General Chat

Hi peeps.special mention to Sylvia,hee hee,you need to get those needles up sharpish you know,nine months today there will be another tree throwing needles ,and you don't want them all mixed up do you.lol. Nine months to go ,you lot ,time to start thinking of presents and goodies for all the kids ,and grown ups,you don't want to leave it all too late THIS year do you?,i mean ,you must remember last year,all that last minute panic,blood pressure up a hight and those frayed tempers when some rotten s-d pinches the last toy off the shelf in front of you? I noticed some lovely fresh beef cuts in Asda yesterday and i may go back in now iv'e checked the freezer and get a couple of pieces in for the festive season while the prices are so low,i can't see any sense in waiting until the prices do the usual at the start of December. I hope you are starting to feel a bit better now Brenda,that shouider sounds nasty ,you really need it checked out again and once it's cleared up you could always go for another meal when you will enjoy it properly. The rain looks to be clearing this morning and it looks quite promising ,the sun is now trying to get through,so i may even get those two roses in this afternoon. Our garden got attacked last night ,but in a nice way,i only wish i had had the camera handy,we were sitting looking at the clouds outside the front room window when a hoard of starlings decended on the patio and bird house ,and within a minute had cleared all the bread and seed that was lying around under the feeders,we couldn't even see the top of the birdhouse ,it was completely covered in them. Well i'm off to do a few things round the house,but will be back later on [,waves to everyone] and says,have a great weekend ,all of you .Fred.

hello Fred,shoulder was very stiff when i got up this morning,well Sat morning really,it got better during the day and stated to stiffen up during the afternoon.Had to take painkillers again just before bed,got an hours sleep and then just woke up, and couldn't get off again,came on here and will go and have a cup of hot chocolate soon,might need something medicinal in it as well. Know what you mean about the lower price of meat. We are using up what is in the freezer part of my fridge freezer with it not working ,the fridge part that is,So we are having a few weird connoctions !!! Going for my hot chocolate now,take care,Brenda

Hi everybody, Well started to decorate the flat for Easter, lots of Easter bunnies, yellow flowers, etc.etc. Out with the dark red and green and in with the Spring. Yes, I think the snow and ice have finally left us. Yes, Fred I certainly don't want last year's needles mating with this year's needles from the Xmas tree. You never know what might happen? Have given Johan the job of altering all the clocks in the flat - lost count of how many we have. I hope you are feeling better Brenda. Don't take too many pain killing tablets like I did, otherwise you will suffer stomach trouble. I don't know which is the worst stomach trouble or artrose pain. Oh well, one of the joys of old age I suppose. Have got the neighbours in for a drink tonight, so will have a bit of a laugh. That's what life is all about really. Have a nice Mothering Sunday girls and let's think of those mothers who maybe today are suffering and may they too have a nice day. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, Well, I had typed loads to you all but it vanished - so will have to start again. The weather here in NZ is like winter. Raining hard and chilly today and the forecast is the same for the next few days. Autumn is changeable here can be very hot and sunny can be cold and wet. Wanted to tidy the vegie patch today ready to plant my cos lettuce plants but the weather put pay to that. Need to cut the runner beans down to ground level and leave them. Here in NZ they leave them in the ground for 3/4 years before planting new seed. We have had a lovely lot of Monarch Butterflies this year - they have stripped the swan plant of all it's leaves. We all plant swan plants especially for the Monarchs. They are large and beautiful butterflies. We will be watching the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth games at 9.30 tonight so thought I would catch up on the boards whilst waiting. We enjoyed watching the NZ Silver Ferns play Australia at Netball this afternoon. We were so pleased the ferns won. We have become real sports enthusiasts since living in NZ. Everyone here is sport mad. Hope all the ills with you all are better now - you have Spring to look forward to which usually chases the bugs and colds away. Had better go now so that we can have a drink before the closing ceremony starts. Goodnight to you all Mavis NZ

SylviaHi everyone, i haven't deserted you, its just with this decorating my desk has been moved and I cant always get on to it. I have now finished stripping the wallpaper off thankgoodness I have done most of the glossing, just got the window sill to do, my grandson has painted the ceiling for me, so now its on with the wallpaper. First we have to finish off the wallpapering in my daughter's bedroom, it would have been done by now but she fell off the stepladders and hurt her foot and ribs. So I declared a Bank Holiday and said no more wallpapering until Monday.lol Brenda, that shoulder sounds very nasty, have you been to the doctors? Mavis, I kept losing my messages but now I write a paragraph then click send, then I go back to update it and keep doing that after each paragraph, at least it saves having to write the whole message Sylvia, I would love to see your flat with all the Easter bunnies, you must take some photos for us to see. Fred, we have our front garden, then there is big lawn area that the council maintains, in a morning, especially when it is wet, the starlings swoop down so instead of looking out across a green expanse, we look out across a black one. The starlings haven't as yet invaded my birdtable which is on the front lawn outside my lounge window, so the bluetits and tiny sparrows carry on in peace. Di, I'm glad that your PC has now been sorted and I hope your bronchitis has cleared too. I think we are all in need of the warmer weather, Well I had better go and get some work done now. June xx

