General Chat

hi I guess you all are busy this week-end to-day (7th) is my sisters husbands 65th not sure if they are at the condo in calgary or in canmore perhaps he will celebrate by going on a hike in the mountains as they love doing this anyway I shall phone later and speak to him. nice sunny morning but about -1 so a bit chilly I thought about fred yesterday as I had time to do some cooking made myself a nice roast chicken baby spuds and yam it was very good. brenda I finished that book it was very good and then read jimmy carters book about his time in the white house it made interesting reading. john greshims new one is for to-day. going over to the family on tuesday celebrating Laura's 14th a day early it is a year on the 11th since her school friend hung herself and andrew and lindy have been keeping a close eye on laura she has been leading them quite a dance lately and it seems rachels death is on her mind a lot. so we shall see how it all turns out I think that she needs to talk to someone other than the family but there is a fine line between advice and interfering when you are a grand parent though andrew does call in for long talks with me re what to do. I do think that boys are easier to raise than girls but then I never had a girl especially in this day and age so much pressure on them well I hope that you all have had a good week-end bye for now dorothy

Evening all,Well its been drier today and a little milder,but now its a bit wetter ,but it has not stopped the fire works or the bonfires.
They are so expensive as well,the cheapest seems to be about £5.00!
Sparklers are £2 a packet of 5 according to all the adverts.Have not seen any parkin on sale but plenty of treacle toffee.
I also got a lot of veg to do soups fred and nearly bought a ham shank to do a pea and ham soup ,,but will do that next week.
Dorothy I have so many books to read I do not know where to start,\i have a lot on order at the library as well.
We are leaving our decorating till after christmas,it would be to much of a rush to do what we want to do with the holiday in the middle.
I am glad liz has now got some stronger medication which iam sure will sort her out,Hope your xray gets you sorted as well fred.By the way The Bury Black Pudding Company have a web site just google the name.and they do pon line orders as well!!Better go and sort out the washer now its stopped and see where I am getting it dried. Brenda

hi happy bonfire night too you all if you like it that is my mom always made parkin and my nana did the treacle toffee and we had potatoes in the bonfire, liz I hope that you get better soon and that the pills clear up things for you, fred as usual you are one busy guy do remember to have a bit of a rest. brenda just reading micheal connelly's new book reversal quite good so far. woke up this morning to rain but it is now turning into snow but it is not sticking at the moment thought we could get 5cm by days end but we are a kind of a bowl and sometimes when it blows in from the lake ( kempenfelt bay) it blows over us so fingers crossed, and the long range forecast shows double digit temps for next week. andrew had a nice surprise this week he had entered a draw at work after making a donation to one of the charitys the company supports and he won the grand prize which is a 3000 dollar yes that is right 3000dollars in the form of money to be used on airflights, they had planned on maybe a winter ski-ing holiday for the family in whistler british columbia but the children are voting for a holiday in a warmer place so we shall see. if they go to an all inclusive flight and place etc for a family of 5 they will have to put some to it but 3000 dollars goes quite a way. he was really please needless to say well I think that I am going to make another coffee curl up with the book and leave getting ready for the afternoon tea thing till later it is only 9-30am oh yes brenda and up date on anne she has finally recieved her reading glasses and is so happy so both surgeries on the eyes are now complete she has piles of books and hello magazine to read bye for now dorothy

Hi Brenda,Dorothy,Sylvia and anyone else who drops in.
The window is finished and the room put straight ,and a little touching up seen to,now ,it's a couple of weeks doing just house work ,and the garden before i start the three doors that need doing before the festive season,once that is done ,the decorating is finished until spring.
I too Liz for an exray last week ,and it turns out that she has a severe viral infection,so she is on a two week course of a powerful anti biotic.
I had an exray this morning too ,to see wether i have arthritis in the right hip ,or wether it is something else.
Coming out of the walk in centre there is an Aldi right next door so we did as tad of shopping ,mainly veggies for soup making and some treats for the furry pest ,who is still following me everywhere,getting under my feet ,lol, which is what cats do best ,after all.
We are off to a B B Q at the eldest sons tonight after which it will be normal meals until early April when the gear comes out again.
I have managed to get hold of some Lancashire black pudding Brenda ,and i will have some over the next couple of days to see it it's any good.
By the by ,this morning we found a lovely bacon joint [smoked gammon] and brought a good sized piece ,which i will cook up over the weekend,and keep the stock for soup ,and Pease Pudding, the meat i will slice up and salt away in the freezer for the festive season.
Looks like i got the windows done just in time ,the council are starting to clear the flats out ,round the corner ,and will start demolition, in Jan' so there will be lots of noise and dust which would do Liz no good at all.
Hope everyone is going to have a good weekend .Fred

