Awful weather - typical Brits talk

twopenny

That made me laugh Farway 😁
You're getting too good at this. Perhaps it could be a local income stream?

Just remember 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24zdel5j18o

Perhaps I'm just jealous I haven't got to play with it though I have got so many things I haven't got round to I daren't start.
The stool incident was about getting out calligraphy, watercolours, oils, lace making etc.

A stick I need or I fall cause the hip gives way. It's also great for a shorty like me when I can't reach stuff in the supermarket.

Dustyevsky

LessImpecunious said:

 I discovered a year or two ago that I could walk distances much better in trainers than my walking boots, and upgraded this year to some walking shoes, which have served very well over a dry summer, on tracks and sometimes over rough hilltops. 

The trick with hiking boots is to have someone else break them in, by buying secondhand. That's what I did with my Meindl pair, and they were great....until the soles started peeling off.  The new Cotswold jobbies I've been wearing have great stability and traction, but they're higher and cut into my ankles, so you certainly wouldn't like those, Less. I take your point about trainers often being easier on the feet. My friend's worn hers over the dry summer, but now she'll probably have to switch back to boots, unless we're on easy, compacted paths. 

wort said:

I got my orthotics, due to having Morton’s neuromas. I’ve since had 2 ops, but still feels better with orthotics in my shoe.

Mrs Dusty needs rocker sole trainers with the insoles removed and orthotics installed. The 'proper' ones aren't cheap, especially compared with my first real walking shoes, which I won on eBay for £4.50! Nobody else bid.  They've been relegated to gardening, not being waterproof now, but the soles aren't worn at all. 
As for walking sticks or poles, I've hesitated. There are times when descending steep slopes when I've felt they'd be useful, but against that is the feeling they might encourage quicker, less careful moves. Sliding on bums is safest! 

wort said:
Farway it’s a worry what can be created by AI 🫣🐝 nothings sacred anymore.

I don't believe or care about much of what the media shows me, but soon it'll be even harder to distinguish fake from real.  I see we're going to get £billions more now, and we're supposed to be grateful, but I'd point to modern cars as a cautionary example. The price of older models is climbing, as people increasingly distrust buying into products which are unnecessarily complex, prone to glitches, and only fixable via the manufacturer's outlets, not their local garage.

Having said that, AI suggested the reason for a fault on our old banger this week, and was spot-on! 

'Leech gaiters.' Now, there's an idea!  Probably more use here against ticks, but might look a trifle odd with shorts. 

OT: Sunny morning so far, a good breeze and no rain.(allegedly) I feel some mowing coming on. 

With no new photos from my garden safaris, how about an arrangement from the Show? A lot more effort went into this than my tomatoes! 

Farway

twopenny said:

That made me laugh Farway 😁
You're getting too good at this. Perhaps it could be a local income stream?

Just remember 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24zdel5j18o

Perhaps I'm just jealous I haven't got to play with it though I have got so many things I haven't got round to I daren't start.
The stool incident was about getting out calligraphy, watercolours, oils, lace making etc.

Busy times there 2P, I always wanted to do calligraphy but lack all skills in handwriting, ditto painting, except for fences  , lace making, should be in my genes with Devon ancestors, but no patience for it

With the AI, I read the link, I can see how "Hugh, who was suffering additional mental health problems" could believe it, but for most I'd guess it is a useful tool, and blooming magic for fixing photos

I did try to get AI to put Monty Don, or King Charles, gazing in awe at my rose, but the cheeky blighter refuses to put real people in, hence the Red Arrow fly past

PS, for those who want to try AI pics, it's Gemini 2.5, free but limited use, with some YT videos on it

LessImpecunious

twopenny said:

Less, One rectangle of fabric, small hem at top and bottom, stitch up long side.
Thread elastic through top and bottom hems.
You won't win any fashion awards but your legs will be dry 😉

Hmmm, sounds easy...

Farway said:

Reading about others aches and problems, I can at least put mine down to fair wear & tear, but I'm not binning my stick! I'm a Vera, veering sideways into borders etc, and use the stick to stop me wandering sideways

Yes, me too on the Vera, I do sometimes worry people may assume I have been overindulging; the problem with the sticks was that I found I became increasingly reliant on them - a bit like going upstairs, where I've noticed how much more difficult it is to ascend while carrying something and not using the handrail to pull me up - it's the use it or lose it principle...

twopenny

No, I'll stick with the stick...... I get spasm and fall over or sieze up and collapse in a heap. Neither are helpful 😕 
I'm even considering using my friends crutches to see if I can bowl along at speed to get the old lungs and heart going.

I do walk around the house but the next trick is how to mow my sloping lawns. 
That looks like it isn't going to happen soon because after a lovely day it's supposed to rain for the next 2. Let's hope that they are wrong.

Had a couple of hours out there and wow I have a garden again. A confused one of drought afflicted and spring flowers! But it's green.
Cut back the English lavender so that I could open the garage door enough to get the mower out. I really attacked it because it's huge and had to be done. It needs tidying up now to look better but it's a real novelty to be able to easily get in and out and the sitooerie too.

Got canes in the veg bed finally and tied up the brassicas and tomatoes.
Cut the triffid sage back and now I can shortcut the garden to the compost heap.
Threw some bfb over the shrubs.
Removed the sweet peas and runner beans. I usually leave the roots in but they are pathetic.

Once I stopped I seized up so a good excuse to put feet up and watch gw. 
Looking at gardens of random tall flowering plants that need no watering and just an annual cut down seems like a good idea as I get older. Never been my thing but it's food for thought.

