General Chat

hello Sylvia,and everyone else,its not raining here at the moment but will be doing before long I expect /. Your fight about christmas creeping up on us Sylvia.I have seen a lot of christmas things creeping in the shops,have my cards from the january sales but because the post charges have changed I need to see how heavy some are ,as i tend to send a few in one enveope to families etc.Don't think the siaze will cost more just the weight. Have spent most of the morning doing some ironing and then looking for places that sell cushion covers for sofa seats if you know what i mean,this is for my dad.He wants some for the three peice suite and wants them before I go away ,I only have Friday free to take hin shopping,so plan to go to Bury as they have the market and the shops. I am at work at 12.30 so will be showering and changing next. see you all soon,take care,Brenda

Hi all, Well have had a peaceful day with only my eldest daughter and her partner here for a cup of coffee. I visited my neighbour Annemie upstairs and we had a chat for a long time, something which we haven't done for ages. The weather is chilly but it is supposed to be getting better and warmer in the week. I have planned to finish off my balcony tomorrow, being the last time before the winter sets in. I have the big table to clean and bring indoors and a few large pots to do likewise, then only sweeping up. My help can clean the windows when she comes again. I have made lots of Xmas cards, so am well prepared. I know Xmas always seems to creep up on us. When I was in Germany last Thursday I noticed the Xmas things in the shops already. Fred seems to be absent at the moment I do hope he is ok. It is time I got back to my genealogy, which is how I ever started on this site, but seem to have drifted away from. Now have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hello everyone,glad you had a nice fathers day John,iyts nice to have family get togethers. The jigsaw thing sounds pretty interesting,I'll have to tell John about them . Very slow Sunday here ,with really heavy rain for most of it ,had to keep the dryer going most of the day to dry davids work clothes. Been trying to find an email address for our holiday company but they don't appear to have one.We thought we would have had the tickets by now.They are supposed to ne here within 10/14 days before.Still there is time yet / Take care Brenda

Father's Day is almost over - Craig was with us for the weekend. It was great having him down here from Friday lunchtime when we went out for lunch. On Saturday we drove to see my Mum and later went to David's for afternoon tea and in the evening the three of us had a meal at a restaurant. Today being Sunday it was off to church for a Father's Day breakfast followed by a service, after lunch Craig left for home but believe it or not he was back in half an hour as he had something behind. Now it's just the two of us. Over the past week I having fun doing a Wasjig - the jigsaw where you don't have a scene to do but and after scene. This one has a couple of spies caught in the dilemma and trying to escape certain death. Almost there. The crossword the other day had this crazy clue 'SHOW GIRLS?' which I didn't get - the answer strangely enough was 'USERETTES' well after all girls show us to our seats at the theatre - but with today's world the clue is not PC. Have a great Sunday. John in NZ

Took me ages to get to us tonight was reading afew other threads on the way !!! Glad you are all wellSylvia so pleased about your help Mavis,I have got bought some bulbs to plant for next spring,daffs,crocus,etc if it would only stop raining to get them in.!!! Off to bed now and read my book awhile , See you all tomorrow. brenda

Hi everyone. At last, a few minutes to spare. At least I have the full use of the puter - Pip won't touch it. He just says 'any emails'? Weather beautiful yesterday and today. Yesterday was the first day of Spring. Today we had a funeral - a good friend passed on - had Cancer and had been very brave. We then went on to a BBQ to say cheerio to friends returning to England after 8 weeks on holiday here. Had Venison steaks, Pork Chops, Sirloin Steak and a lovely Trout - caught yesterday in a lake in Rotorua by Jack who is only 9 years of age. He will have a great tale to tell his Nanna when he gets back to England. Had lots of salads followed by chocolate cake, fresh fruit salad, Pavlova and ice cream. Beer and wine of course followed by Coffee. Thursday night was our Guess Who's Coming for Dinner night. I made a steak and kidney pie which the men just loved. So did the ladies of course! I made a cream and potato dish and the guests brought along dishes of mixed vegetables. Cauliflower, Beans, Peas, Carrots, Leeks and kumera. The guests also supplied the desserts - apple sponge and self saucing choc. pudding. All with lots of cream. Then last Tuesday we went to the theatre to see Oklahoma and had tea first at the Kwang Chow Restaurant. The diet starts again tomorrow!!! lol The family are all fit and well again thankgoodness. They certainly had a bad week. Tomorrow is a lazy day (I hope). But no doubt like you Sylvia the phone well ring and a voice will say 'will you be home this afternoon?' Of course we will say yes - would you like to come for tea? Good to read all about you all - Fred how do you keep going? You are so active. Makes me feel quite lazy. Your garden sounds fantastic. My strawberry plants are in full bloom so hopefully we will have a good crop. The daffodils, freesias etc are all in bloom now. Lovely time of year. I am off to bed now - very tired. Talk to you all soon. Love Mavis NZ

