General Chat

Hi Fred,glad you are happy about retireing again,welcome back. have been busy shopping for birthday presents and starting the christmas shopping aswell. you be careful onthat bridge.don't want you being hauled away,do we. I am working tomorrow at the new library 12-4pm,and afterwards john and I are going out for a meal ,(late lunch/early tea),we have been meaning to go out for a few weeks but each time we get lazy and stay in. Will try and get some sleep now.Brenda

Has taken me ages to find us this morning and then there wasn't anything to read .Still its a nice day here after a very wet and soggy start,John has gone to play golf and I will be off towork very shortly 12.30 til 8pm today Hope everyone is ok Be back tomorrow sometime Brenda

hi brenda and goodmorning to all well the promised snow storm passed us by just lots of rain and high winds and this morning it is beautifull the sun is shining and it is going to be a bit warmer 12 degree's so I shall take advantage and go out and about. But first I have to go to my 2nd session at the gym i have joined (curves) the first session went well, I decided that I would just sit and read all winter now that I don't have the big house to look after the apartment is about 1000 sq feet so it is easy to look after. so by spring I hope to be fit and maybe a dress size smaller I plan on going three times a week that is what they suggest. talking about books I have just bought the new Ian Rankin I had put an order in at the libary for it but I saw it in the book store and could not resist. I am about 12th on the list for the new elizabeth george book hoping that comes in sooner than later, saw that muffin the mule is 60 I remeber that mule well. I guess that is all for me to-day hope that fres enjoys his retirement no news from sylvia for a few days bye for no dorothy

Hi everybody, Well Johan and I had a lovely day out yesterday. We took the taxi to my niece's flat in Breda, south, where we celebrated my sister in law's birthday. We are both the same age, well at least both born in the same year.We had always promised to go and see Petra's flat but never got round to doing it, so now with her mother having her birthday celebration there it was a good opportunity. Petra should have been a boy. She has done the whole flat up herself, making shelves, cupboards etc.etc. She loves woodwork. She loves collecting old things too. She brought out lots of old paperwork which used to belong to Johan's parents and old photographs. There were nine of us. Petra made a cake and some biscuits and as well as bits and pieces of cheese, biscuits etc. she made soup and pancakes. We were home just before 8 o'clock yesterday. It takes us a bit of time to regulate ourselves again. Today I am tired as I woke up too early. You see I was tired yesterday and went to bed earlier than usual. Anyway hope tomorrow is better. Fred I still cannot receive your e-mail. It is not the only one I cannot receive. Somebody has sent me 3 e-mails with photos but I cannot receive these either. I have tried everything. Fred, you could try and send me the recipe via GR site. Just a thought! Till tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Hello everyone, Lots to catch up on as I have not been able to find the thread before I lost my connection, kept getting cut off but I think the problem has been fixed now. Pleased to hear that you are finally 'retiring' Fred, it has been a long time, still you can now enjoy the rest!!! Sounds as though you will still be just as busy in the garden. Everything still seems to be blooming on and on, my Forsythia is in flower and lots of things seem to be getting a second lease of life, especially the nettles - have a great crop of those and I can't seem to get rid of them. Everyone is talking about Christmas now, have birthdays in November and 4 in December it is difficult to sort out presents for both. Nowadays the adults only get one at Christmas, it's too expensive otherwise. Indira is 16 in 10 days, she wants a camera to help with her GCSE's and for college later so we have got one between us. She has found that she can do Choreography and Dance at college so she will be doing that as a second subject, Leisure & Tourism being the first. Although the days have been a bit dull and overcast it has mostly been dry, the rain has held off until night time. I don't like when the clocks go back and it gets dark so early. Keep meaning to get started on my christmas cake but, like Sylvia, don't seem to have the enthusiasm. No doubt I'll get round to it in the next few days, usually have it done before this. My keyboard is playing up now, I am typing but nothing happens then suddenly it all appears. It must be the goblins as it's hallowe'en. Am well prepared for the trick-or-treaters this year - we probably won't get so many now Murphy's Law :) Going to get some sleep now - well go to bed anyway. Hope you all have a good day. God bless Love Kathleen

