General Chat

Hi everybody, Well it was my turn for the hospital today and went to the neurologist. I now have an appointment to have an operation on my right hand for Carpale Tunnel Syndrome. I had it done before but didn't help. I told the neurologist why it has taken me so long before having it done again. You see the surgeon who did my hand was laughing and joking with his friend whilst doing my op and I was cross but didn't say anything. After all I was in his hands, or was he in my hand!!!!!!! I told them that I didn't want the same surgeon and I have another one now. Next Thursday is the day. If this goes well then I will have the left hand done as well. This afternoon Johan and I had our usual control for diabetes. Apart from putting on weight I am ok. It is no wonder I have put on weight. What's a girl to do when it is so cold? Eat, eat, of course. Johan had also put on weight, so didn't feel too bad and certainly not alone. The weather here is now bright and sunny, or at least it was this afternoon, but we still have a cold wind. When will this cold actually leave us I wonder. On Thursday I have to see the skin specialist who will check my body for skin cancer again. They are making our hospital bigger so it is difficult to find one's way around the place now. It is very difficult to find a parking space. I do object to paying for parking at a hospital, but there is no alternative these days. Have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, It's a beautiful, sunny Tsawwassen day today, and more promised till the weekend, so I've got the cleaning bug, and have bath mats, kitchen mats, and bedroom mats all washed and hanging around the garden to dry! I've done all the floors; so easy now that all the carpets have been replaced with wood, and now anything I haven't done can wait until tomorrow! I'm going to check around for weeds in the garden, and then I'm going to sit in the sun in my 'whimsical garden' and enjoy the flowers for a short while. The peonies are just starting to open up, and the roses should follow suit pretty soon. John is outside rat-proofing another section of the shed, and that will leave just Steve's section to do. He did my greenhouse section early last year and it sure is nice to walk in there without having to check first if there are any little visitors in there. The section he's doing now is our storage area, but not much used, for obvious reasons, so now we'll be able to move a few things out there and relieve the pressure in the house. We're going to have to have a garage sale soon, as the garage is starting to get a little full! Bernie's apartment is now on the market so she'll probably join with us in the garage sale. Apart from being a good way to get rid of one's junk, it's also a great way to meet some more of the neighbours. Hope your renos go smoothly, Brenda and John. I'm so glad ours are all over and everything back in order again. Kitchens are the worst, being the hub of the home! Hope you're fully back to normal now June, and able to get and work in and enjoy your garden. How is it coming along? Sylvia, I hope Johan's trip to the hospital will result in good news for you both. Hope too that your weather will start to warm up soon. Sounds as though we're all having unusual and unpredictable weather this year, summer one day, winter the next!! Hi Mavis. Glad to hear that Pip, and Blair too are improving. John too seems to be picking up in strength and energy, but very gradually. He insists on doing jobs around the place, but has to take frequent rests in between short bouts of activity. Probably good for him to try as much as he can, though. Hi Fred too, see you on the Canada thread! Well, better go make a cuppa and cookies for John. Take care all. Love, Di.xxx

Hello ,Nice to see you John,hope all goes well for your brother ,glad you had a good visit from your son. Hope you don't have any problems with the work on the house,it will be lovelly when its all done and dusted as they say. we are waiting to be given a date for our new kitchen to be installed ,they said 6/8 weeks for starting and it will be 6 weeks at week ,so i am hoping to hear soon, Weather has been great this past few days and likely to stay like that until weekend. Hope every one is making the most of this good weather. Brenda

Hi everyone just popped to check an email on GR My brother is still in Hamilton hospital and at this stage is second on the list for angioplasty on Wednesday but anything could change that. His wife is staying nearby and has had support from her friends up that way. Our son, Craig, and his girlfriend were with us for Queen's Birthday weekend. On Monday Craig visited his uncle and later drove on up to Auckland as his girlfriend had a ride to meet back to her place. Our bathroom and front porch look like starting at the same time so that is going to be fun. We also having security catches put on the windows as well getting something done about the condensation that builts up on the windows. I know its going to cost and isn't money is for spending. John

Hiya just a quick hello as i had to reply to an email and thought i would have a quick lookin,was working -8pm tonight and was busy with a bit of ironing and house before going to work,but the weather was great agin today,see you all tomorrow,brenda

