General Chat

hi wednesday evening 8pm just a quick couple of things bryan's surgery is now this friday as the surgeon is concerned that he can't save the meniscus but the a.c.l repair should go well I am glad it is happening this quickly he needs to get it done, after yesterdays earthquake after shocks to-day we are under tornado watches for the province of ontario, some areas to the south of us are under tornado warnings and have been told to take precautions, we are having a massive rain thunder etc storm at the moment, the sky is black but not the pea green colour when a tornado is almost upon one this happens with all the heat and humidity that we get this area of barrie has not been hit for about 24yrs but it tore the town apart at that time. so here's hoping it bypasses us as on the 11th floor it would be game over, anyway I am going to have a coffee and watch a show I only found last week called 5 daughters have you heard of it bye for now dorothy

hi its early just about 8am and the weather is going to be stormy to-day but thats allright we need a cool day no further after shocks it is amazing how far the problem went. going to try a new chicken dish to-day sort of playing around with a new concoction of spices and then roast it plus some fresh veg done in oil in the oven and roasted as well. my sister called from canmore she is up in the mountains with the dog for 10days as her husband is in california with his brother for a visit and she is enjoying herself cooking lamb chops on the bar-b-que wayne does not eat lamb so she is having fun while he is away. they are thinking of selling the condo in calagary and making canmore their main home it is a lovely spot and as they are are getting older!!! what do they need with two homes plus as they like to winter in warmer places it makes sense to me.well I should get this day started am anxious to hear how bryan made out at the clinic this morning take care bye dorothy

Morning all.I have just seen the morning news on tv and seen the earthquake in the states Dorothy,did not realise it went so far!! Hope there wasn't much damage.
I rememer being in work at CIS building in Manchester when we had a few tremors ,it was so weird,We also had one years before that when David was little he was playing in his room and was bouning on his bed and had just got of the bed when the room shuck,he was upset thinking he had caused it by the bouncing!!! and came down stairs in tears he was so upset..I was down here in the living room and did not feel a thing ...so strange.
Weather has started really nice and sunny but rain has been forecast for the afternoon,Just going to put the washing out before I go to take my neice for her treatment. Hope it stays dry need to get Davids uniform dry,forgot to do them yesterday.!!!!!
Hope you have a less stressful day Dorothy,
fred hope the visit is going well.Take care Brenda

hi 7-30pm tuesday just a quick up-date this afternoon I was sitting reading a book enjoying a cup of coffee when the chair started to shake I was not sure what was happening so moved over to the couch same thing , then I found out it was the after shocks of the earthquake in the states it ran up the eastern sea board past us in barrie through toronto and quebec and on to the maritimes did not last long maybe 30 sec's but the stranges feeling I ask you what next hope you are asleep in your beds goodnight from me dorothy

hi from a rather cool morning here in barrie but it will warm up later a town in ontario called goderich known as the prettiest town in ontario got hit with a F3 tornado the pictures of the damage are awful , amazing what can happen in a minute or so. all the children seem to be in one piece at the moment if somewhat damaged. I think andrew is working from home to-day and back to the hospital to-morrow morning for an idea wether or not bryan's surgery can be moved up. glad to hear about your trip to the physio brenda hope the exercises are helpful. I have been making a list of dry goods etc. tostock up on for the winter ahead hoping that we have a mild one. this saturday is the buildings annual bar-b-que afternoon should be fun we usually have a good turn out one of my friends husbands mans the bar-b-que and does a great job. I spent yesterday going through all the book cases(8) with the idea of maybe getting rid of some of the books I ended up with only 2 to donate I really have to do better. bye for now dorothy

