General Chat

hello everyone nice to see sylvia back and I hope they enjoy the cruise, yesterdat morning(thursday) I recieved a call from my cousin avis she was at my aunt and uncle's house in stretford ( he died 8 months ago tot he day) to say that her mom had died she apparently got up in the morning before the carer's came got dressed and sat in her chair with the fire full on she did feel the cold and slipped away, she was in her late 80's. I felt so sad she was the last of the senior mills family my dads 2 brothers married 2 sisters so this leaves me as the eldest of all the cousin's , I spoke to the cousin I am closest too in reading this mornig and she remimded me of that and said that as she is next in line the fact that I found out so late in life that I was adopted does not get me out of that role , apparently as she was in fairly good health they are going to do an autopsy!!!!!. I was asked if I was coming over for the funeral and chris as well but as I have that apointment on the 18th and as they don't have a date for the funeral as yet I said no plus I am not sure if I can fly yet as the symptomsI in my brain are still causing a problem, fred glad you looked up how to get to bury the quickest way and it would be so good if you could meet up with brenda I so enjoyed my visit with her I am sure you would like the market there are some lovely areas around bury and coming by tram or bus you would see some of them. theholiday week-end has started the traffic up to the cottages is heavy, andrew is driving back from ottawa this am but he usually leaves around 5am so should be back between 10-11am I am off to mail a card to the cousin she lives in cheshire but I suppose is at the house in stretford thornbury rd my aunt went to that house when she was 3 and lived there ever since she would not move after my uncle died sorry if I am rambling this am still a bit upset bye dorothy

tried to get on here for ages this morning and as I was going out didi not have time to wait.
Glad you are feeling better sylvia ,our weather has not been to great either and the weekend does not look that good
have a busy day tomorrow so not sure if Iwill get on here or not .Have been given some ides about the aubregine ,seems the simplest thing is slicing lengthways and griddleing. will let you know how we get on.
We can use bus passes on the tram Fred and I would love to see you and Liz the tram station is not far from me and its about 12 mins from Crumpsall to Bury. Will send you an email about it l
better get my horlicks and see if that helps me sleep tonight,
Brenda.

ffee. She has just come back from a luxury cruise to celebrate her 50th brthday. You feel old when your youngest child reaches 50!Yes Fred, arthritis is painful, so am enjoying myself at the moment in just being able to do the normal things in the home. I have had cortisone injections, but you are not allowed too many.
Aubergines are delicious if made into a sort of pesto, mashed with garlic and eaten with meats or chips etc. The Greeks eat a lot of aubergines. I also use aubergine when making a groundnut stew - west African dish.
The weather has turned considerably colder here.
Tomorrow is market day so I shall be out there buying my fish and cheese.

Morning peeps ,ans welcome back Sylvia,he he ,another holiday? go for it Lass ,only kidding,lol,i have already had three this year ,and have two more booked before December,and have to admit ,that Rhine cruise sounds the biz'.
Think you must mean what we call arthritis ,where all the joints swell and become very painful ,i have it myself in both the right hip ,leg ,and left ankle ,so i can imagine the relief the warmer weather brings ,ihave heard that a Cortizone injection helps for a while ,but have not tried that one yet,preffering to keep exercising through the pain to ease it instead,and in my case ,it seems to help a lot .
Hi Dorothy ,i have had a look ay my options for getting to Bury ,and will def' leave the car at Fleetwood and go via bus ,and maybe tram ,which is half the fun,being able to look at the passing scenery instead of staring at the road ,and traffic.
Yet an other dull ,cool day forcast here ,with possible rain ,so i have been out back already and picked some runner ,and french bean ,yum ,and the broads are not far behind either ,no more bought veggies for a while at least ,apart from tatties ,and cabbage because mine are not ready for a few weeks.
Get yourself down for two weeks in the Cornish Riviera Brenda,our who weeks in a luxury park ,and van have cost us £280 for a full two weeks ,and no flights to pay for ,or worry about the airline going bust,there is a lot to be said in staying in Britain.
The other alternative is coach travel to a resort in Portugal ,or Spain ,lots of nice places to be had over there too.
You could even go to the costa not a lot in sunny [not] Newcastle and stay at the Hotel Fred & Hissy ,free room and board and plenty to see, from the roman Wall to a old herring fishing Village , Cullercoats a few miles away
,that is ,if you can put up with the Geordie ,and Mackum dialects ,which take a lot of getting your head around,i have lived here 40 years ,and i'm still having trouble ,but the people on the whole ,are great ,and mainly friendly[so long as you carry a bit of raw meat ,just in case] he he.
Well ,time to shove off again ,raining a little ,i think i will try growing rice nect year ,lol,Fred.

