General Chat

hi thurs pm 6-30 my time well fred does seem to be having a good time the note about the animal shelter was wonderful, again we are still in the deep freeze -30 this am and lots of accidents it is so cold that the salt that they put on the highways is not melting the ice so they now are using sand, I did not go out to-day yesterday was enough, though when I was leaving last evening the oldest grandson went out and started the car and cleaned the snow off, it does not seem that long since he was a baby and now a ery grown up 13 and a half yr old, Ian will be starting french imersion in sept, morning classes no matter what subject all in french and the afternoon classes all in english he is really pleased about it. so the decorating is on hold brenda well that should give you a bit of a rest bye for now dorothy

Just a few more lines peeps before i try going back to bed to get some shut eye.
I was adopted by the grandsons kitten as soon as i arrived at the bungalow ,a male kitty by the name of Shade,two months old and adorable ,he slept between me and the missus every night we were there,and i spent hours while the granson was at work,playing with him.
We did [all of us] go to the rescue centre where Shade came from,run by an ex pat from yorkshire,a delightful lady who is doing a wonderful job,all the cats and kittens are really well looked after,and Dorothy knows each by name ,their repective ages,and history .
One cat came to the fence as we arrived,ignored every one else in the party and mewed at me.
When we went in she followed me ,and obviously got tired of me ignoring her,and climed up my trouser leg ,and from there onto my shoulder.where she started purring like a demented sewing machine as soon as i chucked her under the chin.
Her name was Gwendoline ,just two years old ,adorable ,and very friendly ,to me anyhow.
I spent half an hour in the centre with her on my shoulder all the time ,and when it was time to leave ,she wouldn't come down,sinking her claws into my jacket ,refusing to let go,growling at Sean as he tried to get her off.
The last i saw of her was her crying for me at the gate,and soft begger that i am ,wanted to take her with me .but of course ,couldn't..
My wife sneaked a photo of her with me stroking her ,which i am going to frame ,i hope to god that when i go back that i will find that she has gone to a loving home.
I have tons of photos as soon as i get them all downloaded off the camera ,and cam corder.
I spent two hours today setting up the laptop which is now online,the wireless connection router.and the mobile broadband ,so i'm ready for anything now.
I also loaded all the gubbins for the cam corder too,so i can upload all the piccies when i get back up.
Off to bed now ,to see if i can get off into the land of nod ,lol.Fred.

WOW what a lovelly bunch of messages has really cheered me up like Dorothy said, Fred Please put me top of the list for visiting you!!!!after you have won the lottery and moved to Cyprus !!!( Would still come and see you here with or without a win.) So pleased the wedding and all went ok,any pics ready??
John and margaret we would love to go to NZ as well, but its all down to funds, we still might not get to OZ judging by the cost our friends have been talking about. We are doing a lot of reading ,surfing the net and number crunching and etc.
Johns friend said he would move over to NZ if he was 20 years younger he is in his mid 60's. He really fell in love with everything.
Decorating been put on hold as David wants to see the bedroom furniture befoe we buy it !!!.Its only on offer till weekend so I think we will have to get it in the summer which means they(John and David) will have more time when its warmer.or so they say.
Hope the car was ok Dorothy mine seems to be permanently defrosting inside and out these days .Was hoping to go to Bury on Saturday but it will be next Wednesday or Friday now.
See you tomorrow ,hope Sylvia is ok and Johann.
take care ,Brenda

goodmorning I was so happy when I went on line this am to read the news from john and margaret and fred and I did need cheering up it is sooo cold -33 at the moment joh I would love some of your hot weather also margaret feel free to send some over, I do have to go out this afternoon over to the families home but I have no idea if my car will start plus it is covered in snow, usually the old thing does start well but to-day will be a test, fred seems to be having a good time and will have lots to write about on his return, good luck with the decorating brenda I am now going to have a hot drink and see about a shower and get this day started bye for now dorothy (it is 9am my time)

