General Chat

Morning peoples,by 'eck ,it 'aint 'alf cold here this morning lol,a hoar frost everywhere and my poor blackbird has come right up to the patio door in the corner out of the wind. I had a senior moment this morning ,woken up by the binmen outside on the road . I came downstairs and turned the kettle on [i thought] took my morning tablets ,and went outside to bring the bin into the front patio where it's kept ,then shot back indoors to get warm.I then made my coffee took it through to the front room and the trusty puter and started to read my email.took a swig of coffee and ,uuuuuuurgh,yeeeeeeuck ,shudder,cold coffee uuuuuurgh..Now ,i grew quite fond of iced tea in the middle east ,but cold coffee is disgusting lol. Can you lot imagine what would have happened if it had of been the second one of the day,the one i take to 'er upstairs [shudders in fear] it would have been terrible peeps ,.Old Fred would have shot out of the bedroom like a bolt out of a crossbow ,followed by slippers ,one cup of cold coffee and anything else she could get hold of in a hurry.lol The docs was okay ,it seems i have a bit of kidney trouble again,which is showing up as a bit of protein in the blood,so he put me on one tablet a day to clear it up and protect my kidneys,and i have to go for another blood test at the end of this month to see what is happening by then. I have to see to the washing machine today so will get my son down. to give me a hand to drag it out.The fitting that goes to the pipe is leaking again,but it's funny ,if it was the rubber washer you would expect it to be the hot pipe which has to cope with changing temperatures and perishes the rubber a lot faster,but this isn't ,it's the cold one which has gone twice since we moved here so i now think it could be a bad valve seat and may have to change the whole coupling.. I need the son to give a hand because it's an old hoover ecologic ,15 years old and still going strong ,but it weighs a ton ,and i don't fancy putting my back out lol,the son is a farmer [a big one ] so he can do the donkey work for me ,which is fair doo's as i helped him only two weeks ago to fix his car in the cold and wet ,all day in a coooold wind too hee hee. I'm off to start anyway ,see you later ,and have a nice day Waves to Sylvia ,and says ,you watch that new buggy now 'till you get used to it ;specially if you go into a hardware store with lots of glass and breakables ,we don't want to be hearing the sound of breaking glass from here lol.And watch the speed ,it could be a lot faster than your old one ,no speeding tickets if you please.Fred.

Evening everyone,its been cold here again and think it will be freezing during the night. Jude what a treat to get the dog trainer like that!!.do hope it all works.Will be counting down to Thursday with you.!! Sylvia,there will be no stopping you with your new scooter,hope you are more considerant than the people who come into one of the libraries where I work and go tearing round on theirs and expect us to move shelving for them when they can not manoover the scooter. Dorothy,what a day you must have had,mind you there was an article in a magazine a few weeks ago that said houswork can be as good as a workout at the gym !!!!! Off to bed now, got the dentist and optician tomorrow,Not looking forward to the dentist at all. Take care ,brenda

Hi all, Well not such a nice day here, drizzle, but didn't worry me as I didn't have to go out. Johan has taken all the bits and bobs off my old scooter, such as the long orange flag (so everybody can see me coming), a hooter (so everybody can hear me coming), a large shopping trolley (for all our weekly shopping) and a mirror (so I can see who is behind me!) I decided to clean and defrost the freezer today. I have been trying to empty it, but it doesn't seem to get any emptier, so decided to act quickly and defrost it. Threw some old things away. My ex son in law apparently came round this evening but we didn't hear him. He rang to tell us he'd been. He knows we always have a 'nap' after dinner, silly boy! Perhaps the 'nap' was a bit longer today though. My daughter wants to come to the doctor with me on Friday. She first has to drive 1-1/2 hours to get here. It's nice that she wants to come. Johan has an appointment at 10.45 am with the same doctor and me at 11.10. Now have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

hello I am not having a good day it is 3pm and bloody cold it is -22 and with the wind chill it is close to -40. and we are having lots of snow squalls one minute you can see the next no visability at all not fun, I was hoping to go to the gym but the son and heir called and told me in no uncertain terms mother stay in to-day. this is supposed to be the worst of the cold and improve a little to-morrow, so I have cleaned like a fiend to-day the place is sparkling . loved to hear about judes bulbs and of course the anics of the dog. sylvia Ihope all is well with you. I guess I will go as I am really boring to-day. bye for now dorothy

