General Chat

Well it sounds like we are all having to try and dry out!!
Miserable and wet here again!
Hope you have managed to get all your new kitchen stuff from B&Q today Fred an dwill be hard at the DIY bit before long,
Hope you manage the move without to much trouble Bill and you are drier in the new place and are lucky in both the fishing and the gold digging !!
Had an email from Dorothy ,she has internet at the moment but still having probs with genes ,she is going to send them a postal order and see if its because she renewed for only six months.
Her weather sounds good and her sister is visiting its the Thanks giving weekend and she is doing a Turkey ,no change with the familky problems.
Have to get on with reading my book it needs to go back to the library tomorrow but I will have to take it weekend.
Take care
Brenda

Had a good day weather wise,managed to get my washing dry on the line!!
Hope Fred is making progress with his kitchen refurb1
having a bit of a tussle on the diet ,my sister bought us a toffee apple cake this afternoon and I had already had my treat for today so it will have to wait till tomorrow.!!
hope you are all keeping well and happy
Take care brenda

morning all,sorry to be a little remiss ,nothing wrong here ,lol,just a little busy of late what with the kitchen and gardens.
The kitchen gear arrives on Tuesday next week ,but i wont be starting the actual referbishment until a week Tuesday when the youngest son is going to give me a hand to strip the sink unit out,him being an ex plumber and all. :-D.
The rest i can handle myself ,and i can take my time,so ,things are under way.
We have already started changing the bathroom and toilet ,to wet rooms,starting with the toilet which i finished last night.the original carpet and underlay up and binning them.
We had already got the new underlay and lino for the toilet so i got on with it yesterday afternoon and finished it off by sealing the lino to the skirting boards with white silicone ,and the base of the toilet pan with clear silicone.
There is enough underlay left to do the bathroom ,so we only need a large offcut of lino to turn that into a wet room too.
Have to get ready to go food shopping up Cramlington now ,but i will be back this afternoon,enjoy the weekend all ,Fred :-D.

evening Fred and any one else who is looking in.Not done much this weekend been to the library yesterday and changed my books,and had a chat with my friends there.
Have not been out today been busy sorting out some shelves and drawers in my bedroom,nothing for the charity shop this time all going in the binas it was all bits and bobs and old make up etc.
Glad you are making headway Fred,with all your refurbishments,glad you have a little help.Hope it all goes well,we can't seem to do much in this house without finding more work if you know what I mean,
John made a bit of a start by striping the window wall in the bedroon ready to repaper with an embossed paper and then paint it.we might paint all the room or just that one wall,its just an off white colour so should be ok.
David is off work this week and if the weather is ok he is going to take the plastic greenhouses down with John ,to stop them blowing way again.!!!
I have physio tomorrow and am out on both Wednesday and Thursday with friends on wednesday i am looking for something to weat at my neices wedding and Thursday i am going to the local retail park to see a new shop.
Should be back tomorrow.
Take care Brenda

well the weather stayed dry most of the day,but has been raining again this afternoon,mind you John got his game of golf in so he was a happy bunny!!!
Been for my physio and was given another excersise and was reminded I need to do them three times a day and it did not matter what time.!!!
I have also got to loose weight so will have to seriously see about going back to weight watchers of I have not lost any weight when I I go back again.!!!
Hope everyone looking in is ok
Take care Brenda

Afternoon Brenda ,and anyone else who looks in ,well ,everything for the kitchen revamp arrived this morning ,but there were a couple of things that wern't right ,so i still had a few bits and pieces to sort out.
Just my luck ,the panel that goes right next to the sink arrived damaged so i had to take it back and get them to cut a new piece,one of the packs for the sink assembly was the wrong one ,so that had to be changed as well,
The panel ends were the wrong size [my fault] which had to be changed for the correct [thinner] sort ,and now ,the son is coming tomorrow morning to give me a hand to start on it all.
The cooker and freezer come a week on Wednesday ,which gives me plenty of time to loosen the worktops ,strip out the carosel for cleaning,and take out the old built in cooker casing.
Just to make sure i had plenty to do in the middle of it all ,we brought a new three burner with side burner gas B B Q for next season :-) which is going to be a bit of a jig saw puzzle ,being as it is quite some size ,and we got it cheap because it has no assembly instructions , :-S, he he,but no doubt it will be fun fitting it all together slowly as we find out where it all goes ,lol :-D.
Coo ,it ain't 'alf getting parky up here Brenda,i went outside at 5-30 this morning to put the bins out for collection ,and i could swear i could feel my ears ,and other sundry bits shrivelling in the cold air he he :-0 .
Stick with the exercises Brenda ,they will work well if you give them a chance old friend,after my triple bypass ,i thought they would kill me ,pain wise ,but two weeks into them i started to twig that i was getting fitter a lot more quickly than i would have done otherwise,and i landed up a lot better off for them.
I have just noticed that the gas board are over the road digging up the pipes outside the flats that are empty ,so with any luck ,they are about to be demolished at long last ,and it will be better done this time of year when the rain and damp will help the dust control problems that demolition causes.
Well ,time to go and make some tea ,a nice leek and potato soup tonight ,with a couple of thick slices of Morrison's bloomer bread.
Hope everyone is having a good week .Catch you all later ,Fred.

