General Chat

Hi everyone, (cheating so that I don't miss anyone). Strange weather in Glos today, one minute sunny and warm the next overcast and chilly. Had 2 lots of washing on the line today, that is 7 loads since we returned ( had all the bedding from the family's weekend stay too), and one more load to do. Also been to the dentist for a checkup and clean (£33). Nothing needing doing thank goodness. Jude, thanks for e mail, i have briefly replied. Sounds as though you are in for a bit of expense with Madoc. did the RSPCA warn you that he had problems? They should have. Lou Hope Bex finds her second day easier. First day in a new job is always a strain, meeting new people and learning new things plus working out where everything is. Also tiring if she has a long journey. I have probably missed this but what job is she doing? Good luck to Kris too with his interview results. Christine: School production are lovely aren't they was it a production by children or by adults for children? either way the kids watching love it and see the magic in it. You are not supposed to peep. June I hope Beckham got on OK at the vet, was he as nervous as I was at the dentist I wonder? We haven't had rain here but our cat Holly has stopped laying in the garden now. All summer she lies on the lawn in the same spot stretched out. At the first sign of cooler weather she is curled up in the conservatory in the sun, and when it gets colder she will be on the settee in the lounge. It is lovely all summer because the lounge furniture is 'hair free', but come winter the chairs are covered in old pillow cases etc as she is mainly white and she moults. Hard work keeping everywhere clean. Also I am a bit allergic to her hairs so I sneeze a lot when she is in the lounge. Anyway, this thread has been a bit quiet today - must be because Jude is at work Lol!!! I will look in again later. Ann glos

Hi everyone, I dont think the weather has made up its mind agin but its not raining. That means Beckham will be in and all day, he keeps sniffing around the plant pots, I thought our squirrel had returned but I saw a mouse/vole on Sunday evening so it must be that he is chasing, I dont mind if the mouse stays outside but I cant stand it when they come inside. Christine, Isn't it lovely taking the children to school productions, the expressions on their faces is so funny. You are a naughty gran though, you shouldn't peek under curtains!! lol Lou,I'm sure Bex will be fine after a day or two, it is a strain though at first, you dont know where anything is and how it is done. I hope Kris is soon sorted too, its hard on young people these days with the shortage of jobs. Good news for Cliff too. Jude, Madoc sounds to have settled in well, I bet that gap between him and Mad cat will get smaller and smaller. Did you find anything for your autumn wreath? I may cheat and look in our local Dunhelm shop, but I will look around the garden first. My "office" still needs a little more tidying, but this morning I have to take Beckham to the Vet, I think his mouth is sore. I had better get going now being as his appointment is just after 9. Love June xx

Hi everyone, Sounds like you've all been busy. Lou, It's a major life change when you first start work - give Bex a hug - she'll be right:-)) It's been a pretty horrible day here today - raining most the time. Glad I was out with the grandkids. We went to a school holiday production "There was an Old Woman". The five year old thought it pretty neat. The magician made the mini giant disappear but the 7 year old and I could see him creeping under the curtain! The cast said their goodbyes at the door and my littlest one hugged them all so I think she enjoyed it.

