General Chat

What a shame about your Shepherd Jill.
My mother had a beautiful German shepherd named Karen who was trained to do Obedience and could also do everything that the Police dogs did. She won all sorts of contests at Dog Shows and we even trained her to be a gun dog because she liked swimming in our river in N.Z. and had a very good nose for finding things. My parents were into everything to do with dogs so we used to go to the Gun Dog competitions because all the Gun Dog people used to also show their dogs so we knew everyone. When they saw how good she was and faster than their slow Labradors they said she couldn't compete because their rules only allowed sporting dog breeds.
My mother told them it was because they were afraid of getting beaten by a German Shepherd. Unfortunately Karen died suddenly when she was eight of a heart attack. I have heard that shepherds don't have as long a life span as other breeds and that they have a higher body temperature.

Ann. Thai food is lovely. In 1967 we went to Bangkok and had a Thai dinner in a typical Thai house. made of teak
We all sat around a low table and leaned on triangular cushions. For westerners there was a hole under the table so we could sit up properly.
They brought each of us a wooden bowl of rice with a lid on and five little plates of different Thai dishes and a bowl of soup with vegetables cut into flower shapes floating in it as well as a plate.
We were shown how to put some rice on the plate then the contents of one of the little plates and eat it then have a bit of soup and do the same with each of the little plates and finish off the soup last. For a pudding we had rice pudding with coconut in it decorated with flowers and it was served by beautiful Thai girls dressed up in their lovely silk costumes. Fabulous.

Persephone I remember reading about the Cobb and Co coaches that used to take passengers over the Alps and how the horses only lasted about two years and had to be replaced. Poor things. I'm glad to hear that the train is still there.
I have had another interesting train journey just remembered it while I was writing about our Thai dinner. We went for a cruise to Singapore from Perth in 1967 and while we were there got talked into going to Bangkok. We hired a car and a driver and drove up Malaysia to Penang then caught a train to Bangkok. Twenty six hours it took on the train and it had two speeds, slow and stop. There was plenty of time to look at all the endless paddy fields and see men working with water buffaloes and watch people getting on and off the train with their bundles and boxes of hens and goodness knows what else.

Sylvia in Canada we have broken all records for the longest dry spell, hottest temperatures etc. as well. El Nino doesn't have much effect here in the West we have the Southern oscillation to worry about. It's a warm current that goes around the Indian Ocean and all the hot air heats us up..

I am sorry to hear about your dog Jill - are your other two German Shepherds as well. I go all soppy when I watch them on the TV doing Search and Rescue or sniffing for drugs and police work etc.
I have never owned a dog, my dad had one when he worked as a bushman before the war and the dog's name was "Bark".
I have always said to my OH if anything happens to you I will get a German Shepherd. Probably would be tidier around the house for a start.

Oh and the sheep are probably sick of waiting as well.

Persey

Good morning all from sunny but very cold Maine et Loire.
Still waiting on the last two sheep to give birth, think they are holding out until Spring :)
We had to let our lovely 8yr german Shepherd S'Jenna go yesterday as the stroke had also caused damage to her lungs and one had packed in and the other was infected. So glad we have our other two as house would seem empty.
xx Jill

Marjery - the TranzAlpine train is still running through the alps it is a tourist attraction so it gets to stay. One of the tunnels takes 15 minutes to get through - took 15 years to build involved 60,000 men working 24 hours a day drilling in from either side of the mountains. When the two ends finally met the alignment was less than 2cm out. When it opened in 1923 it was the longest tunnel in the British Empire.
There are several stories told about the tunnel's construction, including one of an amazing escape when the roof collapsed after heavy rain. One worker was dragged out from the rubble but seemed to be dead. The rescuers called his son and told him to come and see his father for the last time ( son was working nearby). The boy noticed his father's upper set of false teeth were missing, a pair of blacksmith'tongs was thrust down the father's throat and used to pull the broken dental plate from where it had been wedged in his gullet, and, he recalled afterwards - "I started to breathe again and came to."

Actually there was this and a whole lot more on the Arthurs Pass rail trip in today's travel section of the paper. Could be a touch of the blarney not sure about that as those West Coasters can tell some wonderful tales.

