General Chat

hi this morning is a lovely morning the sun is shining and the sky is blue one could not ask for a better morning brenda you are having some great lunches, fred seems to be missing in action hope all is well. andrew is taking me this lunch time for a new health card the one I have had is being recalled and they are issuing new photo cards which have to be renenwed every 5 yrs I kind of liked the old one just plain red and white plus there is now a charge for them I think. anne goes up to fairfield to-day for her eye check up so hope all goes well, she called yesterday and said that she has had some lovely birds in her garden at the bird feeders some gold finches I hope I got that right, also that when she ca she is going to visit our former english teacher miss shaw who is now coming up for 97 and as sharp as can be so many of her former students keep in touch with her. well time to get ready so bye for now dorothy

Good afternoon all,sorry to be so long ,but i had sooooo much to do this morning starting with the floors throughout the house ,hmmmmm, i wonder if Hissy had her friends in while we were away ,lol, fur everywhere ,he he ,i started offwith an empty hoover ,but by the time i had done all the floors ,and seats ,it was full of hair,but ,i have to say ,these HEPA filter hoovers are really good,but it's a darned good job Hissy is a short hair ,lol.
The lawns ,and hedges can wait until tomorrow for me to start ,by the time i had also cleaned the car out ,ready for it to go back ,i had had enough for one day.
We made the right choice in going this last weekend,because,i'm told ,the weather here was dismal,where as Blackpool was great apart from early Sunday morning [2 am ] when the rain hitting the van roof woke me up,but i rolled over and went back to sleep okay.
I went into Blackpool early in the afternoon Sunday to get the T Mobile dongle replaced because the old one was playing up and i had to use the standby Vodaphone which in the Blackpool area is very slow ,but i wasn't too bovvered because they are both insured for replacement F O C
Hissy is following me every where at the moment ,frightened in case we disappear again, i even had to take my coffee out on the patio with her this morning,so that she would settle down properly.
Found a great little place in Cleveleys for a nice ,well cooked breakfast,on Saturday morning ,so that has been put in the little book for future reference,had a full english ,with toast [very naughty] complete with free cups of tea ,£4.30,and worth every penny.
The work on the tramlines through Fleetwood is going well ,so i reckon by the time we go back next summer ,we will be able to ride the trams to Blackpool again.
Wonder of wonders Brenda ,Lancashire is at last catching up with the times ,lol,pease pudding is on sale in one of the markets along with the Savaloys to go with it ,so the wife will be able to have her lunchtime sarnie again,lol,so the Lass in Preston lived up to her promise ,when she said she would have them on sale in Fleetwood and Blackpool this year.
My veggie patch is now in full swing ,and i will be able to start picking some produce next week ,salad leaf ,and Pak Choi being the fist things ready ,followed by french, and runner beans.
I now also have tiny tomatoes on my bushes,so things are indeed looking up,now the weather is improving.
Off Now to have a look round the boards ,,back tomorrow morning ,Fred.

Afternoon everyone,another nice day here in Manchester,the washing was on the line early today to make good use of the sunshine.
Went to have some blood tests at the docs today ready for my medication assesment next week,seems they are starting to do this more often now.
Went to pick up a prescription from the chemist and they (surprise surprise did not have it in and I have to go back between 3.30 and 6pm to pickit up!! I will be going in the morning as I am passing that way .Seems to me they only have the items in when you put your prescriptions on a regular call up with them,they get the new script from the docs and deliver it to your door.which is usuually ok unless you are not in ,and they don't say they have been !!then you are phoning to see if they have got it and they say your weren't in ,you say no one left a note etc ,anyway they can wait till tomorrow.Have a touch of hey fever over the last few nice days with headaches and sneezing and feeling throaty,so even thougth its nice I still haven't spent much time in my chair!! Glad you had a good visit to Blackpool Fred ,haven;t been to Fleetwood for a few years,might go if we tay at Johns mums house later in the year.Good news about Anne Dorothy ,hope you are feeling ok yourself.have you been out alone yet??sa
TAke care ,Brenda

Morning all,another great looking day here,hope it stays that way,have lots of odd jobs to do plus normal housework over the next few days,Will do my ironing when I have finished her before it gets too hot as I don't want to be dripping sweat over the clothes!!
Had been swapping some details about a name we both had on the hot matches with alady,but it turned out it was not the same person.Still it gave me a bit of a push to get going again on the family tree.
Have to wait to see if my cousin will get her dads birthcert so we have his mothers maiden name before we look any further for his famil,doubt my aunt would tell her even if she knew it.
Hope you are all enjoying this good weather,see you tomorrow
Take care ,brenda.

