General Chat

Hi all,well Fred i think we could both do with listening more to what our bodies tell us.!! I really am goig to finish work in the new year ,probably march near my birthday,its taking me ages to do my housework these days ,might be because I am not as regular as I was as I do not have set days to do things.due to my shifts.But after my last holiday i know I do not want to caryy on much longer.It might even be earlier if I feel I have had enougth with one thing and another.
Am working tonight at 4-8pm do not like this shift ,but don't get many so can not complain as some get two a week.
Lot of rain here again ,did have a bit of a blue sky but also had thunder and lightening and a real downpour just before lunch.
Might not get on tomorrow as working 9am-5pm then might do the shopping!!
Brenda

goodmorning and it is a rainy day but the gardens will love it you had better rest up fred I agree it is not easy not being able to do as much as we think we can, yes it will be good to have my little family home again actually fred they are just 7 minutes away by car on the other side of town. this is thier last day in paris and I believe it is a bit rainy but I am sure they won't mind to muchthe trip home will be a little tiring as they leave for the airport at 7-30 am paris time(1-30 am my time) the pane leaves at 11-30 am paris time and gets to montreal at 1-15pm my time (7-15 paris time) then they leave montreal at 5-30pm my time and arrive at toronto at 6-48 my time which will be 12-45am paris time so by the time they get to barrie it will be about 9-30 time (3-30 am paris time ) so a long day hope I did not bore you all with that I guess I am just so pleased to have them home. I had my 2nd phone line installed yesterday and the chap was early and even explained the hook up of the fax machine .so it is of tot he office for a little while this am and then over to the house to do the last of my laundry the big stuff that is the washing machines in the building are ok but not for the big duvet's etc. take it easy with the gardening fred bye for now dorothy

Good morning everyone,a better day is in the offing and so ,i am sat here having had my elevenses of a cuppa,and 2 biccies,shorts on ,awaiting the promised sun but so far it's 18c, cloudy and a bit windy ,fair weather for march ,but this is July, weather of lovely blue skies and scorching temperatures ,[not],and on the promise of today ,burgers and sausages out for a two person B B Q but it looks as though the indoor one will be used again.[sulks]
The cat is on her best behavior this morning and is ,in fact upside down on the sofa,legs stretched out and i can hear her purring from halfway across the room,though wether that is because she has just finished her breakfast of fish and crunchies or just contentment i don't know .
Another lazy day is called for seeing as i seem to have pulled a muscle in the shoulder yesterday while trimming the full length of the front hedges without a sit down,so i think you may well be right Edith when you say it's time to slow down a little ,something i keep telling Our Brenda to do ,sigh,i suppose none of us are willing to accept that we are no longer spring chickens,but after a lifetime of being active ,it isn't easy .
The missus is sat here looking at a cookery book ,full of recipes for two people meals ,so ,it looks like i am getting the day off cooking duties,great ,this means a bit of dusting and i'm done for the day apart from a little washing up,because all the floors were done yesterday before we went out.
It will be lovely for you having part of your family home again Dorothy even if they arn't close to hand ,at least you can be within reasonable travelling distance,which will be far better than half the way round the world apart, i had more than enough of that while in the forces,and still now ,with the oldest grandson away in Cyprus ,and soon to be Germany ,we think...
Have a good day all ,and enjoy the coming weekend ,Fred,

Good eveing all,its not so good here ,very wet and miserable again.But not too chilly.
You are right Dorothy about the toilet and all those people .we went to a wedding a few years ago and all stayed over night at a cousins house ,all the kids in sleeping bags in one room,three couples,two in the other two bed rooms and and one in the living room in put u up.That was ok but the couple of hours next day when trying to get to the loo ,have a wash ,breakfast etc was crazy.It was a wonder nothing broke on us then,
HAve some ironing to do and then watch WHo do you thing you are.
Read in the paper that Micheal Parkinsons family are apparently too boring to have on the tv programme.!!!
Take care ,Brenda

