General Chat

Good morning from a very wet Peniscola.

It started to rain in the middle of the morning yesterday and then it just became heavier and heavier. I can hear the rain even with the doors and windows shut and all the security guard shutters down. We do leave a small opening for Jet & Joe our two Cocker Spaniels so that they can do what is necessary.
When OH awakes I shall go into the small sitting room off our bedroom and look out to see what the view is like, I suspect that all I shall see is rain. At least we have plenty of food etc in the house and with our computers and TVs plus many books, and DVDs and music there is no need to be bored. I just send a prayer asking that the electricity does not go off because that does cause problems, I am not sure how much gas we have for the BBQ that we could use for cooking. It could come to a day in Bed with duvets and books........has been known before wen we had torrential rain for 3 days. Some of the newly built house just a mile or so away suffered terribly with house being severely damaged, gardens disappearing and walls and foundations having large and long cracks. Thank goodness at least our older house built about 40 years ago is very sturdy and protected by being built into the mountain.

Val, I do hope that you brother & SIL are beginning to get over the shock and were insured for any damage. I have heard that this type of incident is not uncommon in SA, would you agree with this?, I simply cannot imagine how terrifying the burglary must have been. What do you believe is the cause for such disregard for people and their homes...?

Off to hhave a coffee now

Hope to bee able to come here later today]

Ann, I hope that you have a good day and are enjoying your visit to the Lake district, I look foreward to hearing about it.

Bye

Hopefully they will still be working on it. I am very grateful that they are OK.

And I suppose the police have given up? Oh well, at least your brother and his wife were not harmed.

Ann, the frightening thing is that burglars have no respect for life and will kill for a few rand or a cell phone. No other houses were burgled. My brother's unit is the closest to the entrance which is probably why the picked his.

I am glad you mentioned Tess val. I hope she is ok. I know that she has periods of ill health. Thinking of you Tess and hope you are well.

Val, it must be frightening to live somewhere that the burglars are so persistent. Fancy lifting the gates off. Were any other houses in the complex burgled?

Bridget the Lake District is beautiful, we are looking forward to it.

I also looked up up the Hospital of St Cross Church, amazing history, started in 1135 , wow.

Thanks Ann and Bridget for your kind words. The burglars haven't been caught yet and as things are here I will be surprised if they are. I spoke to my brother this morning, he didn't have a very good night. Anyway, he is now installing a security system and security doors and burglar bars which will give them peace of mind. Our alarm is set every night when we go to bed. Actually, would you believe, the townhouse complex my brother lives in is walled with an electric fence along the top of the wall,
but what they did was lift the remote-controlled gate off it's rail to gain entry to the comnplex. I pray every night that we will be kept safe. Sorry to have rambled on about this.

I have just been watching the tsunami on Sky News, absolutely awful, such devastation. I keep asking myself why are all these terrible disasters occuring.. Nothing one can do about the forces of nature.

Our friends are due to arrive in Australia now, our time, the start of their two-month holiday, I hope they will have a great time.

I still haven't finished my table!

Tess, if you look in here , I hope things are going well with you.

I shall say bye for now.

Val.

Ann, Thanks for the information about the Arboretum I hope that you enjoy(ed) your visit. I look forward to hearing all about it.

Yes it is Winchester where my son is having his marriage blessed in the Hospital of Cross Church, I have looked this up and it looks absolutely beautiful and the history is amazing. The reception will be in the officers mess.

You are very busy, going to the craft fair and now the lake District. I have driven past and through the Lake District but never actually stopped to have a look around. I look forward to hearing all about it.

Val have the burglars been found and are your brother and his wife recovering from the shock.

Now I have to decide how to cook my evening meal. OH wants pork chops so will now ponder to see what I can do to make them attractive, and easy to cook. I am trying to make our meals more interesting than simply traditional meals. hope that last sentence makes sense.

Bye for now and have a good day

Bridget, Batsford Arboretum is near Moreton in the Marsh and Chipping Campden on the Oxfordshire side of Gloucestershire.