goodmonring from a sunny barrie glad to hear the weather is improving brenda it gives one a lift when it is nice good to see fred back from is week-end away I also would love to see how fleetwood has changed, hope that your hay fever improves I read with interest your system with the doc. and the chemist . over here I get a rx from the doc for a 90 day supply pop it into the chemist (drug store) and it is ready in an hour you can pick it up or have it delivered but they phone you to say when the driver will be at your home quite handy in the winter over here, yes I have been out alone a couple of times but taking it easy where the driving is concerned. just to be on the safe side. had lunch out with some ladies yesterday we went at one and it is a buffett place so did not to eat supper later as I was too full but it was good. I am going out to-day Laura graduates on the 28th from public school moving onto high school in sept so I want to look for a little gift for her. looking foreward to seeing her in the dress she has bought as we don't see her in a dress very often, bryan will be away at camp for the whole month of august 2 weeks of which he will be a leader in training and then 2 weeks of fun the other 2 will be there for 2 weeks, it will enable bryan to decide if he wants to be a leader next summer in which case he will be there for july and august looking after the younger children, in that case if he does do that he will be able to put hours to-wards his community service, each high school student has to accumalate 40 hours of community service before they are given their high school dipolma even if they have straight A's . it does teach them responsibility and kindness to others there are many ways they can acuumalate the hours it has turned out to be a good program. well that is it for me this morning take care bye for now dorothy

hi one and all it is a lovely day this am sun shining and the sky is high and blue doing my chores early so I can watch england win their match later to-day I will have faith that they can do it, starting monday I have a conflict as tennis starts and it is my favourite 2 weeks of the year. had a nice day out yesterday by myself I took the car and went to a few shops and spent one of my gift cards from my sister when I walked into the local book store I was greeted quite wrmly they had wondered why I had not been in for such a long time but I made up for it and had a good browse around.brenda I have just finished scott turows new book innocent the sequel to presumed innocent and it was great he said he would never write about the character again but time goes by and he has, by the way did you get neils new book I have not ordered it as yet on amazon but will do that soon bye for now dorothy

Evening all,had a few errands again today and althougth the sun is not shining and its been raining its also vey muggy and close,
Glad you are out and about Dororthy ,we hope to get up to Bury Market tomorrow ,just to browse really,will pass the cheese stall and have alook for you!
The children sound like they are really going to have interesting summer.
Yes i have Neils new book and its really good.Couldn't put it down,my friends are on a waiting list to borrow it.I have a lot of books to read which I have been given and bought,I keep telling myself not to buy any more ,but it doesn;t work!
Had problems with my car yesterday,the drivers window would not close,so I had to take it to the garage,John had a look first and said the motor which runs it had pack in,the garage have secured it for me and its booked in in two weeks for thr replacement of the motor and belt ,but i can not use the window!!.need to go now and make up the bed took the other bedding of this moening to wash. see you tomorrow ,Brenda

hi brenda glad you like neils new book I went onto amazon uk yesterday planning to buy it as I saw it was on for 2pounds 80 pence a good deal but when everything was added up postge etc it came to 15 pounds which I thought was a little high, so I am going to ask anne's daughter to buy it of line for me and I will send her money for the book and postage which should come to about maybe 10 pounds and with the rate of echange in my favour at the moment that should come to about 14 dollars, a bit overcast to-day have stocked up on groceries for the next two weeks of tennis I bought some local strawberries yesterday and they were so good, I shall thik of you at bury market bye for now dorothy

