General Chat

hello to one and all, sylvia I hope that your tests go well sorry to hear the sales were not good to you, hope that the weather in fred's neck of the woods has improved. I had the family over on tuesday evening and it went well the children stayed over night with me i sent my son and his wife home early they have the virus that is going around over here sore throats, strep throats and infected sinuses, I teased them that the idea of an evening with out the children candle light and wine looked like it would not take place more of cough medicine advila and vicks. I took the children bowling on wednesday afternoon and they had a lot of fun to-day I had the front brakes replaced on the car, the weather was wonderful 9 degree's and the sun was shining again the ski hill operators are loosing money hand over fist it is supposed to be 12 on the week-end this is unheared off in january. to-morrow it is off to the gym and I think I will put away the xmas decorations for another year I am of to watch vital signs it is new to us this evening, so I shall see what it is like bye for now dorothy

Hi all,Fred is back on line again after spending two hours putting all my programmes back in the puter,and it seems to be working fine again. The new Moniter is Great Brenda,i hope your son manages to get you one ,at staff discount too ,i trust lol. The desk is now much tidier and the bears are going to have a chain where they can sit and watch whats going on lol.but i won't have them too close to the seat in case i get a kick in the ear when they get exited lol. The house looks bare again[pardon the pun] with all the decorations put away ,i suppose the next thing will be the easter eggs on the table lol.befor they get delivered to the grandbairns ,fifteen now ,i think i should get shares in Cadburys. Well i'm off for a look round the boards peeps ,but will come back later on if Sean will let me lol.Fred. By the way ,i forgot to mention that he is back,he is finished at Brize now apart from going back there on the 12 ,because he flies out to Cyprus on the 14th lucky lad, all that sun and loverrrrrly .bronzed young ladies [ouch sorry dear ] i really must remember to be a bit more careful,my missis does a lovely pearl impression [shudder] from the last of the summer wine ,boy ,can she sneak up on you ,[the missis i mean hee hee.]

Have spoken with my son Fred and we are working out a comprimise as i think he should pay toewards the screen as well as he does use it ,sometimes uses the pc alot more than me. He would get a discount but it is not much really.He can also check if there are any one off deals at other stores ,which each manager has control off apparently.so he will check if there are any local ones , Hope today went ok Sylvia, Have abuy evening ,so had better go ,Speak to you tomorrow, brenda

hi watched the show vital signs last night and I quite enjoyed it we actually have a real life program for older doctors we have such a shortage of them. iam waiting for the movie venus to come up to this area the previews look good, I don't actually go to the movies that often but will for anything british. again we had a warm day it was 12 at 10am this morning went and had a session at the gym and did put the xmas ornaments away, I recieved one of those house fountains for xmas and put it to-gether today but have not put water in as yet I find that when I visit friends who have them and the water and chimes are tinkling well I will leave it to your imagination as to what happens next. going to have a lazy evening I think so that is it for me bye for now dorothy

Hi Brenda,yep ,we got a bargain in the sale with our monitor,14 inch widescreen weighs in at around three poundsand cost 50 notes a reduction of about fourty pounds ,and the resolution is astounding,but mind the sound from the onboard speakers is really naff,i kept my other speakers and have them back online. The weather is very mild at the moment for which i am thankful,seeing as we are meeting the son at eleven this morning to view a potential new home for his family. I hope it is suitable because it is so much closer to us ,i can have a slow amble in the summer up ,over the fields and be there in half an hour. The area,although not first class is up and coming with more and more people buying the houses on this estate ,and there are open fields for the kids to play on and take mia for her tennis[she loves Stephen to hit her tennis ball with a bat so that she can chase after it] ,and comes back and collapses on the carpet ,where she will lie for an hour before getting up again lol. The poor birds here are getting randy thinking it's spring lol,poor perishers are going to get one hell of a shock when the snow hits . I am going to pick the last of the beetroot today and get it boiled up leaving the garden clear for turning over ready for the spring,so i really must get sorted and draw up a planting plan. Must go now and get ready to go up the road and see the son. See you later peeps ,and remember ,if you have a cold and want to sneeze,get your paws away from the keyboard before you do lol.have a good weekend all.Fred.

