General Chat

Liz, the email I sent you bounced back. Is your email box full or is your sender playing silly bees, stopping any emails from my sender?

Huia.

Hi all

had a bit of a strange weekend.

Still don't have a kitchen sink, or all cabinets in place!

OH was in the student opera production again, Thursday through Saturday evenings and Sunday matinee .... so I was making him up before he dorve out to the uni.

He puts on the foundation, then I use eyebrow pencil for his eyebrows, to draw lines on his upper and lower lids, and a few on his face ........ then hope he doesn't get stopped by the police!!


Yesterday (Sunday) our friends came over from the Island (the 80 year old), went to the performance, then we all met up for dinner in our nearby bistro. That was fun


But in the afternoon I had received an email telling me that one of my friends is dying .... she has glioma, a type of brain tumour. She is now legally blind, but can hear, and her speech and command of language are also unaffected.

Her husband said her prognosis was 3-6 months ....... but she herself doesn't want to know the timeline ..... she's fighting

I've known her since 1959 when we were assigned to the same room in Residence at university. She now lives in Australia, having married her university boyfreind only last year .... they'd broken up before we all graduated, and both married other people.

Her husband died about 5 years ago.

He'd married and moved to Australia, but the marriage broke up ............... and they reconnected on Friends Reunited after both events had occurred.


Now I have to write an email to her that doesn't give any hint of the timeline of the sentence she's under.


Take care everyone


sylvia
xxx

Sylvia, these timelines are not always correct, some people are too stubborn to do what the docs say. And look at the way Daff is fighting so hard at present.

Your OH will have to wear a balaclava when he is on his way to the theatre with his make-up, but then I suppose that would make the police even more suspicious.

Huia.

lol!! Huia


I think it might ............... and it would be the RCMP as well

............... the Mounties police the university lands!

Sylvia, I'm really sorry to hear about your friend, her husband must be devastated! As you said, what do you say when you get in touch with her?

Hope OH wasn't stopped by the police on his way to the production.lol!


Liz, I also have a top sheet, as you say the duvet cover doesn't have to be changed every time the bed changed.
I can't understand why OH had never heard of putting a silver coin in a new babies had for luck, as far as I'm aware that's always been the thing to do.

It will be nice to have a chat with the babies mum when you ring her this week, you can then tell her the real reason why you didn't go to see them on Sunday.


Huia, I must say that you are really doing well going on these walks, especially where there are a lot of steps. I wish I had half of your energy and get up and go. I must say you put me to shame.lol!


Mo, how did your team get on at darts last night? I hope you won.

It looks as though you and I shop at the same exclusive shop, Primani's,lolol!!


Jean, Alun has had a new camera, so hopefully the photos he'll take with it, will come out a lot better than the last lot did, with his old camera.lol!


Well, we're about to have our dinner, so I'd better go now.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Hello folks, how are we all today.
Sylvia, I am so sorry to hear of your friends terrible prognosis. It will be hard for you to bear. E.mailing her will be a little easier than speaking to her, as she will know by your tone of voice that something is wrong.
I hope your OH took his make up of before going out for the meal. I would have loved to have seen him done up in all his finery. But Huia's idea of the balaclava sounds good LOL.

Ahem, Sallie, don't tell Jean but we lost royally last night. We were up against a really strong team, who we have yet to beat. They are a very rowdy lot, don't get me wrong, we have a good laugh with them but, we end up with a headache when the game is over. And also they give the one arm gesture when they win a leg,and scream out loud, soooo annoying. But never mind theres always next time.
Yes love, Primani and Matala*d are two of my favourite shops. More my pocket I'm afraid these days. Roly's cousins wife, likes to shop at Mons**n
huh thats a joke as far as I am concerned, when I would only dare to wear
a dress bought there for special occasions.

Well we have had yet another cold ,wet day here. I hope it's been better where you all are.

Ann where are you, we are waiting to hear how your Cyprus holiday went.
I hope you are feeling a little better now. You can blame it on T, it's his fault you caught it.

