General Chat

Hi everyone I know what you mean Sylvia I was made redundant three years ago in September, mind you I wasn't the only one who lost my job that year. I haven't seen any of the people I use to work with, although I do get emails from my old boss who was also made redundant. I might show my wife that recipe I know she loves to fry things, a bit wicked but should be quite tasty. John

Hi all, A pinch and a punch the first of the month. So I am the first to add to this thread in November. We have lovely weather again. When is it going to finish I wonder. Johan is pottering around downstairs so I have peace here upstairs - heaven! I don't have too much to do, probably make meatballs for dinner as that's not too much work and a little ironing, and maybe go out. If I go out I'll spend money, but if I stay home I save, good question what shall I do? I'm awaiting a call from Johan's sister as to which day we will go to Rotterdam, either tomorrow or Friday as Thursday I have to go to the skin specialist for him to take a look at the spot where he took the skin cancers away. Anyway have a nice day everybody. See you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Again it has taken ages to get here and I have other things to do as well . The weather was a bit brighter and drier today,yesterday turned out ok as well in the afternoon. Got a reply from the person I rang on Sunday but she was given the wrong message,but aleast she got a message. Am sat here surrounded by boxes of family tree stuff as I am trying to re organise the room ,but as usual it looks worse at the moment.Hope my ideas look ok when finshed. Most of the people in the library are really nice but there are a few that are a pain.Sylvia,and the children can be terrible,no manners etc. John, my John was made redundant 7 years ago and stayed home for three and then he got a part time job ,to help with his pension and keep him busy,but he is realising he is not as young as he used to be,as he feels tired quicker now.He keeps saying he will find something else and as he is on basic pay about £.5.40 an hour he willnot really loose much. See you all tomorrow,Take care,Brenda

Hi Everyone, Just a quickie before I take my granddaughter to work. At the moment , I am snowed under with rellies to add to my tree, some not as close as I would like but I enter everything hoping it will lead me to the mystery of my grandfather. Since these Hot Matches have been on Genes, I have had quite a few contacts. We still haven't got the date for moving, the estate agent said last week that we would be sorting the dates out this week, still its only Wednesday. I feel that if I dont hear soon, it will be after Christmas, lol Yesterday I felt my back was a lot better so I hoovered and upset it again. When will I ever learn. Sorry folks, I have to go now, will try to get on again tomorrow. Take care everyone. June xx

Hi all, Well not such good weather here at the moment. Am thinking of getting my scootmobile out as I'm fed up staying indoors. We'll see. It seems we are definitely going to Rotterdam on Saturday as Johan wants to go into the archives there with my niece and I'll go round the town with my sister in law. The weather should be better again then. I was thinking of you yesterday June but forgot to mention it. How is your back now? Can't somebody else vacuum for you? Or leave it, you're going to move soon anyway, aren't you? Nothing exciting to report, so will close now. Have a nice day. Sylvia xxx

I thought it was time i reported in again before i was told off by June ,not that i have a lot to report. Liz and i wen't to B&Q yesterday and found a few bits and pieces for the greenhouse and a load of dwarf tulips for the garden ,plus six outdoor hyacinths ,and six ditto indoor.so i have plants now to come out of the garden into the greenhouse ,and bulbs to go out as soon as i get a couple of dry days. We are slumming it for tea tonight ,sausage egg and chips with a slice of brown bread for the egg yolk,and the juice off the baked beans that i will sneak into the recipie lol. I found the footage of our little mouse while i was downloading the video footage of our holiday,there he was ,racing around the patio and off onto the grass ,only to leap out again after exploring the borders,i'm sure he ,or she thinks it is a race horse,,i had'nt the heart to delete it's antics ,so it it is now part of the video ,an adopted holiday mascot lol. The garden has slowed right down now,the weather being wrong to turn over soil,but i'm not doing too badly .the veggie patch is half done ,and the borders will keep a while longer. I'm off to have a look around now and have instructions from the boss to hunt out the decorations and put them in a handy place for when the time is right,so i had better get it seen to before i get told off again [sigh].See ya all later.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

evening everyone,June please be careful with your back you need to be fully fit for the 12th.!!!!!! Was on my day off today and went on an errand with John ,what was supposed to be a half day trip turned into a full day and I still have house work todo,I will catch up soon I suppose,.Have to defrost the freezer but have not used all of the food yet have been meaning to do this for weeks,so no frozen food is being bought until it is all used,we will be having some interesting meals!! Fred nothing wrong with your tea it is one of our favourites,but we only have it once in a blue moon. Have a good trip to Rotterdame Sylvia,hope the shopping goes well. Take care ,Brenda