good morning peeps ,fred's radio madhouse is back on line.lol.
I only have a few seconds at the minute but ,wow ,what a place Cyprus is ,we are def' going back later in the year for a longer stay,so many places to see and things to do.
The wedding went really well ,and the missus took a lovely dvd of the service and the aftermath he he,and took many piccies via her camera stick.
I have a load of piccies too ,but of the countryside ,hills ,cliffs and med',which was a brilliant azure blue.
Sara showed me how to make a greek salad[smashing] and has promised to show me today how to prepare Polish steamed cabbage which i'm told has a few herbs ,or spices in that make a lot of difference to the taste [so i'm told].report will follow,lol.
If i win the lottery ,guess where i am moving too,no kidding ,the weather is a lot better,and you can get all your veggies dirt cheap,locally grown and plentiful,but you need to be pretty well off because ,meat ,,fish and other supplies are very expensive.
.Have to go now ,but Sean and Sara are away to see their uk friends in Nottingham this afternoon,and then fly back to Cyprus next Monday so i will soon be back to normal.
See ya soon you lovely people ,i missed you all .Fred.xxx

I will agree with you John New Zealand is the best little country ( Maybe a little biased
Weather has cooled a little these past couple days 26C today tomorrow expected 29 -30C
Enjoy our summer while its here we have turned the corner and are heading to winter while all those in Northern hemisphere are heading towards Summer Pleasant thought after severe winter you are having
Miss Fred and his adventures in kitchen!
Margaret

Hello everyone
'We've are having a heatwave, a tropical heatwave' - so goes the song - it is very humid and hot. The rain when it comes makes the humidity rise, so finding a cool place is nearly impossible as its hot inside and outside. The temperature in parts of Christchurch in the South Island of NZ was in the late 30C into 40C and thats cooking. Fortunately our New Plymouth temperatures were in the mid-20's and somewhat cooler. We do need rain and the ones in dire need is the farmers as there is no moisture in the topsoil, what little rain fell the other day on the farms in parts of the country didn't reach the root system. That is bad news.
The motel opposite our home ripped out several straggly looking trees and shrubs making the place look quite bare, but the good news is that are actually replacing them with slender-looking trees. We think that where the trees/shrubs were will become carparking. Greenie, I am not, but it is disappointing to see mature plants being ripped out.
Ahoy there, Brenda - brochures only on Australia what about New Zealand plenty to see and I'm living in the best city in the country (have to brag sometimes).
Take care, John

Hello evryone,weather a lot milder today and we have even had some rain so it must be warming up,how long for i do not know.
work was busy last night where i was working after a slow start.And again today at another library,it was busy than the last few days. The traffic coming home due to some other roads being closed due to road works was really busy and took a while longer.
We are going to look at a few other places for the dining room table etc but think we will be getting the bed stuff,but we should decorate the room first ,it has not been done since david was a teenager!! he tried to emulsion it a while back but it did not really "work"
I don't know why we moan about -8 dorothy when you have -26just seen parts of the USA with -35!!
Have a couple of brouchsures on Australia holidays but the prices only go til the end of March we will have to get some more then as that is when they all come out for the next 12 months.
Have a few emails to do and then try a bit of rellie hunting.see you tomorrow take care ,Brenda

hi brenda I hope the new store opening goes well for david the furniture you have been looking at sounds great, hope you find some good prices for a trip to australia that sounds like fun, to-day it is warmer thank goodness only -10 so I am going to go and get the special food for the cats at the vets, more litter and some odds and ends as they are forecasting -26to -33 for wednesday and thursday, still hoping to get to brampton on sunday for a few days, yesterday afternoon I had a surprise phone call from a friend I had not spoken to in 7yrs due to her not me well she spoke from 2pm till 5-30 so we did get caught up on our lives it was fun, looking after the children on wednesday as Ian has a guitar lesson and then he and his mom are at the school for orientation to the french imersion classes, both andrew and lindy speak french canada's 2nd language, and all the children speak it in school but Ian seems to have a flare for it, of course andrew's dad is french canadian but actually did not speak to andrew in french at home but he picked it up later in life and in his business life has to use both french and english, as for me well i murder the language I don't have a gift for it but can understand what people are saying, well it is time to wrap up and head out hope to see fred and sylvia back on line soon bye for now dorothy

