General Chat

Hi all, Brenda you have my sympathy. It's awful when your house is in a mess, and you can't follow your usual routine, and the kitchen being the hub of the home is the worst disruption of all. Hope you'll soon have it all back, and then how nice to have a brand new kitchen! Back in the 60s we bought a very small house and John renovated it to enlarge it for us; it took 6 months and thank goodness I was working at CPAir, because I could get away from the mess and turmoil every day, or I'd have gone crazy!! Well, after a week of switching my computer off for most of the day, my neck and shoulders are almost completely pain free. It was aprticularly troublesome, because I could hardly turn my head, which makes for dangerous drivingat times. So, as I so much enjoy the contact with the big cyberworld, especially with my 2 favorite threads, I'll continue as I have this week, and minimalise. I guess I'm not getting old, it's the computer doung these strange things to me!! lol Thanks Mavis for that lovely email, with audio. It's beautiful, and one more to add to my journal of favorite poems and prose. The kayak is coming along beautifully, and is a lovely streamlined shape. It will be Steve's and then John will make one for Bernie. After that he has a potential order from one of Steve's friends, and since they all seem to do the same things, (all have motorbikes now, before that it was skidoos, like a bunch of kids! lol), he'll probably be out in the workshop daily from now on. Nice to have the house to myself occasionally; I see you appreciate that too Sylvia!! Stage 2 is now complete and I've taken a couple of photos which I'll email. Must go take a shower, and then check to see if the rain has sufficiently watered the garden this morning; it pelted down for an hour, but is sunny again now, and as it hadn't rained for over 4 weeks, don't know if that was enough. There were also 4 really loud cracks of thunder and poor old Pan was terrified. Love to you all, Di.xxx

Hi everyone. Brenda - what a tough time you are having. Like Sylvia I would love to be able to lend a helping hand. Will all be worth it eventually I am sure. How do you find so much energy Fred? Must be all that marvellous food you eat!! Sylvia we have progressive dinners as well as the guess who's coming to dinner. With the progressive a bus is usually hired and we are then able to enjoy the drinks at each house! Makes a wonderful evening. It is still cold here at night but sunny days. Rain is forecast for tomorrow - we need it but probably not as much as most people! Haven't seen my daughter and family all this week - they have all had colds and we decided it best to stay away. Pip really doesn't need a cold with his lung problem. We have been lucky so far this winter - missed all the flu and colds. Mustn't talk too soon - still plenty of time! How is the Kayak coming along Di? Pip was most interested in the pictures - he built two canoes many years ago. Enjoyed every moment. Must go now and put the electric blanket on!! Love Mavis NZ

Hi all, Poor old Brenda. I do wish I was near you and then I would take your washing from you and put it in my machine. Don't you have any kind neighbours near you? You will be really sick of fast food soon Brenda. I do hope you will be able to cook soon. The weather here is dull but the heat is still staying in our flat. It takes time for it to get away. Wish we could save some for the winter when I am always cold. Now everybody have a nice Sunday Sylvia xxx

Glad everyone is ok,I am still waiting for my kitchen to be done,no cooker,no washer plummed in ,I do have a sink but it is not connected.so I am not a very happy bunny. Have had chips and curry from the chippie tonight,and John will take us out for tea tomorrow night,but I have loads of washing to do and then the ironing. TAke care Brendau

Hi Fred, Nice to hear from you and your garden antics. Whoever has heard of a 'burnt bum'. Please doctor have you anything for a 'burnt bum'? Hope you enjoy your day off and your picnic. Johan has gone to our large library in town, so I have peace at home. Suits me fine. I haven't even had a shower yet. The weather is overcast but no rain as yet. My hairdresser thinks she has found a help for me, but this lady is on holiday for 3 weeks, so I will have to be patient. I have a Spanish tortilla in the freezer so dinner will be easy again. I have also one of those French breads with garlic butter, so together with some lettuce will be enough. I won't know what it is like to cook soon. For all of you out there, enjoy your Saturday. How I miss June on this thread and her stories of Beckham. I wonder how Jude is in Wales. Haven't heard from her for a long time. Sylvia xxx

