General Chat

Hi Everyone,Looks like Fred will have the brown legs to go with his shorts now,the weather has been really hot.He is probably on his BBQ every day.abd I don't blame him.
Dorothy ,so sorry about Sasha ,I do know what its like to loose pets ,We still miss allour lost pets and like John says still look for them even years after they have gone.You will have many happy memories to treasure.
Like I said the weather has really been great ,been in the garden alot the last few days.
I have been out to lunch once with my friend and was very good with a chicken salad sandwich ,but I did not have a cake to follow was really good,even left out the cappacino!! went out to day with another friend but we did not go out till after lunch as she had to wait for the gas man who did not leave till after 12pm so we only had a walk round and then had a cup of tea again without cake or biccies,so I am feeling good with mysef .Still have the birthday party on Saturday,but as we will onlbe having a light tea we can have a little of the buffet. Better get of to bed again and see if I can sleep,Take care ,Brenatf

morning all,where Newcastle is at last nice and sunnyand my knees are browning nicely to go with my brown shorts as Brenda says ,lol.
Only had the one B B Q so far ,to try the new one out and i am impressed with it ,specially seeing as it's the first one with a warming tray fitted ,which keeps the cooked food very warm ,but not so warm that it burns.
The garden is now finished ,the new hebs in place ,only waiting for the new Thyme bush to establish itself.and i placed that in the rockery among the other appines and flowers ,because the flowers look very atractive as they come out and the bush smells great as you pass by.they say the thyme lasts about four years too ,so i will have plenty of stuff from it for my soups ,stews and whatever.
Sorry to hear that your pet has died Dorothy,as John says ,you will miss him a lot for a long time ,but he lived for a long time ,and was well looked after ,you could have done no more,and he was well loved and gave love in return.
I always say that the best thing to do is find a new pet asap ,possibly a rescue pet as that will save one more cat from a pretty wreched life.
Glad to hear that Gail is about to be sorted John,hopefuly this will be the start of better things for her.
Time to get on ,so i will close ,finish my drink and take myself ,the empty cup,and my lappy indoors ,oh the luxury of sitting outside on the patio enjoying the morning sun,lol
Catch you later ,While you are all enjoying your weekend Fred.

hi thankyou john brenda and fred for the kind words re sasha's death simon is quite lost he is going round looking for him and then staying very close to me but I guess he will get over that in the days ahead, if they both had gone fred I would have got another rescue cat not into kittens any more and it would be good to help out a cat needing a family, but I don't think it would be fair to bring another adult cat into the home with simon. just spoke to anne in bury she said the weather was good she had just bought some more stuff for her hanging baskets, and getting ready for her eye surgery next wednesday,good to read john's news hope all goes well for gayle will write more to-morrow bye for now dorothy

Morning troops ,wow ,did we have a good day yesterday ,after deciding to go out for the day on the cheap ,lol
We parked the battle wagon at the local metro station and took the metro straight to Sunderland Central before going for a wander around.
We have to take our time these days with Liz getting very short of breath,but we are still managing okay.
We had our dinner in Kings by the market ,a burger joint ,but the food is good ,and they arn't stingy with the portions ,lol,we had a chicken steak cooked in batter ,spicy as well ,the steak came in a biggish bun ,two onion rings on top.with sliced lettuce and cucumber underneath ,french frys ,and plenty of them ,and two lovely cups of tea each ,in proper china cups yet ,the meal cost us £4-44 in total which was far better cook wise and price wise than either Mc donalds ,or Burger King.
We waddled to the Winter gardens after that via the small market ,and went into the local park,which is very well kept ,with plenty of lake and ponds,lovely flower borders and trees,and we chose a small pond surrounded by trees and bushes to sit and watch the fish ,and birds ,serenaded by a local band [modern jazz] playing at the bandstand over the back of the trees behind us ,the sun filtering through the branches ,and the music proving very restful,really enjoyable.
We spotted what looked to be a sparrow hawk being chased by a large crow ,so there was a bit of wild life to watch as well .
The parks and streets are faaaaar better than the ones in Newcastle ,cleaner brighter and mainly litter free ,Newcastle could do with sending their park rangers to Sunderland to see how it's done.a proper credit to the town,who seem to be grasping the nettle far better than the bigger town over the river.
We have recieved an offer through the post which we will be taking up next week,a years admission to the Beamish Open Air Museum down in north Durham,,for us pensioners we get an open ticket plus entry for the disabled parking for £14 for the full twelve months ,so we snapped it up ,we can have many ambles and picnics in Durham in the good weather ,and even revisit the Winter gardens in Sunderland when the weather is lousy he he ,walk among the palms and shrubs while it buckets down or snows outside ,and pretend we are back in Cyprus in the warm.
Well ,time to go and get some work done now ,sniff ,not much to do today ,only the dusting throughout the pad ,and get the dinner ,tortillas today i think ,done with a few fried new potato chips and a few baked beans ,nowt posh ,lol.
Catch you all later ,enjoy your weekend Fred.