Hi all, Yes, thank you Brenda, we've recovered from our trip. My new help came today and it was bliss to have her. She works very well and is so easy to talk to. Yes, she can stay for me. We got so much done today. I cannot believe that it is Saturday again tomorrow. I am glad this week is over though as it has been disastrous. We should be getting our 'new' car during next week. Johan went to the garage this morning and arranged for things. The car has to have a MOT too, but this is only a formality. We have been offered a good price for our old van which we cannot use any more as it won't pass a MOT. It is so chilly that we have the central heating on again, though next week should be a little warmer again they have said. Now everybody, wherever you are hiding, Fred under the cabbage leaf, Brenda between the books, Di between the flowers and kayaks. Oh, I could go on and on and on, but will say goodnight. Sylvia xxx

Afternoon all.its a dry day her at least,but not verywarm. Hope you and Johann have recivered from your trip Sylvia,and that you are ok with your new cleaner.. Mavis just pop in when you can ,its ok. Haven't got as long as I thought I had as I got a phone call just as I was goiing to sign on,never mind.See you all tomorrow,take care and have a good weekend.Brenda

Hi all, A bit late tonight as Johan and I have been in Germany the whole day. We left after breakfast and it took us 3 hours to get to Kevelaar, which is where we wanted to do some shopping. We left again just after 3 and were home just after 6. Johan is feeling quite tired, but then he did all the driving as well as helping me with the shopping. He does well at 81! My new help is coming tomorrow, to will not be able to go to the market. Anyway, the week afterwards I can. Am feeling a bit tired myself now, so bye, til tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hello all. Sorry I haven't been on for a few days - have been soooo busy. Will come on tomorrow all being well. Love Mavis NZ

hi Kathleen and John and anyone else looking in, John I have loads of names that come up on Hot Matches but up to now only two have been from any proper connections, getting rid of the ones not wanted is a pain. Kathleen,we have a contstant battle with next doors weeds coming under our fence.We have tried everything ,next door neighboursare not interested they like the weeds six foottall.!!! We ended up putting a matting under some gravel but now have to be careful as we can not put any more in there as the matting needs to be cut and the weeds can get through. Off to work now.til 8pm Take catre Brenda

Goodness me, how time flies by. Didn't realise it is a week ago that I last posted. A little update on that - GR still charged me £9.95 even though I paid by debit card and opted for auto-renewal. Will have to contact them again and remind them of what they said. Sylvia I hope your mouth is feeling better now, it sounds very uncomfortable. Very unpleasant when the medication seems to make you feel worse, feeling sick is horrible. Pleased that you now have a new cleaning lady, that will make life easier and she sounds very efficient. Brenda, hope you enjoy your holiday. It will be nice to enjoy the sun and not have to think about work for a while. Fred, we have an overgrowth of brambles invading the garden at the moment. Brambles, Ivy and Elderberry coming in from the garden that backs onto mine. The nettles are growing rapidly as well, evertime it rains they seem to double. Have tried all ways to get rid of them but nothing seems to work. Could do with Ground Force or some other TV garden makeover team to come and sort it all out for me (I should be so lucky!!!) Di, do you remember the lady who lived in Hundred Mile House? I can't remember her name, was it Anne? I often think of all the people who used to visit this site but no longer see. Mavis, John, and Bill if you are looking in, hope you are enjoying your warmer weather now. I'm sure I've left some people out, if I have please put it down to my aging memory. I do enjoy reading all the messages, it took me ages to read them all from my last visit. Will have to make sure I get to use the computer a bit more frequently. God bless all Love Kathleen

