General Chat

Hi All. Just so that you don't think we live on a tropical Island here, you may like to know that we have had the most awful weather during the last 24 hours, and no sign of the rain stopping yet. The wind is unbelievably strong and all the boats are cancelled for the 2nd day.

Other than that, we are all well here.

Jean I am so pleased things weren't as bad as you thought they could have been at the hospital. When you have to wait a while for things, the imagination does go into overdrive sometimes, doesn't it?

My Dad had a stroke at the start of the year and we all thought so many bad things could happen. It really is the not knowing that can be so dangerous. Thankfully he is back at home, though a shadow of his former self and now very slow. We are so lucky that Mum is around to look after him. I am one of 4 and we all do our bit to help out but sometimes it is difficult with families of our own, and the responsibility falls onto Mums shoulders.

Anyway, life goes on and we must all make what we can of it. You never know what is around the next corner - that is why my Cup is always Half Full. You can't dwell on what you can't change.

Hope you all have an enjoyable afternoon. I've got to do some bits'n'bobs before I fetch the children from school, so cheerio for now.

DEBBIE

Good evening one and all.
So glad you enjoyed your anniversary Marilyn. I enjoy fish and chips myself.
Just think how much your kitchen table and chairs,would cost you to buy
them now. It's unthinkable really.
I am glad your son enjoyed his table tennis set,Sue. I know what you felt,
when you received the photograph,of your great grandfathers grave.
Shelly,on this site,sent me two of both my grandparents graves. She does
a lot of research,in the graveyards in her area. She is a diamond,as these
memories are a things we would never be able to find,on our own. Not knowing exactly where and when they passed away. I know we can find out a lot of information ourselves,but travelling to find the graves,is not always possible.
Oh Debbie,I do hope the winds have dropped a bit,where you are. We have still got high winds here,but I doubt that they are as high as yours.
The rain is due to start here,tonight. So I have not watered the garden tonight,so for once I hope they are right,with the weather forecast.
I hope J is o.k today Jean,and not in to much discomfort.
Love and all my best wishes to you all. Mo xxx

Hi Everyone.

MO, Shelly is a special....all that work just for us !!

Mind you I don't have any relies in the London area , but I have ofterd to look around all the villages around me in South Devon. I remember someone taking and making a list of helpers to look at Cemetery's as I was one that offered ,but I cant remember who it was !!!
Perhaps Shelly knows.

We had a fairly good day today regards the weather, NO rain but they did forecast it. Maybe it will come tonight....

Fish & chips were lovely MO with a bottle of wine ..LOL
Well off now to have dinner hubby has been busy painting my bedrooms and I have made his favorite meal liver & bacon, he 's been a good boy !! LOL

good evening ladies.
How are we all today? It's been very quiet on here for a couple of days now. Where has everyone got to. It's not the holiday season is it?
Has any one heard of a plant called,a bottle brush. I bought one today,and I wondered if anyone has had success with one. The actual flower is red,
and looks like a bottle brush,obviously hence it's name.
I have planted 14 perennials,this year. So I am hoping I will have a better display,next year. I am presuming,that the plant I bought today,is a perennial,as it had lost it's label,and it's kind of a stab in the dark for me.
Hope you and J are well Jean. Love and best wishes Mo xxx

Hi Mo and Everyone,

Yes Mo, like you I wondered where you had all got to.
I've had a bit of a cold, the usual headache and aches and pains, nothing that a couple of Panadol couldn't cure.

Jean, I hope all will go well with your hubby's operation, please wish him all the best from me.

Mo, I know the plant you mean, but I'm sorry I don't know anything about it.

I hope everyone is well. Speak to you all soon.

Best wishes, Sallie.

Hi there Mo & Sallie.

Bottlebrush: Callistemon (several varieties), a member of the Mytrle family. A family of evergreen shrubs or small trees. Flowers attract birds. Bark is often papery. Frost to half hardy. Prefers full sun and moist but well drained soil. Many species will tolerate poorly drained even boggy conditions. Prune flower heads before they turn to seed.

Any help?

Huia.

