General Chat

afternoon all,0ur last day here so we decided,Fowey was a must so go we did,and were pleased at the decision,from watching an old steam pleasure launch going round the bay,to the old lanes and back streets even narrower than the shambles in York just like watching the Onedin Line for real.
I Kid you not,they have to use special rubbish wagons round the streets to enable them to go round the tight corners and get between the overhanging top floors of the houses and shops,a normal lorry would be jammed tight in no time.
Going to have a hodge podge for tea tonight using up all the odds and ends,putting all the frozen meals left into the cold box to take to Seans.
Off to do some packing now,but we are def' coming back next year,what a lovely county to spend a holiday in.Fred.

Evening all.well I have been busy the past day or two ,but had to get on here to order something on line for John ,so am taking 5, as they say, to see what you have all been up to!!.
You seem all in order Dorothy,and I do know what you mean about the hospitals taking over etc.Enjoy your laundry!!!
Had a busy day yesterday with my Spanish class and my babysitting ,you forget how tiring looking after a 9 month old who is wide awake and wants to play can be,she was no trouble,but boy was I feeling tired later.
Today went to Bury with my sister ,it wasa lovelly warm day and we had a good walk round ,she had a few things she wanted ,but only got one of them ,she had to order one and check again next week if the other store got the item in !! I did really well and got all I wenr for which is really good.Off for a cup of tea now as I have been on here nearly two hours sorting out what John wanted to order.!!!See you all tomorrow .Brendafr.

morning all you people out there,from a muggy Oxfordshire,where Liz and i are resting before we go home tomorrow.
I have a load of pics,to upload onto The wifes 'puter,which are safely on the memory stick where they can't get lost ,and a further 100 still on my camera,so who is going to be bust sorting them all out? he he.
We decided yesterday morning as we finished packing that we wanted to go back ,so many things still to do,so we have already booked a return visit for the same two weeks next year.
I loused the small computer up ,and will have to reload the factory settings when i get home so at the same time i will upgrade it to windows x p pro ,which i reckon is the best programme platform that microsoft ever devised.
Off to get some brekkie now ,toast and beans i think ,which should set me up for the day,a round of soup making for Sean before we go home in the morning.
Hope everyone is going to have a nice weekend ,me ,it's home ,make a fuss of the furry boss ,and then ,decorating ,[shudder] ,never mind ,two weeks and the wife and i should be enjoying Fleetwood for a week.,Fred.

Just a few quick lines .was busy with the christening yesterday ,which went really well.and I was really tired when we go home.so did not come on here ,couldn't even get out the lap top down stairs!!
Been changing the ink in my printer ,normally pretty easy to do but today it was not so easy ,but its done now,.
Going out shortly have a few errands to do ,hope it stays dry,have the bedding to wash and want to get it on the line if I can,!!!!
Be backlater or tomorrow if I am tired again.
Brenda

goodmorning to-day is the last day of the holiday week-end so the traffice back to the city will be busy but it has been a wonderful week-end weather wise the family are at the cottage going up in different stges bryan had a hockey game on sunday so he and andrew where going up later in the day I think that they all will be home this afternoon, I kept busy doing some chores getting ready for the sisters visit, and having some me time! reading lots of books etc. sunday I had a walk around the grounds the leaves are beautiful , to-morrow I am going to make a couple of meals ahead ie. steak and onions and a beef and tomato and pasta dish I quite like. brenda yes 9months old can tire you out, it sounds like fred and iz have had a great time so hope they get home safe and sound. looking foreward to wednesday to get all the test results bye for now dorothy