Hallo one and all. About time I showed my face isn't it?
I now feel quite well thank goodness. I had a nasty week of artrose (hope this is English as well as Dutch) and couldn't move from the pain, but thank goodness it has gone together with the intense hot weather.
Johan has booked us up for another cruise. Not too far just a week up the Rhine in Germany. We have done this many times but always enjoy it and it is a boat which caters for handicapped people. They will put my elastic stockings on for me every day. I do it myself at home, but ok I need a holiday as well!
My plants on the balcony are looking a bit sad with all that heat we had and me not feeling too well to help them. I now have some time so will see if I can revive them because it is only July and I want them to look nice for another couple of months.
Hope to write more next time.Sylvia xxx

goodmorning who sent the wet weather over it was raining at 7am this morning and we are to get thunderstorms later but it seems to be clearing up maybe the weather man is wrong, oh fred I was so pleased to hear that you may pop over to bury I hope that you do like it make sure you go when the market is open, now if you did take the car you could make a quick side trip up to high st walshaw number 82 that is where I used to live a quiet but nice village and the local pub the vic is great as well but anyway I hope you make it and enjoy it maybe brenda could meet you and liz there, nothing much on to-day I may go and get a haircut to-day or to-morrow , brenda hope you start sleeping better and that you find a good trip at a reasonable price, bye for now dorothy

Morning to all ,crickey ,where is the sun these days? it looks like yet another cloudy day ,humph ,and there was i wanting some sun to go round the boot market later this morning ,grrrrr.
It looks like i can go to Bury on the buss Brenda ,so i will be doing that ,and enjoy the scenery on route ,which makes a heck of a change from driving.
Can pensioners use their bus passes on the trams there or are they the same as the trams in Blackpool which are run by a private company ?
Looks like the wife and i will be dining on stuffed marrow one day later in the week ,this courgette is a good size now ,and i can taste the thing already ,yum ,stuffed with a mix of minced beef ,rice and herbs .
Aubergenes Brenda? ,i have never grown ,cooked or eaten them so i can't help you there ,so it looks like a look at a gardening book ,or a look on the net,they don't have any appeal to me as a veggie ,and i don't even like the color ,he he.
The new loungers and matching table for the patio came yesterday,so now ,all we need is some nice ,warming yellow stuff ,that has played hide and seek all year ,lol.
Have to go now ,i have to see my diabetic nurse this morning before going anywhere else ,but i have been a good boy since the telling off i got the last time ,and all my readings are normal ,as was my eye check at the hospital .
Catch you later ,Fred.

Good afternoon all,
I di dnot get back to sleep til half five this morning, ended up sat downstairs with my Horlicks clearing out some old magazines ,will send some to Johns mother and some to my friend.
Ended up having to wake David up when I came back to bed at 5.30,he normally gets up at 5am,he was really late for work,I had thought I had heard him moving about ,but it must have been the cats.They can sound really heavy,more like elephants can cats sometimes.
We are still looking for a holiday in Sept but they are still a bit exspenive so we will hope we find a good deal later ,we are also looking at more places so we should get something.!!
I am making a shepherds pie for tea so will have to go and get it started soon.Enjoy your good weather Dorothy ours is wet again,!!
Brenda

hi brenda glad you got the trainers and are now all ready for the get fit classes, yes the building does have quite a few social things not everyone attends as we have a wide selection of ages young and older.it is a great morning at the moment a lttle on the cool side but going up to 30 later plus humidity si UI am going to go for a wlak while it is cool. lindy is busy getting the three grandkids ready for camp I just slip them some spending money for the tuck shop not that there is a lot to buy other than candy as they are in the wilderness at least I think it is the wilderness two weeks of bathing in the lake does not do it for me. while the children are away andrew and lindy are having the painters in to do the master suite and bathroom they did the childrens rooms last year. they decided not to do the master suite them selves as it goes across the back of the house and has a sitting area so is a bit on the large side plus andrew may have to fly down east. bye for now dorothy

