General Chat

Gerard, Culinary Delights , is the recipe thread I started and pleased to say from time to time new Recipies are still added.
I look forward to seeing your entry.

Bridget :-)

Hi Everyone

Well the first full week of my two-hour evening work is complete. I think I must have impressed - got to do an extra half hour on one day and getting paid for a full hour. Also I seem to have more time than work as each day goes on :-)

Sad news on all those funerals - prayers were said and candles were lit on Sunday. It is weird how we all act, never really knowing what to say or do, I think for the family it is just nice that people are there to pay their respects.

Such a tragedy at the football on Saturday evening - at Tottenham - well it it is the critical time for him now - we are praying young Fabrice pulls through. He used to play for Arsenal too!

OH and myself made a Quorn and vegetable pie for lunch on Sunday - well at least I put the pastry on the top!! It was absolutely delicious - I think you have a thread for recipes don't you? (with the left over pastry I made some cheese biscuits!)

Had a new contact in Australia on Saturday - managed to get her (and about 200 of her relations) on my tree by today - but I think we are very very distant cousins (and that's not just because she lives in Australia)

That's all for now - keep warm (cool) - keep safe - thinking of you -
Gerard <3 <3

Thank you Berona and Tess for your entries...your kind thoughts are very welcome.
I suppose that because of my lifetime occupation I have been at the side of people who die and attended many funerals. Being of the Catholic faith since I was born, have left sometimes but always go back, I am quite used to seeing many peoples reaction.
I agree that most people appear to be more alert and less distressed after the service of any denomination , and I believe that this is because the last thing anyone can do for the deceased is torovide a suitable farewell .......nothing more can be achieved and memories are what is left.
Tess, I will offer a prayer for you on Wednesday.
You mention that you were brought up as a Catholic but it reads as if you no
longer have the belief......for me it isn't really about a particular Domination but about caring about others and not deliberately hurting others, I just happen to like the Catholic fundamental approach...mind you I do have big reservations about some parts of how the church is managed!!!
Did you do Latin at school, it is an amazing language.

Berona, I understand what you are saying about after funerals and how people behave...I think what you have described is the way people react shows the strength of normality comforts people.

Well, the weather here is grey, so we will not be going out today, we are going to relax and "chill out, keeping ourselves occupied with our hobbies,
I am putting all my photos on the vomp...I think it is going to be a long haul and then I will down load them onto a disc.... And put the originals in acid free folders which I think will be obtained by birthday and Christmas presents

Bye bye for now


Bridget :-)

Just popping in before I start the dish-washer (at cheap rate) and go to bed.

Have now worked out how to operate the new microwave. Two pages of the instruction book were stuck together when I tried to understand the instructions earlier> So I missed all the important bits.

Will be going to a funeral of a friend of the family on Wednesday, so a bit of a sad time.

I suppose that as we get older, the more funerals we are likely to attend.


It has rained quite a lot here today and temps are down again. Maybe we will get more blue skies tomorrow.

Bridget, I was bought up a Catholic and well remember the Latin Mass. Very useful for understanding the service anywhere in the world.

Sweet dreams everyone,

Isn't it strange how there is sadness and tension at the funeral, then when it is over and people gather together, the atmosphere changes to that of being relaxed?

I still remember after my Dad's funeral, people gathered at his house and they were everywhere from the front patio to the lounge, dining, kitchen, back patio and back lawn. All relaxed and 'chatty', with great neighbours keeping the platters of finger food and tea and coffee coming continuously.

Just after 2pm, I noticed that the crowd had depleted drastically. Surely they wouldn't have gone home without saying 'goodbye'? I went looking for them - and found all these ladies crowded in the lounge room - watching TV!
Even my Dad's sisters couldn't miss their daily dose of "Days of Our Lives"!

Hello to you al,

Well we have just come back from the above service and I must say it was very well attended. Our friends sister and brother plus a friend came from England to represent their kin.
I think that every Brit within 15 kilometres came to the service. The priest was very good and spoke in English from time to time but the language used most was Latin and those of us who are Catholic, including my none believer husband was able to fully join in with th necessary responses ......isn't it strange how these things never leave one.

