The fount of all knowledge - aka my husband- says he doesn't think there's anything that will put bees off - most of the things they don't like are actually colour related, but if anybody knows different, I'd love to know.
Its been raining all day, so I thought I'd go into my cabin this afternoon, and do some more patchwork, so I very carefully sewed the border on to my quilt, then found I'd done it all wrong, so had to unpick everything again. I was not impressed as you can well imagine! Actually, just sitting watching the Long Tail Tits, and Blue Tits on the bird feeder was worth it, even if I did do it wrong.
The Cross Stitch Forum » CSG Forum
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(102 posts)-
Barbara Stone
MemberPosted 3 years ago # -
Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
MemberWell, what a miserable weekend & the forecast for the week ahead doesn't look much better
Brenda, Janet Nicoll is the person to ask about your bee issue. We have some that I think are masonry bees - they seem to live in the stonework round the pond. They are very docile & just seem to fly in & out of the pond plants. Mick would like a hive, but he wants to put it on top of the garage, which would be away from anyone.
Barbara, you certainly get a better mix of wildlife that us. We get Blue Tits, but not the Long Tailed ones. Our squirrels have at least one baby, Mick saw one carrying something up the tree during the week & realised it was a baby - must have fallen out of the nest - mum was giving it a good telling off as she took it back. One of the wild/stray cats has had 2 kittens - saw them all roaming round the gardens at night. We have quite a few cats that roam around - one got the wrens that were next door & I'm hoping they didn't get any of the baby hedgehogs.
I managed to get some stitching done as well as some work this weekend. Have figured out what I'm doing with the penultimate room in the mouse house - this one actually has a very well behaved owl living in it. Then I just need to decide how to decorate the attic.
We are getting the new carpets on September 1st - hopefully the old living room unit is going next week & then the new bookcases are due at the end of September. That just leaves the blinds/curtains to sort - Mick's not sure what we can do due to the way the ceiling slopes, so I'll get someone it to tell us what we can / cannot do.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Jean Strange
MemberMorning everyone
Had thunderstorms and some sunny intervals yesterday looks like today could be similar.
Helen is your new conservatory roof glass and so needs blinds or similar? Ours is a sloping glass roof and we have had concertina black out blinds fitted. They are a bit like Venetian blinds but on the roof and are pulled across with a special pole. The ones we have had fitted are designed to keep heat in in winter and to keep it cool in summer. Hope that might help. Pity we can’t send pictures on the forum. Lamps being delivered this week.
Even if the weather is dodgy need to get some more washing done. Thinking of going to the caravan at the weekend as weather forecast a bit better. Have hairdressers appointment on Tuesday next week in the village. They definitely didn’t cut enough off first time it just seemed so good to have shorter hair.
Hoping to get some stitching done today and maybe some knitting too I tend to knit in the evenings when light isn’t so good and my eyes are tired.
Posted 3 years ago # -
brenda midgley
MemberHello girls,
Jean - we are on the same wavelength here. I've just got back from the hairdressers - feeling like a shorn lamb; but I too, the first cut, felt that not quite enough had been taken off and here we are just on 6 weeks later and I was back there this afternoon and she's taken quite a chunk off. It really needed it and already, although short, it feels so much better and more like 'me' if you know what I mean
Thank you for your suggestion Helen re Janet. I shall wait until I see her and then have a chinwag with her about bees. Sad thing is, I have nothing against bees - and indeed do garden for them. I try to have things in flower that I know they go for and never use pesticides or herbicides...but I just don't want them in the house!
Another muggy sort of day today. It's tried to rain once or twice and then the sun comes out - can't seem to make its mind up........
Been into Nantwich this morning to change my library books and buy one or two bits and bobs. It was nice to be out and having a wander round. In Crewe tomorrow doing a big shop. You can't help but laugh though to think 'shopping' now forms the highlight of the week!....still no RSPCA, still no choir, still no little stitching group....oh the world has become a small place without the usual fun activities.....
Thank goodness we all have our stitching stuff at home!!
Posted 3 years ago # -
Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
MemberHi all
Jean, we have one of the new tiled roofs with no skylights. We need blinds to go in front of the patio doors / windows but the way the roof slopes up from the windows makes it difficult to fix them.
