Today I shall be Mainly...

[Tardis]

Today is National Library Day #NLD14

Scan the QR code in the library for twitter or join in online at

http://new.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries- ... to-do.aspx

Show your library a little love today, and maybe open up whole new horizons

[Marilyn]

Trimmed the front garden today. Recent heat wave meant grubbing out a lot of dead leaves. My climbing Geranium was so fried I had to rip it right back to stumps. It will bounce back, but when I think how fabulous the splash of colour was a few months ago it looks pretty sad and sorry now.
Filled the entire Green Waste Bin.
Febby did all the lawns and edges, so it is looking pretty good out there now. Back yard next week.

[Stanley]

Usual chores plus writing another BET article.....

[Sue]

Cleaning washing and ironing today. I haven't done it properly for a couple of weeks as I have been busy making things for Claire's baby due on the 28 th

[Wendyf]

I'm going down to Colne to visit the son this morning in the hope that a well announced visit will encourage him to tidy up his house a bit. Col has been doing the visits for a while, but lost the will to live after making an unannounced call just before Christmas, so I've taken on the task.
Then I'm going to keep as warm and dry as possible for the rest of the day to try and get rid of this annoying cold!

[Marilyn]

Is it a matter of preference that he lives in a bit of mess, or that he doesn't cope with mundane things such as housework?
I find with my son ( mid thirties and lives alone with dog), the problem is that he refuses to do any housework on a "work day"! In other words, if he is rostered on at 4 in the afternoon, he gets up and sits in front of TV until he has to go to work. He does not put the washing through, do dishes or any housework because he doesn't want to wear himself out before working a full shift ( something that does not wash with me because I worked full-time as a sole parent for many years. I can just imagine what our lives would have been like if all I could do when not at work was sit on the couch!)
We clash heads over this habit of his, though I must say he gets his skates on during his days off and really does a thorough job.
But the attitude of "today is a work day so I can't do anything else", is beyond my comprehension.

[Wendyf]

We are talking more than a bit of a mess I'm afraid Maz. It's a few years now since we arrived unexpectedly to find the house piled high with rubbish...just a narrow path through from the front door to the kitchen, and food cartons & other rubbish piled onto work surfaces in the kitchen. It was a fire risk as well as a health risk, just a sickening shock to see. He was working night shifts at the time which he obviously struggled to cope with, and I can see that he didn't have the energy to clear up. He still works a long day in a physical job, so we don't expect him to spend hours cleaning his home, but just a basic level of care would be nice.
It was reasonably tidy today, but filthy. Someone needs to give the place a really good clean-up and though I offer to help he doesn't want me to.
It's a lovely little house that Col put a year's hard labour into doing up, so sad to see it treated so carelessly.

[Moh]

I shall be packing for a few days in Llandudno - a birthday treat for me.

[Marilyn]

That is sad, Wendy.
I must admit son"s house is nothing on that scale. It can look a bit untidy if I call in after he has worked all week and I do struggle to sit calmly on the couch amongst the dog hair, but call in on his day off and it is a different story. His kitchen is always clean and his bathroom quite passable...and generally there is a line of ironed work shirts ready for the week.
He says I am a 'clean freak' ( and I am very house proud).
Put it this way, his house is clean enough to be healthy. No rubbish piles up, just a lot of dog hair.
He moves into his brand new house in a fortnight, and I expect he will be so proud of it he will find a new routine for himself. He has a bit of the perfectionist in him...like his Mum.
And, when it is all said and done, he has to live life his way...and so long as he is happy...what is a bit of dog hair? I drove myself mad keeping it under control when he lived here, and I am glad he doesn't put that kind of pressure on himself really. What he could really do with, is a wife! ( but he doesn't want to marry).
Life is changing for our youngsters. He has hundreds of friends, but very few of them are married and it seems to be the general trend nowadays. Instead they all live alone and enjoy their money. They tend to go out to dinner a lot more than we ever did, and go on holidays too. I can see the attraction of the single lifestyle, would probably go for it myself if I had my time again, though he is a much more social creature than I could ever be.
He is an excellent cook too, and eats well. ( and he makes full use of the dishwasher).

Lucky you Moh! Enjoy!

[Stanley]

Walking up the Great Orme Moh?
Funny thing that Wendy. I was talking to a woman yesterday about the difficulty we older ones have in understanding the youngster's view of life and their actions. She was being hard on herself and blaming the parents, I tried to steer her off that tack because after all we're talking about young adults and we can't live their lives for them. The bottom line is that they are in charge of the ship and they have to learn their own lessons. It's sad to watch as it happens but we have to realise we do not control them.
Main job today is to get a new electric kettle! I've got the Aga kettle on the stove so I only have to boil hot water but it's not an efficient use of my valuable time!

