General Chat

Hi Fred The brisket cooker is me:o)))) l put it on a very low gas 1-2 and its deliscious,(spelling) but l will definately make a note of how you cook it - yummers:o))) Di - l meant to mention your Pan, he sounds wonderful, so much nicer being woken with a tap on the face than hearing Madoc scratching the carpet, or Jimmy (fat cat) pawing at the bedcovers like they do - he goes on for ever and ever. June - :~) jude sarf wales xx

Hello everyone,I have sat and read the lovelly messages you have all left and my mouth is watering with all the talk of brisket,home made soups etc.l do brisket in my slow cooker overnight,it is bootiful as they say and the gravy is out of this world. Have a phone call to make so better go .Take care love,brenda

The Brisket was gorgeous - l did Butternut squash roasted with spuds and sprouts and carrots with yorkshire puds and yummy gravy - absolutely full now:o) Take care Brenda jude sarf wales x

Hi girls and boys, Used to love brisket when we lived over there, but haven't had it in years. You have whetted my appetite, so must look for some tomorrow in Superstore. I think pot roasts are the most flavorful of all, and brisket the tastiest joint of beef. Used to be the cheapest too. We had roast pork, roast potatoes and roast mixed veggies with capers, today, and some left over for sandwiches with soup for tomorrow's main meal. A quick meal as we have to drive to downtown Vancouver again tomorrow, and then do a shop, and vote, so will be out most of the day, I guess. Bedroom is all finished now, so we asked Steve and Bernie to help move the wood flooring indoors from the workshop this morning, so after briefly clearing the house up yesterday, there are things piled up everywhere again, and it's going to be like this till next week, as the wood has to sit for a few days, to adapt to the indoor temperatures. I guess tomorrow we'll start ripping out the carpet, and I'm going to enjoy that . A wood floor is so much easier to keep clean, and Pan won't keep getting his claws caught up in it. Pan certainly is a character. Yesterday I walked into the kitchen and found him asleep on the stove. The oven had been on for fries, so the top was lovely and warm. Normally, when John isn't so busy he curls up in the crook of John's arm in the living room and happily snoozes all evening. Yes, Sylvia, fight to keep those trees. It is so shortsighted and thoughtless, the way city councils and building contractors destroy so many trees for whatever reason, as well as some private citizens. Recently a woman in downtown Van, who had an apartment with a view over Stanley park. decided one of the blossom trees near the entrance was blocking her view a little so she went across and bored a hole in and poured some chemicals in and killed it. She was taken to court, but got away with just paying a fine, but she got a lot of hate mail as a result. Must go. Am being called. Hi to everyone I haven't mentioned. Take care all. Love, Di. xxx

Morning everyone ,i see our Jude has started something with this brisket,it would seem to be very popular ,and as someone mentioned it is ,cooked properly, about the best cut of beef,so tender and juicy . The person who detroyed the tree should be made to replace it ,plus two others out of her pocket plus the cost of the planters wages ,and their machines ,such arrogance should never be allowed to be gotten away with. trees in the global scheme of things are already in short supply and can't be squandered in this way. Mary is still around peeps,she hadn't gone away,she is just having a rest and a quiet time ,the cleaning of the van ,and family matters have drained her ,and she is now recharging her batteries. I still see my plants trying to go back into the ground,a few days of mild weather followed by cold snaps ,the poor things don't know if they are coming or going. Liz fancies a slice of bacon,an egg and a few mushrooms for her dinner today so i think i had better go and get started.see ya all later on,it's soooooo cold today,fred is stayin' indoors lol.PtfA&G&G&S