hi all,so sorry to have been missing for so long,but boy have i been busy,i think i need another holiday already he he.
We got back late Sunday afternoon ,and by the time we had unpacked it was time for a late tea and then ,an early night.
Monday ,it was finish the second bedroom ,and start to put all the furniture back together and replace all the contents , e g ,clothing ,suits ,underwear ,and trinkets,plus reconnect the wall mounted fst in both rooms.
Monday evening we both got the new 32 " plasma fst set up in the front room,and then uploaded all the video footage and pictures onto the puters [ the big memory stick was a boon],doing the whole lot in under an hour.
Then it was ,take the old tele' outside between uss ,it weight a ton ,it felt like ,an old panasonic 24" job,and by this time we were pooped.
Tuesday i managed to get the two lawns cut for the last time this year[i hope ] get the tele loaded into the back of the car ,and taken to the council recycle depot,come back and do more work on straightening the bedrooms.
Wednesday morning it was up at five ,the new freezer arriving at nine a m,move the storage cupboard out away from the wall to make way for the big boy,and decorate the wall .skirting board in the dining room so that when the freezer is in place ,there is no need for it to be moved again when we do the dining room in a few weeks time.
Said freezer arrived on time and was put in place and then left to settle for four hours before we turned it on.
In the meantime we were off to B & Q for the tubes of silicone mastic to reseal the inner windows round the house,and puchase a new ,lightweight Bosch hedge trimmer,[battery operated ] to save trailing wires over the lawns and plants ,and no need to worry about the shock hazard if it rains in the middle of the job.
The only thing i need the cable for now is the mower,and when that goes bang ,the new one will also be battery operated.
Anyway,at the appointed time ,the freezer was turned on,and did a few jobs round the house for 2 hours until we could open the doors ,and fill it up for the first time ,this done ,we now have a spare fridge ,which can be used while we we have the extra's at Christmas,and the old freezer is going to the sons for use there.
Seeing as the new fridge freezer is frost free there is no longer a need to de frost every so often [yippee] one job that i hated ,and so time consuming.
Hoping the son will come tomorrow to give me a hand to load the freezer in my car to take it up to his out of my way ,the old fridge is going into the chalet for Mary's use ,lol.
We are going to move the storage cupboard to where the table ,in the dining room is now ,and move the table to where the old freezer is in the kitchen at the minute ,so much easier to clear up after the bairns have had tea no sticky stuff to get out of the carpet as the kitchen floor is wood ,another job easier for Fred.
The space under the far bench where the fridge is at the minute will be taken up by a tumble dryer [condenser type ] for winter use ,and this hopefully will cut down on the condensation we have trouble with in the winter[if that dosn't work we are thinking of secondary glazing.
In the meantime ,to help ,we have put the dehumidifier out of the shed onto the top landing which may do the trick.
The two freezers are stuffed full,and i had to take the Turkey out to get the last of the stuff put back in ,sooooo ,old Fred has a bird to cook ,and slice ,which will take up a lot less room ,so hopefully ,it will go back in as a flat
pack,lol.
After all that i was so darned tired that i couldn't sleep grrrr ,so i thought i would put a few lines on here before going back to bed to try again.
Another week ,and we should be back to normal [i hope ] by the time i tidy up the gardens ,trim the hedges ,and find some where to store the root crops for the winter,get the windows sorted,i will be ready to to to Blackpool for a rest he he.
Catch you all later today peeps ,off to the land of nod ,for some zzzzzzzzds.
Fred.

Well its good to see you home and back to normal fred,!!! I feel tired for you with all that going on.
I did put a message on after Dorothys but pressed the wrong button and lost the lot!! and did not have time to do another one.
Been doingsome research for my brother in law,founs out a fair few things for him and have posted the print outs to him.
Weather is still pretty good but not as warm ,but at least its dry.!!
better go now have to get stuff ready to make my second christmas cake tomorrow,the friut needs the brandy over it to soak it up
My chest freezer also needs defrosting and i have to get the stuff still in it to down a bit more.
Take care ,Brenda.

