General Chat

hi everyone from a cool but pleasent day in barrie my friend was picked up by her son to-day and we had a good day yesterday shopping uching out and a good win at the casino made a profit no loss, one of the things we were discussing was the news that seniors may have to have a means test to keep their bus passes at home I was wondering how that was being recieved I gather that if you have a car they feel you should not have on only the poor!! I will have to speak to anne about that .we watched a billy connelly dvd last night funny as always. andrew is 43 to-day and says he does not feel older he and lindy were doing some repair to the swimming pool it had a small leak , then later they are going out for a quiet dinner seeing the children are away at camp they can have some adult time. they have recieved e-mail photo''s from camp that the camp sends out they have seen ian swimming and bryan in a canoe but nothing of laura as yet you have to pick them out of the crowd of other campers. tennis starts again on monday the rogers cup from montreal so I shall be pleased about that, hope you all have a good week-end bye for now dorothy

Hi Dorothy ,yes ,i too read about the threatened withdrawl of the bus passes,funny isn't it that wales have had this system working for years with no bother ,as far as i understand ,Scotland as well .
Seemsthat england is being shortchanged by Mr Brown after he insisted that the passes were started in england too.
The main trouble is ,that this waste of space prime minister is too busy wasting money on daft schemes that he knows won't work ,paying ministers daft pensions and bonuses,and salting money away in his sky rocket while the average man in the street is struggling with resession.
Apart from that ,it's a lovely morning he he.
I,m sure that most pensioners wouldn't mind paying so much towards their passes seeing that the government is playing hard up again.
Had a look around out back this morning to see that things are going well ,we even have some strawberries nearly ready [slurp] cream in the fridge too ready for kick off .
Will be back later when genes have sorted themselves out again ,the way the print is jumping around as i type is giving me a bad head ,Fred.

Hi Everyone,had not realised I have not put anything on here for a few days,been busy.Was out with my sister on Friday managed to have a lovely few hours on Bury market.Had a nice sandwich anda cup of iced lemon tea in BHS.
Also bumped into anumber of people we knew,managed also to get most of the items we had both gone for,which is rather good.
was working yesterday and was so tired when I got home only stayed up till 8.45 then had to go to bed.Mind you I was awake at 6am !!!
My dad died a year ago today,so have been to the cemetary .my sister was meeting me there but text to say she would be going later ,but we bumped into my other sister who came back to pick up some things ,and have a cuppa.Was asked to go to see my brother but I did not fancy going to his local to se him and the family.
I love my bus pass and would certainly be reluctant to give it up.John has never used his and neither as a few of our friends ,they still prefer to use their cars and think that they should have reduced parking tariffs instead .!!
I would not mind payning a small charge but even half price would mean I would not go out as much ,I had planned to do all sortd when I finish work and have to give up my car,
Be back tomorrow ,have to put the tea on,. Brenda

sunday evening almost 11pm my time hi everyone brenda glad to hear that you had a nice day on friday at the market I often think about how we met that day how time flies, anniversarys of people we loose are always hard, you say that you may give up your car whenyou retire is that to downsize to a one car family . we have had a funny day here great thunder storms this morning and sheeting rain the sky was black, then about noon it improved the sun shone it reached a high of 32 plu the humidity made it about 40, then about 6pm back to very strong thunder and lightening and rain the cats were not happy, I went over to have a quick visit with andrew and lindy inbetween the storms, once again my pots of tomatoes were rolling around the balcony the weather has not been very good to them, spoke to my friend peggy in p.e.i. she is home from the hospital on long acting morphine and streoids she says she feels better now that she is home and just taking one day at a time and enjoying life as much as she can. fred glad to read your response to the bus pass issue well I shall pop off to bed bye for now dorothy

Morning all,its wet and grey here again,after a really lovelly weekend.
I did not do much yesterday as i was sort of drifting in and out of nostalgia,it isn't what Dad would have wanted ,so I kept trying to do bits of things.I was also thinking of my aunt and uncles who are still here but two looked so frail last time I saw them!!
I can get to Bury on the tram with my bus pass Dorothy,can't get much shopping unless John is with me or meets me at the station with the car as its a longish walk when you have shopping.I can also go into the city centre on the bus or tram ,thats where our nearest Aldi is.
We will be down sizing to one car ,but I can hopefully keep mine running for a year after finishing work.,We hope to trade them both in and get a newer one between us.
Glad your friend is feeling ok at the moment Dorothy,how is the camp going for the children.?
Washer has just finished so I had better go and put it on the maiden to dry !!.
Kathleen hope the flat gets sorted soon,no wonder you and your grand daughter are stressed.
Fred ,sorry I did not reply abouy the fence,Have taken note of what you said ,than you.
Time for a cuppa and a bite to eat .
Take care
Brenda