Hi everyone. Sylvia - hope all went well for you. Fred - how good to have the family living closer to you. Our daughters little foster boy developed Chicken Pox on Christmas Day. Covered in spots but seems lively enough. Hope we don't get Shingles!! I had it a few years ago - not nice. Our grandson goes back to Christchurch on Tuesday - has been great having him on leave for 18 days. He has been hunting with his Dad this week. More Venison and wild pork! Our weather is very hot and sunny at the moment. The Surfees are all in town for the holiday period. Not very many good waves at the moment but they still have fun. We are expecting our friends from Canada this week. Will be great to see them. We also have friends from the UK coming to stay for a while at the end of the month. Busy days!! Lots of eating and lots of sight seeing. I am off to bed now - hope to hear your news Sylvia. Mavis NZ

Hellooooo Hope you don't mind but can l do me doggy bit on here again - l started a dog training thread but it did'nt feel right. Its as if l was in a new place where nobody knew me. l feel at home here:o) Ok right now as you can see l can't sleep, nor it would seem can Madoc. He's even thrown his comforter out of the bed!!! He has a large cooked bone with paste smeared on or a kong toy with paste on - he has one of these when we leave him in the house cause he hates being left, especially at night.He's fine when we go out!!! derrr whats he like:o) lol. Usually the comforter works at night but not tonight - mind you he probably heard me. Thing is once he's awake he starts to scratch the door and carpet (we have a very raggy edged carpet now!!). We used to have him upstairs but he kept getting on the bed, then in, thats ok sometimes but not in the middle of the night, plus he's quite a big dog. OH has been awake for half an hour aswell and he's just come upstairs to say dog is settled again this time with his kong - so l'm going to try and get back to sleep aswell. Hello to everyone,l've not read this thread in ages so don't know whats going on, will try and catch up.If there is anything important you think l should know praps someone could tweak me ear. Take care and a HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL ROUND:o) Jude sarf wales :o)

Me again!!!! A good morning to everyone:o) Its raining here AGAIN, but who cares:o))) Madoc kept us awake until approx 4.30am then woke again at 6am ish - we were both knackered. Goodness knows what that was about - he's been so much better. The fireworks on new years eve were awful, he was awake nearly all night (so were we!!) Oh bless his cotton socks - l don't think!! He and Fat cat sort of play chase now - the cat has a funny five mins and the dog chases him, then gets a clout for his trouble!!! lol Madoc is doing really well on his halti - OH takes the clicker and treats and says to him 'watch' as soon as Madoc looks at OH,OH clicks then treats.This will come in handy if in a situation where we need him distracted, if we say 'watch' he should look away from the distraction (we hope). We do this indoors aswell not so much the watch bit but any command - as soon he responds the correct way we click and treat. Next thing is to work on the door bell - ohh gawdddddd and the postmen and the vets and more work on a lead with other dogs - blimey!!! Fred have you got the ggrd babbies name yet?? Take care:o) judfe sarf wales :o) x

Hi everybody, First of all apologies for not being on the pc yesterday but haven't felt like it at all. What a lovely surprise to see Jude back again with her stories of mad cat and Madoc. Have missed you all these months Jude. Don't do a disappearing act again. As for me, still not too good, but hope to know more on Tuesday when I see the specialist. Yesterday we cleared the Xmas tree and all the decorations away so everything looks so bare. Anyway, my birthday cards are rolling in so they will replace the Xmas cards. I want to try and finish a card for my help's little girl whose birthday is the same day as mine. It is a card with Winnie de Pooh in cross stitch. I am glad I don't have to to out as it is raining and completely miserable. Have a nice day further. Sylvia xxx

Hello everyone,and it was really great to see Jude back with us,delighting me ,and i am sure everyone else with her lovelly tales about Madac and Fatcat did not realise i had not been on yesterday,but it was abusy day,Today I have a sore throat and a headache so I am taking it easy,hope I haven't picked up the virus that David ,John and a few others have had,they didn't seem able to shakeit off easily. Fred we haven't made any decision on the monitor yet,my son can't see why he should contribute anything towards it,even though he agrees he would use it as much if not more than me. weather stil very wet and miserable,but it is not as windy which is something. Dorothy hope you get to see the film you mentioned,I used to ove the cinema but it is so dear these days and you have to travel either to town or the outskirts to get there. Mavis hope you foster grandson is better,any news on his adoption?so pleased your other grandson has made a good recovery. time to have another painkiller and a cup of tea. See you all tomorrow ,take care ,Brenda

