General Chat

Hi everybody, Di, you should leave all the heavy work to the men. If you ask me you are trying to do both a man's work as well as a woman's. Stop, take it easy. It is ok for you to pick beans, pick flowers, but digging, taboo. No wonder you are tired my girl, you are no Spring chicken any more. Be thankful what you can do in a day and not what you cannot do. I have the same. At one time I could have cleared up my balcony and made it ready for the winter in one go, but I still have my big table and some pots to clear up. Worried, not me, tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow Johan and I are going into Germany for a day's shopping. Yesterday our van didn't pass the MOT, so we have been contemplating what we should do. Apparently diesels throw out a lot of soot and this is why it didn't pass. We've now put a liquid in the tank and with a long journey it should clean itself. If it doesn't, well I'm not bothered as we've seen a lovely station car, blue (my favourite colour) and in wonderful condition. So if the van doesn't pass we'll go for the station car. It really does take a lump from our savings again, but ............... let's me devils!! Am keeping this short as I have to get some things ready for tomorrow. Oh, my dryer which wasn't working yesterday is now working I hope. I took it all to pieces this morning and cleaned the filters! Sylvia xxx

Welcome home Bill,great to see you again ,like Di says were are you? Sylvia,hope you sort out your van/car and have a nice day ib Germany. Di i am sure you could get some help with your garden,i know they can be hard work and are worth it bit don't overdo it . dorothy hello.John enjoyed his black pudding hope your friends visit is going ok. My friend goes home to australia tomorrow,( She is the one from mornington Bill,!!!) I will phone and wish her bonvoyage before I go to work.I am on at 12.20 till 8 which I am not keen on but its got to be done. Have been requested to look at the painting John has done in the kitchenso i had better go.See you all soon Take care. Brenda Heres to another two years.CHEERS

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THIS THREAD - LET'S CELEBRATE! Did I see Bill in OZ pop in, haven't seen him around for ages. Do you find these 'hot matches' annoying - names supposedly matching to those in one's family tree. I have only deceased members in our family up to my great-grandparents on GR along with the place of birth, the GR hot matches show a different birth place and have no connection to the family. There are a lot of duplicated names in my family and even in the present day there are cousins or unrelated people with the same name as me. No wonder GR is confused. John

Goodness me, how time flies by. Didn't realise it is a week ago that I last posted. A little update on that - GR still charged me £9.95 even though I paid by debit card and opted for auto-renewal. Will have to contact them again and remind them of what they said. Sylvia I hope your mouth is feeling better now, it sounds very uncomfortable. Very unpleasant when the medication seems to make you feel worse, feeling sick is horrible. Pleased that you now have a new cleaning lady, that will make life easier and she sounds very efficient. Brenda, hope you enjoy your holiday. It will be nice to enjoy the sun and not have to think about work for a while. Fred, we have an overgrowth of brambles invading the garden at the moment. Brambles, Ivy and Elderberry coming in from the garden that backs onto mine. The nettles are growing rapidly as well, evertime it rains they seem to double. Have tried all ways to get rid of them but nothing seems to work. Could do with Ground Force or some other TV garden makeover team to come and sort it all out for me (I should be so lucky!!!) Di, do you remember the lady who lived in Hundred Mile House? I can't remember her name, was it Anne? I often think of all the people who used to visit this site but no longer see. Mavis, John, and Bill if you are looking in, hope you are enjoying your warmer weather now. I'm sure I've left some people out, if I have please put it down to my aging memory. I do enjoy reading all the messages, it took me ages to read them all from my last visit. Will have to make sure I get to use the computer a bit more frequently. God bless all Love Kathleen

hi Kathleen and John and anyone else looking in, John I have loads of names that come up on Hot Matches but up to now only two have been from any proper connections, getting rid of the ones not wanted is a pain. Kathleen,we have a contstant battle with next doors weeds coming under our fence.We have tried everything ,next door neighboursare not interested they like the weeds six foottall.!!! We ended up putting a matting under some gravel but now have to be careful as we can not put any more in there as the matting needs to be cut and the weeds can get through. Off to work now.til 8pm Take catre Brenda

Hello all. Sorry I haven't been on for a few days - have been soooo busy. Will come on tomorrow all being well. Love Mavis NZ

Hi all, A bit late tonight as Johan and I have been in Germany the whole day. We left after breakfast and it took us 3 hours to get to Kevelaar, which is where we wanted to do some shopping. We left again just after 3 and were home just after 6. Johan is feeling quite tired, but then he did all the driving as well as helping me with the shopping. He does well at 81! My new help is coming tomorrow, to will not be able to go to the market. Anyway, the week afterwards I can. Am feeling a bit tired myself now, so bye, til tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Afternoon all.its a dry day her at least,but not verywarm. Hope you and Johann have recivered from your trip Sylvia,and that you are ok with your new cleaner.. Mavis just pop in when you can ,its ok. Haven't got as long as I thought I had as I got a phone call just as I was goiing to sign on,never mind.See you all tomorrow,take care and have a good weekend.Brenda

