General Chat

Hello everyone.
Sorry to be late in posting, but I had a phone call at 8.30 this morning from my grandaughter, " Nannn I'm bored, I have been up since 5.00, are you going out, if not, can I come down." So she has been with us all day, bless her.
She's a lovely girl, and has just got herself a job in a childrens nursery,but cannot start it till next month.
She want to be a teaching assistant, but you need experience to do the job. Now, how are they supposed to get experience, if no one is prepared to give them a chance.
At least by doing work in the nursery, she will have working with children under her belt, and may stand a better chance in the future, to follow her career choice.

I hope you are all well. See you all later, love and best wishes Mo xxx

Hi everyone


much cooler and cloudy today .......... weather change on its way!

OH's birthday today ............... daughter has taken him downtown and they are going to go to an art gallery or museum ............. decision to be made when they get there! MJ is with them (of course!)

Tonight, I take him out for dinner, and J as well of course! Babysitter looks after MJ.


Tomorrow, J will be packing

she leaves on Friday am .... will have to get her to the airport for about 9:15 am


Yesterday, we both had physio appointments ............. mine at 12:40 and J at 1:00 ....... followed by a sushi lunch

J has to change the way she picks up and handles MJ if she wants her wrist to stop hurting and her shoulder to improve.

Me? I have to continue with my exercises, and watch how I walk ............... no more falling over!



off to copy some of J's baby pictures on to my 'puter ........ she wants the prints!


take care everyone



s
xxx

Hi Ladies,


My, it's busy on hear today! Lovely to hear from you all, and to know that you are all okay.
I've been to the craft place in Derby today, been learning how to do some more Parchment. I love doing it, but I need to keep practicing. Although both Gwen and Kate told me that I had made a nice job of it, I felt that it could have been better. Today I picked up a couple of tips, so maybe it will look better next time I do it.


Ann, it will be nice for T to see his memory book before the rest of the family. I'm sure he'll love and appreciate looking back at your married life together and how much work and love you've put into it doing it.



Sylvia, hope you all enjoy your meal out tonight, for OH’s birthday. I hope he’s had a lovely day.
I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone since your daughter and her family came to visit you.
You’ll really miss her and MJ when they’ve gone home on Friday. The house always seems so quiet
after they’ve all gone home, especially the children. I hope that J’s wrist and shoulder will get better soon, now that she’s been shown the best way to pick MJ up. Sending hugs and kisses to MJ!xxxxx



Jean, lovely to see you back on here, we all really missed you while couldn’t post on here. You seem to have a few orders for Memory Books. Do you have to get them done for certain dates or can you do them in your own time? It’s a shame about losing all your photos of your Golden Wedding, still you can do as Ann has done, and cover quite a few of the years that you’ve been married.



Mo, I’m sure it made your day having your granddaughter stay for most of the day.
I hope she’ll like her new job and do well in it. As you say Mo, so many places want experience these days, but how on earth can people get it, without given a chance to begin with.



Marie, glad that you managed to get some new shoes. You certainly need some comfortable ones, if you’ll be doing a lot of walking on your holiday.
Is the cardigan you’ve knitted for Abigail for anything special?



Hello to Liz, Huia and Debbie. Hope all is well with everyone.


Alun has just brought me a cuppa, so I’ll speak to you all tomorrow. Take care!


Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

I was interrupted, while reading that latest additions to this thread, by the loud cries of Chloe the cat. I wondered what was wrong with her, then I saw she had brought a live mouse in. It went under the door to the entrance foyer so I let her through but it hid under the door. I closed the door and got a poker in the hopes of chasing it through to her side, but when I looked she still didnt have it. In the long run I opened the door and found all my poking (or shutting the door) had killed it.

I visited Phil yesterday. He was a bit sleepy but then they brought him a drink which helped wake him. He had two cups of cordial and a bite of cheese. After staying with him for an hour I came home. Last night I got a phone call. It always sounds like an Indian who phones and it is hard for me to decipher what she is saying. I did ask her to speak more slowly but she didnt really slow down. He had apparently had a fall when he tried to get up to walk, and there was something about another woman and the wooden arm of a chair but I dont really know much. I am not going to worry about it. There are plenty of people there to look after him and they will get the doctor if it is serious, or take him to the public hospital.

