Hello MilosMum, thanks for the kind words, no point being miserable although at the moment there is plenty to be miserable about!  For instance I had set up face recognition on my new phone only this morning it didn't recognise me, it must have been because I looked like a yeti as my fit bit watch which I had abandoned decided to buzz me awake at 6.30am only I hadn't realised it was that at first, so by the time I got up my hair was everywhere and I hadn't bothered to brush it as hubby was gasping for a cup of tea, lesson learned, comb hair first!  I must tell you a funny story, when Alfie was nearly two, I bought him a Safari park toy which he adored.  All the animals and a monkey on a tree that jumped when you pushed its tail and made an hysterical monkey laughing sound, it drove us mad but he loved it.  So when he had gone home it went back in its Box on top of the wardrobe in our room.  Weeks later we were woken up by this cackle of noise, we put the light on, looked at each other and said "what the Hell was that"?  We both nodded off again and it woke us again, hubby followed the noise and it was the blooming monkey laughing in the box as we'd forgotten to take the battery out!  Faye laughed her head off when we told her, we still have it and it still works, we must find a good home for it.  I've had a walk today but by golly it was cold, I came back in record time, speed walking at a pace not usually recommended for my age.  We've face timed Harry, ten years old this month, Mummy has ordered a hot tub as they normally do something like New York or the Rocky mountains for half term but he's not spoilt he appreciated every holiday he had and knows he will be home this time.  Lisa has had a tough week, she and Faye have no me time at all, full time jobs, home schooling and meals, housework and everything else to do.  So take care all of you, love Carol x 

My watch woke me again at 8am perhaps hubby suggested it's telling you to get your lazy backside out of bed, fortunately for him I knew he was joking.  I managed to sync it with my phone so whilst hanging washing out (hubby has scrubbed the scab off his nose again so clean towels covered in blood) it buzzed me again, it had a message on it, who knew how synced my life would be.  Anyway it was a message from Margaret who has started her healthy fitness regime today, having piled weight on due to Charlotte baking scrumptious chocolate cakes, do I fancy a walk?  It's freezing but sunny so we're meeting at 1pm to walk the nature trail, which despite living near for twenty years I've never walked!!  I am not a walker, it's what I've been brought down to as everywhere else is locked up.  I popped to see Isabella yesterday and Peter has been rushed back into hospital, she said she thought he had had a stroke and he looked terrible, eyes sunken, weight loss, I felt awful for her as she said the image of him would never leave her.  I started watching It's a Sin yesterday about five young gays in the 80's, I didn't think I would like it as its quite graphic but it shows how Aids was hidden by the medical profession as being cancer but they were treating them like pariah, leaving food outside their locked doors, this is what is happening now with Covid, nature can be pretty harsh.  So take care, Carol x 

Dear carol .

I tell brenda about your blog good job shes sat on incontinent pads she laughs that much.  Other day we kept hearing low musical sounds it lasted for hours definitely in our Room finally figured out it was a small clock of Brenda's forgot it had an alarm brenda must have cought it.,its a small button. These things can drive you batty.

We both slept really well last night (hurrah) think problem was pain still got some but not as much Been waiting for prescription from dr for stronger one's.

Always waiting again.got text from Dr need a talk my last blood tests something wrong I just thought now what.carn't be much to Go wrong  My BP was in low 90'and80s all last week , actually getting usto it.

Love Billy xxxx glad you're still keeping your string going.

Dear, dear Billy, I'm so glad to hear you are both still laughing, Norman and I laugh a lot at stupid things that only we understand.  I really hope you get somewhere near sorted soon, Brenda probably needs so much help and being in pain doesn't help.  I'm just munching garlic roule' before my walk and hope that the freezing cold can kill the smell off.  My bulbs that I planted before Christmas are poking their heads through so very exciting to see spring on it's way, we also have numerous bluetits and great *** starting to pair up, they are lovely to watch, jumping up and hopping into the hedge, flapping their tail feathers at the ladies just like you men have done to court us females through centuries past.  January has been such a long cold lockdown month that anything showing promise of better things to come makes me smile.   Much love Carol x 