I have found what is called a nursing chair that I like the look of the the extension & will order it once the carpet is down. Most of them are in cream or pastels with white or very pale wood frames, this one has dark wood & chocolate coloured cushions which will go with our colour scheme much better. I fancied a rocking chair, but this will be better - it reclines & has a foot stool as well. The arm sides have nice big pockets in them - perfect for scissors, etcI'm giving up on the weather, just hoping the bank holiday is dry as we are supposed to be going camping then.
Brenda, I'm with you about the insects - they are fine outside, but that is where they need to stay. With having the patio windows open on an evening the moths & daddy long legs think they can come & watch the telly with us !!
I agree with Jean that knitting is easier than stitching on an evening - so long as you get it right & don't spend the evening pulling it back.
I ordered some baby wool yesterday. Mick has a granddaughter due at Christmas so I'm going to do a few jumpers for her - I may get my mum to help me with them & then I can do her birth sampler.Posted 3 years ago # -
Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
MemberHave you all had an email from Andrea about Leicester?
If so what have you decided to do?Posted 3 years ago # -
Christine Berrett
AdministratorI had the email yesterday - I said I would "wait and see"
Posted 3 years ago # -
Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
MemberThat was my reply as well.
Just wondering how many will still want to goPosted 3 years ago # -
brenda midgley
MemberI don't actually have a place booked for Leicester. At the time I rang Andrea to organise it she said she'd reached a certain level at that moment and wasn't sure how things would pan out so had closed the books for the time being. I asked her to put me on a waiting list in case anybody cancelled. From what I can see of things though there won't be a chance of being offered a last minute place as things are so up in the air.
If it's helpful to you in any way though I would have opted for wait and see. This is a nuisance situation for those who are booked to go but it's even more frustrating for Andrea as she has to be guided by what Hilton will allow or agree to. I daresay she's being bombarded with calls from people asking'are we going or not' and quite simply she just doesn't have definite information to give you all just yet. A nuisance for all of you......
Posted 3 years ago # -
Jean Strange
MemberMorning everyone
Weather a bit changeable here in The New Forest. Having a relaxing time. Haircut in the village tomorrow then home again Jeff has appointment on Wednesday afternoon at Dr.The only weekend I booked for was Swindon and obviously that was cancelled but I had already cancelled due to my op. It is a great shame that all these things are being cancelled. Our group that usually meet at Janet’s hasn’t been able to meet since lockdown I’m sure we all miss the get together and good old chat. Wondering if we will even manage our usual Christmas get together at the beginning of December. The Chinese have a lot to answer for!!!! Fiona has been over for a couple of socially distanced stitching sessions which has been good.
Barbara did you ever get your blood test problem sorted. I have heard of Dr surgeries doing them in car parks just sit in your car and wait and other people having to go to the hospital for them. I am grateful that that is one service our practice is offering. You do have to be prepared to attend any of the 3 surgeries they have or the special extended hours surgery which is just outside the town centre. But at least you get it done. My problem this time was when I phoned to ask if results had been sent to Kings got told “oh we don’t do that. You have to get the results and do it yourself “ My reply was you have done it the last twice as it is a request from my consultant at Kings. Eventually got “Oh yes we are doing it now”
Looks like it could be Spring next year before we all get together again. Let’s hope there will be a Swindon next year.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Barbara Stone
MemberHi all, hope the weather had improved from what it was. We had gales, torrential rain and thunderstorms here in the West Country, but just when I thought everything had improved, it started raining overnight again.
When I spoke to my consultant about the difficulties of getting blood tests, his reply was unprintable! There was general muttering about GP’s thinking they are special cases, and what did they think they were up against considering that hospital patients are more likely to have Covid etc?, etc., but in the end, he decided it could wait, so I haven’t had a test. However, going back to GP’s, Bob finally got an appointment to see a physio, who told him that the problem with the joint concerned was one that the GP should have picked up on, and he was going to complain that they simply aren’t seeing patients and making his life more difficult than it is already, so it’s not only us, the patients, having problems!
We didn’t book for Leicester- would have done so at Swindon, but of course we didn’t go, and then poor Andrea wasn’t taking bookings. I don’t think I’ll be going if they do run, as to put it frankly, I’m scared! I know that nobody would pass it on if they could help it, but as I’ve only been in one shop that wasn’t a food shop since the beginning of March, I’m trying to be sensible and keep away from anything or anybody who could give it to me. I wear masks whenever I go out, ones I’ve made myself, which are thicker than the NHS ones, but I’m used to them, but you couldn’t expect all our ladies to want to wear one for 8 hours stitching. As you say Jean, hopefully Swindon will take place, and we can all have something to look forward to, and meet up again, and pick up where we left off last year!Posted 3 years ago # -
Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
MemberBarbara, I think you've sent all your weather up here. It's horrible today - windy & lashing rain - we even have thunder & lightening forecast, with the wind getting worse this afternoon. I should have been going to the office today, but have put it off until tomorrow when the forecast looks much better.