I will say cheerio for now girls. Love to all Mo xxx

Mo, you always have an excuse , what am I going to do with you, you are costing me a fortune....I will give you one last chance, then you are barred.....lol....tsk....
Sallie what sort of camera did Alun get? I have an Olympus digital fits in my bag, so handy, D has the new fuji, its very good, btw have you used your sizzex? J has just bought me a cuttlebug it came with loads of folders, I love it...I watch tutorials on what you can do with it on youtube......is it Ann who has one..just got a bit of a block on at the moment, really need to start an album for a friend, so better get on with that....
Sylvia, I was sorry to hear about your friend, I am sure you will find the right things to say to her....
take care everyone winter is here, wrap up warm , although our friends over the water sound as though summer is a- coming, I have just put most of my summer clothes away ....ugh.... D said the gritters were out over the pennines, very worrying...well off to bed so nite nite all

love Jean xxx ((((((((((( x)))))))) for Ann who is under the weather....

I went to see my eye specialist this morning. The pressure in my eyes is fine and he tested me with the chart, so eyesight is still ok. I do have a cataract in one eye, have had it for quite a while, but it doesnt need anything done as yet.

After lunch in nearby tearooms I went to visit Phil. He had finished his lunch and was awake and alert. I showed him the book of photos that I had made for him quite some time ago, spoke to him about the photos. I took him for a walk around the room (twice) and pointed out pictures on the walls. I was quite pleased with the visit.

On the way home I did some shopping, bought myself a small plastic guitar, obviously meant for a child, but I can never get my hand around the neck of an adults guitar. I might see if I can learn to play it. If not, it can go to the op shop. I will be working there tomorrow morning. I am just a reliever, so dont go in very often. I hope I can get a good nights sleep tonight, the last 2 nights I have woken after 1 hour and have had to come out here to have another cup of horlicks in the hopes of getting back to sleep.

Huia.

Hi all

Huia .. glad that you had a good visit today.


Today was definitely late Fall ......... raining really hard, and chilly. The temperature was 5 or 6C, but felt much colder. I wore my winter jacket for the first time ............ OH sprayed it yesterday to make sure it was waterproof, so that was good timing!

I had my annual checkup today, and my flu shot. All seems well, she didn't change any of my medication ..... even though my bp was way up. The first time she took it it was 200, that's way way too high!!

I always have higher bp in the doctor's office (white coat syndrome!) ........ but I have my own little machine, and take it regularly, and it bounces around in the 120-140 range then. I have to continue doing that, as she says it gives a better record.


Tomorrow (ie, Wednesday), I go to have my eyes tested, and then on Thursday I have to try to get down to the place where I have the glasses made.


Take care everyone



sylvia
xxx

Hi, I am sorry, I have not yet got round to writing up about the holiday, I just haven't felt well enough with this cough/cold. It has really taken it out of me and I have no energy or enthusuasm for anything. I have been reading the thread though. All I did yesterday was make 11 Christmas cards and d**t the lounge, oh and cook dinner then I was exhausted. Slept better last night though, didn't cough so much so maybe I am on the way back up. I am not complaining, there are many worse things. As soon as I have written about it you shall have it.

OK I have now typed it up. It is a bit long, do you want it all or shall I precis it?

Ann, Give it us the unabridged version please.....lol.... look forward to reading what you got up to.....

love Jean xx

Hi Everyone,

Mo, sorry to hear that your team lost on Monday night. As you say they were a very good group to play against.

Glad to hear that you managed to get some more Christmas presents, you haven't got many left to get now now. I wish I was as organised as you in getting presents.


Jean, Alun's camera is a Panasonic, but he hasn't used it yet. This week he's been busy making a station for his model railway, so he hasn't had a lot of time, to use his camera.

I have a Cuttlebug, and I use it a fair bit when I'm making cards. There are still a lot of things that I need to get for it, but it will all come in time.


Huia, so pleased to hear that Phil was awake and responding to you when you last visited. I'm sure it made your day to see him so alert.

Also it's good to hear that your eye test went well.



Well girls I have to start cooking our meal now, Jennie and Michael are joining us for a meal this evening, so I'd better get going.

