General Chat

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Hi from downunder, We are still having great weather - cold at night but warm and sunny during the day. Still no heating on. Our friend Blair is feeling a lot better - he is far more cheerful. Sunday we went to Rotorua for the day. Lots of steam from the thermal activity. Driving along the road we could see it coming up from the stormwater drains. Had lunch and tea out - I always enjoy eating out!! Our daughters little foster boy took his first steps this week. What excitement!! Our grandsons thought it was wonderful. Been busy in the garden today - we have a very small greenhouse - decided to move it to another corner of the garden. It was in full summer sun and got far too hot. The window cleaner came today - we can now see out again!! Being close to the sea the windows get very dirty. Today, the Bay of Plenty, the area we live in, had a practice Tsunami/Earthquake warning. The sirens were set off at noon - we didn't hear them at all in Papamoa. They will have another go in a couple of months time to see what they can do. Good job we are not worriers! Must do some baking tomorrow - Banana Cake is the first on the list - have two very ripe bananas. Will also bake chocolate muffins. Always popular. Glad your back is coming right Fred. Have enjoyed all the reading from everyone. Must go now - late again. Mavis NZ

Hello evryone,weather has been windy today with showers .Had lunch with Bren from Oldham and some of my friends today ,Bren and I have been trying to get to have lunch since January but something kept coming up.We had chinese,in a new restaurant and one of Brens neighbours came in and sat on the next table.!!!! Went to do a bit of shopping after but couldn't get what I wanted. Mavis ,good news about Blair,hope it keeps improving.Have just had to throw two very ripe bananas out as they would not be eaten,you will have to let me have your recipe. My son is waiting to get on here as it is usually his time but i jumped in tonight.Take care see you tomorrow,Brenda

Hi everybody, This morning I scooted round to my hairdresser for an appointment at 11.00 for a permanent, but nobody was in. I did some shopping and came home again and phoned her. She said I had an appointment at 1.00 pm. Well we won't argue as I scooted back again. It might have been different if it was raining, but it was very windy but dry. Di and Fred you are gluttons for punishment working so hard in the garden. Fancy Di trying to poison her poor husband. Shame on you Di. I don't think I will go to the market tomorrow as they forecast rain, and I can manage without going out. Anyway I can use some hours behind the sewing machine as I have lots of ends to do in that line. Well I am not really in the mood for writing so I had better clear off now, but it does help to keep the thread going. Have a nice evening everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi all, It's May, but it's like August outside. Had to drive John into downtown Vancouver this morning during the rush hour, as he's feeling pretty weak after 5 days with very little food. It was murder; took about 1/2 hour to do a 'normal' 5 minute trip through Richmond. That's what happens when they build hundreds of condos, and apartments in a city whose main access in or out is 5 bridges and a tunnel! And of course the traffic was thick and fast through town. heaved a great sigh of relief when the car was headed homeward. To think, about 15 years ago the car could practically drive the route to the big city all by itself, it was so used to the route, but now I'm a small town/country girl! (Make that old woman!) John had an appointment with his C. specialist, and luckily was well enough to keep it! (The poison didn't work this time Sylvia! lol) Seriously, he started on the antibiotics yesterday and by this morning his tum had settled down, but he still can't eat much. However he is up and about again. Brenda thanks so much for your kind offer. At the minute I've put genealogy mostly on the back burner as the garden takes up so much of my time, but maybe in the winter I'll take another look at gg grandpa Charles! Sounds as though you all have a very busy social life. I'm afraid we are pretty much stay at homes now that John has so many problems, and most of our friends have scattered into retirement. However I did have a phone call a couple of days ago from somebody I was just contemplating phoning an hour or so before, who I haven't seen for about 10 years; quite a coincidence,huh? She's coming over to dinner in about 2 weeks time, which will be great. We used to be very close, used to have lunch and then stay having a few drinks in restaurants all afternoon, visit back and forth in each other's homes and party frequently., so it will be lovely to renew our friendship. Unfortunately she now lives a drive of about 1 1/2 hours along the Fraser valley, so we can't get together too often. I've finished altering the jacket with the big shoulder pads; was it on here I mentioned it? Anyway, it's turned out great, so I don't have to screw it into a ball and toss it!! lol Now onto my next project, when I decide what it's to be. Must go, John fancies a steak for tea so I'm off to the store. Take care all. Love, Di.xxx

