Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

7.00pm. It's Wendy Margaret and her husband plus another friend. Oh sorry, not enough steak. Never mind . Next time

[Stanley]

Sue you reminded me that I always had to avoid cauliflower cheese because it invariably triggered a cold sore! Haven't had either the cold sores or the cauliflower cheese for years. I do not intend to experiment, I can live without the caULIFLOWER CHEESE. fUNNY THUNG IS wELSH rAREBIT NEVER GAVE ME ANY TROAUBLE... (bugger caps lock!)

[Sue]

How odd Stanley.

[Wendyf]

Making onion soup with the last of my home grown onions. They have been going mouldy at an alarming rate, probably with all the warm damp weather we've been having, so I'm going to sort out any remaining good ones and make soup. They have done remarkably well to say they looked dodgy from the moment I lifted them.
The hunter gatherer has been bringing home more logs, so we have been stacking again this morning. He found a supply going cheap because they have got soaking wet....which is fine for us as they are for next year...so we might as well fill the store. I'd rather have a pile of logs than money in the bank!

[Stanley]

Sue, I always thought the same. Simply avoided it though the kids loved it.
Wendy, I agree totally about the security blanket of having a big log pile. When we lived at Hey Farm and I had the LR Safari I used to clear dead tress up for local farmers and got the logs free. We always had a good log pile!



Fly and Vera with the log pile at Hey Farm in 1977.

[Moh]

Spent the morning washing & cleaning the oven (I hate that job), now for a bit of relaxation on the computer.

[Stanley]

I just keep the door closed Maz and rely on the heat of usage sterilising it! I once saw a 'Through the Keyhole' TV programme and the lady of the house had two sets of racks for the oven, the burnt ones she used in cooking and a new set she kept in the oven so visitors could see how clean her oven was.
I shall be walking with care, keeping warm and reading.

[Moh]

It was me not Maz. Stanley.
Collecting our new car today

[Sue]

Walking in Langdale but keeping to the roads. The tracks are treacherous

[Marilyn]

Main aim is to keep cool today. Was up early watering the garden and now plan to spend the day moving very slowly whilst cleaning and organising our study. Haven't seen the top of my desk for some time. Febby's on the other hand, is spotless and tidy. ( because any crap he finds difficult to handle gets dumped on my desk!)

[Stanley]

Sorry Moh.... me eyes.... (Or perhaps simple incompetence!)

[Marilyn]

I always get named...
Must have one of those universal faces.

My oven is self cleaning...my freezer is self defrosting. Saves a lot of faffing about. Time to upgrade, Moh.

[Wendyf]

Library this morning, then a visit to the vet with Alfie this aft. He can't put any weight on one of his back legs following a walk round the fields in the snow yesterday afternoon.

[Stanley]

Poor Alfie! Tell him Jack sends his best wishes....

[Wendyf]

Thank you Jack & Stanley. Alfie was slightly improved this morning so we decided not to make an appointment to see the vet until later on today, just to see if he continued to make progress. When I got back from the library he was managing to go up and down steps and even jumped up to say hello...bad manners but quite a relief! We'll make sure he rests and keeps warm for a couple of days & hopefully he will be OK.

[Sue]

It was my birthday today, so we were out and about and out for a meal tonight. It is very cold here in the Lakes but was ok on the coast.lots of snow forecast for friday

[Stanley]

Many happy returns Sue. I was thinking about you last night as I did serious maintenance on my feet using the U3A Memorial foot spa!
Wendy, best thing you can do for Alfie is to get him on your knee and massage the affected leg. He'll love it because he knows it's the thing to do but can't manage it himself. Massage is most effective if you do it uphill towards the heart because apart from imp[roving the circulation you are encouraging the by-products of the inflammation to move out of the leg into his system where his metabolism can deal with them. Same applies to massage of Colin of course.....
Once again, keeping warm and avoiding walking on ice. Went to butcher's yesterday, good call I reckon......

[Wendyf]

Happy Birthday for yesterday Sue
Today is the day the farrier is coming...definately...(I think). Must admit that although no wine has been drunk since Sunday I had forgotten all about it first thing this morning and got the boys all rugged up and ready to put out.
We have been able to get out to the road with the pick-up since it snowed on Monday, the Skoda is just a mound of snow & ice, but today we are going to attempt to get it up to the road end of the track. I hope we can do it without having to tow it with the 4 wheel drive....I dont like that at all. Col expects me to read his mind and increasingly angry gestures...!

[Stanley]

I shall be thinking about you today Wendy as I sit in the rocking chair in the warm with me thick shirt and Lanz waistcoat keeping me warm! Being towed.... I once had to have a tow over the Wolds on the way to Hull with a full tank of milk and a slipping clutch. The towing vehicle was a big Diamond T wrecker with a mad driver and an Alsatian dog sticking its head out of the window. He went so fast I was frightened to death! When we got to the dairy (early!) I asked him why the speed and he said he was worried about the milk going off.... His normal job in winter was assisting fuel tankers to get up to Fylingdales early warning station.

[Wendyf]

No towing needed thank heavens, the car made it up the track. I think I will venture down to the Heritage Room this morning, we may not get any more snow till later.

[Wendyf]

Trying to decide whether to drive over to Leeds today or leave it till tomorrow. Mum has been piling on the emotional pressure, she prefers to be visited on a Saturday rather than a Sunday,,,,don't ask me why.

[Wendyf]

Back from Leeds by 3.30, and all the main roads were fine though it drizzled most of the way there and all the way back. Having persuaded me to go over, Mum said she had been worried sick about me getting there and back...so I felt as guilty about going as I would have done if I hadn't.

[Nolic]

Parents are good at guilt.....even me now!! Nolic

[Stanley]

You can't win Wendy!
I shall be reading Mantel, keeping warm and walking Jack in the snow. We have been very lucky with the weather, a flea-bite compared with other parts of the country.

[Sue]

Home from the lakes today