If Leicester does go ahead I will definitely go as I need a little bit of "me time". Then I shall be booking for next year when Andrea has the dates.
The only issue I have with the masks is steaming up my glasses.
The mouse house is getting nearer to completion. I have the stitching for 2 rooms ready to make up & then have to do the stitching for the attic. When it's done I'll try to put some pictures on the CSG facebook page for you all to see.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Christine Berrett
AdministratorI have tried both of the basic designs for masks and they all steam up my glasses - just as well they are not mandatory in cars!
Posted 3 years ago # -
brenda midgley
MemberOh - don't get me on about masks....horrible things and I agree with Christine and Helen - they are a nuisance in steaming up one's glasses..... and risking sounding boring, because I've said it before - I can't see why we need to wear them in shops, when you can then walk out of the shop and go round the corner to the nearest pub and then take them off so you can have a drink!! Ludicrous! I don't think the general public quite understand the rules of hygiene with them anyway; they take them on and off as they go in and out of shops, stuff them in their pockets or handbags, handling them all the time ...and how many of them actually get put straight in to wash when the owners get home ...not many I bet...
If I am specifically asked to wear one - such as when I went to the hairdressers or when I went to have my eyes tested - then I do, but out shopping.....no I don't. I observe 'safety' by making sure when I am in shops that I do my best to keep out of other peoples way and I do not touch anything unless I intend putting it in my shopping trolley. I've regularly seen people - wearing masks admittedly - but picking up things like bananas, breaking off the ones they don't want and putting them back on the shelves, sorting over loose onions looking for a specific size - I could go on and on, but to me that is a far worse crime then not wearing a mask. If I handle things, then I buy them....if I want a bunch of bananas I look at them without touching then if I happen to pick up bunch with a bruised one that I hadn't seen, well - they stay as a bunch and go into my trolley.
I also make a point, even though I wash my hands properly before leaving home, of using the sanitisers that are on display just about anywhere you go, and if a squirt bottle and paper roll is provided then my supermarket trolley handles get a good going over as well.
I freely admit it probably sounds stupid of me, but I am working now on the basis that we've lived alongside germs all our lives and I have trusted in my immune system to deal with that; so I am not prepared now to stay at home forever feeling frightened of what might be outside the front door....
Ooh 'eck - I bet this brings a response - with everybody howling at me that I am a health hazard and that they will avoid me wherever possible...... Come on - let's hear what the rest of you have to say..... Let's spice up the Forum again......
Posted 3 years ago # -
Barbara Stone
MemberOkay masks! As one who wore one every day of her working life for over 30 years, there’s a definite knack to not steaming up your glasses when you have to wear one. The trick is to get them to fit properly around the top of your nose. When I didn’t have proper nose clips, which Bob sourced for me from the Internet, I used straightened paper clips, which can be mounded around the top of the nose. It can make washing the mask a tad difficult, but they do help. So when you’ve got it fitting properly around the nose, just adjust your glasses, so they sit just on top of the mask, and although The glasses might steam up at first, everything will equalise and you won’t steam up again. I actually find that the masks with tapes that you have to tie, work better than the ones that everybody is seeeming to wear now, which hook around the ears. If you ever watch the Supervet, the masks that he wears are the best ones. Hope that bit of information helps a little bit.
I know how wearing a mask can make some people feel, and I do sympathise with you all. I’ve got about six different ones, which I can wear once then wash it, and pick up the next one and so on. Also, the ones that you can buy from PPE suppliers, like the thin blue ones that people can buy, well, let’s just say that they do lose their efficiency after about 20 minutes or so! So, maybe people should be encouraged to change them for s new one, instead of just shoving them in a pocket to be dragged out when they go into the next shop! Sorry for that little rant - makes me as cross as Brenda obviously does, when she sees it! Maybe I should start a supply business for masks which are thick enough to protect everybody, and which can be washed and fit properly. In fact, as it’s pouring down again today, I might just go out into the cabin to make a few more for family and friends.