Hi all ,Fred reporting in having finished in the garden. I have no work today untill five this evening ,having cheated yesterday and doing two of todays jobs,leaving me more time today,only thing is ,i have comitted myself to a shopping trip this morning as soon as the washing is hung out. Tomorrow i am off all day [wahey] which means Liz and i can get down to Sunderland early,leaving the car at home so that i can have at least the one day without driving. We are supposed to be meeting the youngest son and bairns down there so we can still have our picnic on the beach as well as watching the aircraft. The bro in laws hand is now healing well in spite of his being diabetic so i should be done with the driving him around shortly ,and then i can get back to normal. The garden jobs are backing up a little but i 'aint doing too bad,the lawns will get cut tonight,the weeding has all been done exept for the border alongside the drive which will only take half an hour. That leaves the hedges which will have to wait for cooler weather ,i am not going to kill myself for the sake of a couple of weeks lol,it is'nt as though they are going somewhere hee hee. Hope you manage to find your new help soon Sylvia, then you will have a bit more time for getting out on your charger,and terrorising the predestrians hee hee,i can see myself getting one of those myself and convert it to mow the lawns with ,but knowing me i would more than likely land up embedded in the hedge ,bum stuck out like the doctor doolittle film. Talking of bums [in the nicest possible way] i was out real early yesterday morning ,down on hands and knees at six thirty,weeding the aforementioned border ,nose facing west leaving the nether regions facing east ,and half way along the border towards the potato bin ,i noticed certain bits of me were getting a bit warm through the seat of my pants lol.and by the time i got to the top end ,by butt was half cooked and it was time to quit and get back indoors to cool it off using the fan. The wife is sitting here working out the shopping list [knew i should have borrowed bro in laws van [waaah] it looks like a two hour trip,but i can count myself lucky she isn't looking for new shoes ,or i wouldn't be back before nightfall[ i can see the fellas nodding here ],a woman shoe shopping is NEVER in a hurry.hee hee. Have to go now peeps ,the foot is tapping ,a bad sign if i hang around any longer ,a fellas work is never done. See you later folks ,have a nice day all ,and Brenda.it's time you gave yourself some time off as well ,too much work and no play is'nt good for anyone .Fred.

Hi all, Well feeling a bit better now, not so sickly. I went out on the scootmobile and it is better outside now than inside. Yes, at last we had our promised rain in the night, well early morning. More noise than rain, but it is a start. I was able to spend more time at the handicraft stall on the market today as Annemie wasn't with me. Normally I don't like to leave her hanging round whilst I am browsing the stall. Johan had to go for a thrombosis prick in his arm so picked up my heavy shopping with the car. I am having easy dinner today as I bought some ready cooked fish on the market and have oven chips in the freezer, easy peasy. Now I will sit and make cards this afternoon. Take it easy Fred, it's not good to work in this heat. Even in one of our old people's homes several old people passed away with the heat, and they have nothing to do all day! See you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

no sleeping yet ,again,haven't even tried as I am still very hot and its a very calm night with no breeze at all ,at the moment.can't even do anything usueful as the kitchen fitters have not finshed yet.Everything is just a mess ,can not find anyhing had a right job finding some birthday cards i bought last week and needed to post today . Sylvia I have just under three years till I get my state pension,but if I can manage on my works pension on its own I might finsh earlier,but hen the gas announce today its going up 12% and the household insurance went up 9% I wonder if we will manage with the two pensions never mind one. Look after yourself Fred,no mad dogs and Englishmen please. No work to day or tomorrow,but I can not go out til the fitters have finsehed tomorrow,thought it was going to be tonight butno such luck,so will have to re arrange some appointments first thing. See you all soon,Brenda

Sorry to have left Sylvia and Brenda to carry the can yesterday ,but i was off line all afternoon and evening due to a power failure,and i have come in like brenda tonight ,shattered with the heat but i promise all things being equal to add a few lines tomorrow ,seeing as i am off work till three tomorrow afternoon[apart from the garden lol,and that pluddy hedge lol,its sitting out there laughing at me ,with hair like knitty norah [sorry norah] lol,but i'm beginning to wonder how long it will take me to trim it ,even with a electric trimmer it's that bad hee hee.See ya tomorrow peeps .take care all.Fred.