I have another training session at the Hospice shop tomorrow (Friday) so will need a decent sleep tonight so I can get up early. This morning I didnt get up until after 9 a.m. I am only on training one morning a week. Next week it is on Monday again.

Huia.

Hi all

Huia, I am sorry Phil's fallen again, maybe he tried to get up when he wasn't quite fully woken. I hope there is no serious damage, poor man.

When you talk about your Chloecat, it always reminds me of my Chloe cat, the one who adopted me when she was a 6 month old kitten and I was around 6 months pregnant. She has been gone since 1998 sadly and I still miss her and my other pets, but she was pretty good and rarely brought anything in, maybe I fed her too much lol Only on a couple of occasions did any of my cats bring birds in and no meeces that I knew of so I was lucky. Glad the mouse isn't still running around your home.

Are you enjoying the training at the Hospice shop? Hope you get the sleep you need so you can there all bright eyed and bushy tailed.


I had my spraytan yesterday at 5pm and it's developed very well, I look as brown, in fact more so, than when I got back from Corfu last year. Have to see how well it has lasted on Saturday and then I will know if the one I have booked next Weds will be the right timing or I need to change the apptmt to Thursday, which will cause big problems as o.h. wants to take his ny son and wife out for lunch, daft idea as he is working till past 6am and won't get a lot of sleep and will then come back and fall asleep due to drinking alcohol, and won't get things ready for the off on Friday. He is the most impractical person I know but hey ho, let him do it and if he feels ill or crashes the car then it's his tough luck. Just hope my apptmt will be ok on Weds so I can have the use of the car before he does stupid things.

Jean hope you are feeling ok, and the memory book will turn out well for your godson, what a lovely idea for him and his Mum.

Marie, I am ok, just really stressed and will be glad when Sept is here so the wedding is over, I have looked at the long term forecast and the temp looks as tho it might be about 19degrees so will probably need my lilac jacket. Just as long as it doesn't rain altho I did pick up a lilac brolly in the £shop just in case.

Must get a drink and watch some of the stuff I have recorded before going to bed.

take care all

Lizxx

Hi All ,I have an appointment with the Doc in an hour, will get a few words in to you all.Liz I am pleased you are ok I had the wedding down for 28th Aug so it is Sept.good luck stay well.

Huia ,sorry to hear about Phil so sad for you, we have had so much rain that they have issued a flood warning for the Macqurie River which runs through the centre of Bathurst, but dont worry we live on a hilly area on the outskirts of Bathurst so no flood for us.
.
Sallie the cardigan is only for wearing to child care.

Sylvia you will miss your little darling when he goes home .Happy Birthday to your OH.

Ann we are going over the Swiss boarder , we are doing the lakes & Venice and all the well known places then we travel South down to the Amalfie Coast where we will spend time in Sorrento.

Barbara and I are going to explore the Amalfie coast on our own we will then meet up with the Coach and return to Rome for our return Journey.On the way home we will spend two & a half days in Bankok if it is quiet there.
Your Birthday Ann is on the same day as my Eldest Child Michael, he spent his Birthday having his Gall Baldder out Bad timing.Happy Belated Birthday XXoo

Hello Dear Jean Lovely to hear from you, you are keeping busy with your memory books.

MO my friend are they giving you a bad time, I thing you are very clever doing all that Painting as it is a back breaking Job and I do know as I did it for many years as every hous we bought needed a lot of Painting to get it nice. Put your feet up and have the rest you soooo deserve.

Theresa, Welcome I wrote a long letter to you last night but when I clicked Preview I lost the lot. I might try again Later as you can see we all love to have a chat .
Must Go Love & Hugs to you all
Marie

Thought I'd just have a quick look in to say hello to everyone.


Liz, it's lovely to see you posting on here again, we've missed you. I hope you're feeling better than you've been, at least once the 28th August is over, things will hopefully be less stressful for you.

Marie, the holiday you are going on sounds lovely, it makes me feel that I'd love to go there too. How long are you going for? Sorry I can't remember what you told us, it must my age.