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THIS THREAD - LET'S CELEBRATE! Did I see Bill in OZ pop in, haven't seen him around for ages. Do you find these 'hot matches' annoying - names supposedly matching to those in one's family tree. I have only deceased members in our family up to my great-grandparents on GR along with the place of birth, the GR hot matches show a different birth place and have no connection to the family. There are a lot of duplicated names in my family and even in the present day there are cousins or unrelated people with the same name as me. No wonder GR is confused. John

Welcome home Bill,great to see you again ,like Di says were are you? Sylvia,hope you sort out your van/car and have a nice day ib Germany. Di i am sure you could get some help with your garden,i know they can be hard work and are worth it bit don't overdo it . dorothy hello.John enjoyed his black pudding hope your friends visit is going ok. My friend goes home to australia tomorrow,( She is the one from mornington Bill,!!!) I will phone and wish her bonvoyage before I go to work.I am on at 12.20 till 8 which I am not keen on but its got to be done. Have been requested to look at the painting John has done in the kitchenso i had better go.See you all soon Take care. Brenda Heres to another two years.CHEERS

Hi everybody, Di, you should leave all the heavy work to the men. If you ask me you are trying to do both a man's work as well as a woman's. Stop, take it easy. It is ok for you to pick beans, pick flowers, but digging, taboo. No wonder you are tired my girl, you are no Spring chicken any more. Be thankful what you can do in a day and not what you cannot do. I have the same. At one time I could have cleared up my balcony and made it ready for the winter in one go, but I still have my big table and some pots to clear up. Worried, not me, tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow Johan and I are going into Germany for a day's shopping. Yesterday our van didn't pass the MOT, so we have been contemplating what we should do. Apparently diesels throw out a lot of soot and this is why it didn't pass. We've now put a liquid in the tank and with a long journey it should clean itself. If it doesn't, well I'm not bothered as we've seen a lovely station car, blue (my favourite colour) and in wonderful condition. So if the van doesn't pass we'll go for the station car. It really does take a lump from our savings again, but ............... let's me devils!! Am keeping this short as I have to get some things ready for tomorrow. Oh, my dryer which wasn't working yesterday is now working I hope. I took it all to pieces this morning and cleaned the filters! Sylvia xxx

hi brenda happy anniversery from one of your more recent readers I am slowly getting to know some of the names on the site and enjoy the stories that they tell enjoy your vacation bye for now dorothy canada