Hi all, Well it seems our 'friends' won't take no for an answer. Annemie's husband Frans came on the door this morning and Johan answered and tried to convince Johan that it was not the tree in front of our balcony which they want taken away, but the one in front of their balcony. I'm seeting deep down inside and laughing too. They don't know what to do next to get our form in their hands with our consent to take the tree away. This evening the girl from upstairs - only moved in recently - came on the door, didn't know her from Eve as she didn't introduce herself. She asked if we had a form from the Council, and I said yes. She then went on to ask if we had any problems with the tree in front of our balcony and I said no. She was rather taken aback. Usually I'm the one who will say 'come inside and have a talk', but I'm now getting sick of the underhand way things are going on. I don't want to fall out over a tree, so just have to be careful what I say. Annemie and I often go to the market together and she is always popping in to me. This new girl upstairs hasn't even had a summer here yet, so how can she know that this tree will take the sun away from her? Now enough is enough. I haven't done too much today, just the necessary and some cross stitching this afternoon. Even fell asleep as I was up early. Fred, pot roasting is mostly done here in the Netherlands as they don't know roast meats like we do. They even cut up their meat differently. No lovely crackling on the pork, no nice topside of beef or silverside of beef. Ah well, I did choose to live here. See you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. The beautiful hot sunny weather dissapeared today. Gale force winds and heavy rain non stop. More forecast for tomorrow. My daughter and son in law and the boys are off to Coramandel camping tomorrow!! The best of luck when they start to put the tent up!! Tempers may be a little frayed I fear! I hope the weather changes - the boys will be fed up if they can't go swimming in the sea etc. Nothing else to do in the area - it is all beautiful green fields and hills and sea. We had friends turn up last night from Canada. Such a surprise - haven't seen them for about 4 years. Diana lives in Vancouver and Mario is a Doctor in the Dawson Creek Hospital. A lovely couple. We had such a pleasant evening with them. They came bearing gifts for us which included Whiskey for Pip and scrumptious choccies for me. Pip went to the Doctors today - he has a nasty cough again. Has to have a chest xray. A little concerned as this is how it all started before his lung cancer op 2 years ago. We have to be positive don't we? I use an electric slow cooker Fred for my Brisket etc. I agree Brisket is so juicy and tender. Will say goodnight for now - I really do enjoy reading all your lovely 'letters. Always sorry to hear the sad news. Nite nite Mavis NZ

Hi everybody, Yes, Mavis that is all you can do is to stay positive. Anyway I do hope that things turn out ok for you and look forward to your next message with more positive news. The icy weather is moving in on us. It has now reached Germany which borders us, and there they have min 15 in places. Ooh, makes me want to hibernate already. I did some extra shopping today as my granddaughter asked if she could eat here tomorrow. Now she has just phoned can her boyfriend eat here too. If I had known earlier I would have bought some more substantial food as he is a big lad. Will have to see what I have in the freezer. My neighbour on the third floor is sick, and I don't have the time at the moment to help her and I feel so guilty about it. I promised to go up tomorrow but now with my own help in the house until 1.00 pm I won't have much time. I ought to cook a meal for both of them. Perhaps Thursday I can. Now have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone As of this week our house is for sale - the inside has never looked so presentable. The only room that I deem a mess is the office as it has boxes and bags stacked in one corner - didn't realise we had so much particularly the teddy bear collection. Yesterday being Tuesday we had a caravan of agents trooping in and out of the house and two prospective purchasers. We will be glad when this is all over as your privacy is out the door. I'm taking a break from going through things to look at the 'net and nows it coffee time. John

Hi everyone, Its been a lovely sunny day here but very cold. I have just about got to the end of my copying notes into my PC, now I have to copy them onto a CD. Thats another empty box to get rid of, I feel quite guilty with all the paper I am throwing, out those poor trees. John, I dont envy you moving house, I hope your move goes smoother than ours did. Sylvia, I love trees too but I.m afraid that we have to get rid of a conifer and another, I cant tell what sort it is until it gets leaves. The surveyor recommended that we got rid of the conifer because it has been planted too near the house and a in a few years, the roots could affect the foundations. The other tree (that I dont know the name of) is already damaging the boundary wall, so it will have to go and the wall be repaired. Mavis, I will keep my fingers crossed for Pip to have favourable results. Di, I am gobsmacked at the woman that drilled the tree and poured chemicals in it.Some people get so intense about things. My back is aching tonight, I think I may have got a chill hanging out clothes in this cold wind. So I will say goodnight and hopefully see you tomorrow. June xx