Good morning all, after a warm and sunny Sunday today is still warm but a bit dull. We may get a shower or two later which will probably bring more weeds - seem to be fighting a losing battle with the pesky things. Oh well it's good exercise I suppose.
Fred, hope you can find the name of that clematis, it sounds ideal for where I want to plant it. To cover the brick wall of the outbuilding (which used to be where the coal was - part coal storage and part whatever) It's where I keep my freezer now and the garden equipment that needs to be secure.
Well, it might have been dry outside but it was very wet inside this weekend - the water supply to the built in washing machine and dishwasher sprang a leak. First thing Thursday morning Chris came home from work and heard water dripping, he thought it was outside at first but then realised it wasn't - luckily that water supply is separate from the rest so was able to turn it off - but of course it had made a rather large puddle. As he still had to work another night we had to cope with the machines pulled out into the kitchen - blocking the back door - and making life a bit difficult, it's not a very big kitchen. Anyway to cut a long story short, thankfully I have a good supply of large towels which help mop up the puddles and eventually it all got sorted with everything dry and working properly again.
Brenda, it was also a year ago on the same day as your Dad that my brother died. I can't believe how quickly that year has gone and I find it hard to accept that he is no longer with us. Sadly we have no grave to visit as his wife has not told anyone where his ashes are - we are respecting her privacy but it is harder for his children not to know - he was divorced from their mother some years ago though he was still part of their lives. It is a very sad state of affairs.
Dorothy, your poor tomatoes are really suffering but hopefully you might still get some better weather and they will perk up and produce a good crop. Not sure that mine will as they are growing taller but don't look as though they will produce much fruit. I have a cucumber and a pepper plant, both rescued from the reduced bench at the local DIY store - they are showing their gratitude by perking up quite a lot and their are some fruits showing.
I keep being interrupted by the phone so better finish for now. Must mention that Indira realised that her boss in her Saturday job is a local counciller so she had a word with him about her problems and he has said he will speak to the Housing Assoc. about it.. Fingers crossed that might get a result.
Take care
Love
kathleen
Built in is all very nice until you have to move things to get behind - so

Afternoon all ,we have just come back from the day out relief from all the noise outside what with the screeding machine ,the heavy lorries taking the old road surface away ,and tractors whizzing about everywhere so the bus ride to Durham was a blessed relief from all the racket.
We found out today thaqt by using one local bus ,and our passes ,we can go ,in stages ,right down to Whitby and back free ofcharge ,so we are thinking of going down one day this next fortnight,finding a b&B or a hotel and stopping over for a couple of days.
Dorothy ,next year ,buy yourself a few square plant pots and put your tom's in those ,it will save the wind rolling them over the patio and reduce the damage to your plants.
Still trying to think of the name of that clematis but i would have thought any one would do ,i think the trick with themis ,regular feeding starting in early spring,i do that with the rhodedendren and notice that next years buds are already forming.
Time to be off again ,my turn for the tea tonight and as yet i havn't even started the dish oooooops,catch you laater all ,Fred.

Hello everyone,we started very wet and grey again,but now it seems to be bucking up.Lots of blue in the grey and some sun in there as well.
At work and pinching a few minutes before lunch .See you tomorrow,Brenda

Morning all,need I say what the weather is doing?,just a repeat of yesterday,but somehow I do not think it will buck up.John hasn't been able to get out to golf,so he is going to clean the windows inside!!.
I am off to work on at 12.30 til 8pm today ,not my favourite shift,but working at a fairly good library with some good ladies today so thats not bad.
The bins have just been emptied and what a racket they make when they do them,still at least the do get emptied each week
Hope everyone is ok ,Fred what a great idea about the bus pass and having a day or two away.Some of the pensioners who come in one of our libraries have been to Blackpool with theirs,there is not a direct bus ,so they have to change but they reckon its worth it.
Kathleen,my sister found out it was costly to have anything go wrong with built in washers etc,first her drier and then her washer had problems so in the end she has had her washer and drier taken out of the units .
Dad had problems with his cooker which is built in ,and luckily he found a local firm who used to do it for him when it went wrong ,but he was thinking of taking it out and having an old fashioned free standing cooker.
Better get ready for work and then I can have a cup of tea or coffee before I go .need to call at the supermarket for some bread ,but John might fancy going seeing as how he has some time ,if he doesn't do the windows.!!
Take care see you tomorrow,Brenda