Morning folks,goodness Dorothy sounds like Andrew and Lindy need an express way to the hospital with the children at the moment! hope they will calm down a bit now as you said. Mind you i remember one summer school holidays my two brothers were all ways having to go to the hospital for one thing or another ,my youngest brother lost the tip of a finger,then had stiches in his eye brow,My other brother banged his head after falling of the garden shed ,got concussed,was kept in overnight,then he hurt his leg somehow and was bandaged up like a mummy ,he wanted plaster of paris so he could have all his mate sign it.!!! so was very miffed when it was only bandaged but he did get wooden crutches.!!!
I managed to sort out having some private physio and went last night for my assesment and was given some exercises,and go again next week. The phsyio thinks I have a nerve problem from the bottom of my back as it was really stiff and did not respond how it should,So at least I can try something else.I also have to sit and lie differently than I have been.
Going to see my friend shortly she has a problem with her circulation in her legs and can only walk short distances so I amtaking her to a dress shop she like so she can see if she canget an outfit for a do she is going to.Will also give her a bag of books i have finished with.
Fred hope you are all having a good visit with the grandson and his wife.
Take care ,Brenda

good monday morning the sun is shining after the rain storms of yesterday just when I thought life had calmed down I had a call from andrew late yesterday to say he was on his way to the hospital with Ian, apparently he had been hurt playing with one of his friends and had a gash at the top of his nose and needed stiches after about 4hrs in emergancy they got home about !am the doc was able to glue it rather stiches less chance of a scar, love the new way of doing things though we used to glue c/section scars sutures under neath and the surgical glue on the top layesr of skin.so hopefully the 3 grandchildren will remain accident free for a while, brenda glad you had a nice day how great the babies did so well, and yes I also hope that fred is having a great visit, the tennis was good andy played well I think that I will have a lazy day as I waited up to here how things went last night bye for now dorothy

Evening all,
We had a really good time at the christening everything was very good.
The two babies were very well behaved in church and did not cry once.
The reception was in a nice room and was a bit crowded but not as much as we had thought.
It was good to see all Johns family again,The children are really growing up.
Glad your day with Andrew and the boys went well Dorothy and that you are enjoying the tennis
.Hope Fred is enjoying his visitors,
Take care
Brenda

good sunday morning brenda hope you have a great day with the double c event at the church, and of course fred once again you had my mouth watering with the food you served up hope you have a lovely visit with your grandson. yesterday andrew picked me up about noon and bryan and Ian and andrew and I had a great lunch out and then did some shopping andrew bought himself a new toaster oven so for quick meals for him he does not need to put the big gas oven on, then he bought a new tv for the games room and moved the one that was in ther down tothe exercise room so that while bryan is on the bike when he is re habing he has something to keep his mind on. the deck that andrew and friends stained looks very good , I got caught up on my laundry ironed a few shirts while watching the semi final of the tennis and andy won!!!! I was pleased then andrew made me a cold plate so I could have tea before we went to the grocery store on the way home, we did have quite a chat Lindy's mom did buy the house for her so she does not have a mortgage to worry about she is supposed to pay her mom rent and then that money will be put back into her inheratance fund that the money for the house came out of. but I guess the main thing is that the house is close to andrew's and not much of a change for the children the boys are with andrew this week Laura is choosing to stay with her mother most of the time I see this as Laura seeing that she can manipulate her mother more than her dad but she pops up to see her dad on and off. andrew has lost a lot of weight but he needed to get some off, but I had a little laugh he has always had a mustache since he grew facial hair and I noticed yesterday that he appears to be growing a goat tee at first I thought he had missed his chin when shaving for a few days but apparently not it looked ok I don't think it will last long his mustache it quite reddish and the goat tee had quite a bit of gray in it to match the frosted look of the hair on his head., both Ian and bryan were in good spirts bryan is now 6ft 2 and Ian is having a growth spurt, as a snack on friday evening Ian had aske his dad for a sea food pizza so andrew said he used three pizza shell laid on the tomato sauce flaked tuna, smoked salmon pate and then shrimps apparently it turned out ok much tohis surprise plus he only got one slice the 2 boys ate it up. I must try that he said he was sorry he did not have any mussels as Ian really loves mussels. well andy is in the finals to-day in about an hour not sure about his chances again djovic but I will cheer for him I would love him to win so all of you have a great week bye for now dorothy

