General Chat

Good morning everyone, had a lot to catch up on as I haven't been able to use the computer for a few days.

So sorry to hear that Johan is unwell Sylvia, I do hope he is feeling better now, it must be worrying for you so please look after yourself.
Hope you get your op done early in the new year Brenda, enjoy your holiday and get a bit of rest after all the running around.
Fred, some butchers used to do corned beef but only to order - and in this country they didn't do it right anyway. Nowadays there seems to be fewer proper butchers because of the supermarkets so it's not easy to find one who is willing to do it anymore - you need to go to the East end of London and find a kosher Jewish butcher who can supply proper corned beef. Our butchers always called it salt beef anyway and that was what it was really - just soaked in brine for a week. Most people seem to think of corned beef as coming in tins with Fray Bentos on the label !! Was so pleased to hear that your son and his family got the best of the deal and that bungalow owner got what he deserved - you know what they say Fred "what goes around, comes around" he surely got his come-uppance. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when the other prospective tenant pulled out at the last minute - serves the nasty so and so right.
My car had to have it's MOT about 8 weeks ago, I knew I needed at least one new tyre - had to get two, it passed ok and I was relieved at that however..... a month later I needed a new battery, a couple of weeks later some little b..... smashed my windscreen (in the middle of the afternoon and just after I had finished cleaning it out. Then the seal on the rear window went but the windscreen man fixed that for me, after he had resealed the windscreen which had leaked (a big puddle in the offside footwell - I was driving and paddling at the same time) then the little monsters smashed my nearside mirror and the struts went on the hatchback (it hurts when that comes down on your head - OUCH) again the windscreen man came to my rescue and got me second hand ones and fitted them for £60 - the struts alone would have cost £25 each new. Altogether it has been a pretty expensive couple of months - so I am cancelling Christmas until about May next year Ho Ho Ho!!!
Apart from all that we are all healthy (so far) so a lot to be thankful for except for eldest daughter who has lost the plot completely and is causing us much heartache and many headaches. So if you can spare a minute say a little prayer or give a little thought for my girl please. She is taking herself off to Tenerife for a week and I fear for her safety - mental illness is so hard to cope with.

All take care,
God bless
Love
Kathleen

goodmorning kathleen you have had an interesting time with your car lets hope it is allright for a while, sorry about your daughter it is never easy when things don't go well for the ones you love, fred as usual you are a busy man do you ever put your feet up , no news on sylvias husband as yet hope things are going better for him, I just sent off an e-mail to brenda re another matter and told her that we are undera major weather warning snow is expected up to 15 cm every 12hrs plus winds of 70-90 miles and hr for the next two days my area may get up to 40 cm well I can well do without that to bad it is clear at the moment so I will have to make my dentist apt would not mind if that was cancelled, my son phoned last night to checkin with some news his wife (lindy ) has been moved from a .5 teaching postion to a .7 double dutch right, well she will now teach all day mon and thurs and then all the other mornings, with the chance of this turning into a full time position in the new year, the down side of it is that the teacher who has the full time spot is not a well lady she has a bi-polar condition returns each sept to teach but then it gets too much and she fades out after nov for the rest of the year. luckily the teachers have a good union that provides a very good sick plan for them so while lindy is pleased she is also a little sad as she really likes the other lady. well time to hit the shower and get going lets hope the next time I am on here I am not snowed in. bye for now dorothy

What a lovelly lot of messages,
sylvia hope Johann is doing ok,please let us know like Fred says.
Fred will you stop making my mouth water please.Hope your "cornbeef "turns out ok
Had two lots of bad news today ,my friend went to have polyps removed but they ended up just taking a peice of the largest one and its been sent for biopsy.she is rather worried,as she has had them before and knows they can turn nasty.
Then my other friend met us for lunch and said her brothet who lives in Ireland on the small family farm has bladder cancer and it may be in the kidney as well,so she was upset as he is her younger brother and she is off to Ireland tomorrow with her older brother. to see him
She had tried to phone work all morning to tell them but could not get through,she said she would try again this afternoon,but is worried they will not give her time off as it is a supermarket and they have a no holidays in DEcember and JAnuary policy.
Surely they have a compassionate leave policy even if she doesn't get paid..
Kathleen ,nice to see you again,I am having a spot of car trouble myself,hope it doesn't escalate like yours!!!
I am off to Tenerife myself next week and am getting ready now after all the hospital polaver.
Speak to you tomorrow.
Brenda