goodmorning thanks fred for my morning laugh that cat of yours is really very special though I am sure liz could have done without the present on the bed hope your back recovers, sorry about the weather brenda but it is headed our way overnight wed through thursday, this morning is not bad its almost 8am and about 69 and climbing,yes the little job is going well you can be as busy as you want I don't want more than 20hrs a week so to-day I will be figuring out the fax machine. I heard from lindys sister yesterday who live not far from me the other sister had phoned from england with an update on my family, apparently they had a great time in england but on the way over Ian and lindy were sick on the plane lindy has not had that problem before, and then during the stay the toilet broke, the shower broke and the car blew up!!! a right comedy of errors mindyou 4 adults and six children no wonder the bathroom had a problem and the morning that they took the ferry there was a bad storm so they should have lots to tell me whne they are home, the sister in england and her family are moning back to canada a week on thursday after 16yrs of being away in africa and the last 4 yrs in england they are going to be living in ottawa, she works for the united nations via ottawa and he has a new job in canada both of them have always worked with people in need around the world, setting them up in business's and marielle works with women who need any kind of health issues and education. well time to hit the shower and do a little phoning and then wait for the telephone guy to come and later I shall pop over to the house and check on the garden and stock up the fridge with a few things bye for now dorothy

Hi all,glad everyone seems to be ok,
I am sure your grandaughter will be in her own place soon,Kathleen,
John really hope Gayle gets everything done and her treamant sort ed in Aug ,like you say theres always someone worse of.!!! but it really could be better.
Dorothy its really wet and miserable here again,hope Anne had a good time at the Trafford centre,its not a place I am keen on,but all the family and mt friend like it Glad the job is coming on ok.Because we work with children we have to be vetted and have it done every so many years and Mine is due to be renewed next month.Wish the kids had to be vetted to use the library ,half would not get in.!!
Fred you cat sounds just like mine ,and we have two cats (twice the fun)???.
Working tomorrow morning and then looking in estate agents as we will have to put dads house on the market as my neice can not get a mortgage.
Have to get back tothe ironing now.see you tomorrow,Brenda

Good afternoon to all,1-30 pm ,and i'm knackered already thanks to the cat grrrrrrr..
I came downstairs as usual this morning and made my cuppa as usual and went to sit on the patio to enjoy it.
As i got to the half empty stage ,i heard the bin wagon pull up out front,so i put my cup down on the table ,opened the gate and walked round the front of the house to bring the bin in.
The cat went in to the kitchen through the open door while i was out front and that was when the fun started.
I came back through to the back garden ,sat back down and started drinking my tea ,again,lol.the rest of the cup went down my front as i heard a shriek from the missus from the bedroom.
I shot into the kitchen coming to an ubrupt halt at the sight of feathers from one end of the kitchen and dining room to the other,going into the hall ditto,all the way upstairs ,the same ,and as i got to the bedroom door the cat shot out.
When i walked in ,there were a few feathers ion the floor ,but the missus was sat up in bed ,and the oven ready sparrow was laying on the bed, [a present i reckon] for the wife who was NOT amused .not one feather left on the bird at all .
I reckon i could get that ruddy cat a job at the butchers plucking the chickens ,but mind ,there were no breaks in the skin that i could see.
There was nothing else for it ,my morning puter time was up the swanny,he he,it was out with the hoover and every floor ,and room in the house cleaned and cleared up ,three hours in total.
I never knew there were so many featherson a small bird ,which may be why the cat did such a thougher job ,the little b****r must have counted them one by one ,lol
I would rather it had been a mouse ,but ,there you go,she is no different to any other cat ,and the sparrow was just too slow.
As of now though ,when i move away from the table in future ,no matter what for ,the kitchen door gets closed].
Hope every one is okay ,and coping with everything that life throws at them,i am now going for a lie down as my back is playing hell ,he he ,the cat is still in hiding somewhere ,she must know she isn't flavour of the month .
Catch you all later.Fred.

