General Chat

G'Day All,
I just popped in for a flying visit - I hope that everyone is keeping well and I'll catch up with you all later.

Ian

Morning all,
Just a very quick post to-day. Up early to get the bird in the oven(turkey) that is.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canada folk. Hope you
enjoy the day.

Back soon. Edith XXXX

goodmorning i hope everyone who are celebrating thanksgiving had a good week-end I had a great turkey dinner with friends yesterday the family went to the cottage but I decided not to go as it is closing up week-end and with my daughter in laws sister and family and her mother plus my lot it gets crowded and busy as they go about closing up for the winter plus I wanted to pack for my trip, the tree's around the barrie area are wonderful the colours are impossible to discribe mother nature at her best, to christine c. the new baby in england is well going on no news is good news the cousin the baby's grandmother is not one for sharing news it goes through another cousin and then comes to me. well I leave for calagary on wednesday looking forweard to it spoke to my sister yesterday and she said it was a bit on the cool side bye for now dorothy

Hi Y'all,

Well lots of jam in my kitchen - about 18 jars of peach and 30 of plum, plus several containers of baked apples frozen ready to reheat. I also froze some plums just halved and pits removed. I want to make plum clafouti this winter (several times!!) so plums just awaiting....and that is the kitchen saga for now.

Now I am sewing as I am in an Artisan show on Nov 1/2 and I have nothing made. Spent last two days cutting out the aprons but now it is nose to the grind stone...or the sewing machine...lol!!

There is however a small glitch. I will be a Deputy Returning Officer in the elction tomorrow as will Norm. We have to be there by 6.15am and likely will not get home until 8/9pm. We do get paid but now I realize not enough. We went to a training session and as we left they gave us a manual. I have just looked thru it and I realize that they probably only explained 25% of what is in the manual so the latter part of my day, today, will be studying....oh the joys!!!

Thanksgiving today. Norm and I are having turkey breasts with all the trimmings. Hopefully there will be enough left over to make all the copious sandwiches that we will need tomorrow....we are not allowed to leave the polling station at all!!! More on this on Wednesday.

Keep well you lot and Happy Thanksgiving.
Lesxx

hi lesley all that jam sounds wonderful good luck with the vote it is a long day for you but worth while I am all packed for the trip to calgary to-morrow we ended up with a temperature of 27 yesterday unbelievable weather for this time of year in barrie good for the folks closing the cottages I will be back on the 28th bye for now dorothy

Genes sure is slow tonight. I have had to type this twice as I keep getting an error message when I try to post.

We have just come back from a lovely four days in Saskatchewan visiting our son Michael and his girlfriend Stephanie in their new home. It is the first time I have been to Saskatoon, lovely but cool and windy. We had Stephanie's mum with us so that we could all celebrate Thanksgiving together. Lots of good food and family time. Even the almost seven hour drive each way didn't seem so bad!

My husband Bob was able to give everyone some good news last week as his blood counts still show no change so he will still not need treatment for his Chronic Leukemia. It is now 3 and a half years since he was diagnosed so we are very relieved at this news.

Angela is settling in with her friend in Toronto, Ontario. It was hard to see her leave home again. She is coming home for Christmas on the 14th of December and by then will probably decide if Toronto is to be her home. At least it is not as far away as Australia. I think she has another trip planned for Australia or New Zealand next year some time. I am not sure when she will decide to settle down. We just call her a drifter.

We have finished decorating the Christmas shop at work and it opened on the weekend. I bring a little more glitter home with me each day. My clothes and car are covered in the stuff .

Les, sorry we couldn't get together. I ended up working much longer hours than I though I would.

Is Fred still away, I haven't noticed him post in a while.

Must get to bed.

Teresa

Hi everyone.. We are all busy by the looks of things..
Les are you opening up a shop with all that jam..and frozen fruit..I suppose in winter you have to hibernate like the bears so need to get in as much as you can so that you don't have to go out in that dreadful weather and snow to shop..hee hee hee..I don't know how you Canucks live in that cold..Give me the lovely mild weather we have in Sydney ...not even a frost in winter..lol

Fred.. Away gallivanting and holidaying again..That couple lead a good life..lucky butters...hee hee..

Teresa So glad that Bobs blood tests are so good..and Angela is a bit nearer to you than OZ..but it would be a lovely place to holiday so give some thought to going with here if she comes out again... Don'T work to hard and look after yourselves..

