John Simpson - All Books Great and Small........ and Tea

Hello everyone, this is my Seventh year being part of this wonderful group. I am John, 56 years old and married to Karen for 35 years and counting. We have two lovely children, Rob and Amy. Rob lives with his Fiance Louise, daughter Hannah who will be 9 in February. Amy married Andy in 2015 and they now have a cat called Combie.

Please come along and leave a message and let's see what fun we have.

I love books and currently have just over 2,500 books on my shelves and this doesn't include my Cricket collection which stands at about 400 books. While reading I do enjoy the odd pot or two of tea.

I haven't followed your threads in the past, John, for reasons I cannot explain to myself. This year, I will try to keep up. May it be a good reading year for us all!

>2 laytonwoman3rd:, Hi Linda, you are my first visitor, welcome my dear. I hope it is a good reading year for everyone, I will be reading a lot of Big books this year which should be interesting.

Welcome back!

>4 drneutron: Thanks Jim, always nice to be here, it's like home now with all my friends.

Happy reading in 2020, mate, and may all the good stuff have sequels.

>6 richardderus: Thanks Richard mate.

Hello, John! So glad to see you out and about.

Stopping in to hang my star so I can follow your reading, tea, and fountain pens!

I am up for more tea and books!!

Happy new thread, John. Dropping a star to follow along.

Hi John, I'm here to read your stories! Love and hugs for you and Karen xxx

Hi John, I have starred your thread and look forward to following your reading this year.

>3 johnsimpson: Reading Big books is a worthy goal. I hope to fit a couple of those in myself this year.

Big books again this year, John? I hope that you'll sneak in a few shorter lighter reads to ease you through.

>8 Matke: Hi Gail, nice to see you here my dear.

>9 thornton37814: Hi Lori, nice to see you here, I will be reporting about the books both read and bought, tea drinking is a given here and obviously I will mention the odd Fountain Pen or two or three or, i'll stop now.

>10 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, tea and books, what a combination.

>11 jessibud2:, Hi Shelley, nice to see you here my dear.

>12 DianaNL:, Hi Diana my dear, lovely to see you here, I will have some stories to read on here, no doubt involving tea.

>13 crazy4reading:, Hi Monica my dear, nice to see you here, hope this thread doesn't disappoint.

>14 laytonwoman3rd:, I have so many Big Books to go at, rewind, I have so many books of all sizes to go at.

>15 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, I have a few series I would like to complete and these involve Big Books, I will probably add a few smaller ones in though.

Just dropped my star and am looking forward to a year of sharing with you, my friend.

Ready when you are, John....just pour me a cup of Earl Grey.

Hope 2020 is kind to you both!

>19 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, I will share if you will dear friend.

>20 kac522:, Hi Kathy my dear, that reminds me, I haven't had a cup of Earl Grey for awhile but I have Earl Grey ink in my TWSBI fountain pen and use it every day.

>21 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, I also hope 2020 is good for us dear friend.

>22 johnsimpson: Earl Grey ink? Who knew? What shade is Earl Grey ink?

>23 kac522:, Hi Kathy, it is lighter than Black and darker than Grey and I love it, the pen is on its second fill in 18 months as it has a large ink tank, 2.5ml. A standard ink cartridge holds 0.8ml.

I have some lovely colours especially my Robert Oster ink samples from my inkvent calendar.

Best wishes for 2020!

Another resolution is to keep up in 2020 with all my friends on LT. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year John!

CURRENTLY READING

I just love Big Books, these are my 1000+page reads so far with more to add.

1.Shogun by James Clavell, 1243 pgs
2.Gai-Jin by James Clavell, 1578 pgs
3.Noble House by James Clavell, 1435 pgs
4.War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk, 1171 pgs
5.Whirlwind by James Clavell, 1343 pgs
6.Centennial by James A. Michener 1100 pgs
7.The Covenant by James A. Michener, 1080 pgs
8.Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, 1344 pgs
9.Homeland by John Jakes, 1138 pgs
10.Russka by Edward Rutherfurd, 1007 pgs
11.A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 1474 pgs
12.Love and War by John Jakes, 1019 pgs
13.Texas by James A. Michener, 1508 pgs
14.My Life by Bill Clinton, 1000 pgs
15.Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine, 1086 pgs
16.Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, 1059 pgs
17.The Journeyer by Gary Jennings, 1219 pgs
18.Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, 1144 pgs
19.Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton, 1235 pgs
20.Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 1185 pgs
21.Wicked by Jilly Cooper, 1007 pgs
22.The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 1412 pgs
23.London by Edward Rutherfurd, 1299 pgs
24.The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, 1076 pgs
25.A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 1391 pgs
26.World Without End by Ken Follett, 1111 pgs
27.Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 1,015 pgs
28.The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, 1,056 pgs
29.An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, 1,065 pgs
30.New York by Edward Rutherfurd, 1017 pgs
31.Hawaii by James A.Michener, 1130 pgs
32.The Company by Robert Littell, 1281 pgs
33.The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F.Hamilton, 1225 pgs
34.Spangle by Gary Jennings, 1276 pgs
35.Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, 1024 pgs
36.Alaska by James A. Michener, 1073 pgs.
37.Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, 1180 pgs.
38.Chesapeake by James A. Michener, 1132 pgs

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-12-2019 - 2554
Books added in December - 26
Books read in December - 8

Revised book total - 2572

Pages to read at 1-12-2019 - 1,072,486
Pages added in December - 8,979
Pages read in December - 3,041

Revised total pages to read - 1,078,424

DECEMBER'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 8

No of Authors.................... 8

New Authors...................... 1

Male Authors..................... 4

Female Authors.................. 4

Pages Read....................... 3,041

Daily Avg........................... 98.10

Book Length avg................. 380.13

1-7-1995 to 31-12 2019 READING STATS

BOOKS READ...……. 1187

PAGES READ...…….. 546,375

AUTHORS...………….. 366

MALE AUTHORS...… 212

FEMALE AUTHORS... 154

BOOK AVERAGE...…. 460.30

DAILY AVERAGE...…. 61.05

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

1. Chesapeake by James A. Michener, PB - 1132 pgs.
2. Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer, PB - 588 pgs.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

>33 johnsimpson: November or December?

Now JANUARY.....



Wishing you 12 months of success
52 weeks of laughter
366 days of fun (leap year!)
8,784 hours of joy
527,040 minutes of good luck
and 31,622,400 seconds of happiness!!

BOOKS BOUGHT IN JANUARY

1. Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1958 by Norman Preston, PB.
2. Mrs Jeffries Pinches the Post by Emily Brightwell, PB.
3. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano, PB.
4. One Million Lovely Letters by Jodi Ann Bickley, HB.
5. Fifty-Fifty by James Patterson, PB.
6. The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear, PB.
7. The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, PB.
8. War Storm by Victoria Aveyard, PB.
9. Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert, PB.
10. Murder by Matchlight by E. C. R. Lorac, PB.
11. Yorkshire County Cricket Yearbook 2019, HB.

>37 Berly:, Hi Kim, all stats up to date, I had just copied and pasted and hadn't got round to updating before you posted dear friend.

; ) Hugs to you and Karen.

>25 DianaNL:, >26 PaulCranswick:, >27 Ameise1:, >28 SandDune:, Thank you Diana, Paul, Barbara and Rhian for your lovely messages.

>40 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, sending love and hugs to you and the family my dear friend.