Evening all from what was a very bright but very chilly Manchester!! The morning was really miserable but the afternoon was blue skies ,still chilly but the sun shine made it seem warmer,if that makes sense.
Had a walk round the local Matalan,do you have them up your way Fred.?
John got a couple of new long sleeved polo shirts that are a bit thicker ,for playing golf when it gets cooler!
I got a top which if Iget some nice brown trousers will do for the edding we are going to next month.
I have been doing the excersises Fred and am feeling some bebefit ,but the damp weather is not helping .We have both said we have to loose weight so we are staring today ,did think of going back to weight watchers ,but it is dear and will go in a couple of weeks if I do not get a good start my self.
I am going to start doing a bit more walking even if I only go round the block and it takes me a while ,its more than i am doing now.
I have also decided that i will not buy any extra treats for us ,if it is not here we can not eat it.!!!
Need to check my emails as I am waiting on a reply from someone.
take care Brenda

Its been another chilly but sunny day at times here,we have had some rain but mostly its been sunny ,but cold.
Went to town to meet some friends and did a bit of shopping .all the shops are really getting into the christmas mood with christmas decorations and displays.!!!
having trouble on my desk top pc with signing onto my email can everything else but that , any ideas anyone?
Been trying to get hold of my nephew who usually sorts me out but he is busy with a new job,!!
Hope all the kitchen jobs are on track Fred and if BIll and Dorothy can see us hope all is well with you.
Brenda,

Hi one and all, I am still about but am a rare visitor to GR these days. :-D :-D The past few months Gayle's blood pressure started playing up while having dialysis treatment and :-0 :-0 then on the last Friday in September the fistula stopped working which was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to get the fistula going again. In the meantime a line was inserted in her neck for seven days before it was removed and another line placed in her chest. Oh boy, that first week this month was frustraing and has been an emotional and tearful time for Craig, Gemma and myself as we tried not be upset in front of Gayle - which is hard for anybody. -( Further surgery will take place nearer Christmas on the arm as the chest line can only remain in place for three months at most..
Mum was 90 on 10 October and we had a birthday lunch with family and friends the day before. :-) Being the eldest I was persuaded to make a short speech and it was short. :-D
My internet has been cutting out a lot recently and I made contact with my ISP provider and told the person whose English I couldn't understand most frustrating - I even asked for someone to speak to me but he refused saying its his call and he would speak very s l o w l y - yeah right. Thing is he would give letters and when he said V it sounded like P and vice versa. HELP! Today I phoned again and the end result they would monitor the system to see why it was cutting out all the time. One thing I was told to do was to place filters on the two phone jacks something that was never mentioned to be done by the installer, strangly the first person I spoke to said filters and I had asked do I need them his response no. So tonight the modem is staying active and will be monitored overnight.
Time to end this essay(?) as its 11.21 on a Thursday night. ;-) Nite

Afternoon folks,great to hear from you John ,and I am very sorry that Gayle has been having so much trouble and really hope she is ok when they do the surgery,Glad you had some good times with your mothers birthday ,sounds like you all had a nice day/night.
The weather here is getting very wintery we seem to have missed autumn out altogether,but we did have a really good week a few weeks ago when we had agorgeous Indian summer .!!
My ex husband has got to have dialysis three times a week now due to a virus attacking his kidneys a few months ago.He has also got problems with his sight due to catarachs ,which will hopefully be sorted in the next few months the renal problem will not go and he is being put on the transplant list.

My sister comes over your way next month when she and her husband and friends come on holiday. They have had to change their itinery a lot due to the earth quakes so I am not sure where they are going now. I do know they should have stayed in Christchurch for a week and that has been changed to a couple of days.
Hope evryone else is doing ok
Take care
brenda

Morning John,and Brenda+ anyone else who looks in today ,or tomorrow ,lol :-)
Hope things go well for your missus John ,you don't seem to be having much luck lately what with one thing and another,so maybe a letter to Santa Claus is in order ,well ,you could do with all the help you can get.
The first part of the kitchen revamp wen't very well,only taking three hours in total,complete with plumbing,and i have to admit [blast it ] that Liz was right ,as usual ,he he ,it does look tons better ,the lighter colour benches do make a big difference.
The next stage will take a good bit longer to do ,what with a new cooker to fit in to it's place ,the benches and tops changed to suit,the new freezer to put in place ,meaning the white cupboard in the utility [dining ] room going under the kitchen bench in the kitchen where the little fridge is now. :-|.
Anyone want a fridge ,free to a good home ,owner collects ,lol,cause being a smallish kitchen ,there will be no home for it when the changes are done.
The eldest son and partner are in Holland for two days on a mini cruise,so the grandson Chris is with us for at least 4 days,and today being his 16 birthday we are taking him to the Metro centre for a mooch about in the warm where Liz can have a natter to her ex work mates ,before we take him for his birthday dinner at the Chinese buffet ,his choice ,it was that or a carvery,but he dosn't go much on veggies so a Chinese seemed a better bet to me and the missus anyway,AND ,this place keeps you topped up with tea or coffee as well, :-D.
Pulled a fast one on my internet provider yesterday after i had a word with a rep' who was touting his wares in the foyer of Morrisons.
Enquiring as to wether i had virgin media installed in the house ,i told him yes,so i got the gen on this new Tivo box which was on offer,for £3 a month extra ,i would get all my channels on H D,room on the said box enabling me to store 50 movies until i watched them.plus a few extra channels on factual matters and nature,then he told me it would cost me a one off payment of £49 for the box itself,so i said no thanks ,i would make do with the package i have.
Getting home ,i checked online and found i could get the same deal on sky ,all connections free ,no box charges and the same H D channels,so i called Virgin and asked why ,as a customer from their Blueyonder days [30 years] why i could get the same deal from Sky ,with the same monthly bill with no charge for the box [silence from tother end] so i said ,okay ,loyalty means nothing to you ,put me on to disconnections and i will get the lot taken out, sooooo ,i am now getting Tivo put in at no charge ,lol :-D ,take no prisoners ,that,s me.
Liz was back at the doc's yesterday where he took a sample ,put her on a course of steroids for the chest ,and told her he would be in touch if the test result showed the infection had not cleared,but i do have to say,she looks ,and sounds better than she did a week ago .
Hope every one is looking forward to the weekend,Fred.

Hello everyone, glad to hear that the revamp is going ok,lets hope it stays that way,and i hope you are not like us as we always seem to find more needs doing than we expected!!
It all sounds very good and I am sure Liz being the practical woman she is will have seen how it will all look in her minds eye.
Hope the chinese buffet went well ,like the sound of the tea and coffee ,that would do me nicely.
John has said we might nip up to Bury tomorrow if the weather is not to bad.I will let you know how we go on.
Have a good weekend,take care
brenda

Hi all, Saturday afternoon in NZ and by the end of the night the winner of the Rugby World Cup will known. We have a belated engagement party for Craig and Gemma this evening with a few friends and family members, then this time next year the wedding. <3 Yes the two have a long engagement as they are saving up for the event.
Badger there must something in the weather that makes us wanting to spring clean as the kitchen had a going over this morning but it is an ongoing task.
We are also trying to get the garden into some that is devoid of weeds, a friend from church did the weeding and I planted some bulb-type plants, can't remember what they are called. Still plenty to do in that area.
Just rejoined GR for another year. :-D Catch you later, John

Morning John,and Brenda,hope your All Blacks won their game ,which is more than likely ,anyone who beats the froggies has my vote.lol :-D.
Yep ,regarding the garden and weeding ,he he ,i have already been out front this morning and refilled the garden waste bin with more of the ground cover roses plus all of the root as well ,bar three which will have to wait until the bin is emptied,because i took out tons of wicken grass from next door which had grown up under the ruddy bushes and in between the roots,which is why i took them out.
I will now dig up some of the garden cover plants and spread them out ,hoping they will keep the grass at bay ,or ,next door grrrrrrrr.i can see me going along the fence every two weeks with weed killer come next spring ,anything to keep the butter cup and grass out.
Yes Brenda ,we do have a large Matalan store ,right behind the Metrocentre ,where i call in to buy my printer ink and paper, [A4] Matalan being the best place to buy them,nice and handy too ,doing both shops at the same time ,same day ;-).
Looks like i got finished in the garden just in time ,it has now started to rain,so it looks like i am indoors for the afternoon,which is just ass well ,because i think i have done my back in again ,ooooooo ,this getting old isn't all it's cracked up to be .
Going to see to the dinner now ,the grandson wanting his usual chicken ,with roast tatties ,home grown cabbage ,parsnip .and carrots,with mash and gravy ,told him though ,no stuffing today ,because he is getting spoilt .
Hope everyone is having a brilliant weekend ,Fred :-).

evening folks,wet again today but did not have to go out or put washing out so wasn;t that bad.
Glad you got some gardening done Fred,and I know what you mean about weeds from next door.
John glad New Zealand won the match did not see all of it but what I did see was good,I was all for Engaland atthe start ,but NZ was my choice after them.
Had an email from Dorothy today Fred ,she has had her sister visiting so has not had chance to send the money order to Genes she will do this at the start of November,so should be back with us soon.She also said to tell you she did a turkey dinner with all the trimmings for her sister,and it went down very well..
Good news about the engagment John and the forthcoming wedding I am sure it will be a happy event.We have a family wedding next month in Cheshire ,but we are staying over night and one next March,which is down in Cornwall,that will bea two day stay ,if not longer.
We are going to my aunts funeral tomorrow,just hope the weather is kind to us.
Time to watch Downton abbey ,so hope you all have a good weekend .take care Brenda.

Hi All.taking a break for a few minutes before I go potty trying to resolve why I can not sign in to my emails on this pc but can on my lap top.
HAve tried phoning Virgin but seemed to have lost my pass word and you can not get any human connection on the phone to explain things to !!! any one go any ideas, Weather ok but might have rain later ,can not put the washing out as next door are still havinh the pointing done on theres and there is dust every where due to them sanding something or other.!!!
Need to nip out later for milk we seem to have been going mad on the stuff .Hope you are all alright
Brenda

Hi all,have had another good day weather wise today until about a half hour ago when it really started to rain heavy.
had a good day really,got to the laundrette and washed the bed cover which is far to big for my washer etc. Managed to get it on the line for a couple of hours this afternoon so its nice and clean and dry.(thank goodness the builder next door was not drilling again and sending brick dust everywhere.)
Managed to get down to a local retail park ,went to get some chocolates from the Thorntons there that I saw last week on offer (wanted them for a couple of birthday presents),just my luck that the offer was finished.!!! However I went to the T K Maxx there and got some other things for those presents and for christmas gifts.So did not do bad in the end.
Might have to go to town tomorrow to exchange some items I bought last week in Bury at M&S ,
Hope everyone is ok
Take care
Brenda

Morning all ,you happy campers ,lol,and special hello to Dorothy in case she can still see what's going on on these threads ,even if she can't add. :-).
Your problem isn't Virgin itself Brenda ,if it were so ,you wouldn't be able to enter either the computer ,desktop ,or laptop .assuming Virgin is your one providor.
Maybe the security setting on the desktop is to tight ,or you have your cookies disabled,or it maybe your internet security itself ,but as i said ,go into your laptop ,find your settings on that ,and transfer them all to the desktop which will sort your problem out for you.
The weather isn't too bad here this morning ,i was able to take my cuppa outside at 6 am and keep the furry pest happy for a few minutes before i came in to fire up the heating for the other boss ,lol. ;-) .
Not a lot i can do outside today seeing as everything is rather soggy ,if you know what i mean still ,you can' have everything in life ,or it would become very boring ,he he :-D .
I updated mu sat nav last night ,ready for the trip down south in a couple of weeks ,and i am looking forward to my birthday down in Fleetwood ,specially a trip on the tram to see the lights this year,and even a meal in the Tramway carvery which ,i am pleased to say ,is back the way it used to be.
Fancy a week away up in the old country next spring ,maybe over on the west coast around the Wymess bay area for a spot of fishing, sounds good to me .
Well ,i can't sit here talking all morning ,i need to find something to do ,lol,See ya' later all,Fred.

EVENING ALL, we have had another good day weather wise,managed to get my shopping done this morning over at the Asda at Eastlands near the Manchester City football ground .It was very busy with people buying things for Halloween,!! and of course Guy Fawkes night which seem to be getting combined on the two weekends coming up !!

Glad you are managing to keep both your bosses happy Fred ,you are are very wise !!
David is going to help me sort out the other pc as he uses it more than I do these days.,Will let you know how we go on.Hope the weather stays like this for your trip to Fleetwood,you should be ok and the carvery meal sounds good.
Having a cuppa now and a peice of walnut cake ,shop bought I have to say.will be doing my christmas cakes next weekend.
Take care ,have a good weekend ,Brenda

Hi all, I've never been interested in rugby but do take notice if the All Blacks win. The Sunday night the game was played I actually watched an episode of Poirot that I'd taped the night of the engagement party and saw the last ten minutes of the rugby. What a nailbiter during those final few minutes and when the final whistle sounded the stadium went wild with excitement. 87 was the year when the All Blacks won the cup and strangely those numbers is the score 24 years later. :-D
We aren't into Halloween but I do know that the shops seemed to adopted what is celebrated in the States. :-0
Isn't it strange that everyone celebrates an event that could've seen the Houses of Parliament blown up and make effigies of Guy and his cohorts. The cost of staging fireworks displays is expensive and with the world economic climate you would think money could be better spent on helping those without.
Coming up to our tea time, so take care. John :-)