Well here I am one o'clock in the morning and wide awake ,two hours ago I went to bed and count not read as my eyes where so tired!!
But turned the light off and ping ,that little switch went on and I could not get off,if an half hour on Here does not make me tired I will go and have some Horlicks!!
You both seem to have had great weekends,Mine was ok
I got some trainers ,they were 12 pounds and sort of a quilted canvas thing and they are pale blue,but the time of the keep fit class we were going to got moved due to school holidays and it was no good for us or rather my friends ,I am going to check the website to see what it says for the other times in the holidays.
I am so glad you got Neils book Dorothy,it is rather good.,I picked a book up on Saturday ,but am still waiting for 6 others,,Hope your tea party went well,they sound really socialable in your building.Our garden will be water logged soon !!,theres no pleaseing us is there!!!
I am grwoing an aubrenge and don't know what to do with it ,I actually thoiught I had picked up a cucumber plant!!.Any ideasFred,.
Better check that web site,Brenda

good monday morning it is a great morning not too hot and a nice breeze I had a nice afternoon over at the family saw andrew off to ottawa and then spent a fun time with Ian, the rest of the family arrived back from the cottage about 8pm so I headed home. nothing special planned this week I did what fred suggested re the tomato's and I noticed I have a couple more flowers coming along. it was strange going into the house with no rocky to greet me . well seeing it is not too hot I am going to go and have a walk around the property and have a look at the gardens all the flowers are in full bloom bye for now dorothy

Just in from the garden ,and have time to add a few words before dinner bringing the thread to the fore again .lol.
Had a long sit in the garden yesterday ,watching some aircraft to and fro ,from Newcastle airport to the Sunderland air show and saw a few old favorites ,and a couple of new ones ,notably the euro Fighter ,and A raptor as well as a hornet belonging to the Netherlands air force ,i missed a spitfire ,being upstairs having a shave ,but the sound of a single Merlin engine meant ,spit' or hurri' the sound unmistakable from any other piston engine coupled with the supercharger whistle .
Thank goodness the garden is just about up to date now ,only the lawn edges to do out front plus the borders to weed and tidy up,and the greenhouse to tend.
Hope everyone had a good weekend,catch you all later ,Fred.

hi I guess you all are busy brenda I recieved the book from anne yesterday (neil's latest) he really has to get a canadian distributer it cost 2pounds 80 from amazon and then 5pd 67 for postage, anyway anne said instead of sending her the money as I planned she wants me to use it to buy a first birthday gift for isobelle's grandsons birthday in august and this saves her sending something over so that works out well for both of us. I shall put the book on one side till I run out of books from the library well at least I will try it looks interesting, three of the family have gone to the cottage for the week-end lindy and bryan and laura, Ian has a birthday party and sleep over on saturday night so he is staying home with dad I expect they will go golfing weather permitting and then on sunday andrew is off to ottawa on business for the week so I shall go over and spend a few hours with Ian till the rest get home I shall enjoy that time with Ian . at the end of next week it is a holiday week-end and on the monday the kids go to camp laura and Ian for 2 weeks and bryan for a month as he is going to be a leader in training and this is done through three camps. they will meet up with 5 cousins so it is a fun time for them all but differant for bryan this year if he likes it he can do this next year he won't get paid for the first year but the hours count towards the 40 hours needed of community work towrds the high school diploma no hours no diploma even if you get 100%, it is good for the kids to be aware of service in their communities, we used to get a lot of students helping at the hospital it also helps in giving them a tste of what the jobs they may like are really like. well of to do some house work enjoy the week-end bye dorothy

goodmorning from a rainy but pleasant morning in barrie thanks fred I shall take your advice re the tomato plants as soon as I have had the 2nd cup of coffe I actually did not by the plants the family arrived with the three big pots so there are 3 varietys, I had a great morning yesterday at the library came home with the 4 I had ordereded and 6 others that were on the new arrivals shelf sometimes I think that they tell fibs re that shelf!!! then poped in to the grocery store then was brought home, as this is friday it is the afternoon tea so I shall go to that and catch up on all the gossip in the building !!!! it is a friend of mines turn to take the goodies and she was baking a cake this am, bye for now dorothy