Me again!!!:o)) Gaynor - sounds like you enjoyed yourself,can't remember where the wedding was!!? What breed is Bonnie - and yeh Madoc is settling in now - he and Fat Cat have been as close as 2ft this evening more than once,Madoc almost ignores him apart from when they are in the garden!! Sylvia - what ever are you and hubby up too??lol l hope you enjoy it what ever it is - Hey are you retaking your vows or something simular and really romantic:o))) My son will be here on Wednesday with his wife(oh that do's sound strange) and the m.i.l. who is a very nice lady and great fun. June - you sound very cosy now in your "office", must say l am comfortable with mine,but l still need to sort some papers out. The wreath!!! well l have'nt actually started mine either but l have been to the library for some idea's,also got a book on using wire - to make either pictures & frames,baskets,ornaments,flowers etc. When l get home from work tomorrow hubby has to go into town,so l will walk Madoc in local field/park and start picking bits - will have cutters at the ready. Got 2 more bargains from charity shop today - pr of Laura Ashley baggy trousers and a Dash navy hooded top -total £6.40 - the top has a mark which could be oil/grease, so it may be for work in forest,will soak it in fairy liquid first!!! Madoc sat with me in the garden whilst l did the weeding, if he was'nt at my side he was on the lawn with an old rugby ball squezzing air out of it and then looking to see where the noise was coming from:o)))) lol - he's still limping badly as well,often walks on 3 legs - do hope he will be ok!!? Brenda - are you back yet and did you have a nice time????? Elisabeth,Kathleen,Lou,Christine,Anne(Belfast)Fred and anyone else l have forgotten - do hope you are all well and look forward to your news. Ann (Gloucester) about to email you now:o) Nite all:o) Jude sarf wales xx

Hello everyone - just a quickie before l go into the garden. Been to the vets this afternoon - Madoc's limp very prominent!!! our vet is quite concerned, he thinks he has a hip prob as well as leg.His ankle is swollen and he does'nt think he's had surgery before - so the scars are from a nasty cut from the accident.We are waiting for the original vet to phone RSPCA with all there details. He will have his booster jab on Fri,then wait 10days before he can have any anti-imflamitories etc - then xrays!!!!! The rspca have said he had a clean bill of health when he left there so we should be able to claim on the 30 days free insurance from them!!!! hope so! Our vet thinks he had probs before the accident. If he needs surgery it will cost hundreds - you can imagine our faces and what was going through both our brains - BUT hubby looked at me and said "we're keeping him so we have to deal with it now" - thank god for that,bless, l thought he might have said "send him back" - really could'nt let this one go. Apparently his real name was Mad-dog and RSPCA changed it to Madoc - must admit he do's sit for ages watching insects and any shadows. Anyway thats it for a wee while,speak later. Will reply to all your messages later. Ann - will email you back,thank you:o)) Jude sarf wales xx

Hello everyone.... I finally got around to the computer, we had a great time at the wedding, I didn't take my tablets so I was ok - a few vodka's kept me going, at least I wasn't spaced out... just very merry lol. The "do" was really good fun, John comes from a very large family and almost everyone was there, he took the opportunity of taking a print out from his PAF file and got people to fill in some gaps (well until the "party spirit" got the better of him lol). Any way it was good to meet his family, I doubt I will remember all the names but everyone was very nice. We didn't do much yesterday, we called in on his Mum and Dad in the morning, we needed to have a couple of hours to wake up and a cup of tea before we drove home. We all went back to bed in the afternoon mind you we all felt better for it and then Mum came round later on and bought Bonnie home. She loves going to see Mum's Beckham, I thinks she thinks of him as her baby. I'm glad Madoc is happy and settling in well, I'm not sure what the full story is there, but he and Fat Cat seem to be having fun. Anne (Belfast) your sea bass and salmon sound really appetising, I haven't had fresh fish for ages, it has really made me fancy some, we have a fish van who parks outside the local shops every Friday so I will have to go and have a look at what he has this week I think. Anne (Gloucester) you sound like you have had a great time in Tenereife soaking up that gorgeous sunshine, you weren't missing much weather-wise here at all and you're off again soon? Lucky you! On one hand it doesn't seem like five minutes since we were in Corfu, and on another it feels like a life time away (it was 6 weeks ago). Sylvia, do you live in Holland? I have been there a couple of times, Delft is beautiful and of course the pottery is very pretty. The first time I went, I stayed just outside the Hague and the second time I stayed in Amsterdam itself. It's a long time ago mind you, it was when I was a Fashion student in about 1980 so I suppose things may have changed somewhat since then. I can remember on one visit we went down into a damn at Rotterdam (I can't remember what it was called) and another visit we went to a lovely model village called Maduradam, I hope I got the spelling right (I doubt it lol). Of course we did the canal trips and visited Anne Frank's house all the usual touristy things but it's a lovely place. I can remember skating on an outside ice rink in a square in Amsterdam one evening, the skates were really old and I fell and hurt my knee, it was so sore, we all had to walk to a textile exhibition the next day for what seemed like miles! At least it was flat! Anyway, I'm going to go now but it was nice catching up with you all See you soon and take care Gaynor Ann xxxxxxxxxx