Hi everybody, Well went for a check up today to the skin specialist and everything is ok, but have to return in 3 months - precautionary measures. On the way home we went to a large garden centre and everything there was in the Xmas spirit. I bought several plants, a white cyclaam, a red Xmas star and other green plants and some hyacinths (indoor ones). Also bought two wreaths - autumn colours, not Xmas.Spent more money than I should, but oh those plants were so tempting! I have had an order to make some Xmas cards, so that will help I suppose. I had just put my Xmas things away too. My granddaughter Linda has been accepted as assistant manager at a shop near here - a bit like W.H. Smiths - and where she did some training for school. I asked her if the salary was ok and she said above her expectations, so that's nice to hear. There's nothing like starting at the top is there? She is 22 and this will be her first real job. She also has her beauticians diploma to fall back on. She didn't want to work in an office, and likes organising things. She looks nice, and is very friendly, no wonder she was taken on. But I am biased I suppose because she is my granddaughter. Apart from changing the beds and washing the bedding, I haven't done much in the house. Oh, the weather here has been fantastic. In fact too warm. See you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, Just a quickie. Thanks everyone, my back is a little better today. Fred I cant tell you off, I have been naughty and not been around either. This morning I was at the hospital for some tests, then when I got back, I found that our buyers solicitors still hadn't received the contract. Our solicitors are hopeless, I am very tempted to to report them to the Law society. Today they asked me for the £250 that I had paid at the beginning of August, I cant tell you what I said, I would be kicked off the board. Anyway I have told them that if it isn't sorted this week, I wont be moving. Well thats my rant over. I hope to speak tomorrow. June xx

Hi everyone. Very warm here today but very windy too. Had a busy day - cleaning the house. Pip (my better half) did the Hoovering while I polished the furniture and cleaned the dreaded bathrooms! This afternoon we have been lazy and just been drinking tea and reading. Nothing much on TV. We hope to get up at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning here to watch the All Blacks playing Rugby. Will need to set the alarm. Sylvia - how do you make your cards? Are they Arty cut out ones etc or computer cards? Would love to know. We have a funeral on Monday - a good friend of ours passed away very suddenly. He was 77 years. Fireworks have been going off all week - goodness knows what Sat. night will be like. There are several big organised shows on. We can watch one at Baypark Speedway Stadium from our front garden! Big discussions as to whether fireworks should be completely banned. Would be a pity but I suppose safety comes first. All for now. Goodmorning/goodafternoon Mavis NZ

Hi everyone, Mavis, fireworks have benn going off here all week too, I will be so relieved when they are over but then again they start again for Christmas and the New Year, Beckham my yorkie does't understand what the bangs are and keeps wanting to go outside and see, very annoying when we are engrossed in our favourite programme. Bonnie, my daughter's yorkie, is terrified of them but now that she is 14 years old she is deaf so doesn't hear them anymore. Well its raining hard again today, I have looked in the dirty linen basket and there isn't much washing to do so have decided to leave it for today. I must ring those solicitors again and make sure they know what they are doing. I have just been and done the shopping for the weekend, so I am taking 5 minutes off before I start again. Well I suppose I had better get started so have a nice weekend everyone. June xx

Hi everybody, Not such a nice day today, although we did see the sun inbetween the showers. I had just returned from the market when I had visitors - my hairdresser and my ex son in law. Linda was busy vacuuming the sitting room so for the time everything was in a turmoil.Jan, my ex son in law had brought with him piping hot sausage rolls - big ones. Not much to tell, did a bit of ironing and washing and some more to the neighbour's Xmas cards. Tomorrow is Rotterdam, so that will be nice. See you all tomorrow or Sunday Sylvia xxx

what a lovelly lot of messages to read.Hope you got the solicitors sorted June,and Sylvia have a nice time in Rottedame .Mavis those fireworks seem to gone on for months,the sooner they are banned apart from organized occasions the better.They seem to delight in letting them off very late at night round here. It is also the end of Ramadam I am told, so the Asian community celebrate by letting fireworks off as well,so we have a double dose.!! Have still to catch up the jobs I did not do the other day and am working tomorrow,and out with friends on Sunday so have to love and leave you,take care ,Brenda