We were invited to follow the coffin to the undertakers to see our friend but about 10 of us decided that we did not want to do this and so came home.

Now the sun is shining, jet and Joe are very quiet in the shade but near to the sunny stone as well.

This afternoon we are going to watch a football match which OH wants to see at the English Bar .

Well that is about all for now

Bridget

Good morning to all my cyber friends.
A sad day for us. A couple of weeks ago a friend of ours was admitted to hospital. At first we thought it was only for an investigation. Sadly he died just a couple of days sgo, aged 61. He will be sadly missed by many people both where we live and his family and friends in the UK.

He was married for many years and had an excellent and successful furniture company in the UK. Sadly his marriage broke down but ever the gentleman he handed the business to his wife and children and kept the business he had here. A few years later he met some else who is English and a business lady who had divorced her husband some years ago.

Today we go to his Spanish church to say goodbye and it will be a full service.
Then he will be taken back to the UK

Please say a prayer for him and his family and friends.

Thank you

Bridget

Yesterday morning my son woke me up with a cup of coffee (a rare treat from him)!

I fell back asleep and when I woke, coffee was cold. :-(

Thank goodness for modern conveniences I thought, went downstairs, popped cold cup of coffe into microwave.... It made a loud noise!! :-0
Although turntable kept on turning, on coffee didn't get hot :-(


Ended up going to wholesalers with son again. Came back with new microwave and new tv.

Now I just have to learn how to use them :-S
Very tired today so have had another lazy day.

Off shopping with the Ring and Ride tomorrow morning (early).

Will be back when I have rested and brain is back in gear.

Bridget, you have done well with all your shopping. Sounds beautiful too.

Good morning dear Cyber Friends, I hope that you all had a good day yesterday and that some of you may have time to add a message.

Not a lot of real new news, so here goes with some updates.

Yesterday we decided that the voile curtains we bought recently are so good and add a splendid dimension to the rooms that we would buy a set for our bedroom and the second sitting room come study. This room has windows around three walls and has some spectacular views of the sea and the Papa Luna Castle. Not wanting to destroy these views we decided to only hang the voiles on the door which leads onto the balcony. So off we went to the shopping Mall. This time we bought two sets which are very different to the kitchen and sitting room.
Both sets have outlines of various flowers and butterflies and finish the rooms very nicely. No more curtains required. The lowere part of the house has traditional curtains, not voiles, to give better privacy in the summer when the pool is being used and the BBQs are on.

Today my son and his family will be visiting for the weekend, and we are looking forward to seeing them all again.

well that is all the news from here, I hope that some people have the time and inclination to add some news today.....

Best wishes to you all

Bridget

Good morning to all of Bridget's buddies / Cyber friends.

First I must congratulate Tess for being the first on this new page.

Tess, I hope that you find the right TV soon. I am not sure where we would be without the TV, OH is an ardent Supporter of West Ham United, has never wavered since he was about 7 years old and will be 64 this year. We both enjoy watching Tennis, Rugby, Boxing, Cricket, and all our sons enjoy some of these sports plus, motor racing, etc...

I hope that you are able to decide what decor you wish to have, we do not
have wallpaper on our walls. Like most homes in Spain the walls are plastered with a very slightly rough finish and are then simply painted and again most people have white walls, or just one wall painted in a different colour and then add paintings, photos and all sorts of pictures etc.

Today I am sitting indoors as the weather whilst warm there is also a very heavy mist which is blocking out most of the views and it looks like a cold winter day. I can hear about 5 or 6 different birds chirping away, the trees are very still and Jet are still asleep on their blankets on the settee.

Well, that is all my news for now, nothing exciting or extra special but I really do enjoy this thread and learning about people in all sorts of cities, towns and countries. Just had a thought about that sentence...... Would anyone be interested in writing something about where they live and where they would like to live and why?

Best wishes to everyone from

Bridget
 

I'm back! Son drove me into the city, so I was able to collect a book from the libraryI had requested.

Then went to a Wholesalers son has got a card) to look at TVs Still haven't made my mind up.

