General Chat

,Badgers nose slips round the corner ,sniffing the air to see if it's safe to come out,and is closely followed by fred. Sorry to have deserted you all for a good few days,but unlike our Brenda ,the weather up till this morning has been lovely and i have been very busy in the garden,and busy in the evening with my research. Thanks for the recipie Edith ,i will be trying it on the B.B.Q on the fourteenth of next month,it should go a treat on the bed wrapped in foil for the first hour to keep the moisture in before browning. Perhaps if anyone out there has any more ideas they could let me know ,i like trying a few new recipies out. The new anti cat wires along the top of the fence works well,the cats don't like putting their feet down when the surface moves and havn't come in the garden at all since i did it,so the electric scarer is now in the front garden so thats cat free too The trailer was collected at one oclock today so i have my front patio back too so the large pots and urns can now go back across from the other side. Sorry to hear that your weather has been so naff Brenda,ours was beutiful the first two days of this week,lovely and mild and sunny with it,but today it's back to normal lol,wet and windy ,and a lot cooler,but it is supposed to be better again by friday . Hi Sylvia[waves] what would we do without you on here. i promise not to bog off again and leave you two on your own so i will be back once i have made the tea ,probably a small curry with the left overs of the pork trimmings.take care all ,see ya later.Fred.

Hello, Sorry to hear C & A stores have gone in the U.K. Used to do lots of my shopping there. No such stores in NZ. Miss Marks & Sparks, C & A, Littlewoods and Tyrell & Green. There are similar stopres in Auckland and Wellington - too far for us to go shopping though. We have Woolworths - but it is our food supermarket. Not anything like Tesco's!!! We do have some good weekend markets though. Lots of lovely fresh produce and at reasonable prices too. We had tea with our friend who has just had her breast removed - it was her birthday today. She has been so brave and cheerful but depression seems to have set in now. Her husband isn't the kindest of men which doesn't help. He too is sick - has dialysis 3 times a week for kidney failure. He has the machine at home which helps. But Sally now has to go for Radiotherapy for 5 weeks. She is very positive and will overcome her depression. The weather has been great - all the washing dry today - just the ironing to do now!! Spent yesterday in Rotorua with my daughter - they have bought a very old house and have renovated it. It was cleaning up and tidying day so I offered to help. The house is now on the market and should sell well. The Agents looking at it today. Seem very interested. We are out for dinner tomorrow and Saturday. Hopefully we can have a quiet day at home on Sunday. Received a card from our son in the UK for Mothers Day. I am lucky I get two Mother's days. It is the 11th May here. Our friend Blair is still in hospital and they have decided to do a heart bypass next week. It will be risky as he is not a very fit man. But the Dr. said they must do something for him. He is getting Angina almost continually now. Wow, what a miserable note this is!!! Maybe I will have happy news next time!! All for now. Goodnigh/Goodaye Mavis NZ

Hello Sylvia,this is becoming a two woman show ,must be the cold wet miserable keeping everyone by the fire side. Did you know there aren't any C&A stores over here now,used to live in that place at one time/ I am looking for sandals for 'summer' but wonder when I will be wareing them ,have had my boots on all winter,not even had court shoes on . Am tired tonight so hope I sleeep. See you tomorrow take care Brenda

Hi all, We had a lovely dry sunny day. Somebody said it was pouring with rain in the night, but I don't know about that as I was asleep. Mind you we still have that cold wind. I didn't buy too much on the market. Some potatoes, eggs (just two days old), some forsythia branches and some weeping willow branches to hang some Easter eggs etc. on. I did buy 3 summer tops for myself in a shop. Our town is in a complete mess, builders everywhere. We have a new shopping centre in the making. Well it should have been opened last Friday but was cancelled the last minute due to safety precautions. So many rumours, even one council member committing suicide. Some of our big shops will be in this new complex, such as C&A, which will leave our other centre empty. Don't understand the planners at all. I don't want to visit this new complex until it is really safe. Now have a nice evening everyone. Sylvia xxx