goodmoring everyone it is a nice morning over here the rain that visited us for a few days seems to have vanished it is 9-30 am and I am waiting for a call from isobelle her daughter was having her c/s this morning at 8am it was moved up one day as the doc had to go out of town to-morrow clare had asked her mom to go to the hospital with them as isobelle worked in labour and delivery she is a good support she won't go into the operating room but will wait outside as they know it is a boy i think that takes away some of the suprise that used to happen at births, brenda the camp sends vidoes via the computor of the activities at the camp and andrew and lindy were able to pick out the boys but not laura more will be coming this week so maybe she will be seen in those, the camp is called camp wabanaki in huntsville they do have a web site. not much new with me this week I am doing some calling for the charity, fred thanks for the tip re the tomatoes but I had them in round containers and they still blew over but I had one lovely tomato with my tea last night and it was very good. bye for now dorothy

Good morning, now bright and sunny after a dull start.
My last message seemed to have a problem with gremlins - don't know what happened there - some bits missing and a bit tagged on at the end after I signed off. Never mind it sort of made sense.
I found a clematis that looks as though it might be suitable Fred, the one that is there covers the wall (and the roof and grows inside as well) but the flowers are small and a dirty whitish pinky colour - pretty horrible. The first year they were sort of apricot coloured and much larger - think it must have been a hybrid which reverted. When the flowers fade it leaves a mess - a bit like a dandelion does - covers everything in fluff.
Our bus passes are very handy but we have to be careful in this area as a lot of the buses don't accept them. Some routes are covered by private companies, still it just makes it a little more difficult to get out of this area, you just have to be aware of which are the right buses to use. Sounds like a good idea for to get away from all that noise and hassle for a couple of days.
Think my g.daughter might not have to wait too much longer to get the floor sorted out. She has a sort of social worker, a lady who looks after the interests of young carers, who has contacted the Housing Officer and they are instructing the builders to get the job done quickly - hopefully also getting the kitchen area refurbished.
So far she has had no response to her job applications so is now making more copies of her CV to send out. I remember when my youngest son was job hunting in the late 1980's, at least he got some replies even though they said "sorry no jobs", nowadays firms don't even bother to respond. He walked around every Trading estate in the area until finally he got a job with Auto Parts - he hated every minute of his time there but it was a job. I feel sorry for the youngsters this year as it is bad everywhere with so many firms closing down or on short time.
It has now clouded over and is looking very much like it's going to rain again, keeping my fingers crossed it holds off for a while as I want to do some clearing up outside. Have found what happened to my violas, was wondering why they seemed to have disappeared - it's that white & black cat again - must have dug them up as they are growing now a few feet from where I planted them along the edge of the path. He still attempts to come into the house at times - I have no idea where he comes from but he does run when he sees me - doesn't like the water spray !!!
Hope you all have a good day.
Take care
Love
kathleen

good afternoon all,we have a good day here,its dry and sunny ,not too hot but warmenougth for the borrowers to be in shorts!!
Just had a nice Tuna salad,for lunch followed by a banana and a pear.!!So today has been good diet wise.
Hoping to got the Lowry Centre tomorrow to thr M&S outlet there.
Its not 2pm yet and people are banging on the door,!!
Better sign off and finsh my cup of tea.
See you soon,Brenda

Afternoon all ,from a lovely sunny Newcastle O t,where Fred has just upet the wife he he,she asked what i fancied for tea ,and i said ,[already had it pet ,iv'e been eating the tomatoes out of the greenhouse for the last quarter hour ,and very nice they were too ].
They went down very well without even a sprinkling of salt that most need for that tad of extra taste.
Glad to hear that the granddaughter is nearly sorted now Kathleen ,been going on far too long ,and please ,don't don't blame Hissy for digging up your violas,she dosn't do that sort of thing ,she likes chasing butterflies ,yes and,bringing you presents of mice and frogs ,but that's about it ,never have to squirt her either ,raise your voice a little and speak in a stern tone and she will run away and hide under the table ,lol.
Think we will be staying at home tomorrow ,both our legs are tired after the last three days ,but that's it now ,the road is finished and peace has descended on the street again.
I knew it wasn't just me that was having problems on genes yesterday,so there are at least two members in the club now ,any more for the skylark.?
Going to download a few more pics that i took today ,and i finally got the one i was really after to go with the ones i took in durham.