I want an LED one somewhere between 32inches to 40inches. The set I have at the moment is rather small and old.

Can't read small writing on the screen and lose part of the picture as screen is the wrong shape.

Bridget, didn't you do well! I bet it all looks great. It obviously made you feel good too.
No wonder you felt nice and relaxed at your special time this morning.
Hope that the Ten Pin Bowling went well.

Greenfingers/Jan, at least you have now got your decorating under way. It will be worth the chaos (I hope).

I still haven't got organised after having replastering done in my two reception rooms late last year.

Have got some paint colour charts, but not made my mind up yet. Haven't been to thw Wall Paper Shop either.

One of these days I shall sort myself out.

Gerard, accept a pat on the back, on getting some work. Hopefully you will be able to increase your hours, when it suits you.

Berona, the floods in your part of the world sound terrible. I hope thatit stops raining soon and that things return to normal.

The lady who helps me to clean the house came back to work yesterday. She had been of for around three months as she had broken her wrist. (Fell on black ice) A terrible break, she had to have a plate put in her arm, and is still attending physiotherapy.

Take care everyone, If I don't speak to you before Saturday

"Happy St Patrick's Day, to all of Bridgets Buddies"

Tess

Am going out in a few minutes. Will try to get back to the boards later.

Good morning dear Cyber Friends from a sunny and calm weather Spain. The view from my balcony never fails to touch me, the varying colours of the sea, the sky can change colour in the blink of an eye, the trees sway, the birds sing and the only man made noise is the occasional sound of the fishing boats.
As I sit sipping me coffee, Jet and Joe are by my feet and snoring gentle. It is indeed a special time.

Yesterday did not go according to plan...isn't that just the fun of planning? We were going out to buy a few non food ktems except for fruit. But it did not turn out that way. Carrefore had some amazing bargains and so I bought OH his Easter present...a complete new set of tools 18 euros instead of 50, Newpaint brushes, a Drill with virtually all the bits and pieces you could possibly need, Again in a very sturdy case, and told him that they are his Easter Present as we are still avoiding sweets of any description, have as much wine as we need and buying new clothes would be silly as we want to keep loosing more weight.
Then we went into another shop to buy some lightbulbs.....ha ha!!
They also had a sale on so...we bought four table lamps, two for the dining area and two for the sitting room area. The original price for each was 60
Euros but we bought them for 16 euros each!! They are the same style as the original Tiffany, Louis Comfort Tiffany 1848 to 1933 so fit into ower decor perfectly.
Eventually having placed everything in the car we decided to have a coffee...and whilst we were sipping our delicious fresh coffee and having a croissant OH said that we should have a look for curtains in the kitchen as the sales are on....well I have been saying this for ages......but let him think it was his ideat. We went to the appropriate shop and found some very attractive voile curtains which could go on a wooden pole. One long Pole two pale green voile curtains, etc allowed OH to use his Easter present..the kitchen now looks really nice and suddenly I relly like my kitchen!!

Came home and within an hour the pole and curtains were up and the sitting room area was cleaned again, and items of furniture polished, and a few were swapped around, the new lights were in place and then OH said " we should go back while the sale is on and buy one more lamp..something simple for behind the tv which will light that area " so off we went and bought another sale lamp but this is quite small, not intended for display and is at the back of the TV , what a difference it makes at night, when sitting watching our programmes.
I will not be doing much cleaning today!!!

Tonight is our Ten Pin Bowling night, and we have a new person joining us, I suspect I shall be the one who scores the lowest as normal but I enjoy the fun.

Green fingers, I hope that the redecorations are going well, and I am sure that you will be delighted with the results.
Hazel,I hope that you are beginning to feel better very soon.

Berona. Delighted to know that you have not suffered from the floods, I do think about the people who have lost their homes and possibly loved ones,,,it must be terrifying to see water destroying ones' home an be in danger of drowning...

Gerard, I hope that you and your OH are settling into your work, and that this has eased some of your worries.

Have a good day everyone,

Bridget :-D

Sorry everyone, son had bagged the computer "for a few minutes please Mum" and stayed on it for over ten hours.