Persey

Hi all,
Well after a lovely sunny Sunday I woke up today to yet another morning of snow. Fortunately it didn't last long. It is still terribly icy cold weather though. I woke up with a terrible headache and thought I had a fever, but no, Johan had forgotten to turn down the central heating and the whole flat was so hot. Mind you as soon as I turned the heating down it soon cooled off.
Oh how luxurious it is having help in the house. My help was cleaning the bathroom and toilet while I was reading the newspaper. I was up early and had bread baking before 8.00 am. The delicious smell of bread baking is fantastic.
I am trying to decide what make telephone we should buy. We have decided to buy the main telephone and have 3 handsets with it. We now have Philips but think maybe Panasonic would be a good choice. Does anybody have any idea?
enough for today
Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone


Ooooh Marjery, we did that train trip from Christchurch to Graymouth in 1993 when I was down there. It was great


Margot ........ we saw shots of that hailstorm on our tv news on Saturday ................ and I recognise most of the names that you mentioned from our stay there in 1975/6. I must copy that and send it to my OH for him to read!


The Environment Department announced on Saturday that Canada had officially had the warmest and driest January and February for many years, if not ever. Soooooooooooooooooooooo ........ on Sunday, the temperature dropped down to ca 6 or 7C (instead of 12C or above), it poured with rain, and felt really chilly. Plus the word "sxxx" was on the forecasters lips for today or tomorrow.

Hmmmmmmmm ........ are we to have a late winter?

Oh yes, they officially blamed El Nino for the winter, plus the fact that the arctic jet stream was going much farther south than it usually does. Hence all the snow and bad weather in the US, as far south as Florida.

It was also announced the same day that 75% of the Florida tomato crop has been killed during their very cold weather ....... and hence tomatoes are going to be much more expensive for the next 6 weeks or so (or until the next crop from down there is ready to market)


The sun is trying to shine today, through some big black clouds, but it is only about 7C


take care everyone



sylvia

Hullo All,
Margot that was a good storm you had. Luckily you weren't driving somewhere and got caught on the road. We had a big hailstorm like that years ago when we lived in Perth and hailstones the size of twenty cent pieces perfectly shaped fell along the coastal strip only. It sounded just like a machine gun firing and our patio roof looked like a colander when it had passed and the lawn was covered with hailstones.
I used to have "drawing on the right side of your brain "lessons with a lady from Echuca, I'm blowed if I can remember her name. That trip up the Murray River is something I have always wanted to do also a trip to the Flinders Ranges.
Persephone I am sorry to hear that the railways are closing down in N.Z. I have been to Hastings on the Rail Car years ago. It had a name but I don't remember it, and I have been on the Auckland Express and the Limited dozens of time when I was young.
My father used to like to go to the Horse races at Featherston or Masterton when we were kids so we always went too going over the Rimutakas. I remember there was an engine down the bottom of the hill lying on its side but can't remember how it got there. For anyone interested it was a very steep climb over the Rimutaka mountains with a gauge of one in two feet and it used to have to have four engines to push it up there and four brake vans. It was so slow people used to get out and pick blackberries along the side of the track.
My last train trip in N.Z. was the Tranz something from Christchurch to Graymouth over the Southern Alps. It was beautiful.
Speaking of freakish weather what about the earthquakes and where are they going to strike next? With all the disasters going on around the world I often wonder where all the money comes from when they start talking about millions and billions. I suppose they are just printing more and if there is so much about why do we have to pay so much tax.
Having a cool spell at the moment, temps only in the thirties so far. No rain in sight.

Hi Ann,

I'll try to look in on here a little bit more often,so I don't have so much to catch up on next time!

You're right,Ann,the weather does seem to be getting more extreme!

What we had was freakish weather,though,which might occur once every 40 years or so.

Take care,

Margot.

Hi Margot a nice long catch up post from you, good to see you on here again.

Wow thatw as some storm, was it only the Melbourne area that got hit by it or did it travel elsewhere? I sounds as if it was very frightening. There must be something in this global warming business otherwise what other reason can there be for all the freak weather all countries are getting. I was recently sent video pictures of flooding in Northern Tenerife, it was horrendous, then there was Madeira, and mud slides apparently in Andalucia, flooding in France, flooding here, there seems no end to it. Maybe Noah had the right idea!!