Hi all, Well I haven't been able to get internet for most of the day, just like yesterday. Must be the heat! Was feeling sick and dizzy this afternoon but there is still no sign of rain, only promises. I usually sleep ok but last night I didn't sleep so well. If I feel ok will go to the market tomorrow but don't like this temporary scootmobile. I do love to get out, so will probably make the effort. Poor Brenda, it must be awful working in this heat. How many days to your retirement? Have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi Mavis,you are correct about it being hard to sleep I have been to bed and got up again as the dog was barking,but don't know at what. Sat on the back step for ten minutes to cool down and then came in and was wide awake,at least its my day off tomorrow,I pity your son,must be hard working ouside in it during the day.The libraries have been really hot the one I was at today is like a pre fab building and we had every door and window open and all the fans on and we still melted.Its probably the heat from the 8 comptuers,and people book on for two hours at a time.!!!!! Enjoy your meal at weekend,I might suggest it to my friends,do you know what the main course is when you are doing veggies etc or is it all secret? Sylvia,we had a bought BBQ chicken with supermarket pasta salad tonight ,can not cook even if I wanted as we have no kitchen til tomorrow night. Hope everyone is ok Take care,Brenda

Hi all, It must be the heat but I haven't been able to get internet all day. Mavis your 'Guess who is coming for dinner' sounds like the 'Progressive Dinner Parties' we used to have when we were in Nigeria. We would start off at one house with hors-d'oeuvre plus wine, then progress (not all at once), to the next house for soup, more wine, then the main course, more wine, sweet, more wine, coffee cheese and biscuits and liqueur. We then stayed talking, dancing etc. at this last address. Nobody minded about drink driving in those days in Nigeria as there was so little traffic. Sometimes I wonder how we ever got home with all the drink. We also had wonderful barbecues with whole pigs roasting on a spit with our African boys turning them on a spit the whole day. Oh, those were the days, what a life! Today is supposed to be the last day of this heatwave, but up to now no sign of a cloud or a drop of rain. I have decided to cook today, easy, as the more you cook, the more heat you bring into the house. Now girls have a nice evening, and boys if you are looking in. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. How are your aches and pains DI? I'm sure it's not old age!!!lol I had trouble with a painful shoulder and upper arm about 18 months ago and the Dr. said it was strained muscles but was aggravated by the Computer. I took Voltaren for a while but I am very careful how much I use the puter. Brenda - we keep hearing on the news and reading in our local papers about the heatwave. My son emailed today from Hampshire and said they just can't sleep at night. He is in the grain trade and is right in the middle of harvest - he needs his sleep. He is a corn buyer and trader. Sylvia - you have the hot weather too. At least you can get buy with salads and light food and fruit in the heat. But again it is the hot nights which seem to be a problem. Just be careful on your different scootmobile - but no doubt you have mastered it by now. Not everyone can say their Doctor has washed their feet!! Fred - your have such a lot of family fun together - make the most of it - the Grandies grow up so quickly these days. Hello to all those people I have not mentioned. Went to Mahjong today - played quite well. Pip went to Snooker with two mates for a couple of hours. Not really his scene but I think he enjoyed himself. They had a laugh. Saturday evening it is our Guess Who is Coming for Dinner night again. We will be hosting. I have decided to cook beef in Guiness in the slow cooker. Will have nice creamy mashed potatoes. The guests will be bringing the vegies and the desserts. We will supply the pre dinner nibbles. Not sure what yet. Any ideas for something different? Talk to you again soon. Mavis NZ

Glad it went ok for you today Sylvia,it is hot again and I would say you are spot on about he heat keeping people off here.I have had some emails to check on and a couple of things to look up for friends ,which I should have done at week end,have been to bed but no chance of sleep so thought i would have an hour on here. Take care Brenda

Hi all, Well it looks as if it is too hot for many of you to come to the computer. My 'loan' scootmobile came today so I was able to go to the surgery to have my stitches out. No problem. I saw the doctor and told him I had come to him to have my other foot washed. You see when he came here at home he washed the blood off my foot and said to me 'It is not every day you have a doctor wash your feet'. He appreciated the joke. I did a little shopping on the way home. We don't need much shopping these days. Just think of all the money we are saving! I sat this morning making some cards under the ceiling fan. My 'new' scootmobile has the controls in different places so it was a bit scary at first going out. I went to go forward and realised the knob was for backwards. Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter than ever, so think I'll take it easy again. Keep cool everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hello everyone, Fred your family sound real close having days out like that,you keep enjoying them.Give us a shout when you have done the watering,we have to be up and ready early tomorrow to allow the kitchen fitter an early start as well !!!!!! Sylvia,good luck with your help.could do with one myself,took me ages to do the bathroom on Sunday,mind you it was hot. Will be doing everything else after the fitters have finshed as all the house is upside down storing things from the kichen and dining room. Di hope you find teh cause of your aches and pains and hope its not the pc ,don't want to loose you Off to bed now but its so humid I doubt if i will sleep. brenda.