Heeeeeelo everyone,Not a very nice afternoon,drizzling again ,but i managed to finish the veggie garden yesterday with the help of the boss ,and i finished off by putting the rainwater butt into position ,and making a downpipe out of a piece of plastic conduit i had left over from the electic connection to the greenhouse. I had to bend the downpipe to get it to go into the butt and got round the problem by filling it with sand first and blanking the ends off,which prevents the pipe collapsing as it is bent[gently] a trick i learned at the foundry years ago The two buts out front have been connected together by a bit more of the same stuff ,so it didnt cost really ,plenty of water now for the garden no matter what the weather. the front is now finished as regards shrubs by the addition of five new roses,and the only new ones after this will be cuttings off them all which i will take off in august. The boss will finish out front using her kneeling tool to put all the seedlings out and that will leave the greenhouse clear for the toms to grow ,the cucumbers to do ditto and the scots bonnet to put in. Even the asparigus is doing well ,but we won't be able to harvest that till next year as it's onnly the second year of growth. So ,really ,apart from keeping the weeds down that's it ,we can now be lazy and sit in the garden all day,untiiiiiiil---------- the missus decides to start the decorating, Oh i feel a sickie coming on lol. Every one looking forward to four oclock and the weekend starting ,which is why the weather has turned wet again ,Liz and i are partying tonight but if she decides she want's a B B Q this weekend i think i will have to sit under the parasole to do it hee hee.,everyone welcome ,bring your own wet gear and wellies. Well i'm off to make myself a coffee,you see it's like this ,my missus has started the party before we even go and is on the plonk ,and Fred is driving her up there ,so ,no beer until i come home ,it ain't fair fellas is it?cummon lads ,i need some support here lol,we fellas get put on in these situations don't we? At this point Fred scoots off before i get any rude replies off the ladies ,or worse ,the boss sees what i have written before i can sign off ,ooooooer. Fred,hunting cover.

Hi fred,enjoy your weekend what ever you do.I am working today and will enjoy a nice night in as I have been out for the past two can't seem to handle them anymore. Weather wet here and likely to stay like that til Tuesday!! Got some plants for the baskets yesterday,but not doing much with the tubs etc as we will be having some work done soon in the kitchen and they are using the patio to saw/cut things etc. Hope you all have a good weekend enjoying your favoufite past times.Hope to find time to get back tomorrow,Brenda

Hi everybody, Well, didn't write anything yesterday so thought I had better make an attempt today. Well the weather is much the same as the last few days, wet, windy and miserable. They have forecast more sun than yesterday, but I think somebody must go and wake up the sun first as it is still asleep! I watched the Eurovision Contest yesterday and was disgusted to see how many voters voted for Finland. I thought they were really awful. Just shows what they think of my opinions! I should be pleased for Finland, the land of my forefathers, my grandfather was a Finn, but I am not. I rather liked the Irish lad who reminded me very much of Johnny Logan. I always have a laugh at Terry Wogan's comments during the competition. Yesterday I baked some chocolate cakes and had just got them out of the oven when the telephone rang. It was my granddaughter Linda telling me she had just made some cakes and that the mixture looked too thin and what could she do. It used to be my daughters asking me and now my granddaughter. I like this. Well it is a day to stay in so will probably get down to some letter writing. Have a nice Sunday everybody. Are you having your barbecue Fred? I can picture you under a huge umbrella turning the hot dogs over. How far are you from the hospital Di? Sylvia xxx

Morning all what a lovely morning we have here,nice and sunny at the mo but just a little damp with the rain we had overnight.I will be going through to the sons later this morning for the rest of the day so we may indeed land up with a small BBQ sylvia,the son loves doing one although i don't know where he gets this love of cooking from,does it six days a week and still enjoys doing it at home too ,but i ain't complaining [he says hurridly] seeing as he always comes up with something new and tasty. we have a couple of new birds in the garden,two doves which looking closer to find they have a thin black ring round the neck,i think are what Harry said on his thread[ ringed doves.] Anyway [,unlike the perishing pidgeons ] they feed quite happily with my other birds and can come back any time. We are having a lively time here with two blackbirds in the garden,our resident bird which is nesting in the front hedge and a new one who is trying to take over,but our resident is having none of it and there have been a lot of squabbles these past few days on the ground and in the air. If i sit still in one of the garden chairs now ,all of the birds will come pretty close while i just sit there with my coffee and biccies lol,but they can't beat the maggie that used to come and join me on the table for breakfast at my last house,but who knows ,in the future i may be lucky enough to see that happen again. Hope yuo are all having a good weekend ,i am off now ,coffee in the garden time for me before the fun starts again see you later folks ,be good ,and be kind to each other as always .Fred.

