General Chat

Morning all. weather dry and cold and grey again here,but as long as it is mainly dry as I am out and about ,then i am a happy bunny,
Going to do a bit of clothes shopping with my friend today ,and then with my sister tomorrow.!!
Hope you are all ok.my leg is still painful ,but managable at the moment hope its not going to get any worse,especially as we go away two weeks tomorrow (not that we are counting)!!!!
Have been to the doctors again but all I got was pain killers,so have to wait till my next hospital appointment ,which is after my holidays.Have phoned to see if I can bring it forward ,but no luck..so hope the sunshine will help/
Need to get on with some house work before I go out.
Take care Brenda

Hi Fred and everyone else.Glad Liz had a good report from the hospital,you aren't half looking after her!!!!
Wet and miserable here today ,not sure if it will brighten up or not, did not catch the weather report this morning.
Have a few jobs in the house to do,and the carpet of leaves in the garden needs sweeping up and put in the compst ,we have our own and one that the council take away,so the next dry day ,that needs to be done,John will then stack all the empty tubs and trougths in a corner of the garden and put the ones with shrubs in ,in the other corner to protect them (hopefully)
My meal out with my friends was abit of a shambles,they had changed the menu,and had new staff who althougth polite etc had no idea what to do...
Hope they are trained by the time we go in December..
take care brendaxx

Morning to all,rather a wet morning so far but it reckons to dry out a bit by mid morning,which will give me the chance to finish in the garden.
I managed to get all the roses in the back pruned and got the wife' s bushes out front done ,so all that's left to do is a little hoe work in the borders,and the ;lawn edges trimmed before the snow hits us ,which i reckon won't be very long now.
The wife did well at the hospital yesterday ,the specialist was pleased that ,so far this year is holding her own and he is happy to move the appointment to one a year,with the proviso that if any change occurs that she get in touch straight away,which has pleased us both no end. :-D.
Got those wraps to make for dinner today ,as we were too late in from the hospital last evening to set about making them,so we have some nice chicken wraps to look forward to .
Going to get cracking now ,two days housework to be getting on with [grumbles under breath ] he he.
Catch you all later ,Fred,xx :-D.

Afternoon fred ,and anyone else having a look in.
It started out a nice day her and then about a half hour a go it started to rain it was really heavy for about twenty minutes or so,but has stopped now,still plenty in that grey sky we now have.!!
Just having a bit of a lazy afternoon,cooked a roast chicken yesterday and will have it col d later with a baked potato and salad or may be some mushrooms and tomatos.
Tea will be a tuna or ham sandwich with water cress and tomato and perhaps a mince pie or two for John and abowl ofstrawberries for me.!!!
Went to visit John mum earlier,they are doing fine.They had watched the rememberance service and it always gets her in a very melonchlic mood to say the least.
Have the electric people coming to put a new meter in tomorrow ,need to up and ready by 8am as they are coming between 8 -12am !!!!
Going out with my friends for one of their birthdays ,so hope John is home early from golf in case they are not her or finished. by the time i need to leave.which is about 11.30.an
Hope its all good news tomorrow for LIz and yourseld Fred.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
take care Brenda

Good morning one and all ,plurry cold here laast night ,but we are in to a nice sunny day [so far] so i may get out into the garden later ,after i have put the dinner in ,and dead head the roses,and the other big bush[Hydrangea ]before it rains again.
Dinner today is butterfly stuffed chicken breasts with chive and cheese, [Philli] with roast Apache potato's ,roast parsnip.sweet peppers and onion,with steamed green beans ,and asparagus ,with onion gravy.
I am doing this early to do a Sunday tea later this afternoon ,egg mayo with watercress sarnies ,with a few odds and ends such as cheese straws ,fruit buns along with a nice cuppa. :-).
Hope the hubby enjoyed his golf Brenda ,a little too parky for me i,m afraid ,lol,i am getting to be a bit of a wimp these days,and can't take the heat ,or the cold very well.
Have to take the missus for her check at the hospital tomorrow afternoon ,to see if any further treatment for the chest is needed,but thankfully this year we havn't even had the snuffles after the flu jab ,can't be bad.
Hope everyone is enjoying a lazy weekend in the warm ,catch you later ,Fred ,hissy And the two legged boss lady . :-D xx

Evening Fred ,Liz and John,,its been dry here again today and John did get out today ,but the ground was really heavy,he says anymore rain and it will not dry out till next Easter.!!!
Got to town and got a few bits and pieces,and met my mates had ayuna panini ,well half of the panini as it was very filling.
You always seem so organized Fred.,I have lots of good intentions !!
John is watching United on tv tonight so I need to find something to do.
Have not done much research for ages need to get cracking or my membership to Ancestry will be a waste of money.
Take care Brenda xx

Morning Brenda and John ,as well as anyone else who looks in,from a pretty breezy but sunny [at the moment] where my missus is frantic.trying to get the washing out on the line . :-).
I did say do you want a hand but she said no thanks ,and i am not going to push her to accept when she seems to be in good fettle this morning .
Glad to hear that you enjoyed that pastry Brenda ,a little of what you fancy does you good once in a while,even if it's bad for a diet ,you know .if you only do it once or twice a month ,it should make no difference ;-).
Yep i can see where John gets annoyed when he can't get out on the golf course when it's ,sunny because the ground is sopping wet ,and i can feel for him because i am in the same boat ,with the garden being unable to cut the lawns and hedges ,and can't get near the soil with a fork or hoe to even get weeds out,what a bummer.
Got most of our Christmas shopping finished yesterday ,and that's all the presents in that we can think of.
i have pulled the two big beef joints out of the freezer ,and they are in the oven thawing out ready to start on .i get them cooked around now .slice them and put them back in the freezer in bags until they are needed ,saves sooooo much time over the festive season,much less cooking then apart from the veggies.
I will be starting the corning tomorrow ,a two week process .which means storing the meat in the fridge as the meat matures,again ,you don't want all that meat in a freezer in the week leading up to the big day ,lol ;-).
The Duck breast we found yesterday at Sainsbury's was a find an a half as well ,a whole £5 and some size ,a case of being in the shop at the right time,so all we need now is a Goose Crown,and a Turkey ,the turkey ,the whole bird ,the only one cooked on the day ,and the legs broken down into pieces for curries ,the wings i like to nibble on :-D.
The three bird roast we will cook up when the grandson comes up mid month before he goes out via North Shields ferry port on the way to Germany and his new camp for three years,we can't have him going out there without his home cooked Christmas dinner can we ?
time to get on with some work now ,and then some family research ,seeing as i have just found some info on the founder of of our Rowan branch ,an old email off another family member who found some siblings of Andrew in the late 1700s who moved to Australia ,so that's me more than happy withe the link to Oz and New Zealand i have been looking for :-D.
Catch you later peeps,take care ,Fred,The missus and The Furry one who is happy this morning after i cooked her up some cod for today's meals.only the best for our puddy tat..xxx :-)

I used to think Bon fire night was just November 5th ,these days it seems to last
about two weeks!! how people afford to pay the prices for the fire works to be able to let them off every night I do not know!!!
My sisters poor dog is going to have a nervous break down if the keep letting the fire works off near her.
This weather is not doing much good for Johns golfing,even when its not been rainingy the ground has been so wet its been too heavy going to get round the course without nearly causing pulled muscles/
Should be going shopping in town with two friends tomorrow,looking for a few bits for my holidays.
Hope everyone is ok and keeping warm.
Brenda x

Afternoon fred ,Liz and John and any one else peeping in.
Just back from visiting my friend whose birthday it is today
Had anice chat and a cuppa and a naughty danish pastry !!
The diet has taken a bit of abattering this weekend as I had a
white bap with my bacon,which was my treat ,then had the danish !!
Will not be loosing much this week/
Hope you got all your shopping today Fred and enjoy your little buffet.
Sorry about your veggies get the frost ,it is getting colder,even John has said he is feeling it.
Better go and getsome ironing done.
take care Brenda x

Morning to Brenda ,john,and anyone else who looks in. :-).
We have a widespread frost this morning ,and going outside to the greenhouse at 8 am i noticed that the guage was reading -4c ,so that's my brussels well and truly frosted,lol and the parsnip and leeks ,carrots too.
I am going out later this morning to Aldi ,for a few nibbles for tea,like little frozen ,chicken portions ,some little egg portions ,covered with sausage meat and breadcrumbs[cant think of the name of them ,lol,old age is creeping up on me],and a few mini pork pies ,the Sunday tea sort of stuff to save cooking twice on Sunday. ;-).
It's to Morrison's on the way home to buy a seeded batch loaf ,and look out for two largish pieces of beef for corning ,yes folks ,it's that time of year again .he he ,i may also cheat by buying a couple of slices of turkey breast to go with the sliced pork i have taken out of the freezer for the dinner.all i have still to do for that is make a small batch of stuffing ,maybe parsley and thyme for a change.
Time to get ready to go now anyway ,my car ,being diesel needs to be warmed up in these temperatures ,because the engine is easily damaged if you pull away with a cold engine.
Have a nice Sunday all ,and keep warm :-D Fred.xx

Evening all,I am glad you have finally got your knee sorted John and will be reunited with your son and daughter in law soon.
Fred ,glad you and Liz are like two bugs in a rug.(snug) now with the insalation
and thicker duvets.
You would not have thought there was a receseion ,judging by the number of people in town yesterday and the bags they where all carrying!!
And at the supemarket today there were some baskets piled high .unless they
are stocking up for the winter!!
Hoping to get to Bury tomorrow ,have to go early,as we need to be home by 12/15
,seems there isa football match on !!
Hoping to get a few more christmas presents and some birthday cards.
Might get lucky with a bargain or two on the food market.Can't go near the cheese stall,have to cut it right down on the diet.
When John is watching the match I am off to the library,they have a couple of books for me/

hope you all have a good weekend ,take care Brenda

afternoon to everyone who looks in,from a damp chilly north east of England.where we have just changed to a heavier tog duvet,to combat the colder weather ,don't somehow think we will be getting an indian summer this year,lol.
We have been down to the metro centre this morning ,and boy ,for a bairns holiday ,is it quiet ,easy to see that money is tight these days ,with the crowds of yore gone,and many of the stores have gone ,if this keeps up ,the centre will be in real trouble :-0.
The usual snuffles are in the house after the flu jab ,but that is far better than the flu itself and normally passes off quite quickly :-).
The loft has been seen to as well so we should be nice and snug no matter what up here on the top of the valley ,better wind and rain than flooding rivers anyway.
nothing on tomorrow ,so it looks like a lazy day ,late to rise if the cat will leave us in peace ,lol and plenty of time for emails and playing games.
be back tomorrow peoples ,take care and be safe,where ever you are,Fred :-Dxx

Afternoon, 1 November and in two months 2013 will be here. :-)

I have had quite an eventful week flying from New Plymouth to Auckland to have repairs at the limb centre. Early morning flights are usually parked up the previous evening this wasn't possible on Sunday night due to fog meaning the first flight on Monday morning was cancelled. :-0 All the passengers were placed on the early flight to Wellington and then flown from there to Auckland. This change meant my limb centre appointment was delayed by three hours. I eventually arrived and then tried out my new knee before a new cover could be made and that takes at least 24 hours or so. Wednesday morning I retrieved my leg and flew home later that day. Thankfully no flight cancellations this time. Its great not having my leg creaking and giving out all the time. As there no family in Auckland I stayed at motel near the limb centre and the friends I knew were either busy or had illness.
The honeymooners fly back on Friday and it will be great to see them back.
Take care, John :-)

Evening all.hope you have all had a good halloween.
Hope too that all your errands have been done and you have managed
your duvet ,book and hot cocoa night ????
Had a visit from my sister and her daughters with their beautiful daugthers ,it was a lovely hour or two/
Going to meet my friend tomorrow,hoping to get a couple more christmas pressies,have a cuppa and a chat.
Hope yo are ok after all your treatments Fred/
Take care Brenda xx

Evening all.hope you have all had a good halloween.
Hope too that all your errands have been done and you have managed
your duvet ,book and hot cocoa night ????
Had a visit from my sister and her daughters with their beautiful daugthers ,it was a lovely hour or two/
Going to meet my friend tomorrow,hoping to get a couple more christmas pressies,have a cuppa and a chat.
Hope yo are ok after all your treatments Fred/
Take care Brenda xx

Evening all ,yep Fred is home ,feet and flu injection done ,plus a few batteries for the fresh air squirters he he ,managed to find some multi packs in Asda which should last a long time,and help to keep the house smelling nicely [he says hopefully] ;-).
Nothing on tomorrow so io can crack on with the housework and whatever ,but Wednesday will be a busy one ,with the loft getting finished off ,some one coming out about a claim with an insurance company.
managed to get away on my own for half an hour earlier in the Day and found my missus her main chrissy present ,an H D 32 gig Kindle fire that shows films in colour with stereo sound and is enabled to go on the web to do emails and browse ,as well as doing the usual e books.
I thought this would do her well for those days when she is off colour and stuck in bed ,and much lighter than having a pc stuck across the bed ,and with an 11 hour battery life it should serve her well :-D.
We both fancy some cereal for tea as neither of us are very hungry and have half a cheesecake for pudding anyway.
tomorrow for dinner i am going to make a au gratin dish with chopped up well browned bacon ,potato pastas ,some diced carrot and peas ,a nice cheese sauce and a few herbs,finished off with thin sliced potato layered on top and a little parmesan .
Being crafty this time ,using small gratin dishes ,one apiece so that i can put some garlic in mine ,the wife hates it but i love it on most dishes ;-).
Time i was off to shut all the window blinds and curtains to keep some of the warmth in,so i will say goodnight ,and catch you tomorrow.
Take care all ,Fred ,The furry pest and the Missus xx. :-D.

Morning folks.,weather wet and cold again today,Not doing much ,catching up on ironing.Just have to go to post office to send a card to Oz.
Suppose i will have to start on the christmas cards soon,want to get them sorted ,if not posted before we go away.!! Four weeks and counting YEH !!!!
Hope everyone had a good weekend, I think Fred has medical appointments today ,hope all goes well.
takecare Brenda

Evening all.Sorry to hear your news about the headstone John ,but pleased to hear the honeymoon is going well.I managed to get to the Gold coast a few years ago when I was visiting my friends in Melbourne/Really enjoyed it.The funny thing was ,if you can call it funny ,is that we went by car and part of thr route was flooded,
it was really frightening driving down a road not a building in sight when this water is rushing across the fields etc straight towards you!!! luckily it was not deep but it scared us !!!
Just had visiters,my neice and her family little Amelia is 2 and a half and was getting really tired and starting to get cross as they were leaving.!!! You forget how they can get tetchy so easily.
Fred is right about the weather,its been freezing here today but sunny.further north its been snowing!!!
Hope the weather picks up for you John,and you do not loose any more roads down there.
Take care Brenda

morning John ,wow ,sounds like you are into spring just like ours turned out to be ,lower than normal temperatures ,not a lot of sunshine and tons of rain ,extending right over the summer [joke] into fall .
We are now into an early winter and are expecting our first snow a month early up here in the north.
Sorry to hear that the debacle with the headstone is still waiting to be sorted out ,it seems to take the powers that be all over the world to get themselves sorted out these days ,lol.
Instead of the promised quicker e,paper work that was promised ,the old days of phone calls and letters was far quicker as it turns out,some things have NOT improved over the years.
Just spent an hour in the greenhouse ,the cold nipping at my bare knees and arms ,cleaning out the old pepper plants ,clearing the shelving ,and laying out my onion harvest to get the air between the bulbs.looks like io wont be buying onions until early March :-).
Wednesday next week sees us getting the extra layer of insulation put into the loft,before the winter proper gets to us,and Monday is set to be very busy ,my feet done at the clinic in the morning ,and the flu jab in the afternoon,so i think that will be an early night,into the warm with the good book ,and a cup of chocolate as a consolation ,snuggled down under the duvet.
The sun is showing it's watery face here ,and the northerly wind is at last picking up ,so i am away to put the washing on the line. :-D.
Catch you all later ,Fred

Hi everyone - I am looking in after renewing for another year, I had given some thought not to do but decided its worth staying about for awhile longer. The honeymooners are enjoying themselves on the Gold Coast - Australia seems so far away. I didn't get a real cheap flight but still got tickets so I can get a my leg fixed, one thing it doesn't involve a surgeon's knife. Thankfully I am entitled to refunds to the limb centre. :-)
The headstone saga continues but nothing will be done until my son is back - and then it will be ordered and set in place with the ashes being interred a little later.
Brenda you mentioned the weather being dry and getting colder - down here in NZ its meant to be getting warmer and dryer days but heavy rains is getting annoying with floods and slips in parts of the country. Fiordland in the South Island recently saw the only access road to Milford Sounds blocked by huge boulders and rocks which had to be blown-up. A similar type in the North Island some six months ago caused havoc for motorists and is still not completely cleared away. All caused by heavy rains. :-0
Looking at the time its 11.23am on a Friday I think I better prepare something to eat as I am being picked up at 1pm as I joining a group from church for fellowship with residents in a rest home.
Take care one and all. John :-)