Huia, I'm really sorry to hear that Phil has had another fall, I hope he hasn't hurt himself too badly. Hope you had a good day at the Hospice shop. How many training sessions do you have to have?


Well I'm off to make a few cards now, so I'll look in later on today. Take care everyone.



Love and best wishes . Sallie. xxx

Hello all just pop on to say hello have pm you Mo,i wont be as much as got vertigo back, and in so pain with my spine ,but it could be worse,take care all
Dutchxx

Hello girls.
Thank you for the p.m Joyce. This bloomin vertigo is a real pain in the backside isn't it. I had it last year, Jean suffers quite frequently with it as well.
I hope you feel better soon, and that the pain in your back eases as well.

Sylvia. how on earth is J going to manage to get home with her bad wrist and shoulder. Surely she won't take the extra things she found the other day, it's going to be bad enough coping with MJ, and a suitcase.
I hope she has a safe journey home, and that you and your OH can get back to normal soon.
And dont overdo the excercise.

Sallie, it sounds to me like you are putting yourself down, where your parchmenting is concerned. If Kate and Gwen think you are doing well, then you must be.
You will have to scan some and send it to us, so that we can judge your wonderful work I bet it's lovely.

Huia, I did laugh at your description of the cat and mouse, and then to find you had killed it by mistake. PSML
I can't believe poor Phil had another fall. It was proably as you said, he may have been drowsy, and got up to quickly and overbalanced.
I hope your training day goes well tommorrow. Are you of out for the evening with your friend tommorrow night.

Liz, don't overdo the spray tan, or we won't recognise you.
Are you going to the lunch with OH and NY son on the thursday. Does he have very far to go, and if you are not going will he catch a cab back.
Lets hope he doesn't have to much to drink, or it will still be in his bloodstream the next day, and if he gets stopped by the police, and is breathalysed,he will lose his licence.
Still it would do you a favour, in as much as you could then use the car whenever you wanted to. But you would probably have to take him to and from work, and thats not good. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Marie, it's a good job I have got broad shoulders, they all take the mickey out of moi. I only wish I was as good at art, as I am at painting rooms, I would be worth a fortune. lol
Theres no chance of me putting my feet up, and having a rest. We have got our grandaughter coming to stay with us on sunday, for about eleven days. Cooo now that is hard work. All the extra cooking, washing, taxiing
around etc, etc ,etc.
I hope you got on o.k at the doctors earlier.
You have waited a long time for this holiday haven't you, so you just go and enjoy yourself. You will have lots of tales to tell us when you get back.
Just beware of those Italian men, but if you find an extra one, can you box him up and send him to us here, and we will share him out between us.

I hope we hear from Jean,Ann and Tess soon. It will be good to know that they are well.

Bye for now my friends, take care, love to you all. Mo xxx

Hi all,

Mo, I don't think I will be ready for going out to lunch with o.h. and his son and d.i.l., if it happens - he has to call him tonight while he is at work and sort out arrangements. I will be rinsing off my second spray of tan and getting things ready for the next day when we go to the hotel.

I had enough of him losing his licence in 2008 when he lost it for six months, and had to buy a bike for work. He does still cycle most days unless the weather is really bad or his dodgy knee is playing up but he was awful in front of the specialist and said I would have to take him to work, at 5.30am - yeah right! The specialist could see what a pig he was and knew he wasn't likely to stop driving until it was forced on him and that's what happened, as he had to let them know he had been diagnosed with the bleed on the brain and they took away his licence for six months till they were sure he hadn't had a repeat of the problem, he is on soluble aspirin for life now. He expected me to drive him here there and everywhere but I only did it if I felt well enough, I won't drive if I don't feel 100% with it! There is no way I could keep turning out at 10pm for him or driving him in a whatever time he was due on shift. There is a bus that goes almost to the door of his works but not one home again, on the odd occasion he caught it but I had to pick him up but didn't do it more than a few times.

I don't know where he will take them for lunch, there is a nice pub not too far away that does good meals so they could go there, if they are up for it, they might already have arranged other things, that's why he has to call them and see.

My lad is getting ready for the Reading Festival visit over BH weekend, this will be his third time there and he usually has a lot of fun. Hope it's not wet and cold tho as that spoils things for everyone camping there.