It seems that the big massive stone structure round the corner from our house was in times past the Summer Palace for the Prince Bishops of Durham,they used to come down from Hexham and up from Durham each summer for a good break from the daily services and paperwork ,such a big four story place too ,the top floor being for the servants ,lol,how the other half lived,they will all go together showing the days of the past and how people lived.
Well ,time to go and get the work done , the washing up is waiting [sorry to swear ] and i have to do a little dusting ,which i don't mind so much ,catch you all later,Fred.

Hi All,it was a nice start to the weather today ,but has gone a bit chilly this afternoon.
Managed to get to the Lowry centre ,it was a lot quieter than Ithought it would be ,but we did get there just after it opened at 10.am
Got a few little presents ,for birthday and christmas(, I will only have a week to christmas when we get back from the next holiday !!!
Been surfing some mail order sites for my sister and think I have manged to get the things she explained to me,they can go backif not correct.
Glad your road works are finised Fred.Nothing worse than all that drilling? some one must be having a new roof at the back of us as they have been hammering for two days.!!
Better get the tea one.see you tomorrow ,Brenda

Hi everyone, Gayle has been battling flu-like symptons but still saw the surgeon on 12th and was told that another fistula will be put in her arm but when is the big question. It is so frustrating. Gayle saw her doctor and got antibiotics.
The weather the past few days has been warming up as spring is around the corner, today its wet which is meant to last until about Tuesday, quite annoying when it comes to doing the laundry.
Take care, John

goodmorning how does the song go we are having a heat wave a tropical heat wave!!! well we certainly are very high temps and high humidity you could fry an egg on the balcony but again it is better than snow. I have not been able to open this site for the last couple of days,the baby news I was waiting for made his apperance on wednesday weighing 9 pounds called hudson!!! different name but all is well with mom and baby and my friend isobelle now has 2 grandchildren, lindy came over last night and brought over the photo's of the trip to england and france they were great to look at. today they are picking up the children from camp and then going to visit a uncle of lindys who has a summer home on one of the lakes nearby. I decided not to go with them as it is the big barb-b-que at the building to-day and it is always a fun afternoon. nothing else to talk about at the moment glad your shopping trip went well brenda, and fred I envy you all the tomatoes but I now have one more red one to eat to-day slow progress with the plants but I live in hope. john I hope that gayle feels better soon this waiting must be difficult for both of you guess we are lucky over here the response time is so much faster bye for now dorothy

Morning all ,won't say good ,cloudy ,cold ,and threatening rain again ,heat wave Dorothy ,what heat wave ? not 'ere in the frozen north of England that's for sure,,all my cucumbers,inside the greenhouse and out have a lovely covering of mildew on the leaves ,though ,thankfully ,not on the fruits.
Sorry to hear that things still are not sorted for your missus John,hopefully they will get themselves sorted before too much longer.
It's a pity you can't both come over here to have the surgery done ,bit expensive i know ,but a heck of a lot quicker on private surgery.
Hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend no matter what the weather lol.Fred.

Hi all,
Such a long time since I participated on this thread, but my health is not as good as I would like. Have to see the neurologist next month. Won't bore you with all the ins and outs.
Johan and I managed to get away for a few days. We stayed in our daughter's house in Eindhoven and from there went to Maastricht where we stayed 3 nights. Maastricht is a lovely old town and we made a trip round the town in an old tram and also a boat trip up the river Maas. We also went over an old church. The town is full of cobbled streets and didnt I feel it on my scootmobile!'We had to return earlier than planned because of my cystitis. I had so much pain that all I wanted was to get home.
Lovely to read all your letters even though I haven't contributed.
My new e-mail address is: [email protected]
Greetings
Sylvia xxx

Morning peeps ,short and sweet this morning seeing as i am off tothe doc's ,the bite i recieved in the garden has become infected despite lacing it over three days with antiseptic cream ,lol.Hi Sylvia ,got your new addy noted ,and will be in touch pronto Fred.

Hi All,was working today on the12-8pm shift ,it wasn't as bad as it can be ,but the young girls that come in on the pcs andgo on the face book site ,all you can hear are there not so nice comments had to tell them to be quiete a couple of times,they forget other people are near them!!
John hop eGale gets sorted very soon,must be so frustrating.
Silvia glad you had a good break but hope you are feeling better.
Fred our main library has access to 1911 census you can have 40mins for free and think you can look up with out credits.You can noyt prebook the machines so it will be afree for all I expect.
It was a warm day today well this afternoon was ,the am was a little chilly.
not sure when I will get back on here ,david is on holiday and I suppose he thinks he can stay here as much as he likes.!!!
Take care ,brenda