Well ,good morning all of you happy campers .or maybe not,Afraid your belief in the england team was somewhat misplaced Dorothy ,what a load of plonkers they are ,lol.
Algeria deserved to win that game ,the opponents being outclassed and outplayed at every turn ,,even my old school days local amature team Wycombe wanderers would give them a harder time ,if not win.
You need a one of those new video /dvd players Lass ,one that will let you watch one channel ,and record the other for viewing later ,the best of both worlds.
I couldn't get anything but a little watering done in the garden yesterday ,far too cold and windy to do any real work,[blast it ] he he but today looks far more promising ,so i have the mower out ,and as soon as the rest of the street is up and about ,i will get the front lawn cut ,and the edges trimmed.
The grandson can earn his B B Q by picking up the edge trimmings for me to save me getting down to do it ,giving me old back a rest.
I filled my tattie barrels right up to the top this morning ,so all there is left to do now is make sure they get enough water until they turn brown ,whereupon i will place the tops on until Christmas week .
My lovely sis' in law has managed to find me a caravan for the autumn blackberry week for £150 for the full week ,so that i can take the grandson down to see the lights in Blackpool .and ride the trams,which he has never seen ,or done before,think he will enjoy it ,i know i will ,and i will remember to take the cam-corder down this time to video it all.
23 hours to go people ,and then we pick up the new battle bus and take back the old one,he he ,there must be something in the wind in Newcastle ,lol,iv'e just had the son ask if he can put his car on my drive until he sells it he having just bought a newish Corsa which will be far cheaper for him to run than the big red 2 litre engined tank he has at the minute,i only hope it isn't on the drive for long though ,because i will be unable to get into the shed ,and will have to keep the mower in the greenhouse until it is sold ,and it will be awkward for me to get the mower over onto the front lawn with both his ,and my car on the drive together.
I havn't given up my cheese either Brenda ,just moved over onto low cholesterol ones,one of the new ones [lowchol] made by a lancashire family cheese maker ,is soooo tasty ,and yet so low in saturated fat that the taste is unbelievable ,,unfortunately the only place i can get it at the moment is Morrisons.
Can't wait to get down there again ,for a whole week yet [who-hoo] i will def' be paying Preston market a visit ,where i can spend a good hour looking round the stalls,before going upstairs on the balcony for my toasted tea cake for dinner at the cafe,the teacake there ,spread with locally produced butter is a dream come true.
Nice to hear that you are both getting out and about ,enjoying the local markets and bookstalls ,nothing better to my mind ,unless it's a bit of sun and a nice garden chair ,and a book to read ,sun glasses on ,of course.
See you later peeps ,Fred,off to marinade the meat ready for the dinner ,and Tea B B Q.

Evening all this is my third attempt to write you a message tonight did a nice long one at first whichas gone of to cyper space,and then a few lines which have joined the others.!!!
Bury was good,very busy,John got what he wanted and i saw a few things I want to go back and see again ,without John.
If i had not promised my friends they could read neils book I would send you mine,but i don,t know when they will be finished they read at different speeds.have not seen it in the shops but have not been looking there
fred you aren't half getting the little breks in aren;t you: well done.Hope you enjoy and your grandson.
have to go and look for something on internet for my friend ,take care see you all tomorrow,brenda

hi as usual when I read what fred has to say my mouth waters cheese and blackberries two of my favourites pouring down rain at the moment but we have had several sunny days so I won't complain plus it is the 2nd day of wimbledon so I shall be watching, yes fred the boys played very badly here's hoping that they do better at the next match, was watching the budget on bbc tele this am some of the cuts don't sound good hope that they don't affect you guys too much, Laura left yesterday with the school to quebec city for a few days she had to take a dress with her as they are going to a nice dinner, she now owns 2 dresses she is such a tomboy that my son thinks it is great that she has these two. he was supposed to go out of town for the week but recieved a call yesterday that one of his men who has worked for him for 20yrs died suddenly so he may fly to ottawa on saturday if that is the day of the funeral andre had a large family so no plans are made as yet, getting around this week-end will be a nightmare with the g8 in town well the tennis calls bye for now dorothy

morning peoples,just a few lines before i swan off to Cramlington,the Wednesday Market and shops,because i need a new B B Q cover,an old,empty small gas can for my camping stove [when i get it back off the ruddy son ,lol] and a couple of 100xm6 roofing bolts for a repair i need to do,and a few other sundry items.
The new car is great ,quite a bit wider than the old one ,so i need to swing the mirrors inboard before reversing through the gates,or loose them ,ooooops ,he he,the reversing camera is amazing though showing the distance behind you to the nearest obstruction,and the nearside kerb at the same time,but i have refitted the fresnel screen to the back window too ,which will show any bairn directly behind the car out of range of the camera ,one cant be too careful safety wise.
Well ,we have heads in two of the calabrese plants ,so things are coming along fine ,mainly i think due to me now using all organic fertilizers ,and pelleted chicken poo,the plants seem to love it.
We are looking forward to our break in Oxfordshire with the grandson,and my cousin Shaz' lives close by as well ,so i will take her out to lunch one day when we are down there and ,i will take her the disc copy i have of our grandparents ,and family documents,files and photo's i know she will love having.
Time to go ,but i will return later ,when i get back,take care folks ,Fred.