Edith.. Do you have turkey at thanksgiving as well as Christmas..crikey I would be spending the year dieting to get over one meal and it would be into another one..do you have plum pudding as well...lol..have the bears gone to bed yet..??

Well must off to bed so have a nice day all on the other side of the world..and stay warm...

Love Mary xxxx

Hi everyone, all this talk of food is just not good enough!! Lovey jams, fruits, turkey, puddings and here I am with a cup of tea and a biscuit..!!!
Lovely to hear some good new from Tereasa about your husband, poorly myself at the minute and its nice to hear when things are positve for people. Lesley hope your voting day wasn't too hard for you, no doubt you will have had a little fun along the way. My Canadian family search is still going strong, just sent a letter off to a prospective 2nd cousin in Alberta, so fingers crossed. Take care all...

Yes, yesterday was a long day but I did manage to have fun. My partner, poll clerk, was a girl of 34 with a wicked sense of hunour. We laughed and snorted thru much of the day....but I was exhausted when finally we got home at 8.30.

This morning I took off on a usual walk and along the way there is a nice path thru the forest. I have always wanted to try it but never been brave enough but I thought I'll give this a go. So I set off and at some point met a a woman and her dog that I see occasionally. I told her that I was trying to get to Redford Road, she gave me instructions, cross over the bridge etc. Well I got to the creek and there was no bridge, by now I am lost and so spent 2 hours wandering around in circles....thankfully there were no bears!!!! I finally was able to retrace my early steps and made it out of the forest and home. Norm was out driving around looking for me. I called him on his cell phone and he was up at Emergency....worried to death. I was gone over three hours....and no cell phone....what a twit!!! Now Norm is very cross with me so I am in disgrace!!! Shan't try that again. BTW Bella had a great time, off leash, jumping and sniffing.

Now I am going to have a long soak and a rest!!!
More later
Lesxxx

First election in a very, very long time I did nothing at all, not even inside or outside scrutineer on E-day. I think I sat out a municipal election a while back. Other than that, a steady stream of campaigning for 40 years ... ever since Trudeaumania. (I did see the error of those ways before the by-election in my riding the next year.)

Couldn't commit time this year, what with being out of town with the cancer twins (mum and sister).

So here's the Canadian thread, and no Canadian election talk??

Well, I'll just have to cry on my own shoulder. And hope that whoever voted to put these b***s back in power gets exactly what they deserve.

At least my own fine decent NDP MP got handily re-elected!

Gosh the Canadian Elections sound just like ours..Our state parliament got re-elected again and boy we are now paying for it..The state is so short of money our hospitals in the country are out of medical supplies and the doctors are having to by bandages off the town vet..out of their own pocket money..We have just had a shakeup and the state premier had to resign and many of the prominent politicians resigned also..We now have a chap who has been in politics 5 minutes and is in charge..don't get me started.........

Went to the blood sucker this morning.. Thank goodness they left me with a little to keep me going...lol..

Les.. Didn'T Bella show you the way home..Can imagine Normie getting a bit cross..pmsl...Dont do it again please..don't want to lose you..get back to the sewing machine..luv ya...xx

Looks like our Fred is still away..lucky butter...hope the weather is nice for him and Liz..

Well back to the dreaded HW so have a nice day all..

Love Mary xxxx

Janey, I can chat. At about 6 pm we had a very aggressive lady come to my poll station. She pulled up a chair and prepared to settle in...I said I'm sorry (not!!) but you cannot sit there. She said I'm allowed, I said no and where is your form. Then I made her swear an oath to me and somebody shuffled her off to the "scrutineer" spot. Anyway at 7 she arrived, plonked herself down ready to do battle. By then I had already been told that each of our polls had an NDF "scrute". So I was nice to this gal, told her that Lisa and I were anal and would take our time, hoped she was OK with that. At the end of it all she was pleasant and she shook our hands and said thanks....so all was well. I, like you, was not happy with the result especially as Zeni, our local NDP candidate did not get in...and she is a great lady!!

Nuff for you Missy Janey????

Now we have our local municiple election coming up and here will be another battle. We have a useless mayor and there is no-one of any worth running against him. Norm said I should have run...er yes!!! the woman who gets lost in the woods...I would make a FINE mayor...LOL!!!!

No sewing today, Mary, I am just exhausted probably more from working a 14 hour day yesterday than tromping in the forest for three hours!! But I must get at it. I have to set up on the 31st.

Thanks for the call Edith, glad you were successful in that family search. I will chat later after the big sewing effort!!!