Hi everyone, I'm another that hasn't been around on GR for awhile always forgetting that I've this site as well as FB. I haven't got around to renewing my membership so if you don't see me its because I've allowed it to lapse. John

EVENING ALL,well its been another fairly good day weather wise l managed to get DavIds uniforms washed and line dried today so he is ok for most of next week.Hi John sorry you might not be around much hopre you and the family are ok,Went to change my books at the library and pick up some i had resereved,had a chat with some of my old work mates and found out they are installing some self issue machines which I am not keen on,and neither are the staff seems these machines tend to create work rather than decrease it as they tend to break down a lot and the public will not /can not use them,and if the staff have been reduced the remaining staff can not cope!!!
Had a few other errands to do and managed to get everything i wanted.
have a good wekend,Brenda

Afternoon all.well looks like you are all busy this weekend hope you are all enjoying whatever you are doing,the weather is good again today ,bit chilly but dry and some sunshine.
Not sure if I am out tomorrow or not waiting for a message from some one.Take care .Brenda

Morning Brenda,we up here have had a busy but good weekend ,getting lots of work round the house finished at last.
I got the wife's room finished in the late afternoon and noticed that it was lots quieter and warmer ,got the de humidifier out of the shed where it has been for three years ,and have put it on the landing ,hopefully to dry the top floor air a bit and stop a lot of condensation,but i will be even happier when the tumble dryer arrives ,which will stop all the drying clothes indoors on the clothes horse which i reckon is a lot of the problem.
This morning ,it's off to the town and bank ,then off to Tesco's for a bit of shopping before coming home to do a bit of tidying up before i start the decorating in the kitchen ,which is coming on very well.
Think i will leave my bedroom window until after the Blackpool trip,which i am looking forward to,he he ,i have promised Chris a game or two of crazy golf while we are there ,but i think he really want's to see the lights ,and even more wants to see the lit trams that i remember,from last winter,although they won't be running all the way to Fleetwood until late next year ,the new track not being finished.
I reckon i will have to bring my orange tree in from the greenhouse this week ,after the heavy frost we had yesterday ,cor ,it was a tad nippy out front ,lol.even the car was covered in frost ,and shivering ,he he.
Time to take the missus her cuppa up.so i will catch you later ,Fred.

hi one and all sorry to be absent for a while well to updte you I went last wed to the specialist and got the results of all my tests and was able to view all the films taken of my brain (confirmed I do have one) was not the greatest news I have had one large t.i.a stroke I guess that was the incident in march and have had several small ones since!! so a small change of meds told to remain stress free as much as possible and then enjoy life so that sounds not too bad, I don't have any pysical damage ie. no problems with speech or gait so I guess I am lucky, my sister is here and we have been out and about she leaves to go to toronto to-morrow for a few days and then my be back up to me till the 28th I guess. fred you have been very busy but it sounds like you are all setup brenda good to read your notes bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone, think I have overdone "tasting " the apples I cooked this afternoon as I have been up and down to the loo a few times since I went to bed at 10pm to have an early night!!!
My friend had given us some bramleys from her trees and I promised to make an apple crumble,which I started to do but the crumble went wrong when I put the sugar in the bowl with the flour and marge ,Before I had rubbed then into bread crumbs!!i could not take it out so thought I would just add more flour and make a sweet pastry ..wasn,t a good idea ....so ended up with baked apples and custard instead, very nice but I must admit I kept checking if they were sweet enougth.
Dorothy so pleased you now have a proper diagnosis and hope the change in medication helps get you back to your old self .can you drive again now or is it still a no go? Fred Are you just showing off with all your Jobs round the house I am still trying to keep up with you.Are you still planning on coming to Bury Market while in Blackpool.
Brenda

