General Chat

Hi everyone,weather has been great today hope its going to last. Had lunch with my friend from Australia today its always lovelly to see her.Not sure if we will see each other again before she goes back,but hopefully in two years we will be going to see her. John has tiled the kitchen and has done a brilliant job i am so pleased with it all now. Have a few emails to answer so will be short and sweet again.Mavis hope the family are allbetter soon,its a shame about the babies background poor thing ,hope no 11 has a good start like no 10. Fred hiya mate when will you be retiring again ?how is your B.i.l dorothy,have a good visit with your friend ,going to get some black puddings for John tomorrow, Take care brenda

well I have been to Bury,bought john his Black puddings,had a brilliant lunch with my sister,got a couple of bargains for my holidays ,a swimsuit and a linen skirt. Lovelly sunshine all day until about 3.30 then a shower of rain spoilt it.Hope the weather is just as for tomorrow. Have a nice weekend,Take care ,Brenda

Hi everybody, Well I am one big happy bunny today as I have a new help in the house. She phoned me yesterday and came for an interview this morning. I already knew from her voice on the telephone that I would have her as she was such a cheery person. She is very efficient too in the way she works, planning with diaries etc. She will be coming to work next Friday, then thereafterwards every Monday afternoon. I was just about on my last legs yesterday as the day before I had cleaned windows etc. My daughter also came this morning for coffee and stayed for lunch, so I made cheese tostis. My hairdresser came around 1.00 pm and was thrilled to see my daughter as they had not seen one another for some months. All the things I had planned to do were washed aside and I did nothing. Oh well, tomorrow is another day! I did phone the doctor as for some time I have had the inside of my mouth sore and swollen, including tongue. I thought it was an allergy so didn't bother the doctor, but the doctor now thinks it is a fungus infection. The reason for me phoning the doctor today is that it is spreading into my throat and I feel like choking sometimes. Anyway I have some gel to try and if it is not better by Tuesday then I have to go to the surgery. Nothing tastes the same either. All wines and spirits burn my tongue. Why do we get all these strange illnesses? Johan has a bladder infection so he too is on medicine. Yes, we are getting our money's worth from the Health Service. It is nice to see so many new faces, or old but new, if you know what I mean. I have read all you have written. Sylvia xxx

Good morning all,and to you as well Sylvia,nice to know you have your new help,it will make such a difference to you,and give you a chance to slow down a little. I have a chance to slow down too,today i only go out at 5 this evening,and then i am finished until Tuesday morning ][wahey] a chance to unwind,and i hope get that pointing done around the patio doors. I have been checking the house over ,and think i need to get the gable end of the house done as i have spotted one loose brick under the airbrick,and a few places that need repointed,from the top under the soffits to ground level,so if there are any brickies around ,i could do with a rough estimate for the going rates please. I don't mind doing a few bits myself at ground level but i am not going back to clambering around on scaffold at my time of life ,lol,iv'e had enough of that . I managed to get the back lawn done last evening but it's been raining overnight and i don't know yet if the front lawn will dry out enough for me to cut that too,or wether i will have to wait till monday being out all day tomorrow. I have had a look at the back garden this morning and it's easy to see that autumn has come,the Gladioli are in full bloom and the roses have thier second flush well under way,and all the other stuff is starting to die back[exept the hedges ,grrrrrr] I have started to collect the tomatoe seed for next year ,mainly the sugar plum which i have promesed to a few people ,and of course for myself ,my lot still prefer it to any other type seeing as it's the ideal size for salads and B B Q's My son's lot can eat a bowl full at the tea table,and i could do with four extra plants in just for them. Have to go and check my downloads now ,but will be around later on.,have a good day all.Fred.

Hi all, or should I say hi Fred, I suppose being Bank Holiday weekend we'll be on our own again Fred. I have had a baking day today. I've made two brown bread, 20 mince pies and a Dutch apple tart. All this and I have been feeling so sick and not fancied trying them at all. I am freezing them in for when I have visitors. I feel sick with this gel I have to put in my mouth and swallow. I hope it does the trick, otherwise I am feeling 'under the weather' for nothing. We have had our Triathlon here today so am pleased that the weather has been fine for the athletes. When I saw the state of the water by us - filthy green colour - I didn't envy the athletes swimming in that. The council tried to improve the water before but couldn't completely do so. We had a terrible stench by us in the harbour. Must have been from that hot period of weather we had in July. Now see you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

hi brenda glad you made it to bury and got john the black pudding to bad the weather took a turn for rain, I hope that the get to-gether to-day has gone well I have been thinking off you all. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall, I do hope that you have another one next year when I am over August to sept. bye dorothy canada