Morning folks, Wet and cold today, where is the sun, I have just got some new summer stuff, hope I get to wear them !!! thanks Sallie for your good wishes for J i have passed it on.....Mo, I sent you a p.m. at least I thought I did, how I wish I had a larger garden, only got a small area at the front of the house so I have two varieties of Hydranger, a Camelia in a tub, and Aster in another one, trouble is we have to go outside to see them, the folk passing by get a better view than us, lol. your bottle brush sounds lovely....
Huia, how are things with you and your family, hope all is well....
~~~~~~~~ to Marylin ~~~~~~~~
Debbie, when we get all the hospital stuff out of the way, we are thinking of having a holiday in Jersey, it always seems a nice climate, we take turns to choose our hols,so its Js turn and he said Jersey, mind you he picked the I O W a year ago , not a good choIce for us....

Take care out there everyone.... love Jean xx

Morning All,

Not such a good day today, wet & dull just hoping the sun might peep out sometime today !

Jean I love aster flowers they remind me of when I was young we always had them in our garden , especially the purple ones.
I cant seem to grow them where I live ,I think they don't like the salt in the sea near me.
But I have some Sweet peas in tubs which I have placed near my garden bench so I can whiff the smell on a summers evening ..LOL

Hi, to MO, Sallie, Huia,, Sue2Sue, Debbie, and anyone that I have forgotten . your the ones on this page !! LOL

Ooops, just noticed I couldnt spell Myrtle. I suspect my fingers suffer from dyslexia. But then I spelt that ok. Or did I?
Hi all, a good morning to you all, my OH has just gone to bed so I suppose I will have to go soon otherwise I wont get much sleep before he wakes my up. It is only 8.38 in the evening and he has been asleep on the settee for the past hour. He insists he doesnt bring me cups of tea at 2 or 3 in the morning.
Huia.

Hi Huia,

Where about's are you in NZ ?

I loved it when I went there, such lovely country side when I went to Christchurch we went on a farm just outside and went to a auction of sheep ,I have never seen such good looking farmers in all my life, we haven't got them in Devon or Cornwall ..LOL

Morning all, how are you all today?

Early start for me today as Hubby had to be at the harbour first thing. He has gone to France to play golf for 3 days. Rather him than me, the sea looked so rough, and I am a terrible sailor. So I am left with the 4 children and I am sure there will be extras over the weekend. The oldest 2 seem to have a permanent entourage with them.

Jean, Jersey is lovely, though not today!!! Wet and very windy again, and the forecast isn't much better for the weekend. The children are doing a 3k fun run on Sunday at 9.30am so I hope it is at least dry for them to do that.

If you want any info on the Island, PM me and I'll see what I can do to help.

Here's wishing you all a Happy Friday.

DEBBIE

Marie, from OZ.
Hello everyone,Sorry to hear your weather Isnt so good Very nice here,a bit windy to-day.
Mo as Huia said you have a Callistemon,there is a large family of them I love them and have put a large number of them in my native garden. To keep them looking nice you do need to trim them after they finish flowering, they come in a large range of colors, you now have a little bit of Aussie growing in your garden as they are native to Aust and possibly New Zealand.Think of me when you look at it.

I havent been chatting as I have been a little unwell STRESS
I have had ulcers in my mouth and 2huge coldsores on my lips, ( not a happy chappie) On the 20th of May I am flying to
Rockhampton to visit my Brother and Sister, My Family shouted me the air fare as a present for Mothers Day and Birthday. I will be returning on the 7 th June, I dont have a laptop so I cant stay in touch.

June I hope all goes well with J and the operation, My daughter Kerry had her op on wed. she is a bit sore but she assures me she is fine.

Hi to Sallie Marilyn and Debbie,I am looking forward to this break with my siblings and I really do need it as I am feeling very down ,not much joy in my family at the moment,but there is always some one worse off than we are, like the old song,Look for the silver Lining
to-morrow will be better. Its almost Midnight I must catch some sleep. Hugs to you all Marie xxxxxxxxxxx

Hello everyone. It's so good to hear from you all again.
Thank you Huia and Marie for the info on my bottle plant.
Sorry to hear you have not been feeling to good Sallie. I do hope you get better soon.
Don't worry about spelling mistakes Huia,I am famous for making them.
I hope your OH is o.k. It must be very tiring for you. Bless you .
Well our Jean,a small garden can be an advantage. Ours is only tiny but I
have lots of pots,I can't use the soil,as my cat uses it for her toilet,and ruins the soil. As fast as I clear the garden she goes behind me,leaving me her little parcels everywhere.
It will be so nice for you and J to have a nice holiday in Jersey,when he has
put his op behind him.
Oooooh Marilyn,FARMERS you are norty. I bet you enjoyed yourself that day. So you did put your sweetpeas out then. It sounds like they are flourishing. They do smell lovely don't they though.
Golly Debbie,your OH is a proper gad about. it's not like we can say,have a nice peaceful time whilst he is away,is it. The children will probably want friends,to stay over,and you have to be up early on Sunday,for the funrun.
Are you taking part as well? If you are,take it nice and easy,and don't overdo it.
Oh Marie,I am so sorry you are feeling down at the moment. It will be so nice for you to see your family again,and hopefully it will help to make you feel a little better.
It's good to hear that Kerry got through her op o.k. Give her my regards.
Well all you lovely ladies,I am going to sign out now,as I have got writers cramp.
Love and all my very best wishes to you all. Mo xxx

Hello everyone,

Mo, I am feeling much better, thank you. It was only a cold, but it did make me feel out of sorts for a couple of days.
I see you have got some advice about your bottle brush plant, off some of the gardners on here.