Sorry I missed you Teresa, another time.
Where is Sylvia, I am truly worried about her???
Luv Lesxx

Heh, Lesley. I just had a PM at another site from someone who was a Central Poll Supervisor in a polling station in a riding with a very very tight and high-profile NDP-Liberal race. Apparently one of his Liberal scrutineers spent the entire day challenging the ID of just about every voter who wandered in, until, after trying everything else (gentle instruction, a quiet word with a more senior scrutineer ... who kept wearing his Liberal button ...), he blew up and told him exactly what was going to happen (he would call the @#$% police) if he didn't sit down and shut up right that minute. ;)

My favourite was a few years ago when the very pleasant Liberal scrutineer in my poll challenged about three dozen ballots for being improperly marked ... three dozen ballots for his own candidate ... . I'd challenged one or two myself, then at the end suggested I'd withdraw my challenge (we were obviously going to win the riding) and maybe he'd like to as well. Made life a lot easier for the poll clerk!

Your scrutineer might have been an old timer? Until about two elections ago, the scrutineers sat at the same table as the staff, or at least at a table adjoining. After all, we're supposed to be scrutinizing, which is hard to do from across the room! It did make for more pleasant relations over the day and evening usually, too. A scrutineer actually gets less in the way from close up. Oh well, the good old days.

Hi Janey,

There is always a story isn't there. I was chatting to friend in Calgary last nite and he told that the man in front of him had apparently tried to vote twice and was prepared to get quite hostile. We didn't have anyone nasty at all at Glenwood and I think we had 18 polls there. This would expalin why the scrutes were placed at the end of the hall. It would have been overcrowded otherwise. Anyway, another day as they say!!

'Lo everyone else. All in hiding again are we??? When does that lovely Fred get back??? Does anyone in Oz have Sylvia's phone number and could give her a call??? OK I am off to sew.
More later
Lesxx

Hi all..was getting worried about our Sylvia so emailed her and received a reply..She is ok but has had the flue for 5 weeks,, poor think,,it really was a bad one this year..
Then when she tried to post she found out that her membership had lapsed so she is trying to renew as fast as she can..lol

She should be back soon,,we hope..

Got the all clear from my ENT doctor today and now feel a lot more settled, as there was one thing on the MRI that I didn't understand but after having my throat anaesthetised and a telescope pushed down it he was satisfied that I was fine..just a bit crinkled..lol,,,,,so pleased ,, just one more visit to my doc next week and I hope I don't have to see another for the rest of the year.had enough for a while...

Got my brother and sil for the weekend and then up to other brothers house for lunch on Monday..we are all going together and we enjoy each others company so am pleased they are coming..

Beautiful weather here today..sunny and around 25c,,just my sort of weather,,

Hope you are not all working to hard..

Love Mary xxxx

Goooood morning all,Fred and Liz are back ,after a fantastic holiday over in the west country.
In two weeks ,we had three days of bad rain,but we still went out and enjoyed ourselves.
We walked from Fleetwood to the south Pier at Blackpool over three days ,with many rests on the way,but what the hell,there are seats every few hundred yards along the part of the lancaster way that we walked.
We paid a visit to a hamlet hard to the Lancaster canal, called Guys Village all old buildings and thatched roofs where ,in days of old ,barges would ply their trade betwen bolton and the west coast ,stopping at this hamlet to off load to the railway for shipping to the towns and villages inland.
The station buildings and yard are still there ,being used as workshops and stores ,but ,of course the tracks are long gone,but it has all been kept in order as a tourist attraction,and is well worth a visit.
Blackpool golden mile is full of partygoers and not our scene,but the streets behind are great ,tons of shops ,and little cafe's ,we had a real good time .
We went ou with the sis' in law and hubby twice,once to a carvery for a meal and once to a proper posh place ,where there was an offer of the dearest meal to pay,the second meal free,not bad eeh?
I had a proper mixed grill,rare steak a bacon fillet chop.cumberland sausages,devilled kidney,,a nice slice of liver,two eggs ,onion rings ,and chips,Cost?£12-50-p.the wife then had gammon steak ,eggs pineapple,onion rings ,and new potatoes and roast potatoes ,so ,we did well.
I found a shop called B&M which sells all sorts of stuff from clothing ,electrical gear ,to food.
I was on a scouting mission at the time for a meal at the sis' in laws ,and came across grants Haggis [tinned] grants black pudding [also tinned] and noticed they even sell white pudding .
I bought a tin of haggis and blackpudding took them back to the house ,and we had a burns supper,with neeps ,and mashed ,creamed potatoes.
The black pudding i put into the the freezer for an hour ,finding that upon decanting from the tin it cut fine,the haggis was cooked in the micro wave in a plastic conainer,and was fine,every bit as good as fresh Grants haggis ,which to my mind is better than Halls by a mile.
I suppose Grants are looking after their overseas costomers by tinning their products for export to countries where ,because of the heat,it is impossible to get fresh,so ,get looking you scotties ,lol.there is a tin of haggis ,and black pudding in the offing,even if your local butchers don't know how to make it.
I got a nice load of piccies of the towns and surrounding areas,the trams [some covered in lights].
the illuminations and fun fair
It's nice to be back again and the cat keeps following us around in case we bog off again lol
Have to go and get on with the chores ,but will be back later.Fred.