evening Dorothy and Fred well our weekends seem to be going well,spending time with our nearest and dearest,
Hope the rest of the weekend goes just as well.
The weather was good here up to about 4oclock then the sky went dark and the rain came,
Glad your company got to you safe and sound, Fred even if a little late ,hope you all enjoy the visit..
The catering as always is mouthwatering !!!
Glad you have managed to enjoy the tennis Dorothy and hope the dinner goes well with Andrew and Bryan.
We have the double christening tomorrow,so hope the weather is as good as it was today.well maybe for a little longer.!!
Take care see you all soon.
Brenda

morning Brenda,and Dorothy,seems as though you are both doing well and managing events with the usual verve ,and coping well despite being busy as normal.
Things are going well up here at the moment ,the rest of the company has arrived after a long drive in bad conditions ,three accidents on the motorways that delayed them by three hours in total,but they had forwarned me as to their arrival time when in south yorkshire,so ,as i turned off the oven ,the car arrived at the door ,lol,result or what?
I did them a piece of loin pork done in a pot roast tin ,lid on ,soaked in a chicken gravy stock cube at the start ,sprinkled with milled pepper [black] and salt,came out well ,with no sign of browning ,soft ,melting and so easy to cut i could have used a plastic knife instead of the steel butchers knife i usually use.
I did steamed cabbage ,carrots,runner beans,and cylindra beetroot straight from the garden,along with ,roast,mash ,and new potatoes which i also steamed covered in mint sprigs ,all topped off by a nice onion gravy,it went down well ,and i even enjoyed mine ,which is unusual for me ,lol,the old saying that a cook dosn't enjoy his own cooking was untrue for once :-D.
I have three lovely pieces of Atlantic Cod for todays dinner ,done in a chive ,parsley sauce ,and done in a mashed tattie covering, which i will do with sweet corn and asparagus,and left over whole new tatties which i will drizzle in olive oil and roast on a tray sprinkled with salt ,pepper ans chiilie flakes.
I have already been out back this morning and sprayed all the veggie with liquid feed to encourage new growth ,so ,apart from the shopping i can spend the rest of the day with the company :-).
Going to go out back again now ,and enjoy my cuppa with Hissy ,before she becomes huffy ,lol, :-0.
Catch you all later ,Fred.

hi brenda the visit to andrews has been changed to saturday as he had 4 of bryans friends for dinner and a sleep over so at 11am this morning 2 where up and 3 sleeping he had cooked a big pot roast with all the trimmings and then later they finished off left over pizza potato chips pop corn as well but then they are all tall lads with hollow legs actually it worked out for me as I was able to watch the quarter finals of the tennis 4 matches in all with 2 big upsets both nadal and roger got beaten andy murray came through tot he semis so a good day of tennis have a great week-end bye dorothy

Hi everyone,well i have had a good day weather wise got the washing done mainly Davids uniforms.and everything is dry.
Went to visit my sister who is still housebound at least i can still get out.
did a bit of shopping at the Morrisons near her and got a few bargains.
Need to go to the library tomorrow for some books I have reserved and take some others back.
I am pleased your first visit to lindys went ok,she seems to have been very well supported by her family !!!! To Be honest I was wondering how she was managing a house ,thinking it was rented!!! Hope the visit to Andrews even with doing the ironing goes as well
The icecream place sounds wonderful we do not have anything like that here,thats one thing i like when we go on holiday but do have to be strict with myself..
Have managed the testing patch to do my hair ready for the christening on Sunday Just have to decide what to wear,think its supposed to be fine weather wise.
Hope you all have a good weekend ,hope Freds grandson and daugther in law,have arrived ok. Take care Brenda

