General Chat

Hello everyone, just popping in to say Happy New Year to you all.
I will be able to get to post more often now as I finally have my very own laptop!!!
A present from my sister, means I don't have to try to sneak in to use the computer when my son is not around - he was always only going to be a little while finishing what he was doing - always took several hours by which time I had other things to do..
Hope you are all well and look forward to catching up very soon - just have to get used to the slightly different keyboard etc.
Take care
God bless
Kathleen

good morning to Kathleen ,bill ,and Brenda,nice to see a couple extra peeps on here once in a while.
I hope Bill dosn't outstay his welcome at the river ,the land is drying out fast ,and some areas are already getting bush fires,it's so easy to get trapped out there ,with no one to turn to if help is needed
We are off out in a while to get some tubes of mortar in ,ready to tackle the little bits of cement replaced on the gable end of the house that the storm blew out,and get to grips with the garden wall that badly needs doing before the snow gets in and makes it worse,afraid the gable end will be a job for my elder son though ,no way can i go up the gable end to the house eaves with my bum leg ,lol :-( .
Have a nice day everyone ,be back later ;-) Fred.

Afternoon all.great to see Bill and Kathleen back with us again ,even if only now and again.!!! Hope you are both ok.
Hope your son gets round to you soon fred,I know what you are like waiting for people to come and help.you will get fed up and have a go yourself anyway,
John has been cleaning the drains out in the side ginnell ,they were rotten he got two carrier bags full of leaves stones papers etc and thatw with them having grills over them.We have used two litres of bleach and disinfectant cleaning them ,if the weather was drier we would power wash the passage way but its too wet. Mind you we share the passage with next door who do not clean their drians very often,John used to do it ofr them and stopped when they did not even acknowledge it.!!
At the docs tomorrow for the blood tests results ,have to be there early so the alarm clock will have to be set.Then going shopping with one of my friends.
Hope the weather is drier
Take care Brenda

Mornin' to all ,after a darned cold night ,which has turned out to be a lovely sunny morning and the furry pest is enjoying the sun on the patio which i wouldn't mind ,but the little bugger is trying to get me to go out with a cuppa ,he he ,no chance puddy tat ,you have to be joking ,i will wait at least another month.before i go out with drinks
I hope your blood tests are okay old Friend ,i worry about mine ,and that's just for the sugar levels ,so i know how you must have been feeling about it. ;-).
My Son must have been listening to your thoughts on the gable end re pointing ,lol as he turned up yesterday afternoon ,and i mentioned it to him ,result ,half an hour later ,job done and dusted.
The new air fryer is brilliant ,far better than the actifry and just as quick ,we tried it a few days ago ,and it saves having to put chips ,fish fingers ,fish portions and the like in the oven ,no fat or oil needed either as we use the oven frys .
We did get a shock though when we went back to Currys to check out the bread makers [for the future] ,the air fryer cost us £85 on an offer ,with a three year exchange if owt goes wrong ,but anyway ,they are now £200 so we did save a packet.
We are going to be really lazy for dinner today ,a flan ,Cheese and bacon [home made] backed beans ,and chips,thus saving me a lot of time cooking .
Found a nice small Salmon fillet too ,[beef] so i will make a casserole this afternoon for tomorrows meal .just heat it through ,and do some roasties and parsnip to go with it ,along with some Brussel and cabbage out of the garden.
Time to go now ,and get a little housework done :-0 [spits out of the corner of the mouth ] and clears throat ,weeeeell ,you canna avoid it forever ,can you ,lol.
Catch you later all Fred. :-D.