Hello everyone, How the weather has changed not only is it wet and windy but has been really cold today. I really don't like the wind, it makes my ear ache (only the right one). It has been one of those weeks when I feel like sticking the Taxi sign on my car. I keep getting asked to give people lifts all over the place, not that I mind too much but at short notice it means I have to put aside what I had planned to do. A friend whose daughter has recently had to put all her furniture in store asked me to give them a lift to the storage place as her daughter needed to retrieve something. They came to my house by taxi and I then took them to the storage unit - only to find it was a wasted journey. Val needed a file - and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack!!! So then it was a 30 mile drive to take them home again through the rush hour traffic. So that was my day written off. Susan has needed transport several times, it has been windy and she is not comfortable being out in the wind since the time her wig blew off. Soon her hair will be long enough for her not to have to wear it which will be a relief for her. The fireworks have been very noisy lately but fortunately they have been confined to more or less a couple of hours each evening. They have usually finished before 11pm. A while ago I printed off some forms to send for certificates, I need to print some more but cannot remember where I got them from. Does anyone know where I can find them? I want to complete them and pass them on to my children so that they can buy the certificates for my Christmas present. They always ask me what I want and this year that is what I want. June, I hope your solicitors get things sorted for you. It is very frustrating waiting when you have been ready to move for some time. Hope your back improves soon, do take it easy. Apart from driving all over the place (480 miles over the past 6 days), I bought a few plants. Another christmas cactus, a pale pink one and three foliage plants I got a Celosia which is quite pretty and something I haven't had before. Now I just have to find some room for them. Need to get my son to move his tool boxes out of the conservatory - it is supposed to be for my plants and not meant to be another shed!! As for the garden - well the nettles and brambles are doing really well and there are some other interesting looking weeds appearing. I wish I had the stamina to get out there and dig it all up. I think I am going to cut all the shrubs down and maybe remove some to replace with something less vigorous, they have really outgrown their spaces. Time to go now, it's late. God bless Love Kathleen

Hi Everybody Well I don't think you missed me but here I am like the proverbial penny.Been busy the past week as it was my turn on the roster for Newsline.You probabnly have the same service where you are but if not I'll explain our local committee for the Blind Foundation read news & public notices from our local newspaper over the phone.It is a free service and it is surprising how many use it as it is not only for the blind but also the visually impaired. Mavis you mentioned rugby,my husband is very keen and along with the rest of NZ is feeling great with the result. As for fireworks,like you Brenda,the sooner they are banned and approved only for organised demonstrations the better. I would be the last to deprive youngsters the thrill of fireworks but unfortunately the stupid reckless few spoil it for others. As an ex nurse having seen the results of accidents caused by them and also the sheer terror some animals go through. June do hope your solicitor stops messing you around,I can imagine the frustration you are going through at the moment and Kathleen so pleased to hear Susan is making good progress. Sylvia,Fred,John and anyone else I've not mentioned best wishes to you all. Bit worried tho' haven't heard too much from our Oz team of late. JudyNZ