Hi everyone. Been trying to get on here for 2/3 days - in luck tonight although it took ages to come up and settle. Enjoy your 'retirement' Fred. But with your gardening, cooking etc you will still be kept busy. Had to go for a barium bowel xray yesterday. Up all night the night before after taking the 'dreaded' medicine!! It worked lol. I have a check every year so hopefully things will not have changed. I only have a small problem but as the years pass it gets a little worse. Just wait for my Doctor to ring me now with the results. A very good friend passed away on Saturday so we have a funeral to go to on Thursday. He had a valve replacement 3 months ago. This was successful but he 'caught' a bug and never healed. Spent all three months in intensive care. The family decided to turn off life support as the Dr. said they could do no more for Jack. He was 78. Will be a big funeral. Our strawberry patch is doing so well - I will look like a strawberry soon! Have finished planting all my tubs etc - all busy lizzies and petunias. The runner beans are coming into flower - seem to be a little earlier this year. Went to Maketu - a little hamlet about 3/4 hour away for lunch today. Right on the beachside. Just a small cafe but delicious food and so nicely presented. I had French Toast with caramel sauce, 3 bananas with maple syrup decorated with black grapes and Kiwi fruit and fresh cream - sprinkled with cinnamon. I seemed to forget my diet today!! They have a wonderful menu, quite reasonable in price. Will be going there again I am sure. Must close now and get to bed. Love and regards to you all. Mavis NZ

nudge

hello everyone,at the moment we have fireworks going of,they are having 'a spooky halloween /bonfire night ' display in the local park which is just at the end of the street.!!! So it's a bit noisy but at least at the minute it is dry ,but cold so the little ones should be ok. Glad you had a nice time at your sister in laws birthday Sylvia Kathleen ,our garden is very damp at the minute,but some things are still there,just. I also have 3 birthdays in both November and December,but only 2 presents will be bought as bithday gifts one will be for my dad who will be 80 and one for my sisterbut it is only a small token really. Mavis that lunch sounded marvelous ,was invited to a new chinsese restaurant on Thursday for lunch ,but can't go have afew errands to do and its on the other side of town.. Good luck with your results from the doctor. Have to try and find a new UVa thingy for the pond for john now , See you all soon Brenda

Hi all, Well had a job to find this thread as it was so far back. We have had a real stormy day today - real Autumn. I went out to the shops on my scootmobile but was a bit scared going over the bridge, thought the wind might blow me over into the water. We had a little sun, but more cloud than other days. The weather is going to turn very cold soon. I have been getting our winter clothes out and packing the summer ones away. Johan and I both have to see the cardiologist tomorrow. I wonder what he is going to say as I am out of breath so quickly now, just going from one room to the other. I know my valve needs repairing, but I remember Johan having his repaired and don't fancy it at all. Johan is still waiting for his operation. We watched a hospital series on television this evening and they carried out the same operation that Johan is going to have. Didn't look so simple as the internist told us. Well have one or two things to sort out on the pc, so will see you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

Morning everyone,i have just come in from the garden where i have been seeting up the bird feeding stations for the cold weather which arrived here last night,it didn't freeze but was very close to it,so i have filled up the seed containers,and filled the new peanut containers. I have also dug out the little bowl i use for snuffles the hedgehog and put his logs into the back corner of the garden so that he can get inside and keep himself warm in the straw that i put in the middle,so i think i have taken care of all my little friends out back. The missus is already on the go ,making potatoe and leek soup,believe it or not we have used all of the soup that was in the freezer,that won't do at all lol. I will be making kalegannon for the tea with the remaining two leeks and some of the kale leaves from out of the garden,plus some rainbow pepper s i put in the mill last night. I made myself some rice salad last night which goes lovely with dishes like jacket spuds or salad. I am taking a trip to the town with the missus this morning as soon as the washing is on the line,and if the weather holds out ,i may even get those lawns cut this afternoon,which will be the last time this year,leaving the back end of the week clear for the hedges. Once they are out of the way,i have plenty of time to see to the rest of the garden and the greenhouse as and when the weather permits. Don't you worry too much about the heart surgery Sylvia,they have come a long way in a few years ,and it is a lot more routine now,i'm sure everything will go okay for both of you,in the meantime you have to take things easy,and not overtax yourself,easier said than done i know ,but you are a tough old lady and will do fine. I sent that recipe via Han as you suggested ,and the addy he sent me at my request is the one i have for you exactly,soooo,if his email reaches you okay ,then you have ,somehow managed to block me,so you will have to go into your preferences on your email contacts ,and reverse the settings. The wife bought a load of small choccie bars and sweets for last night ,but we didn't have one little visitor [Sniffle],and i had my camera ready too [waaaah]not fair at all,so i will have to take all the treats through to the grandkids instead,i think there are too many pensioners on this estate now by the looks of it . Well i'm off for now for a look around the rest of the boards ,see you all later.Fred.