Well it was wet and miserable again here today.still got out and went to myspanish class which i am enjoying.All but one "pupil"attended today which was good.
Must do some pratice on it at home more often.
went to bed about 10.45 but couldn't sleep so came on here to see what messages if any I had, found loads of junk stuff amd one message from my cousin.Will also be surfing shortly for a few items I am interested in.
I fancy one of those Wii fit console things but have found out how expensive they are,so am looking for them to see if they can be bought cheaper.!! My sister and her daughter think theirs is great.!!
Hope Fred and Liz are ok and not doing to much with the decorating.
How are you Dorothy,its Bonfire night tomorrow might do some hot dogs and get John some treacle toffoe,not keen on it myself,don't like bomfire night either or fireworks,!!!Hope Sylvia i doing ok as well.See you all soon Brendas

Evening all,well its been wet and wild here today,and its likely to last all week.
Nice to hear from you Dorothy,I have written quiete a few messages which have gone into cyberspace,or maybe I just pressed the wrong button,which I know I have done once or twice,but sometimes they just do disaper.
Glad you had a good Halloween,ours was non existant no one came which was just as well, I did not buy any treats,in the pass few years I have bought stuff and no one came.
went out shopping with my sister today ,she wanted shoes.Saw lots of lovelly christmas stuff but not the sort of stuff I wanted to buy .My sister got her shoes and I got a lovelly dressing gown which i have been looking for for ages.!!Have a few other emails today before I watch my tv programme .Bones.!! Take care Brenda

hi it is me back again I scolled back over the messages and mine was lost I wrote about halloween night at the family's place I went over for dinner we ate early about 4pm as bryan had a hockey game and then we set up for all the trick or treators Ian and Laura went out lindy went with laura and her girlfriend to keep an eye on the girls and Ian and one of his friends and a parent went with them I did the door about 115 chocolate bars went one each so the number of children was up this year and what great costumes they had on. so it was a great evening.

recieved an e-mail from my cousin re the burial of the ashes of my aunt and uncle they went in the mills family grave in bury in the cemetary off st peters road that makes 8 family members to-gether it has a very large head stone with the names engraved going back to the middle 1800's glad that is done
. will take bryan out next week for dinner belated birthday dinner his was in may but I was not driving then he has picked wild wings a chicken wings place a bit noisy but a fun place he has exams this week ok this is what I wrote the other day if the site deleted it not sure why bye again dorothy

goodmorning everyone from a sunny but cold barrie glad to see everyone on line good to hear from sylvia, glad you liked the black pudding fred I can even buy it over here the odd time at the english shop it does come in frozen and in slices so maybe brenda can find out if it can be shipped to you, your grandson sounds like a great boy and so helpful to liz it is nice to see in this day and age. not been up to much other than going around to see what I could find for laura's birthday did find some girlie stuff so I hope that she will like it I am sure that I wrote a long message the other day but it seems to have disappeared I will have to have a think about it. going to do some chore to-day bye for now dorothy

Hello everyone its been a nice enougth day again here at least it was dry if a wee bit chilly!! had to nip to town to get a birthday present made it there and back in two hours mind you no stopping for a cup of tea or seeing anyone for a chat!!.Got what i went for and some fresh fruit,and came home,John had just gor in and was warming up some tomato soup,it was good even if it was tinned.Buses had a diversion on due to road works so had to go to the next bus stop ,which is where i used to get the bus home when I worked in town,got me thinking about people i have not seen for years!!
Next time i go to the market Fred i will see if they do a postal service!!
the vacuumed packed sliced puddings are sold in some supermarkets round here but don;t know about further afield.
all the cakes are now made apart from the Dundee cake which I am not sure about yet. Going for a cuppa now then to deliver that birthday present,see you soon ,Brenda