Hello everyone,June you put me to shame with all your decorating ,what will you do with your time when it is finshed? Sylvia,your flat sounds great with your easter and spring things I just have a lot of daffodils(real and plastic and silk.) and any cards that we get, Mavis i did intend to watch the closing ceremony but it was hard to find it on the tv? not sure why.I did enjoy what I saw and it did appear that all the people taking part did as well. It is mothers day here and supposedly spring but the weather seems to have forgotten.Ended up putting the washing in the dryer again as it was raining . hope to see you tomorrow,brenda

Hi peeps,i have got a few minutes before starting the dinner so i am going to finish off here. Thanks brenda,i managed to find the marriage whith the info you supplied and note that richard was a mariner[assistant master ]and that carolines maiden name was Streater,so i am well chuffed. Is that shoulder getting any better,that sounds a lot to me like frozen muscles and needs treatment ,it won't go away on it's own. Well ,it looks as though spring has finally arrived ,it's lovely and mild up in newcastle ,and was a lovely day yesterday which i spent with the son and family with my camera ,and missus. The garden has been started and i managed to get the dwarf willow into the front garden before rain stopped play,but never mind,i have the stuff to feed the lawn now as well ,so things are looking up. The lack of birds puzzle has been solved,it seems that one of the neighbours has spotted a sparrowhawk around so that would explain why the spuggies have gone shy lol. I have sussed how to keep the cats off the fence too ,a row of eyelets every three feet along the top of the rails with some of that green garden wire or twine threaded between them,cats will not try to walk on anything that moves underfoot,so this will be a harmless deterrent and should see an end to the pussy problems in the back garden at least,i can give it a few days to see if it works ,and if it does ,i can move the cat scarer into the front garden ,and that should give me a cat free zone.lol. Well ,i knew i should not have mentioned the word garden,it is now persisting down lol,so it looks as though it's indoor work today after all [drat] See you all later.take care ,and have a good day.Fred.

Hi everybody, Well as Fred has said Spring has finally arrived, judging by the birds, the spiders and the flies. Yes, I have seen all these. Also, a lot of people have got their caravans out for a Spring clean, so I guess the frosty period is over. Me, my cold, the sore throat bit has gone, but I wouldn't be surprised if I haven't got Bronchitis. I've had it many times before, so I know when I have it. June, I don't have a decent camera for taking photos, but if I can get the loan of one I'll take photos of my flat. Anyone contemplating visiting the bulb fields this year will be unlucky as the bulbs are still hiding under the soil. Yes, they too are late! Hope you are seeing the doctor with your shoulder Brenda. It's going on a bit too long now, isn't it? The weather was so good for a while today that I managed to sweep up the Xmas tree needles from the balcony. I must look a real site for sore eyes as I have to sit down to sweep up as I cannot stand for long. Anyway, the worst has been swept up now. When my help comes back from holiday she can do the rest. Have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hi Fred and Sylvia,my shoulder has been great today no stiffness and no pain,yesterdat it was stiff with no pain,so hopefully its going to be ok,John reckons I do it to myself by throwing off the bed covers in my sleep and he has to keep cobering me up again!!!! weather wet and miserable again,John could not get out to golf but it meant he could do some odd jobs round the hose ,we have a new toilet seat ,new bath trim,and new something else which I can not remember !!! Good idea about the cats Fred ,will tell my dad as he has a lot of trouble ,our dog keeps them away from ours. Glad the info was ok,please ask again if you need any help/ Sylvia our daffs and tulips have not opened yet but there some lovely ones on the road side hedgings near my dads and crocus aswell John wants his tea now and as he has been so busy I had better keep him well fed.!!! Take care,Brenda.