Is it Winchester UK you are looking for a hairdresser?

Val, I am so sorry to hear about your brother and sister in law. what a shock for them. Horrid to be robbed in your own home.

today we went to a craft fair so I could spend money on lots of lovely bits and pieces for my card making. It was a big fair with loads of stalls and we really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow we will pack for our break in the Lake District and in the afternoon we sadly have to make a visit to a good friend who is terminally ill.

Val
I have just had the opportunity to come here today and so sorry to hear that your brother and SIL have been robbed. They n=must have been terrified to wake up and see two people who had knives and no doubt would not have hesitated to use them.
\whilst delighted to read that they have not been harmed physically it must be a traumatic situation to be in.
I shall say a special prayer for them.

It has been quite a busy day as I have finished re varnishing our sitting room and dining room furniture. It has been very rewarding as it all looks so new again. The style is old but nevertheless is always fashionable and made from dark English Oak,. We liked it so much that we brought it to Spain from the UK, our bedroom furniture is the same.

I must say that I am feeling so well again and it is really wonderful not to feel so detached from everything and everyone. I do still have a few times when I feel very low and agitated but haven't had one of those days for about a week now. Please keep the positive thoughts flowing.

Not much more to talk about at the moment but may try to find some more interesting to talk or write about soon.

Ann it is lively to see you on here and hope to hear from you again soon

Not knowing anything about Batsford Arboretum I Googled it, I must say it sounds lovely.

Please spare a thought for my brother and SIL who were robbed this morning at 3 a.m. by two knife-wielding thugs. Thankfully neither of them were harmed, a very traumatic experience for them both.

We had a couple of showers of rain this morning with rumbling of thunder and lightning. It is a lot cooler to-day.


Val.

AnninGlos

You have been busy, my OH cleaned the windows to our living room and every time he looks at them he sees another smear. The windows are in fact a double glass door and two side panels as well which lead of the varendah where I sit most mornings ,(if the weather is kind) and have my quiet time so not the sort of wooden door we have in the UK. As this cannot be seen by anyone walking buy it is not as strange as it sounds.
BUT the dogs also come into the house that way and have learnt how to jump and open the door...why can't they learn to close the doors I do not know.
Hope your visit to the hairdresser went well I am trying to find one in Winchester so I can have my hair done on the morning of my sons' marriage blessing.

Where is Batsford Arboretum, sorry for being dim.. it sounds a delightful place. You are very organised, knowing each day what you will be doing, we are on the spot of the morning people most of the time.

Well not much more to write about,

so goodnight and happy dreams

Well, it was a lovely sunny day here again. A little chilly as there was a north easterly wind but the sun made all the difference. We cleaned the windows inside and out and I cleaned the bathroom while OH cleaned the two cars. Then we went to the hairdresser. Wish having my hair cut made me look slim Bridget as it does your dogs!!

So that is two days running it has been spring like and sunny. Yesterday we went to Batsford Arboretum to see the end of the snowdrops, the crocus, daffodils and Hellebores. It was lovely, we really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow we will be shopping for food and Thursday we may go to a craft and needlework fair. we went last year and it was very good.

Friday we will be going to visit our friend who sadly is terminally ill, he is 77 and an ex golf partner of OH and we have spent many a social evening with them and even one holiday. He is such a lovely fellow and his wife is lovely too. Life is very unfair.

I haven't made scones for sometime I particularly enjoy cheese scones.
I used to knit but haven,t done any for a very long time. My mother taught me to knit but my two sisters are so neat they knit almost to the same standard as machine knitting. I hope this week to start my embroidery again especially as the weather forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain so...

We had a one pot meal today, with a free ranging chicken which I cooked in the oven and then as soon as cooked I took of all the breast, added a variety of vegetables using part used red and green peppers, onions, courgettes carrots, some fresh garlic, onions etc with a slosh or red wine and some herbs, then left it all in the oven whilst OH watched his sports programmes. I hate wasting food so with some small potatoes left from last weeks bag I scrubbed them put some oil over them and put them in the oven as well. So ended with a little washing up, do not use dishwasher when there is only the two of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal, we had a choc ice each for desert as there were two in the freezer from last night.