Hi everyone,i have a few minutes to myself before the grandson comes on to clear his emails before leaving to go back to Brize for his flight. It's been wonderful having him home again,and now he only has to go back for three weeks and then he will be home for a new posting ,we hope ,nearer home ,this time. He is worn out poor lad,we went down to see the youngest sons brood yesterday and the bairns were all over him like a rash ,it's easy to see he is their favourite uncle lol. I was gobsmacked when i walked into the front room to be confronted by the little man,who squealled as he saw me ,and promptly tottered towards me with a huige grin on his face,i have to admit it bought a tear to my eyes,but i thought to myself at the same time [god help Stephen and ann now],no where is safe from him,the house is in turmoil hee hee. I did get a couple of photo's of him at tea time ,and report that he has joined the chocoholics on genes as a new photo will show,he is getting a lot more accurate and the cake is only around his mouth now and not over his clothes and surrounding walls lol,either that ,or he is a secret jew ,and dosn't want to waste owt. I hope the photos of the starling ,sparrow invasion have come out,it seems that both species are getting scarce due to global warming and may dissapear from Britain in a few years to be replaced by who knows what I am spoilt now as regards the garden ,all planting finished and only weeding hedges and lawns to see too,wahey,lazy times are here . The sweetcorn is now growing fast and i can taste those cobs already [sluuuurp],and the broad ,and runner beans are doing well too ,so Liz and i will be doing okay for veggies. The tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to show their flowers so it won't be too long before we have our own ready . Mavis has given me an idea with her bananas and the birds,i will give it a go and see what happens,i have a spare feeder in the greenhouse that will take big peices of fruit,and i will try anything once. Must be off now,things to do and all that,nice to see june feeling better too,and seeing Sylvia back as well,take care all.Fred.

Hi what a great bunch of messages to come on and read,really cheered me up,not that i was down ,but they made me feel even better,thank you. Had a good time at the christening,did well to control my eating and didnot have anything I shouldn't have had.(hope its worth it when i get weighed.!!! They weather was great when we went into church but wet when we came out ,but dried up and stayed bright the rest of the day. The baby was well behaved and did not even wake up went the water was put on his head. June,I am glad you are on the mend,and that the BBQ went well,I am supposed to be going to one in July and have an idea its the same day as the Chester meet,which unfortunately I ca nnot go to.But i will be thinking off you all. Mavis your foster grandson has had a wonderfull start being with your family,we will miss hearing about him as much as you will miss having him around I am sure.Does the foster family get any news about him later ? Sylvia,all these family celebrations !! nowonder you and Johann get a little tired,Wonderful news about your granddaughter ,is the car insurance system different over there than here,or had she been put on the other peoples insurance before.? Ionly ask as my brother had to reinsure my nephew to drive his car when my nephew passed even thougth he was insured to drive it as a learner. Busy day cleaning tomorrow as I did not do any today,See you all Brenda

Hi everybody, Well nice to read all your threads and to know that I was missed. The weather here is still cold and our central heating is doing overtime. Anyway, it's not as bad as in Italy where they have had a heavy fall of snow - in June! Unknown of. We should be getting warmer weather by Wednesday, which will be nice for my daughter in Eindhoven as it is her birthday. She will be 48. She wants to have the party outside, and has bought heaters etc. Well she has a big enough garden. She could have it in the garage if it rains. Johan and I are not going down as it will be too busy for us. Janet will be baking cakes during the day. Our grandchildren are going down and sleeping so there would be no bed over for us and to go such a long way just for a few hours is too much at our age. The most important news is that my granddaughter Linda has passed her driving test. She came down to Eindhoven on Thursday evening to pick up her mother's car - she had only passed in the morning!. She drove all the way back home on her own and at a busy time with lots of traffic queues. She had to work on Saturday but drove to her boy friend's on Saturday evening and he lives quite a way off near the coast. I am so happy for her and the way she faces life. Since her mother left home she has become quite grown up and managed to finance her studies and passed, has now a decent job. I only hope my grandson will grow up soon, as he is not so good. Yes, he works, but could do more to help himself. Now will close for now. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. Thanks for your kind thoughts. Pip is feeling heaps better and our friend Blair is improving daily. We have had lots of beautiful sunny days but today it has rained almost all day. More nice weather to come according to the weather man! This weekend is the Queens Birthday Holiday weekend. No one goes to work on Monday. It is the last public holiday before winter really sets in so all the surfies come to Mount Maunganui from all over to surf the weekend away. We are not into surfing lol. Had a busy day in the garden on Saturday. Removed shrubs from a small area in front of the house. The dogs thought we had the shrubs there for them! Will just grass it down and then we can just run the mower over. Friday p.m. we went to Te Puke to have afternoon tea with our daughter. The little foster boy is really walking well now. Is so pleased with himself. Claps and laughs and then falls over. Social Services have interviewed all the couples wanting to adopt and have short listed - 3 couples. The lucky couple will be delighted when they meet this little chappie. They have no idea until he is theirs what he looks like etc. We will all miss him although it will probably be another 3 months before everything is settled. Sylvia - what a grand shopping spree you had. Wish we had M & S in NZ. One day maybe! Fred - your pictures where great. Love snuffles. We have been putting the fat balls out ready for the wax eyes. We do not get Blue Tits etc. The wax eyes eating habits are very similar to the tits. Very amusing. They love Bananas, Mandarins and apples too. Last year they were eating a Banana a day. Must go now. 11 p.m. Regards to all. Mavis NZ