Hello Sylvia.hope you enjoy the market in town I always enjoy different markets.Our weather is still wet and miserable,wanted to get some washing out ,but its in the dryeer again,!!! Feel like hibernating at the minute not very spring like at all. Have some ironing to do and shifting some bits of furniture around to see if we can make more room.!! Take care Brenda

Hi everybody, Well lovely sunny day, but........................ as soon as you get outside you feel that bitterly cold wind. I decided to phone my doctor today but she was not available until Friday, but I could see a different doctor, so I did. I said I thought I had Bronchitis, and how right I was. I now have different puffers to help me breathe. I would have preferred Prednison tablets, but I have diabetes and Prednison sends your sugar levels sky high, and I don't want any more problems. Johan and I are going into town tomorrow, I will look round the big market in town which makes a change from looking round here. I hope the weather will stay dry. Sylvia xxx

Hi Fred and Sylvia,my shoulder has been great today no stiffness and no pain,yesterdat it was stiff with no pain,so hopefully its going to be ok,John reckons I do it to myself by throwing off the bed covers in my sleep and he has to keep cobering me up again!!!! weather wet and miserable again,John could not get out to golf but it meant he could do some odd jobs round the hose ,we have a new toilet seat ,new bath trim,and new something else which I can not remember !!! Good idea about the cats Fred ,will tell my dad as he has a lot of trouble ,our dog keeps them away from ours. Glad the info was ok,please ask again if you need any help/ Sylvia our daffs and tulips have not opened yet but there some lovely ones on the road side hedgings near my dads and crocus aswell John wants his tea now and as he has been so busy I had better keep him well fed.!!! Take care,Brenda.

Hi everybody, Well as Fred has said Spring has finally arrived, judging by the birds, the spiders and the flies. Yes, I have seen all these. Also, a lot of people have got their caravans out for a Spring clean, so I guess the frosty period is over. Me, my cold, the sore throat bit has gone, but I wouldn't be surprised if I haven't got Bronchitis. I've had it many times before, so I know when I have it. June, I don't have a decent camera for taking photos, but if I can get the loan of one I'll take photos of my flat. Anyone contemplating visiting the bulb fields this year will be unlucky as the bulbs are still hiding under the soil. Yes, they too are late! Hope you are seeing the doctor with your shoulder Brenda. It's going on a bit too long now, isn't it? The weather was so good for a while today that I managed to sweep up the Xmas tree needles from the balcony. I must look a real site for sore eyes as I have to sit down to sweep up as I cannot stand for long. Anyway, the worst has been swept up now. When my help comes back from holiday she can do the rest. Have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hi peeps,i have got a few minutes before starting the dinner so i am going to finish off here. Thanks brenda,i managed to find the marriage whith the info you supplied and note that richard was a mariner[assistant master ]and that carolines maiden name was Streater,so i am well chuffed. Is that shoulder getting any better,that sounds a lot to me like frozen muscles and needs treatment ,it won't go away on it's own. Well ,it looks as though spring has finally arrived ,it's lovely and mild up in newcastle ,and was a lovely day yesterday which i spent with the son and family with my camera ,and missus. The garden has been started and i managed to get the dwarf willow into the front garden before rain stopped play,but never mind,i have the stuff to feed the lawn now as well ,so things are looking up. The lack of birds puzzle has been solved,it seems that one of the neighbours has spotted a sparrowhawk around so that would explain why the spuggies have gone shy lol. I have sussed how to keep the cats off the fence too ,a row of eyelets every three feet along the top of the rails with some of that green garden wire or twine threaded between them,cats will not try to walk on anything that moves underfoot,so this will be a harmless deterrent and should see an end to the pussy problems in the back garden at least,i can give it a few days to see if it works ,and if it does ,i can move the cat scarer into the front garden ,and that should give me a cat free zone.lol. Well ,i knew i should not have mentioned the word garden,it is now persisting down lol,so it looks as though it's indoor work today after all [drat] See you all later.take care ,and have a good day.Fred.