He took a day off holiday yesterday and went on a Project Management course, he had to do a presentation at the end and said it went well, he is trying to get as much variety of work and training under his belt, as possible in the hope he can find a more interesting and better paid job. Norfolk is notoriously hard to find well paid jobs tho.

Take care everyone
Lizxx

Hi all

Got back about 2 hours ago from the airport where we left J&MJ .......... her plane was delayed an hour but she decided that she wanted to be there for the posted time and to go through security so that she could try and get him to have a nap before it was time to board.

Of course, she left with more than she came with ......... she borrowed a small carry-on suitcase from us to stuff some essentials in. Then, they bought an ExerSaucer when they first arrived ...... it's the modern version of those walkers that we used to have, except the baby's feet touch a "saucer" and the part in which he sits moves around while the "saucer" stays stationary. Anyway, she decided to take it home with her

................ in a VERY large box, which was then also stuffed with toys she bought in Ikea earlier this week. They don't have Ikea in Halifax, it closed down about 10 years ago.

We got home and promptly phoned M to tell him the plane was late .................. and that there was all this extra baggage that he had to fit in his car!

It was great to have them for so long ............ only 4 months to go before we arrive in Halifax for Christmas!!!



Mo ................. it will be a bit of a struggle. The shoulder and neck is a long-time problem, caused mainly by working so much on the computer with inadequate seating. The wrist is an added problem irritated by the way she picks up and carries MJ

All 3 of the suitcases have wheels .......... OH loaded them in the car here, and unloaded them at the airport on a trolley (still free at Vancouver airport!). The huge box was balanced on top. I pushed the baby stroller with MJ in the car seat (it's a combined unit). J pushed the luggage.

Check-in was at the Express screen, check-in tags printed out ........ then just wheeled the luggage trolley over to a person who checked everything, and who also carried the box over to the special baggage chute. Then OH unloaded the two larger suitcases into their chute.

That left J with

.... baby stroller and car seat
.... diaper bag
..... light weight "shopping" bag (the kind that rolls up very small)
..... carry-on wheeled case

She then had to buy some food for her lunch ........... you can buy sandwiches on the plane, but she wanted some Japanese including sushi for an early lunch. That was in 2 styrofoam boxes and put into a small shopping bag.

She would be able to wheel the stroller right to the door of the plane, after which someone would load it into the hold. It will be unloaded and brought up to the plane door in Halifax.

That will have left her to carry on

...... MJ in the car seat
...... diaper bag
...... lightweight shopping bag
..... carry-on suitcase



I have NO idea how she will have managed!

They did buy a seat for MJ, so she does not have to hold him all the time, and the reason she took the car seat on board is because it can be strapped into place by the ordinary lap belt.

The reverse happens in Halifax .................... and the checked bags are brought on a conveyor belt to the open area where M will be able to help her



Now ................. can he get it and them all in his car????????????????


It'll be close to 9 hours from when we left her before she arrives "home"



sylvia

Hi all.

I was going to add to this thread yesterday when I had read the latest replies, but every time I tried to take it to the last page the stupid computer told me that genesreunited.co.nz didnt exist and it tried offering me various websites which were nothing like this one. After arguing with the computer I gave up.

I had another morning in the Hospice shop yesterday morning, then decided to have my lunch in town and buy a new clock (old one having expired) and go to visit Phil since I was half way there. I has a bit of sticking plaster on the end of one eyebrow from his fall but he seemed alright. I am wondering if, when he stood up he 'saw' something on the floor that had to be picked up (he sees a lot of imaginary things that I cant see) and fell when he bent over to pick it up. But I will never know.

I arrived home about 4 pm. I thought I should sleep well last night so didnt bother to take my half sleeping pill but after tossing and turning for an hour I got up and took it, went back to bed and continued to toss and turn for an hour so brought a duvet out to the lounge to try sleeping on the settee but that was no good so went back to bed and finally to sleep. I didnt wake up until 8.30 this morning and still felt tired so after breakfast I had another sleep on the settee. I just wish there was a pill which would stop my brain in its tracks when my head hits the pillow at night. The sleeping pills dont seem to do the trick.