Hi everyone, It has been a lovely sunny day here, we have just had a BBQ. My niece popped over she brouight my birthday present which is a bit late, she was bringing it last Sunday after they had been to Skipton but they stopped off at a Car Boot Sale and unbeknown to her, the hem of her trousers had come down and she had walked in some Cow Poo, she couldn't clean it off and didn't like to come to our house, stinking like ******** That is so typical of her, she has always from being a toddler, been a real Calamity Jane. She lives in Blackpool and she said that it was very windy there, so wasn't as warm as in our garden. Brenda, yes thanks, I am feeling a lot better now, the doc gave me another course of antibiotics, so hopefully it will clear up now. I did go for an ECG on Friday afternoon, so am waiting for the results. Sylvia, Did you come up on the Lottery? I'm surprised that you didn't have to buy a bigger car to get all your shopping home. There's nothing like a bit of Retail Therapy to make us women happy. Di, I'm glad to hear you are still sewing, you get things that fit better when you make them yourself also you dont meet someone else wearing the same garment. Fred, I do wish I could be a fly on the wall sometimes, lol or have a camera fixed on your wall, I could make a fortune selling your piccies! Well done Liz! Mavis, pleased to hear about Pip, I hope the dentist hasn't found too many fillings to do. Unfortuneately, the dentist isn't free to the over 65s, I wish it was. Well I will close now. so that I can ready to watch Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? There isn't a lot else that I watch these days. Speak soon, June xx

Hello everyone,what a glorious day weatherwise we have had a nd i was working.!!! Hope it is as nice tomorrow as we are at a christening. John had cooked the tea when I got in so I just sat down and it was served,great and it was tasty as well and ok as far as our diet is concerned as well. Di Glad you are getting to grips with the plants,i leave most of the garden to John these days as he has more time. Fred,and we thought you was off somewheres exoctic,still I think you are not that mad at your grandson and don;t really mind them using the comp. Jihn has been up to see why it has taken me so long to 'get the washing 'as thats what i sadi when I came up here,as I did not intend to come on until later ,better go and brew the cuppa i promised him ,since he did make a great meal.Brenda

Hiya folks,old Fred is still operating ,exept i have been unable to get on the puter 'cause grandson no 1 is home from Iraq and i can't get on my own puter grrrrr. At the moment he is having a bath so i am safe for a few minutes lol. We had our b b q yesterday seeing asa he bought the girlfriend through to meet us ,a young lady called Ashley,and i admit i was impressed,he has better taste than i thought he had ,he could do a lot worse . Any way the other grandson was here to so between them i didn't get a look in with the puter so i sat outside running the grill and sulked a lot hee hee. Good to see you back Sylvia ,Hope you didn't break the bank with the shopping lol,but you sound as though you enjoyed the trip anyway . Thr garden is now completely finished ,and so was Fred yesterday afternoon when Liz caught me nicking a lovely juicy head of asparigus off one of the six plants we have in the corner of the herb garden. It's only their second year ,and i know i shouldn't have picked it ,but it looked lovely and tempting and oooooer ,i got nabbed good style ,i had just picked it off and was putting it in my mouth when the trouble and strife came out of the backdoor,there was Fred munching away trying to hide the evidence,trapped in the corner of the garden 'cause the back gate was locked and i couldn't get past her to hide in the greenhouse ,[the next happenings are censored ] The tomatos are doing well in Marys chalet ,the first trusses are set,and the cucumbers have the first flowers [all female so far] All the flowers are now out ,so Fred now enters the stage of being lazy,nowt to do but the lawns ,watering ,weeding and sitting in a chair enjoying the sun. Quite funny in a way 'cause i have a lovely tan [courtesy of my years abroad ,and Sean comes home on leave and still a moony lol,he says it's because he spent all his time working and was too busy to go out into the sun to get a tan ,but ,i think he was spending all his spare time in the naafi guzzling cold drinks hee hee. Any way ,thats it for now ,time to go feed the tribe again ,hundreds of fledglings around with frantic parents trying to keep them all satisfied.it's like a scene out of the birds,and i'm enjoying every minute of it. See you all later peeps,enjoy the lovely weather this weekend.Fred.,now,where was thar other esparigus head i saw yesterday hee hee.

