General Chat

goodmorning fred and other friends glad to hear that the passport meeting went well, how lovely to walk out and see the spring flowers at least I can go to the nurseries now as they are open there is one near me all glass and huge I need to go and spend some time and see what I can do with the balcony this year, I do plan on tomatoes again this year , and I had thought of some dwarf evergreens in pots, I will take young Ian with me as he is the gardener in the family. yesterday they brought in the big snow blower machines to try and decrease the amount of snow in the parking area, it was something to see snow blowing about 10 ft in the air on to the raised green belt area at the back of the building. in the summer this is a great walking area for all us and people with dogs use it as well, we have a mixture of animals in the building. enjoy your week-end with the children I am going to go and buy the easter eggs for the children easter seems to have crept up on me this year bye for now dorothy

Morning Dorothy,yep,i think it went well,the fella said that if the last checks went okay[checking with my bank and credit card peeps for final proof of identity ,we should get the passports within a week, result ,at last.
We have the daughters bairns here for the whole weekend ,starting this evening,a treat we promised them a while ago,and i know Connor enjoys helping his grandad in the garden.
Our garden is coming alive ,all the spring bulbs are showing ,and we have lots of crocus and daff's out now,and wonder of wonders ,very little weed to rremove.
The tatties i bought home from Lincolon shire have chitted well,so if the weather holds i will get the first barrel started,and buy the charlotte ,ready to start in a couple of weeks.
Hissy has settled a lot better now,she sleeps on the bottom of the bed between us,and wakes me at 5.45 which is fine,it means that i can have her fed ,and be in the garden by 6.15 for a look around my domail, lol
The little minx has now found out how to open the front room door from the outside now ,by lauching herself from the fifth stair up and wrappingher paws round the handle as she lands grrrrrr,result is,we can't lock her in the room,and we can't lock her out [help ,mummmmmmmy].
I have to go to the computer shop today,sean has so many high usage games on the puter at the minute that it takes two minutes from booting up ,to getting the home page up ,tooooo long for me,so i'm off to get another memory card,to put the ram up to 2 gigs,which will improve speed no end.
The wife has ordered a cookery book from the library ,which has come in,so i will take her for that while we are out.
Don'et ask me what she wants it for,it's beyond me,for all the cooking she does these days ,it might as well be written in Africaans or chinese lol.
To be fair though ,she did teach me how to bake bread ,and still does a mean loaf by using the big kitchen mixer to knead the dough,i tend to cheat and use a bread mix.
We do have a bread maker ,which may come out if my hands get too bad ,but at the moment ,i prefer to do it by hand.
WEell,i'm off for my cuppa now before we get ready to go out,catch you ALL lateri hope.
If i don't come on over the weekend you know the bairns have tied me up to pinch the puter he he.Fred.

hello fred hope that your interview went well and you have finished all that is needed for your passport, I have spent the afternoon with andrew's family dog andrew had a business trip to the area were the other grandma lives so the whole family went with him, she had arranged a visit to a jane goodall thing for the grandchildren, so rocky would have been on his own for 12hrs and would have needed a bathroom break, he is a big dog looks like a wolf a cross between a malamute and a husky a good dog, they have an aged calico cat who is 17 and she is very small about 5pounds and boy does she put him in his place, we had more snow last night but none to-day but it is very cold oh will spring ever come, hope to hear some news about brenda soon bye for now dorothy

Morning Dorothy,just a few lines before i shoot off for this interview in the town.
My son Martin ,[the sausage maker] was here last night taking some piccies of the van re it's sale,so i have asked him to send them to meas i had many a good trip out in her ,and want to keep a few memories .
While he was here i got out the packet of wraps ,some chicken breast ,and made tortillas,nice quick and simple and quite good,i will def' be doing them again.
Off to get myself ready now,see you all later.Fred.

hi fred once again your food delights amaze me it seems it runs in the family your son's menu sounded great, I am not sure why you have to have an appointment to get your passport is it not a case of filling in forms and mailing them in, we have a new rule re passports which will make it easier when applying for a new one, you can have anyother person with a current passport sign on the form instead of getting a doctor or other special people sign it for you, I hate to mention that we had snow through the night but it is dull and no snow to-day, there is a craft sale in the building to-night two of the ladies put it on, as there are many different ages and families in the building they do get quite a good turn out, or it could be the coffee and cakes that brings them in. I am hoping that things go well for brenda I had thought of phoning again to-day but may wait till the week-end take care bye dorothy