Hi everybody, Have now cleaned my garden table and hauled out the spiders nestling in the corners. Table is now stored inside for the winter. I've made a double helping of spaghetti bolognese, because Johan and I are going away tomorrow to Delft. We will be picked up by taxi at 9.15, so should be in Delft around 11.00. There is a lovely old church there which we want to visit and my husband has sorted out some leaflets. Will tell you all about it tomorrow. We should be home around 5.00 pm (that's why I've made double portions of spaghetti). I've also made an appointment with my son in Amsterdam for Thursday afternoon. Usually I cook, but he insists on cooking for me this time - wow!!! Lovely weather here at the moment, sunny, no rain. I do hope it stays dry for tomorrow. Till tomorrow, Sylvia xxx

By the way Jude, re your photos and burning them onto disc. When you download them and save them, if you can save them to a new folder within your photo programme you can then burn the whole folder onto the disc in one go, it saves a lot of time if you can do this. Ann Glos

Good morning friends Hi Jude, I will email you. Hello June, I dried three loads of washing yesterday too. All the time thinking 'hope Mum isn't watching'. She was a stickler for not working on Sundays and I never used to tell her when i washed or ironed. actually washing really isn't working these days is it? in the machine, on the line is hardly work but she still wouldn't have done it! It is grey and murkey here today, yesterday was lovely, Saturday morning at the Malvern show it chucked it down (and i knew why we went to tenerife on holiday). Must get on, will call back here later. Ann Glos

Hi everyone The weather hasn't made up its mind yet, it was like this yesterday but I did manage to dry my washing,(even though it was Sunday) To my mind there are far more worse things in this world to worry about than washing on a Sunday. Jude,That Bull Mastiff you saw must be a creature of habit,or its master/mistress is, it obviously knew what the reward was. Yes having pets doesn't come cheap, but they are worth it, all the love they give you is well worth it. I have always had 2 dogs, so that they were company for each other if I went out, but this time I have only one because of all the vet bills etc. I like Madoc better than Maddock too, I agree it did sound rather fishy. Ann, You obviously had a good holiday and a busy weekend, but its nice to have time with family. Sylvia, You have started early with mincepies, I see your toothache hasn't slowed you down, going to the dentist is a very expensive thing theese days.Hope you get it sorted soon. Both Jude and myself have said we would like to make autumn wreaths, I'm afraid I haven't done much about it yet. Did you get your sewing done? I finished changing the contents of the drawers around, the craft drawers are in the sunlounge and the Family History stationery etc are in my "office" Today, after tidying up, I think I will get back to looking through the census, I haven't done any for a day or two, at least my eyes have had a rest. I hope everyone else is alright, see you tomorrow. Love June xx

