Hi Brian,

Sorry to hear that your son's ankle has again been causing him pain and do hope he was able to reduce the swelling.  Does he have another appointment to check on things soon?

Whilst it has been pretty cold (perhaps I do not notice it quite as much as do not have central heating ha ha) we only had a light flurry of the white stuff yesterday evening.  I went out in it as was going to a social night at my daughters.  She  had a lady coming round to show some candles and scents so made a nice change. By the time I left at 10.30pm it was cold and damp but not icy.  This morning was frosty and very cold wind but I have been out to the gym and shopping as well as a bit of a stroll to blow the cobwebs away.  Now tucked up cosy indoors and wondering what to do tomorrow. 

Have a day out with my daughter to look forward to on Sunday when we are popping into London for shopping and lunch.  They are just starting house hunting in the hope of getting on the property ladder before my son in law turns 40 (in a couple of years) and mortgages become even more difficult. This will mean them  moving out of the area so I may be investing in a 'rail card' in the future.  Think they are hoping to stay within about an hour and a half's drive as he would not like to commute much more than this.

I do enjoy your lovely pictures that you find for us but know it must be time consuming searching them out.  It is much appreciated.

Hope you and Mrs B have a peaceful and slightly warmer weekend.  Take care.  Jules

P.S.  Apparently 'bounceability' runs in the family..........youngest grandson somersaulted half way down the stairs at home  when leaving to go to nursery yesterday (only his second day!!).  Thankfully only a bruised knee and only screamed the place down when his Mum said he may not be allowed to go to school!!  In the event he was fine and they kept an eye on him just in case but he had not hit his head and as they say 'boys will  be boys'.  My eldest grandson now goes into school early once a week to go to chess club (his request!) so it seems my daughter will soon have someone to play against ha ha (I have never learnt).

Hi Jules,

My sons ankle is a little better today thank you. He has another appointment for next Tuesday when he will have the plaster cast removed. Hope it has started healing by then.

I have just bought in 5 small key ring lights that use button type batteries and am surprised by the light they give.They also have a small switch so you dont have to keep the push button pressed.  My intention is to combine then with my wooden key rings, some thinhg a little differnt for the next craft fair. .I have just ordered some more.

I have also downloaded a load more animal pictures today and have also found some more quotes. Thank you for your kind words and honestly it doesnt take that long.

Glad your grandson is all right after his tumble.

Take care, best wishes and I hope you and your family have a peaceful weekend, Brian

Hi Brian

Sorry for delay in response; has been a whirlwind few days. My daughter and son in law looked at a property on Saturday and today have had the offer accepted. So excited for them as they start a new journey.  As there is no chain they could be moving within six weeks so with my son's wedding also around the same time my head has been awash with emotions.  Add Mum's illness into the mix and needless to say my head (and the kids' heads) and spinning!!

Hope your son's appointment tomorrow about his ankle brings better news on the healing front. 

Nice that your wood projects are continuing to bring useful components into play and there will be new products available for your next fair.  Challenging and enjoyable at the same time.

Best wishes to you and Mrs B and hope you had a peaceful weekend (not sure there will be much peace in this family in the coming weeks ha ha).   Take care. Jules

Goodmorning Jules,

No need to apologise. You do have so much going on in your life at the moment. Sounds like you need to strap a jet pack on your back ha ha. It looks set to get even buisier in the coming weeks too. I hope your visit to your mum is a good one and that she is as well as can be.

I picked up an ear infection from somewhere. It started on Friday and I cant hear much in my left ear and yesterday it was quite painful at times. I saw a gp last night and he has prescribed some atibiotic eardrops so hope they will soon clear it up as I havent slept well for the past few nights . The only good thing is, I have a good excuse for not hearing what Mrs B says. I now have selective hearing and only hear what I want to hear ha ha.

Havent heard from Kim lately; hope he's allright.

Our primroses have been flowering all winter as have our roses and Mrs B's canations still have buds on them. Nature seems all topsy turvey at the moment. The grass on our back lawn is getting quite long but the ground is to wet to get on it. I only have about enough chestnuts for one more meal and that willbe it until October.

Take care and am sending kind thoughts and best wishes to you and your family, Brian.

Hi Brian

Hope the antibiotics have helped very quickly on the ear infection as I know how painful that can be and no fun having sleep disrupted.   Selective hearing indeed!! I bet Mrs B is wise to that ha ha.

Hoping that no news from Kim means that his life is good and he is enjoying it.  Also hope Hazel (seen her posts on other threads) is managing okay whilst she awaits results of her scan. All the best my friends.

Quick PM from Sue sends good wishes and a message that she is missing everyone's chat/banter but at the moment her home technology is still affected by gremlins and keeping in contact is difficult.

I think my family is caught up in a bit of a whirlwind just now and times are a-changing at some speed. Daughter and son in law are busy with the clearing out and packing up process as all papers signed yesterday and completion on their new home anticipated within 6/8 weeks.  With only a month to my son's wedding we are certainly now in 'counting the days' mode.  Luckily they have managed to get a nursery place for little Darcey from the beginning of March (had been due to begin in April but with my daughter moving needed new arrangements put in place as my future daughter in law is now back at work part time).  Exciting times for all concerned.