Hi all, I managed to reach my revised target of 90 books for the year and Karen reached 65 books read for the year despite limited reading time. If Karen had the time I have she would easily hit 150 books read and would definitely be on here.

Happy reading in 2020, John!

I hope to tackle some big tomes this year :-)

I found out a short time ago that M. C. Beaton has passed away at the age of 83, we both love the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series and she will be sadly missed.

Happy New year!

May it be filled with adventure :)

Happy New Year, John! Looking forward to keeping up with your reading and daily adventures with your lovely wife, Karen!

Happy New Year John! I love your thread title. So glad we're starting another year of LTing.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

Happy New Year, John!

Looking forward to to a year with you of books, tea, and the occasional coffee at a cafe in York. Oh, and collectible pens. :-)

>46 figsfromthistle:, Thanks Anita my dear.

>47 Dianekeenoy:, Thank you Diane my dear, I will try to make sure all the adventures are duly noted on here with my lovely wife.

>48 karenmarie:, Thanks Karen my dear, it took me a bit of time to come up with the right title and looking forward to a better year on LT on the communication front.

>49 jnwelch:, Hi Joe mate, you have hit the nail on the head dear friend, just need to ink up the three pens Karen got me for Christmas.

Yesterday was fairly quiet for me, we woke with the alarm and had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, washed and dressed and coming downstairs to get breakfast, have our meds and a pot of coffee. After breakfast I sorted out the recycling and Karen relaxed before it was time to take her to work.

I dropped Karen off and then went into store to pick up a few bits and then made my way to the DIY store to get a couple of drawer knobs. Once I had the drawer knobs I made my way home and had a pot of tea and finished my book. Once the book was finished I did all my book work and stats before putting the drawer knobs on and then I got on with the housework both upstairs and down. I had a pot of tea or two while posting New Year messages on Facebook and then had a Keralan curry for my tea.

I picked Karen up from work at 8pm and once home she got changed out of her work clothes and we had a drink or two, I went on LT to post New Year messages to all my LT friends and we watched a bit of TV. We saw the New Year in watching the fireworks in London and I was also on my phone trying to watch the fireworks in Funchal. Initially I couldn't get on as there was too much traffic and they were getting more servers on and after a couple of minutes I could watch the fireworks along the promenade. Thousands were watching and Thirteen Cruise ships were in or around the harbour to watch the display. One of these years we will go to Madeira for the New Year to experience it for ourselves, I also want to go in May when they have a couple of festivals including a ten day book festival.

Today was steady away again, we awoke with the alarm and I went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed before we got up, washed and dressed. We came downstairs and had breakfast, our meds and a coffee before Karen prepared the Venison and the vegetables and put them in the slow cooker for six and a half hours. We pottered about until it was time to take Karen to work, she was doing 2pm until 6pm. I dropped Karen at work and then popped into store to get a paper and some cigars and then made my way home.

Once home I made a pot of tea and then did the last of the book stats before doing a bit of reading. I had a few more pots of tea and listened to the Final Score programme before having a late lunch. I went to collect Karen with a pot of tea in the travel mug for her, we dropped colleague at home before making our way home. Once home we put the potatoes and Sprouts on and Karen plated it all up for both of us while I watched the start of the new Dr Who series. I enjoyed Dr Who but the initial story is a two-parter with the second part on Sunday night.

The Venison casserole was delicious and this was followed by melt in the middle chocolate bomb cake with custard, we have watched a bit more TV and are now listening to the radio.

Sounds like you had a nice New Year's Eve and New Year's Day! Mine was uneventful. I'm wanting to try this chocolate custard bomb cake! It sounds wonderful!

Happy New Year, John!

Your venison casserole sounds heavenly.

melt in the middle chocolate bomb cake with custard

Oh my. I'll be right over...

We've recently introduced Charlie to Dr Who and he has become an instant fan. We started with #9 and we're working our way through the Tennant years now; when we get caught up on the recent ones, Charlie wants to go back and watch the originals, which I'm excited for since I've not seen them either.

It sounds like your new year is off to a great start, John! Give Karen a hug for me, please.

>52 johnsimpson: I can't believe that the first is a workday at your place. Here everthing is closed. Today few shops are open, but not all.
Wishing you and Karen a lovely day. xx

Hi John, Happy New Year, to you and Karen!

I love your thread title. Makes me think of doing a reread.

And a new Dr. Who series! Great.

I read Michener's Chesapeake a very long time ago and remember loving it. I have lived most of my life within an hour's drive of the Chesapeake Bay so enjoyed learning more of the history in an entertaining way. Hope you enjoy it, too.

Lots of stats here! Looks like your year is getting off to a good start

>53 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, the end of the holiday season was not too bad apart from Karen having to work but that is the way things are over here for non-essential service staff and volunteers. The Chocolate Bomb Cake with lashings of Custard poured over was heavenly and I think there is another to be had in the cupboard.

>54 quondame:, Thanks Susan my dear.

>55 laytonwoman3rd:, Hi Linda my dear, the Venison Casserole was lovely. Last year we forgot to get any Venison until it was too late to find any, we normally go to various farmer's markets looking for Venison and also Buffalo and Ostrich, the latter two mainly as burgers and sausages as they are delicious. Karen was trained as a cook and spent most of her working life in kitchens until she left that area 15 years ago. I could not give you a recipe as she adds various herbs and spices by hand as she knows what goes and what sort of quantities to add by eye.

>56 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, I think we have another one in the cupboard so come on over, lol. I am glad Charlie likes Dr Who and the David Tennant era is a good start for him. I well remember the early Dr Who's and my start was with Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor and the episode that sticks in my mind was when he was confronted with the Sea Devils, scared the living daylights out of me.

The present Doctor is very good and since it was re-booted with Christopher Eccleston, celebrities clamour to be in the show, it is a must have on their C.V's

>57 Ameise1:, Hi Barbara my dear, Karen says the same thing, sadly it is money, money, money for retailers and if they could open on Christmas Day they would. Karen only worked yesterday as a quid pro quo for getting off at 8pm on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Eve she was spitting feathers. Although Tuesday is a 12noon to 10pm shift for her, they were told that once the store closed and they had tidied up everything they could go at 8pm but some confusion reigned and some people thought she was going to stay until 10pm. Karen was annoyed and spoke to her line manager who said that wasn't the case and her immediate boss should have told her this but she said Karen was on until 10pm. Karen got it all sorted out but was not happy.

A few stores including Aldi, Lidl and B&M closed early on Christmas Eve and were closed until the 27th and then closed early on New Year's Eve and were closed on New Year's Day as they thought their staff should spend time with their families. The only store that closes on a Sunday apart from independent retailers is The Entertainer, a Toy Store who believe that families should have one day all together.

On Christmas Eve Karen would have had to work until 10pm if she had not offered to do four hours on New Years Day as she works on the clothing department and they had to mark everything down for the sale starting on the 26th, all other staff had gone home.

>58 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, the title suits my reading as I like Big books and smaller books and as everyone knows, I do love a pot of tea or two or three or more, lol.

It was great to see the start of the new series of Doctor Who as we have been waiting all over the festive period for this.

>59 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, I love Michener's books and as I want to read quite a few Big Books this year, it fits the category easily, I also have The Source on my 2020 reading pile. It must be nice to have Chesapeake Bay quite close dear friend.

>60 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, you know I love a few stats and so I didn't want to disappoint and the year has got off to a steady start so far dear friend.