Going back to Brenda’s comments about people handling food, I heard a comment in Sainsbury’s a day ago, when two women were talking about some peaches that were on display, and one said to the other ‘I bought some last week, and they didn’t taste too good’ her friend asked why, and she replied ‘don’t know, but it might have had something to do with the bleach that I wiped all my food with, when I took it home!’ Made me laugh at the time,Posted 3 years ago # -
Jean Strange
MemberMorning everyone
Ooooh masks!! Misting up specs I hate them find it difficult to read things in shops because of misted specs add that to the affects of hay fever. And you can imagine what it is like. Also find it difficult to judge steps and as I am not good with stairs etc at present anyway find it very difficult have almost fallen a couple of times. Spoke to another lady in a shop yesterday who said the same.
I am in the group who were told to shield but I am now trying to get back to some semblance of normality. My immune system is suppressed because of meds I have to take after transplant but I go out and just take all precautions I can!! Went out for meals whilst in Devon with the family all restaurants were doing the social distancing bit and felt quite safe and happy to be there.
Have had friends round for socially distanced visits can manage to be about 2 metres apart in both our lounge and conservatory. I don’t at present go to their houses. Fiona and I are going to a local craft shop on Saturday, then she is coming back to my house for a “stitch and bitch” session. I feel we now have to start trying to get back to as normal a life as possible. Despite my shielding status originality I feel I cannot be wrapped in cotton wool forever and I have to start getting on with things. One of the things I was told after my op was that I should do quite a bit of walking how can I do that if I can’t go out? There’s only so many times you can walk around the house and garden!!
I think we really do need to start using our common sense and making some of our own decisions about what we feel safe doing.
Well that’s my bit said. Any more comments on Brenda’s post?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Barbara Stone
MemberJust re-read what I wrote, and I didn’t mean to sound condescending! If I did, I’m sorry, and hope you all manage to sort out your mask problems as soon as possible. If anybody does want me to make them a mask, just let me know, and tell me what type e.g tapes or loops, and I’ll see what can be done.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Jean Strange
MemberMorning
Barbara have been thinking about buying some of the nose clips to fit in the masks I made Lady Sew and Sew are stocking them. The masks I made can also have a filter layer put in them. My pen friend from the States, who is a midwife, sent me a mask with tapes that she had made. It is made of a thick “flannel” like material I haven’t worn it as I was having trouble with my neck and shoulder when it arrived and found it difficult to tie things up behind my head. Must try it now the chiropractor has more or less sorted that problem out!!Hope everyone is keeping well. We are enjoying our new conservatory it is great for stitching in. Hope we might get away to the caravan again soon. Off to Chepstow to visit mother in law tomorrow. Now we are allowed across the bridge think we should try to visit when we can. Long way for the short time we are with her. We don’t stay long as she gets very out of breath and we feel tired although she denies it!!
I haven’t gone as far as wiping shopping with bleach or similar don’t know about other people but thought in a lot of cases this was OTT as I don’t leave post for 72 hours before opening it as I heard some people have been doing. Just wash my hands before and after.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Barbara Stone
MemberThe nose clips I got help the masks to fit around the nose, which will help stop the glasses steam up. I also make the masks out of two layers of cotton material, and I put interfacing in it, which gives that extra layer of protection.
I’m off to near Leicester tomorrow to see my sister and my mother, first time since she moved, then hopefully we’re off to Dorset next week to stay for a few days, in the van. Looking forward to both trips, despite the amount of driving that I’ll have to do!
Don’t know about anybody else, but I always wipe my food over with a disinfectant when I come home from the shops, especially after seeing the programme on the Beeb, where they said that Covid could last for 3 days on plastic food wrappers! I think I’d rather be safe than sorry!Posted 3 years ago # -
Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
MemberHi Everyone
Well the start of the weekend was a wash out. Yesterday & today are much better.
We didn't go anywhere in the end, Friday would have been no fun riding anywhere & the evenings have been so cold.The carpet fitters are here today. I have a person coming about the blinds on Thursday, then we will know what we can / cannot do. I ordered a nursing chair to sit & stitch in. It has a foot stool as well & will be here on Thursday, then I can start to make the most of the conservatory.
I have done some more work on the Mouse House over the weekend - just the attic to finish stitching & then install. All the other rooms are done now. I also did a pincushion in a tea cup - quite pleased with that one.
Posted 3 years ago #
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