Hi all, Yes, thank you Brenda, we've recovered from our trip. My new help came today and it was bliss to have her. She works very well and is so easy to talk to. Yes, she can stay for me. We got so much done today. I cannot believe that it is Saturday again tomorrow. I am glad this week is over though as it has been disastrous. We should be getting our 'new' car during next week. Johan went to the garage this morning and arranged for things. The car has to have a MOT too, but this is only a formality. We have been offered a good price for our old van which we cannot use any more as it won't pass a MOT. It is so chilly that we have the central heating on again, though next week should be a little warmer again they have said. Now everybody, wherever you are hiding, Fred under the cabbage leaf, Brenda between the books, Di between the flowers and kayaks. Oh, I could go on and on and on, but will say goodnight. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone. At last, a few minutes to spare. At least I have the full use of the puter - Pip won't touch it. He just says 'any emails'? Weather beautiful yesterday and today. Yesterday was the first day of Spring. Today we had a funeral - a good friend passed on - had Cancer and had been very brave. We then went on to a BBQ to say cheerio to friends returning to England after 8 weeks on holiday here. Had Venison steaks, Pork Chops, Sirloin Steak and a lovely Trout - caught yesterday in a lake in Rotorua by Jack who is only 9 years of age. He will have a great tale to tell his Nanna when he gets back to England. Had lots of salads followed by chocolate cake, fresh fruit salad, Pavlova and ice cream. Beer and wine of course followed by Coffee. Thursday night was our Guess Who's Coming for Dinner night. I made a steak and kidney pie which the men just loved. So did the ladies of course! I made a cream and potato dish and the guests brought along dishes of mixed vegetables. Cauliflower, Beans, Peas, Carrots, Leeks and kumera. The guests also supplied the desserts - apple sponge and self saucing choc. pudding. All with lots of cream. Then last Tuesday we went to the theatre to see Oklahoma and had tea first at the Kwang Chow Restaurant. The diet starts again tomorrow!!! lol The family are all fit and well again thankgoodness. They certainly had a bad week. Tomorrow is a lazy day (I hope). But no doubt like you Sylvia the phone well ring and a voice will say 'will you be home this afternoon?' Of course we will say yes - would you like to come for tea? Good to read all about you all - Fred how do you keep going? You are so active. Makes me feel quite lazy. Your garden sounds fantastic. My strawberry plants are in full bloom so hopefully we will have a good crop. The daffodils, freesias etc are all in bloom now. Lovely time of year. I am off to bed now - very tired. Talk to you all soon. Love Mavis NZ

Took me ages to get to us tonight was reading afew other threads on the way !!! Glad you are all wellSylvia so pleased about your help Mavis,I have got bought some bulbs to plant for next spring,daffs,crocus,etc if it would only stop raining to get them in.!!! Off to bed now and read my book awhile , See you all tomorrow. brenda

Father's Day is almost over - Craig was with us for the weekend. It was great having him down here from Friday lunchtime when we went out for lunch. On Saturday we drove to see my Mum and later went to David's for afternoon tea and in the evening the three of us had a meal at a restaurant. Today being Sunday it was off to church for a Father's Day breakfast followed by a service, after lunch Craig left for home but believe it or not he was back in half an hour as he had something behind. Now it's just the two of us. Over the past week I having fun doing a Wasjig - the jigsaw where you don't have a scene to do but and after scene. This one has a couple of spies caught in the dilemma and trying to escape certain death. Almost there. The crossword the other day had this crazy clue 'SHOW GIRLS?' which I didn't get - the answer strangely enough was 'USERETTES' well after all girls show us to our seats at the theatre - but with today's world the clue is not PC. Have a great Sunday. John in NZ

Hello everyone,glad you had a nice fathers day John,iyts nice to have family get togethers. The jigsaw thing sounds pretty interesting,I'll have to tell John about them . Very slow Sunday here ,with really heavy rain for most of it ,had to keep the dryer going most of the day to dry davids work clothes. Been trying to find an email address for our holiday company but they don't appear to have one.We thought we would have had the tickets by now.They are supposed to ne here within 10/14 days before.Still there is time yet / Take care Brenda