Saw Mum yesterday and still pain free (no medication required at the moment) though her general attitude to life is unlikely to change.  Having said that she had a little conversation especially when I told her about my daughter's property news.  Add to that that the care home now has wifi access for visitors I was able to show her more pictures on my phone which gave us something to look at together.  After the visit I went to the gym and popped into local cafe for a quick lunch before heading to a friends for the afternoon so another busy day. 

Into work soon and with a store audit planned for this weekend I know there will be plenty of preparation work to get on with as well as looking after our customers.

Heavy frost here this morning to an extra layer before I set out I think and like your garden I have had primroses on and off throughout the year - crazy isn't it?  Sadly been so cold that my pretty bird bath whilst being frost resistent (according to the box) has proved otherwise so will need to replace in the Spring with something more suitable (practical rather than pretty I think!!).  At the moment will use an old dustbin lid with a rock in it ha ha (works for a friend of mine) as despite this cold weather the birds appear to still like a bath brrr.

Hope your son's ankle check up was a positive one and that you and Mrs B are keeping well.  Best wishes sent to you all.  Jules

Hi Jules,

My eardrops are helping but can still only hear words like Cheese straws and dinner time, but cant hear thing like can you take this rubbish out to the bin. Funny that isnt it ha ha. Mrs B was quick to tumble it I can tell you; no fooling her for long unfortunately.

My sons ankle was better than last week but still not as good as had been hoped for. I have to take him back again a week Friday and if the wound still hasnt closed, they may have to do more surgery. So we are keeping everything crossed for him. Its going to take a long time for him to fully recover and he may have lost some feeling in the foot as a result of the operation.

I hope to have two three day shows this year, one in May and one in July. Am a little frustrated as I cant do any turning for its far to cold in my garage/workshop but at least I can plan what new lines I will do this year. I spoke to one of my woodclub members a few days ago and he said, "You now have the widest range of products of anybody I know", which pleased me as I have tried hard to come up with new ideas the last couple of years. He was surprised when I told him I had still more planed.

Its Bright and sunny here today but is minus 4 at the moment. Have promised Mrs B I will make her a wooden bird table soon, one with a top on it. I had wanted to do it last year but ran out of time. Never enough hours to do all I want these days.

Hope you audit goes off okay. When I worked in the timber yard tears ago our manager used to come round and tell the lads they would be working Sat and Sun. He couldnt understand why they wouldnt help so I told him its because you tell them. If you were to ask for their help they would be more liikely to respond. He was a nice guy but had lacked man management skills. When I was manager at another company If I wanted the lads to work overtime, I always asked for their help and then thanked them afterwards. It makes a lot of differnce.

Glad your mum is pain free and that she was interested about your daughters proposed move. Lets hope she stays pain free. Sounds like the next few weeks are going to be quite busy for you and your family.

Take care my forum friend, sending kind thoughts and best wishes to you and your family, Brian.

Oops just managed to delete my reply! Will put it down to cold fingers. Hope your ear infection is clearing up nicely and the selective hearing is not wearing Mrs  B  down ha ha. Will have my fingers crossed for your son when he has his next check  up must be difficult for him and very frustrating. 

Very cold and frosty again today but lovely and bright. Had to thaw out water feeder and stock up the food for the birds this morning. Also have a cheeky field mouse who has taken a liking to my  milk churn planter. Uses the lid chain to go up and down to forage but too quick for me to catch on camera so far. Very cute to watch.

Sending good wishes to you and mrs B and am sure your time is well occupied with planning those wood projects in readiness for the  upcoming shows. Roll on the warmer weather. Take care. Jules 

Brian, hope your ear is improving, that can be so painful, like toothache!  Even worse in this cold weather.  

So sorry about your son's ankle, seems to be taking forever, poor chap - as Jules says, so frustrating - so fingers crossed for his next hospital visit and that another op can be avoided.

Thanks for your good wishes on the other thread, I still haven't heard about my scan results so am hoping, as I said, that no news is good news and will be told at my next check-up on 6th Feb.  

Hope you and Mrs B are well, apart from your poor old ear! 

Take care, Hazel xx

Afternoon Jules, sorry I've not been on much, but thanks for your good wishes re my scan.  As you will see from my post to Brian, no results yet, so I live in hope as usual! (Don't we all?)

Gosh, you and the family have been busy lately, the house seems to be going through so quickly, and then all the preparations for the wedding!  Hardly time to breathe!  

Glad your mum is not in any pain, bless her, and that she seemed to enjoy seeing your phone photos and hearing about the new house.  Must have made your visit a bit more pleasant.

Look forward to seeing your pics of the field mouse, if you're ever quick enough - a video would be easier but then you can't post those on here, unfortunately. 

Do take care, hope work wasn't too arduous with the audit.

Hazel xx