General Chat

Hi good evening from a very cool and damp Manchester ,its back to dark nights again.the clocks have gone back .!!
John has now put up the new light fittings,so we have nice bright lights in the hall ,landing and living.
We might have new ones in the diningroom but after christmas now.
On a late tomorrow thats 12.30 til 8pm ,and its usually mad with kids looking for somewhere to go on the dark nights,they will not sit and read or drw or do any of the other things we have for them,so we end up asking them to leave and get nothing but abuse.!!
Dorothy nice to have you back ,the book I have is the first one this author has written I think<Glad your daughter in law passed her interveiw she has done so much work to get there.
Fred,we had a plain dinner today ,just a roast chicken with new potatoes,cauliflower ,sprouts and carrots ,no stuffing,or yorkshires,but still enjoyable
Margret,our pc is in the back bed room and i am known for going up to fetch something and coming back 3 hours later as I just had to check on here for ten minutes!!
See you either tomorrow or Tuesday,Brenda

Morning all,from Newcastle ,after a very windy night that has left the garden covered in leaves,but othwise ,undamaged.
No Dorothy missy still hasn't come home ,and after this time ,i think someone has found her and claimed her as a member of their family,understandablr as she is a lovely cat.
I am talking now of Hissy,the sister cat that we also have [now]
She is a right baggage too,but a nice one ,who has me up at 6-30 sharp every morning for her breakfast,apart from this morning when it was five thirty,she didn't know that our clocks wen't back last night.grrrrrr.
Anyway,it was Liz's turn to do the dinner today,so i spent an hour prepping all the veggies for her,from the cabbage to the parsnip and shallots.
The meat i cooked yesterday,brisket of beef ,cooked in a large slow roaster ,half filled with water,and the meat inside foil,cooked at !50c for four hours,cor ,what a result,came out nice ,red soft and succulent,just right to finish off this dinnertime with roast tatties shallots and parsnips.
Got to go now ,Asda calls ,but i will be back later.
Have a good day all.Fred.

Goodmorning a beautiful day here today a pleasant change not a cloud in sky a great day to be out in garden ! actually just come inside to get lunch but of course that can wait till Ive checked computer! Heard on Radio earlier that they have lovely day Rhododenron Festival up Johns way In new plymouth today
Margaret

hi everyone still having computor problems and told the son last night he is out of the will if he does not get over here soon and fix it , just had a good read of everyones messages, fred I gather that missy came back thats good and my are you ever ready for xmas made my mouth water reading about the food, ihope that your son and family get housed soon does not sound like a great situation. brenda was it the new book you were reading, good to read about life with margaret and john in their parts of the world. to-day it is warm but rainy and windy the sky is black so more to come. the boys have hockey games to-morrow so I think I will go and watch them the arena is near my home. lindy passed her interview with the school board so that means she can go on the supply list and apply for any jobs that come up full or part time, andrew and the children bought her a lovely bunch of flowers to celebrate she was so pleased to get the results well bye for now it is starting to do funny things bye dorothy

Just a quick hello as i have been sorting out the pictures we are putting back on the walls now the decorating is done.then i will be watching Casualty.
My dad is coping ok up to now with the new chemo tablets and my ex mil seems to have come through her hip operation ok but it is early days.
Fred you have to let these people know whats what or they will let you keep the family indefinatley.You need to watch what they offer them as our council seem to offerplaces you wouldn;t want to go to and you only get so many offers or you are back down the list again.
See you all tomorrow,Brenda