Speak to you later.

Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

Cyprus 30 October tp 6 November 2010

Saturday 30th October....Lynda and Jon had stayed overnight with us and followed us to the airport. There was a long wait for the airport bus from the long stay car park but we had plenty of time. The Easy Jet flight from Bristol was on time, speedy boarding worked well and we arrived in Paphos on time at 21.30. We picked up our two separate taxis, strangely ours would have seated 6, but we had paid for two as we had booked individually at separate times. We were at Kefalos Beach Village in 20 minutes. You can see what this is like if you google it.
We each had an apartment with balcony overlooking the sea, L&J downstairs, us upstairs. Clean basically furnished and quite spacious. The balcony was a plus, it cost quite a lot more to book a balcony so we had gone for room with sea view and were upgraded.
We didn’t want to eat so went over to the outdoor bar and had a drink while watching a fire act.
Unpacked and bed about 11pm.
Sunday 31 October. We were booked in B&B so after a substantial breakfast served buffet style and very good, we walked along the flat path along by the sea to Pathos harbour which is about a mile and a half. Being Sunday it was crowded with visitors and locals and the pavement cafes were doing really well. We stopped for a beer, looked around the shops then walked back to Kefalos via the road to look for restaurants where we would eat our evening meals. Not too far from the Village there appeared to be plenty of choice.
We laid out in the sun and read all afternoon, stopping at 2pm to wander over to the bar for pitta bread and shared dips and a beer. In the evening after G&T’s in ours, we ate at Sysyfos which was an upstairs restaurant. I had crabstick cocktail, Moussaka and profiteroles. Back for a brandy on L & J’s balcony then bed. We stuck to the formula of G & T at ours pre meal and brandy at theirs all week – cheaper than using the bars.
Monday 1 November... L & J’s wedding anniversary After another large breakfast we walked for about ten minutes to The Tombs of The Kings stopping on the way to look at a very upmarket hotel comples next to ours. I will insert the official explanation about the tombs here as it is easier than me waffling on.
The Tombs of the Kings are an early necropolis in Paphos dating from 300 BC. The burial niches were looted of all artifacts long ago, but a powerful sense of stillness and mystery remains. The name of the site is misleading—there's no evidence of any royalty buried here. Rather, the site was the final resting place of about 100 Ptolemaic aristocrats who lived and died in Paphos beginning in the 3rd century BC.
Early antiquarians dubbed the site the "Tombs of the Kings" due to the impressiveness of the tombs, and the name has stuck.
The catacombs were later used by early Christians, and one of the tombs was turned into a chapel. In the Middle Ages, some tombs were used as makeshift dwellings or as workplaces—pottery was made in tomb 3.
The site was systematically looted of artifacts long before excavations began in 1977. Investigations continue today under the Cyprus Department of Antiquities.
The tombs are impressive, carved out of solid rock, some featuring Doric pillars and frescoed walls. The design is heavily indebted to Macedonian prototypes, passed on from Alexander's armies to the Ptolemies.
Eight complexes have been singled out and numbered for visitors, with 3, 4, and 8 being the most elaborate. Some tombs are reached via stairs that lead into sunken rectangular courts surrounded by Doric columns carved from the rock. Originally the tombs were covered with stucco and the walls were decorated with frescoes.
Beyond the colonnades, passages lead to rooms with niches (loculi) for individual corpses. Bodies were buried with costly grave goods, including jewelry and cosmetic boxes.
As was common in the classical world, on the anniversaries of death loved ones would hold a ceremonial meal (nekrodhipno) at the tomb, with the leftovers deposited near the body.
One tomb has a large rectangular stone block in the center of the atrium and loculi ornamented around the sides. Archaeologists have excavated 18 burials from the Hellenistic period in this tomb, three of which had not been robbed due to collapsed material in front of them. Two of them contained an ointment container, a myrtle wreath of gold and fine Rhodian amphorae. In the third, a child had been buried in a terracotta pipe.
Although we are not into archaeology really we found the site very interesting, all the tombs were well preserved. We did feel that, as they charge 1.70euros entry a small leaflet might have helped explain things. That is what you usually get here and in the Canaries but they seemed to want to sell you their expensive guide books.