Afternoon all ,just checking in after coming back fromthe town ,and doing the dinner [wraps made with chicken pieces and a small jar of Heinz Morrocan sweet chilli sauce mix] fast and veeeery tasty.
We are half way round the dining room now ,ans should be finished just before we leave for Blackpool if all goes well.
By the time i get my window done ,there is only the hall and stairs to do before Christmas,so we should have a lazy start to next year ,with only the lounge to redecorate,and then it's full steam in the garden again.
I was out back before we went out this morning ,and it goes to show how wet the summer has been ,i have little toadstools growing in the lawn,huh , i wouldn't mind so much if they were mushrooms , lol, but these are toadstools ,wouldn't have minded so much if they were the edible ones grrrrr. but no such luck.
We still intend to come through to Bury for the day Wednesday Brenda,so long as the weather isn't too bad it is snowing thirty miles to the north of us ,looks like an early winter ,but i'm not too bothered ,we are well prepared this year ,and can even do a pooh bear thing if need be ,[ hibernate] ,he he
The news wasn't all bad Dorothy,much as you expected i reckon,but it does mean ,like it or not,you will have to slow down somewhat, but it isn't so bad when you get used to it ,once you learn to pace yourself.
Well ,i am going to do a Brenda tomorrow ,make a couple of apple crumbles,and some apple sauce for the festive season,i have to do something with all these apples off my tree,there must be thirty to forty to harvest right now ,roll on next year when my my plum tree starts fruiting the same way,yum yum.
We are both slowing right down now ,panic over for this year ,and we are back on track again.
Going to find something for the tea now ,maybe some soup or something on toast.
Seen you tomorrow peeps,have a good evening ,Fred.

hi chris left thia morning so I amtaking it easy for a day or two, yes brenda I can drive again thank goodness my fred what a lot of decorating you are doing, you say you have snow near you please don't send it over here. hope you get to bury you should enjoy it and it will be great to get to-gether with brenda off to watch coronation street in touch again soon bye dorothy

Eh Fred lad I am always feeling tired reading about what you and Liz have been up to ,decorating wise,wehave to start the living room soon,but can not decide wether to have it replasterd so it just needs painting,or just get another paper ,I would go with the plastering but John thinks it will cost too much and needs the whole room emptying!! I said lets strip the room get a couple of quotes and see what we can afford,I just need to bring him round to my way of thinking.
Been up to Bury today ,still not a lover of the new shops but the Market was as busy as ever,weather was cold but really sunny,might go again with John on saturday.
Will be pleased to meet Fred and Liz.Glad you had a nice visit with your sister Dorothy is she still coming back next week?
Need to go and finish a book I am reading ,see you all tomorrow.

Go for a paper Brenda ,embossed, that you can redecorate with a silk emulsion in future ,afraid i have to agree with your hubby on this one,re plastering will be a messy ,longish job that will still need painting when done,and will cost you and a leg. you don't need that expense in the run up to the festive season.
I am with you on the new style shopping though ,i too prefer the old style market where you just mooch about as you choose ,these new shops are a nightmare ,as soon as you walk in you are set upon by salespeople who follow you everywhere with the hard sell,it makes me mad ,that you arn't left in peace to browse.
Most of my electrical stuff i go to Curry's for ,they know me now after i told them [politely] that i knew what i was looking for and would let them know if i needed help ,lol, now when i go in ,i get a good morning ,nice to see you again ,and then they bog off and leave us in peace ,lovely.
We were in there this morning where i ordered the new tumble dryer which will be delivered the week after we get back from Blackpool.
I did the windowsill in the dining room this morning ,so,apart from the window in the main bedroom needing stripped and weatherproofed ,and repainted ,decorating is finished until the spring.
next year we will do the benches in the kitchen which are a little dated,replacing them with a new set up for a double ,free standing oven ,all ceramic,to take the place of the built in oven and hob so it will be B&Q for the bench tops ,where i can get them cut to size before delivery,and back to Currys yet again for the cooker ,
We are thinking of ditching the electric fryer and getting a medium size halogen oven that can cook chips with no fat ,and even cook a 4lb chicken,with veggies,or cakes ,and so energy efficient they can't be beaten,
I have even got the fir hedges trimmed today using the new battery cutter ,so light that the heavier trimmer is destined for the bin unless the son wants it ,he he ,with that and the flymo cutter on the extending rod for the tops of the taller hedges ,trailing a wire all over the place is a thing of the past.
Liz is having a bit of bother with her breathing again Brenda ,so we will be coming to Bury by car now,not on the bus,not too bad though as i will have the sat nav to prevent getting lost.,so when Liz gets short of breath it will be ,sit down for a cuppa for a bit.
I will have my Cyprus forage cap on as usual and my body warmer ,and the grandson so we will be easy to spot ,just look for two oldies with walking sticks ,talking Swahili [Geordie really] lol.
Well ,the missus says i am on cookhouse duties again so it's time to go ,catch you tomorrow. Fred