goodmorning kathleen those awful forest fires are in british columbia at the other end of the country from me a very beautiful province, glad to hear from john and hopefully things will work out soon for his wife. another hot sunny but humid day in the making but I shall enjoy it anyway so much better than the white stuff and the sunrises are so beautiful it is worth gettingup early to watch them. I am starting to think of new places to take anne when she visits in sept we have done many of the areas around toronto and niagra and further up north to the different lake area's I like to be able to get to them and back in a day not more than 400 miles I enjoy driving but as we get a bit older it is a bit tiring. as she has met so many of my friends and family there will be many dinner and lunch invites so that will be fun and of course she will get to see isobelle's new grand baby well time to get on with a bit of house work and then to sit down and figure out where to put the fax machine in the office room(third bedroom) and how to work it bye for now dorothy

Good morning all. Nice to see you John, I have been wondering how Gayle was getting on with her treatment. It seems to be taking forever but I guess these things cannot be rushed, hopefully things will go smoothly after her next appointment.
Weather here is wet and breezy, frequent showers so you have to take a chance and nip to the local shops hoping to get home again before the next shower.
Dorothy, it will be interesting to hear how your new job goes. You will probably find it all comes back once you read the instructions for the fax machine - a bit like riding a bike, you never really forget how to do it.
I saw something about forest fires in Canada, dry weather and wind causing them to spread but didn't see which area was affected.
Brenda, I remember reading about your brothers g.daughter being born - was that really a year ago !! How time flies, it doesn't seem that long since my brother died but that is almost a year ago.
Fred, six weeks in the sun sounds like heaven - who will look after your garden while you are away? I will be at my daughters for three weeks end of August into September and I can almost guarantee that watering will be forgotten if I don't stick a large notice on the fridge door as a reminder.
Where is Sylvia? Hope she and Johan are ok.
Two days ago did an online "how old is your brain" test - seems my brain is aging faster than my body - don'[t believe it as my recent Mensa test still came out as IQ 125. True that is down a bit but still not bad.

It's raining hard now - still have to go and water the pots, somehow they either get full of water and the plants drown or it misses them completely and they die of thirst - can't win......

Take care, have a good day
Love
Kathleen

Good afternoon, have you missed my presence on F&NW v2? LOL! Possibility you've have notice, the past few weeks have been quite hectic - filling in for one of the other volunteers who had doctor's appointment and while they were away on a break. Gayle still hasn't heard when the fistula will redone was meant to see the specialist on 15 July but that was cancelled as he was sick. Her next appointment is mid August so we hopefully will know what will happened then. My sister-in-law was telling Gayle about someone living near her, that he is on dialysis and that the fistula had to be done twice as the first one had failed. No use complaining when you hear that it happens to others.
The weather these days is unpredictable - forecasters says there is rain but then its the opposite a sunny day and then the opposite happens. Its a case if wearing a rain jacket every day.
Till next time take care. John

hi everybody I have had an interesting day I went into the charity office this am and picked up my fax machine and have arranged for the seperate phone line to be put in on wednesday so that will get things set up I am going to have to read the instructions on the fax machine it has been a while since I have operated one. we had a lovely sunny day to-day and I spent quite a bit of time over at andrews on the deck though I did not go into the swimming pool I don't like to swim alone I don't think it is safe to do that I just read a book I had googled the flat they are staying in in paris it is very close to many tourist sights I hope they are having fun, I found a tee shirt for ian to-day it has a picture of a guitar on the front I thought he might like that well I am going to make a coffe and watch a bit of tele I hope you all are well bye for now dorothy