HI Fred.. Good to have you back,, and glad you had a nice holiday..
Don'T like the sound of the meal you did,,all that black pudding a haggis,,yuck,,ya can have it..not my type of food.. Bet the cat was glad to see you home..She will be wandering when you will be going again and is keeping close by just in case.

Went to see my brother and sil who had the car accident and they are getting there slowly.. Brother is recovering from his bypass operation and has lost a lot of weight,,Hope he puts some on again..,,and sil is now walking on her ankle but is still in the brace for her back..They are both going to rehab so are improving slowly..

Nothing much happening here,,Just the usual..
Have you noticed that Ancestry have the INCOMING PASSENGER LISTS for the uk..Found myself on it..pmsl..must be getting old when I find myself on a genealogy site,,,ppppppmsl...

Hope all are well


Love Mary xxxxx

Morning All!! Hope you are all well. I've never tried Haggis Fred, but I love black pudding, we aren't supposed to like that sort of thing are we? Cholesterol and all that!!!! But a little bit of what you fancy does you good, or so they say!! Its a little chilly here today, so won't be venturing very far from home I don't think.. Bye for now....

Hello everyone. Finally finished flying about to medical appts. The specialists are always in the big city aren't they?
Can't complain as I can again see out of my right eye.The laser treatment cleared it up almost as fast as I opened and closed the eye.
Good to see you back Fred and that you and Liz had a good time.
Happy for you and family Teresa. Would love to visit the shop especially at Christmas. Went into the shop at the Forks in Winnipeg on Monday and the new lights they have this year are really neat.
Also saw some ornaments from Switzerland that were fabulous.!!!
Yes, Mary, turkey 2 times in a row. My family would have it weekly if allowed. It's the pies that are too much for me.Plus whipped cream or ice cream.!!!!!!!!
Our bears are also confused by the weather,there are several out at the local dump(trash)They love all the fish etc. that get thrown away as the moose meat takes all the room in the freezers.
Our weather has been the same as other areas.Cold and wet seem to be the passwords this year wherever you live.
All the local holiday bazaars and sales are coming up so have a busy 2 months to look forward to.
Seems they all need baking or crafts or "money" in lieu of.
Harvest dinner on Sat.for which I will bake 8 doz.dinner rolls. Then pig out at the buffet.
Must get downstairs and finish the laundry and then out for tea. See you all soon. Stay well. Edith XXXX

Hi all

Well its been a while since I popped in here, seems like I am repeating myself on the threads, but then I guess there are different peeps on each one, apart from Mary, we must get tired of hearing the same news from each other/ nah that wouldnt happen :-)

Teresa glad there are good results for hubby. Must put you mind at rest, hope you news stays positive for a long time.

Diane, hope you are feeling better soon, nothing wrong with a coffee and biscuit especially the coffee, I cant do with out my coffee.

Lesley gee that was a close call with you getting lost in the forest, I can understand hubby getting worried, just shows you are very much loved, have to be like a girl scout and leave a bit of ribbon or something next time you go wandering unfamiliar areas, at least that way you will know what way you need to go to return to your start spot.

Fred sounds like you have had a great time away with lots of good sites to see and food to eat :-) Poor puss you didnt take him on holidays too ???

Edith great news on your eye treatment too. Our weather has been a mixed bag too, last week I was getting to wonder how hot our summer woudl be as we was getting temps that was a lot warmer than we usually get it at this time of year, but now we are back to about 1-3 overnight and low teens during the day.

Have not had a lot going on lately, Daughter got her license and now is owner of her first car, she is very happy with it. She is now busily trying to organise a surprise 18th birthday party for her boyfriend with help from his Mum and us of course.

Well wishing everyone good health and will drop in again soon. Have a nice day :-) Cheers Sue