Evening all.the weather has been good here as well fred,lots of sunshine ,but not good when driving.!!But it is very cold.
Been ou to the library today as one of my mates was finishing today .We will be going out next week with her ,but just called in with a small gift and card today and got a cup of tea and a nice peice of cake,
Came home and finished of the washing.now trying to get it dry.!!!
Thought you had abreadmaker already Fred.I have one that I have never used,David got it me from Tesco,!!!
John is at his mothers in Clevelys today and night and David is dog sitting for my sister who is in Derbyshire at a wedding..So its me and the cats ,they are both asleep on top of the radiators!!
Doing a small pork joint tomorrow,bought it a while a go and froze it not sure what we will have with it as I am taking stuff from the freezers as I need to empty them to move them while we have some new cushion floor laid.
take care,brenda

Morning white world ,lol,been so cold last night that the grass and hedges front and back are white with frost even the cat refused to stay out there first thing this morning,preffering to sit at the patio window ,sensible girl .
I decided to do a casserole with the beef salmon joint because we need to have warming stuff to keep the body heat in today he he ,never knew the wife was a secret comedian until this morning.
How daft can a woman get ,preparing the veggies earlier she says to me ,can you get me some brussels and a cabbage from the veggie patch?
My answer was quick in comming ,i said ,no way am i going to the shed for a hacksaw and hammer in this cold.
The silly woman then asked what i wanted them for ,and i said ,the hacksaw to cut throiugh the cabbage stalk ,and the hammer to get the brussels off the haulm.i think she got the message okay ,lol :-P.
I did have a bread maker Brenda ,but i didn't like the hole left in the loaf by the mixing blade so i got shot of it long ago ,and i am now looking for one that retracts the blade before it starts the baking ,if there is a model that does this ,of course ?
In the meantime ,i have an Oster in the cupboard ,an old but very sturdy kitchen centre with a heavy duty motor ,and it has proper mixing hooks for dough,so i will give it a try out this next week ,hoping it will save me most of the strain on my wrists,that would help a lot ,cause i do love my home made bread a heck of a lot :-D.
I will have a look on the net shortly to see if i can find the animal i am looking for ,lol.but that will be after i put the roast tatties ,parsnip ,and onion in the oven .
Catch you later Guys and dolls ,hope all are having a smashing weekend ,Fred. :-D

Hi everyone,not sure we its still afternoon,or classed as early evening at the minute!!!
Any way ,its a very cold day here ,was -6 during the night and like Fred we had white frosted grass and cars this morning,I was going out and was glad i was on the bus so i did not have to defrost my car!!.
It was very quiet in town ,think people are now feeling the pinch from christmas bills etc.
It was my friends birthday last Friday and we always go out the Monday after one of our "gangs" birthday so,we tend to budget for it .It was even quieter in the pub /restaurant we use ,but it meant we could talk andhear each other even better .
Hope you are all keeping well and warm in the cold weather.
Take care
brenda
t

Good morning peoples .cor ,just been out to bring the bins in ,and had to use gloves to move them because it was plurry cold on the pinkies ,with a good layer of hoar frost on the handles ,no way was i touching them to possibly have my fingers sticking to them.
Off to the dentist this morning for the yearly M,O T lol,hopefully all will be well ,and nothing further will be needed ,but fingers crossed just in case.
The milder weather tomorrow has come just in time ,lol,lasting but one day ,it is a small window in the cold weather that we will use to get into the town to the bank ,and then ,a quick trip to the market [shades of Brenda ] lol where we will try to find a few Cyprus tatties ,and a nice cauli ' before enjoying a bacon & sausage sarnie with a cuppa before coming home again..
My blood sugar is still a little on the high side after the Christmas fare ,but it does look to be coming down at last ,but i think this coming yuletide i will be off the party food altogether,it isn't worth buying anything like that any more when no one comes for dinner or tea.
Off now to get ready ,but will be back this afternoon after i do a little research on Ancestry.
Catch you later all ,Fred. :-)