Hi everyone,its another great day here,johns watching the football and as the lads are winning ,he is a happy bunny,hope it stays like that,other wise he will be a disgruntled bunny.Have only seen snatches of the tennis dorothy ,hope you are enjoying it.It was golf and football at weekend in our house .
Have been really lazy the last few days ,but do feel a bit better today,no fuzzy head etc, Will see what the doc says tomorrow.
Hope you got all your shopping from the market fred,Need to get a new watering can ,ours has developed a hole,its plastic so we can't mend it.Have been looking at maybe getting a metel one ,but there does not seem many about.
have had FOUR charity collection bags put in the door this week,so might have have another sort out later this week.Time to get some potatos on for tea,See you all tomorrow,Brenda

WED AFTERNOON EARTHQUAKE I kid you not I was watching the tennis about 1-45 my time and the couch started shaking and me as well then it stopped and then started again not for long but the building was swaying so it was a bit alarming I have never been in an earchquake before, well I guess john is happy with the match results not a bad game though I think that they could have done better in the 2nd half, the tennis was good so all in all I had a good day, hope fred got all his hopping done, have moved the tomato plants inside as we now have a tornado warning out for this area a funny day weather wise the wind is very strong bye for now dorothy

Morning to all ,from a damp Newcastle,where we have just had a little drizzle to start the day.
Well Dorothy ,your quake didn't show up on the disaster site ,so it must have been a small ,local one ,but any quake ,big or small can be very unsettling ,i know that from my days out east,and hope that yours is the one and only you get ,there have been quite a few over nearer the Alaska side of the country but nothing major..
I did get the bolts to repair the B B Q lid ,which i got done last evening when it cooled off a bit,and the new cover fits a treat,but i struck out on the little gas bottle i looked for ,plenty of time for that though ,and if i can't find one ,i can buy a bigger one ,and swap it at Calor for the filled ,size one that i need.
You seem to be in the wars this week lass,now a tornado posibility as well as a ground shaking,we have had a couple [just about] here too ,a sign of the climate changes i expect ,but luckily ours havn't touched down,and ,i hope they never will either ,they would make a heck of a mess in so small a country,storms are bad enough thank you very much.
Fred has done a bit of tennis watching as well as the football but only because i can't get outside where i would rather be,lol,i leave sport to the younger ones these days he he,the garden is active enough for me.
I found some very nice large plate mushrooms in Morrison's yesterday,just the right size for stuffing full of cous -cous and cheese .reduced in price too ,45 p for the four,so it's on the menu for dinner today along with a couple of stuffed peppers to use up the rest of the fillings.
I reckon growmore in my garden is a thing of the past now i have found this organic feeder in pellet form that i buy at B & Q ,that and the pelleted chicken poo ,are making the veggies grow that much faster ,and anyway ,the growmore is getting to be far too expensive these days ,probably to deter people converting it to drugs,he he ,i would like the bloody drug barons to try using chicken poo for that ,people would growing feathers and clucking instead of talking .lol.
Think the oz team are doing very well too Brenda ,and it might be interesting if Britain were to meet them later on if they survive Sunday ,playing Germany.
Brit's against the aussies ,he he ,this would be a real grudge match ,as are the rugger and cricket matches ,always interesting to watch,lol..plenty of fire and attitude he he.
Stick to the plastic cans Dorothy ,they are far lighter for a pensioner to carry ,empty ,or full ,and if they catch your leg when being carried ,wow ,have you seen the bruise the metal ones leave? ,ouch.naaaah.i prefer plastic thanks ,and ,a lot cheaper to buy.
See the hot matches are on site this morning so i will have a look later this morning before i mooch about outside,providing it brightens up.
Weekend on the way peeps ,time to slow down a tad ,he he,see ya all later ,Fred.