Morning all,from Newcastle where it is dull but dry .
Hi to John,nice to know you are staying with us for a while at least.
Never tried silver beet but grow the red variety,it will be nice to swap notes on various crops ,as i still grow a load myself.You will find Oz cauliflower seeds and varieties the best in the world ,i grew them up the allotements for years finding ,Barrier Reef,Candid Charm,Dok,Elgon,and Canberra far superior to any euopean variety,Brussel ,i found the hybrids better than the others,but i still reckon for tatties in barrels or tubs you can't do better than a second early such as a good wax tattie,Charlotte ,or pentland crown.
Good to see you around too Brenda,seems like you are getting there okay.
I went up the coucil yesterday and gave them a real ear bashing and threatened them with my mp and the local preess if they didn't get off their a**** and find my son accomodation ,even if it is only to find them a permanent home
I said it was three months since i had taken them in and enough was enough,they had two weeks left ,and then i was putting them on the streets,because i needed my house back.
They sait they may have to go into bed and breakfastmto which i replied ,fine,i had done all thay i could and that if it was the only option ,then that would cost the council more than finding them a house,i wasn't bothered .
Sorry if i sound hard nosed ,but it's reached the stage where our health is starting to suffer ,and that isn't on.
Cheris is here for the day,his dad off to scotland as a beater in a big shoot,in return for veremin shooting rights on a big estate,rabbits ,pidgeons and rats.
He has to do it this year because Rachael dosn't like shooting,and so ,that will shortly be out as well .but she had betteer lesave my fishing alone ,or it will be war with the daughter in law lol.Gan't say as i blame her as regards the shooting though,i think that sort of thing should be ,to provide meat for the family ,not just for the hell of it.
Chris has been back to the coctors ,and the murmer turns out to be ,all the valves in the aorta leaking ,resulting in quite a bit of blood going back down the artery between beats.
So.poor kid ,all sports are out ,apart from a bit of gentle swimming ,in a pool [just in case],cycle riding but not cross country,and walking,surgery is a must ,but the specialist says he is too young yet unless it becomes more urgent.
My darling wife has retaliated against my chrissie present ,in return for my banning the conection of the washer until christmas,hee hee,she has bought me a new hewlett packard printer and copier and said i ain't getting it until christmas lol,[me and my big mouth] .still,i suppose i had it coming hee hee,
It woon't please the son though who is waiting for my older epson cx which still works fine on xp ,but dosn't work too well on vista,the newe one works fine on either ,more so as they are both h.p built and will work fine together.
Have to go now ,but i will be back later,i', off to finish my rice salad,and freeze the soup which i made yesterday.carrot and corriander. have a nice weekend all.Fred.

hello everyone,couldn't sleep tonight so have been down had a read,some cocoa and still not sleepy so came on here.
went to a bit of a family get together at Johns brothers tonight,couldn't drink or eat muchbut it was good to see everyone,,
Johns neice is going to NZ in January for a year with her fiance ,they are staying with his uncle.they re going to see if they want to emigrate .they seem to have it all worked out,I will find out where they are going and let you know,Our weather has been really good up until yesterday then it turned cold and grey again,and its goung to be cold over the next few days,The garden is covered with leaves from the trees in the surrounding gardens ,we don't have any so its very annoying that we have to sweep them up etc.They take so much sun from the bottom of our garden in the summer that not much grows there either.
I have been in touch with dorothy and she said to remember her to you all ,she is still having puter problems.She will be getting a man in to sort it out if her son can not sort it soon.
fred I thought I was doing ok for christmas planning but you have me beaten.
Supposed to be doing some more shopping forchristmas tomorrow so hope I get up ok.
see you all soon Brenda

Good afternoon all Yes John hasnt the weather all over NZ been anything else other than Spring Cold today with SW winds but nothing compared to NW gales that were around earlier We didnt suffer damage here though so were lucky Good luck with your garden I am addicted to gardening but do find it getting harder as the years pass Housework is the dirty word around here can escape into garden and forget all about time!!
Margaret

Hi everyone
I'm back for another year.
When I come on here some of you are tucked up in bed and I'm here on a rather windy afternoon.
The weather down here has been horrible - high winds in the South Island that caused a lot of damage. One sad incident occurred when a schoolgirl was blown in front of a bus and died the next day. We have also had a few earthquakes and I didn't feel the tremors.
On Wednesday we did some gardening and pulled out a creeper weed which was entwined through most of flower plants like pansies meant they too got pulled out some could be untangled. Today being Friday we decided to buy a few flower plants and won't plant until the winds die down.
This year we set a task of growing our own vegetables - cauliflower, cabbage, silver beet and tomatoes - and hope they grow. The soil here in New Plymouth is exceptionally good. My parents were into gardening on the farm but as for us it is something we didn't do much of and when we lived in Auckland the soil was mostly clay and nothing but weeds did any good.