Hi everyone It's been well over a month since I was last here and scanning through the days since then much has happened. Mavis mentioned the tangi (funeral) of the Maori Queen and the sequence of events leading to her burial atop their sacred mountain. We watched the entire service on TV lasting some five hours starting with the presentation of the her successor - her son as the new Maori King - to see the wakas (canoes) escorting the casket along the Waikato river, then to see the casket carried and pulled up to the top of the mountain. Earlier in the year the Maori Queen celebrated 40 years in a low key celebration as she was unwell at the time. As one of the people said after the tangi it is something that you don't always see in your lifetime. I don't who mentioned playing Mahjong - I have a copy on the PC and try and play it several times a week. Lately I got into the habit of doing both the easy and cryptic crossword puzzles in our Daily News, mine you I usually give up on the cryptic ones. I think it might have been Brenda, did you ever get around to solving the Sudoku puzzles? I still buy a Sudoku book each month and have even managed to solve the hard versions which in most cases is a fluke. Our bathroom is almost finished - the shower and new vanity have been installed. We did have a few hiccups our original choice of a vanity didn't work as planned - the room wasn't as big as we first thought what with a 900x900 shower (thats about 3' x3') in one corner the idea of a corner vanity just wouldn't go, fortunately the bathroom shop had the standard oblong vanity on the shop floor so we got that install. Another hiccup involved the bathroom mirror cabinet that too had to be returned as the walls weren't suitable to hold it, and then the shower head had to returned something to with the water pressure in our street. After all the returns and replacements there was a nice refund. We only have the gib-stopping, painting and new viny to be done. I think the only thing that did go smoothly was with the electrician who put in a heat-fan-light and heated towel rail. We are still waiting for our conservatory/porch to go in. As I said I haven't been on GR for awhile however I hope to back a bit more often. John in NZ

A quick hello to you all where ever you might be. Heres hoping you get a lot of joy in your sunday. love Yvette

Hi Sylvia,hope you are managing to eat okay whith that throat,you must force yoursenf to eat something or you will only get worst.Try a soluable asprin before you eat, sipped slowly a little at a time ,this will dull the pain in the throat a little for a time and will enable you to swallow a little easier. Can't hang around long this morning as i am off to the sons to cook him dinner today,a nice sausage and onion rolly polly.with all the trimmings loverly ,slurp. I was going to cut the front lawn this morning before going out seeing as it's lovely and sunny,but it must have rained overnight ,the lawn is soaking wet ,so it will have to wait till it dries out lol. Hope everyone is having a good weekend,and relaxing? [you listening Mary?] Nice to see john again ,even if he is busy ,as normal,time for him to slow down a little too,must admit though that the alterations seem to be coming on well,oh ,to be fit like that again lol. Must be off now,the boss is tapping her foot again[a sign of impending trouble [gulp] See you soon peeps,have a nice day all.Fred.

Hi all, Here it is raining but I don't mind as I don't have to go out. Nice time to sit and make some more Xmas cards. I have at least 100 to make, so the sooner I begin the better. I have made around 50 now. Yes, Fred I do try and eat although lots of things sting my mouth and tongue and difficult to swallow. The gel isn't helping so will have to phone the doctor again and ask to see him. Oh why do we get all these health harassments? I get sick to death of keep going to the doctor, but know it is important to catch things in time. I had a lie in this morning and Johan got the breakfast for me. I just didn't hear him get up, shower and make breakfast - out of this world I was! Have a nice Sunday everybody. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. Good to see you back John. Nice to have a little Kiwi support on here. Will be great when your work has been completed on the house. Just right for the summer. It has been a beautiful day today - 1st Sept. will be the first day of Spring. Spent time in the garden and then took a walk to our local garden centre - 15 minutes away - called Pacifica Garden Centre. Really attractive layout and some gorgeous plants etc. Nice restaurant too. The restaurant was packed due to the nice weather - the tables are mostly in the gardens. I had a nice cup of coffee and a warm croissant with cream cheese and runny honey. Delicious! Not on the diet though!! I am still losing weight - have now lost 8 kilos. I am delighted. Another few kilos to go! My family have all recovered from their 'bug' and we are no longer 'banned' from their house! Pip was able to cut the lawns today - got pretty tired but as it was nice and warm he coped well. He doesn't like the cold winds - gets very breathless and has to use the inhaler a lot. Sylvia you poor thing - hope your mouth is better soon. You are so good doing all that baking - do you enjoy cooking? Must go have lots of emails to answer. Nice hearing all your news everyone. Regards Mavis NZ

