General Chat

Evening all,feeling tired tonight so only having ahalf hour on here. Went to visit jane tonight she is really good,should be home Monday all being well. Fred,my Dad is doing well also,he is alot brighter today,think he was worried about jane as well.she is the baby of the family.There is 15 years between me and her,I always had to mind her while mam was at work and she was mistaken for mine quite afew times the last being a few weeks ago when she was in the hospital!!!!. Dad is young looking for his age,and has been mistaken for my brother at times. June so pleased the move is going as good as it is. See you all soon ,hope everyone has agood weekend. Brenda

Hi everyone, How good to hear all the good news in the health department. I'm very glad to know that everyone is doing so well and hope they'll all continue to gain in strength. Where is our Sylvia? Do you think she's maybe sitting in that tree to stop them cutting it down? Seriously, hope you're okay Sylvia; it's not often you're absent from this thread. Son's lady, Bernie, came downstairs just now to borrow a vase in which to put the dozen red roses he has just sent her, and it's not even her birthday! She was quite overwhelmed, but as I told her, she deserves them because she's special, and she really is. When I told John what Steve had done, he said, 'You're kidding!' My son is definitely becoming a romantic as he ages! It's still chaotic here, but John is now laying the floor-very slowly as he has to kneel on his arthritic knees, which doesn't do them any good, but it'll get done. Had an email from mum's cousin's daughter today, the second member of that family I'm now in touch with, and she sent me some leads toward another US branch of the family; they emigrated in 1883 and settled in the New York area, and I've already found them on the Castle gardens website. Margaret lives in Ruislip so between us we should be able to make some headway. Well, can't stay for long as I'm in the middle of doing laundry and then must wash some dishes. So take care of yourselves, everybody, and keep warm. Our rain has stopped temporarily, but it's cold now, and then more storms are on their way in. Hearing about those poor people in Georgia, near Russia, on the news today, with no heat, makes one appreciate that it may be cold outside, but thank goodness we have lovely warm houses . Love to all, Di.xxx

Hi everyone. Just a quick note to say thank you to you all for your kind words and thoughts. It really is great being able to 'chat' away on this thread. It eases the tension and worry being able to 'talk' about problems. When you look around your own problems seem so small. On check ups at the hospital we see so many really poorly people. It has been unbearably hot here today - the hottest day of the summer so far. The temperature in our bedroom is 81 deg. and it is now 11 p.m. We will have to have the fan on all night - the noise is annoying though. Hope it cools down a little tomorrow. Have had contact from my brothers daughter through GU. She is 40 ish and I haven't seen her since she was 10. Really good to hear from her. We lost touch for various family reasons years ago. Must go now. Nite Nite Mavis NZ

Hi everyone, I did it again, typed a long message then lost it. Its lovely and sunny now although we had frost this morning Fred, Please let us know if you do hear how Kathleen is, I hope Susan is OK. I think my email addie for Kathleen must be out of date. Brenda, Glad to hear that Jane and Dad are OK. I didn't think you looked 15 years older than Jane, it certainly doesn't show. Di, Your Steve sounds lovely, you must be very proud of him. Just make sure John keeps taking a rest, we dont want his knee to hurt too much. Mavis, Families!! We had a similar thing with my brother's daughter, (we hadn't had contact for 28 years) she contacted my daughter, through Genes. just over 12 months ago and they have kept in constant touch. We exchange birthday and Christmas presents now and catch up on the news. Which is a good thing because both my niece and my daughter are only children, and they both have a daughter of similar ages. I hope you stay in close contact now. Sylvia, Come down from that tree! Seriously I am missing you, I hope you and Johan are alright. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend, I think I will strip some wallpaper, If my son in law decides to carry on with building this wall, I will be in his way so I have to wait and see. See you tomorrow. June xx

just a quick hello as i am in work and we have a lull in the activities,so thought i would see how you are . Hope |slyvia and her husband are ok.o