Hi everybody, Well lovely sunny day, but........................ as soon as you get outside you feel that bitterly cold wind. I decided to phone my doctor today but she was not available until Friday, but I could see a different doctor, so I did. I said I thought I had Bronchitis, and how right I was. I now have different puffers to help me breathe. I would have preferred Prednison tablets, but I have diabetes and Prednison sends your sugar levels sky high, and I don't want any more problems. Johan and I are going into town tomorrow, I will look round the big market in town which makes a change from looking round here. I hope the weather will stay dry. Sylvia xxx

Hello Sylvia.hope you enjoy the market in town I always enjoy different markets.Our weather is still wet and miserable,wanted to get some washing out ,but its in the dryeer again,!!! Feel like hibernating at the minute not very spring like at all. Have some ironing to do and shifting some bits of furniture around to see if we can make more room.!! Take care Brenda

Hi all, We had a lovely dry sunny day. Somebody said it was pouring with rain in the night, but I don't know about that as I was asleep. Mind you we still have that cold wind. I didn't buy too much on the market. Some potatoes, eggs (just two days old), some forsythia branches and some weeping willow branches to hang some Easter eggs etc. on. I did buy 3 summer tops for myself in a shop. Our town is in a complete mess, builders everywhere. We have a new shopping centre in the making. Well it should have been opened last Friday but was cancelled the last minute due to safety precautions. So many rumours, even one council member committing suicide. Some of our big shops will be in this new complex, such as C&A, which will leave our other centre empty. Don't understand the planners at all. I don't want to visit this new complex until it is really safe. Now have a nice evening everyone. Sylvia xxx

Hello Sylvia,this is becoming a two woman show ,must be the cold wet miserable keeping everyone by the fire side. Did you know there aren't any C&A stores over here now,used to live in that place at one time/ I am looking for sandals for 'summer' but wonder when I will be wareing them ,have had my boots on all winter,not even had court shoes on . Am tired tonight so hope I sleeep. See you tomorrow take care Brenda

Hello, Sorry to hear C & A stores have gone in the U.K. Used to do lots of my shopping there. No such stores in NZ. Miss Marks & Sparks, C & A, Littlewoods and Tyrell & Green. There are similar stopres in Auckland and Wellington - too far for us to go shopping though. We have Woolworths - but it is our food supermarket. Not anything like Tesco's!!! We do have some good weekend markets though. Lots of lovely fresh produce and at reasonable prices too. We had tea with our friend who has just had her breast removed - it was her birthday today. She has been so brave and cheerful but depression seems to have set in now. Her husband isn't the kindest of men which doesn't help. He too is sick - has dialysis 3 times a week for kidney failure. He has the machine at home which helps. But Sally now has to go for Radiotherapy for 5 weeks. She is very positive and will overcome her depression. The weather has been great - all the washing dry today - just the ironing to do now!! Spent yesterday in Rotorua with my daughter - they have bought a very old house and have renovated it. It was cleaning up and tidying day so I offered to help. The house is now on the market and should sell well. The Agents looking at it today. Seem very interested. We are out for dinner tomorrow and Saturday. Hopefully we can have a quiet day at home on Sunday. Received a card from our son in the UK for Mothers Day. I am lucky I get two Mother's days. It is the 11th May here. Our friend Blair is still in hospital and they have decided to do a heart bypass next week. It will be risky as he is not a very fit man. But the Dr. said they must do something for him. He is getting Angina almost continually now. Wow, what a miserable note this is!!! Maybe I will have happy news next time!! All for now. Goodnigh/Goodaye Mavis NZ

,Badgers nose slips round the corner ,sniffing the air to see if it's safe to come out,and is closely followed by fred. Sorry to have deserted you all for a good few days,but unlike our Brenda ,the weather up till this morning has been lovely and i have been very busy in the garden,and busy in the evening with my research. Thanks for the recipie Edith ,i will be trying it on the B.B.Q on the fourteenth of next month,it should go a treat on the bed wrapped in foil for the first hour to keep the moisture in before browning. Perhaps if anyone out there has any more ideas they could let me know ,i like trying a few new recipies out. The new anti cat wires along the top of the fence works well,the cats don't like putting their feet down when the surface moves and havn't come in the garden at all since i did it,so the electric scarer is now in the front garden so thats cat free too The trailer was collected at one oclock today so i have my front patio back too so the large pots and urns can now go back across from the other side. Sorry to hear that your weather has been so naff Brenda,ours was beutiful the first two days of this week,lovely and mild and sunny with it,but today it's back to normal lol,wet and windy ,and a lot cooler,but it is supposed to be better again by friday . Hi Sylvia[waves] what would we do without you on here. i promise not to bog off again and leave you two on your own so i will be back once i have made the tea ,probably a small curry with the left overs of the pork trimmings.take care all ,see ya later.Fred.