Afternoon all,well I have been on here ages trying to see what i have done with some photos I put on last night.They have gone in a place i do dnot normally use and I can not seem to be able to get them on a cd or move them etc.!!! getting fed up now and should go and get the dinner ready as david has been wokring tody .He moved from Argos to Tesco in Dec abd the new store he is at opens tomorrow.so they have been working all hours to get it ready.Weather still the same but we have been told to expect the freezing weather again mid week.
Have seen a lovelly dining table and chairs which we both like but it is a little more expensive than we wanted to pay,also saw a bed room suite for Davids room which he needs badly, his wardrobe is litterally falling down,he wont be buying I will !!

Glad the football went well Dorothy and the sking,not my cup of tea either.
Have sent fr some holiday brouchers for Australia just to see whats what,but we are still just thinking about it again it all depends on costs.
Hope Sylvia and Johann are ok and Fred is be having .
John and Margaret seem to be having a heat wave,
Cann't hvae it all can wee.Take care ,Brenda

hi I am back again after a good day with Laura they won their soccer game in a shoot out it was a draw at 2-2, Laura was in goal and did a good shot I was surprised how her kick has improved one went alsmost the length of the field, but it was very cold even though I had three layers on plus abig parka, then we had lunch and paid a visit to the library befor I took her home, lindy and Ian returned from the slopes about 3-30 so they had had a long day, Lindy said it was quite cold but they had fun. the long range forcast for the week is not good lots of cold air on the way, Ihope it improves for the 18-21st as I so want to get down to brampton I still have three xmas gifts to deliver plus it will be fun to watch the inaugaral with Isobelle and Linda history in the making , well it is off to bed for me I have had the heating pad in there for about three hours, and I shall watch a movie. bye for now dorothy

hi brenda I am jut waiting for Laura to wake up and boy it is another cold one -26 again and that is without the wind chill factored in, we have to be at the indoor soccer dome for 11-30 these are like big balloons not very warm so I shall be taking a big blanket over all the stuff I shall be wearing the girls are in their regular kit but stay warm with all the running around, then we shall have lunch out, Linda and Ian will be ski-ing they should have left by now apparently they will ski for an hour then Ian has a 2hr lesson both ski-ing and snow boarding but should be warm with the artic gear they wear again not my idea of fun, well that is it for me better go and get into my thermals!!! quite a sight bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone from cold grey and miserable Manchester,a bit warmer than it has been but ,it was really frosy and cold this morning.
At work and on lunch at the minute,but its not been as busy as usual ,people may call this afternoon when its supposed to be warmer!!!
hope everyone is keeping well and warm or cool depending on where they are.
Take care ,Brenda

Hi Dorothy and Maragret and any one else reading this,weather alot milder than it has been ,but still rather cold.
Was even cold in work today which is not usual,glad it was only a short shift..Working all day tomorrow 9-5 but at least I should be warmer than today.
I have a few birthdays coming up ,mainly friends and workmates ,and having looked in the boxI keep cards and gift wrap have decieded that i need to use these cards up before getting any more,they are all open sort of cards and need using .will probably get cards for the family when needed.Hope I don't sound too tight!!
I have put a lot of things on a tighter budget,as I am finishing work later this year will not be when i am 60 ,as I want to o a few things in the house before I finish and save towards a possible trip to Australiaeither later this year or arly next.
Hope your good weather continues Margaret,just spare us abit of sunshine if you could.
Dorothy i will go and see what Fred is up o on his triphope the white stuff stays away
Brenda,

hi it dorothy back again I just had a peep at the canuks web site and there is an update from fred things are going well for the wedding plans he was having a look at some roman ruins and enjoying the country, hope we will have back with us and hearing about the trip soon bye dorothy

goodmorning everyone ! Hope you are all well enjoy reading your posts We are experiencing a mini heat wave at the present time temperatures reaching 35C deg and even higher in Christchurch these past few days A bit extreme for us Its very pleasant here just now 6 am and its 19 deg showers are forecast for later in day and perhaps tomorrow Bring it on ! Margaret