Hi there, Yes, like the old proverbially penny I'm back. No, I've not been ill, just busy. Today I have made two brown loaves of bread, a huge pan of thick pea soup (complete with smoked sausage, ham,) a large pan of goulash. Most of this will be frozen in for the days when I don't have too much time for cooking. Whoever said pensioners have lots of time on their hands? I've been reading all your messages just now and do feel like belonging to a nice family - thank you for your concern. The weather here today is dull and cold, but at least it is dry. Yesterday Johan and I took a taxi to a friend of ours who lost her husband a few years ago. She cooked mussels for us. Well I like mussels, but don't like cooking them, so for me this was a treat. No more news on our trees here. My contact with one of the neighbours is a little cool. He will get over it. I won't mention it any more. He wasn't going to dictate to me what I should do - got enough with Johan trying to do that at times! Johan is becoming very domesticated now that he has turned eighty. He is at the moment filling all the plastic boxes with the soup and goulash and labelling them for the freezer. I even sent him to the shops today and he came back with the correct things. Mind you I also sent him in the week for 10 tubes of toothpaste and tubes of Steradent tablets (well a cheaper make) and he came back with 20 tubes of toothpaste! I hope we live long enough to use this up. He'll be washing and ironing next! Well have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, Its lovely and sunny again but frosty, so I thinkl I will let the streets 'air' before I venture out. Yesterday I had the usual chores to do, washing the dishes, washing clothes etc but I did transfer the photos of the house, onto my laptop. I have decided to take photos before and after the alterations. I need to transfer them onto my PC too but I haven't found the port at the front yet, to plug my camera into. i know its behind a little 'door' but I ran out of time yesterday so I will look again today. The wall in my snug/study is coming along nicely, more wooden frame has been added, I think that maybe the plasterboard will going on next. Brenda, That was nice of you, thinking of us during your busy working day. Sylvia, Welcome back, we have missed you. I'm glad to hear that you were missing because you were busy. I have had a smile at Johan getting domesticated after all this time. I cant believe that he is a slow learner, I think he has been having you on and decide to come clean at last. lol I think everyone else must have been busy too or maybe they have their computers in rooms that are chilly. Thats the beauty of this study/snug. I have my PC, TV, CD player and phone in here, what more do I want, lol I have decided that I will call it my Hideaway. lol Well I am off now to make some toast so will see you all tomorrow. June xx

Hi all, Well believe it or not I was the first up this morning. So to celebrate the occasion I cooked the breakfast. I am going to get down to some genealogy this afternoon. Haven't done anything for so long. It's all the chatting on the pc! Yes June, sounds good 'June's Hideaway'. Is Beckham allowed in? Good morning Fred, Di, Brenda, and uncle Tom Cobbly and all. See you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

HIya just a few lines ,had visitors today ,my sister and her husband from cheshire,they came over to see Jane and dad,They had picked him up at home and took him to the hospital.which is round the corner from me,so I asked them to sunday dinner and they all came,Haven't done such a big meal for ages.But it all went down ok, Have been looking for household insurance for dad,he thinks his renewal is too high,but the low quotes he has been given are for lower sums assureds ,so do I say pay less and be insured for less or have the right sum assured and pay more ???.I would rather he had the right cover. Went to bed before 11 ,and couldn't sleep,so came on here,will be really tired at work later. June ,you will be really cosy in your little retreat,remember to come out now and again. Sylvia,good on Johann .learning ,even if he is a late developer,we had a neighbour who did not even know how many sugars he had in his tea,or his size in clothes ,his wife did it all,including running his bath and bringing him the paper from the dorrmat..Sadly he had a stroke and died well before she did,otherwise we did not think he could manage on his own. Not sure if I will be here tomorrow have a bit of shopping to do and a lot of ironing to catch up on again. Take care ,Brenda

nice sunnish day here today ,but stll cold,in the middle of doing some copies of census stuff ,so I am not in and out of different screens. Working later and still have my ironing to get done. Hope you all had a nice weekend and are well and happy.Take care Brenda

Hi everyone, Its very frosty here but now the sunny is out so it should all melt away. The alarm on my son in law's car was frozen and everytime he tried to get in the car or start the engine, the alarm went off. I am still finding my way around this new PC, It wouldn't accept photoshop, which I prefer, it has a photoprogramme of its own and I haven't worked out how to use it yet. Yesterday was my granddaughter's birthday so last night we went out for a very nice meal, its lovely to have a family meal even though my grandson isn't so keen, he would rather be on his computer with his friends. Sylvia, I hope you find lots of rellies, I think that a rest does you good, its like starting a new hobby again. Since most of the census has been put on Ancestry, I have found quite a few people, also from these Hot Matches on Genes. Someone sent me 2 pieces of paper, probably torn from a bible, where one of my Ancestors had written details of his children's births and baptisms and who the Godparents were. One Godmother was the Duchess of Newcastle and the other was Lady Remington. Brenda, It must have felt like Christmas again with your family get together. I hope you find your rellies on the census. I went on Ancestry yesterday, on the Births. Marriages and Deaths and found details of 2 of my 17th century marriages, its these little snippets that make it worthwhile. I think I will now go and get another cup of coffee, Beckham is in his bed, just peeping out of the mattress is his cuddly hedgehog, he hides all his treasures under his mattress. lol He doesn't like people looking under there. See you all tomorrow. June xx