We laid and read all afternoon again breaking for pitta bread dips and wine at 4pm. In the evening we had a good meal at San Marino I had Calamari then lamb followed by baklava. Back for brandies and to watch Cypriot dancers which were very good.
Tuesday 2 November.... We decided to lay and read for a while then at 11.30 we walked to Paphos harbour along the sea path, it was very hot already. We walked right out to the end of the harbour looking at the boats and the fort that sits on the mouth of the harbour. We noted that boat trips seemed to be quite expensive.
We had lunch upstairs at The Captains View. Tony and I shared a sea food salad and garlic bread which was excellent, we accompanied this with a beer. We ended with coffee which, to our surprise was ‘do it yourself’. A small sachet of Nescafe each and a jug of hot water and a jug of hot milk.
We bought a few bits including our duty frees in the shops and then caught a taxi baxk (8 euros). We read again for an hour until it turned chilly at 4pm.
In the evening we walked to Dias Zeus where I had Kolokithokeftedes (no short words here!) these were small fried cakes made from courgettes, garlic and herbs egg and flour, much like poato cakes and very tasty followed by King prawns in an Ouzo and garlic sauce with rice. Tony had calamari followed by a meat pasta dish which he said was nice but too dry for his taste. We were too full for sweets so we walked back for brandys, we needed a fleece this evening as it was cold. I woke up coughing in the night, so that is me having caught Tony’s cough.
Wednesday 3 November... Jon’s birthday. We decided to ‘chill out’ as they say today, so, after a good breakfast we read or dozed until 2pm when we walked up the road for lunch. We shared a plate of calamari, chips, pitta bread and dips and onion rings and we all had a beer. Then back to read for another hour and a half. In the evening we went to Metaxa where Jon treated us to a meal for his birthday. I had prawns in a garlic wine sauce plus pitta bread to dip into the sauce. Then Lynda and I both had Duck with Grand Marnier sauce, roast potatoes and veg followed by crème brulee. With the meal we had a really nice wine. Back for brandies as usual and bed. A restless night because of the cough which is annoying and debilitating.
Thursday 4 November... We walked to the harbour, half along the path and half along the road. We decided to go and look at the Roman Mosaics.
The Roman Mosaics are some of the most complete and extensive Roman Mosaics that have been discovered anywhere in the world The Roman Mosaics of Kato Paphos are a designated World Heritage site. Covering a large area of ground from the medieval harbour of Kato Paphos to the lighthouse the remarkably intricate and intact mosaics primarily depict scenes of the Roman Gods.

The Roman Mosaics of Kato Paphos were discovered accidentally when a farmer was ploughing his land in 1962. The whole area between the harbour and the lighthouse is now protected as it is thought that there is much to still be uncovered.
Covering a fairly large area the site visitor is encouraged to visit three main areas which have been named after the Gods who are portrayed on the mosaics to be seen there
The House of Dionysos
The mosaic decorations and the mythological compositions are the main characteristics of this restored Roman villa, dating back to the second century A.D. The house is named “House of Dionysos” thanks to the many depictions of Dionysos, the god of wine. The house most probably belonged to a member of the ruling Roman class or to a wealthy citizen of Pafos.

The House of Theseus
The mosaics of the villa of Theseus lie close to the House of Dionysus and date back to the second century A.D. A visitor can see the very interesting geometrical decorations as well as mythological representations. Worth seeing are the mosaics of “Theseus killing the Minotaur” and the “Birth of Achilles”.

The House of Aion
The mosaics of the House of Aion date back to the fourth century A.D and lie close to the mosaics of Dionysus and Theseus. Five mythological scenes worth seeing are: "The bath of Dionysus", "Leda and the Swan", "Beauty contest between Cassiopeia and the Nereids", "Apollo and Marsyas", and the "Triumphant procession of Dionysus".

The House of Orpheus
The mosaics of this villa belong to the third century A.D and lie to the west of the House of Theseus. There are three mythological representations worth seeing, “ Orpheus and his Lyre”, “ Hercules and the Lion of Nemea” and “the Amazon”.


