I may drink it through a straw!!

Please let tomorrow be a bit less intense!

Oh, and mum has just opened a ltr with another hosp appointment for next Tues, an hour away from home, and an hour and 40 mins, in the opposite direction from dad's present location. Aggghhhh.

Just think how much I shall appreciate my next holiday :rotfl:

Despite my ramblings above, I am actually thinking of VJsMum, because she is going through worse atm. (((0)))

camelot1001

What a lot for you to cope with MMF, I hope you enjoyed that G&T!

Thinking of you VJsMum.

The frosty weather has given way to rain here. As the rain fell on the cold ground yesterday it froze making walking and driving unbelievably difficult. I went to visit a friend who lives on a very new estate that doesn't get gritted yet and sat in the car watching a delivery driver try to get to the house, very amusing - he kept sliding back into his van!

I was glad to get home as a) it was dark and I don't like driving in the dark and b) it was raining. Felt like my shoulders were wrapped round my ears when I got home.

Stay safe.

monnagran

OH, MY GIDDY AUNT, MMF.

I switched on this morning expecting to hear that you and your mother had been sleeping, eating and gathering up your strength for the next few days.
Was ever anyone so deluded?

All I can suggest is that you put on your blinkers, only look at the narrow path in front of you, clench your teeth and keep muttering, "This will pass. This will pass."
Keep going, my love, we will metaphorically hold your hand. With which split infinitive I will hurry off.

Nothing new happening here. I got a good nights sleep as Millie decided to sleep in one of her other beds, she has several dotted about the house. However she is now snoring at the end of my bed. It helps that it is now raining and the biting cold has left us for the moment. Expected back tomorrow I believe.

Today I mean to break the back of the card and letter writing. It is gradually dawning on me that the 25th December is actually going to happen and no amount of my ignoring it is going to change that fact.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make yours shine any brighter.

MMF007

This made me smile -
I was talking to one of the karate kids about their recently re-modelled house. My DB and SIL have had a small extension built and I was being given a description by said KK. Apparently they now have a big kitchen and a 'newtility room'. A very concise descriptor, I feel !

Have been awake for hours. Sigh.

Like you, monna, I really must write my xmas cards.
I made lots this year but they are over 460 miles away, so I bought some charity ones and shall write them this morning, other more intense stuff permitting!

I'd also like to make some biscuits for my friend, as promised weeks ago. Hmmm, we'll see. It would be a nice distraction but having mum peer over my shoulder (it is her kitchen, after all) will probably make me a bit anxious. Plus, if I do get to go home for xmas I'll be flying, so need to think about the practicalities.

Right, strong coffee awaits. I am hoping mum has a lie-in, no alams set and i can tiptoe round for ages!

Mantra shall be, 'Calm thoughts, think calm thoughts'

VJsmum

MMF007 wrote: »

Well, you'll be sorry you asked -
we visited dad yester and he looked poorly but doc said they are going to start him sitting in a chair and progress from there. He is still eating hardly anything, despite best efforts,of staff and ourselves. As we got to hosp mum announced that she can hardly see out of one eye (she has wet macular degeneration). We rang hosp where she gets treated, they suggested nearest optician for screening test as to whether she needs hosp. Went to optician, too busy to see her. Rang clinic back, got emergency appointment for today.

This morning, I spent an hour trying to make the driveway safe today (breaking up ice where it formed in wheel tracks), defrosted the car, drove to hosp No1, visited dad, (who complained that doc had told him be won't be home for xmas!), encouraged him to drink more fluids, drove a further 50 miles to hosp No2, arriving at 3.15.
Mum's eye clinic was running an hour and a half late. I made a few calls and ate a shortbread xmas tree! We left at 5.30pm.
Queued for about 15 mins to exit hosp, queued round a road accident, drove 50 miles back in the sleet and dark to visit dad again. Dad complaining it is too noisy, too cold, too everything. Spoke to nurse to ask if they could check if he has a temperature.
Dad told us we might as well go home this evening cos he was tired.
Drove the last 20 miles home. Had a bite to eat at 7.45 and am about to pour a g&t and I think I may drink it through a straw!!

Please let tomorrow be a bit less intense!

Oh, and mum has just opened a ltr with another hosp appointment for next Tues, an hour away from home, and an hour and 40 mins, in the opposite direction from dad's present location. Aggghhhh.

Just think how much I shall appreciate my next holiday :rotfl:

Despite my ramblings above, I am actually thinking of VJsMum, because she is going through worse atm. (((0)))

Bless you, in one way I am but it isn't stressful now. Just sad. I am FAFL - ing (Face, Accept, Float, Let time pass). Obviously there are flashbacks and there's quite a lot of "how the hell did THAT happen?". I am still shocked, I suppose. Two of my siblings are very angry with another, because of some historical stuff. I can't be angry (I'm non-confrontational anyway), I am just sad...

Thinking of you. It's hard, my dad was no saint and not all he could have been as dad or grandad, which makes it sadder . However, he was always there when we needed him and he did the best he could...

greenbee

MMF - it's hard being away for so long and back living with your mum. I still revert to my inner teenager after about 4 days! I hope you can get a bit of time and space to yourself, although your mum is likely to be a bit needy at the moment. She may be afterwards as well - I still call mine daily (more frequently at the moment as we've just passed the anniversary of my dad's funeral and she's finding things tough), so make sure you make time for you as well.

VJ'sMum - you do tend to remember the sad things, failings, imperfections at this stage. Try to let them go and focus on the happy memories (don't go to the other extreme though!). I hope your siblings can get through their disagreement as it's a hard enough time as it is, but one that is likely to make people sensitive and intolerant because they are grieving.

Thinking of you both.

fuddle

I think what your siblings are doing is part of the grieving process. I know I looked for something to blame because I couldn't find anyone to blame as mm had done it to her self. If I'm honest I think my anger went on, and still is focused on, the lack of input from my wider family, collectively. It's not one person but a collection of people, in history, that just left mam, me and sister to it.

The right thing to do is recognise that mam put barriers up and made people not want to be around her but the sadness I still feel makes me not want to take it out on her, but other people.

It's complex and I'm complex but I just wanted you to see VJs that even when we (I) understand how we're thinking and behaving it doesn't stop the thoughts. You do come across as a very calm and together and I think you can see what your siblings are doing and why. I expect there will be truths on both sides but that won't help you.

The period you're in now is just the saddest VJs. My heart goes out to you. x