Goodevening or Goodmorning depending on where you are! Still unbearably hot here. Little rain early a.m. thought it might clear the air but no. My daughter and family arrived back from their camping holiday a day early due to the weather. They had drizzle and humidity for 5 days non stop. They enjoyed the break (so they say!!). Didn't look like it when we popped over to see them today. Sleeping Bags on the line, wet tent erected in the garden, piles of washing going through the drier and two boys pleased to be home!! Pip has toothache again so off to the dentist tomorrow. The dentist is reluctant to extract any teeth because Pip is on Warfarin. He has been on Warfarin since 1988 and it seems to work for him. His medication has affected his teeth unfortunately. He may have to go to the Day Stay Unit at the hospital to have it done. Will wait and see what tomorrow brings. Off to bed now. Bye for now Mavis NZ

Good afternoon every one ,from a very cold and bleak Newcastle. I have sent two emails to kathy Brenda ,but have recieved no reply to date,of course ,this may be due to the dispute on aol and ntl.but i don't know,perhaps it's only a case of recharging the batteries,and she did have a hell of a time last year poor thing. I have just had a nice amble down to the chemist in the village,for my perscription for the next three months. Outside the door the hedge and path is still covered in ffrost ,but once in the sunshine it was quite pleasant if not too warm,but by the time my stuff was ready and i turned for the walk back up ,it had starrted to turn cold again,so Fred thinks a heavy frost is on the way.again lol. Nothing much to report really,i am having a day off before returning to the grind of the housework,but i ain't seen nothin' yet,next month it will be garden start again ,oh mother ,give's us a hand hee hee. Looks like time to get the seeds out again ,and have a sort out in the greenhouse,looks like i have lost a good few cuttings of the geraniums,but thjere are plenty left.and we have a packet of the new seeds which give flowers of a rose appearance,and i have three rose cuttings that have struck,not bad out of six stuck in potting compost with no rooting powder. Well i'm awat to get some tea,so that we can relax tonight with a book .see you all later ,take care peep's.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

Hi everybody, Well I had a day of housework today - ugh! I hate housework. I did peep at my genealogy, but only a peep. Tomorrow we have a busy day as we have to go to Utrecht to the wholesalers to stock up on household items/food/etc. It is a huge place and I'm always knackered when I've been there. The weather is miserable to say the least, but not quite so cold. I did think Spring was just around the corner when I saw a male and female duck together (cannot remember names only Drake and...). I thought 'well he's found his partner early'. The blue tits have also been inspecting the nesting boxes - 'the early bird......'. Not much news for now. Have a nice evening, see you tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hi gals and guys, Just a quick hello, as I haven't managed to call in since Friday. After getting emails from 2 of my 2nd cousins in the London area, one talking about some family members who went to the States in 1883, but they couldn't find them, I had to give it a try. I found the marriage and another brick dropped out of the wall, and found them arriving in Castle Gardens website. Then I started making copies of all the birth certs and other docs that would interest the cousins, and emailing them lots of details, by which time my eyes were bothering me as well as my shoulder, so had to take a break. Hope everyone is well and happy. Lovely sunny day here today for a change, and mild too. See you all soon. Take care. Love, Di.xxx

Morning peeps,i came on early this morning to say that i have heard from Kathleen. She and Susan are okay,butt Kath'is feeling rather battered and tired from all the hassle last year,a\nd now needs time out to pull herself round. She is thinking of you all and promises to be back before long. Me i got up early because there was freezing fog last night and i had to put the bin out for emptying ,and i wanted to get it in before dawn to stop some unfortunate falling over it on the way to work. i have to go shopping today up to the daughters but i may be late getting there ,as i refuse to take the car out in these conditions,i don't mind a bit of fog,or a heavy frost,but not both together. I'm not worried about my driving ability,but the last load of snow we had made me think about some other drivers,lots of them have no idea how to handle snow,and freezing fog to my mind ,is a lot worse. I will be back this afternoon,i just thought news of Kathleen would be a good start to the day would be nice for a lot of us .see ya later.Fred.PtfA&G&G&S.

