General Chat

5th of August 2009, will always be a special day for me because that is the first day that I started this thread. Never in a million years would I have expected or even hoped that it would grow and become a place where we share so much. My cyber friends as have I have labeled you all, remind me of my Pen Pal days but now the letter is an almost instant arrival and the replies come winging there way through the ether so fast that sometimes I cannot believe it.
Yes we have lost a few people on the way and this coming week I shall make a list of their names and simply send them a message to see if they would like to return, if not I shall wish them all positive thoughts from all of us.

Once again my wish to sit on the terrace and look across the sea and the mountain behind me has been thwarted by the weather. It is a Grey day and the trees are making quite a noise as the sway with the wind. I can hear the occasional bird but other than that the only few sounds around me are, the the clock ticking, the light snoring of my OH even though the bedroom door is closed, (he of course denies snoring) a ticking from my oven and we cannot work out why it does this occasionally as everything is turned off, the sea as the wind is becoming stronger, and the occasional car going down the road . well I find that quite interesting as I thought that I was in a quiet space of time!

Last night we went into town and met up with some friends who also like sports and so we sat, stood, chatted, watched the England V France Rugby game and generally had a good time.
I met a Welsh lady whose husband had died only a few months ago and for the last few years of his life he had Alzheimers' Dementia. we chatted about being faithful and the meaning of marriage vows, and how real love has its highs and lows but is forever firm. It was a beautiful chat and I shall remember it for a long time.

Having initially suggested that we start our next project from the 1930s onwards could we please agree to change that to1900, I believe it would give us much more scope and possibly find others who would join in.?

Well time to look at my emails and then start another folder of ancestors as discussed previously.
Sorry for so much rambling and if it bores you don't worry because I just enjoyed writing to you all,

By for now

Nudge as we are going out for a meal this evening so I will not bbe back today.
I am tidying my research paper work and double checking members of each branch of my family...how can I have so many mistakes even if in some parts they are minor such as accurate birth date or marriages by just a year or two.????

I will be back tomorrow sometime and do not forget that on Tuesday we start our writing project re How House work has changed since....Now I have yet to put a date after "since" so please suggest some otherwise I shall feel like I imagine teachers feel when the pupils do not respond!!! Only joking

Good morning to you all the time here is 09.11 and the day is bright but not particularly sunny and the forecast is much the same for the whole day. The sea is still and the sun is shimmering over most of what I can see. There is a sense of quiet which very relaxing and even Jet & Joe are simply laying out in the sunshine.

We have decided that we will have a quiet day today no big cleaning planned or to be undertaken. well to be honest most of the house has been spring cleaned now and it is amazing how much we threw away or decided that we did not need/use or want so We packed many items and they can be given to the next sale for the local hospice.

Today I am going to put two more folders together for family surnames. it is proving to be very interesting and I am taking it slowly and checking all the records I have and also looking for new info as well.
When I have completed the exercise I will be starting the stories of peoples lives and this will be a mix of facts which can be proved some research for ideas and some will be made up by me trying to imagine what life was like.

If anyone on here has done this already any tips and or suggestions will be warmly received.

Jacqueline.
I am sorry to hear that your daughter is not happy about her brother being involved with her sister in law. has she explained what is bothering her and why? Perhaps she is aware of something which is bothering her.

Also hoping that your husband is continue with his health improving it must be a worrying time for you. Re finding work have you contacted any places or written any letters to work places that you know about. I only ask this as when I was working if anyone wrote directly to me I always tried to see them and sometimes even if I did not have an immediate post available I would keep in touch and the when a vacancy arrived I would invite them for an interview.

well I think that I have written enough for now but before I sign off please remember that as of 1st March we will start our next writing project and so far it looks as if it is going to be How Housework has changed. Now I think we should add to this a period of time and my suggestion is "since 1911" giving us a very broad scope across 100 years. I thought about this when I woke this morning and recalled how I used to help my grandma with some of her house work and the things that I learnt from her then from my mother.

Please let me know asap if everyone agrees.

Enjoy your day have some fun time even if it is only for a few minutes.

I am now going to have my quiet day and positive thoughts and after that start on my chosen work re the Ancestors

Just nudging the the thread in case there are any early risers.

Hello all. The weather here today not too bad with a bit of sunshine but mainly cloudy. Went to OH's place or work today to update them on his condition and put his last invoice in. They were all very pleased to hear that he is on the road to recovery. It is very slow though! The traffic on the way back was horrendous, typical A303. When I arrived home found that OH's work colleagues had sent a lovely bouquet of flowers to the both of us. It was a lovely gesture from them. Have a bit of a family problem, daughter is not happy that her brother is in a relationship with her sister in law and I don't know how to make her see that it is none of her business lol. Still no joy on the jobhunting as yet I think that's all for now as nothing much has happened. Take care and I hope everyone had a good day.