>61 paulstalder:, Hi Paul, thanks for stopping by here.

>65 johnsimpson: Thanks so much for thr insight, John. It sounds so awful. I can't believe how they treat their employees. Please, give Karen a special hug from me. Thinking of her and you too. xxx

>69 Ameise1:, Hi Barbara, the special hug given dear friend.

:-) xxx

A nice steady day for us, we awoke with the alarm and I went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed, once we finished our tea we got up, washed and dressed before stripping the bedding off our bed.

Karen set a load of washing going while I got our meds and vitamins out, Karen made us a pot of coffee and sorted breakfast out. After we finished our breakfast we set off to the Aldi at Featherstone to pick up a few bits, I sat in the car and read while she did this. Once back home we unpacked and put the few bits away before Karen put the washing on the airers while I made us a pot of tea.

After we finished our pot of tea we went and put fresh, clean bedding on our bed before I went into the loft to get the decorations boxes back down. Over the next couple of hours we took down all the decorations and lights and packed them away for another year. The tree will come down on Saturday and then the cards will come down on Twelfth night.

When all the packing had been done we had a pot of tea and watched The Repair Shop before having another pot of tea and then Karen put Yorkshire Puddings in the oven and warmed up the remainder of Yesterdays Venison Casserole, it was still lovely.

We are having a steady night watching TV and I am on the laptop on LT.

>63 johnsimpson: I have many favorite preparations of venison. I've been eating it all my life, most often harvested from our own woods and fields (my brother now lives on a farm which has been in our family since our great-grand-parents established it well over a century ago) where the hunting is usually good. I have to rely on the generosity of the hunters in the family for my supply. It is rare to find venison for sale anywhere near where we live as it isn't farmed around here, and it's illegal to sell it from the field.

Good on you for getting the decorations down and put away! We still have that to do this weekend, although Tomm did start putting tree ornaments away last night while we were watching TV. De-decorating is one of my very least favorite things. Blech. Also, I'll have one of those Yorkshire Puddings, please, as they are, in fact, one of my very *very* favorite things!

>67 johnsimpson: Getting out into nature and spending time along the bay are part of our resolutions this year! Got kind of stuck on the farm over the past nine years and we are figuring out how to disconnect.

I am impressed that you have gotten the decorations taken down. I will work at it this weekend. We enjoyed an old-fashioned tree trimming with friends this year. Maybe I can tempt them back with treats and hot cider to help with the take down.

>63 johnsimpson: Venison is not easy to find for sale in the United States either. The only times I've eaten it are when a family member I'm visiting was a hunter.

>76 thornton37814: Did you mean to link to my post at >73 laytonwoman3rd:? Because I am in the US...

>72 johnsimpson: Reminded me that we have some venison in the freezer that we do need to do something with. Just need to find a recipe ... We do have quite a lot of venison around here as we are near to Hatfield Forest which has a lot of deer, as we know to our cost when we take the dog for a walk there. We have given up allowing her off the lead there now as she just disappears off into the woods if she gets the slightest sight or smell of the deer, and it usually takes a while to find her again.

>73 laytonwoman3rd:, Hi Linda my dear, nice to see someone else who likes Venison, we have to make sure we get the dates right for when it is in season and get some for the freezer. The last lot we got was in November when we went to the Farmer's market in Harrogate although there was no stall selling it and we found a butcher's near the theatre that had plenty in stock so Karen got a pack of Cubed Venison and some Venison Steaks.

>74 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, Karen decided to have a steady day at home and so started to get the decorations down, the tree will come down tomorrow or Sunday depending whether we go for a drive tomorrow and the cards will come down on Monday.

>75 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, we are determined to go for more walks in the nature parks nearby or when we go up into the Dales up near Ribblehead Viaduct, we went to Settle today and had intended to go up to Ribblehead to do the walk to Blea Moor Signal box and back but when we woke up this morning we were both a bit stiff and sore so the walk was curtailed.

We have just got the tree and cards to take down so that isn't too bad for us and everything will be down by Twelfth night.

>76 thornton37814:, >77 laytonwoman3rd:, Hi Lori my dear, Linda said the same thing and we find it difficult near to us but if we go up to North Yorkshire we have a good chance of getting most Game and obviously if we were in Scotland it would be even easier as long as it is all in season.

>78 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, I had forgotten that the forest areas down south have lots of Deer around and again while it is the season, Venison can be got hold of, hope you enjoy your Venison my dear.

We have had a nice day in Settle and Skipton. We got up with the alarm and as we both felt stiff and sore we decided to have a pot of tea in bed before setting off for Settle and we would abandon our plan for a walk up at Ribblehead Viaduct. Once we were up and about we got washed and dressed and then had our meds and vitamins before setting off although Karen did make a coffee in the travel mug for herself.

We got to Settle just before 11am and first stop was Ye Olde Naked Man Café for brunch, we got settled in the café and perused the menu and saw that they stopped doing breakfast at 11am, even though it was two minutes to 11 I wasn't sure they would do one for me but they did, I asked them to leave the Black Pudding off and they put extra sausage on instead. A couple came in with two young children a couple of minutes later and he wanted a breakfast and they obliged, nice when they will do this.

The breakfast was lovely, the Sausage, Bacon and eggs were very local which is always nice, Karen had Poached Egg on Toast and pinched one of my extra sausages. We were just finishing off our tea when Karen's old school friend Janet came in to see if we were still in. We had messaged Janet yesterday that we would be up in Settle, she lives four miles away in the village of Stainforth, but she said that her husband Andrew's mum was in hospital but would be being moved so she would probably not be around. As it turned out they hadn't moved her and so she was on her way back home and had seen that Karen had put on Facebook that we were in the Café so she thought she would see if we were still in.

We ordered three Cappuccinos and had a good natter, catching up with things. We asked about Andrew's Mum and about her little Grandson who was born six weeks premature in October, poor little lamb had Necrotising Bowel and was ruched to the LGI at Leeds where after 36 hours of medication they operated to remove the dead part of the bowel and he was left with 60 centimetres of bowel. Although things were touch and go for a while and all the grandparents were asked to go to the hospital in case things took a turn for the worst. Over Christmas he had a gastric infection and lost a little weight but has started to put a little bit back on so hopefully he is picking up now. We chatted about each other for a while before Janet had to go and we will get in touch when the weather picks up to go up and see Janet and Andrew at their house and by then both of them will have stopped running about here and there with Andrew's Mum and their Grandson.

We parted with hugs and then we went into Limestone Books which only opened at the beginning of October, although a bit on the small side it is doing well and this will be their first full year of trading. After a good look around I picked up the fourth book in the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard and then had a chat with the lovely lady behind the till. We chatted about various books and then about local author Julia Chapman and her Dales Detective Series and that the fictional village of Bruncliffe is really Settle and that the French publishing is in front of us with Book five already out and we have to wait until April. The French TV rights have been bought and it will be filmed around Normandy, as yet the rights for it to be filmed over here have not been bought and I mentioned Andy's panto co-writer Howard who is a producer for Mammoth Films and TV and that I would mention it to him to see if they would be interested.

We left the bookshop and had a mooch around Settle and then got in the car to head back towards Skipton to have a mooch around there. By the time we left Skipton we had picked up six more books, some Chocolates after we had found where the chocolate maker had moved to and a couple of other things.