Have been trying to catch up with my emails. So now rather tired.

Off to bed in a few minutes. Will be back here for a chat tomorrow.


Tess

House in complete chaos....lounge being decorated, from ceiling down...so dining room, conservatory full of furniture, decorator quite quick. Should be finished by Friday...can't wait. We have also,been decorating our main bathroom, looks really modern now, and has only taken two days....!!!!!!!!!!. Love it being clean, hate the upheaval....Love Jan X

Hi all

I am now getting over fall now.Had a nice ampering day at my friends Saturday so that helped.

I had a call from Teri telling that Caitlin isnt very well today Caitlin hates not being at school which dont help.Lets hope its only today. She is just laying about which isnt her.

Well bread is in the toaster kettle is on. So off to see if i can eat anything.(not been eatting very well for about a month now.)

Be back later

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~to everyone

Hazelx

Good morning dear Cyber friends.
I have read the latest threads and say"well done " to Gerard and his wife. I expect it makes you both feel a lot less concerned about your circumstances now. I wish you well and who knows as time passes you may get even more hours. I have always believed that it is easier tofu d employment when already in employment. I look forward to hearing all about your work.

Berona, I have been thinking about friends and relatives who live in or near to the awful floods we have been hearing about. Thank goodness you are safe. We have torrential rain at times in Peniscola and as the water cascades down from the mountain through man made galleys we do not suffer to much. Last year were were flooded on the ground floor by about three inches but we managed to keep bailing the water out and no serious damage.

Well so much for putting all the photos on the comp. instead I made separate folders for each surname and placed records, messages from other people for thr same person and I must say that it looks rather tidy now.
I do hope to put some photos in folders as I go along so I think I will do a couple of hours each day until it is finished.

Joe is improving and today he goes to the vet surgeon to have all his stichies removed...the are at least 40 that I can see and maybe even more. The edge of his right ear does now look as if it will heal, and he is still having his antibiotics

Tonight is our film night so I will not be on the comp after about 6 pm Spanish time.

Enjoy your day everyone, I will be looking on here again tomorrow.

Bridget still in Spain.

Hi Berona
Thanks for your support - it is terrible weather and conditions that are happening in Australia - unfortunately you are so far away that the news takes forever to reach us in the UK, and without your info I would be none the wiser - Global warming is certainly causing havoc, It is one of the reasons why I have stayed in the middle of London for the last 40 years, because everywhere around us is suffering in some way - floods, deep snow and etc. Mind you the London flood barrier, we have been told, may be inadequate for its purpose by 2025!!
Gerard <3 :-)

I'm so pleased to know you have obtained work, Gerard. I knew it would happen if you kept trying! As you say, it's a start - and with your OH's extra work, it will help a lot, and who knows? the hours could increase - or at least it is an income whilst you might want to keep looking.

Our floods are abating in most places, but starting up in others. We had 9000 people evacuated in one town last week. They are just starting to return to their homes for the big 'cleanup'. Most of their belongings will need to be thrown out and replaced (if they haven't already floated away)..

Our family caravan escaped disaster in the caravan park - by only a few feet - but the park is closed, as the showers/laundry/toilet block was closer to the embankment and needs a lot of cleaning and repairing before they can be used again. Mother Nature can be very unkind at times!

Well how busy is everyone!!??

I am writing this on a beautiful sunny warm afternoon in London (OH is in the garden with the cats)

So lovely to read everyone's additions and I hope all of you are well.

Well I have good news - OH has got some extra work another 10 hours a week, and believe it or not, I myself also have a job - it's only ten hours a week, but it is a start. I wasn't too overtaxed on my first couple of days. It means that we don't have to rely on benefits and handouts any more and we can pay our own way now. We will have debts to clear but there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

I have been very busy on my tree - I have added about another dozen Devonshires and about a hundred from other more obscure parts of the tree.
At the moment I am doing the Branch branch of the tree, and one of the Branch branches ends in a Root!!

Lit a candle and said prayers for all who needed it today.

Keep well
Be back soon with any more good news
Gerard <3 :-)