Hi everybody, Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Have been so busy, soooooo tired, and somewhat blue.....probably all linked and maybe too something to do with getting, s/b being, old!! The garden is so demanding; I have pears and apples falling everywhere, beans and tomatoes growing so fast I could feed an army, and now there are pine needles accumulating all over the sidewalk and lawn/moss, fall cleanup looming and winter crops of leeks, broad beans and garlic to plant. I was so tired just before lunch today after digging one of my 4' x 8' veg beds, in the hot sunshine,I couldn't eat lunch so went to bed and slept for 2 hours instead. Was planning on going back to bed at 10, but called in to see what's new, and saw Bill's message so had to call in to say Happy Birthday Friends and Neighbours too! I'll sleep in in the morning, Pan allowing. Fat chance!! Lovely to see you again Bill, but what are you doing still in Oz?; thought you'd be Bill in NZ by now. How are you doing? Hope you're well and enjoying life. How about an email sometime?! Good to see Kathleen back again. Hope all is going well in your life and in your part of the world. Sylvia, hope you'll be feeling better soon. That sounds like a painful ailment you have. Brenda, after the summer you've had, sounds as though you deserve a holiday in the sun. Our summer has been great, but it suddenly cooled off today and was positively chilly indoors and out of the sun. Fall is definitely in the air! Hi John and Mavis, and Fred and all absent friends. The kayak is looking good, but still awaiting the final process. We went to the Wooden Boat festival on Granville Island last week mainly to see the kayaks, and there were some beautiful ones. They are such beautiful streamlined shapes, and also beautifully finished, but I think John's, or rather Steve's, is going to look as good. There was one there, a really slim line boat for scullers; didn't look wide enough to seat the average bottom, so I guess scullers must be very slim people!! Bernie has a week off, so she took John and I out for breakfast this morning, and we had a good chat. She is so busy turning Steve's bachelor pad into a warm and welcoming family home. I think Steve is getting used now to living in 'an antique store', as he called it. I prefer more modern lines with a tendency towards minimalism myself, but I must admit their place is looking lovely. Today she was painting doors, installing a new faucet in the kitchen, and she was telling me about all the things she's going to be doing in the next few weeks, to the bedroom, and the sunroom. She's so full of energy and enthusiasm: wish I had half of what she has in energy to go with my enthusiasm!! She's an absolute joy to have around! I just read through a few back pages of the thread, and it was good to remember June, Jude and Crista, Elisabeth, Christine, and other absent friends. June, of course, was with us until her death, but I wonder how everyone else is doing. Anyway, let's hope our little 'family' can keep Brenda's thread going for as long as there's a general board, or a GR! Here's to continued happiness and harmony for our third year! Love to you all, Di.xxx

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US ALL its almost two years since this thread started 30 Aug 04,and we are still going , I started it because Bill in Oz deleted his thread in error many friends and neighbours have come and gone since then ,some come and join us when they can ,which is great ,thats what friends and neighbours do all the time. Weather her been very wet again,hope Fred got his lawn mowed at last .Sylvia hope your balcony is ready for the winter now. I am sorting out my clothes for my holidays and some need altering so might not get on much for a few days. Take care and thank you all for keeping us going. Brenda

Morning Slvia,sounds as though you are starting to batten down the hatches ready fo a wet windy autumn,[snap] althoug you have well beaten me to it,i hav,nt even changed the borders round yet seeing as it's so wet. I need to start on the greenhouse as well but can't at the moment because the tomatoes and cucumbers are still throwing plenty of fruit,and the peppers are now changing colour . Just had a message from the grandson saying he is on standdown and is on his way home, so if i go missing peeps ,you know he has nicked the connection again [sigh] ,but never mind ,it's nice to know whith his buddy to share cars with to come home ,they will find it a lot cheaper sharing the cost of the fuel as well. I will be going outside in a few minutes to see if i can at least get the front lawn cut today as that will be about the last cut this year ,and i can then get the mower cleaned and greased. Off out shortly to go to the clinicfor tests ,but will be around later,have a good day all those who are off today,and commiserations to all those returning to work today lol Fred

Hi all, Well another day of rain.In fact it has rained most of the day on and off. July was our hottest day since records started and August the wettest. I think in August every day it has rained. I did manage to clear up the balcony between the showers though. I've emptied my plant tubs and window boxes and now the balcony looks bare. I have cleaned the garden chairs and they have been stored away now. I clean them on the balcony first and then bring them indoors and put them under a hot shower. The water is so hot that any lurking spider comes wriggling to the surface. I don't like the chairs coming in unless they are spider-free as they make such a mess the little blighters. I now only have the table to clean, but I said today 'enough is enough'. I cannot do all what I used to do. Tomorrow our van has to go for its annual MOT so I suppose this will mean giving out more money! Johan has to take it to town by 9.00 am tomorrow morning. I said I would get up early with him - I cannot believe I made this promise now! Several friends have mailed me that they are coming to visit, so that will mean cooking again, cakes, dinners, sweets. Must think of something easy so I can sit and talk to them as well. Am feeling not so sick now, but the symptoms are still there so will have to contact the doctor again. Lots of heartburn too. Now have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx