General Chat

Hi all, Hope you can get your radiator sorted out Brenda. There is nothing worse than being cold. Had some bad news today. My ex son in law's nephew died in a fire at his home, 11 years of age. The television flamed up somehow and he was upstairs. His mother was telling him to try and get on the roof, but he couldn't. His father, a policeman, heard that a house had a fire and then realised it was his own,. When he got home they were trying to revive his son, but too late. The mother managed to save the other two children. The whole family are in mourning. My daughter wanted to go to the funeral, but we're trying to make her stay at home. She hasn't seen any of the family since she left Jan, her husband. Even my granddaughter doesn't want her mother there. The news was on television and in the national newspapers. My good friend of many years had her 80th birthday in November last but she has been flitting backwards and forwards to Spain that we've not had the chance to visit her. She has also had her son and two grandchildren over from New Zealand and took them to Spain also. She phoned today that she wanted to take us out for a meal, but we've decided now that she will cook us mussels at home then Johan can drink and we will go by taxi. It's more comfortable at home anyway. Tomorrow I have to go to the hospital for an echo of my heart and then phone the cardiologist on Wednesday for the result. Not much more news. Have a nice evening.Sylvia xxx

Sorry I have been 'missing again' am full of a cold and this room has a fault with the radiator,(think it needs bleeding)but i can not find the radiator key. My son had just finshed on here when i was going to the kitchen to make a drink .He is making th e drink while I put my message on. So good to see all the messages ,sorrry i am not able to reply properly ,hopefully i will be ok in a day or two take care ,Brenda

Hi everybody, Nice to see old friends again. Of course you're tired June, moving takes a lot out of you - just the thought of moving again makes me sleepy. Anyway, take it easy. Fat Cat and Madoc are still playing games so I read. They don't seem to get tired, do they? I have made a couple of loaves of bread today Fred. Yes, isn't it wonderful to have all the hard work taken out of breadmaking? I've also run a couple of washing machines as Monday I have to go to the hospital and Wednesday I go away to my daughters until Saturday, which only leaves me Tuesday, but like to leave things shipshape. It is still so cold here, that I could easily hibernate. I've been throwing out some rubbish today June. What a lot of rubbish I seem to collect. Everything gets dumped into my hobby room and now I have to tidy it up or I cannot move. Have a nice evening everybody Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. Lots to read again! My, you have all been so busy. It is still very hot here - we have had the fan on all afternoon. We are now considering having a Heat Pump/Air conditioning unit fitted. Has anyone on the thread got one or knows of anyone with one? We have had positive comments here. Will have to get quotes etc. Pip isn't one to make hasty decisions!! Since having part of his lung removed he gets very breathless and apparantly these units are good for breathing problems. This humid heat is a problem for him - what would we do without inhalers?!! Got the garden up together yesterday - it was a bit messy!! This afternoon we took a ride to the beach - it was beautiful. Only 10 mins. away. We have one closer - 10 mins. walk - but we prefer Mount Maunganui. We get a lot of cruise ships in Mt. Maunganui now. Clipper Odyssey was in today. The shops do well when the boats are in! Friends called in yesterday for morning tea - able to get rid of the remaining mince pies!! Our runner beans have gone mad - have frozen loads and given loads away. Good job we like them! New potatoes are just about ready too. Must go again - Goodnight/Goodaye Mavis NZ

Hi everyone, Sorry I have been missing again, I have been so tired, my daughters dog usually sleeps in her basket in my bedroom and this last 3 nights she has been waking me very early. so last night I said it was someone else's turn to have her. I will take her to the vets later today, the trouble is she is 15 years old and totally deaf now, so it must be a lonely life for her.although she enjoys playing with Beckham. Most of the boxes have been unpacked now, yesterday I decided to get rid of a lot of my paper records, I have the notes on my PC and regularly transfer it onto CD. I was going through some of the paper records making sure I had everything on the PC, of course some of it is 3/4 years old and sites such as Ancestry have come on a lot since then. It took me a lot longer than I had expected, I was able to add quite a lot of information. I still have a lot of files to go through. Then I came onto this site and found a message from someone who's Grandmother's sister married my Grandmother's brother. I can vaguely remember him and I remember his son quite well, so I am hoping to gain more information from there. Jude, Its lovely to see you again, how did you get into this mosaics hobby, did you have any books? I remember you making a bird bath but I cant remember what started you off. Its lovely to hear about Madoc and Fat cat again. What a good day it was when you and Madoc met up. Well its time to get my granddaughter up for work, so I will say bye for today and see you tomorrow. Have a good weekend everyone. June xx .

Cooooeeee - hope everyone is well,been trying to read all the messages since the lst Jan - they're is so much going on. l'm really looking forward to the spring - don't like this cold weather, l tend to stay in and not get up very early!!! l'm still trying to keep busy with my mosaics, making a matchstick gardener at present, if its worth showing anyone l'll put it on gc photo's - my intention is to put it in the garden, or my daughters, we'll see-lol The animals are the same - Mad dog madoc is still ruling the roost here, he's also becoming quite helpful with the shopping - when we arrive home we let him outside and he waits by the boot of the car until we give him something to bring in then he's back for more,usually cereal packets - and from the local shop when we walked up there the other day - he looks so cute,no damage to the boxes either and he gets a reward :o)))) The only thing now is he keeps bringing things to us like his bowl (constantly) or a slipper and expects a treat for it - crafty thing, he learns to quickly:o)) Fat cat teases Madoc, invites him to play then smacks him round the face!!! Madoc's not sure how to handle that so just chases him, nothing nasty. Daniel & Zoe have their own house now, its lovely, we spent christmas there, they are so chuffed with it:o) Daughter and her partner are very happy. Oh yeh big shock ..............l started going to the gym last week, so far so good.Will let you know how that goes. Ok thats it,take care everyone. Will pop in again sometime:o)) jude xx

Fred knows it's Friday the thirteenth alright,huh,so much for staying indoors all day. Liz said she wanted soup for tea,and fred says ,no way am i taking the car out today and we have no bread. Out comes the bread maker ,and i make up a nice wholemeal mix,put it in ,shut the lid,make sure the switch on the back is in the on position,and hear beeeeep,champion. Off fred trots ,happily to do the housework ,and then come on the puter.,bliss ,there is no need to check the bread at all,it's all automated. Come four oclock half an hour before the machine has finished,i go out back to light the greenhouse heater and shut the door behind me firmly.come back in and the wind catches the door and slams it. Disaster,fred runs to his beloved loaf ,in time to see it start to deflate a bit like a leaky balloon.so it came out at the end with a top like a badly formed lancashire cap. It tastes lovely but looks hideous so i will have to take care with the doors in this cold weather. I got the boat windows done anyway,and am now going to have a long soak in the bath to get rid of the kinks in the back,lol.see ya all later peeps.take care all.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

Hi everybody, Well I had my trusty help in today and she cleaned the windows in the sitting room, did the bathroom and toilet and kitchen and vacuumed the whole flat. Ah, getting back to normality! I now need to tidy up my hobby room where everything gets 'dumped' when we don't know what to do with it at that moment. Lots of magazines to be read????? I am itching to get on with some cross stitching work as I have so many pieces, received over Xmas and my birthday. Actually have started a small scissors case, but not very far yet. Must answer some 'thank you' letters first. My hairdresser came and cut my hair today and was thrilled with the card I had made for her. It was for a new grandma/grandpa couple. I used pictures which I had downloaded from the computer, and must look for some more as these were so nice. Any body superstitious? It's Friday the 13th today. See you all tomorrow Sylvia xxx