Hi everybody, Fancy no C&A in the UK. We still have C&A as do Belgium and Germany. I think France does as well. It seems a good thing our shopping centre wasn't opened last week as there were indeed faults in the safety. The man who committed suicide over this was only 54. I wonder just how much he knew about fraude in the building! I don't know whether I want to go to the market tomorrow as we still have this bitterly cold wind. It should be sunny tomorrow afternoon, but then the market is finished by then. I had friends in for coffee this morning and they stayed for lunch. It was almost 4.00 pm before they went. They, like us, used to have a motor caravan, and have been with us to several different countries. They also spent some winters in Spain, like us, so we know them quite a while. Now Fred, don't work too hard and Mavis keep writing as your letters are so interesting. Brenda, you work too hard. Still nice to hear from you, even if it is only a sentence or two. Sylvia xxx

Hi Fred,Sylvia and Mavis and anyone just looing in. Mavis all the Littlewoods shops have closed over here ,just recently,think the pools and catalogues have been reduced as well. We have a big Tescos being built near here and we have Sainsburys ,Asda and Morrisons supermarket all nearby,we have two small local markets they do not sell food!!! and a lovelly big one in Bury which does sell food, the fish and meat is great ,it isn't that far away.i do hope your friends are all on the way to good recoveries,they do seem to be having it rough. Having some girlfriends round tomorrow for a belated birthday drink,so will not have time to come on here. Sylvia,hope that wind drops so you can get out. Fred you have been busy ,hope our weather drys up a bit ,John has been rained of from golf too much he is getting cranky!!! Take care

Hi again everyone,what's this i hear about john Brenda? a fair weather golfer ,hah,tell him ,if it's good enough for our Lee travieno to play out in a thunderstorm [and get struck by lightening three times] then it should be good enough for him,lol,besides tell him he will be out from under your feet for a while.hee hee[having said this ,badger runs for cover]. Mavis should have some Aldi shops not too far away from her,they seem to be branching out in quite a few new places,and sell some good gear.including computer stuff,and garden gear which i go there a lot for,and my fish ,of which i am very fond. Back to the old weather this morning grrrrrr,not too cold ,but dank, murky,and threatening rain.not good gardening ,or golfing weather at all,it's okay for me, tell john,i can hide in Marys chalet,and make myself a coffee,but being stuck in the middle of a fairway in pouring rain is no joke ,yes ,i did do a round last year with my bro' in law who is an avid golfing nut,but it was a one off,i can't walk those sort of distances ,and it was nice and sunny when i went. Our birds are still doing well and i have been watching the boss blackbird who i shall have to name bomber out of respect for his latest trick,something that i have never seen a big heavy bird like him do before.i really must try to get a photo of him in the middle of this manouver of his. This daft bird fies in ,lands on the patio under the feeder which is hunng on the rotary line ,eyes the fat balls up ,gathering the strengh for the effort,then takes off straight up,runs his beak into the fat ball just like a humming bird,and then flutters back down and lands to enjoy the morsel before having another go ,until he is too tired to do it again. It will be interesting to see if he teaches the young to do the same,the starlings have learned to hang on the cage to feed on the balls ,so birds do have a brain they can use,the feathered ones that is[badger runs for cover again] lol. s.I think i had better go and give Liz a hand in the greenhouse ,i 'm getting hacky looks ,maybe the heard that last comment of mine [ouch] see ya later peeps.Fred.

Hi all, Well didn't go to the market today as I was tired from entertaining yesterday and the weather was dark and murky, with that biting cold wind. My neighbour, who has no hobbies, phoned down to ask if she could help me do any washing or ironing. I said no, as I don't want her helping me too much - I may even get to like it! My daughter and Henk came in this evening to bring their high pressure hose for cleaning my balcony. Annemie's husband Frans will clean it for me next week and my windows and then I can get out my plastic garden table and chairs and maybe buy some plants. It is after all almost Easter! I made two loaves of bread instead of tomorrow. I also ran 4 washing machines, so can do my ironing tomorrow. Now, see you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hi again. Had a great evening dining with friends last night. Duncan is 89 and Florence 88 years. Wonderful couple - only look late 70's. There were 6 of us. It was our 'Guess Who's Coming for Dinner'. The host and hostess do not know who they will be entertaining until the guests arrive. The guests do not know where they are going until that morning. The hosts cook the meat and potatoes and supply nibbles. The guests each take a vegie dish and a sweet. Altogether we had roast chicken thighs in a delicious sauce/gravy. We had cauliflower cheese, brussel sprouts and mashed carrot, kumera, parsnip and pumpkin. This was followed by Apple crumble and apple and rhubarb pie with lots of cream!! Coffee and mints and marshmallows to follow. There are 55 people who take part in Guess Who's coming for Dinner'. We have two lady conveners who do a marvellous job. They try as much as is possible not to put the same people together during the year. It is a great way to really get to know each other. Lots of ironing still to do - how I hate it especially as Pip prefers to wear mainly white shirts! I hate ironing shirts but do like them to look nice. Little lad next door has just invited me to watch him on his skate board! I don't think I will have a go!! Could be disastrous!! Must go now - we are off a little later to visit our friend Blair in Hospital. Only 20 minutes drive. Goodaye. Mavis NZ