Hi everyone and welcome back Sylvia, Glad to hear you had a good mini break, and managed to get lots of shopping done. Sounds as though you and Brenda could shop till you drop!! I used to love shopping when I was younger, but now I use the Sears catalogue whenever possible. Much of their stuff is rather dull, but they do have the odd nice thing, and I make most of my clothes anyway so don't need much from stores. I've even started to fabric and pattern shop on the internet. Doesn't being away from it for a while make you appreciate being back in your own home surrounded by all your own 'stuff', and sleeping in your own bed! Brenda, I think that wild thing on the back trellis may well be a Triffid, it's grown so much that I can't see where it starts and finishes in the middle, and I'm afraid of cutting the wrong thing and ending up with dead branches everywhere, as I did with my clematis Montana. IT has recovered nicely now though and is off and running again, so I'll have to keep my eyes on it too! I have a few things I must get on with so will say bye for now. Has anyone heard from Fred? It's not often he disappears for long! I hope he's okay. Love to all, Di.xxx

Hi Sylvia,welcome back nice to see you enjoyed yourself.Wasn't going to go out apart from food shopping today but went to Bury with my sister to look at a skirt for me in M&S ,while we were there she found out they have a buy 2 get 1 free offer on the wedding cakes and as she is getting married in August she was really pleased they had a use by date of November.She is going back with her fiance later next week. Weather has been great today so I hope you are all taking good advantage if its nice near yoou. Working tomorrow and at a christening on Sunday,hope to get on here Sunday night,mind you John has been suring the net the past week or so ,so we might be vying ?(spelling )for time Brenda.

Hi all, Yes, it's me I'm back. Come home for a rest after a few hectic shopping days. We went to Eindhoven on Monday and arrived at my daughter's house around 3.00 pm in the afternoon. I had cooked food for 2 days on Sunday so could just put some in the microwave. Easy day. Tuesday we decided to get up early and go into Germany. I must say the weather was quite kind to us both Monday and Tuesday. In Germany I visited several shops and Johan's face getting longer and longer as he saw all the shopping. Well we didn't get home until 6.00 pm. I had bought some pizzas to warm up in the oven, so here again an easy meal. I went to bed as I was knackered. On Wednesday we decided not to go too far so went to the local shopping centre. When we got there we had difficulty in finding a parking place as it was market day. Anyway we did. Here again, I had a ball going from one shop to the other and Johan grabbing a seat whenever it was possible. We couldn't find where we had parked our car when we decided enough was enough. When we eventually found it, after I had bought some Chinese food from a takeaway, we managed to get home. Well Thursday we had to get up extra early as we went to see Johan's sister, the one of 83 years of age who has had a stroke. She didn't look well at all, and am wondering if this is the last time I will see her. We went to a local farm and bought some asparagus and vegetables which I have frozen in. I cleaned the asparagus at my daughter's house as I knew when I came home I would be busy too. This brings us up to date today Friday, getting up normal time and taking it easy. How lovely it is to be back in one's own home with one's own belongings! The weather today has been sunny and dry. Let's hope it stays that way. I have ready all your threads and it is truly nice to be back girls and boys. Sylvia xxx

Hello,had a really good afteronoon in town with my friends,they needed some new shoes for work and the other a new top for a wedding,we did not get the shoes but the top was a winner. Weather been ok but did not put washing out as wasn't looking that good when I left home,had my boots and a thicksh coat on and was a wee bit warm at times . Hope everyone is well and happy and able to pursuit all the lovelly outdoor things they have been planning,Tomorrow i am hoping to get a Hub for the pc so I can use my memory flash and move my pictures,it does not fit my usb port.I would also like a few more plants for the hanging basket at the bottom of the garden.it is in the shade most of the time but ivy seems to do well down there . Fred have a good time when you go fishing any chance of catching supper? Di hope you tamed that clematis and have found a good home for the new one. Mavis,hope Pip continues to improve,and your friend Blair.aswell. June ,are you your old self yet? hope so we have been missing you. Hope Sylvia has had a good time on her visit. Must go now David is home and will be wanting his stint on here Love Brenda