Hello everyone,June you put me to shame with all your decorating ,what will you do with your time when it is finshed? Sylvia,your flat sounds great with your easter and spring things I just have a lot of daffodils(real and plastic and silk.) and any cards that we get, Mavis i did intend to watch the closing ceremony but it was hard to find it on the tv? not sure why.I did enjoy what I saw and it did appear that all the people taking part did as well. It is mothers day here and supposedly spring but the weather seems to have forgotten.Ended up putting the washing in the dryer again as it was raining . hope to see you tomorrow,brenda

SylviaHi everyone, i haven't deserted you, its just with this decorating my desk has been moved and I cant always get on to it. I have now finished stripping the wallpaper off thankgoodness I have done most of the glossing, just got the window sill to do, my grandson has painted the ceiling for me, so now its on with the wallpaper. First we have to finish off the wallpapering in my daughter's bedroom, it would have been done by now but she fell off the stepladders and hurt her foot and ribs. So I declared a Bank Holiday and said no more wallpapering until Monday.lol Brenda, that shoulder sounds very nasty, have you been to the doctors? Mavis, I kept losing my messages but now I write a paragraph then click send, then I go back to update it and keep doing that after each paragraph, at least it saves having to write the whole message Sylvia, I would love to see your flat with all the Easter bunnies, you must take some photos for us to see. Fred, we have our front garden, then there is big lawn area that the council maintains, in a morning, especially when it is wet, the starlings swoop down so instead of looking out across a green expanse, we look out across a black one. The starlings haven't as yet invaded my birdtable which is on the front lawn outside my lounge window, so the bluetits and tiny sparrows carry on in peace. Di, I'm glad that your PC has now been sorted and I hope your bronchitis has cleared too. I think we are all in need of the warmer weather, Well I had better go and get some work done now. June xx

Hi everyone, Well, I had typed loads to you all but it vanished - so will have to start again. The weather here in NZ is like winter. Raining hard and chilly today and the forecast is the same for the next few days. Autumn is changeable here can be very hot and sunny can be cold and wet. Wanted to tidy the vegie patch today ready to plant my cos lettuce plants but the weather put pay to that. Need to cut the runner beans down to ground level and leave them. Here in NZ they leave them in the ground for 3/4 years before planting new seed. We have had a lovely lot of Monarch Butterflies this year - they have stripped the swan plant of all it's leaves. We all plant swan plants especially for the Monarchs. They are large and beautiful butterflies. We will be watching the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth games at 9.30 tonight so thought I would catch up on the boards whilst waiting. We enjoyed watching the NZ Silver Ferns play Australia at Netball this afternoon. We were so pleased the ferns won. We have become real sports enthusiasts since living in NZ. Everyone here is sport mad. Hope all the ills with you all are better now - you have Spring to look forward to which usually chases the bugs and colds away. Had better go now so that we can have a drink before the closing ceremony starts. Goodnight to you all Mavis NZ

Hi everybody, Well started to decorate the flat for Easter, lots of Easter bunnies, yellow flowers, etc.etc. Out with the dark red and green and in with the Spring. Yes, I think the snow and ice have finally left us. Yes, Fred I certainly don't want last year's needles mating with this year's needles from the Xmas tree. You never know what might happen? Have given Johan the job of altering all the clocks in the flat - lost count of how many we have. I hope you are feeling better Brenda. Don't take too many pain killing tablets like I did, otherwise you will suffer stomach trouble. I don't know which is the worst stomach trouble or artrose pain. Oh well, one of the joys of old age I suppose. Have got the neighbours in for a drink tonight, so will have a bit of a laugh. That's what life is all about really. Have a nice Mothering Sunday girls and let's think of those mothers who maybe today are suffering and may they too have a nice day. Sylvia xxx

hello Fred,shoulder was very stiff when i got up this morning,well Sat morning really,it got better during the day and stated to stiffen up during the afternoon.Had to take painkillers again just before bed,got an hours sleep and then just woke up, and couldn't get off again,came on here and will go and have a cup of hot chocolate soon,might need something medicinal in it as well. Know what you mean about the lower price of meat. We are using up what is in the freezer part of my fridge freezer with it not working ,the fridge part that is,So we are having a few weird connoctions !!! Going for my hot chocolate now,take care,Brenda