I have some dried fruit in water a dish at the moment which I hope will make the fruit swell nicely for tomorrow, now I have to think how to serve them. For our main course we will have the rest of the chicken which I may use for a curry... any other suggestions welcomed.

Well that is about all for today so good night everyone sleep well

B

Me again! Your film evenings sound great fun Bridget.

I did some baking yesterday afternoon, made some fresh scones for tea and they went down a treat. Temperature 30 again to-day.

I bought a 400g ball of wool which I thought would be good to knit with as there would be few joins, my mistake. I always knit from the centre of the ball but my word what a tangle the centre of this turned out to be, so I wound it into 100 g balls, reminded me of the days when we bought wool in skeins and then had to wind it.

I'm sure Jet and Joe feel a lot more comfortable too, as well as looking good.

What with one thing and another I have not yet finished painting my outside table, I still have a snail and a butterfly to paint, at the rate of progress I'm making by the time I have done them it will be time to give the other little pictures a face-lift!

Bye,

Val.

Hello everyone, I hope that you have an enjoyable day. Here in Peniscola, Spain, the weather is not good. the sky is grey and the sea looks cold and unwelcoming. the trees are blowing around which also means that the Palm trees are dropping many of the seed all over the garden and some are also falling into the pool. Not much sign of the birds today either, they must have decided to stay in their nests.

Last night was great fun, we had 10 people come to the film night and we watched True Grit and the Toy Story Three and everyone was laughing and giggling away. We had home made, well from packets which went into the microwave, popcorn, Choc Ices, plenty of wine, soft drinks and coffee/tea if anyone wanted it. We were also lucky that most people brought wine or soft drinks with them.
Next Film night being decided today. We have decided that if as many people come as last night I shall push our dining table back, we shall put the eight chairs out and the six from the veranda and a few others dotted around the house and put them in lines rather similar to going to the cinema. !!! I may even print off some tickets.

who would have imagined a two months ago that a simple invite to a friend to watch a film with us would have evolved to this ....

Now I wonder if anyone has any ideas what I can do with a surfeit of lemons, oranges, and bananas. I have made the marmalade and the lemon curd, well enough for us at least.

Val Jet & Joe look magnificent and so slim it must have been very uncomfortable for them before but the weather has turned cold again so we are now giving them their food in the house which we do not do very often. when we went to pick them up after 3 hours in the parlour we were asked to go away for another hour. Their fur had become quite tangled as it had grown so long and of course their hair is very wavy...In fact I would have been delighted to have Joes' beautiful red coloured hair.

They now look much younger and considerably slimmer, next week they have their 6 month visit o the vet, just a general review.
well I have chatted on again so will stop for now and look back later in the day just to see if anyone has had the time to post.
Bye for now

I have records from England, census records, birth,marriage and death certificates which I ordered. My gggrandfather came over here from Southampton, I discovered from Electoral Rolls held at the Museum in Grahamstown that he had been a Town Crier and a Postal Contractor there which was somemthing I din't know. I wanted to get his death records from the SA Archives but haven't been able to find him. . I cannot understand why the census records have been destoyed, there is such useful information there.

Do Jet and Joe enjoy their visits to the Dog Parlour? My daughter's dog, Max, enjoys his visits for a bath and a massage.



Val.

Goodness Val, why are census records destroyed, are successive governments afraid of what they show???

How have you managed to develop a tree without being able to access records...|I simply cannot imagine how you have the ability to go back very many decades.

I am going to keep the thread going one personal mail made me realise that it is always there then should anyone wish to come back or join us, and I enjoy the reading of messages as well as contributing.
Must go now to pick up Jet and Joe, my dogs, as the have had their hair cut today and they are waiting to come home!!
Bye for now

Certainly interesting reading Bridget. I am so glad I wasn't a housewife back then. One wonders how on earth they managed, there are after all only so many hours in the day.