Good morning to you all and I hope that you all have a really pleasant day.

The film I watched last night was one of a trilogy and i suspect that not the taste of many people because it has a great deal of violence in it and is definitely only for adults. But it is beautifully made, the camera work is amazing and they main character is a new actress to me.
It was made in New Zealand and the the locations are very good.

Now the point of my ramble is that OH is still asleep and i do not want to waken him so will have to delay telling you all the name of the Trilogy.

However it is not the taste of everyone.

More suggestions for the next discussion would be very welcome and between you all we should have quite a few suggestions...please send some ideas and to those who have done so thank you.

Today the weather is glorious for the time of year, the birds are chirping away and the sky is blue with the sun shining across the sea and the mountains behind our house. The sea is a shimmering and there is a great sense of peace and quiet. Jet &Joe my Cocker Spaniels have been for a walk up the mountain but were eager to come back home. I noticed yesterday that they both now have some grey hair!! they will be 7 years old this year, I can hardly believe it. OH and I talked yesterday as to whether or not we would have other dogs when the inevitable occurs re our dear pets. OH felt he could not have another dog as he loves these two so much and many times when I was away he feels that they saved him from utter sadness. I am not so sure that we would be able to manage two new dogs and am not sure that one on their own at times is what I would want. Hmm hopefully we will not have this dilemma for a very long time.

Yesterday OH did a great job on the garden and I helped whenever i could but he did most of the work. He has installed an extra watering system as well and we have now increased it from once a day to twice.

Our orange, lemon and lime trees are doing very well but for the third time the two apple trees have died. Any suggestions as to why this should happen.
OH cut back the roses and I hope that we can buy some new ones this year as well. We had to re pot the cacti as they had broken through the plastic pots and I also cut off the pieces that had died. We have these on a long plinth as part of the internal side of the wall that separates our top garden from the road. the reason for this is that it helps to deter anyone climbing over the very long wall because they could quite easily land on the cacti!! Fortunately it seems to work !!!
Oh also cleaned the swimming pool. we do have someone come is =n to attend to the pool each month but because of the high winds he has had to keep clearing away the leaves, dust etc more or less each day for the past couple of weeks. the pool now looks very good especially with the lovely sunshine over it.

Well time for me to stop rambling so I will say to you all, have a good and i look forward to reading your daily news reports!!!,

Well thank you everyone for your comments of which i am taking due Cognizance, but I have to wait until the first of March and then we can decide.

I wonder if Wiltshire has the same sort of Archives.
Must go as watching a gteat film will tell you about it tomorrow

Val, I have found Southampton Archives very helpful in the past. I had a relative in a workhouse in the South stoneham area which comes under Southampton and they found her for me.

Bridget, I would modify your discussion topic to how housework has changed.

Bridget the sites I have tried are the UK National Archives and also Workhouses.org.uk. I have heard from the Southampton Council Archives that they have Examination Registers for the St. Mary's Workhouse and am hoping I will find something there. I am really keen to know how my ggggrandmother went from someomne of independent means on the 1851 Census to a pauper who died in the Workhouse in 1863. Apparently these registers have interesting information recorded.

Good morning all
Up early this morning to go to doctors for repeat prescriptions - appointment was for 8.45 and by 9.15 we were in and out - he excelled himself today usually we are waiting over an hour. Poor bloke spends more time tapping on his computer than anything else - modern times what ?

Perhaps that could be a topic - how things have changed because of computers. For one thing I would not know all you lovely folks if I did not have a computer.

Well a week today will see me off to Alicante airport to catch plane to UK. It will be the longest hubby and me have been parted - 19 days in total.

My friend phoned me yesterday afternoon - she has been released from hospital but has not got a diagnosis - after having many tests and scans. She has to go back Monday for further tests. But she feels ok in herself and obviously relieved to be at home. Thanks for all your positive thoughts and prayers for her.

Well must get into gear and start to sort somethings out for my trip.

Take care all
Love Mary xx

Good morning everyone hope that you all slept well and feel bright and alert today.
First I shall simply say perhaps we could take a few minutes at about midday so that as many of us as possible could offer a join together for a short prayer or positive thoughts for everyone in New Zealand.Those who have died, those who are still trapped, the rescue services who have worked so hard that they must be exhausted, the relatives of the missing, etc.

Val, a different request. Where do you find the Workhouse records?.I believe that some of my ancestors in Wiltshire UK where in a workhouses?

TO EVERY ONE ( yes I know that capitals mean that we are shouting) but can we please have some suggestions of topics we could discuss as we used to last year. i always found these very interesting...ooops we are all interesting as people so no offense intended!.

I thought that we could then start the views and discussion from the 1st of March. My suggestion is" How Work has Changed Over the Years"

I await your suggestions and ideas.

Bye for now

Although it was still dark at 5.30 a.m. the birds were awake and twittering. The sun is not shining, perhaps it will be a cloudy day. Hung out a load of washing so hope it dries.