Hi peeps.special mention to Sylvia,hee hee,you need to get those needles up sharpish you know,nine months today there will be another tree throwing needles ,and you don't want them all mixed up do you.lol. Nine months to go ,you lot ,time to start thinking of presents and goodies for all the kids ,and grown ups,you don't want to leave it all too late THIS year do you?,i mean ,you must remember last year,all that last minute panic,blood pressure up a hight and those frayed tempers when some rotten s-d pinches the last toy off the shelf in front of you? I noticed some lovely fresh beef cuts in Asda yesterday and i may go back in now iv'e checked the freezer and get a couple of pieces in for the festive season while the prices are so low,i can't see any sense in waiting until the prices do the usual at the start of December. I hope you are starting to feel a bit better now Brenda,that shouider sounds nasty ,you really need it checked out again and once it's cleared up you could always go for another meal when you will enjoy it properly. The rain looks to be clearing this morning and it looks quite promising ,the sun is now trying to get through,so i may even get those two roses in this afternoon. Our garden got attacked last night ,but in a nice way,i only wish i had had the camera handy,we were sitting looking at the clouds outside the front room window when a hoard of starlings decended on the patio and bird house ,and within a minute had cleared all the bread and seed that was lying around under the feeders,we couldn't even see the top of the birdhouse ,it was completely covered in them. Well i'm off to do a few things round the house,but will be back later on [,waves to everyone] and says,have a great weekend ,all of you .Fred.

have done something to my shoulder and once again am not able to sleep.Have taken painkillers and waiting for them to woork. had a lovelly birthday on friday and John took me out for a great meal,but was in some discomfort with my shoulder,which has just gotten worse. Sylvia hope you are well again soon,you have been in the wars, Di glad your pc seems ok now,you look after yourself,hope the mammagramme was ok and Johns check up as well.My sister loved Vancover ,she went there the other week when they visited my nephew in Whislter.Shame she wasn't there now ,perhaps you could have had coffe/ Fred,we also had two smashing spring days then it went all miserable again,was all set to start sorting out the garden and got rained off.!! Hope everyone else is fine and we will hear lots of good things from them soon, brenda

Hi everybody, Nice to see Di and Fred again. Sorry you're not well Di. I know just what it is like as I've not been too good for a week either, but am now on the mend. My doctor phoned me this afternoon and asked how many Ibuprofen tablets I was taking. I knew I shouldn't take too many. She has now prescribed another tablet to protect my stomach. I had been planning to go to see her because I couldn't swallow very well and had a lot of heartburn. Now I know it is probably from the Ibuprofen tablets I have been taken for the artrose pain. This morning the weather was dry and looked ok so decided to get the scootmobile out. I was sorry that I didn't put my thicker coat on as it was bitterly cold. I didn't really need anything on the market, but I cannot stay in too long, love to get out. I am having the neighbours in for coffee and a drink on Sunday evening. My neighbour on the third floor is off on Wednesday next to her holiday home in Hungary so will not see her for a couple of months. I always make a nice card and send to her for when she arrives in Hungary. I posted this today so will be in plenty of time. I have made one with pictures of Holland, windmills, clogs, dancing girls etc. This afternoon the weather changed and the rain came and this has brought us milder weather - thank goodness. Talk about global warming, I think they should say global freezing! We should have temperatures this weekend higher than 10 degrees. Soon be sitting outside on the balcony (when it has been cleaned as the Xmas tree needles are still lying there). Have a nice eveningl. Sylvia xxx

