General Chat

Morning all ,yep we is back Brenda ,and as planned ,the break which was already in the pipeline before Peter's death ,did do good ,Liz having come to terms with things.
There will be a dip tomorrow afternoon because of the funeral ,but once it is out of the way ,things should get back to normal :-).
Our garden ,watered by the eldest son whilst we were away is doing fine with little pears ,5 in total ,not bad for the second year ,loads of apples ,the fig tree looking hopeful .rhubarb ready to start cropping ,plus potatoes everywhere ,the barrels and grow bags doing very well. :-D.
The only tree looking a little iffy is the plum ,a shame ,but if it dosn't fruit this year ,it will be the first time in four years ,and we can't have it all ways.
I will get the lawns done later this morning ,and that's the gardening done ,apart from the never ending weeding ,but i will have to bring my contractor in to do the hedges ,it is too much for me these days :-(.
Came home to find the drive finished ,yippee ,the guys did a lovely job with the stop cock back fill ,and cover ,a new sort ,round ,not square like the old ones .but ,nice and neat.
Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with the ford Brenda ,if it's on instalments and not a cash job ,next time ,think about a contract car ,it dosn't cost any more than hire purchase ,and you get a new one every three years ,best of all ,all you put in is petrol ,oil and water ,everything else is paid for ,and you will find ,the firm you get it from are more attentive if anything goes wrong.
Ours goes back in the next two weeks ,and we will pick the new one up the same day ,it saves a lot of bother.
Once we get back to normal these next few days i will get back into the swing of things ,lol,i keep my eye on Dorothy via Face book but won't talk on it because i don't trust the security on it ,i have people i know on there that are having lots of bother with hacking and the like ,and i can't be bothered with things like that :-|.
Off to do the lawns now ,lol,catch you later ,Fred. :-)xx.

Morning to all ,back in the garden i have been ,while the sun shines ,he he ,and i have at last tidied the patio up ,so ,things are looking good.
we went to the town yesterday ,to the bank ,and then to the Metro centre to look in Lakeland where we at last managed to find the foam to line the veggie trays in the upright freezer ,as the old stuff was well past it ,a bit like me .lol.
where is you all i ask myself ,i thought the holiday season was over ,what with the terrible weather lately ,but there you go ,another wet miserable summer for all in blighty ,and a few other countries by the look of it.
The wife is busy this morning ,washing done and hung out,now sitting in front of the puter ,putting all her photos onto disc ,after i told her off for complaining that the computer is running slow ,even after a defrag' ,no ruddy wonder says i ,you have about twenty dvd discs worth of pictures on your hard drive ,get 'em onto discs and the external drive you have ,and then delete them all.
The new car has to go back in ,as ,after driving it a few [very few ] miles the clutch is way too fierce ,either in or out with no control over the slip on taking up the drive .not good for driving in heavy traffic,so i will get on the phone to Porland road ,and have it taken in for adjustment.
Time to be getting on with some work ,hope everyone is okay ,and getting on with their lives ,be back later ,,Fred . :-).

evening Fred and anyone else looking in.
I am very sorry I have not been on here for a while, I have no reason apart from time and forgetting ,I have even forgotten to email my mate in Australia ,we email each week,and she was wondering if I was ill.!!

I am pleased Liz is feeling a bit better after her brothers death.

Glad you all enjoyed the holiday and that the house and garden had been looked after ok.
The problem with the car was sorted, months ago someone "bumped" the back bumper leaving a scratch and nothing else while we were in Asda.!!!
How ever it seems the bump caused more damage underneath than we could see.
it had split a join in something,(don't ask me the technical term) and that is what was leaking.
Because it had been bumped it was not covered by the warranty and cost us a few hundred pounds, we were not amused. If we ever get a scratch again we will really check it over and under, but like John said its not much use when who ever did it has gone,we are left with the damage.
The new shed has been ordered and will be delivered in about three weeks.
The garden is still a bit like Steptoe's yard ,but is getting better as John takes stuff to the tip etc.
I have also seen how Dorothy has been doing on Facebook. She has been busy with the family celebrations and her tennis.
Last weekend we had a very socialable time being out on Saturday night , Sunday afternoon, and Monday lunch , it will be years I expect before that happens again, All of them were very good.
Hope your weather is better than ours been a bit wet down here,
Take care Brenda xx