I have now had my lunch and really must take myself for a long walk today in the hopes of sleeping better tonight. I am thinking of visiting a cousin tomorrow morning then visiting Phil on my way back from her place. She will want me to stay the night, but I am not keen and I have to be up early the next morning for another session in the Hospice shop, so I thought this would be a good time to visit.

Huia.

Hi Huia,

glad Phil isn't too knocked about by his fall bless him.

I know what you mean about the brain still whirring when you want to sleep, I try and read myself to sleep if o.h. isn't in the bed but it does mean I end up asleep with the light on for ages and the book buried somewhere lol

I hope you can find a way to get a good snooze, as you say maybe a walk will help.

Enjoy your visit to your cousin and your stint in the hospice shop, lots of new stuff to take in there so maybe that's why your brain won't slow down.

take care of yourself, and nap when you can for now so you are ok to drive and do what you need to do.

Sylvia, hope J and little one get home ok with all their stuff, sounds as tho a pantechnicon (sp) might be needed with all she had to carry. It's hard work travelling with youngsters altho my lad was 3 and a bit before I took him on a plane so a bit easier to deal with. I bet you will miss them both but the time will go fast till you see them again altho I really don't want to think about Christmas yet lol

My tan has faded a lot, well I had to exfoliate yesterday apparently, maybe I did it a bit too enthusiastically. I am not sure I am going to be able to fit the next one in so might not bother after all, as I now feel I look a bit grubby in some places and pale in others, and that's how it would be next week if I have another on Weds. There won't be time to have one later such as Thursday because of the maintenance of it, just rinsing gently on the Friday, the day we have to go to the hotel, and I would feel awful if I wiped it all off on the sheets there. Then the exfoliating day would be the day of the wedding and I might end up patchy, not worth the risk I think. Will see what it looks like later today and decide whether or not to cancel the apptmt.

Must get something to eat - I am starving so will catch you all later today

love to all
Lizxx

I am still here, had some problems with computer Thurs/Fri and on Friday I kept falling asleep on the settee.

Huia, pleased to hear that Phil wasn't too badly hurt on his fall. Your work in the Hospice shop sounds good, so worthwhile too.
I had thought about getting a cat, but your story of Chloe puts me off!
Have you tried Yoga as a way of relaxing, it may stop you getting whirrling brain (which I know is very annoying).

Sylvia, sounds like your daughter needed a lot of extra arms, so well as the strenght of Samson (before the hair cut). You must have enjoyed the time they spent with you, and I bet you are looking forward to Christmas when you will see them again.

Liz, I have never tried a spray tan, but have been tempted to get my legs done as they are a sickly white.

As to travelling to and from Malaya. The first time (early 1953) we sailed on the Empire Fowey, and came back in 1955 by plane. This involved two overnight stops.

The second time (spring 1958) we went on the H.M.S Nevasa, and came back (late 1960) by plave, this time involving two refulling stops.

Now of course, planes go non-stop to Malaysia and Singapore.

I much preferred the voyages, a reall holiday in themselves. Both ships were troop ships, taking soldiers to Malaya. Both times my dad had gone a few months before us, so Mum had to get the family organised for the voyage without his help.

Hello everyone.
It's been a very busy day here today. Shopping this morning, then my daughter arrived, with all my grandaughters clothes for the next 10/11 days. Oh my word, does she really need this amount of clothes. I know teenagers like to be fashionable, but this is like having a famous model in the house. I dread to think what would have happened if she had gone on holiday, with the family, excess baggage or what.

I don't know if we will ever get oursleves another cat. We both keep imagining we see her at the back door.
If we had had your mouse Huia, when we had Misty, she would have run in the opposite direction.
After all, she totally ignored the rat that time. I am not sure now if she was blind as well, bless her.