It had been a lovely day out for both of us and we saw Janet and visited a new bookshop, what could be better. Tomorrow we may go up to Northallerton depending on how we feel.

>77 laytonwoman3rd: Oops. It was #63. I corrected it.

Venison season is over here. It's starts mid September and goes til the beginning of December. We really like it.

>84 johnsimpson: Sounds like a lovely day.

Just passing through and saying hello, John.

I’ve read a lot of Michener. My favorites are Hawaii, The Source (lots and lots of interesting info), Centennial, and Chesapeake. I also loved something completely different: Tales of the South Pacific.

Hope your weekend is wonderful!

>87 thornton37814:, It was Lori, first date day of 2020.

>88 Matke: Hi Gail my dear, I have read Hawaii, Centennial, The Covenant, Texas and Alaska and I love his books. Centennial was the first I read by him and loved it and he became a favourite of mine.

If we go up to Northallerton we will take the Christmas Tree down on Sunday otherwise it will come down tomorrow and then the cards on Monday.

I hope you have a lovely weekend dear friend.

>90 johnsimpson: A bit of trivia: In Centennial Michener writes about the village of Lampeter, PA, named after Lame Peter. That village was my childhood home until I left for college and hearing Michener give it a bit of history even it was apocryphal, was wonderful. We did have a stop on the underground railroad and a tunnel that ran between the two old houses on the catty corner sides of the town square but I can't remember if Michener referenced that or not.

I am on the road on my way back to Tuscaloosa after a long Christmas break. I still have a Christmas present or two to leave in Nashville with my niece, and then it will be on to get home. I will have two days to get ready for the new semester at the University, so it will be a short time to get ready and then GO!

I did manage to get caught up with you and Paul on the threads, so did something today. Happy reading in the New Year!

Happy New Year to you and Karen, John!

>91 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, nice bit of trivia that.

>92 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, hope you had a nice Christmas break but not much time before you are back at work dear friend.

>93 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl mate, thank you and Karen is already ahead of me.

We didn't end up going to Northallerton on Saturday, after we had breakfast we popped into Wakefield as I needed to do some banking and picked up my usual Saturday copy of The Yorkshire Post and my two rail magazines. While I did the banking Karen wandered around and picked up a couple of bits before we made our way home.

After a nice pot of tea we got on with taking the Christmas Tree down, once all the decorations were boxed up we moved the armchairs and coffee table around and moved the tree to another position to see if it would work for next Christmas. The tree looked good in the position we selected and it frees up the front window to give us daylight and we can all see the TV, we are not going to mention it to the kids or Hannah as we want to see their reaction to yet another position for the tree. Once this was done we took the tree apart and boxed it up and took all the boxes upstairs. I then vacuumed the living room after Karen had dusted and then we did the same in the dining room.

When all the work was done we had a well earned pot of tea and had a snack as it was too late for lunch and we were not quite ready for tea. We had another pot of tea before Karen made us Sausage, Egg and Beans for tea and then we watched some TV. We watched The Masked Singer and that is ninety minutes of my life I will not get back, needless to say we will not be watching again and then we watched the first episode of The Voice with a new judge onboard, Meghan Trainor.

On Sunday morning we had a lie-in with a pot of tea and then we got up, washed and dressed before having breakfast. Karen then did the little bit of ironing before we put all the Christmas decoration boxes in the loft. We had a nice steady afternoon before having a late lunch. We watched a bit of TV before I had to go to our bedroom to watch Doctor Who and then I re-joined Karen to watch the first episode of the new series of Call the Midwife.

Today we had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, washed and dressed and then coming downstairs to have breakfast and our meds. We pottered about for a bit before Karen went to wash her hair and I picked my book up and read before Karen came back downstairs and we had a pot of tea and watched the news programme before Politics live. Karen made some lunch and then got changed for work and we had a small pot of coffee before it was time to take Karen to work.

After dropping Karen at work I made my way home and made a pot of tea, put the radio on to listen to the Cricket and picked my book up, a few pots of tea later I put my book down and did some shredding before watching the news. After this I went for a shower before having something to eat and then fired the laptop up to come on here.

>85 thornton37814: Ah...thanks. My confusion is banished!

I thought I would have a nice weekend to spend in Birmingham catching up with friends there and I have a new pair of glasses to pick up waiting for me. However, this morning a professor came in and wants me to do a Saturday library instruction session with her course, so that means that I will be reduced to staying at home. It is good, because I need to clean out my bathroom cabinet and get things spic and span for the new year. I can also take things to the recycling. It should also leave me time to get my Christmas letter sent to everyone on my list. I forgot to take my address book with me when I went on my Christmas wanderings so my Christmas epistle didn't get sent.

I said goodbye last night to a colleague. She is leaving the university after 18 months and returning to her home in Chicago to work. I think she is happy to leave as her work experience here was not good. It served to remind me that I am a short timer here and retirement is not that far away and I won't have to put up with some of the things that happened to her due to bad management.

Happy to see that the pots of tea keep coming, John.

Very pleased for Dominic Sibley as his patient 133 is Test Cricket at its best and undeniably won the match for England. You will recall that I was trumpeting a chance for him all last summer.

Dominic Bess doesn't look like he is able to bowl out teams at this level and we are still looking for a slow bowler to replace Swann as a long term option.

Hello Dear John! I vow to be more present in 2020, and of course, yours is a thread I will visit. All good wishes my friend!

John, I thought of you today while I was listening to my audio book Liquid Rules -- it has an entire chapter devoted to TEA!! (Called "Refreshing") All about the leaves, and the difference between green and black tea; that the water you use changes the flavor; temperature makes a difference; if and when to add milk; and how it is a welcome offering at so many homes. Loving this book and particularly this chapter. : )

>99 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, the pots of tea are always flowing at Chez Simpson and I have been having a few pots of Earl Grey which I do love. The reading is slow and steady at the moment but it will pick up after this weekend.

I am also pleased for Sibley and the change of county a couple of years ago has done him the world of good, he has a Test ton under his belt and now needs a good run in the team. It was nice to see a Boycottian innings being played to allow the others to express themselves, a la Stokes.

I would probably agree with you about Bess and I think they are looking for bowlers of any variety who can bat, it is always nice if the bowlers can handle a bat but it seems as if we relying on them to stick with the last batsmen when the rest have failed instead of the old days when you had specialists throughout the team. I would be annoyed if I was Matt Parkinson, taken as part of the squad and then a replacement is flown in, I know there had been a spate of illness but what is the point of picking a squad and then not trusting them to come into the team. It is a bit of a catch 22 situation whereby he could have come in and then been taken to the cleaners a la Kerrigan and the other lad (his name escapes me) from about 12 years ago.

>100 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, you are always most welcome on here and I will be visiting the threads soon. It has been a traumatic last 12 months or so for you dear lady and I have never wanted you to feel under pressure to visit my thread and that is the same for your other LT friends. I will always be pleased to see you whether it is once a week, month or year, I know you are there for me whenever I need to speak to you. Sending love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

>101 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, 'Only' one chapter, well I never, ha ha. Because of the range of teas there is always so much to know what to do with them in different parts of the world. I always put milk in last and use the timer in the kitchen to let it brew for three minutes or four in the case of the Breakfast Tea we were given for Christmas. I have been having a few pots of Earl Grey as I do love this one and I have milk instead of Lemon.

When on the selection/interview process to get into West Yorkshire Police we had to pick a card and then talk for five minutes on whatever was on the card, luckily for me it was how to make a pot of tea and clearly I could have gone on for more than five minutes.