Morning folks,we also have a bit of a damp start to day ,i got up early to put some washing on so I could hang it outside before I went shopping ,but I was just taking the basket out when it started ,admittedly only a drizzle but did not want to chance it ,so its all hung on the clothes maiden or on hangers hanging from shelves in the dinning room.
It is supposed to brighten up later.
I remember being at work ,about 8/9 years ago when we where having a number of earthquakes round here.it was so unreal we could not beleive it!!.
Hope you don't get any more Dorothy,also hope the tornado was too bad.
At the docs later to have my weight checked with the nurse and then see the doc who wants to reveiw my medications .Good job I am not paying for presciptions (at the moment)as I have just had a two month supply and at what is it about #7.00 per item ,it would cost me a lot of money. Better go and see what the post has brought !!>
Brenda

Morning everyone,the good weather is back with us and its supposed to last all weekend!!!
Have a couple of errands to do today and want an early start.
Everything was good at the docs yesterday,but he could not say what had caused my dizzy spells etc,So he has given me some pills to take over the next month to see how I go ,he thinks it might bethe weather or me being tense!!We shall see.
Fred would you tell me please how to get the potatos at christmas like you do??
Hope you are continuing to enjoy the tennis Dorothy.
See yoy soon take care ,brenda

Afternoon our Brenda ,Dorothy,and anyone else who shows their face today ,lol.I use two old composting bins for my tatties brenda,putting a little soil ,or a mix of soil and compost in the bottom ,laying in six or seven tatties [,my favourites are Charlotte .an early variety that seems disease free and a good grower] cover with a little soil ,and a little feeder,and wait until the leaves come through,wait a couple of days ,add more compost and feeder ,and keep doing this until the barrels are full,keeping moist all the time ,when the haulms start to change colour from green to brown ,stop watering and feeding ,place the lid over the top and leave until Christmas, lovely new tatties for virtuzally nothing ,even using potatoes from the bag ,not seed tatties.
Some people even use lorry tyres ,one placed on top of another as the level keeps rising ,the principal is the same,and i start mine in early April .
I see Dorothy has had yet another quake yesterday ,around 5.i on the richter scale,but this one is nearer the Usa ,Canada border so she may not have felt this one, i even found a site that shows quakes in Britain ,lol ,but they are so small most of us here don't feel them at all .and i like it better that way ,he he.
My eldest son turned up with a small gas bottle for me today so all i need is a refill once he remembers to return the camping stove lol.
Well ,Fred is off to watch the tennis again ,i ain't following the football much 'cause i think Sunday will see us out ,though i hope i'm wrong ,Fred.

hi what a week an earthquake followed by a tornado the G* and G20 costing one billion dollars, saw the motor cade yesterday goingup the highway and a diagnosis of ms. after the visit to the doctor yesterday, fred the quake stretched from ottawa to us and further up so it was large enough, the folks in midland that suffered the tornado have a lot of damage it hit a mobile home park, and the visit to the doc was not great but onwards and upwards will see a specialist in that particular problem of the brain, andrew will be home to-day from the funeral in ottawa and we will have a discussion, if I was a drinking woman a large brandy would have been in order about 11am yesterday but instead I went to tim hortons and had a coffee and a large muffin, but a spot of good news the doc said to me have you lost weight and I just raised my eyebrows but was told to get on his cruel scale and low and behold I had lost 12 pounds so stress is good for something, yes I am still enjoying the tenis and the soccer the tennis is due to start at 9am in 2 minutes so bye for now take care dorothy

Morning all ,,Glad the Tornado missed your patch Dorothy ,you have enough problems without that sort of thing on top of it.
Yep ,i remember a small tornado hitting a holiday park down near Brighton a few years ago,very small ,lasting only a few seconds ,but in that time it wrecked half of the site ,and caused a good few injuries.
Hey Brenda ,i mentioned buying potato growing sacks at B & Q last week ,which i used mostly because the company mentioned was selling the sacks off at £1 each.you can use these as potato sacks at this time of year too according to the experts,just open a sack ,make sure it can't fall over ,and spill,jam three tatties in each one ,well spread out ,and let ,em go ,lol.[Just get some ordinary Charlotte from the grocery isle and use them,no need to buy seed potatoes]
According to the blurb ,you can plant tatties until mid August ,and get a good crop for Christmas,so ,having checked for you to find out for sure ,i will delay putting mine in until mid May ,instead of April next year.
Our cat had a mad half hour last night ,running upstairs and down ,catnip ball in her mouth ,with the result that there are tons of cat hair in all rooms ,grrrrr ,all visions of Fred having Sunday off from housework have gone out ofthe window [sniff] so i had better close for now ,prepare the veg' for dinner [all steamed today ,tatties for mash, plus new with butter and mint,cabbage ,carrot batons,Calabrese,,and cauli' with beef out of the freezer ,no oven needed,and nice and quick so that i can get everything ready for the match [footy] and later tennis ,
catch you all later ,Fred.