Goodmorning all Fred ,Here in NZ corned beef does come in butcher shops Just as well In fact farmers who do home kill their own beef usually send it off to get cured Some more successful than others
Nothing nicer than a nice piece of corned silverside
Today we are getting a light drizzle but we need rain badly or restrictions for watering will come on
Our flower garden is just about planted and the vegetable gardens doing well Have actually dug some new potatoes ! early for us Tomatoes in glasshouse should be ready by xmas My shade houses of fuchsias coming along and I need to be organized as two garden clubs are going to visit this year1 Margaret

well I am abck from the dentist that went well not back till june and now the snow squalls have hit I can't see outside at all and then they will clear just as fast, the winds are really blowing , it will be hard for the children walking home. this is supposed to go on till saturday but maybe they will be wrong . going to put some soup on the stove for later bye fornow dorothy

Hi all,
Well hopefully Johan will be out of hospital tomorrow. The doctors cannot understand why Johan's blood has become so thin. He does take blood-thinning tablets, but has taken them ever since his heart operation. The doctors don't like the idea of Johan's forthcoming eye operation when they will give him full anaesthetic. They said he should find another doctor and have just local anaesthetic.
I had the mechanic in for our television/telephone/computer yesterday and he solved the problem of why we couldn't get the programme of calling up programmes we had missed on the television, and everything seemed ok. I forgot to check the computer. Last night wanted to look at my e-mails and send one and it didn't work. I couldn't get Outlook Express. I phoned our provider and gave up at 10.00 last night. I was so depressed last night that got up early this morning and phoned provider again and had a nice girl who took me through the programme step by step, adding a new code number etc. then I couldn't type "@", but the girl said switch off the machine and it should come back. Hey ho, it did so am a happy bunny again.
Johan will be delighted when he sees his new massage chair in the sitting room. My help Anita fixed it up for him and I gave Johan's old chair to a neighbour who is so happy with it.
I hope to get to the market tomorrow early just in case Johan is allowed to come home.
Have read all your letters and many thanks for your good wishes.
Sylvia xxx

Hi
We got some spring-cleaning done this morning. We have someone coming to clean the windows which seem to attract salt-spray which is difficult to remove hence the call to the professionals. In a fortnight or so we are having vertical venetian blinds hung in the lounge and dining rooms, and horizon venetian blinds placed in the convervatory. With the blinds in the lounge means that the window sills can no longer have ornaments etc on them, the question we asked ourselves was 'where do you put them?', no doubt they will find a new place.
Did any of you see the film 'Amazing Grace' with Ioan Gruffudd about the abolish of slavery? We saw recently and thought it was very good. I hoping to buy a DVD of it to add to my collection.

John

hi its late in the evening here but could not sleep due to the noise the wind is making so cameon line so glad to see a message from sylvia and to hear that her husband is improving that is great news bye dorothy

Hi all,
Just come on here as it is lonely at home without Johan. My youngest daughter and her husband came and picked me up today at 4.00 pm to go to the hospital and we returned around 7.00 pm. Johan asked me to take him "something for by the coffee" so I made a batch of cakes for him this morning.
Johan seemed to have more colour in his face. Well he ought to with having 4 bags of blood given to him.
Tomorriow my other daughter Janet is going to sleep at my granddaughter's house and then will pick me up on Monday morning. We will then go to the Makro, the wholesalers, and do our "big" shopping as when Johan comes out of hospital he won't be fit enough to do this.
The weather is very windy and wet and cold.
See you all tomorrow.
Sylvia xxx

hi sylvia glad to hear your family are looking after you so well, your right after 4 bags of blood johan should look quite pink. remember to look after yourself as well bye for now dorothy

Hi all,
Christmas carolling begins this week - eight days over three weeks. We have two rest homes tomorrow, Monday, afternoon. By the end of the three weeks we will probably be exhausted by all the running around (for me it will be walking).
The vegie garden is looking good particularly the silverbeet and tomatoes, sadly the cabbages and cauliflowers are being attacked by slugs meaning its time for slugbait or something.
Catch you next time
John

Hi all,
Oh John, how I miss England when I think of carolling. Can't you come and sing outside my door?
I don't miss much, but carolling I do.
Sylvia xxx

just another quick message as I am sorting out some clothes for my holiday!!.have some trousers to turn up and have a skirt to take in,due to the amount of weight I have lost.!!!
Hope Johann continues to improve Sylvia,but Dorothy is right in telling you to look after yourself
Good luck with the carolling John ,must be nice to be in warm singing carols.!!!Hope the garedn continues to be good.
Dorothy,wet and windy here but have been told its sunny in Tenerife,mind you until I get there i don't look at the weather.
We have all been warned we can not use the library pc for private emails,wehave to book a public one on our break!!So I might not reply during the day when I am at work
Brenda.