Now for my news. Melbourne had freak weather conditions on Saturday.At about 3pm the rain started,and became stronger,and very loud and hard.
It turned into hail,so loud that you had to yell to speak over it.I was working at Oakleigh shopping centre,and was due to finish at 3,but when it started to rain,I delayed my departure.I'm so glad I did,because cars were being pelted with very large hail stones which were strong enough to smash their windscreens, and did.By 3.20 there were floods of water going through the shopping centre,and a river of water was coming through all the lights,and everyone had to make a hasty exit if they were underneath.
One poor lady was trying to pick her way through the water with thongs on,and I said jokingly to her that she needed gumboots! She said that her OH had just rung her to say that the hail had smashed her skylight at her home,so she wasn't very happy.I then wondered how my place was getting on,as we have a skylight too,in our lounge room.So I rang our house to see if the family etc. were ok,and heard that the laserlite
corrugated plastic roof over our entertaining area had 8 holes smashed through it by the force of the golf- ball sized (and bigger) hail stones.My OH said that they sounded like someone had taken a sledgehammer to the roof,and our back yard was 6 inches under water.At Ferntree Gully,a nearby suburb,the hailstones were the size of tennis balls.All the cars were pulled over on the roads,it must have been very frightening,and there was traffic chaos,especially in the CBD with cars abandoned everywhere under water,many roads closed etc.

We had water damage in the shop,the ceiling got wet and the water ran down the walls and onto the stock.I ended up staying back for 2 hours trying to salvage the stock,and mopping up the flooded floor with towels.We had to shut the shop,too.

Thank God that this sort of thing is an isolated occurrence! Melb. got one month's worth of rain in 20 minutes!

If you want to see footage of it,click on heraldsun.com.au. Hopefully it will work.I haven't tried it yet.

Hi everyone

Sorry that I haven't been on here for a while.I just popped in briefly.

Kathleen-
I'm glad to hear that the paracetamol and codeine are helping to kill the pain of your sciatica.

Perse-
NZ is like Australia,they're both multi-cultural nations.I hope that your foot is feeling better,and that your moonboot is off very soon.

Hi Marjery-I'm in Melbourne,(but don't hold that against me,lol!) so I'm a few hours ahead of you,but posting around the same time.It sounds lovely living on your country property with all your animals.I hope that you're coping OK with the constant heat and lack of rain.

I would love to visit NZ!

Snap! I only watch the Tour de France too for the scenery,it's beautiful! I love the castles that you see sometimes,and the quaint little villages.

Sylvia(in Canada)
Echuca and Bendigo are interesting places.I hope that you have a lovely time on the trains.Just sit back and relax! Heaven!

Gosh,you're well travelled! You've seen more of OZ than I have,and I was born here!

You and your OH were very brave tackling the Nullarbor,,& QLD. & NSW in a VW with a toddler,I guess you do things like that when you're young! I hope that you both enjoy your next holiday in Melb. in 2011.

Tess,you did have a bad day,haven't you been to town for a while? I hope that you had some hair left for your hair app't. the next day,and that you fared a little better with everything,lol.

Brenda
My ancestors lived in Echuca,and one lot were married in Kyneton.
I hope that you and your OH had a wonderful holiday at Capri Waters on the Murray River-is that a resort? I don't know it.

Jill
I hope that those storms are long gone now,and that they didn't cause too much damage.

Sorry,Jill and Brenda that I've taken so long to get back on here.

Hi Glossy Ann,hope you are happy and well.

Hi all,
What a lovely day it has been, bright sunshine, but still that icy cold wind, but in the car behind the glass it was lovely and warm.
We went to a jumble sale in a Sports Hall where our youngest daughter and her husband had a stall. They do this for a hobby. They were doing very well today and had their money back already by 10.30 this morning for the table they hired. They are always happy when they have managed to earn the money they have spent on the table.
Johan couldn't resist going to the canteen there and buying a croquette and chips and a hot chocolate for me.
I had already made our dinner yesterday ready for today in case I would be late home. I also made a dark brown loaf of bread and a large pan of tomatoe/vegetable soup so won't have to cook much for a couple of days.
Yesterday evening I finished my neighbour's trousers for him. He needed a few cms taken off the legs. His wife made such a mess of them that I said give them to me and I'll do them. No wonder I never have time!
Í was up at 5.45 am this morning - and this is Sunday!
Have a nice evening.
Greetings syl xxx

Hi all. back from Hampshire, had a lovely time and a very pleasant meal at a Fusion restaurant last night, sort of Thai food mainly and very good.