hello all ,its still lovely and warm here ,but the sun is hiding behins a few clouds ,hope they go away by the time I have done my errands as I want to sit on my new garden chairs ,I got them with the money they collected at work when I retired,Have only used them about three times.
Have to collect a parcel from the main post office which they "tried to deliver "yesterday,I think they just put the card througth the letter box as I did not hear rthe bell or any knocking.!!
Hope you all have a good weekend.Brenda

hi it is saturday about 4-15 my time and I have had a good day watched the ladies final from france, then took a taxi to the mall and got the hair cut and had a wander around and bought some groceries, came home and then had a surprise visit from the children and their dad they brought me three large pots which had a nice tomato plant inside, then andrew put a new cleaning thing on the computor and it is working faster, then he took me for a quick trip to the library and the children stayed with simon, the sun shone all day but it was not too hot, the youngest Ian is now starting to shoot up he is now almost leval with my nose of course bryan and Laura tower over me. glad you had a ncie day out fred it sounded like a lovely place, hope that you enjoyed your new chairs brenda well bye for now dorothy

Well I did get to sit in my new chair ,and very comfi it was as well,it rained yesterday so did not get to use them yesterday,to day its not as good but dry,However I am hoping to retreive some more files from my old pc ,so I am not goinfg out mhave an idea I might be here a while,see you as soon as I am finished.Brenda

goodmonring it was a little cool over night down to 3 degree,s but up to 20 to-day the weather does not seem able to make up its mind as to what it is going to do, to-day later on I shall be going over to andrew's as at 2-15 am wed (7-15 am your time) I shall be having the dreaded m.i.r so I shall have a wee sleep there than I guess we will leave for the hospital about 1-15 , and anne in bury will be leaving for the first eye surgery about that time as well I am not usually a wimp about things and have a high pain tolerance but that tube does me in anyway it will tell me what is going on in my brain I guess, hope the nice weather continues for you all in the news over here is conversation re the G8 meeting and the cost for 8 leaders and three days it is a obscene amount it will be held about an hours drive from me beautiful country side . I guess we all should have gone into politics!!! simon is still missing his brother but is a little more settled but stays close to me so strange for me as well sorry this is not an uplifting conversation I shall do better in the future bye dorothy

Good morning all ,from a very sodden ,dull Newcastle where old Fred is thinking of starting a collection for myself and Brenda so we can both buy a tent to put up over our garden chairs so that we can at least use them once or twice this season ,he he..
\ever heard the song ,June is sinking down all over ,?,lol,I heard of a G i posted to a Lincolnshire airfield during the war ,who remarked that the airfield would sink in the mud if the barrage ballons were removed,wonder what he would have made of this month so far ?.
You are doing slightly better than us Dorothy ,we have temperatures of 18 c here today and that's inside the house ,and i have had to put the heating on yet again,because the missus is shivering,if this keeps on ,we are likely to get an even worse winter this year because the sea won't even warm up before the autumn sets in again.and that will give colder winds earlier in the winter.
We went in to Morrison's yesterday ,and brought two curry packs on offer at £6-50 for the two ,one complete meal of Dansak for 2 ,and one of a Khorma ditto,not a bad choice for dinner today ,at least it will warm us up a little he he ,'tother meal is in the freezer for next week.
I feel really sorry for the parents who had holidays booked for the school break here ,stuck indoors with screaming kids ,who can't get out to play,nothing worse is there ?
Hope your scan has gone okay Dorothy ,and everything is okay for you,and hope Anne's surgery goes very well for her,and she gets a good result off it.
I Tend to agree with you as well about these summet meetings ,they could all be done over the internet ,saving thousands of pounds which could be better spent,these leaders should be setting examples to us by cutting back on the costs ,and pollution they are making ,while accusing the public of using aircraft when there are alternatives ,but there again ,it's always the case of do as we say ,not as we do.
Only a little over a week to go before the new battle bus is delivered ,but i can't help wondering if i should have gone for a boat instead he he.
Pity you can't insist that these leaders finish sorting out the oil spill in the gulf ,and the mess the american oil industries left in the Amazon basin BEFORE they get any permission to ruin Alaska,and Canada with wells and pipelines ,we have problems here with open cast coal mines being left open when finished with leaving huge heaps of spoil everywhere instead of re landscaping when finished with ,oil is millions of times worse to clear up afterwards
Well ,i think i will close for now ,and seeing as work outside is out of the question,i will do a Brenda ,and clean out my puters of unneeded files,and i have plenty of those he he .
Catch you later peoples ,Fred.