Morning all,Fred is right on the nail,its very very cold,have been out to the bins and luckily they are not as cold as Freds ,so i did not need gloves.
Going out shortly to go and choose the cushion floor for the kitchen,and will have to get in touch with a local charity to see if they want a cabinet and chest of drawers which we do not want ,they need to go to give us more room.(and stop the hoarding of rubbish as John put it!!)
Will also need to call at library as I have a book to pick up.
Have some squash and pepper soup for lunch,so will not be eating out,
Hope Fred enjoys his sausage and bacon,!!
Take care Brenda

Evening Folks,well the cushion floor is ordered,now all we have to do is clear the diningroom/kitchen,we have been clearing the two units in there.and boy have we got some clutter.!!
Already taken two bags of books and bits and peices to the charity shop.!!
The weather has been so miserable today wet and murky this morning and just very damp this afternoon,but I managed to get a few errands done.
Hope evryone looking in is ok.
Take care Brenda

Afternoon all ,yep ,we had a good morning in Newcastle,bank first ,followed by a walk ,albeit very slowly round the Grainger market ,where we found some Cyprus tatties ,and a nice cauli' before going for a cuppa at our usual haunt,no sarnie though because Liz wasn't ready to eat.
We had some of those Morrison burgers in buns for dinner ,with some chips using the new Air fryer, when we got home.
The air fryer is brill' ,making nice ,crisp fat free chips that are far better than cooking chips in the oven or using a fat fryer ,i recommend this fryer to anyone.
Have to go ,the wife is having a little bother with her computer ,which being so old is a pain in the rear end ,but she still refuses to invest in a new one grrrrrr ,this lass is a real pain at times ,i think her parents were Jewish ,lol.
Catch you later all ,Fred. :-D.

Hi Folks,not long in from a night out with the gang from the library,as one of them was leaving,we had a really nice evening,i was not drinking as I was driving ,but I had a great chicken burger,and a few chips,It was good catching up with everyone.
We have been having a bit of a time clearing out the units we need to move from the dining room to have the flooring laid.I really am the hoarder that John and my sister say I am !!! I did not realise what rubbish I keep,it will have to stop.!!!Mind you the charity shops have got loads of books,ornaments.picture frames and other nic nacs from us,
We are looking for a holiday for April/May ,but I don;t think we will book just yet..They prices are a bit highI.
Better get of here and up to bed ,I am feeling my eyes going ,so i hope I sleep tonight.
Take care Brenda

Hi everyone,well i did get off to sleep ok last night,and woke to a very miserable day.It did get better but was really windy!!
Manage to get the birthday presents John needed this weekend for his sister and great nephew and we also got some cards,
We have just had a chinese meal,curtesy of Iceland,we used to have them a few years ago,but could not eat it all tonight!! The cats will think its christmas again when they get some duck in the bowls tonight !!
Hope you all have a good weekend.Take care Brenda

Afternoon folks ,not doing much today .do not have to go out which is good seeing as its raining cats and dogs!!
David is at the match and will probably be wet througth when he gets home.!!
We have finished the sort out of the cupboars in the dining room ,just hope the BHF will take the ubjt tomorrow.
Busy week after tomorrow out Tues ,Weds and Thursday up to now.!!
My sister is on holiday this week,so we are going shopping on Tuesday for some shoes for her to wear in work.Wednesday i am out to lunch with some old friends and Thursday i am going with another friend to the Lowry shopping centre ,to look for some boots and a jacket for my friend and ideas for something for me to wear at the wedding we are going to in MArch!!
Hope you are all well and have had a good weekend.
Brenda

Morning troops ,a nice morning here ,and looks promising for most of the day ,so hopefully Brenda can start this gallivanting and high living without gettind soaked this time ;-)
I evan got to look out in the garden this morning ,to find that the Fushia's are still hanging in there with the leaves still green ,and i still have a few blooms on some roses.
Out front ,thje Bluebells are coming through ,and so is my wild Garlic ,wahay ,looks like spring is stirring up here.
I may even get into the greenhouse later today and get the last of the buckets turned out leaving the area free to fumigate .
Hope everyone is doing okay out there ,Me ? i'm off to do fish and chips for dinner all done in the air fry ,the last lot were spot on ,nice and crispy and well cooked ,a far cry from the old actifry that i gave to the eldest son because it hadn't been used a lot.
See you later all,Fred. :-D