Morning All,from a rather grey,wet and windy Manchester ,fred i love to sit outside with a coffe ,don't mind the odd biccie or two either,but we have not had much chance lately.Hope it picks up soon.Enjoy your visit to your sons,whatever you have foodwise will be great. Sylvia that's what mother and grandmothers are for,to call on and phone for advise and help,it is nice to be needed isn't it . Off to visit dadsoon,then back for a late lunch /earlytea and then ironing.Working late tomorrow,so not sure what time i will be here,Brenda

Hi everyone, I hung my washing out before 7 this morning, it was lovely, sunny and warm,I sat out there and drank my coffee. Then just before 11, the clouds came over and it is raining now. I guess that was summer! We have been busy in the garden, the people that had the house before us just had a few bushes and trees but we have added more plants and 3 apple trees. Most of the ivy has now gone off the back of the house, we decided to get rid because the wasps were nesting in there. The birdtable that I put in the front garden is in regular use, Beckham doesn't mind the bluetits and sparrows but he doesn't like the starlings and doves coming but he soon warns them if there is a cat about. I am wanting to put up some more hanging baskets at the front of the house, because we live on a corner, we very rarely use the front door, the driveway is on the side.so if this rain will hold off, I will be doing hanging baskets. Have to go now, visitors have arrived June xx

Morning peeps,from a wet cold and windy Newcastle,i have a few minutes before i go up to do the bedrooms so here we go lol. Liz and i had a great afternoon and evening with the son and family and had a good laugh at Lewi's first encounter with a cadbury's chocolate cake,and had to take a few pictures of him,not that you could see much of him mind it was more a photo of a human shaped cake lol. I am looking forward to next weekend already when we take Sophie to our house over the weekend.hopefully the weather will be kind to her and we can take her for a train ride to sunderland and have a picnic too . Everyone seems so busy lately so pehaps this coming weekend will be a chance for most of us to unwind a little. Take care all ,see you later.fred.

Hi everyone. Just catching up after being away for a long weekend with friends. Had a great time - as usual lots of yummy food and the wine was pretty scrummy too!! The weather has broken today - very wet but not too cold. More rain is on the way. Our daughters little foster boy has spent the weekend in hospital - has developed Asthma. It looks as though he will soon be with adoptive parents - 10 couples are being interviewed. They are all Maori couples which is good as Sleyd is Maori. There culture is so very different so it will be better for him. We will all miss him when he goes but of course there are so many more children just waiting for foster parents. Not much to tell just now - trying to catch up on emails etc. Goodnight from downunder Mavis NZ

just a few lines,no change in the weather,work was bit slow today ,think weather kept everyone out. Nice to see you June,your garden sounds like its getting how you want it,just give yourself time to enjoy it as well, fred ,could do with some to do our bedrooms what your hourly rate,mind you looking at my sons room make that weekly rate lol. Mavis hope the foster grandson is ok and really trust they get him some nice adopted parents. Your daughter must have such a generous nature.taking in all the foster children. Off to bed now,couldn't sleep earlier so have been searching for cheaper cae insurance agin Brenda

Hello everyone, This will not be a very long message as I am being plagued by silly pop-ups. Don't know what the problem is, Chris installed a Router recently and it might be teething troubles. Both sons have been on the computer all day and evening so maybe it's just fed up!! Well for a drought (?) it seems to be pretty wet, it has rained so hard and consistently that our main road has been flooded for much of the past 10 days. A boat would be more appropriate than a car. We have a hosepipe ban but I doubt anyone would need to use one all the gardens are very wet and soggy. It's quite windy as well, not very pleasant at all. It seems to be affecting the TV as well, that keeps going off and usually in the middle of something I want to watch. I did watch a bit of the Eurovision and agree with you Sylvia that Finnish lot were dreadful but then it seems to be more political these days, the voting is not about the songs anymore. Love to hear Terry Wogan's comments though, he makes me laugh. Thank you for the photo's Fred, Lewis certainly seemed to be making the most of his chocolate cake but was obviously enjoying it. Lovely grandchildren you have. Well I've had enough of the blips and things, I am going to switch this infernal machine off and give us both a rest!!!! Have a nice day/evening/morning everyone God bless Love Kathleen

Hi everybody, Don't know how far back we were as I have 'Friends' and 'Canada' in 'My Favorites', but probably quite a way back! So here's a nudge back to the top. Hope you're all well; where are you Sylvia? It's not often you miss a day. Good to see you again Kathleen. Have you got Adaware?; if not try it and you'll have no more trouble with those pesky pop-ups. Another sunny day here today, after a typical Novemberish day yesterday; talk about depressing, after the previous few days. Sun's back today, but it's still a litle unsettled overhead. Have just spent the morning in emergency, having foolishly got myself in at the tail end of a cat fight! Chased the other cat off, went to check on my own lovely Pan, as I was concerned he might have got his chin damaged again, and next thing I know, I have a raging 'panther' attached to my arm, having knocked off my glasses, and punctured my eyebrow. Anyway, I've had a tetanus shot, am on antibiotics and have my arm all bandaged up. The hospital, Sylvia , is about 10 minutes Drive away, but for the past few years has really operated as a walk-in-clinic and emergency unit. For ops and specialist treatments, patients are shipped out to other hospitals, since they're trying to centralise everything, to cut down costs. John's hospital visits, except for emergencies, is at 3 different hospitals in and around Vancouver. Anyway, I'm over the shock of it now, and have spent the afternoon curled up on the chesterfield with Pan, who is now as loving as ever! Hi Brenda, Mavis, June, and Fred and anyone else looking in. Love, Di.xxx