Hiya Our dog trainer has just turned up a month too early, oh bless her - she had a 15 min drive as well:o(( she was ok and realised it was her mistake. Madoc is just about to go out with Vic - l walked with them this morning, yesterday it was just me and Madoc:o))))) We met the horse lady this morning with one of her dogs (off leads)no probs, but yesterday l had to cross the road beacuse her husband was coming towards me with 2 dogs on leads - for some reason Madoc has a problem with the lead. Trainer said today if the man who's going to help us can catch Madoc by the collar off a lead (he helped vic when he fell over and had to grab the dog before he went into the road!!), and madoc was'nt bothered by that, then he's not a viscious dog, cause he would have gone for him then if he was (do you understand me). So l can't wait for 5th March. Brenda - hope you're feeling better now. We take off't on Thursday - yipppppeeeee:~) Sylvia - how are you, not over doing things l hope, but still keeping busy. Hows the scootermobile?? Fred/Dorothy - we have loads of bulbs waiting to open - daff, crocus, and l think bluebells. l can't wait to get out in the garden but l hate this weather so it will have to wait until it gets abit warmer - actually the other day it was gorgeous,if l'd had my thinking hat on l would have got outside then:o(((( but dozey draws here did'nt think until it was too late!! l planted a couple of shrubs last yr and they seem to have been got by the frost one was a Quince, do you think it will revive?? And atlast l have a budlia - my dear neighbour who sadly died 2 yrs ago gave me 2 cuttings and both died - but all of a sudden l have a lovely shoot appear, its now about 10 inches high - the buterflies will love that:o)))) Okey dokey l'm off now. Ohhh yeh l have tried to put the photo's on GC but it won't let me, will try again asap. Take care all jude sarf wales :o)))))) xx Kathleen - l am really excited at the possabilty of meeting you, after all this time

Took so long to find I nearly gave up. Feeling tired now so will just say Hi to everyone but had to add something to bring us nearer the front page. It's about time GR saw sense and appointed moderators. Will try to add a proper message tomorrow afternoon. Meantime, take care God bless Love Kathleen

hi one and all just finished reading the last few messages, fred and jude have me green with envy re the flowers and buds in their gardens, we did not get the promised 20-30 cm of snow it passed us by bu this -30 with the wind chill is a bit much, but to-norrow it will be warm only -12 to -15 how lucky is that. glad to hear you are more rested brenda and that you are sharing out some of the daily tasks. sylvia you sound like you have great neighbours looking after you. nothing else much new at the moment not sure what this week will bring as far as keeping an eye on the grandchildren andrew is home and may be working out of his home office, bye for now dorothy

Morning all,what a great surprise ,but a nice one to come on and find us only a few lines from the top,no searching for us.!! Its sunny but cold here this morning,but the cars are all frosted up,luckily I will not be going out until about 1.30 when i go to dads. I managed a full nights sleep last night ,I have been doing some funny shifts at work which means getting up normally but going in at lunch or later and even an extra day ,and with not sleeping ,thats why I have been so tired .Thank you all for your concern,its like having another family on line,lovelly. John has told me I have to stop offering to do errands and arranging things for other people as I am getting wound up with some of it when its not going right. I am considering reducing my hours but that would mean more 'odd shifts' which I don't want to do,so I will just see what happens,I have a few weeks were I have my days off together ,which is good,and then i have a week off the first week in March. On Sundays I am usually doing washing and cleaning but am leaving the cleaning this week until Tuesday when I am off again. I have agreed with John that he can do the weekly shop when my days off are not at the end of the week,which means I don't have to go Saturday or Sunday when its busy. Sylvia,there are lots of good people on here,especially this thread,and you also have brilliant neighbours to help support you,it will be good if di comes back,but she will not like what ever has gone on yesterday.Thats one reason she left i think. Jude I am so glad Madac is being helped by the men he had a confrontation with,and I am sure it will work out fine.When do you do go away.? Fred you are a bit of an oracle mate .you are so right with what you said,I ended up like that in my old job and it was one of the reasons I left.I did not realise until recently that I was going the same way , John pointed it out to me weeks ago but I wouldn't see it , Dorothy,glad its not stopping you getting out whilst its so cold,we always seem to get the wrong rain,snow ,wind,everything over here or thats what we are told when trains ,planes,and roads are out of order.!!! David has just made some tea so I am off for a cuppa,seeyou all tomorrow,and thanks again for your support and concern it is very much appreciated. Take care mlove and hugs Brenda