Farway

Finally found you all  , I keep getting "Not Found"following links, after I guess an overnight site improvement 

Given last entry was pre midnight, maybe I'm the first to navigate here?

twopenny said:

No, I'll stick with the stick...... I get spasm and fall over or sieze up and collapse in a heap. Neither are helpful 😕 
I'm even considering using my friends crutches to see if I can bowl along at speed to get the old lungs and heart going.

Once I stopped I seized up so a good excuse to put feet up and watch gw. 
Looking at gardens of random tall flowering plants that need no watering and just an annual cut down seems like a good idea as I get older. Never been my thing but it's food for thought. 

I saw that, and I'm already doing something similar, except I went over to hardy perennials with some self sown, or just scattered annuals chucked around Still get weeds that need puling though 

Likewise, managed to get out there yesterday PM, hard pruned the worst of the buddleia, and removed older blackberry canes, plus haircut for Lucifer crocosmia

Still have more buddleia to tackle, but that lot is not overhanging the path, so no rush

Very dull, with rain due tomorrow, so the urgent task is to trundle the garden wheelie bin around for collecting on Tuesday, rather do it in the dry than wet

Listening to the radio seems we are in for some glorious Autumn colour, the hot summer has put lots of sugars in the leaves, which equals lots of brown & gold come leaf fall

Having removed some tall buddleia I have spotted some missed apple shoots that need pruning, I'll try & get that done later today

wort

Dusty, my physio suggested rocker soles like Mrs Dusty. I used to buy Clark’s go walk for work then they stopped doing them. So hotter and DB were used as they have insoles you can remove to put insoles in. New balance do the trainers but I found adidas are comfy for me. I love the autumn looking flower arrangement.

It’s been warm and dry for a few days now, so yesterday I got the grass mowed, and the the ladders out to chop the jasmine and the evergreen hydrangea, and Garrya the last two are intermingled with the clematis and I had to try and get my head through the mass of branches to cut the top growth that was reaching for the sky. I’m glad I did it as it’s been raining over night and early morning. 

2p that wisteria will be lovely if you can put a structure under it so it hangs down when you sit on the bench. I also feel the plants aren’t sure what season it is, I have a lily that died back months ago that has now started sprouting at the bottom , and the things I moved that I thought were alliums have buds on ! 

Dustyevsky

Farway said:

Finally found you all  , I keep getting "Not Found"following links, after I guess an overnight site improvement 

No problems here, but maybe the situation was resolved, like that elsewhere, by staff 'tidying things up,' as they do.

wort said:

Dusty, my physio suggested rocker soles like Mrs Dusty. I used to buy Clark’s go walk for work then they stopped doing them. So hotter and DB were used as they have insoles you can remove to put insoles in. New balance do the trainers but I found adidas are comfy for me. I love the autumn looking flower arrangement.

Thanks to DD's former connections, Mrs D has a wealth of virtually unworn Clark's all-terrain Goretex trainers, but foot woman said they weren't right for her needs.  I'd wear them myself, but Mrs D is a size down on me, and I don't really go for pink or aqua!  Mrs D will look into Adidas, among others.   

Well, the threat of biblical inundation forced me to put my posterior into gear yesterday, so I cut the neighbour's rough 1/2 acre and all our grass, except the green lane bit down the side. Not only that, but I made a temporary fix for the caravan roof vent. Now, they tell me it will only spit, and it should be quite bright this afternoon!   

Well done to all you folks, who've also been mowing and cutting-back etc.  To be fair, it looks as if some of you will get a good downpour, or more   , particularly Wales and the North West.

To return to the subject of knees & toes, I have found some improvement from turmeric, though not from chucking it in my curry, if you get my meaning.  Of course, it might not work for others, and it might be coincidence too, so a longer term trial is under way. 

I think it's 2p who has fairies at the bottom of her garden, so in a slight departure from the usual flower/ insect photos,here are 3 cakes for them from the show: 

LessImpecunious

Dustyevsky said:

The trick with hiking boots is to have someone else break them in, by buying secondhand. 

I did that with my last pair of trainers, but then I was able to buy from well-known online marketplace exactly the same model and size as my own worn-out ones (well, DD's hand-me-downs - apart from fancy outdoor gear (very occasional!) practically everything I wear is pre-owned (undies excepted  ) - with boots I'm not sure until trying them on (and sometimes wearing for a while) whether they would suit my wonky ankles, also would probably worry that they might be more worn out than broken in...

Dustyevsky said:

To return to the subject of knees & toes, I have found some improvement from turmeric, though not from chucking it in my curry, if you get my meaning.  Of course, it might not work for others, and it might be coincidence too, so a longer term trial is under way. 

So, am now imagining you with bright yellow feet...

Which reminds me - the Beach flower arrangement - very nice, but not sure that I've seen many of those plants in maritime situations?

Well done on the mowing all, lots to do here, but usually needs at least two days of drying weather before I would contemplate cutting the soggy long stuff,especially the bits that have had an extra dose of "no-mow" due to the dry weather...   No chance today - it is thoroughly persisting down, for once as forecast...

Pics of hazelnuts - to show variation in both nuts and their bracts - each tree/bush seems to be slightly different...

Apologies for glarey pic; and, spot the odd one out...

Farway

Wheelie bin trundled, and drizzle has just started, so just in time

LessImpecunious said:

Dustyevsky said:

To return to the subject of knees & toes, I have found some improvement from turmeric, though not from chucking it in my curry, if you get my meaning.  Of course, it might not work for others, and it might be coincidence too, so a longer term trial is under way. 

So, am now imagining you with bright yellow feet...

  had chuckle at that image

Dustyevsky said:

I think it's 2p who has fairies at the bottom of her garden, 

I found some as well, no AI involved at all