Ann, my thoughts exactly about all those windows, especially living at the sea, I think it will be a permanent job !

Bridget, hope you had a good rest last night and feel refreshed this morning.

I have been trying to find Workhouse Records I have had a look at the Workhouse site and also the National Archives, but no luck, well I will just keep going. I have spent so much time at the computer searching lately I sometimes felt quite guilty, and then I think I am retired now so why not.

Have a good all.



Val.

hello everyone late today.

Welcome to the thread Jacqheline, you did have a bad end to 2010 and start to 2011, I hope things will continue to improve for your husband's health and your employment.

Bridget, hope you get a good nights sleep.

Jen hope you have a nice holiday wherever you are going (I have probably missed that bit.)

Val, can't bear to think of all those windows to clean.

I am sorry everyone but today I have been very busy and now I am just very tired so i do not have much energy to add on here,.
I am sure that a good nights sleep will revive me and I will look in again tomorrow morning.

Hello and thank you all for your kind welcomes. it is raining here this morning, very dull and grey. Oh did not have a very good night thought I may have to call doctor out but OH said no,he now seems to have a phobia about going into hospital. He is a little better this morning. Is now asleep. Had a call from an employment agency in respect of a job, seems to be up my street so they are putting forward my cv, lets hope something comes from it. All my children live over 100 miles away and later this year we have decided to move closer to them as we have realised we are too far away for when something like a serious illness happens. Am looking forward to that. Not a lot else going on this way today. Going to try and have a sleep myself to catch up. Will look in later. Take care everyone.

good morning all
hello Jacqueline so pleased your Hubby is on the mend ((((hug)))
nothing much going on at the moment weather dreadful
went shopping yesterday to look for a pair of cream sandals (dressy ones )
no luck half the shops still had winter sales on and the other half said "We are waiting for spring stock to come in "
fingers crossed I can get them in Manchester on the weekend. we are travelling to Daughters on Friday as we are flying from Manchester Airport on Monday so spending a few days with the grandchildren
well off to sort out the packing see you all later
Jenxx

Goodmorning and welcome Jacqueline, look forward to seeing you on here in the future. Sorry to see that you have been through such a rough time but hope that now your husband is back home he continues to make good progress. I also hope that your will be successful in finding employment.

The news this morning from Christchurch is really sad with hundreds of people still missing. There is nothing one can do against the forces of nature which can be so cruel.

The new house which is being built across the street seems to be nearing completion. There are so many big sliding doors and windows that it will be a full time job keeping them clean! It's not a house I would like as I'm sure it is gloing to be like living in a fish bowl! Just as well we all have different tastes.

Nothing special doing here to-day.

Take care.

Val.

Good morning and welcome to our thread,we hope that you will stay with us and contribute to our thread. What a patient person you must be to have read through all the entries which cover such a wide spectrum of information, stories etc.
As the founder of this thread I am always excited when someone joins us and we all try to make the new member very welcome.

So sorry to read about the rather traumatic time you have had with your husband being so ill, but delighted that he is recovering and and back home.

I am fortunate never to have been made redundant and can therefore only imagine how that must have been a shock. What line of employment are you now looking for and do you want full time or part time,of course not knowing where you live in the UK i do not know what work may be available.?

I also have watched some of the news about the tragedy in Christchurch New Zealand, and am shocked at the devastation and the thought of possibly hundreds of people still being trapped but alive, one feels so helpless and sometimes i feel as if we are intruding on so many peoples lives and then the next moment i think that maybe they will be aware that we are simply trying to come to learn about how devastating such an event is.

I shall send you a personal message so that you know how to find us easily and I look forward to your next posting, I shall be looking out for you.

Thinking of you and your husband, wishing you success in your quest for new work and looking forward to your reply.

Bridget

Hello Everyone. It is the 1st time I have posted on this thread though I have just spent the last couple of hours reading your postings which I have found sometimes found sad and sometimes funny (in a good way). Unfortunately in my family the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011 has not been a very good time. OH took ill on 18th December and was rushed into hospital (the weather here in this part of the UK was the worst it had been for the last 100 years!!) My OH had contracted pancreatitis caused by gall stones. He came out of hospital on 8th February 2011 after having a very rough ride of it. Oh he also contracted pneumonia whilst he was in hospital. On 2nd January I was told that my husband might not make it through the night, (his breathing was very shallow and he was unconcious.). They took him into intensive care and he was on a life support machine for 10 days or so. But the upside is that at least he is still here and he now takes each day as it comes. I have also watched in dismay the pictures coming out of NZ showing the damage the earthquake has done and my heart and thoughts go out to the people in Christchurch.

I am now actively looking for another job as during the turmoil of my husbands illness I was also made redundant.

Hope everyone is ok and hopefully I will post again soon if I can find this thread again lol.

nudge