Coooee - hello Ann, so pleased you had a nice holiday and your off again soon:o)) probably be best to wait til after your next break and yep Debenhams will do fine. Me not working in Gloucester though:o((((((( Just got back from the pub - well about half an hour ago and that Madoc has been a gem. Down on the river bank a large Bull Mastive sat waiting for his packet of crisps and container of beer - low and behold his master actually brought them to him - no wounder he's large!!!! lol Sylvia - my sister is going to look up the Sticky Toffee pudding receipe, no promises though!! No not started the wreaths yet, l need to take a walk along the river bank!! Dentist !! l need to make appointment as well,no toothache though,just very sore gums!! June - thank you:o) Your dining room sounds very peaceful,nice to have the puter there, we did have ours in lounge,then kitchen diner,but l make sooooo much mess, so much so that we often could'nt see the table - lol lol - dunno why l am laughing it was'nt funny when people came to dinns!!! so the storeroom is perfect in that respect - BUT NO WINDOWS:o(( Anne - your Lady sounds lovely - funny that, you having a Lady and me having had 2. What breed is she??. This Madoc is just so gorgeous, we really can't believe our luck - can't wait for our son,his wife and her mum to see him on Wednesday evening - oh my word its hubbies birthday on Thursday, will have to get a cake or something in now - l have only just twigged,thats more likely why son & co are coming then, they tried to come this weekend - dowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww they are staying the night as well!!!! sounds as though l had forgotten hubbies birthday completely, had'nt honest,its just that we had decided to play our birthdays down now - can't really afford it, having paid for 2 dogs in the last 2 weeks and the food which includes a 15 kg bag of complete food - we decided that that would be for both our birthdays and xmas:o))) l am covered in scratches - the dog chased the cat, l rescued the cat,he got me!!!!!!! arm,leg and stomach,nothing nasty but cleaned them with antisceptic incase!!! Did some gardening today,with help from Madoc who insisted on trampling all over the plants and mud and then make nice paw patterns on my carpet - as our soil is clay,we now have pretty reddish brown patterns on medium green carpet!!! quite effective - lol l managed to burn all the 66 piccies of students onto a CD,took ages to work out how!! lol Ok, l am off to bed now, some of you may know l was up at the wee small hours chatting to myself on here - as l sent a message to someone,that person had gone, still kept me busy, l could'nt make a cuppa cause Madoc was asleep in kitchen. Nite nite all and take care all of you:o) Jude sarf wales xx

Obviously nobody around at the moment. ann Glos

hello everyone. I returned from holiday on Friday but haven't been able to get on here before now because daughter and family were here. They came specifically to go to the Malvern Autumn Garden show. We got home at 11pm on friday and had to get up early to go to the show on Saturday. Luckily Jon has done all the cooking for us this weekend but i am still tired. He did two lovely curries for lunch today - one chicken and one prawn. we are on the 3rd lot of washing, about two or three more loads to go. Why is there always more washing when you return from holiday than if you had stayed at home? we had a great holiday in Tenerife. The weather was glorious, sun every day for two weeks and 26/28 degrees. we are very suntanned even though we wore factor 15 at least all week and factor 30 on our faces. I have read back through some of this thread and seethat you have all been chatting away merrily. Pleased that you are happy with the new member of the family Jude. give me a few dates to choose from and I will pick one when we can meet. we go away again on 16th October. Is Daphne back from IOW? when we settle on a date we can contact her. Debenhams Glos OK for this meeting? Is Brenda still in Tenerife? I saw her hotel when we were there but would not have recognised her if I had passed her of course. Elizabeth, Sylvia, Fred, June, Ann, and Gaynor, Hi. And, of course anyone I have missed. Ann Glos

Hi all, Yes, it's Sunday again, where did the week go to? Jude, it was me looking for sticky toffee pudding. I did find a recipe on Google, but it didn't sound so good. I cannot remember it having dates in. I'd like to know somebody who has actually made one recently and can recommend it. We don't like the tinned ones. Anne, have you managed to lose your cold? That is one thing about getting older, we don't seem to get the common cold anymore. I'll have to cross my fingers quickly, won't I? June, we did look at halls yesterday and one was a good price but my husband thought it on the small side. He is going to phone around at other addresses. The weather here has been about the same, some wind, some rain, and the further prospect is the same. I made a batch of mincepies today. I want to get to my son in Amsterdam - only 1/2 hour away, but must make the effort. I always bake things for him as he is alone (his choice). We always have a laugh together. I have had a toothache for a couple of days and think I'll have to phone the dentist tomorrow. I was hoping it would go away, but no. Another expense! We used to get our dentist free, but now have to part a part of it. Trust me to get problems now we have to pay! June, or was it Jude, have you made your Autumn wreath yet? The little red berries on the cotton easter look nice, even dried blackberry pieces. Red chillies give a nice touch too. Oh I could go on and on. I'm going to stop now and do some sewing. See you tomorrow. Love to all, Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone Its a dullday here but not raining. Nick has now moved the furniture around in the sunlounge, just so that the furniture gets evenly worn, its not a big sunlounge, takes 4 comfortably with TV and sound system, it is my favourite room, I use it every day. Sylvia, Did you find a suitable hall for your parties or have you still to decide? We do have vaious sausage here, 2 that spring to mind are Cumberland and Lincolnshire, there are probably more too, of course there are the famous black puddings from Bury in Lancashire too. I must do some autumn wreaths. Fred, I hope you have better luck fishing today, a good way to bond with children though and that is really more important than the catch. I missed you and Jude during the night, I had a wakeful period about an hour after you. ( better point out you and Jude were on separately lol) Jude, Dont worry, I knew you weren't being rude, its not your nature. Madoc sounds lovely and as pleased to see you as you are him. I can listen to stories of dogs all day long. Anne, Your Lady sounds lovely too, its funny how they attach themselves to one person just that little bit more. It does sound as though your children have been generous and given you their cold, I hope you are better soon. Cant wait to hear about Brenda's holiday, hope she had a good time. See you all later. Love June xx