Hi all, I was too tired to use the computer yesterday after my day around Rotterdam, not without hitches of course. Well the taxi arrived nicely on time, and there was another couple in the taxi/bus going our way. They were going to Zoeterwoude which is not too far from Rotterdam. I got talking to the woman and found out that she also makes cards, so it was non stop chatter all the way. Her husband had just had his 80th birthday (Johan was 80 in March) and her husband had fought in Indonesia, so had Johan. What a small world. Have promised to see her sometime at a club she goes to for handicraft. When we got to Rotterdam the taxi chaffeur asked me to pay a large sum of money. I said that it was not correct and he phoned his office and they said our budget had been overdrawn. Johan had telephoned twice beforehand to make sure that we had enough to make this trip. Our new budget goes in tomorrow so we wanted to use up the other money. This was Johan's card. They told Johan on the phone that my card was NIL on the budget. That cannot be as I never finish my budget money. I always leave a sum to make sure I can take the taxi if Johan goes into hospital any time. I had to pay in the end, but this put rather a damper on the day. The chaffeur said I would have to pay full fare for the return journey. Anyway I couldn't do anything else so when it was time to go home we got into the taxi and never talked about money, nor did the chauffeur. Very strange, we had a laugh when we got indoors, but am still worried that we may still get the bill as they have our card number. We had to wait quite a while for the taxi going home and it there was a cold wind blowing. We had to pick up a woman and her grandson in Scheveningen who had been to the circus. They had been waiting two and a half hours for the taxi. So her day must have been spoilt too. Anyway in Rotterdam we met up with Johan's sister Nellie and her daughter Petra (my niece) by the museum. We had coffee and apple tart (not so nice as mine though). We then split up with Johan and Petra going over the museum and Nellie and I going shopping. I wanted to see the 'Koopgat', literally translated 'Shopping Hole'. This is a lot of shops built under the main high street. All the big shops are there. I bought myself a green jumper with a low neck so will have to wear a spaghetti top underneath. I also went into the secondhand bookshop and bought a book over Rotterdam for Johan for Xmas. He has lots of books over Rotterdam, but not this one. Here in Almere we can only get books over Amsterdam, as that is our nearest town, and of course Johan is a Rotterdammer. Today I have been busy, baked two brown loaves of bread and one white one, a cake, 2 kilos of stewing pears, as well as getting the dinner and running two washing machines. Sold some more of my Xmas cards. Nothing more exciting has happened today so have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. Our spell of warm weather has gone - for today anyway. Wet and quite cold. We had another funeral today - 2 in 9 days! - typical funeral weather raining and cold! Our ex neighbour passed away quite suddenly. Pip will miss him. They were good mates. Phew! The fireworks have stopped. Peace again at last! Trying to get my Christmas cards written so that I can post all the ones for the UK before the 11th November - much cheaper then. Presents to send to my two grand daughters in the UK. Costs more for postage than the gifts! Not quite that bad! Had a great day with friends in Putaruru yesterday. So warm we were able to sit in the garden most of the time. They have just moved into another house - it is situated in the middle of a pasture with cattle all around. Not a house in site. They love it. We did just for the day but I would miss contact with people if I lived there. We enjoy 'watching the world go by'. TIme to say goodnigh again. Mavis NZ

Hi everyone, The sun is out and my washing is blowing nicely in the breeze. This weekend my son in law has been setting traps in the garage, there seems to be a lot of mice around this year. Or maybe it is because our nextdoor neighbours have been having a new kitchen fitted and the workmen were working on the decking, I have a strong suspicion that the mice may live under the decking and that the workmen have disturbed them. We dont want to take the boxes that we have in the garage to our new house with mice in them! I have sorted the mystery of the missing contracts, evidently they use couriers to deliver contracts and one of the solicitors gave the wrong courier number so my solicitor was sending the contract but it was going to the wrong address. The contract was sent 3 times before they worked that one out, lol Meanwhile I was getting so frustrated, I have been assured that it now will be dealt with urgently. Yesterday, my daughter, granddaughter and me went to Botany Bay and met my niece and her friend there. Botany Bay is an old converted cotton mill, that now has a lot of craft stalls, jewellers, cake shops and sweet shops. They have some lovely Christmas Decorations there too. I coudn't buy much because with moving, I didn't want any extra things to carry but I did manage to buy my niece's Christmas present, I had heard her saying that she liked it. Well I hope we dont move house this Saturday because it is the Manchester Meetup and I will be seeing Brenda there. I had better go and get some breakfast now before I forget about it, so see you tomorrow. June xx

Hi all, Well I went to the physiotherapist today and she noted all my details and gave me a list of what to do the next 24 hours. That is to note what I drink and pass out with regards to liquid. I will be staying home all day tomorrow as I cannot go to another loo only at home. I have to make some more Xmas cards as Annemie and another neighbour have bought up all the Xmas cards I had made. I don't even have an extra one for myself. Anyway it's nice to know that others like them. I think I'll get down to making some thick pea soup tomorrow being that I have to stay in anyway. June, can't Beckham catch mice? Close for now, have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hi all, Yes, it's me again. It seems nobody else has entered so you'll have to have me again. Made a huge pan of pea soup today - the spoon will stand up in it! I have 8 portions (for 2 people) to freeze in and one for my daughter's partner, as my daughter doesn't like it and doesn't make it. Have also made some more Xmas cards to replace all those I sold yesterday. My granddaughter Linda has asked me to help her with some English, so another job to do. Lovely weather here today, when is it going to finish? Not much more news. See you tomorrow Sylvia xxx