Hi Brenda,well, tell your son that he has a choice,he either stumps up his share OR you will put up his board by a tenner a week till he does lol,i would NEVER have treated my mum in that manner ,what a mean laddie,he hasn't got scottish grandparents has he ?hee hee. Yes ,i agree ,it's def' nice to see Jude and the mad dog and fat cat back on here ,and i really would like being a fly on the wall ,as she tries to calm Madoc down,but i have to say,i think it could be too late,but lets face it madoc is lovable the way he is. Hope every one is getting ready for the middle of the week,it seems as though the whole country is going to cop it this time with storm force winds ,and heavy rain too in some parts,lol,me thinks i may spend a couple of nights in the boat ,just in case,but it's first come ,first served peeps.i only have room for five passengers once me and liz and Sean are aboard . You may have to sleep on the floor of the cabin,gut at least you will be afloat and dry lol. Sheppards pie is on the menu tonight and i have a turkey crown out for Sean seeing as it may be the last home cooked Christmas meal he has for some time,we even have one of Liz's home made twenty minute christmas puddings left for afters. Sadly ,none of the christmas cake survived.Fred making a pig of himself and eating the lot[weeeell.it was the best she ever made ,lovely ,rich and beutifully moist,made to her mothers old recipe,and i have to say,mum was licked, well and truly. Time for me to be off ,i am going to Ford this afternoon to set the ball rolling about the new car,i wan't to look at a ford focus diesel,before going to nissan to view a note. Citroen is a possibility too ,but i rather fancy a Kia ciratto which is biggish roomy well thought out ,and returns Nearly 70 to the gallon if driven properly. See you all later peeps have a good day all.Fred.

hi brenda I hope that you are feeling better I am also under the weather I have finally got the bug the whole family had I must thank them for passing it on, so I am staying in to-day will have to give the gym a miss as I don't want to infect the whole place, my son is in ottawa this week so the other grandma is helping out as she is coming to england on the 15th to look after the other daughters three children as lindys sister and brother in law work for aid agencies and one will be in mozabeque, nigeria and ghana, and one has business in tanzania so they needed help, lorraine(grandma) is 69 but very active she still down hill ski's is having to drive the children to school I think that she is brave learning to drive on your roads at her age, they live down south in lewes, well I think that I shall have a hot drink and go back under the covers look foreward to hearing what kind of car fred chooses, and that the weather is not as bad as he thinks it will be, and no the movie venus has not made it up to us as yet, oh yes on thursday the big ski resort laid of 1300 yes that is right 1300 workers due to the lack of snow, but they do say we should get some this week bye for now dorothy

Just a very quick reply as I am not any better infact worse,I should be working tonight but phoned in to say I was not well. Had to send an email to an old work friend ,from where I used to work,as we should have bee arranging a get togther so thats why i am on here.Email is the only way i can contact her at work, Its wet ,wet wet here today and even John says its cold as he has put another sweater on. ,Will go back to my sofa with a warm throw and have a hot lemon drink now I think.Take care ,Brenda

