When we kept chickens they had an outside run but at night went into a large shed. Dad had to walk down the garden to lock them in each night. Actually the garden was great during the day but became a spooky place at night with trees casting shadows etc. and it didn't help that we had an outside toilet. A normal toilet but in its own little brick house. I think I did the 4 minute mile haring down to that lavatory past the spooky trees etc. I must have been 7 and dad christened it Laco Solus after a plain on the moon. He installed a hurricane lamp partly to stop it freezing up and a large mirror facing the bowl. I was terrified looking in that mirror and seeing a distorted yellowy reflection of me! However a visiting nurse asked if she could use our Laco Solus once and said she'd never been in an outside loo that was warm from the lamp and a mirror to help adjust your cap. Alas, the outside toilet went the way of the dodo with after war improvements when we used the smaller bedroom to install a nice new chilly bathroom. To be honest, I preferred the bath in front of the kitchen fire but that was before I was a teenager!
Apparently I've a multi coloured shower cap coming JACKIE. Mike said little choice at the store but I'm glad it hasn't got printed yellow ducks. If you all aren't fastt asleep by now enjoy the weekend.
Anne.

Thank goodness! Our grandson fixed the iPads. I am so dependent on the iPad. When something goes haywire with it, I am totally distraught. I have an iPhone but it is still a mystery to me. I need to lean more about their features.

It remains very chilly. I think rain is coming next week.

My current job is to complete our mail change. We are changing to home delivery. We have dropped our P.O. Box after using it 30 years. It is like saying goodbye to an old friend. Then comes notifying all the companies and banks etc. John is totally crazed about this. One of the things about dementia, is the way little things become enormous and almost beyond dealing with. There are times when he is relaxed and back to his normal self. Then there are times when ……….

Another challenge to devise ways to create an atmosphere that will accommodate happy times for us and the family. Getting older doesn’t mean we stop needing fun and laughter. I think I can do that. Being silly, telling jokes, playing games, listening to music, singing , flowers everywhere! That is my current plan.

Anne: love the shower cap. Never wore one….but I can see they would be useful. I dive into the shower and suds up daily. Thus my hair is a constant wreck.

Jackie: our chicken pen and hen house was not pretty but it served the purpose. A large fenced in area with a hen house and nest boxes for the ladies. They presented us with wonderful eggs most of the year. A few months of rest then in early spring boom! Lots of eggs. Oddly my grand had a radio in the henhouse. We listened to music when we gathered eggs and cleaned out the henhouse. Not my favorite but it was my weekly job. Like Anne’s father, we had to shew them into the hen house at night and let them out at daybreak. Thank goodness that was not my job. I am not a morning person. But I did have my favorite little feathered friends. A black and white hen who flew up on my shoulder whenever she saw me. Naturally her name was Penny.

Lin: hope your friends are recovering. These viruses are mean and hang around for a long time. And yes! You are right my iPad is getting old. How can that be ? It seems I just bought it!

Sandy: my advice to to start looking for that condo now. These places are hard to come by. Prices are coming down and it takes a long time to close and move. And it is a very pleasant thing to do on a Sunday afternoon…go through the realestate listings to see what’s available.

Hello Barbie and Diane.
Patsy☘️

Good evening. Both of my friends emerged today. One just started to post but I have no idea what was going on. Still no cat pictures today. 🤷🏼‍♀️

My friend with Covid apparently got up for a while today and I got a couple of messages.

Sandy, I am sorry Babe wasn’t able to keep his appointment. It would be lovely to get back to ground level once again so I hope you will be able to find a property that will be suitable. My dad never got anything but drugs for his a fib. A friend had multiple ablations and somehow all straightened out and she is walking everyday now, miles and miles and miles.

Patsy, I know, those devices get old at a faster rate these days! My newest device was purchased in 2019 for gosh sakes. I am glad your grandson got everything straightened out for you! Wonderful.

Jackie, I have lost you on a prior page. Did you get a complaint registered regarding the missing plastic? Or did it show up? I received an order today and there are two items in it that I did not order. 👀. I hope to get the other items I ordered soon.

Anne, interesting story about your outdoor facilities. I have only lived in houses with indoor plumbing. I used outdoor facilities when attending Girl Scout camp and Church camp and when tent camping. That is not much for a lifetime.

Barbie, hi!

Diane, hope all is well in your world.

Take care everyone.

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

I have no idea what type of biscuit or cracker that is, hope it didn’t make anyone hungry.

It was a beautiful start to the day but once again, stormy clouds appeared over the horizon as we arrived to walk the moors. Almost made it round but got hit by heavy rain and hail that at one spot had me tucking Betty under a gorse bush for protection. Hail bounces off George’s coat but I could tell Betty was getting stung! It did brighten up later so I spent an hour in the greenhouse potting up two dozen strawberry plants. Since then I’ve set the fires and sipped cups of tea!

When I first adopted hens, rescues from a battery farm, I was still working which often meant late shifts and in the winter months I slid down my garden to shut and secure the hen house door, then in the morning repeated the slide to open up. This was before the house and hens were placed in a fenced chicken run so Mr Fox was never far away. You can imagine my delight when I discovered battery operated door openers although it took me some weeks to trust it. The first one I bought wasn’t always reliable but these days plastic housing protects the inside and it means the chooks feel safe and warm once the door shuts. I would love to adopt a playmate for little Storm because she tends to be ignored by the bigger girls but think it too risky as bantams are known to fight.