Hi all:o) Sylvia - you sound very positive good for you. As others have said there is so much that can be done now and you may not have it - keep your chin up:o)) Fred - your busy as usual, you can sort my garden out as well if you like. Our pheasant is having a ball with all the seed we leave for him. Long tailed tits have been about again and most of the other tits,dunnocks, robins,blackbirds, sparrow,starlings,collared doves, chaffinch, even a black cap (female) and wood pigeons - but the day l was to do the rspb thing there was nought!!!!! Brenda - Fred is so right you need a break girl, please take it easy!!!! Madoc is looking forward to his stay with the dog sitters and their dog Charlie. He's still funny when he passes men and the chap he went for the other day has agreed to help us out - whilst Vic was talking to him though madoc was trying to get to him - makes you wonder why he was taken to the rspca (have l said all this before??) . Anyway we won't be giving in on him without a fight. Poor Colin and all this nastiness,and all the other people that have had to deal with it - what next. If only GR would take heed and sort the real baddies out Crisp old frost this morning, really chilly so l did'nt go walkies - l've been waking up with a snuffly nose, tickly throat and abit of a headache so l'm not going to get cold - must stay well for this holiday - l've dosed myself up with paracetamol and have the lemsips ready. Off't now to cook roast lamb and trimmings - bloomin glad it is'nt turkey or chicken:o(((( Take care all. jude sarf wales :o) xx

Mornin' all, A cold, crispy morning, bright and dry. Suits me fine. My neighbour from the third floor has just been down to me and gave me a beautiful plant. My other neighbour Annemie has also been down with my ironing all finished. Annemie can iron and fold up washing so beautifully, much better than I can. Johan has offers to eat by various neighbours and also plenty to do the washing. Isn't it nice to have good neighbours? Yes, Fred, stay on this site, and avoid the problem 'kids'. Have a nice day everybody. Sylvia xxx

Morning all,boy ,am i late this morning or what lol,never mind ,i managed it and am here now for a few minutes.Brenda,you badly need a break lass,you concern me ,having been that road before you and screwed my heath up no end,it isn't worth it you know,you do need to slow down a bit pleeeese. It dosn't help when you are soooo tired when you get to bed and areall hyped up and can't sleep,been there and done that ,and it's easier said than done i know ,but you must try,a lot of your pals on here are concerned about you . With so much upset on these boards over the past week it's nice to come on this sensible part of the site where hopefully there will be none of the hassle that other threads are getting so this thread and the other one are about the only ones i add to now. We have a lovely morning here again ,nice and sunny,mild and ,we are told by the met men ,to be sunny all day,yeah,il'l believe them lol. The start of next week we are back to winter up here i'm told ,but we have been so lucky so far,and i have geraniums still alive in the garden which will only need a bit of a prune in the spring before they throw bud again,and all the fushia have survived so far ,so i'm keeping my fingers crossed.that they wil be the same as the other plants. I notice i have bud in the carnation and pinks ,the crocus are out ,and i do believe i see the leaves of the bluebell emerging at last. Really looking forward to spring now ,and am itching to get out into the garden again. We are off to the sons now to give a hand with the dog and kids lol,in that we are taking them all to the park so dad and mum can get stuck into some decorating and spring cleaning lol,some peoples work is never done. Have a nice day everyone ,and please ,have a go at the soup if you get a few peelings left ,and you have a spare leek,it's a belter ,i promise hee hee. See you all later.Fred.

hi everyone sylvia it was good to read that you had been out and about to-day on your great mode of transport, you sounded very up beat, brenda what have you been doing that you are so tired you have ot learn to rest and relax. my grandson has a very bruised eye and cheek he is so lucky he did not loose his eye, maybe now he will realize how important a hockey helmet is. to-day we are heading in to a deep freeze -30 this evening apparently though the sky is high and the sun is shining I popped out for the week-end newspaper and boy oh boy it is bone chilling cold, but the car started on the first turnover to that was good. well thats all from over here take care bye dorothy