This is my first stop tonight ,but still haven't got much time to put a full message on, Sylvia Glad you had a good birthday ,and have been able to rest afterwards. June,hope you are getting straighter,some friends of mine where I used to work had a similar experience after a car accident,it was not their fault and was proven ,but even now she has bad back problems steming from the accident.Her husband did not have any broken bones or anything,but he suffered a lot of stress due to the pro longed court case.So I do hope your daughter does get on with her life now. Di ,was nearly giving all my knitting stuff away last year,but had a rethink as there were some pregnancies in the family and Iwas going to do a few baby things.LOL I don't think I will be doing anything now as my hands can be painfull sometimes. Working all day tomorrow then out with friends for a birthday,one of my friends is 71 tomorrow and has asked us round for supper.She is a brilliant cook and a wonderful hostess.It's my turn to drive,so I will not be drinking,which is just as well as I am working on Saturday as well. See you all Saturday,Take care ,Brenda

Hi Everyone, Just a quick drop-in to say hi and hope you're all okay. Glad to hear that your birthday went off well Sylvia and hope that you had a nice restful day today. I've been busy putting in a little time on my family tree, and yesterday thought I'd found a connection to my Wisconsin/Utah Jones, in fact he had several of the correct names listed, so I emailed and he gave me permission to view his tree, and have just spent an hour trying to find them to no avail. Maybe I'm getting a bit thick in my old age! Anyway I've emailed again, and asked him to specify for me where the link is. Also been knitting like crazy, to finish off a pale blue sweater for spring. I've been ordering my yarn on the internet, mainly from uk and now have 3 lots waiting to be made up. I'll have to stop logging in to the yarn websites or I'll break the bank!! The latest lot, Revenue Canada caught me out and I had to pay duty of $10, which I think has wiped out the savings I was getting by ordering from uk, rotten so and so's. Anyway, can't complain, I saved $60 when buying my first lot, as the exchange rate is so good that way. This last lot is Sirdar Foxy and it's a real fun yarn, looks like fur. I'm going to make 2 sets of hat and scarfs, in silver fox and sable. Anyway, must get on. I have 6 emails to answer, a bathroom to clean, and then it'll be tea time. It's true isn't it, woman's work is never done, says she raising hand to fevered brow!!! lol Take care all. Love, Di.xxx

Hi everybody, Yes, I had a lovely birthday and am taking it easy today. I have enough food left over so won't have to cook. Johan and I took down the last of the Xmas decorations today so it really looks bare. Will have to wait until Easter before decorating for Easter. A very miserable looking day outside with mist. Glad I'm not going out. See you tomorrow Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, Its lovely and sunny here, I have hung some washing outside. My daughter was in court yesterday regarding her car crash in 2003, thank goodness the judge decided that the other driver was 100% to blame, the trouble is she will have to live with her injury, he got off with no injuries at all. Never mind at least now she can get on with her life. Sylvia, You make me so hungry, you are such a good cook. Brenda, I get easily sidetracked like that, I find I spend far too much time on the boards. Love to everyoneelse. June xx

Hello everyone,came on here agas ago and instead of finding this thread first i went and read some others,leaving me hardly any time to add on here. Hope you have a good birthday Sylvia,and everyone enjoys what you have made,it all sounds wonderful. Working later today 4pm and have ironing and a few other jobs to do before I go,don't want to have to do anything when i get home at 8.30pm except have my tea and then watch' Who do you think you are'. See you all tomorrow,Brenda

Hi all, Now, it is my turn for the pc as Johan has been 'hugging' it the whole day, apart from an hour when he had to go and have his blood tested by the diabetic nurse. I have been busy making a big pan of tomatoe and fresh vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow, which I will serve with fresh bread rolls, filled with ham and cheese. I have made a huge pan of Nasi Goreng, an Indonesian dish made up of rice, veg. chicken or pork etc. and another pan with Babi Panyang and Chicken Curry. I don't know who is staying for dinner but I do know for certain an extra 4. That is the trouble with birthdays here in the Netherlands, they come for coffee and cake in the morning, some stay for lunch, some stay on for dinner. I never know how many are coming, I do know my sister and law and husband from Almelo are not coming as he phoned this morning to say he is developing the flu and will stay at home. I managed to finish all this by early afternoon, even washing the kitchen floor afterwards and put all the dishes in the dishwasher. This afternoon I have been having a little sleep. The weather is still the same here it is so cold and dark and miserable. Oh for the sunshine! I have read all your letters but cannot reply to all of them. So lovely to have June and Di back again and to see Brenda adding more often. Fred is always up to his larks, but girls he is harmless! Have a nice evening, don't know whether I'll have time tomorrow. See you, Sylvia xxx