Lovely and sunny both in Hants and here but also very cold.

I'm back for a quick visit.

I too have still got some leg warmers.. A mixed purple pair made with fluffy wool and an off white pair in an Arran pattern. I just hate throwing things away and thought that they may come in useful one day.

Syljo, Sorry to hear about yor Apneu/Apnea it must make things difficult and possibly scary at times. Did you have to wait a long time to get a diagnosis? What treatment have you had (or are you having)?

My bro went for a long walk along some local canals on Saturday and was amazed to see a woman in a scootmobil, trundling along quite happily.
It can be lovely on the canal tow paths, much quieter than the nearby roads and sometimes a haven for wildlife.

Marjery, i have had a quick look at Tarcoola on the net. According to the site I visited, it was named after a racehorse. There was also a lot of gold mining/prospecting there at one time. From that site I diverted onto a site about the Pichi Richi Railway, what a marvellous name!

Sunny here today (at the moment). But probably colder than it looks. Still it is good to see the sun and blue skies after a long bout of cold weather.

Rail travel, my dad had a record of recordings of steam trains! An occassional voice to tell you what you were listening too and where and when it was recorded.
Before my marriage, I went out with two railway men (not at the same time). Something must have attractred me to them, they had both started working on the railways when there were still steam trains in general use, both were firemen.

Ann, hope you enjoy yourself at your daughters and that your grandson had a great 18th birthday.

There are places nearly everywhere in the world where you don't feel safe. My cousin lives in New York and he feels safe where another person might not. Tania on the boards here does not like South Auckland but I go around happily in some parts of it but not others.
But of all the places I have been - I have felt right at home and very safe was Tasmania. I know they have criminals - but I think their crime statistics are way below most places.

Rail travel - my dad worked for the railways so rail travel was the norm in my growing up. Now they have done away with rail around a lot of the South Island and now people cycle the rail trails - it is a great touristy thing to do. One trip they have kept is from Dunedin up the Taieri Gorge and back which is delightful. Now they are talking of closing the Wairarapa lines in the North Island. I find it very sad, feel as though I have lost some of my past.

Persey xx

hi Ann, I just answered you message in Dec09, cant find it now have looked at every page. hope all are well, will get back later hubby has bought home pizza for dinner. regards
Coz from Western Australia.

Hi all, spendingthe weekend with daughter and family for grandsons 18th. quite nippy here this morning although sunny.

Sylvia, all that food you bought sounds interesting.

Ditto Sylvia

Hi all


just whooshing by, so you know I'm still alive!!



sylvia
xxx

Hi there,
Ann, yes can't help getting old can we? Johan and I will be married 54 years on 17th March - he will be 85 on 22nd March. We keep each other fit I think, always looking what we can do with the limited means of what we can do. I cannot walk without my stick and zimmer frame. I have to laugh about it when I think I used to race my bike behind buses when I lived in London. I was completely mad!
It was a lovely sunny day today, alt hough an icy wind. I am glad I had my leg warmers. They only had two other pairs left, one white and one black, but the black ones had a long thread dangling so I didn't trust them.
I went to the market and I bought lots of cheese. They have a lovely mustard cheese so I got him to cut me half pound in slices and another favourite of mine is the olive, garlic and tomatoe, so he cut me half pound of that too. I also had a piece of very old cheese and kilo in slices of some with less fat .

I bought some herrings for lunch and some mixed, marinated fish and vegetables. I told him I wanted half pound but not too much rabbit food with it. So whenever I see him he mentions the rabbit food. I get greeted with "not too much rabbit food". You see I don't like paying top price for fish and getting half cheap vegetables with it.
If the weather is reasonable Johan and I going to Zeist on Sunday as our youngest daughter and her husband have a secondhand stall in a sports hall there. Lots of people give them, boxes of secondhand goods for them to sell (they don't want any money for them but don't know what to do with this stuff). Susan told me that she had a large box of beautiful wooden toys given to her last week to sell.
Talking of dangerous places to walk in. I felt unsafe in Elvis Presley's hometown. We travelled around in a motorhome for six weeks through various states.
Better bring this to an end or you will get fed up with me. Have a nice weekend.
Syljo xxx