I hope you are having a good week my dear and send love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

The last few days have been pretty steady for us:

On Tuesday we had a steady morning before I took Karen to work and after dropping her off I went into store to do the shopping as it was the first of two days of Staff Double Discount. I got the essentials that we needed and then some bits to put by, extra deodorant for me, cereal for me, Baked Beans etc and to this was added some Frexinet for the wedding we are going to on Saturday, a 60th birthday present from Amy for our good friend Linda and two items of clothing for Karen.

Once home I unpacked and put it all away before having a pot of tea and doing some reading before doing the upstairs housework. The rest of the day was steady for me until it was time to pick Karen up from work.

On Wednesday we had breakfast and a pot of tea before taking Karen to the dentist for a check-up, while she was at the dentist I went and paid the last instalment of the 2019/20 Council Tax until April when we get the 2020/21 bill. I went to collect Karen from the dentist and we made our way home, just time for a pot of tea before Debbie the nail technician arrived to do Karen's nails. I made us all a pot of tea and then enjoyed mine while reading, listening now again to whatever Debbie and Karen were talking about.

When Debbie left we had a pot of tea before having some sandwiches and watching a programme I had recorded before it was time for me to collect Hannah from school. I collected Hannah and brought her home, she had some Cheese and some milk before disappearing upstairs to play with her toys in 'Her' room. We had tea later and then Karen bathed her before I took her home. Once back home we had a steady evening.

Today has been another steady relaxing day, after a pot of tea in bed we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs. Karen set a load of washing going and I got our meds and vitamins out and then Karen sorted breakfast out while I made us a coffee. We watched an episode of Great British Railway Journeys before going into Wakefield.

Once in Wakefield we split up and I picked up a couple of items from the chemist and on my way back to Karen I called into Waterstones bookshop. The book I was looking for wasn't in and I had a quick look in the sale boxes, I was lucky once again and managed to pick up the 2019 Yorkshire County Cricket Yearbook for £3, it retails at £14.99. In the last ten days I have picked up the 2018 and 2019 editions for £3 each to add to my collection. Once I had met back up with Karen we went across to the Trinity Walk shopping centre to call into Next to pick up the shirts Karen had ordered for me and then we went into Sainsbury's supermarket. Whilst in the supermarket I picked up another shirt that will go with the sweaters I have, I am not sure the shirts that Karen ordered will be right for me. Once done in the supermarket we called into JD Sports to pick up the training shoes Karen had ordered, she tried them all on and then selected the pair that fit best and gave the others back and had money refunded.

Once all the shopping was done we made our way back to the car and headed home, once home I made us a pot of tea before Karen put the washing on the airers and put the flowers she had bought into a vase. We had another pot of tea before watching a couple of programmes I had recorded before we had another pot of tea or two while we watched some TV.

We are having a nice evening and I fired up the laptop to come on here. My reading is slow and steady at the moment and will pick up after the weekend.

The last eight weeks have been pretty good on the Cricket book collections, including two Wisden's as Christmas presents I have got six Wisden's and four Yorkshire County Cricket Yearbooks and all were bargain prices. Hopefully I will be able to add a few more during the year.

Today has been a steady-ish day but also a painful one. We were up with the alarm and once downstairs we had breakfast, our meds and vitamins and a pot of tea before it was time to take Karen to work. I dropped Karen off and then went into store to pick up a birthday card, a pint of milk and some cigars.

Once home I wrote in the birthday card and sealed it ready to be delivered and then had a pot of tea before filling three pens with ink. I had my pot of tea and then decided to wash the car, I had a tea break halfway through washing the car and once finished made another pot of tea and read for a short while.

I watched the lunchtime news and local news before having a couple more pots of tea before getting on with the downstairs housework. Once the housework was done I had a pot of tea before making myself some sandwiches, a mince pie and some Ruby Chocolate Florentines.

The painful part of the day was my normal back ache along with a sharp pain on the inside of my left knee, when I saw my GP last, I mentioned the knee pain and she said it is another episode of Arthritis along with my back and left foot and shoulders and neck. I think the inside of the left knee is slightly swollen and when I see the GP next, I will let her know of the increased pain. Sadly with the amount of meds I am taking there isn't much more that can be done and my meds are not helping with the knee. Oh well, another sign of getting older and the fact that my left side is taking the brunt of the Arthritis, I do have a little pain in my left thumb and index finger but I am right handed so can still write with my beloved Fountain Pens. If I ever get over to America I will need a book fund and a Fountain Pen fund as some of the Pen dealers have some really good pens at decent prices, sadly it is not worth buying online as postage charges and import duties make it prohibitive, oh well one day.

I picked Karen up from work and once home she went for a shower before we had a pot of tea and then something to eat. We are having a nice evening watching programmes I have recorded and while I am on here, Karen is doing some knitting for the animals caught up in the horrific Australian Bush fires.

>107 johnsimpson: Oh that’s so sweet of Karen to be doing that knitting John. I saw that appeal but I’m a very poor knitter.

>107 johnsimpson: John--I am sorry about the increased knee pain. : ( Hope it comes and GOES!!!

>104 johnsimpson: Yes, I can imagine you could talk at great length about lots of tea things! LOL

Now back to my current favorite book, Liquid Rules... Chapter 10 is all about...pens!! Their evolution, containers, applicators, ink, erasing vs permanence, and how to make it dry fast so it doesn't get all over everything. And, yes, they talked about Fountain Pens!!! : )

>107 johnsimpson: Marc and me went to Ackermans yesterday, John, so I thought of you. All those tempting pens, and paper stuff.

I am sorry you have that knee-pain now, hope it will go soon again.

I'm another one sorry to hear about your knee pain, John. Have you tried a topical ointment? We have one here called "Biofreeze" that you rub onto muscle and bone areas that hurt, and we find it actually helps a lot. I'm not sure what you have in Yorkshire, but there might be a non-prescription one like this that would give you some relief, and wouldn't interact adversely with what you're taking?

>108 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, Karen loves to knit and when a friend on Facebook sent a message around Karen immediately picked up her needles an set to knitting for them.

>109 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, the knee pain is a nuisance, it started a few months ago and disappeared within ten days and then it began again just before Christmas and lasted about three weeks and then went and now it has started again but is more painful this time.

I have no doubts I could talk for a lot longer than five minutes about tea nowadays.

I must say that Liquid Rules sounds rather interesting my dear, the evolution of pens over the years is fascinating and now with efforts to recycle the use of bottled inks is increasing. There are many makers of ink and the range of colours is enormous but on the need for quick drying Noodler's ink have one that dries quick AND they also do an ink for left handers and that dries quick so work doesn't smudge. Noodler's ink is a small American company run by Nathan Tardif in Southern Massachusetts. I haven't got any of their inks but I do have a Noodler's Ahab Arizona pen and I do love it.

>110 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, I would love to go into Akkermans and I am sure I would be tempted and I would come away with something small probably, an ink or something. I do look on their website periodically so I keep up to date with what they have. I follow three Dutch Fountain Pen retailers websites and they all carry a large range of pens, inks and stationery, one of these days both Karen and I will come over to The Netherlands and call into at least one of these whilst trying to organise an LT meet-up.

The knee pain is just a nuisance my dear and hopefully it will disappear again if only for a short while.