It's a blizzard again!  Hubby has had a bad night but with terrible heartburn and has been up and down all night, he stopped his omneprazole of his own accord so I've nagged him to go back on it as I'm buying expensive Guardian meds for him which last a week, so not a lot of sympathy from me!  Margaret and I did our walk, I'll put my watch on fast walk I said and off we set, the mud was awful, with big frozen puddles everywhere, dog walkers whose dogs kept going for me, as I've said before I seem to attract, children, dogs and cats which all make a beeline for me.  So one hour ten minutes later we get back to the car, see how far we've gone Marg says, not sure what I'd done but we'd walked zero kilometres, used zero calories and zero steps, we did laugh.  So when I got home I ate a big slice of Victoria sponge because it obviously it wasn't recording my cake intake either.  I left the washing out last night so I need to go and unfreeze off the line and hope it thaws out, can you remember when Mum's used to hang the towels out in the cold then hang them in the kitchen so when you got washed you had hard cabbage smelling towels.  That's what annoys me with hubby and his stupid nose scab all my towels are soft and warm yet he still scrubs his scab off, men, arrgh.  Take care all of you, Carol x 

Dear Carol and Friends,

I don't set up phones either, Neil used to do ours whenever we got a new one and Nick/Deana did mine when we updated last time.  Eli really wasn't well.  He missed nearly a week at daycare.  Only problem was he shared, both Deana and I caught it.  Neither of us were good for anything much for nearly a week.  I missed Rotary last week, didn't think they would want me there coughing and sneezing, sounding like a seal, although up till then I didn't feel to bad.  Thursday I fell in a heap, got up early as Deana was going to the flower market, so watched Eli till she got back, and took Eli to daycare (his first day back) and promptly went back to bed, turned my phone on silent and slept the day away, woke at nearly 5.30 to find 3 missed calls from my mechanic (I had the car booked in for a service).  Too late to ring them then so rang Friday morning very apologetic, I think he gathered I wasn't well from the cough and the croaky voice.  It's now booked in next Thursday.  Wasn't till Sunday that I started to feel better.  Yesterday I spent catching up on everything I hadn't done last week.  So tomorrow I will get up early to watch Eli as Dean is off to the flower market again, then I have him all day with Rotary tomorrow night.  A busy weekend coming up.  I am at Anam Cara on Friday, then Saturday off to Melbourne for Stevies 7th birthday dinner, going early so Bree can do my nails.  Sunday I am at Anam Cara again.  Then Monday it's back to Melbourne, maybe have lunch with Bree before my appointment for a mammogram (just the usual 2 yearly screen).  I'll be ready for a rest on Tuesday.

Sorry to hear Norman has had a couple of rough days.  I haven't seen the White Crow advertised here at all ( smallish country town so we don't get all the movies, they only have 2 screens) but if it comes it's one I'd like to see.  I love ballet.  I did see "The Dry" an Australian movie about the murder of a family.  I'd read the book a while ago.  It was really good.  Wanted to see Penguin bloom last week but wasn't well, so missed it, Hopefully it will come to TV or Netflix.  

I don't know how you could go for a walk in -2 degrees, just the though of it makes me feel cold.  I can understand Sue noit being happy about their neighbours getting permission for an 18 place cattery.  That will be extra cars going in and out.  Is it possible for her to contact the council and have them enforce another driveway for the cattery.  I'm surprised they didn't look at that before granting permission.  Younger brothers always seemed to naughty, mine was anyway. 
I love these things that make noise, when they shouldn't.  Eli has a puzzle, with animals, you get the right animal in the space and its make the noise the animal makes.  It sits on the entertainment unit and nearly everytime you turn the light off you get a random animal noise, maybe an oink, or a neigh, might be a rooster, it does it at the oddest times, when it shouldn't.  
It's does sound very much like what is happening currently with COVID.  Give us hope that this will improve in time.  They way people were treated with Aids was terrible,  I was wondering what garlic roule was, that you were munching on, so I searched.  Love it on crackers.  

Not surprised they nearly had a fit with your blood pressure.  220/180 is very high.  Hope it's more normal now.  Dorothy should never have been given crutches.  Hope she improves.