Evening all:o) Fred l must say that brisket was lovely - tonight we had belly pork cooked for a couple of hours in the oven with the rest of butternut squash and onion, with mashed spuds carrots and brocoli - it fell apart - yumma:o) Young Madoc - he's been walking on three legs for the past 4-5 days so we took him to the vets this afternoon.We always have to phone the vets in advance and make sure the surgery is empty cause he goes mad, screams,barks and as good as attacks any other dog in reach. He's not like that when he's out for walks, infact he loves most dogs unless they don't love him!!! lol Most of you may remember Madoc was involved in a road traffic accident before we had him and he was referred to a vet in Bristol after us realising he had a problem!! Whats probably happened is: when he meets up with his mates in the field or on the river walks and they have run around like lunatics, last week he over did it. Quite often he has a good fun time and limps when he gets home but by the morning he's fine,and we rest hin, but not this time. SO - he's on anti-inflamatories now for 2 weeks and we wait for an appointment at Bristol - short walks on the lead are in order as well:o(( He has problems from the accident with his ankle and hip, so we need to find out where the prob is now, we think the hip. Fingers crossed nothing drastic has to be done - and l will keep you informed.Should be given date for Bristol tomorrow. Other than that l'm sitting here in the freezing cold so won't stop.Plus feeling abit down because of Madoc, he's definately not himself bless him:o(((( Take care all of you Love Jude sarf wales xx

Hello everyone, have had a busy day ,going to my dads as he has not been very well ,he has been having pains in his chest and back,and as he has lung cancer I am a bit worried. He has to go to hospital for tests on his chest pain tomorrow afternoon.His own doctor thinks it might be angina and gave hima a spray thing for under his tongue.My sister is in hospital waiting to have her gall bladder removed,so i went to see her afterwards.as dad was going to go but didn't due to not being well. Jude,hope madoc is ok and doesn't have any lasting problems Sylvia,hope your meal with your grand daughter and boy friend is ok and that the tree problem doesn't escalate. June we have a big green bin now for garden waste plus a blue one for paper and a brown one for bottles.It all gets recycled.We have more bins than flower containers at the moment,we seem to have had a spate of terracotta pots being broken by the dog and the plastic ones going britttle with the frost,.I have said I will not replace them .but I probably will. mavis .what a nice surprise with your visitors,I would love to do that to my friend in Melbourne as she did it to me years ago. Fred did you get the attachments and emails? I am still having some problems with emails. Getting tired now,only hope I can get to sleep tonight, Take care ,Brenda

Hi everyone, Again its a lovely sunny but we did have a slight frost this morning. I have some emails to reply to this morning but I thought I had better post on here first. I am also waiting for the builders merchants to deliver the materials for the studwall I am having built to separate my lounge into a hall and study/snug. They I cant wait to get it decorated. Jude, At this time of year it is easy to feel down as soon as something is wrong. I hope Madoc is soon better and able to chase around with his friends. Brenda, I hope your dad is soon feeling better, this cold weather affects my chest too and I have one of sprays, it works wonders. Give my love to your sister, I hope she is soon out and about too. We have a brown wheelie for garden refuse, a green bin for bottles and cans and a blue bag for paper. I think we should be on the Council's payroll for the time it takes tto wash cans and bottles/jars. I hope the rest of you are keeping well, I keep comforting myself that spring is around the corner. Take care. June xx

I am very sorry to hear that Pip isn't too well Mavis,hopefully this will just be a cold which clears up quickly. Even our Jude is a bit down owing to Madocs mad half hours,that old injury is going to cause probs from time to time ,but with any luck the daft dog has only sprained a muscle.,daft he may be ,but he is a lovely tyke ,and i still love to hear what he is getting up to,.bet fat cat is taking advantage now smacking him on the nose and running away lol. Fred has just had dinner,two lovely crumpets ,toasted ,[of course] lightly buttered ,sprinkled with a strong durham chedder,and topped with a little red onion,ohhhhh,i did enjoy it,with commiserations to anyone who cant get these at their local store lol. We are ready for burns night,the haggis is in the fridge,the tatties are peeled ,the sweede ditto,and a little beef gravy readyfor the misses and bairn,Martin and Chris love it,but we only have it a few times a year 'cause i still have to watch what i am eating. we went to the local shop this morning to get a loaf of bread,and i left Liz in the car while i went in,and came out to find her under a tree which was covered in spuggies,and when i asked her what she was at ,she said she was telling them off for deserting our garden after we fed them, so ,i ask you,she is getting as daft as me lol,.P/s, they took no notice With any luck,we only have a few weeks before the weather starts to warm up,us brit's and canadians have a message for all in Oz and kiwi land,move over you lot,it's our turn for the sun,and your turn to get cold feet lol. Well,i'm off to have a look around but will be back later to see what's going on ,and who has shown up.see you all later ,take care ,and have a good day,or evening.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