>111 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, mate, the knee pain is a nuisance and I have rubbed some Voltarol on but it hasn't made much difference sadly. The problem is that the arthritis has travelled down the left hand side right down to my foot as well as having neck and shoulder pains on top of the back pain and with everything I am on there is nothing else they can give me. The change of trying to lower the Fentanyl patches although adding Duloxetine to try and take the place of the drop in Fentanyl dosage may not be helping things. I will be seeing my GP within the next couple of weeks to let them know how things are and what my pain levels are including the knee issue. Hopefully all this will help to see if there is anything else that can be done or given.

Sorry to hear about the continuing knee pain. So many people I know have had knee replacements that I am continually grateful to mostly still get around with minimal discomfort. Last night's excursion got my feet and back complaining, but fortunately spared the knee. We did take the exit before the full circuit was joined, but still had lots of pretty things to remember.

>113 johnsimpson: That's one of the things discussed--how to make inks dry faster! Hope the knee is cooperating.

Happy Monday!

I hope you find effective pain relief for your knee. My father also has severe knee problems and regularly gets injections *shudder*.

I hope that your arthritis is better today, John.

Hope you are feeling better! Knee pain is not fun!

Happy New Year, John! I do hope the arthritis pain eases for you soon. That is not a fun way to start the year.

>116 quondame:, >117 Berly:, >118 figsfromthistle:, thank you Susan Kim and Anita for your messages, the knee is still troublesome but I am ok.

>119 kidzdoc:, >120 thornton37814:, >121 alcottacre:, Thank you Darryl, Lori and Stasia for your messages, the knee is still troublesome but I am ok.

The weekend was pretty good for both of us. We had a pot of tea in bed after the alarm had gone off and once finished we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs. Karen set a load of washing going while I got our meds out and then we had a pot of coffee before having some breakfast. I took Karen to work and then popped into store to get my paper and some cigars and made my way home.

Once home I put the washing on the airers and made a pot of tea before settling down to read my paper. After another pot of tea I had a couple of little jobs to do before settling down with a pot of tea and my book. I had some lunch and then had a shave and got changed before having a pot of tea, I put some things in the car and then made a pot of tea in the travel mug for Karen.

I went to collect Karen from work and then we set off for Ripon and The Royal Oak Hotel for our overnight stay as we were going to the night do of Adam and Hannah's wedding, Adam is Andy's younger brother. Unfortunately Karen hadn't realised that the Hotel doesn't have its own parking so we had to park where we normally park when we go to Ripon, luckily it was only a few minutes walk to the Hotel. We had a slightly eventful walk to the Hotel as the directions a lady gave us was not quite right and I took a fall onto my right knee, again luckily I didn't rip my jeans. We eventually got to the Hotel and checked in and were shown to our room up four flights of stairs. The Hotel is quite old so that was why there were some many stairs.

The room was lovely and it was nice and warm with a very decent en-suite, I made us a pot of tea and then we got ready to go to the Old Deanery where the wedding had taken place. We had a lovely evening with Andy and Amy and the rest of the family and were introduced to Hannah, she is lovely and they make a lovely couple. We left just after 11.30pm as Karen was quite tired and got back to our room. We both got out of our outfits and Karen made us a coffee from the coffee machine, I must say that the tea/coffee facilities are the best we have had for quite a while.

On Sunday morning we awoke with the alarm and I made us a pot of tea before we got up and dressed and went down for breakfast. I went for a smoke and found that it was raining quite heavy but by the time we had finished breakfast and I went to get the car the rain had stopped just about. We set off form Ripon and headed to Harrogate via a scenic route. We parked up in Harrogate and went to Betty's for a nice pot of tea before having a wander around. After a couple of hours with the weather turning cold and looking as though it was going to rain we set off for home.

The weather over the last two days has not been with Storm Brendan making itself felt, I had to pop into Wakefield yesterday after dropping Karen at work and although it was cold, it was dry. I had only been home for about 20 minutes when it started to rain and boy did it come down for a while. Today has been wet all day and luckily I have only been out to take Karen to work so I have been in the warm with pots of tea and my book.

Your hotel stay sounds lovely, John, but I'm sorry that you fell on your knee! I hope it didn't exacerbate things too much. How are you feeling?

>107 johnsimpson: I am sorry about your ongoing pain. And your fall! Glad it wasn't too bad and you were able to enjoy the wedding party and hotel stay.

Mostly stopping by to say hello and wish you well!

>126 scaifea:, Hi Amber, the right knee is fine, not even a bruise to show for it or any underlying pain. The left knee is still playing up and I need to make an appointment to see my GP. Next Tuesday I have to go for an assessment for the Benefits agency, nothing has changed since I last went 21 months ago apart from trying other meds and reducing the Fentanyl patches but the pain is still as bad and I may have to up the level of Duloxetine to combat the reduction of the patches. Apart from all this I am ok.

>127 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen, the fall was annoying but I have no bruise or pain in the right knee but the left one is still painful and we did enjoy the wedding party and the Hotel stay was lovely.

It has been a nice steady day for both of us, we awoke with the alarm and I went and made a pot of tea for us to enjoy in bed. Once we had finished our tea we got up and while Karen got washed I stripped the bedding off and then while Karen got dressed I got washed and dressed.

I took the bedding downstairs and put it in the washer and set it off before emptying the dishwasher and then got our meds and vitamins out. Karen made us a coffee and got the breakfast ready. By the time we had finished breakfast the washer had stopped and we put all the washing on the airers before setting off to the Aldi store at Featherstone.

Karen went into store for the bits we needed while I stayed in the car and read, once Karen had done we set off for home and unpacked and put the shopping away. We went upstairs and put fresh bedding on our bed before having a pot of tea and watched a programme I had recorded. After the programme had finished Karen realised that she had left the flowers she had bought, on the kitchen worktop so she got the vases and sorted the flowers out while I made us a fresh pot of tea and then we watched another programme I had recorded.

While watching our programme the postman had delivered some post and one of the items was the Fountain pens that a lady on the Fountain Pen UK group was giving away. She had sent me three Wingsung 3008's, these are piston fillers and they had been fully cleaned, she also sent me two Hero 448's in Cerise and Mauve, again they are fully cleaned.

After looking at my pens it was time for me to go and collect Hannah from school, I picked Hannah up and then went to their house to get the key Rob had hidden for me so that I could pick up a bag of washing to be done. Sadly their washer door exploded last week sending glass everywhere, the engineer is coming to sort it out tomorrow. Once I had the bag of washing we headed for home but we got stuck in traffic problems so I had to a detour to get us home.

Once home we had a drink before we all had something to eat and then Hannah went upstairs with Karen's Tablet, Karen bathed Hannah later and when the washer had finished I folded it all up ready to take back to them. I took Hannah home via her other Grandad's so that I could pick up the bag of white washing that they had done for them. After dropping Hannah and the washing home I made my way home and made a pot of tea and fired up the laptop to come on here.

>130 johnsimpson: Whoa! I never heard of a washer door exploding before - was it while it was washing?

>131 quondame:, It was Susan, Louise wondered what had gone on, there was thick glass shards on the kitchen floor and bits all over the washing, some of which had tears in them as it was till washing and she had to quickly isolate the power. I must say that I have never heard of a door exploding and they have only had the washer for 15 months.

My reading has picked up over the last couple of days and hopefully I will finish my first book of 2020 by the end of the weekend. This one will be the first of the 1,000 page behemoths I intend to read this year.