Hello Everyone,Had a great time at the meet yesterday and was tired and had a headache at the end.!!! The Manchester Pride parade was really smashing ,not seen it before,meeting faces to put to names was great as well. Well done Honey rum ,for the arrangements.had to work today ,only 4 hours but was really strange.one consolation was that John cooked Sunday lunch and it was loverellllly as they say. Nice to see you again John,it was my other half with the Sudoko,he did not like doing it on line and doesn't do any at the moment ,he is back doing his crosswords etc.Sounds like the bathroom will be something else when done, Dorothy hope your friend had a good journey and there should be a meet next August in Manchester around the same time I think. Mavis glad the family is better,,its it weird when we are all talking about our seasons and they are so different, Sylvia you take care of your self,andget well. Fred,you make me feel very lazy with all your catering ,gardening etc. going for a cuppa after I have tried to put the piccies from yesterday on the site For those who want to have a look http;//groups(.)msn(.)com/gcphotos.thenextgeneration Brenda

Hi everyone A day has past and I am back. I have download Internet Explorer 7 it's a beta version with the actual launch later in the year. The blurb says it more secure that the previous verson as it has features similar to the Firefox one. My mum had a scare the other day another suspicious mole at first the doctor suggested surgery but decided to await biopsy result which turned out alright, still a worry. You remember me saying about my brother, David, he is on heart medication and has slowed down a lot since his heart attack back in May. Father's Day next Sunday and the men at church have been invited to a breakfast with their wife and family. Craig says he will down that day but I don't know if he join Gayle and I for an early breakfast. Gayle and I are heading to Wellington for a series of seminars involving speakers from as far as way the UK and Canada. We booked our flights and accommodation weeks ago. I have tried solving those puzzles that have numbers only and there are no clues as to what the letters are, however I did manage to solve it - a right stinker so to speak. Take care John in NZ

Morning John,nice to see you on here again,your brother will soon find himself with returning energy once the medication settles his system and he looses the feelings of worry he has at the moment of overdoing it,and make himself ill again. Everyone who has a heart attack gets rthe same feelings ,mine was twenty years ago and i am still creating havock up in newcastle lol. So long as he eats sensibly,exercises and takes his tablets ,he should do fine,and i am actualy off some of mine now,and feeling good. Hope you are soon feeling somewhat better Sylvia,don't worry about feeling unwell more often,it's called getting older lol,you need more sleep my girl and less time galivanting in the nightclubs,and more time doing genteele pursuits ,like pole dancing and the like ,Hee hee. You are a bit run down i reckon ,like i feel after a long cold winter ,and catch everything going one after another ,you see ,it isn't just you ,truth be told, it's happening to most of us onduns,so there you are ,now i have complained too ,you arn't the only one. I had a great time yesterday with the family at Howdon,we had the rolly polly with roast tatties and veggies,did the washing up and then decided to have a walk to the park to walk it all off. The park is in fact an old coal pit which has been planted out with tress along the old rail bed which has been turned into a walk and cycle track stretching all the way to the coast. There are so many sorts of tree at the sides of the track that i cant begin to name but a few,oak,beech,plane,cherry ,fir ,and holly,and where the pit used to be is now grassland and a wild bird sancturary. As you go in the gate which is only a short distance from the house there is a kids play park which we spent some time in on the way back,so we let the kids loose on the swings and climbing frames,and while they were doing this ,i got a few more photo's of them ,and i was stunned to realise we had in fact spent three hours in there and it was time to come home again. Sounds as though you had a nice time at the Meet Brenda,i was hoping to get tomy local one in Gateshead ,but it turns out ,i am working ,so that's out of the question. Well,i'm off to check that lawn to see if i can cut it ,or if it's still too wet,so i will see you later on. Have a nice day all Fred.

Hiya ,have spent ages trying to get on gc photos website and keep getting told it doesn't exsist as i have typed it.Two different people gave me the same addy as I put on earlier and I still can not find it any ideas. John I had my wrist slapped when I told John I had said he doesn't bother with Sudoko its only the computer one he doesn't bother with. Hello Fred ,what a shame about the meet ,still yhere will be more. Been out getting paint and two larder doors for the kitchen,we were not going to do these doors but had to take something back that wasn't used so got them instead. Have loads of ironing to get done so had better shift as I was on longer than i thought trying the photos page, Brenda

Hi all, Well another day of rain.In fact it has rained most of the day on and off. July was our hottest day since records started and August the wettest. I think in August every day it has rained. I did manage to clear up the balcony between the showers though. I've emptied my plant tubs and window boxes and now the balcony looks bare. I have cleaned the garden chairs and they have been stored away now. I clean them on the balcony first and then bring them indoors and put them under a hot shower. The water is so hot that any lurking spider comes wriggling to the surface. I don't like the chairs coming in unless they are spider-free as they make such a mess the little blighters. I now only have the table to clean, but I said today 'enough is enough'. I cannot do all what I used to do. Tomorrow our van has to go for its annual MOT so I suppose this will mean giving out more money! Johan has to take it to town by 9.00 am tomorrow morning. I said I would get up early with him - I cannot believe I made this promise now! Several friends have mailed me that they are coming to visit, so that will mean cooking again, cakes, dinners, sweets. Must think of something easy so I can sit and talk to them as well. Am feeling not so sick now, but the symptoms are still there so will have to contact the doctor again. Lots of heartburn too. Now have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