Hi Everybody, Well, son finally managed to get to my computer last night, and removed all the fluff insulating the inside of the computer, (well, noone told me you have to clean inside the computer!), and hopes that will do the trick. he thinks it was overheating and therefore switching itself off. If that doesn't work he's going to take it into his comp tech to have it checked out. So far so good! I've been in bed for over a week with the worst bronchitis I've ever had, and I'm still not right, no energy, no appetite, and coughing so hard everything aches, and my chest is so wheezy, it's even scarinf the cat! Had to get up yesterday for my annual mammogram and today have to accompany John to hospital in Vancouver for his annual cancer check, otherwise I'd still be in bed. Hope you're all feeling well again by now. Won't stop for more now; just wanted to check in and say hi. By the way Brenda, I wasn't getting all formal when I used my full name Diana on the board. I changed my title for a message on 'Trying to find' and forgot to change it back! Be back soon. Love, Di.xxx

Where is everyone today then,i knew a few where on holiday but this looks more like a mass exodus lol. I hope our other sylvia is feeling a bit better[ it wasn't me that gave you the smit,honest]and i hope the tablets will do you good ,i know the feeling ,i thought mine was never going to go away. It's great to see our Mary back too,so i'm hoping she will pop in once she has rested up a little,cor ,that lady does get around lol. Not much to do today i'm afraid,the promised drizzle has arrived ,so the garden is out,and i still have two rosesd to put out front yet[drat],but i am going to asda this morning where i will pick up the lawn food and spare myself further blushes,i'm really going to pick up the rest of the kids eggsat a reasonable price,i had hoped to get them all at tescos yesterday but they hadn't one white egg in for toddlers ,so i am off them at the minute.comon Tesco,toddlers want some eggs too,you know,the ones with the white buttons in,made by Nestle[ doh ] i think your buyer screwed up big time,we will be seeing demonstrations in the isles by irate bairns if you don't watch out. Besides ,i don't fancy a mad oz lady called Mary hammering at my door wanting to know why our Lewis has put chocolate down his kiwi front ,[shudders at the thought ]lol,anyway ,i bet Asda will have catered a bit better for the young ones. i was driving home yesterday and nearly had a dunch[geordie for an accident]when i spotted the sign on top of a driving school car which read [Kiwi driving academy] ? Is this a Kiwi living in this country i ask myself,or is this a pupil plus tutor who has gotten lost on the a1 hee hee, I was gobsmacked,my jaw dropped open and i nearly ran the car up the kerb .i intend seeing what i can find out on the net lol..,it could be a rellie of that oz fella that lives up the road,the one i used to deliver pizzas to a few years ago,the one who always complained when i took him the free cans of Fosters lager ,and wanted carlsberg instead[so much for suporting your own country lol] Well ,iv'e seen one of the door mice again early this morning so they should be safe from the cats now,since putting up the cat scarer i don't have a problem any more,they do work,after a week of noise every time they come into the garden the ears get that sensitive to it that they steer clear altogether,which will do me,the only other option was to get a catapault and lie in wait with some little pebbles which would sting their butts,but that was only an idea as a last resort.which,i won't need to consider anymore. I'm off now ,to go do some egg hunting ,see ya later,Fred

Hiya all,and Sylvia,overdoing it again i see? Hope johan had a nice day yesterday,and you too, Well this is the first real day of spring up here ,the sun has been out all day,and i have been in the garden for a couple of hours ,planning a few bits and pieces as well as planting one tree and one bush.but as soon as weather improves bit more ,i have some rose bushes to go in ,a load of bulbs and the christmas tatties to get ready for planting,so Fred is well happy that the old tum bug is clearing in time for the start of the season. Looks as though Mary will be back any time now [wahay]with lots of stories and maybe a for recipies in time for the b.b.q's which are already being planned for as soon as i get this garden straightened out . I reckon by the time i get down the sons this weekend the house will look like a scene out of thre3ads,this being a sign that the dreaded Lewis has figured how to walk on his own,nothing will be safe after that..I,m off to see to the tea now,fish chips and mushy peas. See ya all later.fred.