Hi evryone, We haven't got any frost this morning and it does feel warmer. Fred, sorry to hear that you are still freezing, I know what you mean about some drivers. They are always in a hurry instead of leaving five minutes earlier. Thanks for letting us know about Kathleen and Susan, last year was a terrible strain for her. Di, How exciting for you, chasing the rellies up, I think I will pop on the Castle Garden Website for a nosey. Sylvia, Dont wear yourself out at the wholesalers. you will have to sit and watch the birds instead, Spring will be with us soon. Mavis, What a shame that your daughter's hoilday was a washout, such a disappointment! I hope they soon sort out Pip's toothache, I think its just about the worst pain possible. Today, I think Gaynor and me are going out for lunch, we haven't been out for lunch together since before Christmas. Where has January gone? I am off to get dressed now, so see you all tomorrow. June xx

Hi everybody, Well I was up with the lark this morning. Before six o'clock. Not planned, but had a bad night with heart valve not functioning too good. It seems my fluid intake was high, but the output low. It seems I need to pass fluid when I am asleep, but not during the day and this causes me breathing problems. Anyway Johan and I went to the wholesalers and did our shopping. It's not just the shopping - large floor area - but putting it all away when I get home. Anyway, I still had time to iron a few shirts and visit Annemie who has a broken toe. I can now make a lot of bread with 10 kilos of bread flour, plus lots of frozen fish etc.etc. The weather has been very nice today with lots of sunshine, but still extremely cold. I saw lots of ice floating on the rivers. Now will keep this short as I have e-mails to answer. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone, Sylvia, I hate housework too, but I also hate to see the state my home is in now that I can't do any. Well. I could I guess, but I'd have to manoevre around diplaced furniture and a big industrial vacuum, and since John is in and out of the house all the time to cut the planks on his saw outside the back door, it would really be a waste of my time, as he drags in a little more dirt, sawdust and dead leaves each time. So instead, I'm averting my eyes from it all, and relaxing. I hope you're going to be sleeping better tonight Sylvia. sleepless nights are so debilitating especially when it's your heart that's keeping you awake. Take care of yourself and don't work so hard. Went out shopping this morning for veggies, and browsed around a bit, then came home, had Safeway Chinese food, egg noodles and rice noodles, lovely fat ones with onions and peppers, ginger beef, sweet and sour pork, teriyaki chicken and black bean chicken; delicious. Then it started to rain, which curtailed John's flooring, so we settled down among the chaos to do puzzles and I fell asleep. The floor is almost half done, is going down a treat and looking lovely. Can't wait to see it all stained and varnished, and John is going to redo the hallway at the same time, as we did that when Ross was a tiny puppy, (hard to visualise the great beast as tiny now), and he used to chase after my 2 schnauzers and scraped the floor a bit with his sharp claws. June, you have inspired me to tidy up my paperwork, so as well as getting copies done for my relatives, I've also been transferring all my bits and pieces of notes on paper into my paf file. Rather overdid it yesterday, so must ration my time on here better, but it's nice to see stuff all organised in one place and all backed up to CD as I go along. When spring arrives I must take time out to go over to the LDS library and confirm a few things and look up a couple of relatives whose birth records I haven't been able to discover yet. Fred, that was good news to start the day with, that Susan and Kathleen are okay, and I hope she'll soon be feeling a lot better and up to coming back to join us. Also Jude where are you? Hope you're well and Madoc too. Brenda, hope you're well too and not working too hard, but of course we all know you are. Well, tea's ready; we're finishing off the rest of the Chinese food. Yummy! Love to you all, Di.xxx

Hi everyone, I expected to add to the thread before this time but I have been busy all of the day but for the life of me, I cant think what I have done. I have peeled the spuds, taken Gaynor to work, been to Asda, been to the bank but that shouldn't take all day.! It has been very cold here today too. Sylvia, I hate putting the shopping away too.I think that is the worst part of shopping. Di, I use PAF too, I find it so easy to use. I haven't been doing very much housework, everywhere is so dusty. the plaster board is now on the walls, I dont know what the next step is, just hoping it wont be long. I can only put up with being untidy for so long. I will see you all tomorrow, lets hope that we have a few more messages by then. June xx