Here I am at the library on the pc there after really making a mess of mine ,long story but I could not remember which plugs went were so I am waiting for my neices partner to come tomorrow night,but as he has cancelled a few times before I will not be holding my breath.!!
But like Fred said I have been havibng a sort out in the paper files instead of the computer ones. Good luck Dorothy,I am sure its all ok.
Fred will hope fully be able to email you direct on friday.Brenda

hi well I am back from the scan very sleepy from the sedation but at last it is over no results for about 72 hrs came home to my house at 9am though we were back at andrews at 3am, have made a call to anne and the eye surgery went well I have slept the aftrenoon awya and I think that I will make a bit ti eat and go back so take care one and all bye dorothy

Hallo all,
Just back from a few days holiday on the Red Cross boat The Henry Durant. Absolutely marvellous for those who are disabled one way or another. When we arrived in a port we had volunteers to take those who wanted out in wheelchairs. Johan went out in Antwerpen, but I stayed on board. I was just happy having a few days without the thought of cooking etc. and enjoying the scenery. There were so many volunteers aboard so if you needed you could have help with washing and dressing, putting on elastic stockings etc.etc. Nothing was too much for these kind men and women. I was talking to one of the nurses who told me that she had taken a week's holiday and her husband too so that her husband would look after their 4 children. What a lovely gesture! The boat was very roomy and we all had adjustable beds and flat-screen television sets.
I picked up a cold on holiday, probably coming from the air conditioning they had and am now trying to get rid of it. I had a throat infection too.
I am now having treatment for oedeem (too much liquid in my legs). I don't know if these are the words you use in English but you will know what I mean I am sure. I am having my legs massaged and will probably have a drainage applied next week.
Whilst we were away my daughter's partner laid a new tile floor in our kitchen. It looks very nice. Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday so we will be going to Eindhoven - by taxi. We will probably come back with our granddaughter. She is going to her mother today.
Nice to read all your notes.
Sylvia xxx

hi All ,well ,we have decided to take the weekend off and have taken a caravan in you know where for a long weekend,hopefully it will be a little warmer than the east side of the country.
We are taking the big family tent [never used] so that the bro' and sis' in law can make use of it,better off there ,out of our way ,leaving us a little more room in the store room.
glad to hear that you had a good time Sylvia, wow ,a few days with no cooking ,lol,i could do with a little of that myself.
I think when i do the packing this afternoon ,i will put the portable heater in the car as well ,just in case the west country is as cold as it is here,don't wan't to be bringing the sniffles home with us this time he he.
Oh the joys of computers Brenda ,this is why i upgraded to to the laptops ,no plugs and wires to worry about ,exept the usb plug of the external drive ,lol,the wife has the only desktop tower now ,and she is welcome to it,though of course ,i get to do the maintenance for her.
Time to go do the little shopping we will need to take us through to Saturday morning,when we will be going to the Fleetwood market to have a nose around,the stalls.
catch you later, Fred [in holiday mode] ,lol