Morning Dorothy,the cavelry's here lol,and i expect a few more will turn up later.
My appointment for the interview ,re' the passport arrived yesterday,and i go at 1030 in the morning ,putting Liz's nose out of joint ,because she thought she was going to be first he he.,her face when i told her lol,looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp.
It isn't often that i can put one over on her [chortle] ,and no doubt i will pay for usurping her ,but i'm goin' to enjoy it while i can .
Weather isn't too bad this morning ,a little damp ,but not too cold ,so i think i may take myself off to the town and the bank to put a few pennies in ,few it is as well,the cost of living is seeing to that.
Def' time for the likes of G Brown to sort out our economy,now millions in the country can't afford to eat properly,and he STILL lets the cost of living accelerate faster than incomes,this fella needs to see beyond his spec's range ,and see the real world as it is.
He should be forced to live on a low income for a month ,and see how the people live.
Average income over £360 a week is it?.
Not ruddy likely says i,try £190 a week up north and the midlands,and that's before tax.
Seen my mouse again this morning ,he looks really busy as do my feathered friends outside,still ,they give me so much enjoyment that i will make sure they get their grub ,no matter what,no inflation for them ,unless they over eat lol.
The son did Liz and i proud last night,he made a beutiful steak and mushroom pie for tea,with mash,sliced carrot,broad bean ,and peas,lovely.he even made the pastry himself and used a low salt recipie he found on the net.
This was in return for me upgrading his old p.c,and it now runs much faster.
There was something wrong with the onboard graphics and the card was leaching out somewhere,updating to a nvidea card and disablingthe on board card has made a big difference.and i also put another gig of memory in for him.
I put a new programme in for the bains too,on stream video,letting them watch all the kids stuff lol,there was hell on last night as we came away ,he he,i had put Thomas The Tank Engine on For Lewis and Stephen,when dad tried to go over to the puter they raised the roof lol,oooooo,i got some dark looks off the son he he,the lad won't dare take the programme out ,because the kids know it's there now.
Hope everyone is okay and faring well ,see ya' later all .Fred.

goodmorning everyone I phoned brenda yesterday to-day is the day she should have the op she was in good spirits, so it is up to all of us to keep this thread going till she is able to be back with us all, so fred I shall look foreward to lots of menu's from you and sylvia news from you would be great, and all the others who pop in from time to time, the sun is shining here but more of the white stuff lter I hope the storm in england is not toobad for all of you bye for now dorothy

hi brenda will be thinking of you to-morrow I hope that you sail through it all with flying colours, glad you missed the brunt of the storm I was just reading the bbc news on line and some areas seem to have been hit quite hard hope fred and his missus are ok bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone,well we have had some heavy rain but seem to have missed most of the storm that was promised.
It has turned cold again today after another spring like day yesterday ,it went very dark and there were really big black clouds about in the late afternoon.
Johns car has gone for its MOT today it will be later afternoon before it is ready.
I have finished my "packing" for the hospital,but just need to get a couple of small bottles of drinks,like oj or diet coke,don;t usually drink them but it gets so warm in the hospital your throat gets really dry.
I managed to get some house and contents insurance for just over the price i was paying just for the house (buildings) so am going to cancel the old ones and get the one set up.I did feel guilty at first as my old insurers are my old employer,but they have not shown me and my old work mates any loyalty ,so I don't think i owe them any now
Might get back later tonight or first thing in the morning before going in the hospital.
See you soon,take care ,Brenda.

hi fred if you are on offer how about coming over here and amking meals for me that dinner sounded wonderful, I spent a good part of the day out in the parking lot as the car was in a mess the snow was waist high all around the car and loads on the body of the car, several of the people who live here were out doing the same thing so we all ended up helping each other the offical total was 35 cm in one day, st catherines which is on the way to niagra falls had 50cm in one day this is on top of what we allready had, a couple of the older ladies gpt quite giddy and were falling in the snow and making snow angels ( over 85 they were) some of us younger ones the 65 group just kept on shovelling then we all headed in for a good slug of brandy. hope you all have a good week and that the storm that is headed over to you is not to bad bye for now dorothy

Good afternoon playmates,how are we all today.
Sorry to be late getting on here but i had a very busy morning,starting in the garden at six thirty this morning ,and then at seven thirty ,coming indoors and starting to clean the oven.
I satripped the racks out [3] and cleaned them down with a brillo pad,did dittoe with the grill pan and rack before starting on the oven linings ,with mr muscles ,followed by a brillo pad to finish off.
Last of all i cleaned the oven door ,inside and out,result? sparkling ,and ,half an hour late starting the dinner lol.
I cooked a joint of pork ,which the wife [strife] took out of the freezer last night,with home made apple sauce,home made stuffing,roast potato's roast parsnip,and green peppers.
Steamed calabrese from the garden ,last of ,cabbage ditto,and beetroot ditto.,all done with a onion gravy[out of a bisto tub lol[well ,we can't all be perfect he he,.
Fred puts it in front of the missus,who must be spoilt rotten because all she said was ,i thought dinner was going to be at 1245? it's 1 oclock,cor peeps she is 'aaard ,sniffle and there's me giving up my Sunday fishing to pander top her needs,any one want' a well trained spare hubby? lol,free to a good home ,no wages ,but bed and board ,any takes please He he.
It's okay,i will get my own back tomorrow ,she will get burned [well ] toast ,and hard poached eggs for dinner tomorrow har har
Hope everyone is having a good day,see ya ' tommorow peeps.Fred..

