General Chat

Morning peeps,a lovely day in sunny Newcastle ,and i am going to add a few lines to the thread before i go out and put the last of the plants into the garden [wahey] lazy times a coming.hee hee. Glad to hear you are feeling better June ,you must be more careful you know ,sounds as though you were very nearly in real bother ,a thing you could well do without. Had a wonderful time these last two weekends with the grandbains ,finishing off with a trip to Blyth for a trip onto the rocks with the nets finishing off with a picnic in the park. I am going back on thursday with the son ,wife and grandson for a fishing trip,as we looked in at the harbour before coming home to find that the river management team have got it together and the river is cleaner than it has been in thirty years,you can see the fish moving round the bottom now it is so clear. We found some placards on the staithes explaining why the harbour was built and what it's uses were and i was interested to see that both world war uses was as a submarine base which was still dismantling subs untill the 1990's.i bet this river could tell a few tales if it could talk,i will be trying to find some photos of blyth in wartime to see what i can find out. Well ,time for the garden folks ,see you all later if the japs don't come out of the shrubbery .Fred.

Evening All,had a nice relaxing day today,just going over to dads and then sunday lunch,had a read of the papers ,watched some tv and then came on here, Hope your mother and brother are both well soon John,and you get sorted and settled in your new house. Slvia,hope you have a good trip and that Johann is fine when he goes in Hospital. June,great to see you again,hope your back to your old self soon,you have been really doing an awful lot over the past few months with moving house etc. fred how was the picnic? hope the weather stayed dry and Liz was ok parked outside the cafe!!!. Have two lines of washing almost dry on the lines,so will be bringing them in soon and getting them ironed tomorrow. Take care everyone ,and sorry to anyone I have not mentioned brenda

Hi everyone, Its been lovely reading all your messages. sorry I haven't been around but I have had a chest infection which has knocked all the get up and go out of me, Partly my fault that it had got so bad, I was having severe pains and though that I had pulled a muscle, when I used the Tens machine it seemed to ease it, after doing this for a couple of weeks, I decided to go to the doctor and he gave me antibiotics, They have certainly got rid of the pain but I haven't much energy, Sylvia, I hope Joan will soon be sorted and you can get back into your usual routine. Mavis, I hope Pip will soon be feeling better after his visit to the docs. John, You have family illness too, I hope everything gets sorted there, you men just wont listen. Will have to go now, dinner smells very tempting. June xx

Hi everyone, Its been lovely reading all your messages. sorry I haven't been around but I have had a chest infection which has knocked all the get up and go out of me, Partly my fault that it had got so bad, I was having severe pains and though that I had pulled a muscle, when I used the Tens machine it seemed to ease it, after doing this for a couple of weeks, I decided to go to the doctor and he gave me antibiotics, They have certainly got rid of the pain but I haven't much energy, Sylvia, I hope Joan will soon be sorted and you can get back into your usual routine.

Hi everyone. Not much to report today - weather quite warm and dry. Supposed to be colder tomorrow. Watched the Rugby last evening on TV - it was so foggy in the South Island it was almost impossible to see across the pitch. Made it difficult for players and TV cameras and Commentators. It was the Crusadors and the Hurricanes. The Crusadors won. Some of the spectators left the ground and found local bars who had TV's. Dissapointing as it was a final. Today we have watched Netball on TV - our local team were playing and won. Friends called to see how Pip was feeling - they had made a lovely meat pie for our tea. Saved me some work!! Pip is a little better but is going to see our Dr. tomorrow. We wont be playing indoor bowls tomorrow! sob sob Our young neighbours had a party last night - many, many cars. They were so good we hardly heard a sound and had mostly gone home by 10.45. They were all in the double garage with the doors and windows closed! At lunch time today we could smell the sausages on the Barbie. Gee they smelt good. Must sign off now as I have to send an email to my brother in the UK (Reading). Mavis NZ

Hi all, Well the sun is shining this morning, although not enough to warm up the place yet. It is a beginning. I hope John that your family will be back to normality soon. Mustn't rush things though. I have to tidy up the place after all the card making I have been doing and generally finish off the odds and ends, also packing the suitcase. Yes, tomorrow we're off to Eindhoven until Friday. We are planning a day trip into Germany and another day to see Johan's sister of 83 years of age who still cannot do everything after her stroke. I am afraid Johan is in for another hospital stay when we get back, but right now are putting this at the back of our minds. See you all next Friday. Sylvia xxx