Just a quick message this time as I need to go and see if I can get some trainers,as I am going to (hopefully)join a keep fit class on Monday ,should have been today,but only realised I needed trainers late on Wednesday and couldn't go Thursday with waiting in for the gas man etc I did not have time. I have really broad feet and have problems getting good quality shoes at a reasonable price as it is.!!
Will let you know how I get on,Brenda

Morning again all ,up real early this morning [4 am] because the furry pest woke me up by doing arobics on my chest grrrrrrrr ,so i thought i might as well get up.
I was outside on the patio by 5 with my cup of coffee sat on my usual seat ,watching my breath in the morning air ,cold or what? July ? ,more like an early October morning he he,but never mind ,so far there are no clouds in the sky and it looks promising.
Yesterday was a washout in the true sense of the word ,by the time i got the cutter out and turned to get the power lead connected in the greenhouse,the drizzle started ,[where's that ruddy lass on the tele' who promised a dry but cloudy day, she needs to get a new job ,lol,one where she dosn't tell lies in public [mutter ,grumble] .
Well ,i suppose i will have to do it this morning before we go shopping ,leaving the clearing up until i get back .
If your plants are a decent height Dorothy ,i would nip the tops out to force them to grow side shoots ,and produce more flowers hence more fruit ,i would also suggest changing the variety next year ,as the ones you have in sound a bit iffy to me ,some varieties don't do too well in some areas ,where others will.Try a good feed too,that may help a little
My big ones ,this year are not doing too well either ,but it may be the season here with the temperatures going up and down like a yo yo,maybe i should grow those next year ,lol,i think i will go back to Ailsa Craig though ,i grew them for years ,and no matter what the season was like ,they always did me proud.
I will look up that website Brenda ,sounds interesting ,and well worth a look ,until i can get to see the real thing.
I do enjoy my garden ,yes ,even these days where the poor old bones slow me down a lot ,and i have to sit down for a while every few minutes ,lol, it beats mooching about getting on the wifes nerves ,he he ,and safer for me too keeps me out of her way ,and stops my back siezing up.
Crickey ,i would undercut that gardener,what a lazy git he sounds,£20 an HOUR is the going rate not 40 minutes ,and old as i am getting i can still cut my big lawn ,trim the edges ,and weed the borders in under an hour,your friend needs a new odd job man and sack the other perisher ,that's a good screw is that ,six gardens a day,at £20 a shot ,cor ,i wish ,better than forty five years doing factory work any day.
My runnerbean are all over the side of the greenhouse now ,scarlet flowers everywhere ,looks like a bumper crop this year ,i may land up selling some to the local shop after i put a load down in the freezer ,amazing what you can do in a very small garden area with a little planning,i must take a couple of pics for you two and send them over the net ,he he ,you could even show one to the wannabe gardener and tell him to do some REAL gardening he he.
Think i will put in a few more big canes this autumn and use them next year to try these climbing fench bean ,sounds like i could have more of them than i get now ,using these new bean plants rather than the old dwarf ones ,even more crops using the same amount of ground sounds just the ticket to me.
Hope this weather will last till past this weekend ,we have the grandson for three days ,and he ,like me .loves his B B Q's and i have some lovely spiced snags in the freezer begging to be used ,they ,and the pork and apple burgers will go well in some halved pitta breads,along with some salad stuffed in them ,under the burgers.
Well time for a look round the boards before i go out and attack the hedging ,he he ,the waste rubbish men are going to love me this coming Tuesday when they come to compost it ,lol the bin will weigh about 60 kilos by the time they come to lift it,they will have earned their crate of Christmas lager come December .
Catch you later Peeps ,Fred.