We have had screens in most shops for quite a while, I wonder if they will be removed once the threat of COVid has passed.  Took aa bit of getting used to but I thiknk we are all ok with them here now.  All the bigger stores and petrol stations have them, not so much the smaller ones.
You were lucky you were able to retrieve your Mastercard from the rubbish, although it wouldn't have been pleasant, but easier than haveing to wait for another one.

Billy, Are you sure you have any blood left, seem to be giving a lot at the moment.  Hope you and Bren are doing as well as you can.

Yvette, Welcome.  Love your Milo, he looks like a gorgeous boy.  Mad cat lady here.  I have 2 and my daughter, her hubby and grandson (who live with me) have 2.  In case your wondering, my pic has a photo of Mr Higgins aka Tubby, who is now 3 years old.

I haven't fully caught up yet, will do that next time.

Stay safe, take care.  Love to all.  Sue xx

Hi Sue, I've replied privately to you.  So today I went out, out, meaning Darlington.  It was so depressing, wet grey, dirty and mostly shut but I needed the optician's so had to go I was pleased to get home where hubby had coffee waiting for me, no drink before going as no toilets open.  Margaret got her letter today for vaccination but the nearest was Middlesbrough so she rang the surgery who got cross with her and said the letter said to wait if she didn't want to do it on line, then Charlotte told her that she was quite happy to get the bus there for shopping so she should make the effort to go for something as important as her jab, poor thing she couldn't win.  I was telling the optician's about going Saturday for mine and he said how times have changed when we get excited about having a needle jabbed in us, I did smile at that comment.  Mary had a drive out for her birthday and got fish and chips what a difference from last year for her birthday, we all miss dressing up and having a meal out.  We'll that's it folks as life is pretty boring at the moment.  Love Carol x 

So let's start with a moan, I'm fed up of rain, dark skies and freezing cold weather, all I've done is drag the bin back in and my poor fingers are bright pink!  Still countdown to being jabbed 26 hours and it would seem most of my friends are on track or have had it, very good news for us all.  Hubby looks good but I've just been told off for shouting at him, I did this because I am sick of having to say everything twice, so I yelled my reply the second time but he's still standing and I'm writing this.  We had a one second power cut last night, the disruption this caused was extremely annoying.  It turned the outside light on so I had to put a coat on, unlock the garage to turn the switch off, I was going to stand and wait to see if it worked but decided that as my ice cubes were out there I'd have a gin and tonic whilst waiting.  Then I had to run upstairs and check the central heating hadn't gone off, re set the alarm, switch my TV back to the broadband and then slump exhausted on the sofa whilst drinking said gin.  Have you watched The Drowing, what a load of convuluted rubbish, did we really need the chain saw scene?  Jill Halfpenny is such a marvellous actress she deserved better, she's been in Inspector George Gently and was hauntingly ethereal in her scenes.  My daughters have kept their heads down this week, what with work, husband's and home schooling and the puppy, they don't have much time.  Hubby has just rang Chris and John and here's their tale of doing something stupid, glad it's not just me.  So John has a keyless start Jaguar which he was putting stuff in the boot to hand over to his son, not realising he had left the keys on the boot lid he got in the car pushed the button and it started, so off he drove, thus chucking said keys onto the ground. When he arrived he realised he'd lost the keys so he was stuck.  In the meantime they had been found, handed into the village shop who sent out the jungle drums, Chris who was still home realised they were John's, drove to the shop to collect them then all the way to John who was now standing abandoned on the road side in the rain.  We did laugh, what is it they say, no good deed goes unpunished.  See you tomorrow, Carol x 

Darling carol and sue,and cancer family.

I've had a couple of weeks good day and night, just after I stopped taking one of my new tablets, still think its strange I have to keep coming of meds to feel better, always thought going on meds did that.

I always have a spare car key with me never mind where I go you never know what might happen out.

Brenda just had covid vaccine., just waiting for next one.

Just bought her a clip on handle for her mug so its a beaker she can hold it steady now now she wants some for her glasses her hands slip easy.

My BP keeping low 90or less.

I've got phone appointment dr on 15th last blood test something wrong again why can't they tell you there and then rather than keep you waiting.

Keep covered up cold weather coming again.

Take care.

Love Billy xxxx