Morning peeps ,cor .old Fred couldn't sleep well at all.and was up at five this morning,cuppa to the right of me ,and carving that turkey crown so that it's ready for the missus when she decides to get up lol. The carcass is now in the big pan simmering away so that she can make her creamed soup ,i got werong last time i did this cause i finished off making a country suop with leeks ,carrot,onion and herbs and she wanted the other sort,so, this time ,she can MAKE IT HERSELF [chortle] and if she fluffs it i will make her suffer for a week lol. The wind didn't get nearly as bad as the forcast reckoned for which i'm thankfull ,but i see that Wales has copped it again. I hope you havn't got the bug thatwe have Brenda,it's hung on for over three weeks ,and iv'e had enough and am away to the doc's ,you just think you are getting rid of it when it comes back ,worse again grrrr. It would seem to be tiddling down outside ,and i WAS going to go out to Reg Vardy today and view the Kia range of cars ,but not in that i ain't , i am not walking in that for anyone lol.The binmen have just been and i'm not even going out in that to bring the bin back in . I hope sean enjoys his day,he and Martin are going on a shoot in it but i don't think they will even be able to bring a bird down in this never mind seeing one hee hee.,he will be annoyed too ,the last shoot of the season .and a washout . He has promised me a goose for next christmas which i havn't had in years ,anyone know how to cook one?,the last one i had a bit of ,my mum cooked for us and it was out of this world far nicer than duck or turkey. Well that wind can't be too bad cause the birdbath is still standing ,hee hee, the last twice the wind has gotten up ,it was halfway down the garden when i got up . I have booked the removal van for the end of the month ,but i don't need a driver to go with it,both the son ,and i have an hgv so that will save a good few pennnies . i Will be going through to the son's tomorrow to fialise the move,and then it should go smoothly [i hope] . I noticed yesterday that the birds are getting territorial again,i had four different blackbirds in again trying to muscle in on the resident holder ,but he was too big for them to tackle for at least another year,so he still rules the roost for now. Our two weeks of peace have ended seeing as the builders came back to work yesterday,not that we get much noise through the double glazing and all,but the sea of mud outside is a nuisance,and i'm sick of having to get the car washed every few days,and there is always a chance of a shunt outside the gate due to some drivers coming round the corner too fast for the conditions and sliding on the mud as they lose traction. Gonna go for a swan around the boards now ,but will be back later so long as Sean dosn't hog the connection again to play his perishing online games lol.See you later ,have a nice day all.Fred.

evening all,well Fred really,looked in on my lunch break and thought I would come back tonight and see who else had popped in,......Hope everyone is well and not poorly ,enjoy what your are doing and come back and tell us all about it. work was quiete today ,good job as i wasnt 100%,but the others took care of me,getting me hot drinks and not too many chocci biccis. Need to sort out this monitor Fred but they seem to have sold out of the one you got,and I don't want to pay too much on my own. See you all tomorrow,dorothy with a bit of luck i might get to Bury.!!! Brenda

Evening all - l've been on the boards a few times today with the intentions of adding to this thread, but l always seem to get carried away with other threads. Fred the wind is getting up here this evening,its tiddled down ALLLL DAY, well for days now and l'm fed up with it now. The river Wye is really high again today too. We popped out on Sunday for a drink at the local (as usual!!:o) and when we got back Madoc had found a bag of knitting wool and one of my bum bags and put them in his bed. The bum bad probably smelled of his treats from training but gawd knows what he wanted with wool - no damage done. He's always been very good in that way, the only time he's made a mess is with the carpet at night and occasionally got the rubbish bin over cause he can smell something nice!! His training is going very well - the past 2 days he's met up with one dog each day, both he knew but as he was on a lead he still did his usual - but as soon as Vic said leave, clicked and treated he stopped - Vic was gobsmacked, so am l!!!! We do a couple of practise bits most days now, one is where you put your thumb and first finger together forming a circle and hold a piece of treat (jerky - dried pigs lungs yuk) between these fingers - you take the fingers down to the dog (you have to look through the circle at the dog) so he can see and smell it saying 'watch' as soon as he looks at you, you click and treat, gradually you bring the fingers with treat closer to your face. Keep doing this say 'watch' when he does you click and treat - now l say 'watch' and he looks straight at me - yehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh - the idea being he should do the same in a tricky situation, as with leave!! Vic can say 'watch' when he's on a lead and he 'watches' brilliant. There is another one for leave which involves small and larger pieces of treat but l can't remember how it goes now - dowwww He was fine again last night, but then he had his kong toy covered in paste and Fat cat for company. We stopped the bones for abit, so much mess and the smell!! Oh yeh another thing we give him to add abit of variety to his dinner are chicken wings UNCOOKED, they must be uncooked. There isnt any fat to them so don't add any weight to the dog and the bones are very soft but its a lovely treat. The first time we did it poor Madoc did'nt know what to do with it - he brought it into the lounge and left it at Vics feet, then he's take it to his bed or carries it around with him. Even now he sits and looks at it for a while and then eats it - whats he like!!? Fred you may be right in that he's always going to be wanting to be with us, but he's improving in other ways now. Funny though how it goes, somedays it all goes well then we get very off days, but l suppose like us humans he can't always be onform. His next session with the trainer is 23rd Jan. We're away for 3 weeks in Feb and he's staying with a couple who take dogs into their home whilst the owners go away - he's been up there loads of times now and he loves it - walks in the woods,doggy friends to play with who would'nt - but he wont be getting the training and its difficult to explain to people what we have to do everyday - we'll try though. Lets hope he'll be ok. Guess where we both went this morning???? The gym!!! l started going last Jan and stopped in Sept, but have put on some very unwanted weight, so l managed to persuade Vic to come along as well. l think he quite enjoyed it he's signed up for a month!!!! lol Brenda hope youre feeling better now and get the monitor sorted. Fred l hope you're not paddling in too much mud. Sylvia are you ok?? Take care everyone:o) Jude sarf wales :o) x