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hi one and all it is going to be another hot and sunny day to-day so I will go out early to the library as they have 4 new books in for me a new quintin jardine and a new john gresham , jeffrey deaver and I forget the 4th. yes it was sad about rocky but you are right fred he was well loved and gave us love in return the three grandchildren are still upset, as for another dog I think that lindy and andrew will take some time to decide lindy says no at the moment as she thinks the kids are getting older and will be moving on into uni etc but as I know that is ot for a while I bet they do get another dog and it will be a rescue dog. good news for me I have an appointment on august 18th in toronto at 1-45 with the brain specialist so I am very pleased about that. fred my 3 tomato plants have come to a standstill no further tomato's the leaves are green and growing up the wire cages but no flowers and the tomato's that are on are not growing in size any suggestions, but at least my black thumb has not killed them they get lots of sun but being on the 11th floor I do get strong winds. brenda glad you went to bury I love to hear that and I do think that fred would like the market. our ontario produce is hitting the supermarkets big time with the good weather we have had the crops are coing in sooner and everthing taste's so good bye for now dorothy

Hi Everyone,was a nice morning for about an hour earlier on,but since then its been coming down in bucket fulls.
Sat in at home waiting for the gas man to service the boiler,wanted to go and get some trainers as I am supposed to join the gym with my friend tomorrow!!Miight have to just go to the swimming,.
You will enjoy Bury Fred it has a website for the market,I am sure you will like it
Have just done Johns car insurance for another year,he can not do with all the palaver as he puts it,but he could not get them on the phone and that does his head in as well!!
You make all your gardening sound quite pleasurable Fred,even the hard bits
We where watching the Gardneer that works at my friends house and some of her neighbours the other day ,he trimmed the lawns by the side of the paths etc,mowed the lawns and we thought he would weed ,but no he packed up and went on to the next and that was twenty pound s for 40 mins work !! John wondered if he could under cut him a fe wtimes
Brenda

Mornin' girls ,hoping for a better day today so that i can get the privit hedging cut back ,it gave me one hell of a shock ,coming back off holiday to find the son never did it for me as promised [lazy git that he is] or maybe he just forgot ,seeing as he has a memory like a sieve ,lol.
The way it looks at the moment it's out with the heavy cutter ,some of the twigs are more like branches ,he he ,i think it will take me over an hour just to trim the inside [sighs] and here was i hoping to get straight on with the weeding too.
One of these trips Brenda ,i will go into Bury for a look see ,as i have never in my life been ,and you make it sound so nice ,and markets are always a pull to me
The courgette i left on the plant to grow to stuffing size for a dinner is nearly there ,and at last i have cucumbers ready as well ,so it looks like i have no need to buy salad stuff for a while.
I was sent a do and don't to do with onions last night which i have passed on to a good few people ,seems cut onion ,not used straight away becomes loaded with bacteria and can poison people,so i ,for one will be buying smaller onions in future ,and will be binning any left overs that are raw .
Glad to hear that your recall turned out to be a false alarm Dorothy ,but ,as they say ,better safe than sorry,and at least ,my mums recall years ago meant they caught the cancer in time to cut it out ,and put her in the clear .
Sorry to hear about your Rocky Dorothy ,but the dog had a good life ,was well loved and loved you all in return ,so at least one dog ,was not left in a shelter where he had no family to love .
I always found the best thing to do ,was rescue another pet to give it a loving home ,it always seemed to help my sister and me .
Well ,it's time to go and start that perishing hedge ,he he ,it might be a good idea to put my camo' jacket and tin hat on in case i find any jap soldiers hiding there , yeah ,believe me ,it's that bad ,[groans before i even get the cutter out of the shed] lol.
catch you later Fred.

After a wet and miserable start its turned into a really nice day here.
Managed to get up to Bury today went on the tram and met my friends there.Had a walk round the market ,will do the new Rock shopping center another day ,probabaly when its not Market day everywhere was mad.
hope the recall checks go ok Dorothy,had a few of those myself.
At home now and just going back to my friends,she does not have a printer and wanted to print off some stuff
See you all tomorrow
Brenda