Tess the ship we were on was called the S.S, Dunera. And dad travelled with us out to Malaya.
As you said, the flight back was broken up for refuelling.
I am not sure but I think the pilots were Orville and Wright. lol

I hope you are all well, and are enjoying your weekend.
Bye for now, love and best wishes Mo xxx

Hi all, Teresa. the tan is very light now, but I went into the city and saw the young woman in Boots who helped me with eyemake up etc the other day. She had agreed that using the moisturiser with tanner in each day could well keep my legs and arms etc with a bit of colour, nothing too drastic and being already slightly tanned a little streakiness won't show as much as if I was lily white. She also showed me a very good leg makeup which at the mo is reduced to £6 but lasts and lasts and she showed me how easy it is to apply, she put it on her arm and said it doesn't come off till you wash it with soap and water. It looked good so I think I may get that and do the moisturiser/tan each day too and forget the spray tan due to the hassle of trying to not get sweaty and let it dry in properly while o.h. is around on Weds and I am having to cook, sort things out etc etc We just have too much to do with him seeing his son and d.i.l. and such .

I have noticed that the tan has stayed darker on bits of my skin that is more wrinkly, i.e. my forearms and my chest area and neck. My legs are lighter than my feet, which again are more wrinkly. Haven't checked any other wrinkly bits lol It was strange that when I got up on Saturday I had an enlarged vein at the front of my shin on one leg and a couple of enlarged veins on the other shin but as the day went on they disappeared and I can hardly notice them yet I have been on my feet a lot. Hope I don't start getting varicose veins, my Mum did as she got older but I hope I can avoid the problem. I haven't shaved my legs since the spraytan so more will come off when I do that.

O.h. said before he went to bed that, having spoken to his ex, he needs to have strong words with the groom, who is staying here at his Mum's with his bro and his wife from NY and then going out for drinks on Thursday evening with his bro and mates. Don't know if his Mum has said it or the bride to be, but there seems to be some complaint about him going out a lot and not spending time at home with the bride much. His Dad and his Mum's partner haven't been invited on the stag night.
O.h. thinks he needs to tell the groom how he should be behaving - a joke when he and his wife split after about 12 yrs of marriage, cos his behaviour made her fall out of love with him, and then he went off and had an affair with his wife's best friend so the wife left. He says he is going to have to get angry with his son, I tried to persuade him to leave them to sort things out, especially so near the wedding but can see a major row blowing up as o.h. is not the most tactful of people and will steam in all guns blazing and cause upset and maybe even fall out with the groom. That would be awful and would end up with people taking sides no doubt and therefore spoiling the wedding. He won't be told tho, and will do what he wants so if he messes up his relationship with his son or even both of them, won't be the first time, then tough, not much I can do except tape his mouth up.

Couldn't find a different necklace that suited the dress - my friend saw the photo and thought I needed more than the butterfly one I wore on the photos - and couldn't find a suitable set of undies, so have to try once more as I missed Bhs. Will have a good look through what I already have and see if I can get away with something there and if not, am going to the city again on Monday pm for last minute things.

I got some better biodegradable confetti yesterday at Paperchase, altho the girls there had to go through every pack to find pink blue and white bits as most packs were lemon, green and white, not good colours to throw at a registry office near Ipswich lol It looks more like the traditional stuff with horseshoes etc but the other one I got was large petal shapes, being rice paper they were rather stiff so didn't float as nicely. The new pack is rice paper too but lighter and smaller.
Norwich football team has yellow and green and are arch rivals with Ipswich who are blue and white so I didn't want to look as if I was favouring one team over another lol

Sorry I can't follow everyone's news on here and respond at the mo, I am really tired so off to put my feet up for a bit and watch Tonight's the Night, which I recorded as we wanted to watch X Factor.

love to all
Lizxx

Hi all

daughter phoned late last night (Friday) to say they had arrived home ....... 2½ hours late. It was well after midnight her time!

Apparently there was a further delay in Toronto ........ the new crew for the plane had not turned up on time for duty!


I went shopping this afternoon, downtown. Got several bargains ........ a couple of tops for me and a short sleeved dress shirt for OH.

The weather is much cooler now, and there might even be some rain overnight

...... but the smoke from the wild fires in the interior of the province have now been blown east as far across the country as northern Ontario ................ almost 2000 km away! People all along that "path" of smoke / haze are being warned of bad air quality and to stay indoors if they have any health problems.