goodmorning well yesterday turned out to be an interesting day for me Ian called me in the morning to invite me to supper at mom's house so theypicked me up at 4pm I was a little uncomfortable as this was the first time I had seen lindy since her split with andrew. the house is just down the orad from andrews so I kind of knew it I will try and describe it to you as if it was in the terms of escape to the country as we list things a bit differant. it is a detached house with double attached garage good gardens front and back. in side it has three levels on the middle level it has a powder room off the entrance of the hall there is a large reception room plus formal dining room, good sized kitchen diner leading out to the two tiered deck and bar-b-que area, also a utility room plus laundry room. upstairs there are 4 bedrooms the master has a full bathroom off it and the other bedrooms ae all double with a family bathroom. on the lower level there is aother reception room(family room) and office and exercise room. a cold room for preserves etc, and an other room than can be used as a guest room. overall size of the rooms are good but somewhat smaller than andrew's house. I guess that lindys mom and her familys lawyers must have released funds so that lindy could buy this, part of her share from her dad and grandparents. estate most of the funishings came from a friend of lindy's mom who was down sizing into an assisted living place ie. furnishing for the reception rooms lindy bought new for the kids bedrooms and brought some stuff from her and andrew's bedroom and to Ian's delight she splurged on a 42 inch flat screen 3d tv!!!! the house has two gas fireplaces which will be great in the winter and a gas furnace and air conditioning unit. I found it all quite strange and kind of sad. fred Ian made dinner he bar-b-qued pork shops and a soy burger for Laura plus he cut up red new potato's mixed with onion and oil and put those on the shelf of the barbie, lindy did the veg brocoli with cheese sauce and other mixed veg, I thought for a 12 yr old he did well he does like to cook and watermelon and brownies for desert. on the way home we stopped at a new diary ice-cream place that has just opened and you can choose from 42 flavours I had a black forest cake small cone they also stock jams from manatoulin island in canada again an amazing choice ie. appple pie jam marmalade with peaches and ginger I shall be back there to try some of them. when we got home I gave Ian a new but never used by me blender as he like to blend up things for baking all in all it went quite well Laura was well behaved and I got a big hug from her to-day friday I am going out with andrew and bryan to do some shopping and then going over to andrew's house to help with some ironing and the price for that is I amtaking some washing over . sorry that this has rambled on but I wanted to get this off my chest.andrew says they are still in the early stages of meeting with lawyers and when bryan has the surgery he has aranged to take 2 weeks vacation as bryan wants to rehab at his dads house he has a lot of unused vacation time this week he was supposed to be on vacation but in the day of blackberrys and computors the first three days ended up being work related from home plus calls from employee's from the other provinces.so we shall see how to-day goes take care and have a good week-end all of you bye for now dorothy

Afternoon folks,glad we are all having some good weather.,It;'s been really sunny here today,However I did not get any washing done .was ironing some of the washing from the other day.
Had the resultd from my blood tests today with being on new tablets .all was ok. but they want to do another one in three months due to my thyroid.!!
Just put a chicken curry in the oven,its from a jar as I have a few tins and jars that will need using up by the end of this month. Thought I had defrosted two lots of chicken fillets(thighs) intending to cooke two meals together ,but it turned out to be one chicken,one pork steaks,I had not labeled them well had I!!!!! So we are on braised pork steaks tomorrow.
Will be thinking about your grandson Fred over the next few months ,and will keep in in my prayers,can not start to think about how he is feeling!!!!
We owe so much to these brave men and women.
I have my appointment for my assesment physio, OCTOBER 4th, so am checking on the private physios ,and will hopefully be seen sooner. It shouild be partly funded by my Healthsure policy which was called the Hospital saturday fund.
Had the quote back from the builder ,better than I thought , but John says he thinks its abit dear so i have told him to find another one very quick or I am telling him to go ahead. We know the work this man does and have seen it so I think thats half the battle these days
Not got much on tomorrow,might go and see my sister who is still house bound ,
saturday I am going to the library to pick up some more books and see my friend ,she has been told that due to all the cut backs the staff who have not applied to take voluntry redundancy have to apply for their own jobs.!!! so she is a bit worried.to say the least..
Sunday we have the family christening ,which sounds like a big gathering as its a double one.Johnds mothe ris unable to comeover due to not being very good on her feet and now having back problems.
Hope Ians knee is getting a bit better and he will have his op fairly soon.Dorothy,
Take care Brenda