Hi everyone, Di - sorry about the cat fight! A friend of ours got 'attacked' by a neighbours cat - leg, and arms were badly scratched and bitten. Took a long time to heal properly as his skin isn''t in the best of condition due to too much sun in his younger days! Rain, rain and more rain today, tomorrow and Friday. It is quite warm though but depressing when you look out at the garden. Had Mahjong at my house today. Good fun. Had Banana cake (again), chocolate muffins with cream cheese in the middle and cream cheese and chopped celery sandwiches. Pip went to visit Blair who is feeling so much better. We are having tea with them on Saturday and will watch the Rugby final on TV. Our daughters foster baby is well again and chirpy and smiley as ever. What a joy he will be for whoever adopts him. Must go now - bedtime. Goodnight to you all. Mavis NZ

Hi everybody, Yes, didn't come on here yesterday as Johan and I had a bit of a gruelling day. Johan had an appointment in Utrecht at 12.00 noon and we were still on the motorway at 12.00. We should have taken exit 17, but they have coupled exits 16,17,18, and then split them again. We had just got off and were following exit 16 when I noticed on the left exit 17 which we wanted, and no way we could get out of the traffic to get in that lane. We couldn't get back on anywhere and everywhere they are building or making new roads. A nightmare! When we eventually arrived in the street on the map we had (yes, we had run out on the computer exactly how to get there), we then couldn't find the exact place. No problem, you say, there is a police station. Johan went into the police station (if you want to know the time ask a policeman!). What do you think, they didn't know! The street we wanted was opposite the police station. Yes, we have travelled through many countries over the years, but never had anything like this, even into reading Greek signs in Greece was not such a problem. We left the papers we had taken with us for somebody to look over and they will ring us when they are ready. We now know the way, don't we? There was a covered shopping centre so had some coffee and a bite to eat and I had a look at the shops, but only bought household items. I can never find anything when Johan is with me. Today I have had my trusty help in the house and I had planned to go shopping when she had left, but then this big dark cloud came over and I changed my mind. It is a good job I picked up a couple of litres of milk yesterday. I am afraid my store cupboards and freezer are getting a little bare now that we have such bad weather. Tomorrow is Ascension Day and all the shops are closed, apart from the Garden Centres and Furniture Boulevards. Fancy your Pan turning on you Di, I do hope you get better soon. I suppose an animal is an animal really, although we don't like to think like that about our own pets. I suppose everything is growing fast now Fred with this weather, but the weeds will be growing too of course. More work. Well, will close now, and have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Hello Everyone,was planning on coming on here alot earlier ,but have had one phone call after another tonight so have just popped on before bed time. Managed to sort out my car insurance,and got it £70 cheaper. Di ,hope you are recovering well,have had scratches from my own cats when trying to give them pills and spray them etc and when they were kittens but luckily not from others, Kathleen ,Adaware is good like Di says, had it until NTL brought out their own security which is free,so I changed to that. We have had plenty of wet weather ,but this afternoon was lovelly,went to work with long sleeve top cardi and winter top coat ,after work at 1pm went to the supermarket and was sweating pushing the trolley back to the car Mavis ,you certainly have a good social life ,how many at at your Majong? and the other groups ,is it the same crowd or do you mix alot.? Hope you are ok on the next visit Sylvia,we once got lost in the capital of Tenerife,,we had gone shopping took the wrong turning,we did have a map but did not know were we where to find where we wanted to go.then this lovelly little old man took the map from us and pointed to where we were then we pointed to wthe place we wanted to go and he took us to the street that went ther from the square we had been in. Have a nice long lazy weekend planned as it is the bank holiday again,but we will see if it turns out like it is planned. See you all tomorrow, Hows the back fred, Hope you are better soon June Love Brenda

Hello again. Sylvia - road alterations are a pain - it is happening around us at the moment. Will be good when it is all finished. Brenda - Our Mahjong group is just a small 'friendly' one. 8 ladies. We meet at each others houses. We are not competitive we just enjoy ourselves. We use 'pretend' money. Just as well I would probably be bankrupt by now!! Fred - how are you? The ol back must be feeling a little easier by now. The photo's were great - no I don't have Broadband!!! Still raining here and looks as though it will be that way for a day or two. Drama today - Pip (my husband) took bad and I had to call the ambulance. Had terrible vertigo and severe headache. A & E were superb. Checked him thoroughly. He was dehydrated a little and this had caused the vertigo. The headache is a problem and is to be monitered. Anyway he is home and is now asleep. Hopefully tomorrow with the medication he will feel a little brighter. Neighbours and friends wonderful again. All for this time. Mavis NZ