Hi again everybody, Well, one could gain weight just from reading this thread and the Canada one; could the common link between the two be Fred!! lol Aided on this thread, I must say, by Sylvia and Jude! My home at the minute is in turmoil, so my sympathies are with you John in NZ! Good excuse not to do housework, though, so I'm not complaining. John is ripping up the carpet in the livingroom. I was going to help, but it's not really convenient to have 2 people working at it and it's really hard to get up anyway. He's done half the room in 2 days with rest breaks in between, so he's doing really well. The other rooms are in rather a mess too so I've been taking the opportunity to sort through things and toss out anything that hasn't been looked at for a year or so. I gave a great pile of magazines to the library yesterday and tore out articles I wanted to keep in others and tossed the rest. I'll probably discover i've tossed out something I need next week after garbage day! Or worse, something of Johns! Brenda, I'm sorry to hear your fears for your Dad's health, and hope that they're unfounded, but it's always a worry once that rotten disease hits, I know. I hope that everything will turn out well for him. And Mavis, positive thoughts and best wishes for your husband too, and I hope his Xrays turn out okay. John has his annual hospital check up of his bladder in March; it's now 13 years since the big operation. He usually gets them to knock him right out, but this time the new doctor wants him to just have a local as the other is more dangerous, probably because of his heart. My best wishes too for your sister's swift recovery from her gall bladder operation, Brenda. You must have a few troublesome things on your mind lately, so take care of yourself, and try not to worry too much. Sylvia fight the good fight to keep that tree safe. Do you know that some people have been known to get rid of blossom trees in their garden, because they 'make such a mess'! One reason, among many, that I fell for this place 7 years ago, June, was the big old catalpa tree in the back yard,and just about the first thing we had to do in the following spring was have it taken down. We hadn't noticed that it was splitting down the middle and was held together with wire near the top, and was obviously going to be a danger to the house. But it was such a lovely big shade tree, and I'd visualised myself swinging in a hammock under it in the summer time, so I still regret losing it. However, the back yard is much sunnier without it for veggie growing! I hope Madoc is feeling better now Jude and that they'll be able to help him in the long term with his leg problem. Pan had his jaw broken 4 or 5 years ago, and he has a habit of going around the house rubbing his chin on the edge of the walls, (making lovely black marks at chin level), and he also likes to have his chin rubbed, and I sometimes wonder if his chin aches occasionally from when it was broken; a cat's chin is such a delicate little thing; a miracle how they could fit it back together again! It's still grey and dismal here, rain and more rain! Roll on spring! Well, everybody, take good care of yourselves. God bless. Love to all, including Kathleen, Elisabeth and Bill. Hope you're all well. Di.xxx

Hello again. Hooray - Doctor phoned today and there is no cancer in the lung. Having medication as there is a lot of mucus in the bottom of his complete lung. The partial lung looks good. How times have changed - we came away with a CD of the xrays - not the large bulky packages that were given to you . The results went direct from Bay Radiology to our Doctors computer. Pip has to see the specialist on the 22nd Feb for further tests etc. He also has an appointment with the heart specialist. He has had 4 heart attacks since 1988 but is doing really well. The medical attention here in NZ is excellent. He gets really short of breath but the inhaler is wonderful. He is such a cheerful man and so positive about everything. Although 78 years of age people say he only looks 65/70. Is it the way I look after him? I don't think so! The rain and wind has gone and today had been very hot and sunny. Will it last? My friend Elva who lost her husband just before Christmas was cutting the grass yesterday and used the weed eater (strimmer) to do the edges and hit a stone and it hit her in the eye. She was so lucky that it was a very flat stone with no sharp edges and although it hit the pupil of the eye no real damage. She is still struggling over the sudden death of Stu, very tearful and lonely. She is a fighter and will get her act together. We have arranged for a window cleaner to come regularly to clean the windows inside and out. Neither of us are able to climb around anymore. Will have to be up and about earlier tomorrow for his first visit. We have lots of large windows and being close to the sea they get very dirty. I must finish now - Goodnight/Goodaye Mavis NZ