hi brenda and all I do hope the weather is sunny for you on your holidays, we have had a wild 24hrs snow freezing rain etc all school buses cancelled to-day and we are to get more snow, I drove home from andrews last evening and the freezing rain piled up on the car like mounds of popcorn I had to stop twice to clear it off even though I had cleared all the ice off before I left, have to go over there this evening so I am hoping that the snow will stop by the time I leave. still have a bit of xmas shopping to do so hopefully this week I will be finished. mailed all my local xmas cards yesterday, I left the english ones with anne to post. hope that sylvia is looking after herself. the electrician has just come to the door they are putting in a new fire alarm system in the building the cats have run away and hid under the beds bye for now dorothy

Hi All,very windy and wet here today,was supposed to brighten up but did not.
Hope the snow holds off Dorothy,iam just planning on lots of R/R next week.!!!
Feeling tired as I did not sleep well,and the car is playing up,just when I need it not to.
Be back tomorrow night,brenda

monday eve 6pm well what a day it has snowed all day approx 25 cm but it has been blwoing so it could be more thank goodness lindys game was cancelled for this evening, I could not see across the road all day did not even attempt to go out and clear the car some of my neighbours who attemtted to go to work turned round and came back . and they are saying we have another 25 to-morrow before this storm blows over nad goes away. sorry to talk about only the weather but it is the main topic of conversation at the moment bye for now dorothy

Evening everyone,sorry i missed you all yesterday ,but i was rather busy with decorating these past few days,and have been rather tired.
Most of it was finished yesterday ,and i thought to myself ,yes,a lazy day tomorrow,but ,i forgot to inform the wife of the fact.
Today ,i had only one wall and a door to finish and then ,job done,
I had the wall done by eight this morning ,and put a coat of silk on the door to see if Liz liked it ,or wether she wanted gloss.Gloss she said ,or when i wash tjhe paint ,it will come off the wood,eh?.
I asked her ,how come the paint dosn't come off the paper then when you wash the emulsion,[silence is golden ] hee hee ,one win to Badger,but i still have to recoat it with gloss tomorrow.
WEe went to the clinic at ten,then went shoppinmg ,wher Liz spotted nets of brussels and parsnips for sale at £1 a net,so there i am at one this afternoon ,lazy day gone,preparing and blanchin g bruissels and parsnips,enough to to six meals for eight over christmas,i even got to make vegggie soup with the water used for the blanching ,witjh shredded green cabbage leaves ,carrots ,onion,shalllot,rosemary,lentils and barley in,lovely,some for supper done with fresh milk or creme fresh,and plenty put down in the freezer for a cold day.
Time to go now ,as a treat for working so hard today,i have a hot curry with chips coming from our local fish and chip shop,last time it was half a chicken.
This fella does lovely fish as well,so i am spoiled for choice.
See you tomorrow,Badger.

Hi all,
Well Johan is now home He came home yesterday while I was out shopping with my eldest daughter. We phoned him and heard that he was packing to come home so were not surprised to see him. My eldest daughter, Janet, was a good help yesterday, packing the shopping in the car and then upstairs in our flat into our cupboards. Not always in the best place, but at least off the floor, so I don't have boxes of coffee and biscuits piled up everywhere.
Today I have been to the shops to the opticians to get myself another pair of specs. It is 3 years since I had new glasses so thought it about time. We are allowed on the National Health to have a pair every 3 years. I have chosen a frame with a bluish tinge - something different - the new me!
I also went to the bookshop and bought some books for Johan for Xmas and another book for Janet for Xmas. I feel that I am now making progress towards Xmas.
I must bake some bread tomorrow and my help is coming so will be kept busy.
Must go to the garden centre next week and gets bits and bobs for making centrepiece for table and decoration on front door etc., plus Xmas tree.
Well if we get bad weather after Xmas I don't mind as I have so much food in the house I can hibernate. What a good idea!
Have a nice evening.
Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone,all busy again with one thing and another,i have put a colour on my hair ready for my holidays ,it said it was mahogany which looked rich brown but has come out more like an auburn,!!1
Only a half dayto work tomorrow,then home to finish the ironing and packing.However the car has togo back for them to recheck.!! Speak to you tomorrow,brenda

Hi Brenda Bet you are getting excited for your holiday Hope the weathers perfect and you enjoy it all
Nice day here weather wise hoping for 25 c today
Rain needed !! the ground is still very dry the rain we had didnt amount to much, need a good rain then to clear is our order
Margaret