Hi everyone will have to be quick with this as my son needs to use this at 5pm ,Weather is just like Freds some sunshine and not that cold.!!The sunshine is showing up all the windows and mirrors,and marks on the doors etc ,so thi fred is rifght spring is it seems on its way.
Had the charity round for the unit which they wouyldnot take as it had a few marks on the edges so John has taken it apart and now thinks he can use some of the wood and doors in his shed!!!
Hope weather is same again tomorrow as I am out with my sister and taking some books to my friends.
Those fish and chips sound smashing Fred,will have to take a good look at one of those cookers.
Better get on with the tea ,sausages casserole and mash. !!
See you again tomorrow.
brenda

well todays weather started out ok but went downhill rapid!!
My day out went the same way due to various things but some of it was ok. Too long a story to tell.!!
Hope you have all had a better day.
Tomorrow will be better I hope,
Brenda

Afternoon all ,just a quick one today as i am going to get cracking with a bit of research on a few family members.
We put two large bags out this morning for Mac'millon cancer care ,and then went to the council recycle yard to get rid of a couple of old monitors that are of no use ,so we have a load of cupboard space now ,lol,next time the bags arrive we will be sorting through the wardrobes to see what else can go to the shop.,Called in to Morrison's on the way home and i got a haggis for tonights supper ,and the wife an individual steak pie because she dosn't like Haggis [she dosn't know good grub he he].
catch you later all ,Fred. :-)

Evening all.Fred hope you enjoyed the Haggis,never had it myself and not sure I would want to.Mind you i do like Black pudding now and again.!!
Glad your trip to the tip was good,we have stuff to take but want to do only one trip so we are collecting things together.
Weather not been to bad to day .but was raining this morning so John could not get out to golf.so was not a happy bunny again.!!!
I was out to lunch with my friends today and managed to find a dress to wear at my nephews wedding in March,did not go looking really but saw it tried it on and bought it.
Might be at The Lowry in Salford tomorrow with another friend,but she has not been in touch ,so not sure.
Take care Brenda xx

Morning Brenda ,think you could do with having a stern word with John ,he he ,where is his get up and go ,lol,i seem to remember the days when Lee Travino was out playing golf in his 60's and getting hit by lightning 3 times at different dates before getting the message to stay indoors in thunderstorms ,lol.
Must be something about us brit's he he ,i hate being caught out in a rainstorm too ,even if there are shops i can duck into ,think your hubby could do with one of those large golfing umbrellas with a nice cheerful design on ,lol.
Hope your friend is okay and you can get out at a later date,but the weather is a bit funny at the minute and it tends to put some people off .
I enjoyed my haggis very much ,and i seem to remember having a vegitarian one last year ,which was every bit as nice ,and was only coppers dearer,to accomodate the none meat fraternity.
The missus has taken a load of frozen beef ,and kidney from the freezers ,hmmmmmm ,i think we are going to be busy this afternoon doing fillings for steak and kidney pies ,yum ,and she has taken a packet of left over stuffing from Christmas out as well ,he he ,looks like chicken is on the menu for tomorrow .
Talking stuffing ,and the date today ,wow ,only 11 months to boxing day ,lol,time is flying 'aint it? :-).
Bill showed up on my inbox a few days ago ,he he ,surfacing to top up his fuel cans and supplies before going back to the Gibbo river for another week or so .
Hope he has taken an extra towel ,and swimming gear with him ,as he says he has fallen in the river three times so far,heard of fishing rivers before ,but never in one ,lol :-).
Hope everyone is managing okay for now ,chin up all ,spring is def' on it's way ,Fred & the furry one . :-D