hi brenda glad the balck pudding went down well we are also having cold weather and snow and more snow, as you say funerals are a sad occasion and it does not help when the weather is so bad, it was good to hear about john's xmas sounded like great fun. I see that fred had a post on the canadian site sayin it was his last one for a week or so I guess he must have gone to the wedding so no doubt he will have a lot to tell us on his return, sylvia must be busy going to the hospital or looking after johan at home hope all is well with the both of them. Iwas over filling in at the families last evening as ian had his first guitar lesson and bryan had to go with his mom to his high school orientation he will go there in sept and they have to pick their courses etc all different from we went to school. and andrew had a meeting so Laura and I spent some time to-gether it was fun. I think that she is coming over friday for a sleep over and then I will take her to her indoor soccer match on saturday, Ian has ski-ing lessons early sat am and andrew and bryan have a hockey tournement on friday and saturday and then andrew flies east on sunday, makes me tired just to type it all out they do lead busy lives, the tournement is quite a ways away so they will spend two nights in a hotel, well time to get by day in order I think that I will make a beef stew to-day and a bit of housework bye for now dorothy

hello everyone,well my aunts funeral went as well as this things can do,she had a "good turn out " as they say,the service was very nice and the cemetary was really cold and icy ,it was a bit dicey climbing the hill to the grave and coming down was even worse.
Weather warmed up a bit today but as I was in work it was ok.
Its back to getting washing done and trying to dry it without the drier again,and finding somewhere to put the ironing when its done .So its time to have a good clear out and take few bags to the charity shop.I am also clearing out some towels and bedding that have not been used for years as we do not have a "spare room " or even a spare bed anymore..
John so pleased you has such a good christmas,seeing your family ,like the sound of the surprise parcels,must have given you all a few giggles.
Johns golfing mate was in NZ just before christmas and had a brilliant time ,John keeps forgetting to ask where he went,but I know he was thrilled about it all.
Dorothy had the sliced Blackpudding .was really good.
Hope you and Johann are ok Sylvia
OK Fred where are you hiding!!!
Seems we are all hibernating and hope we are all ok.
Take care /Brenda

Happy New Year to all friends and neighbours Worldwide
Christmas started before Christmas Day with the three of us, Gayle, Craig and I, deciding to to buy something with the gift vouchers that were under the tree so that we had something to open on Christmas morning. Gayle got a blouse, Craig some shorts and I a shirt. On Christmas morning we opened the gifts some were ridiculously funny - tins of spaghetti, peanut butter and vegemite, a coin purse - and the reason was that we had something to unwrap and only the people who did it knew exactly what was wrapped. Then it was off to church. Later we drove to my brother's and sister-in-law's where we met up with one of their three children, my Mum and a younger brother for a Christmas lunch not the traditional fare [cold meats, potatoes and salads followed by fruit salad, jelly and ice cream]. In the evening we went to Mum's where my younger brother and us sat down to more of the same fare.
Boxing Day we relaxed at home and the next day we drove to Auckland to spend a week with Craig, the changes in an area near where lived nearly three years ago is quite staggering. New Year's Day passed quietly by and the next day we drove back to New Plymouth but found ourselves caught in slow traffic caused by a 10-car pile-up on the harbour bridge. Craig took us on another road and eventually we were homeward bound.
Before we left the computer started playing up strange swirls and lines at start-up so I am hoping repairs can be done or else I will be having withdrawal symptoms until I get a replacement.
Take care and God Bless, John

hi brenda I see that you are having really cold weather to-day it is quite balmy only -8 and the sun is shining but snow to-morrow, sorry that you have had so many deaths in the last few days not good is it. I am not sure when fred leaves for the wedding but I think that it is very soon. not very much news at the moment just reading lots of books I have to go to the library to-day and pick up five more, to-morrow I will take down the xmas decorations I like to leave them up for a while but to-morrow is the day they go away. the children are back in school and andrew leaves sunday for a week down east halifax and other points, he is overseeing a large pharmacutical event for university students in halifax so will be very busy. well time tohit the shower take care bye for now dorothy