I was only going to look in hear today because i wanted to get on with my research[more on that in a mo].But the latest news from mavis caught my eye ,and i just had to say WAHAY,to her ,what a result,now it's up to Pip to take the antibiotics,obey the boss,and get better.and with the worry out of the way it should be a lot easier. As regards my research,with TONS of help from Brenda,i have managed to get back to scotland [Edinburgh] to my gt gt gt gt grandad,and with the help of BILL,i have found an ace site where i have a list of all registered bairds from all over the world,to look through,no one is safe now ,come out ,come out wherever you are ,be it in oz, New zealand ,the States ,or Canada,FRED,will find you lol. the fires are still raging in Oz,and things don't look good at all for the wildlife so i won't bemoan the lack of birds anymore ,it wouldn't seem right somehow. I hope Sylvia is okay,and of course Norm,Hopefully her absence means that she is getting some rest which she so badly needs. The haggis wen't down real well last night ,but Fred took an extra tablet afterward cause ,it was a little rich and i can only have something like that as a treat every so often. What a come down tonight we will be having bubble and squeek to use up the litttle bit of cabbage and the potato,done in the frying pan this time with a little oil,cooked slowly till it gets a vovely brown skin all over,,i think i may be really decadent and have mine between two slices of brown bread,with a nice fried egg on the top of the tattie before sealing the sandwich beeeeeutiful,and soooo quick.. Well i am now off to get on with some research,but i will be back[the arnie impression ] lol. See you all later .Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

Hiya Everyone,what a lovelly bunch of messages to come on and find. Can I jsut say thank you to you all for your messages about dad and my sister Jane, dad had an ECG yester day and they did not find the damage they thought they would.so I think they thought he might have had a minor heartattack.They will send a report to his GP with their recommendations,but if it happends again and lasts more than a half hour he has to be taken to the hospital. Jane has had her gall bladder removed and they did keyhole surgery ,and it all went well,wasn;t that a great birthday present for her!!!!.She didnot need to go to the HDU afterwards as she handled the anethestic ok as well. I will keep you posted about them both. Di I am sure like you said we must all gain weight just reading all Freds great food delights.LOL. Mavis ,I am so pleased to hear your good news about your husband it must be a relief for you. Fred ,glad I could help. Sorry to leave any one out but have been on here longer than I intended and am on work all day tomorrow,so need to get to bed. Take care ,Brenda

Hi everyone, Its lovely catching up with all the news, its like reading a long book. My son in law started building the wall to separate my snug/study from the hall, I think it has amazed us all that there is plenty of room in the study (I suoppose you would call it a large study) and it is a large hall too. So i think we will all be pleased with the outcome. Di, I really feel for you being having the house upset but I'm sure it will be worth it in the long run, its just the putting up with it meanwhile. Mavis, Excellent news, you must be looking after Pip well, regardless of what you say. Fred, I'm pleased you are doing well with your Family History, its great when people manage to fit bits into the jigsaw for you. Cant think how you manage to fit in Family History and cooking. I'm afraid that when I am tracing my Family, I go into a world of my own and everything else gets forgotten. Brenda, I am so glad that the news on your dad and Jane is good, you must be very relieved. I hope you manage to make it to the meet being one of the Founder members! Has anyone heard from Kathleen lately, I hope she is alright. I am expecting the delivery of a set of drawers for Gaynor, when they got the bedroom furniture, one of the sets of drawers was completely different and they have had to wait another 2 weeks for them. Spoke too soon, I think they are here. See you tomorrow. June xx

Just popped in for a few seconds to see that Brenda has had some good news on two fronts,one being the sis'and another being her hubby,i have no doubt that the doc will put the hubby on asprin to thin the blood[ as a precaution] and tablets for the angina ,if he has it after all.,i have those to take daily and they do help a lot.. I reckon the other family member will be home very quickly too,this keyhole surgery is so much easier for the body to recover from. I havn't heard from Kathy lately either,so i will send her an email ,to see how she is,hopefully i will let you know later.Must be off ,the boss wants the shopping in.take care all ,see ya later.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.