What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

I know it sounds a lot of activity guys ....and probably is....i sat on the deck for six weeks, drinking coffee and looking over the other side of the valley ....along with sil doing jobs ...and just watching ....thing is its not so much the surgery and the recovery ....its about the eighteen months leading up to it....and not being up to the work ...short of breath....and prior to that wife being ill ,daughter ill everything was on hold ....with all the uncertainty and frustration it nearly drove me nuts....i do take things at a slower pace ...but i do not tell you that in my posts .....my wife is all over me like a rash....every ten mins i have to give my name rank and number , not withstanding sneaky unannounced inspections .....MB .... (pressure pad) or as i called him "Wilson" (Castaway) is no longer required......rehab starts this coming Friday.....BB yes they split the sternum to gain access and once your sorted wire it back together (wires stay put) sounds horrible but the thought of it does not do justice to the reality of it all , if ever this procedure happens to come to any of YOU ....no need to worry yourself stupid (like i did).... its not that bad ...the only thing that was weird for me was .....i saw a DARLEC (Doctor Who )in the corner of the ICU....he was selling The South Wales Echo (news paper ) ....even worse ....i said ...yes ...here i'll have one.....the nurse said ....one what ? .......no...no there are no Doctor who's in here love.....oh aye ! some real goooood shit !.....i intend to stay well guys and i am feeling fine ! i thank you for your concern.....i know i'm a bit of an idiot but i am no FOOL.

[Straight Shooter]

Well the electrics are all completed ....the lpg hob unit arrived Tuesday by 10 a m and cut into worktop and working , couple more shelves cut in today .....then me and wifey cleaned and sanitised everything top to bottom.....on with pickled onions done two big kilner jars full this evening ...so i will carry on till the two sacks get done ..i will also start brewing some beer kits on Saturday....will pick the first of the elderberries Sunday and start the elderberry and blackberry wine next week, chutney....jams.....jelly will follow on in the coming weeks.....been slowing down these last couple of days due to constant threats made by the commandant her resolve strengthened after reading "the Mork n Mindy blokes post " MB to you and me ....that will teach me to leave this bastard computer on this thread unattended ......many thanks Mork lol the question is who the f..k is Mindy ....hey....yow.... Charles......lol .

[Mortblanc]

Hey!

Us old geezers have to stick together. I hate losing friends, even ones that are 5000 miles away and I can not even pop open a beer with.

I have reached the age where when someone tells me I need to look up an old friend the first place I check is the obituaries of the home town newspaper to see if I am wasting my time!

Last week I was trying to find a guy on Facebook and found out he died back in 2014!

[Straight Shooter]

Only about half a sack of onions left to peel ....done sixteen jars up to now , be glad when i finish the buggers tomorrow....its the same every year. Popped up to see Chris (small holding) for some sloe's to make sloe gin when i got there he said " you like damsons don't you " yes i do ....take as many as you want butty ! there are loads.....purple haze ....the hedge was full of ripe fruit .....this place was owned by my grandfather in the forties ...he laid the hedge and planted these damsons ....this was the place i killed German soldiers " blue thistles " with the aid of a willow stick and my brothers....we always won ....sometimes we would get shot and report to granny for a glass of homemade lemonade ....this was an amazing cure ....sick bay lasted for thirty seconds.....sometimes less....longer if there was Welsh cakes being baked on the steel griddle on the open fire ....so my minder and me set about picking the fruit and filled two bowls within half an hour.....then in for a coffee ...."how are you feeling".....still left handed Chris ...thank you for asking i reply...then bumped our gums for an hour ....and off home we went.....picked eight pounds of elderberries from our garden on our return....put them straight into the freezer (this is the best way i have found to de stork the berries just give em a tap and you do not get stained hands ) i will process these to make some wine and jelly shortly .


So the sloe gin and damson gin was sorted today , there are enough damsons to make some jars of jelly.....will crack on brewing some beer...busy busy busy but slowly.

[MaryN]

Honestly, SS, you should write a book about your childhood experiences.

[CharlesHarris]

I wish you lads and young ladies all lived closer. I'm enjoying reading the thread even though I've little to contribute.

It's so true what MB says about reading the obits first. Found an old friend I hadn't seen for years at Quantico National Cemetery.
Fortunately he was well, serving as an official escort aiding the bereaved in their time of grief. Still lean and ramrod straight after all of these years, he showed me to the resting place of a former shipmate and Olde Dad piped the side for him while we shared a tot.

[Straight Shooter]

Write a book about my childhood Mary ! NO a better book would be about the commandant ! she caught me a bloody treat today in Sainsburys ....i called in there to buy some malt ....a single malt actually .... anyway there i was walking up the isle then turn right into the main causeway towards the checkout ....a bottle of crushed chillies in one hand and a bottle of deep joy in the other hand.....and there she stood ...not unlike Nora Batty from (last of the summer wine ) i froze on the spot my mouth tried to say Hello love ....what you doing in here ....she cut me short......put it back...."but i need the chillies for the pickles" ....funny.. now put it back ...right now ! ....she was talking softly but firm ...i knew this would increase a few octaves very quickly so i did what most men do in this situation i did a 180 followed by a 90 and placed deep joy back on the shelf ......"you must think i'm as dull as you are" how did you know i was...cut short again ..."Carol called in asked if i would do a bit of shopping with her " ...i said for a moment there i thought you planted a homing device in the lapel of my shirt ...."you have to wait another two weeks my boy" meanwhile in a nearby isle Carol laughing shouted you'r a very very naughty boy and you need a jolly good spanking.....ummm yes please Carol......."after forty nine years i know what he will be up to ....three weeks time " they both walk off and leave me standing there with the crushed chillies.....please send help guys ....without delay ...i need to create some sort of diversion.

[Mortblanc]

If you have been married to that woman for 49 years there is not enough of us here to create a diversion she can not see through!

They are smarter, faster, more perceptive and meaner than all of us combined.

Just don't get her mad.

As for knowing where you are??? No problem these days, she can ping the GPS on your phone and track you like a bloodhound

[Straight Shooter]

Married for 44 years this year MB ....the first 5 years i spent reeling her in ! .....so there is no hope for me then ? ........some bloody friend you turned out to be MB....i was expecting a well formulated tactical plan from you.....you have obviously given up on me or you have resigned yourself to the fact that i hit gold all them years ago.....she is beautiful inside and out .....(even when nobody is watching or taking the least bit of notice ) .

[Barneyboy]

I used to liKE lobster, not so much now MB ,to be honest I didn't give it much thought and I'm trying not to ,now I can't get that lobster out of my head