The House of Four Seasons
This house lies north of the House of Orpheus. It was named after the mosaic that represents the personification of the four seasons, which dates back to the first half of the third century A.D.

It was a very hot day but the site which is huge, was very interesting and the mosaics were mind blowing. We were trying to imagine what they would have looked like if they still had all the original colour. However, although faded and despite being exposed to the elements there was still a lot of colour in them. I loved the site.

We had lunch at The Captains View again overlooking the harbour from upstairs. Tony had sea food slad and I had avocado and prawns. It is difficult to eat when you have a cough as so often the food causes a coughing ‘fit’.
We looked round the shops then again caught a taxi back as it was too hot to walk.
We sat and read until it cooled down, about 4.45. Lynda went in the pool.
In the evening we ate at Dias Zeus. I had mushroom in a garlic and cream sauce which was excellent, Tony had calamari, then we both had fish tagliatelle which was huge and I couldn’t finish all the pasta. Then Tony and I had ice creams which in contrast were minute. Afterwards we had complimentary brandies, Tia maria or cointreau. Back to Lyn’s where I had peppermint tea, Tony had tea and L & J had brandies.
Another night of coughing.

Friday 5 November After breakfast we lounged around all day reading etc. At 2pm we had dips, pitta bread and beer at the bar. In the afternoon Tony and I put our feet in the sea but the sand was like quicksand and we weren’t keen, the water was quite warm and there were people in swimming. L & J swam in the pool.
The weather this week has been fabulous, clear blue skies and no sun. Apparently it is not normally so good this time of year so we have been very lucky.
We have enjoyed our first visit to Cyprus, even though we have merely stayed around Paphos, maybe another time we should hire a car.
A couple of things we had not expected, they drive on the left, and they use three pin sockets/plugs, unlike other foreign countries we have visited.
We found the people are not as friendly as the Spanish people, Some of them don’t smile and are abrupt, some are quite rude and few of them say please or thank you.
We packed at 5pm, then in the evening we had our meal at Sysyfos again, I was coughing a lot so had to be really careful what I ate. I had shrimp cocktail and butterfly prawns and jacket. Back to Lyn’s for peppermint tea, brandies etc.
Saturday 6 November... We had a latish flight and check out was not until 12 so we lounged and read all morning after breakfast. Then we checked out of ours having extended L & J’s until 1pm. We all changed in their apartment and the taxi, this time the big one for all of us, arrived at five past one. Flight was on time although check in was chaotic with no desk open for speedy boarding and security shut, we assume to allow two military aircraft to land, they were filled with army personnel from Canada en route for Afghanistan. The airport is not very big so was quite crowded but we managed to get something to eat, I coughed a lot on the flight which must have endeared me to passengers close by, but there was not anything I could do about it. Picked up the car and were home by 9pm, having lost two hours today. A good holiday.

Well you did ask!!!

Ann, that was excellent, the first time we went to Pathos we stayed opposite the tomb of the kings, second time we ent we stayed at the Kissos hotel which was lovely, we went to many places thanks to our friends who had lived there and then moved up into the hills, so they took us all over the place... Polis was a lovely village and we also went to Limassol but wasnt impressed at all, we loved the harbour area and did the same walk as you, went to Aphrodites Rock too, the second time we went just before Christmas and the hotel was decorated an some of the shops although not as many as we have, but we loved the place , so nice memories you have stirred up.. thank you , hope you are feeling better now, and T as well...

love Jean xx

Sallie I got quite a lot of folders with the deal, and I ordered quite a few, so now I have one or two duplicated I will send you the snowflake one, that looks lovely on silver Mirri board... I have just ordered some die cuts too...have you done all your cards, you must have made quite a few, I remember when I made cards many years ago I did a lot until I got heartily sick of doing them ,so I had a break and did some knitting and then scrapbooks, now I am back on the cards and scrapping too.... is Jennie still crafting. I have some mags if you would like them... panasonic is avery good camera and should get some good pics... well tea is ready see you soon...
love Jean xx