Hi Fred My brother is doing fine his angioplasty is meant to happen sometime this week - and he should be back home sometime after. Fortunately David and Bev have people working for them on the farm so that is one less hassle for them. David was told by his wife and kids to stop doing the various farm contracting work. A few days before his heart attack he had worked around 12 hours without a break, mine you when I saw David on Mother's Day he didn't look to well. Once he has had the surgery our mother should be back at her place and things for us will get some normality whatever that is. John

Hi everybody, Well still no change to report in the weather, unless I could say it is worse. Today it has been coming down in buckets - the rain I mean.The central heating is running 100% and it is nearly the end of May! I've done very little today apart from making a lot of very nice cards to add to my collection. Tomorrow I must put some things together and put them in the suitcase for Monday. I will not be here until next Friday. We are going away Monday and coming back on Friday, just in time for Whitsun. Perhaps the weather will change then. Keep the thread going Brenda, Fred, June, Di, etc.etc.

Hi John,i don't know if you have any info on angioplasty yet ,but in case not ,there is nothing to worry about,the success rate is 99% these days,and the patient is normally out of hospital the following day and back into the thick of things in a week. I went in for a triple bypasswhen it was found that the damage was too great for angioplasty ,and i was home in five days and fine in a fortnight There will also be a full bypass team on standby in case anything goes wrong and they have to do a bypass,but this is very unlikely, I reckon your patient will be back out with a surfboard within three weeks lol Sorry peeps ,but i have to go and get the picnic ready for sophie now,and i will have to take a chair for Liz,she is rattly this morning and has started a course of antibiotics but refuses to stay at home and spoil Sophies picnic,trooper that she is. I will take a topcoat and park her on the beach next to the cafe,so there will be hot .fresh drinks handy in case she needs one. I can go with Sophie straight to the rockpools and show her how to find crabs and whatever,and still keep liz in sight,can't afford anything happening to the old bird lol,we have been together too long for that. I have to get Sophie onto the beach,they live twelve miles from the coast and she has never been to the pools with a net ,how sad is that ,and how remiss of her parents ,still i don't mind ,thats what granddads are for lol. See you all later have a great day fred Liz, mousy ,and birds.xxx

Hi everyone Since I was last on here my Mum has had a skin graft on her ankle and stayed with for a week before going back to her place. However being by ourselves didn't last for long as Mum returned when my brother David, who is two years younger than me, had a heart attack and was admitted to the New Plymouth hospital on 22 May. Over this week its been back and forth to the hospital, two of his three children came to be with him and returned back to their workplaces when his condition improved. His oldest daughter spoke to him by phone from Canada and he told to he was okay and to continue with her trip. Yesterday the 26th David and his wife Bev were flown to Hamilton for more tests and it looks like he will have an angioplasty. Next weekend is Queen's Birthday here in NZ and our son Craig will be coming down from Auckland for a visit, by then Mum should be back at her place. While Craig is here we will be sorting out the new bathroom requirements. I may have mentioned that we are having a porch built over the front door to stop the rain from coming in. There was some damaged in the shift we found one standard lamp was snapped in half and the upright on another was slightly bent, a chair back had rubbed in the container and the table had scratches to the legs as well the move appears to opened an old join repair in the tabletop. We have been advised that insurance will cover the lamps so we waiting to see about our table. Anyway as our place is small we have decided to replace that table now with a smaller one. John in NZ

Hi everybody, Well the weather was much the same as it has been the last couple of weeks, except that more rain fell today than usual. I just had to go out today, so managed to get to the supermarket and back within half an hour on my scootmobile. Our doctor phoned Johan today and said that he has to go into hospital and have a bowel investigation. He has had trouble over the years with bleeding of the bowels and when we were in Spain he was in hospital twice and the bleeding wouldn't stop. He was given a lot of blood - Spanish I suppose. Anyway the Spanish internist said the next time he went in he would have to operate. A couple of weeks ago Johan had blood again in his stools, but only one day. Anyway our doctor wants this investigated. The reason for him having to go into hospital is because of his age and all the medicine he takes. They are not taking risks. So after we have had a week away we could get a phone call any day to say they have a bed for him. I didn't have too much to do today so when I had finished some ironing I sat and made some more cards - what a luxurious life this is! Now will close for now, have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Not on your nellie Brenda ,it's still sandwiches ,and chips,lovely grub,you know what you can do with macdonalds and burger king lol.Fred.