Morning all, and a wet and windy one it is! The kids keep asking me to light a coal fire. LOL Don't think so!! Remember the days of getting up at five in the morning when they were little. Raking out the ashes, trying to put them in the bin on windy days, - remember that? Then lugging in the coal shuttle and starting it up again. Looked lovely and cosy, but what a mess. No wonder I ended up with a hernia!! Love my oil heating- even if the price has gone up considerably. Maybe light a fire on Christmas Eve!! Fred you certainly seem to have enjoyed your day. I have put the salmon and bass in the fridge to defrost for tomorrow's tea. New potatoes and some veg ummmm. Hope you enjoyed the wedding Gaynor! Take it easy today and recuperate today!!! Jude you sound like you have a gem there with your new dog. We didnt have a dog for over 20 years, and in January I bowed to pressure, and headed to animal shelter. We brought home Lady, it was love at first sight, she looked so pathetic, we had a home visit the day after seeing her, and followed the home visitor back to the shelter and brought her straight home. When I look at her now compared to then, she is such a different sight. Her coat is now silky and shiny, and she is a picture of health. I often say if she was smaller I could carry her round in my pocket. She loves all the family, but they call her my dog, as it is me follows around. I just love her to bits and wouldn't be without her. She was about two to two and a half years old when we got her, and clearly had been abused at some stage. We think she gets flashbacks at times and starts to shake, just wants cuddled, then she settles down. It is amazing the effect a dog can have in the house, my lot seem to be quieter(slightly!), anyone raises thier voice is told they are scaring the dog.LOL Well tomorrow my two fully recovered are back to school. So peace will reign in my house for a few hours anyway! Only thing is they have now passed some of thier germs on to me,and I have the drippy nose, runny eyes and sore throat. Think they have taken this sharing lark a bit too far!! Enjoy your day everyone, Anne x

Sorry its me again - Hubby beat me to it and was awake at 7.15, the dog went bolistic, he was so pleased to find us still here, came charging upstairs onto bed and IN,ball and all!!!!!! he was chatting away so excitedly but could'nt understand a word cause his mouth was full!!! lol - he's eaten up,been out the back and now waiting for us to get ready for his walk.His leg seems abit better this morning, as l thought - he did too much yesterday!!! Hope everyone is ok - l'm going to put my brisket in oven then have a shower, see you all later:o) Jude sarf wales