Marie, I hope your ulcers and cold sores are getting better. I'm sorry you are not feeling very well. Enjoy your trip to Rockhampton to visit your brother and sister. The break will do you good, and hopefully you will
feel a lot better, when you return home. Please give my get well wishes to
your daughter.

Huia, I hope everything is alright with you and your family. Don't worry about your spelling Huia, I was good at spelling, but the older I'm getting
the worse I am at trying to spell, even the simplest words at times.

Debbie, you are going to have a busy weekend! I know the feeling when you say you will probably have extras, my two always had their friends in tow, too. Good luck to your children for the fun run on Sunday - hope it will
stay dry for that.

Marilyn, the weather has been wet and dull here too - with thundering and lightening at times. I love sweet peas, they not only have a lovely smell but
they look so pretty in a vase too.

Jean, it will be nice when your hubby has had his operation - you can then start planning your holiday. Which, will be good for the both of you.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Best wishes, Sallie.

Marie, I know what STRESS is like. You have all my sympathy. No, the Callistemon is not a native of New Zealand but we do have other members of the Myrtle family.

Marilyn, I am in the Hunua Hills just 40 mins (depending on traffic) from the Big Smoke of Auckland. Before long I will be J.A.F.A. For those who dont know, people south of here call people from Auckland: Just Another F***ing Aucklander. Not that we are planning to move, but a Royal Commission decided in its wisdom (Big Query there) that Auckland should become a super city. They have decided that Franklin District (which is mainly rural, the most populated part being the town of Pukekohe just to the North of the Waikato River), Papakura City, Manukau City, North Shore City, Waitakere City, and Rodney District which is another semi-rural district to the north, including the seaside resort of Orewa, should all be done away with and become part of Auckland with a Stupid Mayor at its head, 8 councillors elected 'at large' (which means that they will probably all live in the posh suburbs of Remuera and the likes and will not care 2 hoots about the rest of us) and the rest of the city will be divided into 6 (?) wards which will elect 2 councillors each, if I remember rightly. In Franklin my current councillors who all live 40 or more km away from here do not even know where our road is so what show have I of having a councillor who knows or cares about the problems of our road? Most of the people of Franklin and Papakura are angry over this. Auckland will take our rates and use them to tart up the central city or build big edifices to be named after themselves. We will go to pot (and there are plenty of potholes on my road already). Can you tell I am angry?

Huia.

I am glad you are feeling better Sallie. You say it was only a cold,but even
that can make you feel really debilitated. Take care hun. Mo xxx

Morning All, how are we today?

Oh Huia, it's so good to see that even on the other side of the world you have problems with the "Men in Suits" whose right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Seems to be the same the world over, but just adjusted proportionately according to the size or population of a place. Just brings the world that much more together doesn't it?

Bottle Brush plants are gorgeous when they are in flower, Mo. I know exactly what they are but haven't got the faintest idea of more than that. Considering my Dad is a retired Agriculturalist, I should be ashamed of myself. Unfortunately for him, none of us followed in his greenfingered footsteps, though I can recognise a good few plants.

Yeah, I know hubby is a bit of a gad about, but I suppose he's allowed being as it is him that earns the pennies. But I'm getting my own back this weekend!!!

We are off to the cinema for the £1.00 films at 10.00, just me and the little 2, so I think we will have popcorn and fizzy drinks. Then I thought that after the fun run tomorrow, I may treat them all to ice creams, then that will lead to lunch out at a little cafe, then maybe something in the afternoon.

We will all be looking the size of a house when he returns, but at least we will have had fun doing it :-)))

Seriously though, he goes away on these trips 2 or 3 times a year. Does him good to have time out. Just very lucky he has such a nice wife :-))

Anyway, off to start jobs before I go out.

Have a lovely Saturday everyone.
DEBBIE

Hi Everyone,

Huia, Sorry I asked ....LOL
Well we have it here too......Pot holes everywhere, and our source of money helps those in the EU,and we dip out a bit as well.
Never mind you still have a lovely country, and I will go back again sometime.

Maria, I have been to Rockhampton, I have a niece that lives in Perth and we went to Rockhampton for a drive around......small world ! Hope your ulcers get better ,horrible things.

Enjoy your day Debbie with the little ones.

Hi Mo & Jean & Sallie, have a nice weekend very windy here in Devon

I hope you enjoyed your film treat Debbie. Are you doing the run tommorrow,or are you the back up for the children? Give them the biggest ice cream,thats a going,they will deserve it.
I don't know what has happened to the rain,that was forecast for this weekend,as it's been lovely here in Kent,a bit blowy but nice all the same.
I am going to be boring now,and admit that I am going to watch the eurovision contest,tonight. Just to see if we can actually get some points this time round. Andrew Lloyd Webber is going to be on stage with Jade,
so lets wait and see shall we. What do you all feel about it? We have been so out voted by europe for far to long now,so it's time for a change.
Best wishes to you all. Love Mo xxx

Yes it would be nice if we can get some points this time wouldn't it, Mo. We are not watching it-- haven't for a few years now.

I don't know if we will do any better under the new voting system, we'll have to wait and see!

Hope all you ladies are alright, and that you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sallie.