Morning to Sylvia,Brenda,and everyone else hiding in the wings,from a very cool but sunny morning up here in what my sister always called the frozen north.
A sign of the times with all the perv's perhaps ,or maybe just the cold ,but we had on visiters last evening ,something that has never happened before,and funnily enough we missed the usual knocks at the door.
Yes sylvia ,i think it's time i made some bread to keep my hand in,but ,apart from that ,we don't make sweet stuff any more because it's a waste of time ,so we tent top buy when bairns are coming,but must admit ,i miss my wifes baking ,a slice of chrissie cake and a large lump of Wensleydale cheese was a favourite of mine for years [don't knock it until you have tried it].
We had a little mixed grill for tea last evening ,and Fred was a little miffed,no Bury black pudding [sniff] the scot's stuff isn't too bad ,but Newcastle's is NAFF ,lol,roll on march ,when the freezer is down ,and i persuade Brenda to take me to market again ,and buy a load to take home with me, he he.
Well it's shopping today after we get the washing done and hung out,and then i will trim the top of the high hedge which will complete the front garden for this year ,then i will get started on my window which will do until spring ,as the other windows arn't too bad .
The binmen are going to love me ,lol,the recycle [garden bin is ready for tomorrow morning ,and it's so full the poor thing is creaking on it's wheels,please Father Christmas ,can old Fred have a garden refuse burner for Christmas ? so that i can have lots of free potash for my veggies ,and save the bin men some grief. he he.
Liz has managed to get an appointment for 11-20 this a m ,to see if she can have another course of tablets ,she is quite a bit better now ,but has a way to go yet.
Can't make up my mind what to do for dinner tomorrow ,try the new Halogen J M L cooker ,for which i have to pick up the skewers and crisping pan + cookbook which is at the post office to pick up,or settle for the slow cooker and a hotpot,Decisions ,Decisions ,perhaps i should ask the second chef ?
Time to go now ,but i will be back later when work is finished for the day.Fred.xxx

Hallo all from a wet, murky day here in the netherlands. I've spent the day indoors just doing what I want to do. I made an apple/cinnamon cake and some dark brown bread and did some handicraft work.
My granddaughter has phoned to say she is coming for dinner on Tuesday evening when she has finished work. Just had a card from her mother - my eldest daughter - who is holidaying in south Africa. She is travelling round in a group and is fortunate that the group is very nice and they are laughing a lot and enjoying all the scenery. It is Spring there.
Who has made their Xmas cake?
Keep well Sylvia xxx

Should have said have a good weekend whatever you are doing,Brenda

Evening all,Fred it was a pleasure to show ,you Liz and the family around Bury,heres to the next time,,Hope you had a good journey home,and are now relaxed and cosy in your own home.Hope Liz continues to have a good recovery.
Had a trip to the library to day to see why I have been waiting so long for some books i have reserved.Some I know are new so will not be out yet but some should be here and are not my friend will check on why they are delayed.Also had a walk round Sainsburys and got a couple of bargains in their half price sale,Will make the last of my cakes tomorrow and then will just "fed" them till december when they will be iced.

Mornin' all you busy people ,lol,he he ,what a lazy personi am this week ,one person starting yet another cake ,and another making Christmas cards.
What is Fred doing ihear people asking ? zilch .nada.or,nowt,as the yorkie say, he he ,all i have done this morning apart from packing one case ,is go across to the owners lounge for breakfast,and allow time for Chris to spend some of his pennies on the slot machines.
Brenda is selling herself short Sylvia ,this lovely lady showed us round the market at a pace Liz could cope with ,and showed us a lot of things we would have otherwise missed,spending time on us while she could have been doing her own thing,not too many people left like that these days.
Chris too is growing up fast ,he took one look at the prices to get into the tower ,turned to his Nana and said.no way Nana ,i will wait until next year when it's free to get in,and later in the early afternoon seeing that his Nana was sore and tired he knocked waiting out to see the lights on the head too ,suggesting settling for his tram ride along the front ,all the way to Fleetwood ,where we changed to the bus and came back to the caravan park.
This says a lot for the lad ,who i am more and more proud of ,his dad too,who has obviously brought him up in the right way.
Good luck with the tickets Brenda ,lol,i looked at the silly bu****s last night on the news ,and thought ,naaah,Brenda isn't daft enough to go to those extremes ,glad to see you had more sense foreby.
Have to go and get the dinner ready ,catch you later,Fred.