Hi everybody, Thank you all for your good wishes, e-mails. I have had so many e-mails that I didn't know I had so many 'fans'. Really does me good to read them all. Today I went out on my scootmobile as the sun was shining and I hadn't had much time for shopping in the week. I also wanted a new kitchen weighing scale and also a toaster as we dropped ours in the week. We have a sale on at the moment and the prices of these articles are so unbelievably give-away prices that looking at secondhand ones on the internet is not worth thinking about. The trouble is I had two big boxes, and then I had my shopping to do - all on the scootmobile. We always have nice young people at the supermarket willing to help pack your shopping in for you and today was no exception. I had an e-mail from Di, I am sure many of you will remember her, from Tswassen (spelling) and she is thinking of coming back. I hope she does as she always contributed nice articles. My neighbour Annemie took my ironing from me so don't have that to do. My hairdresser came and did my hair at lunch time and she said if ever I want shopping done she would do it. Aren't people kind? Now all have a nice evening and until tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Like everyone else i am sure Sylvia will be fine and also joineveryone else sending her love and hugs ,Johns mother had bowl cancer 20 years ago and since the op has been smashing., my friends mother who was a similar age to Sylvia when she had hers done is more active than before. Sorry I am not replying to much else,I am very tired ,so will be back tomorrow and answer you all ten,Take care ,Brenda

nudge,couldn't find us

Hi Sylvia and all. Sorry about your news but we will be thinking of you lots. If itr is any consolation my neighbour had the op for bowel cancer 7 years ago and never had any trouble. Just has a yearly check. Also Freda, a friend of ours had the same 6 years ago and still no problems. Fingers crossed for you my dear. All for now just wanted Sylvia to know I am thinking of her lots. Love Mavis NZ

Sylvia petal .i caught your message as i was preparing to sign off to go shopping and decided to reply now ,rather than later. Peeps are right on here when they say the prognosis is good for you.Even if it is malignant ,if caught early these days [and yours has] the surgery should remove it completely and you will very likely remain in the clear. Bowel cancer is the easiest of all to treat and cure ,so chin up ,.and keep positive .see ya later all .Fred.xxxx[for Sylvia]

Just a quick hello to everyone. Sylvia, so sorry to hear that you have to undergo surgery. Will be thinking of you, as Dorothy said it could still be benign. The sooner it is dealt with the better and loads of positive thoughts are coming your way from lots of caring people. I hope that there will be someone who can let us know how you are until you are well enough to tell us yourself. Jude, pleased the dog-minder is happy about Madoc. You have done well with his training, they are like children though just when you think they are behaving well they go and do something naughty - just to keep you on your toes!! Fred, I bet those builders just love you :-). Good idea for making sure you don't run out of water. Brenda, hope you are managing to sleep better. I do try to stay in bed but in the end can't stand just lying there doing nothing but being awake when I want to be asleep. Not so good when you have to go to work the next day. That's the good thing about being self-employed - only thing is if I don't work I don't earn any money. Hope everyone else is well. God bless Love Kathleen

hi sylvia just a message to wish you well from over in canada polyps can be benign think positive thoughts, even with bowel cancer in the family you may be fine they do such great things in that area now adays , fred your idea of storing water when road repairs are being done is a great one, jude your doggy sound to be having a bad time hopefully the trainer will be able to help. nothing much new here at the moment I have spent the week helping out with the grandchildren, oops spoke to soon my son has just phoned with the words mom its ok he will be ok, but bryan the almost 12yr old is at the clinic after getting a hockey puck in the face eye area, he does not think the occipital bone is broken but they are taking more x-rays, the phone call was to prepare me for the phone call which will be coming from bryan later this evening, and to ask me to be very firm with him about the fact that he was not wearing his helmet. he had gone to the end of the stree where there is a big hockey rink set up in a park area, and it it is a struggle to get the boys to wear a helmet there peer pressure they get called a wimp if they do, but they wear one at their hockey games in the arena. actually my son was going ballistic about it I did mange to get him calmed down so I gues he has a large black eye, is grounded for the next month re the rink at the end of the street, and no school dance to-night and is to get a lecture from grandma when he calls no doubt looking for sympathy. oh the joys of it all, I willbe called later I am sure to be informed if his sight has been affected at all. as they are all still at the clinic bye for now dorothy

Sylvia my love - l am sorry to hear this news. keep positive, you usually are. Take care - loads of hugs coming your way((((((((((HUGS))))))))))) Love jude sarf wales xx