Good Afternoon everyone,it is wet,windy and dreary here today,not in work so arranged to go shopping with my friends but in the end only one could make it. We had a nice cup of tea in M&S, first then my friend returned something for her sister ,I had a wander round and treated myself to some navy cotton trousers for work ,and a three quarter sleeved black cotton top to wear with some black pants I got the other week in the sale,.It will be ok when we go to Fuerteventura in March as well. Di we have been to Tennerife twice a year for about six years now as we like it so much.We got a really good deal on this holiday in March,so thats why we are going there. We had a bite to eat in a new eatery which was really nice ,scrambled eggs ,mushroom and tomato.with toasted ciabata bread.Smashing. Was looking for a new bag for work as well but the cheap ones looked cheap and the good ones too dear . Have been sleeping ok for a night or two but still have a the odd sleepless night,don't get on here much when not sleeping too cold in here. Going to check out google earth ,see if I can find our house ,seems to be really the in thing. Take care Brenda

Hi everyone. Great to have lots to read today. We are all grumbling because it is so hot, sunny and humid. We love the hot sun but not the humidity. I too have bought one or two bargains for Christmas. Just had an email from Pip's niece and her husband who have just arrived back in the UK after a holiday inNZ. Steve wasn't so good on the second leg of the journey from Singapore - Ann says that will teach him to have a hot curry in Singapore! No sympathy for the poor guy!! They hope to come again in 3/4 years time which will be great. They really enjoyed the scenery - still lots to see. My grandson goes back to Army Camp on Thursday. Has been great to have him around for a couple of weeks. Can't wait to get back - we think he has a girl waiting for him!! Bought two more Begonia plants today. Lovely vibrant colours. One is Apricot and the other Red. We have a lovely show this year. The hanging baskets particularly look really nice. Must go - bed time again. I too am a bad sleeper. After about 3 hours I am awake and ready to get up. Mavis NZ

Hi everyone, Its horribly wet and windy here today, definitely not a day for being out of doors. Sylvia, I wish I could stay asleep until late in a morning, I always seem to wake early regardless of winter or summer, though I must admit, one morning just after moving house, I did manage to sleep until 8 a.m. Kathleen, I feel embarassed too when they come to empty the bottles, jars etc. I think there are other people that are the same though. Di, I'm glad that John's results were good, you can now relax and enjoy yourselves, Funny that you should mention the weight around the waist and tum, I have the same problem, wher did that 22 inch waist go? Brenda, I too thought that I had posted yesterday but apparently not. Yesterday I went and bought a chair for my 'snug', its smaller than an arm chair, with having my desk in there, I haven't really got the room for an arm chair. The family keep teasing me that I could have a smaller desk or worse still get rid of my PC. No chance is I have enough money left over, I may buy a new PC. lol Sorry if I have missed anyone but I will have to get dressed ready to take my grand daughter to work now. See you all tomorrow. June xx

Hi di [eeeeehhh] that rymes ,lol.I am so glad to hear that the news of Johns ticker is good ,you will have to start grilling the bacon to take all the fat off it,and go on to hearty,or columbus eggs which have no colesterol in ,and have omega three and six in,John can have as many of those as he likes. I have one of those eggs for breakfast boiled ,three times a week and never get tired of the taste of a boiled egg with fresh made bread cut into soldiers.hee hee. I too have to give the cookies and choccie a miss ,but there are so many other things to snack on that i don't really miss them at all. You do seem to be having more than your share of rain,but it's one of those things i suppose,it would be worse still if you had none at all,and even Canada and the likes will have to get used to climate change,and besides ,spring isn't far away now,then all the bears will come out of hiding ,and you will have more pressing problems.lol. Seems Mary has had her fair share of rain as well,i notice she is staying cheerful though and is doing so by watching the national game a lot ,[sigh] the only thing we have to watch at the moment is football ,but every so often we have a bit of exitment like watching Man u,getting stuffed heee hee.oh ,that did make my day,the only thing missing was not getting a look at fergies face,it must have been a picture,a bit like a bulldog chewing a wasp lol. I am up early by the way cause i have to go to the daughters at nine thirty to have my big centre parting cut ,and take her shopping which we do most weeks ,on tuesday. I havn't even looked outside yet to see what the weather is doing,but i don't mind really,the daughter will either want to go to Asda,or the centre at Cramlington,both under cover. Well ,i'm off for now but will look in later this afternoon,have a good day all,and take care.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