goodmorning sylvia I wish you luck with the lottery to-day the snow has stopped at the moment so I think I will wander out and see how badly the car is snowed in I may have to get my son over to dig it out the lot will be ploughed but they don't helpyou dig your car out, but the sky is blue and yes the sun is shining lon may it last. it will be a grand day for all the children who did not go away on the ski slopes bye for now dorothy

Hi all,
Well Dorothy and Fred it is our lottery tomorrow - the 10th of every month - so do you think I may win a nice prize?
My flat looks as though a tornado has blown through it, so must clear it up a bit today.
Will keep this short. Have a nice Sunday
Sylvia xxx

hi brenda I gather that the storms that are playing out in canada are heading your way well all I can say is watch out, in the 51 years I have lived in this country I have never see the likes of the storm that hit us to-day and is still raging, the snow started at 10am and it is now 7pm I cant see out of the window for the blowing snow the winds are very high and that does not help it is just piling the snow up again some silly people are still trying to drive around in it lost count of the number of accidents they have even pulled the police off the highways, I shall be glad when it is spring bye for now dorothy

Hi Everyone,hope your son gets back ok Dorothy,schools don't break up till the week after next here.
Hope fully I will be still off so will miss the little darlings!!!
We are supposed to be having lots of bad weather high winds etc next week,so we should batten down the hatches.!!
Its really wet at the minute so its been quiete up to now,hope it stays that way.
Have a nmice weekend
Brenda

goodmorning congratulations fred on your win that's great mine last week and yours this week maybe ohters will be lucky as well, good advice to brenda re the cheese and a good report on your blood sugar mine is usually 5.4 quite stable for quite a while now. to-day is the big travel day s school break starts they expect a 100,000 people at the airport to-day and the weather man is calling for the worst storm of the winter I ask you how much worse can it get, so I have checked the cupboards and the fridge and don't think I need to go out for anything, my son is due to fly in from the east to-day he usually gets in about 3pm so maybe will be able to land and miss part of the storm and get home before the worst of it, so I hope you all have a good week-end I plan to just read and see what is on tv, bye for now dorothy

Morning all,have taken the car down to the garage for its MOT ,which i am told is just short of £50.00,!!!when I got the post my road tax reminder was there for £140.00 which is a lot for such a little car,apparntley its the emissions!!.I had not had cheese of any discription for 6 months til the other night so I will be leaving it alone for awhile again .(might have a slice f cheese on toast when I am home after the op)
Weather damp and looking like its going to poor down.
Dorothy Our clocks go forward on March 30th I think.
Better get on with a bit of house work ,then I can either came and do some searching or watch a Dvd.
Brenda

Morning all,dorothy Brenda [tut tut ,cheese?]naughty lass ,that's a rare treat for us peoples ,and might have been okay for you done on a little toast and half fat as you say,but not in with a meal,too heavy on the tummy lass,as the tummy has a lot of work to do without the extras.
Strange as it may sound ,Liz and i can eat a small cheese pudding between us ,on it's own,but if we put anything with it be it roast ,or boiled potatoes ,we land up with baaaaad indigestion at best.
WoHooooo,who won £500 on the irish last night tum ti tum ti tum lol,straight in the kitty for the trip to oz in the autumn,a nice little bit of spending money.
Off to the doctors shortly for the results of my diabeties check up.
Talking of cheese again,i had a naughty tea last night Brenda,got the sandwich press out,and did two rounds of half fat cheese slices from aldi and some nice ham from same used marge on the bread before putting the sanwiches in the press.
This morning the test showed a level of 6.0 quite normal, so Fred is happy with that.
Off for my walk round the garden now,see ya later peeps .Fred.

hi brenda glad to hear you are feeling better as you say it was probably something that you ate. I had a fun evening I gave the children dinner after school and then took them for their final swimming lessons of this session fun was had by all, it was a clear night and the drive home went well, we turn our clocks foreward this week-end a little earlier than usual due to some new arrangement with the states so I will only be 4hrs behind you for a few weeks. off to bed now bye for now bye dorothy

Hi Everyone,thoight that i would let you know that i am ok today,didnot have too much to eat yesterday,must have had something which did not agree with me ,but it did give me a jolt.Trying to keep to the straight and narrow,with plain food again,its possible that the chicken ,bacon and leek casserole I had made for Tuesday tea was the culprit as it did have a little bit of melted cheese on it which was fat reduced ,I thought i had served ll the cheese to David and John but I could have had some in error.Any way ,I will not be having it again.
Thanks for being so concerned.
Taking the car for its MOT tomorrow.andmight bake some scones for my dad.!!
See you tomorrow ,brenda