goodmorning everyone I do like reading about fred's garden as I have a black thumb not a green one, and the potato and leek soup sounds grand, I am afraid I look for the tinned version in the british shop that is near me she imports some great stuff from home and tells me that this week she may have some marks' and sparks food stuff in , plus she has finally been able to bring in tomato paste in a tube so much less waste, why no one in canada has thought to do this is beyond me. sylvia I hope that you and your husband get good news from your doctors but they do such great things in medicine these days. Last night helped out at the son's house with the trick or treating we had about 125 children at the door some great costumes and the weather was not bad cool but not freezing cold. the youngest one (7) is going on a school trip to-day to the toronto zoo, I don't envy the teachers the children will all be wired on chocolate. Again we have missed the snow and it is sunny and bright about 10 degree's I am off to the gym I am determined to keep this up and get in great shape for my trip next year and to stay healthy allready after just 3 trips I feel like I have more energy take care bye dorothy

Hello everyone,have been busy sorting out more clutter from my cupboards and sheds ,ready to either send to the charity shop or tip.Somethings videos d's etc will be going to a jumble sale. I am sure you and Johann will be fine Sylvia,like Fred said things have moved on a lot. You are as busy as ever Fred,John has to start tidying up our garden ,he has been busy with the decorating. Dorothy,we had no one at all at the door for trick or treat,even had a large bowl of sweets,caramels,choclates,trecle toffe and sort of mintoes.David and John have reduced them a little tonight watching a football game on tv!! Keep up the good work at the gym,everyon who I know who goes really find it benefical.,which I had the time. Still searching for this UVA ffilter for the pond so will hav eto g Take care Brenda

Morning Sylvia ,Brenda,and all you others out there,i have a busy day ahead of me ,work in the garden first,followed by some visiting to deliver a few bits and pieces,starting with some beetroot which i cooked up yesterday,far too much for us to use,so i'm getting rid of most of it because there are loads left in the garden. I spent quite a bit of time doing research on my family yesterday and hit paydirt big style. thought my gt gt gt grandad was an only child,but have found five siblings along with their mum and dad living in gt Marlow bucks ,so i will try to find out what happened to all of them sometime in the future,lol,i even managed to find the head of the family ,i tied him down to kent[maidstone] and even his job [ a gardener] hee hee ,so that's where i got it from is it ? I must now find his wifes name for sure,i have my suspicions but thats as far as it goes .Thanks to a fellow member on Genes ,i have even ,through him ,found the names of my irish ancesters [Rowan]and their children in the north of england ,so who is a happy bunny. I will spend some time on the family tree tonight putting all of this info it ,hah,it will be a change ,other than that ,it's trying to find something to watch on telli,what do we pay the bbc for i don't know? ,i spend more time watching telle programmes on the puter using streaming tv you get so much more and it's free lol. Going to get myself a cup of tea now,and then Fred is going hunting in the borders ,Dandelions watch out hee hee. I will start to thin out all the old plants next week once i have done the hedges for the last time,and as a bonus yesterday ,i got the chuffing lawns done [wahey]. See you all later .Fred.