Take care



sylvia
xxxx

Hi Girls,

Sylvia, glad to here that your daughter and MJ arrived home safely, albeit two and a half hours late. It was bad enough that their plane was delayed in Vancouver, but to have another delay in Toronto because the crew were late turning up for duty, that takes the biscuit. Just hope that MJ was settled so that it made it easier for your daughter.
Sounds though you've had a good time finding some bargains. Are you and OH going away on holiday before the winter?
Let's hope that people won't have too much trouble with the smoke from the wildfires, it must be horrible for them.


Mo, I'm sure that you'll enjoy having your granddaughter to stay for ten days. Have all her family gone away, except her? I know what you mean about all the clothes that your granddaughter has. Christie has loads of clothes too, and has two clean tops a day,she says just in case she smells. Even with everyone telling her that she doesn't smell, she still changes them--I know Richard goes on about the amount of washing and ironing, and in the winter it's the drying.

We haven't had Jennie and Michael today. A nieghbour has taken them out to lunch, to say thank you for being there for her. She's 77 so Michael cuts her lawns for her, and cleans the windows for her every so often. She's a very nice lady, and she always likes to have a chat when she sees me. They've gone to the place where Jennie and Michael had their wedding reception and of course the night do too. Alun and I also went there for our 40th wedding anniversary, the food is really good there, a little bit more expensive than other places, but worth it for something special.

Christie went for a scan last Tuesday to try nad find out what is causing the pain she's having in her left side, but they couldn't see anything on the scan, so they used a camera, and told her that there's something there, but don't know what it is. So she's now waiting for a letter with a date to see the gynecologist, so we'll have to wait and see what the problem is.
Of course Richard is down worrying about her, but he's also down because he still hasn't got a job.



Liz, hope you manage to find all that you need to get ready for Saturday. When do OH's son and his wife arrive from NY? Wee Liz, this time next week the wedding will be all over and done with.
I hope that the groom will spend more time with the bride to be, this week especially. I can't understand why OH and his mum's partner haven't been invited to the stag do. Both Alun and Michael's dad went on Michael's stag do.


Hope Ann and OH enjoyed their anniiversary celebrations and that they'll have a great holiday in Jersey.


It shouldn't be too long now before Debbie and her family get back from their holiday. I hope they're enjoying themselves and that the weather has been good for them.



Huia, hope that your last training day at the Hospice shop went well. Did you manage to get in to see Phil? I hope he was a bit better than he was the last time you seen him. It would have been lovely if he was more alert this time. Pleased to hear that Phil wasn't to badly hurt after his fall.



Marie, hope all is well in your world. Did you finish make the cardigan? Also hope that the weather is getting better for you now you. You can tell that autumn is on it's way here, but I don't mind because I like autumn and also spring.


Jean, hope all is well with you. I haven't been on here very much lately, as I've been too busy trying to get the cards done. Hope J and D are okay. Have you finished making the memory book that you were doing?


Tess, I've had a couple of problems with this laptop over the last week. I don't know if it's the laptop, or this site. Although I've also had a bit of trouble trying to get another site, so it's probably this laptop.


Well I'm going to make us some tea now, otherwise Alun will think that we're not having any today.lolol!!!


I'll speak to you all soon. Take care everyone!


Love and best wishes. Sallie. xxx

Hi Mo and everyone

It is a lot cooler today than last weekend!! Much more pleasant I have to say.



J just phoned .... she said the smoke from the BC fires was obvious through Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and even into the western edge of Ontario!

She actually had quite a good flight ........ there was no-one in the 3rd seat in the row, so she and MJ had 3 seats between them on both legs of the journey, and the crew were helpful. One of them even watched MJ while J went to the loo. One of them also helped her off the plane and to the elevator (sorry ... lift) in Halifax.


We're thinking of going up to the cabin sometime in the last week of August for a week or possibly 2 weeks. September 6 is Labour Day, traditionally the end of summer in both Canada and the US, and most schools, colleges and universities go back the next day (if not before). OH has loved being away for that "first day and week of term" since he stopped teaching!

We haven't been up yet this summer for longer than that one day in June ...... but then it has been so hot and the fire season so very bad that we wouldn't have gone up there even if we had not had J and co visiting. The cabin is in the same area that has the worst fires, and, at the very least, the air would have been difficult to breathe. We believe the cabin is safe .... but there is only one road in and out to it ......... leading from the bigger road down to the lake about 25 km away.