We must build a church, as we are using the Hall belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist Church for our services

I cleaned out out the study to-day and got rid of a lot of rubbish, it is amazing what we accumulate, I was really hot after that.

We spent a quiet weekend , visited friends on Saturday and that was about it.

Perhaps everyone else is too busy to write often .

I seem to be stuck with my family tree, there are just some things which I cannot unearth. Unfortunately finding records here is lreally difficult, because you must furnish the very information you are looking for to obtain a certificate from our Home Affairs Office - quite laughable! No census records are kept either they are all destroyed.

Take care .


Val.

Nudge

Section 6
Thursday and Friday were general house-cleaning days. The Victorian housewife was conscientious about her home, and she took pride in her clean and tidy domain. The full cleaning usually began by draping dust covers over the furniture and then opening the windows to expose any hidden dirt. Curtains, mirrors, and picture frames could be brushed with a feather duster, but the ornate carvings on Victorian furniture and moldings might have called for the use of small bellows to blow out the dust. Carpets were swept, but in order to keep dust from flying all over the room, dampened tea leaves, coffee grounds, or sometimes, freshly cut grass was first sprinkled on the carpet. When dusting and sweeping was completed in one room, the dust covers were removed from the furniture, taken outside and shaken, then carried to the next room where the process began again.

In the kitchen, the black iron stove would be cleaned thoroughly, using soft soap and a flannel cloth, then polished to a glow with stove polish. The sink and drain were flushed with carbolic acid, then it was time to clean the floors. If they were painted, they were simply mop-rinsed. Varnished floors, besides the mopping, also received a rub-down with kerosene on a flannel cloth. Should a cooking-grease stain have appeared on a wooden floor, the housewife would saturate the spot with heated lye, then scour it with ashes, using a stiff-bristled brush. Finally, the wood floor would be cleaned all over with hot water, and then rinsed.

Most all Victorian families kept the same routine. Rugs and draperies were shaken and aired twice a month, even in rooms that were seldom used. Carpets were sponged clean several times a month. Windows were usually washed once a week. What's more, time needed to be set aside for other duties and tasks, such as making butter, shopping, making soaps and shampoos, and sewing the family's clothing. Clothes were primarily made at home, so there was always some sewing project going on. If it was not time to be making new clothes, then there were always existing clothes that need repairs, or some darning that needed to be done.

There were seasonal tasks and jobs to take care of, as well. Naturally, there were the holidays, which brought about extra work and demanded more time and effort. In addition, the summer and the fall meant time for canning and preserving, while the spring (and fall, as well) required massive, full-out house cleaning from top to bottom---that is: "Spring Cleaning".

Beyond keeping her home clean, "company-ready", and cheerful, the Victorian housewife was also expected to decorate it with taste, entertain gracefully, set moral standards for her family yet mother nurturingly, shop wisely, economize smartly, and keep a budget. The smaller the family budget, the more ingenious she needed to be.

It was not at all an easy thing to have been a Victorian homemaker, especially one without servants. With all the advice given by books and magazines on etiquette, raising children, home maintenance and expectations, many women felt guilty if they could not seem to meet the Era's standards of perfection. Most were overwhelmed by the demands made on them. By the time they crawled into bed at night, exhausted, they felt still guilty because they hadn't had enough time during the day to complete any number of tasks, or to "improve themselves" by reading! On top of everything else, they were still "wives", and they had "marital duties" and expectations, as well.

Eventually, reality superseded the demands to be perfect, and women learned that they could only give their best effort and hope that it was enough. Stereotypes from the era followed women for decades--even into the 1950's (television, after all, depicted mothers doing their vacuuming, dusting, and housework in high-heeled shoes and pearl necklaces)--but even then, most of us knew that those expectations were unrealistic. Yet, when we look around ourselves and realize all the modern conveniences we have today that the 19th century housewife did not, we must step back a bit in awe and wonder, and admire her for just how very much she was able to accomplish and to achieve.



kindly provided by Dawn Aiello