goodorning one again it is a lovely morning long may they last fred I hope you enjoy your visit with your grandson before he leaves 6months is a long time to be in that place he is a brave man. yes I have to agree bryan's knee does sound like a horror story but hopefully he will get an earlier surgery date and all will be well, apart from the knee he looks good the time at camp has changed him he came home taller 6ft 1inch broader in the shoulders he got a good report and will be welcomed back next summer at the camp as a full fledged camp councillor on full pay, this summer he was ot payed but earned all the volunter hours he needs to graduate from high school when the time comes, it is a good scheme some kids earn hours in seniors homes or hospitals tends to keep them on the straight and narrow .some of bryan's friends earn these hours in soup kitchens or the out of the cold programmes held in town for the homeless or at food banks. school starts in 2 weeks so the stores are full of parents hopping for back to school stuff . I did a little cooking yesterday I decided to saute 2 chicken breasts and added celary green,red and yellow peppers, some tomatoes at the last added rice and mushrooms it was quite tasty and enough for another meal to-night oh yes and some red onion it was a change from salads tht I tend to eat in the hot weather. now fred isobelle is coming up for a visit on the 3rd of sept fro a visit maybe staying 10 days so do you think that liz would let you pop over and cook for us as you do make the most amazing meals !!!! oh yes all the potted plants all 5 of them are still alive and well on the balcony I have amazed myself keeping them blooming especially with all the heat we have had. brenda hope you are having a good week bye for now dorothy

Morning troops ,yep ,we had a better day too Brenda ,a warmer day [just] but with a bit of sun ,which made a change ,lol,and the two females got two loads of washing out and dried ,while Fred took it easy ,just trimmed the big hedge ,and the next door side of the fir one ,while i was able .
Glad to hear that things are improving for your family, Dorothy ,that knee sounds like a horror story ,so i hope it continues to improve quickly for the lad ,sounds like he could do with some good luck for a change.
Plenty of work to do here today ,the grandson and his wife arrive tomorrow,up from Lyneham for a few days before he goes out on his six month tour to Afghanistan.
Full house ,bingo ,lol.
,Off for some toast and a cuppa ,take care everyone ,Fred
He has been busy these last few weeks ,four quick tours out to Cyprus to help with the rerouting of NATO troops going in and out of the gulf war zones.

,,,,

Morning all,just a quick message as I should be hanging out the washing while the sun is shining!!
So pleased things are settling Dorothy and i am glad that you have good weather,we are supposed to be hving a few good days ,lets hop so.
You can order on line from M&S,perhaps you can do it from Canada?
Hope Fred is sticking to his own advise and taking it easy.
Take care ,Brenda

hi its 8pm tuesday evening and the sun is still shining it has been a lovely august day, gosh fred I was exhausted reading all that you had been doing too right you should leave the cooking as you have three woman in the house enjoy a couple of days of rest, both you and brenda should take each others advice. as for my family I spoke to andrew and bryan last evening bryan says that he is feeling more comfortable with all the ice on his knee and the medication his dad is giving him, andrew spoke to the surgeon and he will see bryan on the 24th of august and see how bad things are but he said they will probably move the surgical date up and do the two repairs at the same time and idea that I approve off I was not keen on the idea of him being put to sleep twice . as for lindy and laura I have not spoken to them since saturday, Ian apparently is spending his time at both houses as andrew put it he is leaving him to find his way in this new arrangement but he has left his gerbil (spike) at dad's house so he pops up about twice a day I expect I will get a call from Ian when he feels like talking he knows I keep all his conversations with me private. I must confess to still being in a state of shock over all this it was the last thing I expected, glad you had a good day shopping brenda oh how I would like a prowl round marks and spenser's I could do with some long sleeved night shirts I bought several 4yrs ago they are so pretty well enough from me this evening I think I shall make a coffee and sit outside and enjoy the last rays of the sun though it does not look like it is ready to set bye for now dorothy