morning Brenda,huh ,hope your weather is better than ours she says [chortles under breath] we up here are still struggling with sub 18c days and 6 to 8 c nights ,and we are STILL using the heating first thing in the mornings including this morning the 1st of July. :-(.
sounds as though your car trouble may have been a damaged Cat' causing lack of compression ,and making the car run very slowly and unevenly ,that would be about right ,a new one would be anything from £300 ,up to £600 to replace.
I had a ford escort mk 3 with a fitted tow bar ,and got shunted up the back end ,making a small dent in the bumper ,but causing a lot of damage to the other fella's car ,i threatened to sue him for careless driving and damage ,plus loss of work due to the inability to get into work,
It cost him a new tow bar [ i got the top tow bar to ber had] plus the knocking out of the dent and the rear end respray ,all costing him £900 ,and that's without the damage to his car ,plus a caution off the police .bit expensive for travelling too close up my tailpipe ,lol.
Bet our Dorothy is enjoying her tennis ,a very unusual Wimbledon this year to be sure ,lots going on and a load of top seeds being put out by relative unknown players .
Think it might be an idea to put your shed on stilts ,or better on a raft ,in case of heavy rain,things aint looking too good for this year.half gone already ,and no spring to talk of ,never mind a summer :-0.
My car goes back in tomorrow ,the clutch being about impossible to use ,the ruddy thing is either in or out ,with no gradual control making it dangerous to drive in heavy traffic,so i have arranged to have the garage to pick it up ,let them have the joy of driving it through Newcastle in the rush hour :-|.
Well time to do some work before the missus takes it into her head to start pulling the front room to pieces [gulp] not looking forward to the decorating at all ,he he.
Catch you later Brenda ,keep your wellies handy ,just in case ,Fred. :-D.

Hi all hope this message doesn't go into orbit like the last one.!!!!
Sorry I have not been one for a couple of weeks,,but the bad penny has shown up again,
Hope you are all enjoying the weather . hope it lasts a while but perhaps dare I say with a small amount of rain before we get any droughts.
I had thought I got a message when anyone left a message on here but seems I don't ,but I have ticked the box again just incase.
Fred and LIz hope you are ok and this weather is not too much for you.
Hope the garden is doing ok as well.
Johns new shed is coming on Thursday and he can't wait. He has managed to re use some of the old shed to make some fencing panels. so he is pleased with
himself.
Out shopping for a birthday present tomorrow, meeting some friends for coffee but not sure about lunch yet.

John was 65 last week and we had a nice lunch out and on Sunday we went out for lunch with some friends which was really good.
we have been out with family a few times as well for different things. which have been good.

Take care
Brenda x

Hi again
Its been ages since I dropped by, actually four months. Last month I got the gold card having turned 65. I was filling in for another volunteer receptionist on my birthday and was treated to a birthday morning tea, then later Craig and Gemma took me home and gave me a photo of Gayle one of the last that was taken at my Mum's 90th birthday in 2011. I don't think she was aware of Craig taking the photo. Being part of the over 60's cinema club means going to see a film is cheaper and get a free coffee, but once a month the morning tea includes eats and chat with fellow club members. The last film I saw was 'The Lone Ranger' and it is good. Films seen so far are 'Les Miserables', 'The Impossible' and 'Hitchcock'; the film 'The Impossible' was really good and told the true story of a family struggling to survive a tsunami in Indonesia a few years ago. So if you are looking for a film to see these are good. (No I not a film critic)
Sunday just gone wasn't not a nice day and the wind was picking up. After church I had gone with some friends to help with a church at a rest home. During the afternoon the verocity of wind increased and flags hung outside the rest home blew down, anyway I got home and went to make a coffee and found I had no power. Help! The unit was cold no heating meant wearing extra clothes (actually my outdoor jacket). A box where there used to be a gas meter had fallen off in the wind then during the night completely vanished to neverland. I checked on my elderly neighbour who feared that her garden shed would blow over - I made sure it was ok and fortunately it didn't move during the night. Her garage door control wouldn't work without power and to secure her home the door had to be pulled down manually, but next morning it had somehow opened slightly and had to pushed back shut. The damage around the city was bad in some areas with roofing blowing off onto roads, illuminated signs being blown destroyed, trees downs and of course many areas without power. As it was so cold I went to bed at 7.30pm (the last time I did that was as a child), then around 9.15 I noticed the radio clock was on. Outside no street lights were working everything was pitch black and it reminded me of being back on the farm where is really dark. Crikey I've seemed to have written an essay. Catch you next time. John