I think I now know why I always purchase a top-loading washer -- no washer doors to explode!

>102 johnsimpson: Bess was picked to attempt to tie down the South African batting and to an extent it worked but we need to bowl them out too.

I think they should give Parkinson a game, especially if we bat first and I would probably bring in Wood and rest Archer for Cape Town when the two quickest bowlers should play in tandem.

The England team for Sri Lanka should really include James Hildreth as he has such great technique and is a sublime player of spin. Sam Northeast should go too and Virdi from Surrey. Jennings plays the spinners well and I'd take him as backup.

We need a specialist wicket keeper and I'd take any two of Ben Brown, Ben Foakes, Sam Billings or Simon Davies.

>130 johnsimpson: We also have a top loader here in Malaysia and they do seem more reliable.

We have had a very steady relaxing day and yet I haven't read a page yet although I have inked three of the pens that arrived yesterday. The two Hero pens have Crimson and Jade Green in them and one of the Wing Sungs has Windermere in it and they all write lovely.

Tomorrow I have a dental check-up appointment at 12.30pm and before this I have a bit of shopping to do after dropping Karen at work. When I get back from the dentist I will have the downstairs housework to do, oh the life of the House Husband, lol.

Hi John! Well, I have been trying to stay caught up with threads but as you can see I've been mostly unsuccessful.

Your hotel stay/wedding sounds lovely, even with the long walk and 4 flights of stairs. In-room coffee and tea facilities are always welcome, aren't they? Sorry about falling on your right knee, and I'm very sorry to hear about the left knee pain flair up and trying to balance Fentanyl and Duloxetine.

Yikes, exploding front-loading washers. It sounds like it could have been dangerous if any of the family had been in that room. I bought a top-loading HE washer last May and have been very pleased with it. It makes very weird sounds compared with the old agitator-type we had, and I'm still amused by them.

I admire Karen's knitting for the animals of Australia. I don't have any skill in that area so sent money instead to the Australian Red Cross.

Hope you have a great weekend, John!

Finished my first read of 2020 and what a way to start the year. I love Michener's books and still have a few more to read and hopefully will read another before year end.

Congratulations on finishing number 1 John. I'm guessing this was one of your Big Books?

>134 thornton37814: I am with you on that!

>140 johnsimpson: I will be glad when I can start reading behemoth books again. I am happy that your first read of the year was a good one, John!

I have not been on here for a few days due to illness and a couple of other things but now I am back and will update things. I have been dealing with an ear infection that turned to Impetigo and a foot infection on the ball of my right foot, between the two they made me feel off colour and not wanting to do much.

I went to the doctors on Monday to make an appointment about my infections and one about my back, I saw the nurse practitioner on Tuesday morning about the infections and she concurred with my thoughts and prescribed Flucloxacillin for one week and it appears to be starting to make an effect on both conditions. Later on Tuesday I had to attend a Department of Work and Pensions Health Assessment, I had to fill in a form six months ago and as I had heard nothing I thought I was safe but then the letter arrived with an appointment date. Karen came with me and we arrived 10 minutes before my appointment time but found out they were running up to an hour late.

I was eventually called in to see the Assessor and it was a nurse who knew quite a bit about back problems and arthritis and was aware of Opiates and Opioids. I showed her the letters from the pain management specialist and she was a little horrified when she saw that before I started the Fentanyl reduction the liquid equivalent for me was 540 ml per day. Karen questioned the dosage of Duloxetine and could it go higher and I am on the maximum dosage and it would be dangerous to go higher and I may have to look at Pregabalin or Gabapentin instead of Duloxetine. I now have to wait for a letter to see whether my current situation alters, last time I never got a letter so we will wait and see.

After this I dropped Karen at home as she was not feeling well and went on to the Crematorium to pay my respects to my old Boss when I worked at Sharlston Colliery. I met up with nine other work colleagues and we had a chat about our old boss and after the service we continued chatting about old times with him.

We parted and a get together of Electricians, Fitters, Welders, Blacksmiths and other miners has been arranged and it will be nice to see some old work colleagues.

I managed to finish my first book of the year late on Tuesday night.

John, I'm so sorry to hear that you've had so many health problems recently. I can understand about feeling off colour and not wanting to do much.

I hope the Flucloxacillin continues to help.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

Yesterday we picked up our new addition to the family, a new Kitty. He is between six to eight months old and had been abandoned and a lady had taken him in but she already had four cats and Karen had been in touch with her. On Monday night we went to see him and he took to me straightaway and we decided he was for us. We went to collect him at 12.30pm and he has settled quite well with us and we have called him Felix, he has a look of the original Felix.

Felix is quite a jumper and we are having to temper that a bit but he is really loving and likes being stroked and fussed about. He had a good first night and has already sorted out where he wants to sit and sleep, it is the old adage, Dogs have owners and Cats have staff. I will try and post a picture of him.

Oh bad news about all the medical issues! Good news about the new companion. I hope you all are feeling as well as possible shortly.

>144 karenmarie:, Hi Karen, the foot problem started with me having a little lump on the ball of my foot which Karen thought was a Verruca, I treated it but following the instructions to pick the dried cream off it tore the skin and it just got worse. Over the weekend I was struggling to put weight on my foot because of the pain but that has eased. The ear infection could have been my fault, as I am getting older my ears are getting like a Hobbits with hair growing and Karen normally gives me a trim. On the day we were going to the wedding in Ripon I realised that we hadn't done my ears and so after having a wet shave I decided to give my ears a wiz with my electric razor and I may have caused a little cut inside the ear and gradually it has got infected and shown itself.

I will be glad when January is over and I have no ailments apart from my Back problem.

Sending love and hugs to you, Bill and Jenna from both of us dear friend.

Congrats on Felix!! I'm so happy for you guys and so glad that you were able to rescue a kitty who needs a good home. We can share new kitty stories as we got Zoe and Wash last December and we're still going through the jumping on counter phase with Zoe.

I'd love to see a pic of him.

>146 quondame:, Hi Susan, one seems to have been self inflicted and the other was trying to sort a potential verruca out but both seem to be starting to heal nicely. Felix is a cutie and even though he has only been with us for just about 36 hours it feels as though he has been with us for a while. It is eighteen months since we lost Leo but the last few months we have been talking about getting another Furry friend and he just fits the bill and will be good company for me.

Sorry to hear about all your health woes. My you feel better soon.

Congrats on adopting Felix :) He is one lucky cat to come into a loving home.

How wonderful that Felix adopted you! You'll have to post a photo of Felix when you get a chance!

Looking forward to a photo of Felix! I'm glad your infections seem to be responding promptly to treatment.

Hi, John! I hope your antibiotics keep doing the trick, and yay for Felix!

Please HELP, I seem to be struggling to get photos from my profile gallery to my thread, I had no problem before but am obviously doing something wrong and therefore cannot post a photo of Felix or anything else for that matter. I am hoping that one of my good LT friends will be able to help this inept tech person, lol.

>154 johnsimpson: Could it be the # of photos you already have? I've read there is a limit.

>155 quondame:, I suppose it could be my dear, I will have a look.

You wanted to show this picture?


Go to your galery, click on the picture and you get a page with the picture in a larger format. Right click on the picture and choose "copy image URL", then copy and past the URL <img src="URL here">

You have 3 blank pictures in your galery, not sure what happened there.

Such a sweet kitty! I hope Felix brings you lots of happiness.