Just a few quick lines as I should be going to town to my bank to pay a bill,needs to be paid by Wednesday so have to go today for the cheque to clear.Must sort out more armchair banking between the bank and the buiding society. Like you said Fred weather not good.so my weekend plans to paint my garden furniture are halted. When we were kids we used to go to Blackpool and if the weather was good it was sandwiches on the beach.If it was wet it was chips in the car!!Suppose its Mcdonalds nw. Sylvia hope you have managed to restock those bare cupboards. Mavis hope Pip is better, John said we will go out for lunch when i am back from town so I had better get going. Love Brenda

Hello Mavis Sylvia and all else who decide to visit today ,sitting here because it's p...ing down outside and i can't get out to put the last of the seedlings in. Not to worry though,i only have four trays to go ,plus the inside hedge to trim and i am up to date and can then sit back and enjoy it all lol. Liz and i are off this afternoon to pick Sophie up for the weekend so i'm praying for some good weather seeing as i have promised to take her for a picnic at the sea side. I am trying this new Msn 8,but so far it dosn't seem to be working too well and i think i will go back to 7.5,is anyone else having problems with it? Only popped in for a minute as i have to get the house tidied up ready for the weekend seeyou this afternoon.Fred.

Hi everybody, Well it has been so quiet here today. Yes Ascension Day is just like a Sunday. Nobody working, no cars dashing off to work etc.etc. The weather has been atrocious all day so I kept myself busy by baking bread, making a custard tart and doing some washing. I really must get to the shops tomorrow on my scootmobile. I don't want to go but the cupboards are getting like 'mrs hubbards'. I hope there isn't too much wind. Last week we had a tornado on the coast and it actually picked up a lorry and threw it a bit further up the street and destroyed such a lot of buildings. I wouldn't stand a chance if it picked me up. Our weather forecaster keeps telling us how high the temperatures are in the south of Spain etc.etc. and is almost afraid to mention our weather. It seems we are in for a lot of rain foe the next few days. This afternoon I was so cold, even with a jumper on, that I put the central heating on. Needless to say, we have the heating on now as well. Now, have a nice evening everyone. Sylvia xxx

Hello again. Sylvia - road alterations are a pain - it is happening around us at the moment. Will be good when it is all finished. Brenda - Our Mahjong group is just a small 'friendly' one. 8 ladies. We meet at each others houses. We are not competitive we just enjoy ourselves. We use 'pretend' money. Just as well I would probably be bankrupt by now!! Fred - how are you? The ol back must be feeling a little easier by now. The photo's were great - no I don't have Broadband!!! Still raining here and looks as though it will be that way for a day or two. Drama today - Pip (my husband) took bad and I had to call the ambulance. Had terrible vertigo and severe headache. A & E were superb. Checked him thoroughly. He was dehydrated a little and this had caused the vertigo. The headache is a problem and is to be monitered. Anyway he is home and is now asleep. Hopefully tomorrow with the medication he will feel a little brighter. Neighbours and friends wonderful again. All for this time. Mavis NZ

Hello Everyone,was planning on coming on here alot earlier ,but have had one phone call after another tonight so have just popped on before bed time. Managed to sort out my car insurance,and got it £70 cheaper. Di ,hope you are recovering well,have had scratches from my own cats when trying to give them pills and spray them etc and when they were kittens but luckily not from others, Kathleen ,Adaware is good like Di says, had it until NTL brought out their own security which is free,so I changed to that. We have had plenty of wet weather ,but this afternoon was lovelly,went to work with long sleeve top cardi and winter top coat ,after work at 1pm went to the supermarket and was sweating pushing the trolley back to the car Mavis ,you certainly have a good social life ,how many at at your Majong? and the other groups ,is it the same crowd or do you mix alot.? Hope you are ok on the next visit Sylvia,we once got lost in the capital of Tenerife,,we had gone shopping took the wrong turning,we did have a map but did not know were we where to find where we wanted to go.then this lovelly little old man took the map from us and pointed to where we were then we pointed to wthe place we wanted to go and he took us to the street that went ther from the square we had been in. Have a nice long lazy weekend planned as it is the bank holiday again,but we will see if it turns out like it is planned. See you all tomorrow, Hows the back fred, Hope you are better soon June Love Brenda