Well my son finally got the right plugs in the correct holes so at least we are back on line.My neices partner can not come til Sunday now ,so we shall see.
Fred we are going to Blackpool on Saturday til SUnday but not sure if we have time to meet as we have to get back by 2 pm for the pc to be fixed.!!
We will have to stay ships that pass in the night ,so near yet so far!!
Glad it all went ok Dorothy ,hope its all good news /
Hello Sylvia glad you had a good holiday .Hope you continue to keep well and get rid of your cold.
Take care ,Brenda

hi I shall think of fred and brenda this week-end blackpool and fleetwood what memories that brings back for me, no results as yet from the scan going to give the doc a call this morning and see if he has heard anything, spoke to anne yesterday and she is doing well and can see really well out of the eye that was done she is quite excited, warmer and sunny to-day still cool in calgary for the sister she is not happy wondering when the nice wether will come, we are starting to see some effects of the oil spill up here not as much sea food available and some concerns re birds that head our way in the winter it just seems to get worse each day, have the opening ceramonies on of the world cup so sad that mandala's grt grandaughter was killed take care bye for now dorothy

goodmorning hope all went well for the folks visiting blackpool and fleetwood we have had a rainy week-end but the gardens needed it. I do have results from my scan apparently the covering of the nerve endings in the brain are either thinning or lost in places which accounts for some of the symptoms I have been having the word is demyelination if you look it up on the computor it makes interesting reading. so I have to see another specialist we only have 2 brain specialists in town so it may take a while to get an appointment, so andrew is seeing if he can obtain an appointment in the city (toronto) as he has many contacts in the medical field due to his work a little sooner but the good news is I can drive a little around town ie. the library and the food stores but no long trips on the highway. and this morning I am joining the family at church just about a 7 minute drive from my place. so bye for now dorothy

good morning,we had a good weekend at Johns mothers ,did not go anywhere,just sat outside in the sun a while and chatted or read and then watched the football on Saturday,as the weather wasgood nice and sunny,Sunday was cold wet and windy so we came home at 11am so I would be here for my neice and her partner who has now sorted out my pc problems and I am getting some more memory which will speed up things and have been told to back up more often and de frag,which we do ,sometimes...
So pleased you have some answers dorothy and it doesn't seem as bad as you thought ,will not look it up as I get a bit like a hypocondriac when I do that.Hope fred had as good a weekend,
Have a couple of errands to do today then meeting friends for lunch,its a late birthday lunch for one of them as three were on holiday,Bee back tomorrow,

hi brenda glad you had a good day on saturday weather wise too bad it rained on sunday hope that your problems are all sorted with the pc. I don't blame you not wanting to look up my scan results it gets a bit hairy when you do. I watched a bbc clip of the trooping of the colours this moring and it is always great to see the marching and the bands and I quite liked the queens hat but camilla's the less said the better. soccer is on again and this afternoon it is italy as we have a large italian population in toronto and surrounding areas I am sure that a lot of people will be taking of work after luch it plays over here at 2-30 our time.lindy and laura went to a baby shower yesterday a cousin of lindys he is a christian singer ie on records and concerts he and his wife have adopted two little boys 18months and 4 months both from the same parents young teenagers I think so they will learn about being parents quite quickly but they are so happy they have waited a long time for a family. well hope we hear about fred's week-end soon if sylvia is watching soccer she and johan should be pleased holland has won their match bye for now dorothy

hi all,well here i am sat with my lap top which is perched on the arm of the chair!!!while john is watching the football,which is just finishing,all the tv programmes have been messed about while the world cup is in the early stages we have three or four a day on bbc1 and itv1.some i will watch but tonight i wanted to get my favourites on to the lap top and send some emails.Will also look for the memory that I need to get and the harddrive to store my family tree and photos.John was playing golf today and said it was like all four seasons in one this morning,but the afternoon was ok,got some washinh dried in the line.The lunch went well at the chinese,have another lunch tomorrow with the friends we go on holiday with,so I will be looking at my elasticated waist pants so i will be comfortable!!!
come on Fred how was the weekend. take care ,brenda

Morning all,we have some sunshine today,which is good.hope it lasts.
out for lunch again today,with our friends its ages since we went out together,have been at each others houses but not out.we are going to a pub near us which we went to a few weeks ago ,hope they like it.
Have been trying to help my cousin find her fathers family ,he split from her mum 40 odd years ago ,my cousin was only 7 and her mum will not tell her anything about the family! Her father is dead now,which she did now about ,but wants to know about his family and thinks it might explain why he was like he was .I am finding it a bit hard as we ave no one to confirm anything .I want her to get his birth cert so we have got his mothers maiden name at least, Will keep you posted.
Better get some ironing done ,before going out,Hope you are all ok. Take care ,Brenda