That's it for now.

John in NZ

Morning one and all,after feeding the cat,and making a cup of hot juice while waiting for my porridge to cooki can hear the workmen outside again.
I don't know what they ar doing but they are taking up all the kerbstones opposite the house,starting way down the street.
The kerbstones have only been down a few months ,so i reckon someone has noticed a mistake in the planning drawings ,not unusual with this crowd,so many things hasve been taken back up and changed ,it's no wonder that the houses cost so much.
I think this idea of part ownership is a huge con,never more than 50% bought but they cost more than our place cost us three years ago,only have two bedrooms ,a postage stamp for a garden ,and are prefabricated ,using compressed cardboard for the inner walls,i wouldn't have one gift wrapped.
One house down the street has already had two repairs done to the roof after tiles slid off ,ruddy disgusting i call it.
Looks like the family are heading back this way after helping out at Howdon,thier dad comes home from hospital today,and he don't like all the noise the kids make ,yeah ,bob,that's what kids do lol.
Christmas shopping is well under way here ,ready for the family ,he freezers are stuffed full of goodies,the christmas pud's [the second batch] get made this weekend ,and th cakes [two ],one for us ,small,and a huge one to cut into four for the other branches of the family,Liz keeps tying to get others to have a go ,but it's no good ,here cakes and puds take a lot of beating.
.we have enough puds now to go round all our households bar our own,Liz and i prefer the instant ones for us ,made the night befor ,put in the oven as the dinner is finishing and on the plate a few minutes later
As to my contribution ,cooking the main course ,and meat side dishes ,all is in handMary's corned beef recipiefor the main dinner christmas day,with some nice slices of turkey,and over the week ,a joint of pork[leg] Lamb for a change ,and a large joint of gammon slow cooked in the oven with a honey and clove coating .
New Year week ,we cheat ,and go round all the family in turn letting them do all the cooking ,our turn done during Christmas week lol..
Got Hissy some fish yesterday ,enough in the block to do her six meals ,and the portion i put down for her told me she loves it ,reminded me of the film name [gone in sixty seconds].
Time to go for now ,the carpets need donr before the brood come back [sigh] ,it was nice while it lasted.Fred.

Hello everyone,Hope your waether is better now Margaret ,we have a raelly nice autumn day here,really sunny but very chilly as well.
Having lunch at moment so just checking in and chilling out ready for the afternoon shift.
Its half term holidays here so we are getting a lot of children in doing nothing like choosing books and colouring in but causing trouble and squabbles.!!
day off tomorrow so starting some Christmas shopping , incase I get to go in for my operation.

Brenda

Hello from a windy Ashburton today Gale force are blowing around the country No damage here YET!
Gusts up to 140kmh smashed areas of Southland and Otago yesterday raising roofs, toppling trees, tipping over trucks and cutting power to around 2500 homes Winds are blowing again today but not expected to be quite as bad Similiar fate parts of North Island
Margaret

evening all,didn't get chance before now to come on pc.and its nearly bed time so haven't got long.Hope your quote is ok fred,one of my friends neighbours had a quote for a rewire it was three times what you are thinking about!!!
Hope to see you tomorrow
brenda

Good luck with your op Sylvia,and i'm glad to see you at least eating a little breakfast,the most important meal you can have ,no matter if it's just a little toast.
My flu is moving on,and shou;ld be gone within a few days.
I have been without my puter since 6 30 last night when the power went haywire yet again,the lights outside tripping my fusebox twelve times in six minutes ,and Liz ,not realising that the puter was still plugged in ,kept pushing the trip back on,result ,one antisurge board fried ,and a spiked puter.
The puter refused to boot up again last night and then the power went out altogether until 7 this morning.
We had to call seb out to see to the lights in the streeet as we had to do last september ,and now all seems to be well,but i won't know till tonight.
We have a sparky coming out tomorrow to give an estimate for a rewire with a new consumer unit,looks like we will have to bite the bullet and go for it,depends on the price,and ,i think i am going to get a shock,not much change from a grand i'm thinking.
Must have a quick look on the threads in case the problem is in the cables in the ground and not the lights ,but if i suddendy go off air ,you know the cause lol.Fred.