Morning Slvia,sounds as though you are starting to batten down the hatches ready fo a wet windy autumn,[snap] althoug you have well beaten me to it,i hav,nt even changed the borders round yet seeing as it's so wet. I need to start on the greenhouse as well but can't at the moment because the tomatoes and cucumbers are still throwing plenty of fruit,and the peppers are now changing colour . Just had a message from the grandson saying he is on standdown and is on his way home, so if i go missing peeps ,you know he has nicked the connection again [sigh] ,but never mind ,it's nice to know whith his buddy to share cars with to come home ,they will find it a lot cheaper sharing the cost of the fuel as well. I will be going outside in a few minutes to see if i can at least get the front lawn cut today as that will be about the last cut this year ,and i can then get the mower cleaned and greased. Off out shortly to go to the clinicfor tests ,but will be around later,have a good day all those who are off today,and commiserations to all those returning to work today lol Fred

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US ALL its almost two years since this thread started 30 Aug 04,and we are still going , I started it because Bill in Oz deleted his thread in error many friends and neighbours have come and gone since then ,some come and join us when they can ,which is great ,thats what friends and neighbours do all the time. Weather her been very wet again,hope Fred got his lawn mowed at last .Sylvia hope your balcony is ready for the winter now. I am sorting out my clothes for my holidays and some need altering so might not get on much for a few days. Take care and thank you all for keeping us going. Brenda

Hi everybody, Sorry I haven't been around much lately. Have been so busy, soooooo tired, and somewhat blue.....probably all linked and maybe too something to do with getting, s/b being, old!! The garden is so demanding; I have pears and apples falling everywhere, beans and tomatoes growing so fast I could feed an army, and now there are pine needles accumulating all over the sidewalk and lawn/moss, fall cleanup looming and winter crops of leeks, broad beans and garlic to plant. I was so tired just before lunch today after digging one of my 4' x 8' veg beds, in the hot sunshine,I couldn't eat lunch so went to bed and slept for 2 hours instead. Was planning on going back to bed at 10, but called in to see what's new, and saw Bill's message so had to call in to say Happy Birthday Friends and Neighbours too! I'll sleep in in the morning, Pan allowing. Fat chance!! Lovely to see you again Bill, but what are you doing still in Oz?; thought you'd be Bill in NZ by now. How are you doing? Hope you're well and enjoying life. How about an email sometime?! Good to see Kathleen back again. Hope all is going well in your life and in your part of the world. Sylvia, hope you'll be feeling better soon. That sounds like a painful ailment you have. Brenda, after the summer you've had, sounds as though you deserve a holiday in the sun. Our summer has been great, but it suddenly cooled off today and was positively chilly indoors and out of the sun. Fall is definitely in the air! Hi John and Mavis, and Fred and all absent friends. The kayak is looking good, but still awaiting the final process. We went to the Wooden Boat festival on Granville Island last week mainly to see the kayaks, and there were some beautiful ones. They are such beautiful streamlined shapes, and also beautifully finished, but I think John's, or rather Steve's, is going to look as good. There was one there, a really slim line boat for scullers; didn't look wide enough to seat the average bottom, so I guess scullers must be very slim people!! Bernie has a week off, so she took John and I out for breakfast this morning, and we had a good chat. She is so busy turning Steve's bachelor pad into a warm and welcoming family home. I think Steve is getting used now to living in 'an antique store', as he called it. I prefer more modern lines with a tendency towards minimalism myself, but I must admit their place is looking lovely. Today she was painting doors, installing a new faucet in the kitchen, and she was telling me about all the things she's going to be doing in the next few weeks, to the bedroom, and the sunroom. She's so full of energy and enthusiasm: wish I had half of what she has in energy to go with my enthusiasm!! She's an absolute joy to have around! I just read through a few back pages of the thread, and it was good to remember June, Jude and Crista, Elisabeth, Christine, and other absent friends. June, of course, was with us until her death, but I wonder how everyone else is doing. Anyway, let's hope our little 'family' can keep Brenda's thread going for as long as there's a general board, or a GR! Here's to continued happiness and harmony for our third year! Love to you all, Di.xxx

hi brenda happy anniversery from one of your more recent readers I am slowly getting to know some of the names on the site and enjoy the stories that they tell enjoy your vacation bye for now dorothy canada