Evening all ,,i have been a little busy for a few days on my family research ,but i have now finished for the minute ,thank goodness.
I think the robin only lives a couple of years Kathleen ,but they are very territorial passing on their patches to their offspring ,so that little one you rescued was more than likely the one that is around now.
The snails you are on about ,are more than likely the French edible variety,so round them up and sell them to a local eatery he he.
I wouldn't use salt on them anyway too much and you will poison the soil,use the new slug pellets that are harmless to pets or birds.or ,if you can get it ,soot molluscs steer well clear of rough sand or soot they can't pass through it easily ,if at all.
The family will soon be home Dorothy ,and things will be back to normal ,and the weather should improve for you too ,and that will be welcome ,i'm sure.
10 Weeks today and we will be approaching Larnica airport ,wahey ,bring it on lol.we are really looking forward to it now ,six lovely weeks in the sun,no need for overcoats or a brolly .
Hope all you over in the west country are okay ,the son said the flooding was pretty bad around Blackpool ,but it didn't stop the family getting out.
I may even go for a week or too in the winter,it seems that Farmer Parr over the road from cala gran lets out cabins all the year round,and i quite fancy a quiet Christmas away from home ,with just the missus and my laptop ,nice and peaceful.
Well ,off into the garden for half an hour ,see you tomorrow all ,hope everyone had a nice weekend ,Fred.

goodmorning from a very overcast day in barrie kathleen I loved the story about the robin sorry things are so slow with the flat your plants sound interesting I also am having trouble with the tomatoes high winds in the last few evenings have blown them around the balcony and I think that they are quite bruised but I shall keep hoping that they do well, nothing much new over here i have been keeping an eye on the family home I was sitting here this am thinking about them doing the sights in paris this morning I so miss the children. have been watching the golf from scotland what beautiful county side and to think I was born in perth but left at the age of 9 days I have never been back.well I am going to give anne a ring in bury shortly she was going clothes shopping yesterday perhaps to the traffor centre with her daughter bye for now dorothy

Good afternoon all, a warmish day, sunny spells but light showers forecast, it looks bright enough at the moment though quite a lot of cloud around.

Did a bit of tidying up outside yesterday, my tomatoes are not doing too well but may pick up if the weather improves. I bought a tray of plants from our local charity shop, not named so no idea what they are. Have just one that I know is Gardeners Delight, they are all outside some in gro-bags and some just in the ground - I think about 15 plants in all. IF they produce fruit we should be able to supply the whole street!!!

I have lost a few of my container plants - drowned poor things - but my one hanging basket is doing quite well. Going to cut down the clematis I put in a couple of years ago. When I bought it the flowers were a lovely apricot colour but since then they have become small wishy-washy very pale pink and it has proved to be a real thug invading everywhere. Mind you it has covered the roof of the outbuilding (which used to be the coal store). However I don't like it so it is coming out - hopefully i will find another nicer one to replace it. We are blessed with the biggest, fattest slugs and a very large population of snails - I keep a special tub of salt for the slugs but that does make a mess.
My little robin came to see me again yesterday, thought I had lost him. He used to tap on the kitchen window when the bird bath was empty, I was sorting out some pots when he came and sat on a large stone just in front of me and sat chirping away looking straight at me. When he flew off I went inside and realised as I passed that the bird bath was almost empty - so he was obviously telling me off!!
I wonder how long robins live? A few years ago a baby fledgling fell into a tray of seedlings I was pricking out, he was a bit distressed and then I could hear his Mum, saw her sitting on the branches of an apple tree in next doors garden so I picked him up and put him into the tree as close to her as I could - I wonder is this my visitor all grown up now ? If so just shows that it's not just elephants that never forget !!
Latest on the flat, a lovely little man came to inspect the floor, said in his opinion it needed taking up and relaying - but he had to pass it on to his boss who would want to see for himself. Time - it is awasting - meantime the rent has to be paid !!! G.daughter still waiting to hear if she will get a Community Grant to help her with the basic necessities - like a sofa bed.
Have made some discoveries with my Family research. My most respectable Aunt and her "pillar of society" husband turned out not to have married until some 32 years after the first of their three children was born. Just shows, things are not always what they seem. And he was Mayor three times back in the 1930's.- what a scandal that would have been if it had been known they were not married.

Has anyone heard from Sylvia? or John?