We'll make a final decision closer to the time, possibly only the day before we leave!!

The fire officials have said that cooler temperatures etc will help them to gain control of the fires ....... so many of them are still mainly out of control (some of them are 10% controlled, others 20%, etc). There are I think 4 or 5 really big ones, but about 150 fires burning in total.

They have also said that it could be weeks or months before some of them are finally completely out ...... when the cold temperatures and snow arrive.

This has been one of the worst fire seasons, but fortunately (if one can say that), very few homes have been burnt ........... they've all been in relatively uninhabited areas of the province. Three people have been killed ......... one man when a tree he was cutting fell on him, and the 2 pilots of a fire fighting plane which crashed.

The forests have been devastated.

The big worry now is the ranchers, who put their cows and other livestock up in the hill and mountain meadows for the summer .............. it is anticipated that there will have been a huge loss of animal life.




sylvia
xxxx

Sylvia, I feel so grateful that I don't live somewhere with those fires, and how sad that a lot of animals will have been lost too

I can't imagine the fear of losing everything to a fire and it being uncontrollable.

I have decided that whenever I buy something for a special do in future, I will try it on and get a photo taken. I altered the straps of the dress yesterday, lifting them an inch to bring the armpits up a bit and then I tried on the dress with the black shrug I have. The dress looks better now the straps are shorter but what a palaver doing it, the dress is shoddily made for the money o.h. paid and it took me ages to get the straps repositioned properly.
Well when I looked at the photo with the shrug I realised that even had I been able to get a white one, it wouldn't have done, just exaggerated my wide bits lol Oh and o.h. took a pic when I was bending over moving a plant pot so I didn't catch the dress on it, and that was very unflattering lol, note to self, do not bend over at wedding, merely bend the knees and dip if I drop anything lol As for the dress with nothing over it, well forget it, it looks dreadful or rather I look dreadful, so fat round the middle as if someone pulled a car tyre over my head and wedged it at my waist line.
Am really put off the dress now but no time to find anything else, so will have to keep the lilac jacket on all the time, luckily the forecast isn't for a heatwave at the mo but the showers are moving on to the BH Sunday now. might be around 20degrees on the Saturday.
O.h. went to see his father on Sunday morning and got snarled up in roadworks and traffic so came back all flustered. He promptly fell asleep in his chair and later went upstairs and fell asleep on the bed. Then he came down and moaned about the time, 6.30pm and that he had done nothing constructive! Later his dad called to ask if he is ok, he has decided he wants to go along to the lunch date to see his grandson and wife, does he not realise that this is the first time o.h. will have seen him in 20 months, and he will be seeing him at the wedding? He said he was worried as o.h. seemed so tired, later on o.h. realised he had forgotten to take his diabetes tablet in the morning. He misses his tablets a lot, even tho I got him a container to put each day's worth in. I am fed up with having to think for him and remind him of everything.
Also, because one of o.h.'s sisters fell out with her boyfriend she is taking her son to the wedding instead which means the other cousin is the only young person not invited yet the bride has 5 brothers and sisters or half/step ones son it seemed unfair those two cousins weren't invited in the first place. The lad missed out is a pleasant lad, he has Aspergers and will never hold down a job despite wanting to work but it doesn't seem right he won't be at the celebrations. There are only four cousins, including o.h.'s two boys and o.h.'s two sisters with one lad each, all in their twenties. My son wasn't invited either which didn't surprise me or him or bother us, but the lads don't keep in contact anyway, they never really got close altho would speak to each other if they met up.

The son and wife should arrive from NY on Tuesday and will be here in Norfolk on Wednesday.
I just keep telling myself that come next week at this time it will be over and he will be ready to leave again on the Monday.


Just realised, it's chucking it down outside, hope it eases off soon so o.h. can cycle to work, otherwise I will have to get the bus into the city to do last minute errands etc. He was going to stick wonderweb on his trouser hems yesterday and iron some of his casual shirts to wear at the weekend, nothing got done but I am leaving it to him, I pinned the trousers up for him and he said leave them to him to do so I will lol

take care all,
Lizx