Hi everyone,have a few minutes before I need to put the tea on,so i am having a few minutes on here then a cuppa andthen get tea.!!! Weather has been great today ,hope it stays like that for the next two days as they are my days off this week. Mavis, so pleased Pip is feeling so much better,hope he keeps it up,the friends I have that are grandparents agree with your way of thinking about knowing you can give them back so speak. Di,I had images of you struggling with a type of triffid ,with your clematis, lol,hope you don;t finf where the two screws go in the BBQ when you are cooking..Sounds like Johns back from golf so i will brew up for us both now,Might be back later ,if not then tomorrow,Brenda

Hi everybody, Doesn't time fly by when you're having fun! I've just spent a couple of hours in the garden cutting back long wisteria fronds, and trying to organise a clematis Armandii into some sort of shape! The latter sure grows quickly and thickly too, and Sue gave me a second one for Mother's Day so I have a feeling we're going to be taken over unless I keep on the ball with the secateurs. We went out shopping this morning and bought a new barbecue which came in a large box. John opened it up, and came indoors and said tht he'd need an engineering degree to put it together; there were parts scattered all over the patio! He put it together while I was out there hacking things back, and the air was occasionally a little ripe, so I kept my head in the bushes, just coming out a couple of times to add a little female logic to the process.It's now all together, with just 2 screws left over, which I hope were spares! I also bought myself a folding table for cutting out my fabric, on for half price, and another cart on wheels to hold my patterns. I'm glad to hear Pip is feeling much better, Mavis. He sounds like John, positive and cheerful most of the time. All the times he used to have to visit emergency when he had fibrillation prior to getting the pacemaker, he used to keep all the nurses laughing while they were working on him! Unfortunately, he has become a little dispirited this past year with so many things setting him back every time he seemed to be regaining some strength. He's starting to feel fairly good now, so hope the summer will get him right back to where he was before the heart attack a year ago. Sorry to hear you've been ill too June, and hope you'll soon be fully recovered. I've noticed recently that all the medical offices, doctors, labs, hospital have notices up saying if anyone has a cough to report to the front desk immediately, which is not usual, so I think this bug that's been going around has hit more people than we know, and they're obviously trying to curtail it. It's been a beautiful day here today, though the weather has been a little more unsettled than it usually is this time of year, and they say it's going to rain again tomorrow; that doesn't always apply to Tsawwassen though, just Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Bernie has her apartment on the market, and will be moving in soon, with Mitchell joining us 3 days a week. It'll be nice to have a really full house again. Sorry to hear you've had illness in your family too John, and hope your brother makes a good recovery. Hope too that you're enjoying your new home. I agree Brenda, the answer to cutting down the weight and keeping it off, is to eat a little less of everything, and exercise a little more every day; for me that means walking as I find doing exercises rather tedious, and I can't jog! I seem to have settled into a good range, varying between 125 lbs and 130. I weigh myself periodically and if I'm approaching the 130 mark, I cut back. If it's 125, I go out for a pub lunch with 'special wedge cut fries', a steak and dessert!!! Thanks for the pics Fred. It looks like you were all having a good time foraging around on the shore. Reminds me of schooldays when they used to take us out to the beach below the cliffs west of Brighton to study the shore life. I bet Sophie enjoyed being spoilt by Grandma and Grandpa, and having them all to herself! Must go. It's past teatime and John is hungry! Take care all of you. Love to all, Di.xxx

Goodevening everyone, Sounds as though you had a great time with the grandbairns Fred. Grandchildren are such a pleasure - maybe it's because we can send them home when we have had enough!! Must admit I don't have the patience that I used to. Pip is feeling 90 % better so he tells me! We have these ups and downs from time to time but he is such a good and positive patient. Tomorrow we both have the dentist - no doubt they will find something to do - we have to pay for the dentist in NZ. Is it still free for the over 65's in the UK? We pay to visit the Dr too but hospital treatment is free. Weather has been beautiful again today - blue sky all day. No heating on this evening! All for now, regards to you all Mavis NZ

Hiya,Glad to see you managed the picnic fred,hope the fishing goes well later in the week. Had a bit of a shock yesterday as i got weighed and was about a half stone heavier than i thought,David and John weighed themselves as well and didn't like what they saw,so we are all on a diet now.This started as we bumped into my brother and realised how much weight he has lost recently,due to getting fitter as he now does amature football refeering.He also changed a lot of things in his diet and cut down on somethings rather than cut them out.He is a mini bus driver so sitsa lot of the time ,now when he gets home he does some walking,etc and spends less time on his pc. Weather very mixed again,won't get the washing out today,need to get ready for work now,see you all tomorrow,brenda