Love
Kathleen

Afternoon all,its been a wet morning here but looks like it is starting to brighten up a little,I need to nip to the local market so hope the rain stays off. Have been trawling on the tinernet for car insurance for John,usually you can get a few quotes cheaper,but funnily enougth the insurer he is with is coming up best at the same price.!!!
Hope the cats are talking to you Dorothy ,my friend has a similar problem,I was really wanting a long haired cat ,but seeing the problems she has put me off,my two shorthaired cats will do me fine.
Was hoping to go to Bury with my sister to day but she was going out with her husband,John will not go on the tram even thougth it is free for us,and by now the carparks are full.!!!So thats why I am going local.
Had to go to my brothers this morning with a card and present for his grandaughter she is one,she was born while my dad was in the hospital,her birth gave is a little bit of happiness when we were all so worried about dad.
Will be back tomorrow have a great weekend.
Brenda

hi well the cats are going to leave home they are very cross with me they are long haired cats and I do brush them every day well both of them have got two small matted areas on their sides so I have been trying different ways to unmat them and this has not gone over well as a last resort I got out the sissors well if cats could talk the air would be blue. one has finally appeared and stalked by me, the waether was great to-day sunny but no humidity but we are in for rain this evening. nothing much new at the moment other than my sister phone from calgary and firmed up the days she will visit with me so she arrives to me on the 10 of sept and will stay for maybe 4-5 days then back to toronto to see friends, she is lucky a friend of hers is going to be in greece so she has offered her house to chris Ithink she will be in toronto for about a week before I see her, she leaves the airport on the 16th at 1520 and anne arrives at 1540 so they will not get to see each other. I have been planning some menu's I wonder if liz would loan out fred for a while to do the cooking!!!! well bye for now dorothy

Just a quick hello have to go and take something to my sisters,she was not available when I went on Sunday,so will not have chance to leave message later.
hope everyon is ok.weather been ,wet ,windy and warm and sunny now ,good St Swithins Day.
Brenda

Good afternoon all,my son is at his Dads for a weeks holiday ,only Dad has gone away and David is looking after the Dog and house!!!!!
He emailed me this morning , all ok, his dad filled his freezer with pizzas and ready meals, for him.Shame he doesn't spend time with him.
Finally bought a blind for the bathroom,wasn't really what I wanted but needs must when you have to cover the window with a towel to have a bath or shower.It wasn't expensive so if I do see what I want in the future,I can still get one.
Need to get down and get the tea on,just oven fish tonight ,haddock in a light dusting of flour,with new pots and green beans.
Take care Brenda

goodmorning from a sunny barrie I had breakfast on the balcony and it was a wonderful sunrise, kathleen you should write a book about getting the flat into shape so many problems I don't know how you keep your temper, plus fred and the holes in the road with so many people out of work you think that councils could get some proper help, mind you we have a long street near me called anne street that has been under repair since before xmas and is still all torn up in place putting in new sewers then they pave over then pull it all up again it can take the muffler off your car driving down I take a long way around to avoid using it. the dry roast spuds sound great but I have to confess I buy the ready made yorkshire puddings (sorry fred), I never did have the knack of getting them right when made rom scratch, it is the same with gravy mom and I would stand side by side at the stove with the same ingredients and the same number of stirring motions hers would turn out great mine was like blamange, she always said it was the spoon she used her fathers army spoon issued to him in the boer war it had his number on it, my sister claimed that when both parents passed on and she says it works magic!!!! well time to head over to the family house with some laundry ie the twin bed duvets etc I should be able to put them out on the deck to dry and I shall see if the dove is back swimming again and if he has asked some friends to join him have a good day bye dorothy

Hi to you all, here is the latest in Political Correctness Blah!!

They cannot discuss problems with the sink with me "because of the Data Protection Act".

Have you ever heard of a sink complaining that it's privacy has been invaded?

That's all for now folks - my Gast has been well and truly Flabbered. Finally rendered speechless - and that's a first!!

Love
Kathleen