ok to-day was sunny and then this afternoon along with the sun we had lake efect snow showers was this a gift from fred!!!! if so I don't want it but it did not last long, jut spoke to my sister brenda and I don't believe she will be back up it is easier for her to stay in toronto after she has been to oakville to see friends and head to the airport from there and that is ok with me. oh I do hope you all do meet up in bury I will be thinking off you all and fred do check out the cheese stall if only for a look. been over at the sons for a couple of days not staying overnight he is down in newfoundland and I was giving lindy a hand with things and of course making good use of the washer etc. the laundry room here is very nice but you can't always regulate the heat in the dryers as well in personal ones. well its about 8-30pm thursday evening so that means grays anatomy at 9pm and law and order uk at 10, glad to see the trial of russell williams is over and he got life in prison but he is still going to be entitled to his army pension!! that does not seem right , lindy's uncle john sewell is having a book signing this evening in toronto I believe her mom is going he write books on urban planning in 3rd world countries since he retired as mayor of toronto a few years ago he has spent a lot of time in africa teaching folks how to set up town councils etc well time for me to go bye for now dorothy

hi one and all the snow I woke up to yesterday is all gone and it will be about 17 degree's to-day Ian and I had a great dinner at the red lobster last evening I was so full I could hardly walk out of the place!!! we started with 2 appetizers calamaria and escargot really good followed by caeser salad then the main course Ian had lobster tail and a combo of differant shrimp served on rice and I had a sea food platter lots of shrimp and linguine with alfredo sauce and shrimp baked spud as you can see it was quite a lot they also bake their own cheese buns, on the way home we stopped at the dairy queen an ice cream place and Ian managed a small strawberrry sundae that has always been a tradition with the children that we always stop there. prices however have gone up quite a bit but it was a special occasion but I was not really expecting it to cost 75 dollars. but we had a great meal and I had a good chat with Ian so all in all it was a fun evening but I don't think that I shall need much in the way of food to-day. bye for now dorothy

Not me Dorothy ,it must have been Edith over in suix lookout who foisted the snow on you he he,but ,if you like ,i could send you some by mid week when we are supposed to be hit by wind and weather from the arctic.
This is our first morning in Fleetwood and i got up at 5 am to put the heating on for Liz 'cause it's darned cold.
When the caravan owner heard that Liz is unwell ,he changed us into this van[his own personal one] which is double glazed and has central heating,so we should be nice and snug ,as i have set the heating to come on at 6 a m every morning.
We are promised snow and very low temperatures by Tuesday ,so i will see how Liz is by then as to wether i will allow her to go to Bury or not,but i have been in touch with Brenda,and we have exchanged mobile numbers ,so i will keep her informed as to events.
I have to go to Cleevies this morning ,so if she want's to come ,i will take the car ,no buses for her for a few days at least,but the new antibiotics seem to be working and her breathing is getting better,and i reckon by the back end of the week,if not before ,Chris should get his trip on the trams he as heard so much about and get to see the Blackpool lights he has never seen.
If it comes to it ,we are back down here in late March [already booked] so if push comes to shove ,we will have to do Bury market then.
Blimey Dorothy ,i'm suprised you could even walk after a meal like that ,never mind ice cream on the way home ,he he ,but it sounds as though you had a great time.
The New T Mobile dongle is so fast that i don't need the owners lounge and the wi -fi = plus £1 breakfast,this morning,soi will take the missus a cuppa and a tablet in a few minutes ,and make breakfast here in the van today.
would you believe it ? we called at Morrisons outside Blackpool on the way through to do most of the shopping and forgot ,tea ,sugar ,and coffee,how daft can you be ,lol.hence the trip out this morning later when it warms up a little,but it will give me some indication of how Liz will cope with the cold.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend,catch you all later,Fred.