Hiya - can't sleep and my sonar systom or some thing has dragged me into the puter room - he he he lol Fred - 10 tiddlers bless:o) l remember when l was about 15 l was fishing near Ashington in W Sussex, in a competetion - first l had major probs trying to get the wiggly bait on, then even bigger probs when l caught a very wiggly EEL, never again!!!! Thanks for your kind words about the dog - he is a gem, can't wait to go down in the morning and be the first to greet him - l'll tie hubby down cause he'll want to be first as well, mind you he can't move that fast he's still got gippy back(or is it jippy?? either way it hurts!!) and he thinks he's going to work - "yeh l'll be in tomorrow,should'nt be a prob" l heard him telling his boss yesterday (Sat) and there he was standing with phone and his body bent abit like an S shape, plonker!!!! Well my feet are really cold now so think its time l went back to bed. l could'nt even have a cuppa,did'nt want to disturb the dog - so far no noise, bless im:o)))))) Your all going to get so fed up with me and me dog!!! sleepy jude in sarf wales

Hi Jude I managed ten tiddlers ,all whiting ,to be honest eight of them were very small but the last two were of table size ,but i put them back too ,cause i have loads in the freezer.The g/bairns had me in kinks ,and i can see this is going to be a regular thing .I,m going again tomorrow to use the last of the bait up.They deserve to get caught after me feeding them on best prawns and squid [Bill will go mad if he catches me feeding fish on prime tucker]. Your new friend won,t let you out of sight for a couple of weeks until the bonding takes place,and by the sounds of things you will get a lot of loyalty.I really must think of doing this once i have got moved,where we are then will be lots of fields and parks nearby ,and i will be getting plenty of exercise.Fred.ptfg.

Hello everyone - its all quiet here,Madoc is fast asleep downstairs and Fat Cat up here on the table. Madoc is just perfect, l cried buckets earlier - just looking at him, he had his head in my lap soaking up the cuddles and strokes, he smiles from one ear to the other and his eyes light up - his tail, well,it must ache!!!!!! Unfortunately he's limping - think l might have told you all he was in a road accident about 2 yrs ago and has a large scar on back leg - l think he has done tooo much running around and up and down the stairs, infact earlier he was so excited he nearly fell down the first flight - sooo we will have to keep him quieter tomorrow - Vets Monday if necessary. We picked him up at 11.30, the kennel maid handed him over to me whilst hubby was paying the bill(he's off work today,back still playing up), as kennel maid got to the door she turned and had one last look at him - she knew l have one gorgeous dog and she'll miss him,l will have to send some photo's in a few days or so. For a while we left his lead on to make it easier to catch him if a prob with the cat - bless him he kept picking it up and carrying it. He and Fat Cat are better now, first meeting Fat Cat dashed out the cat flap,2nd over back fence, 3rd he grew double but did'nt run and so on and everytime Madoc go's near cat we call and do the treat fingy. Sylvia - oh my word, you were young when you learnt to knit. l was probably about 9 or 10yrs, l don't knit much now, have something on the go now but gawd knows if l will finish it.My sister is the knitter and my mum was and the m.i.l. l was looking the other day at those thistle plants, or weeds along the road side, they look nice in autumn wreaths. l need some more gold and silver spray.When out with Madoc earlier l was playing with branches to see which ones bend and not break,cause they can be used to make a circle to make wreath on - must take cutters tomorrow:o) Fred - how many did you catch then, l'll have some what ever it is, except eel!!!!!! June - Piccies transferred ok,but l can't sort them out proper to burn them onto CD, sounds stupid l know,but they are now in with all the other photo's (700 of them!!!!) and kodak won't let me click on more than one at a time,its so annoying!!!:o(( l had to update the site the other day and its changed some of the fingies that l could do - if u see what l mean??? lol What a lovely mum you are and your Gee Baby sounds a lovely daughter - l would do exactly the same for mine.Hope you did'nt think l was being rude when l said about you charging around without your car:o(( Do you still want sticky toffee pudding, l will ask my sister, was it you or someone else?? Gee Baby - how are you this evening, oh yeh how did the wedding go,just remembered. l make notes from all the messages and try to remember everyone, then l forget things, l'm not that old so can't be old age, or can it??? lol l had to use the hose on that shoe. Hubby is usually the best one for that sort of thing - he can't smell or taste!!!!! Going to bed now - do hope everyone is well and happy l know l am:o)))))) Nite nite:o) Jude sarf wales xx