Hi all, Well have had a peaceful day with only my eldest daughter and her partner here for a cup of coffee. I visited my neighbour Annemie upstairs and we had a chat for a long time, something which we haven't done for ages. The weather is chilly but it is supposed to be getting better and warmer in the week. I have planned to finish off my balcony tomorrow, being the last time before the winter sets in. I have the big table to clean and bring indoors and a few large pots to do likewise, then only sweeping up. My help can clean the windows when she comes again. I have made lots of Xmas cards, so am well prepared. I know Xmas always seems to creep up on us. When I was in Germany last Thursday I noticed the Xmas things in the shops already. Fred seems to be absent at the moment I do hope he is ok. It is time I got back to my genealogy, which is how I ever started on this site, but seem to have drifted away from. Now have a nice evening. Sylvia xxx

hello Sylvia,and everyone else,its not raining here at the moment but will be doing before long I expect /. Your fight about christmas creeping up on us Sylvia.I have seen a lot of christmas things creeping in the shops,have my cards from the january sales but because the post charges have changed I need to see how heavy some are ,as i tend to send a few in one enveope to families etc.Don't think the siaze will cost more just the weight. Have spent most of the morning doing some ironing and then looking for places that sell cushion covers for sofa seats if you know what i mean,this is for my dad.He wants some for the three peice suite and wants them before I go away ,I only have Friday free to take hin shopping,so plan to go to Bury as they have the market and the shops. I am at work at 12.30 so will be showering and changing next. see you all soon,take care,Brenda

Afternoon all,i have just come in and am off to bed for a couple of hours before i go back again. The hospital was not pleased with Bro' in laws hand ,it seems as though he has been trying to do bits and pieces around the house which has ,put his recovery well back. He has now to wait an extra six to eight weeks before he will be passed fit . All i can say is ,roll on my week off starting on the 2nd of next month ,when Fred will be north bound at a great rate of knots with his fishing rod bound for the west coast past castle douglass to a well known holiday park. See you all this evening ,sorry to be so quick and all ,but i am feeling rather washed out ,but a couple of hours sleep will work wonders.Fred.

Hi all, Poor old Fred, it's all work and no play for some of us isn't it? Brenda, how on earth do you manage to fit in everything? I do wish I was fitter. Today was lovely and sunny so decided to finish off the balcony, cleaning, sweeping etc. and got a terrible scare tonight when I was fighting for breath. I do have an inhaler, but I have never had an attack like this, made me feel real scared. I have now had a shower and relaxing on computer etc. I am not used to taking things easy. I also used to work a whole day and then sometimes typing at night and gave lessons in English. I also did bed and breakfast. In fact I was a workaholic too. Tomorrow we have to go for control for diabetes. Just routine I hope.I think I will go out on my scooter too if the weather is as nice as it has been today. Now see you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Morning Sylvia,i have a few minutes before going out ,so i will reply to you before doing so. I know i wen't to bed very early last night but feel sooooo much better this morning because of it that i think i will do the same until this job finishes ,no burning candles at both ends lol. Sounds as though you took a dose of your cleaner fluid fumes ,or dust while you were sweeping. For a person with C.O.P.D ,that won't do you know,you need to keep fumes well away from your mouth and nose ,and dust ditto,a lot of people actually catch ashma from those two items. You need to go to a do it yourself store and buy three of those dust nuisance masks the handypersons use ,and wear one while cleaning around the house and steps outside,it is'nt very elegant for a lady i know ,but a lot better than another attack like that ,or worse. I will have to take the car this morning seeing as it's pouring with rain,i don't fancy getting soaked . I did notice out back this morning that everything in the greenhouse has now started to die back,and that there is a huge bowl of tomatoes in the kitchen,so i reckon it's tomatoe soup for tea tonight ,with home made wholemesal bread ,loooooverly. Off on duty now,but will be in around dinner time take care all.Fred.

Good evening ,I am sorry but once again i can only say hello and goodbye,as I feel rotten again,headache ,sore throat tight chest,and now my ears ache as well,think I might have picked up the virus that seems to be going round the libraries.Need to get rid ,as we go away next week. Fred ,glad you are seeing sense and slowing down,sorry about the B.I.L but he's not helping anyone really.I thought our garden had got another life the hanging baskets and tubs are brimming again. Sylvia,trouble is I am not fitting it all in I really must get organized after my holiday ,so I know when certain things have been done etc.I am going to ask John and david to do certain things as well,after all we all live here and work.well some of us work ,and John has been doing a lot of renovations lately in the house.. Going to get a Lem sip now and then one before bed. take care ,Brenda

Hi everyone. I now have the dreaded cold - eyes and nose streaming - third day now so hopefully tomorrow will be better. Living on Lem sip and Panadol and lots of fluids. Had rain last night but today it has been quite nice again. Should be fine tomorrow so maybe I will feel like sitting in the sun for a while. Last Sunday was Fathers day and we had a lovely afternoon plus eveing meal with my daughter and her family. Kevin (son in law) had been to Church early in the day for the fathers day breakfast. Had quite a feast too. I have had to miss my indoor bowls and Mahjong due to my cold - don't like to mix with others and pass it on. Just hope Pip doesn't get it - his breathing is bad enough as it is. Not much to report this time - enjoyed all your info everyone. Regards Mavis NZ