Hi Everyone, Well, I can't be first on in the morning, as I'd have to stay up till midnight, but hopefully I can be first read in the morning, so here I am. John got the results of his post heart op tests at the nuclear medicine centre in December, today, and thank goodness they were good. All the arteries are still open and the blood is circulating fine and Dr Dong, (isn't that a lovely name!) said his heart should last him well for a good few years yet, although the lower part of the heart has sustained some damage from the heart attacks. Although he does indulge himself occasionally we have cut out the store made cookies, high MF cheeses and fried bacon and eggs, and it seems to be paying off. I made a lasagna this week with all low fat cheeses and soy hamburger. I think I told you last time I made a dish with soy he enjoyed it until I told him what it was and he then refused to eat it, so this time I didn't tell him, and he loved it, and to tell the truth with a rich tomato sauce in the dish, you'd never know the difference. Have had 2 sleepless nights, last night being the worst; woke at 2, couldn't get back to sleep so read all night. So when we got home today I went to bed and slept for 4 hours. Now I probably won't sleep tonight. June your new home and garden sound lovely, as do the living arrangements. As you probably know we bought a house with our son, and it was such a comfort to have him upstairs during the past year. Also I know he's glad to have us here with Ross all day, and at times when he's away for a few days. There's a lot to be said for extended families sharing a home. He has a lovely new lady in his life too, who wants to move in and who loves gardening, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! How are the rest of your family at gardening; it sounds as though you'll be needing some help. Hi Sylvia, Here are three more d words for you; how about dull, dismal and dreary! All of those and yours and Freds apply to Vancouver this winter. Apparently we are about 6 days away from the record of 28 consecutive days rain, for Vancouver. However all the people interviewed by the weatherman on TV seemed quite happy about it as long as it didn't snow, and as one person pointed out, this is a rain forest area, after all, so get used to it! Fred, marmite and cucumber sandwiches are delicious for lunch on a hot summer day, but I don't know about cheese and marmite. I'll give it a try sometime. Kathleen, isn't it too bad that the weight always goes on around the waist and tum first; I could best do with some on my cheeks (the facial ones) and upper arms. I found a great buy and fit in jeans yesterday, so bought 2 pairs, and now I daren't put on any more weight; 125 to 130 at the minute. Brenda, it sounds as though you'll be well in need of your vacation in the Canary Islands in the spring. Do you go there often? We left England in '61 and before that Brits weren't as great travellers as they are today, so I'd never been out of England. I was planning a hitch-hiking trip around Europe with friends, but got married instead. Now I prefer to stay here in Vancouver in the summertime. Must go; Corrie is on. Love to all, Di.xxx

I had not realised I had not been on for a few days,how time flies. On a different shift pattern again this week,working most days but on shorter shifts,didnot fancy it at all at first but it might be better really,as I should not get as tired. I will not mention you all by name as I have to print off some photos and get them posted.so haven't much time. You all sound like you are over christmas and getting back to normallity,whatever that is June my dad is doing ok he does not have to go back to the hospital until March.which is good.He has his normal aches and pains ,but who doesn't.!!! The friends we go on holiday with are putting their house up for sale and buying a bungalow .It all fell througth last year when the sellers of the bungalow pulled out,but are selling again and gave them first refusal.Keeping everything crossed for them as my friend is really keen on this ,as you can tell. Spaek to you all tomorrow. Brenda