Morning all.slight change of plan .Am trying to book tickets for the Take That concert at The City of Manchester Stadium next Jun,but can not even get on their website,will try for a little while but have things to do and can"t spend all day trying.Hope the weather is better where you are as it is grey and miserable here.
Take care Brenda

Hi all,sorry its so late but I was busy earlier making another christmas cake,only one more to do,and thats going to be a dundee cake ,hopefully!!
Glad to see Sylvia back with us again,hope your health coninues to improve.Fred I am so glad you all had a good time yesterday,I did as well.After you went I met my friends and had a spot of lunch with them.
I have deceided that i must get to the market at the same time we did ,as it was good being able to walk round when its not as crowded.
Went in to Manchester today to see a friend I worked with at CIS had a good chat and look at some tops for the holidays but did not buy anything want to see how my diet goes first,
Just food shopping and errands tomorrowas well as ironing etc.Be back after that.Brenda

Hallo all,
Well I had a lazy day today. I was just under the shower when my neighbour popped down for a chatter. It was getting late so put on a clean nightgown and my dressing gown and decided that was how I was to stay for the rest of the day.
The workmen are installing a new lift in our block of flats so if I want to go out I have to walk to the other side of the flats. I have asked Johan if he would go to the market for me tomorrow and he agreed.
It is still cold and damp everywhere so I prefer to stay indoors with the central heating on.
I can make a few more Xmas cards as Xmas will be here shortly.
Hope you are all well. Sylvia xxx

goodmorning oh gosh I could see you all in my minds eye at the market so glad you made it fred and liz and that you got to meet brenda and of course that you so enjoyed the market it is still great after all these years. glad to hear that liz is improving keep up the good work liz, yes brenda I had a good day yesterday but did not buy anything at the thrift shop as I did not see anything that I really liked but it was interesting to see what they had, I think the new stuff had been picked over the day before, but did try out the new coffee shop next door, good coffee and we had a western on a cheese bagel it was very good (Ie. eggs onions red pepper) I would go back there and all the sandwhiches none were over 6 dollars ours was only 3 dollars. then we wandered around quite a few shops so it was a good day out plus of course a quick trip to the library, it is almost 9am and chris will be leaving totonto to go to the airport about 1pm her flight leaves at 3 she gets in at 5-30 her time 7-30 my time there is a 2hr time distance between barrie and calagary. to-day is cloudy and over cast we had very high winds again last evening so a lot of the leaves are off the tree's I think that I shall have a low key day to-day though I am going to cook a turkey breast for supper with scalloped spuds and some yams that need to be cooked up I feel in a cooking mood which is strange for me, glad to hear from sylvia and hope that you keep on the mend sylvia and keep us updated on all that you are up to bye for now dorothy

Hallo all,
I don't expect you will remember me at all, but haven't been on here for a number of weeks due mainly to ill health. Anyhow, seem to have pulled myself together to be able to cope with life again. I've been reading all your letters and I have enjoyed doing so.
Gosh, hasn't winter set in early? I remember last year and the year before us having snow, and wonder whether we will have some soon??
I went into a shop today - bit like Woolworths - and they were unpacking Xmas goods, Xmas, that seems to come here quicker each year.
My eldest daughter and her partner are in South Africa for a few weeks so I must write a short letter and send to one of the hotels they will be staying.
Will keep this short, wishing everybody the best. Sylvia

Hi Troops,as Brenda says we had a good time at the market,and did indeed resist the cheese stall ,wow ,i have never seen so many different types of cheeses ,from so many places as we saw this morning.don't mind admitting the old juices were flowing.
The meat and fish market were a revelation ,so many fresh types of fish from Swordfish ,through to the lowly Whiting fillets and the prices i couldn't believe ,much cheaper than at home ,these Mancunians are spoilt for choice ,lol.
Liz did very well to be only half way though her course of anti biotics ,and only the second day into her steroids,bless her ,she is already planning a return trip in March next year ,when she is up to an extended walk around.
The in laws were very impressed as well ,and i think they will be back within a few weeks ,lucky blighters.lol.
I am saving my black pudding bacon ,sausage ,egg and bacon ,with some chopped tomato ,for dinner tomorrow ,before we take the Grandson to see his lights ,and ride the trams for the evening.
Looks like i am on tea duty again,soi am off to get it done,catch you all later ,Fred