John--Congrats on the finishing Tome #1!!! And on a new kitty. Hope you are feeling better soon. Might I suggest some tea? : )

>155 quondame: Could you verify where you read that there is a limit as to how many photos you can have in your member gallery or junk drawer? I can't find that, and I do worry I may be stretching the bounds with mine.

I hope you feel better, John. Love and hugs for both of you xx

Felix is a cutie, John. I'm sure he will keep you occupied! Sorry to hear about all your health problems. I hope the niggling ones are cleared up now and there is some progress on the treatment of the larger ones.

>161 laytonwoman3rd: It was mentioned on one of the threads in 75 Books Challenge for 2019. So, gossip of hearsay on my part, because it hasn't happened to me nor have I read rules that say so.

>158 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita my dear and thank you for posting the first photo of Felix.

Good win by the England team today, John.

Sri Lanka coming up fairly soon. Personally I would rest Denly, Buttler and Archer for the tour there. I am surely calling in vain but James Hildreth plays spin superbly and should tour. Sam Northeast also would be a good call as a back up and either Jennings (just because of his ability against spin) or Chris Dent (because he deserves a chance) as back up opener.

I ould also give Stokes the option a rest as he has played far too much cricket in a short space of time.

Root, Sibley, Crawley, Dent, Northeast, Hildreth, Pope, Stokes/Higgins, Brown, Leach, Bess, Virdi, Curran, Wood, Broad, Woakes

Sorry I didn't have chance to touch base with you when I was in the UK just before.

Such a cute kitty, John! Hope you are feeling better soon, too.

Checking in to see how sweet Felix is settling into his new home!

>159 thornton37814:, >168 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, Felix is settling in very well and he goes to the Vets on Friday for his injections and hopefully the Vet will be able to give us a better idea of how old he is.

>160 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, I thought I would start with a big one and should finish book two by the end of the night, the year is going to be one of mainly big ones that are a series or part of a series. It is so nice to have Felix around, it has taken me a while to decide to get another Cat although last year I wanted to wait until we came back from our holiday in Madeira.

On the health front I will be glad when January is done with, the two infections are clearing up nicely but whilst at a party on Saturday night we had to leave a little earlier than we would have done as I was in a lot of pain with my neck, shoulders and right down to the base of my back. This has eased but it is still a little tender.

Tea has been the mainstay of the month as usual but I have been drinking a lot more Earl Grey than usual and I am enjoying it.

>162 DianaNL:, Hi Diana my dear, I am getting better on the infection front but my back, neck and shoulders caused us to leave a party a little earlier than we would have done but that is easing.

>163 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, Felix is a joy, he is so friendly and likes to have a mad half hour twice a day at the moment. We see the Vet on Friday for his injections and book him in for neutering and hopefully the Vet will be able to give us a better idea of how old he is.

The health problems have been a bit of a nuisance this month, the two infections are clearing up nicely but on Saturday night we were at a 60th birthday party and we had to leave a little earlier than we would normally have done as during the evening I gradually started feeling pain in my neck and shoulders that graduated down to the base of my back and I was in a lot of pain. This has eased a bit but I am taking things steady.

>166 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul mate, it was a good win and a good series win although I think it could have been 4-0 if the players had been fully fit for the first test. I agree with you that Stokes should have a rest and that they should also look at other options for Sri Lanka, preferably ones who can deal with spin effectively. I think that we are the only ones shouting for Hildreth and Northeast but one should be brought in.

To be honest mate you were too busy to meet up and I wouldn't have wanted to take any of your precious time up mate, you needed to see Mum and make the most of the time you had. We will get together at some point in the future and have a good chat and put the world to rights.

>167 jessibud2:, Hi Shelley my dear, Felix is a joy bless him, he is so much fun and good company and has settled in well. We had forgotten how nosy a young Cat can be and he is also getting used to the house. We are taking him to the Vets on Friday for his injections and book him in for neutering and hopefully the Vet will be able to tell us how old he actually is, as far as we have been told he is between 6 to 8 months old.

>173 johnsimpson: Thanks John - we will indeed!

Felix is adorable and will bring you lots of joy!

I am sending lots of healing thoughts for you and your continuing back pain. I am visiting my 85-year-old mother and she has been struggling with nerve pain in her leg. She is doing physical therapy that helps. She has no tolerance for prescription medications; she always seems to have a negative reaction. So, we take it easy: went out to lunch and a drive and now we are all back and napping.

>176 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen, I have been on various medications since 1991 for my back and at one point I was on 23 tablets a day and then in 2002 I was moved onto Fentanyl patches. Now I am having to be treated as a drug addict as they are trying to reduce my Fentanyl patch levels. I was on 150mcg of Fentanyl which the pain management specialist said was equivalent to 560ml of liquid Morphine and the recommended daily dosage of liquid Morphine is 120ml. I am down to 125 mcg of Fentanyl and last Friday the doctor reduced it by another 12.5mcg although I had only just changed my patches on Thursday night and then on Saturday night we were at a 60th birthday party and I had a bad attack that started with my neck and shoulders and went down to the base of my back.

Felix is a joy and he is settling in well with us, he goes to the Vets on Friday for his injections and hopefully we will find out how old he actually is.

Hi John!

Felix is a cutie for sure. He's lucky to have you and Karen, and you're lucky to have him. Aren't kitties grand?

I'm so sorry that your pain management has taken a judgmental turn with them treating you like an addict. It seems to me that anything needs to be gradual and only to the point to just before the pain becomes a negative impact on your quality of life. If they haven't felt the kind of pain you feel regularly, they need to stop judging you and manage your pain, not manage your so-called addiction.

Harrumph.

Much love and many hugs to you, Karen, and Felix.

>178 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, Kitties are great and to be honest I have missed having one around since poor Leo passed away and Felix is great. The little lad is settling in nicely and has decided where he wants to sit and sleep and has already determined that I have more room to lie when I am sat down.

It is hard to explain the pain sometimes and I think that treating me as an addict is more for slowly reducing the level of the patches so that they are not increasing my pain levels and using the Duloxetine as a substitute for the patches but I am not far from the limit of Duloxetine. The pain management chap Martin told me I would be on Fentanyl for life probably but the dosage halved from 150mcg to 75mcg purely because the substitutes could only cover so much of the reduction of Fentanyl.

I hope all is well with you, Bill and Jenna and I must pay a call to your thread, I think February will be a lot better for me visiting threads.

Sending love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

Finished book 2 last night, Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer. This is another excellent read from Mr Archer, since the Clifton Chronicles he has been back to his very best and I look forward to more excellent books from him.

LENINGRAD, RUSSIA, 1968.

From an early age it is clear that Alexander Karpenko is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, Alexander and his mother will have to escape Russia if they hope to survive. At the docks, they have an irreversible choice: board a container ship bound for America or one bound for Great Britain. Alexander leaves the choice to the toss of a coin...

In a single moment, a double twist decides Alexander's future. During an epic tale, spanning two continents and thirty years, we follow Alexander through triumphs and defeat as he sets out on parallel lives, as Alex in New York and Sasha in London. As this unique story unfolds, both come to realize that to find their destiny they must face the past they left behind as Alexander in Russia.

A final twist will shock the most ardent fans of Mr Archer's books.

Oh, I loved Chesapeake back in the day, John. It's my favorite of his that I've read.

Hi Guys and Gals, time for a new thread, this should be up in a short while please join me soon.