Had a funny day really,had some good news about a friend who has just had a lump removed from her breast,and they only had to remove the lumps. Got word the tumble dryer will be delivered tomorrow,thank goodness ,I have tried drying outdoors but the towels came in like plywood.!!! It will come somewhere between 7am and 7pm !!!!! Then John discovered his car boot isn't locking properly and someone had helped themselves to allhis golf gear nearly £600.00 worth . He usually brings them in but got back late yesterday and left them in the car ,won't say whathe has been saying sincee we found out.,but sick and chopping hands was mentioned.Can't claim as the boot was not locked even if it was faulty. Have to make a couple of phone calls now,might be back at lunch tomorrow. brenda

Hi all, Well haven't been able to access the internet for a while, I suppose they will blame the weather. We had no telephone, no television and no internet. Lots of storms here at the moment and rain. I did manage to find a gap in the weather and went out on my scootmobile to the doctors. It seems I have the fungus back again in my mouth. I had another doctor today, came from Iraq, and he said I was liable to get this fungus due to the fact that I am diabetic and that I have a nose spray for allergy, so all in all, take one thing to be cured and call another illness up. We ended up talking politics. He has been in Nederland for 10 years now and speaks good Dutch. Well he must do to be able to practise as a doctor. Why don't you freeze those beetroot in Fred. 'Waste not, want not' would have been my mother's words. How awful that your husband's golf clubs have been stolen Brenda, some people cannot keep their thieving hands off other people's property can they? I hope you are well insured? Now see you all tomorrow. Sylvia xxx

hi brenda sorry to hear that john's golf clubs have been stolen will your car insurance cover the costs, I gathered from anne that the weather has been not great, this evening we had a few snow flakes blowing around but nothing sticking to the ground. I am sure you will be happy to have a dryer again this is not the weather for hanging out. nothing new here I just cleaned the two bathrooms to-day and then did the kitchen floor, just been invited out to dinner on the 14th it means a almost 2hr drive but I will think about it, I will stay overnight with friends and head back up the highway the next day but it will also depend on the weather. it is a bunch of girls who all worked to-gether except for one so lots of old nursing stories and of course bragging about the grand children, one of the girls has a 13yr grandson and now there is a new baby due this month quite a gap. ny grand daughter will be 10 on the 10th 10 going on 92 at times. wll it is time for greys anatomy I quite like the show I think that you get it at home bye for now dorothy

Hi all, Well I managed to get to the market and back today without getting wet. Well I was just too quick for the rain! When I got back I made a huge pan of thick pea soup, so thick you can cut it. I will freeze several portions in. I also made two dark brown loaves of bread, and whilst that was all going on I was running two washing machines. Did anybody see that spectacular saving of horses on television. A whole lot of horses were stranded on a piece of land and were surrounded by water here in the north of the Netherlands. 20 horses died. A team of 4 girls rode their horses out to the other horses and managed to persuade the horses to follow them to dry land - and they did. What heroes these girls are now! Now is the question who allowed these horses to become stranded when there were storm warnings given out on television, radio, etc.etc.! I hope tomorrow to be able to make my Xmas cake and maybe finish off the last bits of ironing. Sunday is my day of rest when Johan will be going to Rotterdam to visit a niece by marriage who will be 94 years of age. Have a nice evening everyone. Sylvia xxx

Hi everyone Haven't been on GR for nearly a month and lots have happened. We are still waiting for our conservatory to be built its been five months since we got the quote and being told it would be up in eight weeks. Gayle calls it our helicopter pad for want of a name. My pregnant niece and her partner return from the UK on Tuesday - she will be working until the baby arrrives. As this is our first year back in Taranaki we may have all the family come to us for Christmas. Only problem is that our place is small but I have suggested that we use the garage as the dining room - we will decide as Christmas gets nearer. Maid Marion I was talking to Judith Bennett and her husband in Wellington at a conference 13-15 Oct, two of their sons live not far from us. John in NZ

hello everyone,just a few quick words to say I have not forgotten you,was working all day yesterday and went to see a friend last night she has just had some lumps removed from her breast,one is a benign the other isn't. She will have radio therapy soon and maybe chemo.Its her 50th birthday today so we called with her present and cards last night as we thought her family will be all there tonight Still trying to sort out clutterand am now seeing the result I want,but still a way to go. Will be back tomorrow to chat to you all.Brenda.

Hi all. Sorry I do not have time to give you any news - have been so busy - we are going away for a few days in the morning so will catch up on our return. Sorry about the Golf Clubs Brends - bet the air was blue. Talk to you soon. Love Mavis NZ