Hi all, Well as I still have no help in the house I had to get down to some chores myself. I did the bathroom, toilet and washed the kitchen floor and hosed the balcony down. I used lots of Dettol everywhere. Tomorrow I think I will tackle the windows. We have such large windows, rather nice, but a bother to clean. The mechanic came for my scootmobile this afternoon and it seems I was right I need a new motor in it. He has taken the old motor out and tomorrow a replacement scooter will arrive (temporary). In the afternoon I have to have the stitches out my foot so need the scooter. The trouble with this weather is what to eat every day. We are not very hungry, so food must look tempting. When I have finished this note I am going to do my ironing as it is cooler in the evening and in my room I have a ceiling fan. Love to everyone. Sylvia xxx

Just a few quick lines peeps before going to bed. We had a lovely time at the coast today at our usual spot,with both sons and families. The bruiser Lewis was NOT impressed with the sand at first,his feet kept sinking in it and he was unsure of his footing,so he spent the first two hours on the beach assaulting his granddad,i have been kicked punched pulled and pushed every which way ,and to tell the truth i loved it. He did come round in the long run ,and now there is no stopping him lol.,he can already outpace me in the sand ,so i reckon poor Anne and Stephen have their work cut out . My eldest son martin found a length of sea weed that looked a little like hair and tried using it as a beard ,then put it on his head at which point i took a photo without him realising i had done so,hee hee ,not impressed at all when i told him ,and was even more annoyed when i told him what was going to happen to it ,it will be sent out as soon as i download it. I did get a couple more but thankfully i don't think anyone took one of Lewis beating his grandad half to death. I went to the hospital this morning to be told that the bite was already turning into an ulcer and had been caught before it could do any damage,and was advised not to wear my shorts while in the garden [much to the relief of those next door [sniff] as my resistance to insect bites is low with the diabeties,,but i can wear them otherwise and get a nice tan on them[fred brightens up at this] lol.all is not lost after all. Off to bed now folks,as i am up at 5-30 to water the garden before going to work. We are off to the Sunderland air show next week where the wife will be taking care of the cam 'corder whilst i do the stills,not i haten to add ,because i am better with the still camera than Liz.i ain't ,it's 'cause i am ruddy hopeless with the cam corder,lol. Anyway ,rumour has it that we have a couple of new russian aircraft on the show ,and also the aircraft i used to work with a lot,the Nimrod,anti sub' detector and search and rescue aircraft,a lot better than the Canadian Argos [sorry you canooks] the Argos has a longer range but is too slow for anything other than search and rescue which it is very good for. Hope eveyone is fit and well,take care all ,see you shortly Fred..p/s ,will be on the other thread tomorrow at least .lol

Hi all, A quick hello as I'm trying to minimise my computer time to see if my aches and pains are due to computer or just plain old age. Hope your foot and hand are better Sylvia, and that you're all well and enjoying life. Don't work too hard Fred! You're a good person; guess you've been told that before! Hi to everyone else. See you soon. Love, Di.xxx

Morning all ,well we had some rain during the night which has cooled things down a little,but it is still sunny ,slept better last night ,could have been the cooler weather or the half bottle of wine I had been drinking!! Just getting the last of the kitchen stuff stored away for a few days while they fit the new one.It will be sandwiches and micri meals for the next week. My sister is doing a surprise party for ny neice who is 16 today ,and has asked me to do some shopping for her,so i going out earlier than usual,. Sylvia,good luck with having the stitches out, Mavis we are hoping to get a new siute next year,we bought a brown leather one three years ago and now I can not stand it,well the style anyway,we need one which is not as low down and has better arms,well done to you and Pip on the weight loss,we have had a hic cup but are hopefully back on track.brenda