Hi Everyone, well John its really brilliant weather here for a change and I am sorry you have had such a bad time with the weather over there.
Congratulations on your 65th birthday .My husband who is also called John was 65 a week go .
The film you mentioned is one a friend and I have wanted to see ,may have to get the DVD as its not on the cinema now.
This weather is really lovely at the minute but it will lead to drought conditions soon.
I am out to Bury market with my friend tomorrow ,she is on holiday and we go up there for her to have a walk round and do some shopping.
Might have a bit of a shop myself as I need a couple of birthday presents .
Hope everyone else is enjoying the weather .
take care Brenda

well the rain certainly made a grand enterance , with the thunder and lightening.
had us awake from 5am ,
luckily we had no damage from the rain ,apart from the sunflowers looking a bit down hearted.
Take care Brenda x

morning to anyone who looks in on this bright sunny morning ,where the missus and i have just finished a defrost of the chest freezer and thrown half a ton [seemingly ] of ice on the garden ,lol.that will give the flowers some well needed water he he. :-D.
No storms up here Brenda ,we could do with some water on the veggies ,to save having to hose the plants down every couple of days .the ground here is sooooo dry the grass out front is yellow and brittle,send your thunder storm up here where we would welcome it :-(.
The plants are doing well mind ,loads of young pods on the broad beans ,heads in the calabrese ,and even the cabbage are hearting up now ,and the dwarf climbers are away up the poles at last .
The decorating is now awaiting the new paper below the dado rails after i sized the walls with the daughters help yesterday ,and the carpet fitter came out in the afternoon and took the final measurements and has placed the order with the warehouse ,so all that's left now is to say mush as soon as the decorating is finished.
I have evan worked out a foolproof way to put this reflective foil behind the radiator ,using 8th inch plywood and staples ,,he he ,i have sized the wall behind ,ready for the paper and then will get the ply cut to size ,use adhesive tape to stick the foil to the wood ,follow it up with some staples. to make sure the heat wont bring the foil off the wood .and just slip it behind the radiator ,job done ,lol ,i should patent this idea ,lol :-D.
I will even do the same to every radiator in the house ,which will save on heating costs ,reduce wall ,heat loss ,and make it easier to warm the rooms.
Something wrong with the blood tests i had done early in the week ,ooooops .i have been called back to have them done again,some tests were fine ,but other were not,which may ,or may not be something to do with the insect bites i got hit with two weeks ago or may be something else,because i still have a few tummy pains and my glucose readings are all over the place ,we will see? :-).
Needless to say ,the indian meal i brought will have to wait for a few days ,and is now in the freezer [bugger ] i was sooo looking forward to it as well.he he ,never mind ,back to the usual mundane stuff :-( with side salads and rice fusions ,lol.
well .time to push off ,and do some work,tidy up the downstairs by trying out the new downstairs hoover ,because i dropped the other one off the stairs ,which didn't do it a lot of good ,lol,still works well ,but the speed regulator is stuck on full which means when i stick the turbo brush on in the kitchen to go round the cats litter tray it fires the pellets out like machine gun bullets because the brushes are going too fast.
Luckily i hadn't already thrown it oiut because the youngest daughters hoover had given up the ghost so i gave it to her for general cleaning with a normal brush. ;-).
Catch you later all,will be off out later this morning to restock the freezer with goodies ,and some nice broad beans from Iceland,plus some wedges ready for the B B Q next week :-D,Fred and the tribe.xxxx

Hi All, from a very wet and thundery Manchester.
We have had another thunder storm this evening but it was
not as bad as the other couple we had earlier in the week.
I would send them to you if I could Fred.
John is happy as its filled the pond and shown that the new shed is water proof.!!
No wonder your blood test need doing again Fred its probably wizzing round to quick for them to test with all you have been up to.
Hope its ok next time..
Take care Brend axx

Hi All, from a very wet and thundery Manchester.
We have had another thunder storm this evening but it was
not as bad as the other couple we had earlier in the week.
I would send them to you if I could Fred.
John is happy as its filled the pond and shown that the new shed is water proof.!!
No wonder your blood test need doing again Fred its probably wizzing round to quick for them to test with all you have been up to.
Hope its ok next time..
Take care Brend axx

Hi All, from a very wet and thundery Manchester.
We have had another thunder storm this evening but it was
not as bad as the other couple we had earlier in the week.
I would send them to you if I could Fred.
John is happy as its filled the pond and shown that the new shed is water proof.!!
No wonder your blood test need doing again Fred its probably wizzing round to quick for them to test with all you have been up to.
Hope its ok next time..
Take care Brend axx

hello everyone.
The sunshine came back today ,it got up late here and did not show its face till after one o'clock b which time I was at my phsyio class ,I am doing ok but as I am not as bad as some of the people in the class I can not complain.
Will let you know how it is going,
How did you get on with the new blood test Fred ,
Hope all the decorating is finished, and you can get to sit in the garden with your coffe and Hissy,
Not sleeping again tonight and after the day I had I expected to go f straight away ,!!!
Out with my sister tomorrow not been out with her this year due to her change of jobs etc.
Have a good weekend take care Brenda x

hello everyone.
The sunshine came back today ,it got up late here and did not show its face till after one o'clock b which time I was at my phsyio class ,I am doing ok but as I am not as bad as some of the people in the class I can not complain.
Will let you know how it is going,
How did you get on with the new blood test Fred ,
Hope all the decorating is finished, and you can get to sit in the garden with your coffe and Hissy,
Not sleeping again tonight and after the day I had I expected to go f straight away ,!!!
Out with my sister tomorrow not been out with her this year due to her change of jobs etc.
Have a good weekend take care Brenda x

hello everyone.
The sunshine came back today ,it got up late here and did not show its face till after one o'clock b which time I was at my phsyio class ,I am doing ok but as I am not as bad as some of the people in the class I can not complain.
Will let you know how it is going,
How did you get on with the new blood test Fred ,
Hope all the decorating is finished, and you can get to sit in the garden with your coffe and Hissy,
Not sleeping again tonight and after the day I had I expected to go f straight away ,!!!
Out with my sister tomorrow not been out with her this year due to her change of jobs etc.
Have a good weekend take care Brenda x

hello everyone.
The sunshine came back today ,it got up late here and did not show its face till after one o'clock b which time I was at my phsyio class ,I am doing ok but as I am not as bad as some of the people in the class I can not complain.
Will let you know how it is going,
How did you get on with the new blood test Fred ,
Hope all the decorating is finished, and you can get to sit in the garden with your coffe and Hissy,
Not sleeping again tonight and after the day I had I expected to go f straight away ,!!!
Out with my sister tomorrow not been out with her this year due to her change of jobs etc.
Have a good weekend take care Brenda x

morning world ,just in from the garden where i spent a few minutes watering the veggie patch ,and have to say ,things are looking good ,beans of both types now growing ,the broccoli has lovely hearts in ,and some are about ready to use ,i have tomatoes everywhere ,and the fruit trees look good ,even the Olive tree looks great. :-D.
The front room is just about finished and the radiator shield is fitted to the wall ,and is looking okay ,i have a few cables to relay now that the painting is finished ,and one curtain rail to go up ,a quick hoover to the floor ,and we are ready for the carpet fitters on Monday :-).
As far as i know ,the test was okay Brenda ,but i will know for sure next week when i go to the surgery for my review ,then it's my B B Q time ,lots of fish in the freezer ,home made burgers ,and some Bombay Potato ,with salad.wether the tests are okay ,or not ,i am having my treat one way or the other .lol. ;-)
The car seems to be settling down okay ,but i may still be wary in icy weather and will have to watch for untreated roads mostly on hills as i pull away from junctions ,but ,we will see.
Well ,time to get on with some work ,but the cables will have to wait for a while as i can't start using a hammer for a couple of hours yet ;-).
Catch you later peeps ,Fred and the females .xxx

Past 6am on a cool autumn morning ,past 6 am good morrow ,where are you all .he he:-D.
Indoor day today i think ,with drizzle outside ,and a disgruntled cat ,who will not go out .when it's wet ,it's going to be one of those days .lol.
Been very busy these last two weeks ,helping Joan next door to get her overgrown garden chopped down so that the workmen can get in and lay paving slabs and shale to make it easier for her .the kids are quick to come for a free meal ,and get washing done ,but there is no one available to help keep the garden in check for her ,most northern men these days are an idle shower who ,apart from the actual work [if they can be bothered] ,won't do much more than lift an elbow in the local pub , and before i get a howl of protest ,i mean the idle shower in and around Newcastle that i know of,and a few in Durham.[they know who i mean, :-P.
My own patch is doing well ,and we are now enjoying the crop i thought we would never get this year ,most being brought because the spring was so late in arriving,but we are enjoying broad beans ,cabbage ,and calabrese ,a nd we now have our first tomatoes, :-D,and the french beans are well in flower ,a few plants having tiny beans on.
Our decorating is now finished ,curtains back ,and up already ,and all we are now waiting for ,are the new rugs to come back from the shop ,cut to size and edges bound.
We are thinking of doing the same with the large off cuts from the hall and stair carpet to make runners for the upstairs landing ,and hall downstairs ,but are waiting to see what the ones for the front room are like first.
While the weather is good ,i will get the other two radiator reflectors made for the bedrooms ,and possibly one made for the kitchen ,and back bedroom ,to reflect the heat back into the rooms,which should cut the heating bills quite a bit.[he says hopefully ] ;-).
We had a sort out of the spare kitchen equipment and other odds and sods ,such as the unused freezer from the upstais box room ,which was only used for a few weeks ,while we decorated ,and upgraded the kitchen so all the stuff was donated to the grand daughters new flat to make it more homely for her and her partner ,cutlery .kitchen scales electric toaster ,kettle,and a few other odds and ends ,like unused bed linen ,and curtains and at last can see space in our home ,he he :-).
The upstairs box room has now been converted to the tool store ,for the electric tools ,to get them out of the shed ,just in case of break in .[there have been a few in our area lately] probably because of the cut backs in jobs and benefits by our ruddy government ,while they continue to give 1 million a week to countries who are now richer than ours while the governments where the money is sent ,hiving most of ,if not all ,for arms and aircraft to be used against their own people ,makes me so mad,and is the reason ,we ,as a nation are so far in debt ,it beggars belief :-|.
The tests went pretty well the second time ,only the blood pressure a little high Brenda ,and that will be looked at again next month to see if it has gone down ,which i think will be the case.
Time now ,to get on with a little work ,now the missus is up and about,and i think i will do a casserole today ,using a couple of pork chops out of the freezer,in a home made sauce ,steamed new potatoes ,cabbage ,turnips ,and some brought french beans.
Hope your forays to Bury are getting a bit easier for you Brenda,my legs are a little easier these days while the weather is a little warmer [not much though] overnight up here we are down to 6 c which isn't too good :-( but ,at the end of the day ,him upstaiirs is in charge ,and No one can argue with him,lol :-).
Catch you later all ,Fred the missus and the furry pest .xxx :-D

Hi everyone once again I must apologise for not coming on and leave a message after reading ones left Did have a bit of trouble with messages disappearing before being finished but think that was more down to me than technology
Not much been going on really , Hope everything is ok with everyone else.
Will be back during the day tomorrow to see how things are , take care
Brenda xx.

Hi everyone once again I must apologise for not coming on and leave a message after reading ones left Did have a bit of trouble with messages disappearing before being finished but think that was more down to me than technology
Not much been going on really , Hope everything is ok with everyone else.
Will be back during the day tomorrow to see how things are , take care
Brenda xx.