Sandy, thank you for running through the ICloud procedure. I do follow that but think PayPal security text messages get in the way when I choose to pay. I’m going to try going into my PayPal account to cancel the text confirmation just while I try one more time. I will not comment about Diana other than quote “Hell hath no fury etc….” and hopefully the series will show how we now know the BBC reporter who interviewed her for that infamous tv chat used forgery and deception to get her to open up. It’s a shame she didn’t live to know the truth. That sweatshirt for Lisa did make me giggle.

Patsy, I’m guessing you have all sorts of fun ideas up your sleeve to maintain John’s sense of calm. Music, games and laughter are certainly the best way. Nothing like nostalgia to remind us of the good old days that are still with us going forward.

I watched the Netflix movie The Wonder last night that was certainly different. Based in Ireland in the mid 19th century so all a bit dark and moody but I did enjoy it.

A cosy Sunday for you Anne with bangers and mash… perfect. Yes, that’s certainly a McVities digestive but I’m naughty and buy the dark chocolate range.

Lin, I have messaged the seller of the plastic sheets to let them know I’m still waiting for delivery. I kept it polite but did mention it has caused a delay in the job they are needed for. The company does have a good rating on eBay so if they did despatch last Monday as stated, the courier is to blame. That Tea Makes Everything Better cup appeals to me so I did a Google search and found it for sale on Amazon but I now have to be sensible because I have a kitchen cupboard full of cups and mugs!

Oven on and ready for baked fish and sweet potato.

Stay warm everyone.
Jackie 🥰

Good evening. We had a bit nicer weather today, sunshine and some snow melted. Yes! I watched online church, did some reading and worked on cards of course. Texted with several people and zip, the day is over. A friend was supposed to call me this afternoon but she did not. That happens a lot. She is always on overload.

Sandy, it sounds as if you are enjoying that series. Does it wrap up this season? And I love that sweatshirt. Excellent find!

Jackie and Anne, thanks for identifying the treat!

Jackie, so good of you to stay civil with the seller. I hope everything gets settled soon. I think about your hens and hope they are safe and no Mr. Fox is lurking anywhere near your property.

Patsy, I hope more progress is being made on improving your lives. Also, hope the changes with the Post Office go smoothly. I have been looking at iPads online since it is Black a Friday sale time. I saw several things I liked on the Target site but nothing on Walmart—almost everything they advertised was from resellers, not their merchandise, and the items were refurbished or rebuilt. No thank you.

Anne, I hope you enjoyed making muffins!

Well, there is a Charlie Brown retrospective of some sort on soon and I want to see if it is interesting.

Take care everyone.

Lin🙋🏼‍♀️
❤️❤️

Boy JACKIE, that WAS one dark movie, but as you say I liked it as well. Sort of glad I'm not Irish and living in Victorian times though.

Jilly the Beano is indeed fast asleep. I can't wait for LINs weather to drift over because its been jolly cold here. Oh and good for you Lin. Why do other people think they know us better than we know ourselves.

Digestive biccy and cup of tea time,

Cheerio, Anne.

Rain, rain and more rain here in Britain. Hail beating against my window woke me about 6am and my day didn’t get much better. A short doggy walk round half the block because both George and Betty were unhappy wearing their rain coats and quickly decided to guide me back home. I did sympathise in my head to toe waterproofs that didn’t make walking particularly pleasant or easy splashing through running streams but I didn’t want to drive off to my dentist appointment without first giving them some exercise. Lots of problems on the roads with flooded sections slowing everything and then, about halfway to Plymouth, I found myself caught up in a long traffic jam and no sign of cars coming in the opposite direction so I tuned in to a local radio station and heard the road ahead was closed due to flooding so after phoning the dentist to explain why I wouldn’t be able to get to him,I managed a u-turn in the traffic and drove home. It did stop raining for about 15 minutes late afternoon so I chose the break to clean out the hen house so they are dry and cosy.

Anne, I did wonder if the film was based on a true story because what with the potato famine, times were extremely dark in Ireland. Two previous movies I watched last week were modern but still dark in their own way so I had been looking for something uplifting… I got that one wrong! Dark chocolate digestives are my favourite teatime treat and the chocolate only coats one side so I feel I’m allowed.
I’ve never really enjoyed processed food and maybe eat pizza twice a year. Everything else I cook from scratch because I like to know what I’m eating. Labelling of packaged food has improved over the years with a clear traffic light system on the front showing measurements of ingredients that can’t be missed and levels of salt, sugar and fats reduced through government legislation. I think losing Home Economics classes in schools was a big mistake because so many younger adults don’t know how to cook and Type 2 diabetes is on the increase amongst them.
My gas cylinder for the cooker hob ran out as I cooked my supper this evening and the pouring rain put me off going out to change over to the full one but I managed a baked potato, baked beans, tomato and slice of Italian ham as an emergency meal. I do have an emergency kettle in a cupboard for just such nights so didn’t miss out on cups of tea%!

I’ve moved myself up to my bed in order to avoid a late night chase between George and a mouse that Brady must have brought in earlier. It ran into the snug and under the tv stand so I knew it would be impossible for me to catch it so instead said bedtime to my sleeping pooches and they immediately got up and went to the door for their late night garden visit. A very quick visit because the rain is as heavy as ever.

Patsy, you certainly don’t come across as controlling but I do understand that what you are now having to deal with in order to achieve calm and with it, comfort, is beyond difficult and hence stressful. You gave your kids life when you and John brought them into the world so they will definitely be relieved to be able to assist if you let them, and it seems you are, good girl!

Quite right Lin, no one knows better than ourselves why we do what we do or how we choose to live. I’ve a friend whose life mission seems to be to tell everyone what they are doing wrong but if it’s aimed at me I say with a smile, it’s my business to do whatever I like!

Little room for me but I’ll try to get some sleep!



Jackie 🥰