Hi everyone After almost a week of sunny days the rain is back and will be with us through to the weekend making it quite humid. We had a great Christmas at home with all the family coming to our place and once presents were opened, the thirteen of us found a spot either on a chair or the floor to eat dinner. Have just heard from Bill in Oz says 'I am stuck in Oz, having no transport, and the holiday period makes it harder to get things done, I still have to sell a lot of my stuff, ship a lot of stuff to NZ, Sell my Caravan. and catch a Freedom Air plane to Hamilton. hope it can be done in a few weeks. The atmosphere here is thick with Polution from the fires, which continue to Rage around us. good job I moved out of Omeo.' No doubt he will be in contact again soon. John in NZ

Thanks for the update on Bill John,it's good to know he is out and about again,even if he is stuck at the moment,but hopefully he will be back home sometime in the next couple of months. Madoc is as lively as ever i see ,he is a real character that's for sure ,next time i am over that way i will be watching out for daft dogs on the beach just in case it's him lol. Short and sweet this morning as i am now off to the doc's to see if i can get rid of this infection. It's lioke a spring morning here so i think i will walk down to the surgery instead of getting the car out. The son came last night and took the boat away and by now it will be moored up in Hartlepool where it will be used for our fishing trips in the spring and summer.. See you all soon .Fred.

Hi everyone. Sylvia - do hope you are OK. We are missing you. Fred - a friend of ours bought a Kia car end of last year. It is really comfortable and as you say economical to run. I can't remember which model it is. Our foster grandsons adoption has come to a 'stop'. Another court case etc. etc. He needs to be settled with a family soon. He is getting very attached to my daughter and family. Rained hard all day yesterday but today has been sunny and warm. Very humid. We have a wonderful crop of Runner Beans this year. Will be blanching and freezing for ever. The neighbours look forward to them each year. In return they give us Tangelos, Lemons, Oranges and Persimmons. We seem to get the better end of the stick! Tomorrow I have to see the Dr. Have a very itchy lump on my leg. It has grown just lately. Maybe it's just a rose prickle or the like!! Love hearing about the doggy and catty antics. We always had animals in the UK but resisted when we came here. Very tempting at times to get one but such a tie. With Pips unexpected trips to the hospital at night etc it would be a problem. Our friends are here from Canada. Lovely to see them. They have a couple of houses here in NZ. We are thinking of buying their camper van. Depends on the price!!! Must go. Love to everyone. Mavis NZ Must go now.

hi brenda and all it is 3-30pm wednesday and I am loooking out the 11th floor window at a a solid wall of the white stuff yes the snow has hit us, it started yesterday causing about 300 accidents on the 400 highway between toronto barrie and orilla people forget how to drive on the snow, the ski operators wil;l be thrilled, the children will be walking home from school about now unless the other grandma has gone to pick them up in the car.we get these streamers of the lake and visability disappears for a while then it is clear as a bell. I rallied from the sick bed and went out and cleaned of the car only took about 15 minutes about a foot on the car but not that much on the ground I guess it blew around.. so brenda you might go to bury to-morrow I shall think of you and see it all in my minds eye. actually I must go on line and read the bury times later, tried to watch corrie but to much traffic the site was overloaded anyway back to watching the snow flakes the cats are trying to catch them as they hit the big balcony window but not having much luck, I hope it stops to-morrow I am on baby sitting duties to-morrow evening for swimming lesson for the three of them bye for now dorothy