[hartley353]

Yesterday was spent, organising a corner of the garden to take a rabbit hutch. Today I will set out an area around it to fence off and seed a small piece of grassland for a run. When the grand daughter got the rabbits we were all against it, as she has a proven history in neglecting pets. Over the last 5 months Mary has been taking a larger part in their upkeep, and I have always known in the back of my mind, that one day she would suggest they come to us. When she finally mentioned this last week I offered the phone number of a rabbit rescue organisation in Tame side, but she was ready for this and suggested they would make a nice Valentines present. We were lucky when we found a brand new hutch in a local charity shop, orders have been placed for the purchase of Hay in bulk, plus rabbit nuggets. What makes her happy is good for all of us, and the idea is growing on me, but persuading two terriers they are friends may be a little harder.

[Stanley]

Wrote another BET article yesterday so my conscience is clear. I shall enjoy my reading and not forget my appointment for retinoscopy at 13:10 today at the Butts Clinic.

[Marilyn]

Pardon my sense of humour...
(Make sure you pronounce your test correctly on arrival..or you may end up with a rectumoscopy at the Butt Clinic!)
Sorry...couldn't resist the play on words.

[Stanley]

Ah, the joys of the Proctoscope..... No danger Maz, I refuse to bend over....

[hartley353]

Stuck in the home with one whinging dog, They are both reacting as expected to the rabbits, Lucy is very biddable and understands the word stop. Charlie is pretending he is deaf, and just lies there whimpering my slightest movement sends him rushing to the back door. Looks like a battle on my hands.

[Marilyn]

Rabbit jealousy? Do you think they feel insecure about the pecking order? Or do they see the rabbits as dinner?
( have never had a terrier but I suspect you have two pooches with noses out of joint)
I should think the rabbits are as stressed as the dogs.
Things will settle....though I hate to think what would happen if the rabbits get out! Massacre!

[Marilyn]

Speaking of dogs...I cleaned out my Tardis of a linen cupboard today...and came across my dear old dog's collar. Felt the eyes stinging and had a giant lump in my throat. Couldn't throw it away ( had a little sniff but could no longer smell her).
Thought I had coped with the collar ok, but then stumbled across her leash.
Decided I had done enough sorting and closed the cupboard after that.
Will finish it another day.
( I so hate being a whimpy female sometimes!)

[Stanley]

Nothing to be ashamed of there Maz. I have some of my old collars and dog tags and occasionally I have a melting moment when I come across them. The good thing to remember is that you had a relationship strong enough to trigger you many years later, some people never have that privilege.
Today I shall be keeping warm and resting after my domestic efforts of the last few days....

[Julie in Norfolk]

Travelling up with my daughter today, Grandma's birthday tomorrow then the promised Wheatley Lane Cem photographs (because it is going to be sunny) Friday.

[Sue]

Dad kept our old dogs collar for over40 years. I didn't realise and accidentally threw it away. Luckily dad was beyond realising it had happened when I did it. We were clearing out the garage ready to put the house on the market.

[Tripps]

I shall be packing for a few days in Llandudno - a birthday treat for me.

I like Llandudno. This is a quote today from a blog I read.

"Llandudno town surprised me, it has kept its aura of respectability. Many of these old seaside towns have become tatty but Llandudno was clean, painted and ordered with some very nice shops and an absence of pubs which have been and are the bane of those old resorts. The people of the town should feel proud of their efforts., long may it last. Our hotel was kind of shabby chic, more by age than design. The staff were attentive and very pleasant and the management had obviously put a load of thought into their product.

[Marilyn]

Today...I enjoy the RAIN.
Magic, wet, glistening stuff. The heavens opened this morning and we have had our first real rain for months.
And I have been in seventh heaven - gardening until I was soaked to the skin. Febby ran me a bath and said it was time to come in. Spoil sport.
Have you been out dancing in it Cazza?

[Stanley]

Only dancing in the rain in Barlick was when Pluggy was blown over by the wind.....

[Stanley]

Keeping warm and dry when the latest bad weather hits us..... Not a good day to be out there working.....

[hartley353]

Brushing my teeth more often. We have only just finished all the the christmas chocolates etc, now I have a large box of winegums, and a box of liquorice allsorts as a Valentines gift, this woman knows how to love me.