Hi everybody, Yes, didn't come on here yesterday as Johan and I had a bit of a gruelling day. Johan had an appointment in Utrecht at 12.00 noon and we were still on the motorway at 12.00. We should have taken exit 17, but they have coupled exits 16,17,18, and then split them again. We had just got off and were following exit 16 when I noticed on the left exit 17 which we wanted, and no way we could get out of the traffic to get in that lane. We couldn't get back on anywhere and everywhere they are building or making new roads. A nightmare! When we eventually arrived in the street on the map we had (yes, we had run out on the computer exactly how to get there), we then couldn't find the exact place. No problem, you say, there is a police station. Johan went into the police station (if you want to know the time ask a policeman!). What do you think, they didn't know! The street we wanted was opposite the police station. Yes, we have travelled through many countries over the years, but never had anything like this, even into reading Greek signs in Greece was not such a problem. We left the papers we had taken with us for somebody to look over and they will ring us when they are ready. We now know the way, don't we? There was a covered shopping centre so had some coffee and a bite to eat and I had a look at the shops, but only bought household items. I can never find anything when Johan is with me. Today I have had my trusty help in the house and I had planned to go shopping when she had left, but then this big dark cloud came over and I changed my mind. It is a good job I picked up a couple of litres of milk yesterday. I am afraid my store cupboards and freezer are getting a little bare now that we have such bad weather. Tomorrow is Ascension Day and all the shops are closed, apart from the Garden Centres and Furniture Boulevards. Fancy your Pan turning on you Di, I do hope you get better soon. I suppose an animal is an animal really, although we don't like to think like that about our own pets. I suppose everything is growing fast now Fred with this weather, but the weeds will be growing too of course. More work. Well, will close now, and have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, Di - sorry about the cat fight! A friend of ours got 'attacked' by a neighbours cat - leg, and arms were badly scratched and bitten. Took a long time to heal properly as his skin isn''t in the best of condition due to too much sun in his younger days! Rain, rain and more rain today, tomorrow and Friday. It is quite warm though but depressing when you look out at the garden. Had Mahjong at my house today. Good fun. Had Banana cake (again), chocolate muffins with cream cheese in the middle and cream cheese and chopped celery sandwiches. Pip went to visit Blair who is feeling so much better. We are having tea with them on Saturday and will watch the Rugby final on TV. Our daughters foster baby is well again and chirpy and smiley as ever. What a joy he will be for whoever adopts him. Must go now - bedtime. Goodnight to you all. Mavis NZ

Hi everybody, Don't know how far back we were as I have 'Friends' and 'Canada' in 'My Favorites', but probably quite a way back! So here's a nudge back to the top. Hope you're all well; where are you Sylvia? It's not often you miss a day. Good to see you again Kathleen. Have you got Adaware?; if not try it and you'll have no more trouble with those pesky pop-ups. Another sunny day here today, after a typical Novemberish day yesterday; talk about depressing, after the previous few days. Sun's back today, but it's still a litle unsettled overhead. Have just spent the morning in emergency, having foolishly got myself in at the tail end of a cat fight! Chased the other cat off, went to check on my own lovely Pan, as I was concerned he might have got his chin damaged again, and next thing I know, I have a raging 'panther' attached to my arm, having knocked off my glasses, and punctured my eyebrow. Anyway, I've had a tetanus shot, am on antibiotics and have my arm all bandaged up. The hospital, Sylvia , is about 10 minutes Drive away, but for the past few years has really operated as a walk-in-clinic and emergency unit. For ops and specialist treatments, patients are shipped out to other hospitals, since they're trying to centralise everything, to cut down costs. John's hospital visits, except for emergencies, is at 3 different hospitals in and around Vancouver. Anyway, I'm over the shock of it now, and have spent the afternoon curled up on the chesterfield with Pan, who is now as loving as ever! Hi Brenda, Mavis, June, and Fred and anyone else looking in. Love, Di.xxx