goodmorning one and all sorry that I have been off the site for a bit but still having computor problems hope to get it fixed this week, sylvia and fred I hope that you feel better soon and that the ops go well, brenda thanks for the personal e-mail I recieved it this morning I for one do understand the reflective mood that you had re the phone call from the ex. over here the weather is still crazy it was 78 yesterday and to-day another high of about 76 and then on thursday night it is to be -1 go figure, everyone is taking advantage of this weather so many people around and about. on tuesday the daughter in law has an interview with the simco school board this if it goes well enables her to get on the teaching list in the area. and also that day her mom is heading over to england again to lewes to help out with the other grandchildren as lindy's sister is off to uganda for a business trip. nothing much new with me at the moment I am feeling a bit down I guess after the excitment off the trip home I am a little bored and not sure what to do with my self. anyway I am sure I will snap out of it take care and all of you that are under the weather get better soon bye dorothy

hello every one,taking 5 mins at work as we can not get into our staff room for our tea break as there is a personnel meeting going .Hope evryone is ok see you tomorrow.Brenda

Hello everyone,sorry you are bothe still not well Sylvia ,like you I hope you are better before your op or they may not do it,
You keep your self warm fred my lad,don't want you getting any worse.
Been shopping for new light fittings today ,thought my neck and head would stay locked in the looking up position as we had to keep looking up at light fittings hanging from high ceilings and shelves.
Wonder where dorothy is hope she is ok ,I can't remember if she said she was away visiting or not but she was having pc trouble.
Brenda

Hi all,
Well haven't been around for a while, just cannot get rid of this bad throat of mine. It really is difficult to know what to do. Now Johan has also got it and we are not eating very much, just a nibble when we are hungry. No healthy meals at the moment. Still have our fresh orange juice in the mornings but apart from a slice of toast cannot face an egg for breakfast.
I have to go in hospital on Friday so hope the worst is over then. I have to be at the hospital at 7.15 and will be the first to be operated on - well at least the knife will be sharp!
My sister in law wants to celebrate her 75th birthday at my flat next week, together with her daughter who will be 50 who is coming over from the States and then another daughter and son in their late forties. I've phoned my own daughter and asked if she wants to come and meet up with her cousins.
I've told my sister in law that she will have to do almost everything as I won't be able to use my right hand.
I could use your help Fred.
Sylvia xxx

Afternoon Brenda ,and anyone who shows up later.
I have a lovely dose of flu.just in time [again] to get the letter from the surgery ,for my jab.
I did sean his christmas dinner today seeing as i don't know wether he will make it home in December,turkey crown,roast beef,all the trimmings ,together with one of the home made puddings from the freezer,and it all wen't down well.
Missy has gone missing,the little baggage got out the day before, yesterday ,and we can't find her anywhere,so i hope someone has found her and given her a home ,she is such a lovable little cat ,and i miss having her on my lap in the evenings.a heck of a lot.
Having flu ,i won't be going up the van this next week,so i will be around each day ,to make sure Brenda ,and the new zealand contingent arn't on their own again hee hee.
The family are away back down for a few days for a visit to Ann's mum to give her some help in getting the hous straight,as the workmen are in doing all the electrics and putting in a new kitchen.The old dear is frantic with her hubby coming out of hospital wednesday after a triple bypass op',so stephen will keep on the workmans back to make sure they do their work properly and tidilywhilst ann and the two eldest daughters keep the house clean and get it ready for bob's homecoming.,and give her mum some support.
Looks like the season is about finished garden wise,with autumn marching on towards winter.
Back tomorow morning Brenda,ime to make the tea,one turkey and stuffing sandwich,a piece of pork pie,and a bit of teacake with home made gooseberry jam loveeeerly grub.,
See ya tomorra' all.Fred.

Goodmorning from a sunny Ashburton Going to Christchurch hubby is helping move Aunt to rest home from her unit on site She has done remarkably well to stay independant till now aged 97 Of course Im going to visit a garden centre while there !dont need an excuse where they are concerned. Labour weekend here holiday tomorrow and gardeners really think of gardening But this year weather is still too changeable for tender plants like tomatoes cumumbers etc Cheers Margaret