General Chat

hi oh brenda what naughty cats you have or should I say they are following what nature intended them to do, the books I mentioned are very good and yesterday I finished the new peter robinson ie. inspector banks and it was also very good I was first in line for it at the library I have another 58 on request I just add everything new I see in the book store to the list so that I don't spend all my pension on books. trying to think of a gift for the grandaughter she will be 12 on the 10th but don't really have a clue I will be taking her out for dinner soon I like to take the children out for a meal just one on one it has become quite a tradition, laura's favourite meal is ribs so we shall probably go to a place called montana's usually on a wednesday of her choice as it is all you can eat ribs night for one price and she can pack them away she has hollow legs I think. well to-day is the us election so will be watching that this evening so I will watch casualty at 2pm instead of 8pm I am sure we are years behind but I do enjoy it. and bbc canada carries it at two times also holby blue, and eastenders also years behind. well I am off to the shops it is going to be another unusually warm day to-day 17 degree's possibly 21 this afternoon so I shall enjoy it while it lasts,looking foreward to news from fred re the wedding bye for now dorothy

Weeeeell,hello all.cor .Fred has been busy,the son turned up as we got back from shopping yesterday,so it was decided that it was time to clean the outside of the van with the jet wash..
The van was so dirty that it took two hours to do the job,but ,what a difference,the washer even blastedthe green algie off the back end ,thats some machine.
Martin is coming back tomorrow to help with the insidewhich will have to dry out a little ,seing as the daft gowk blasted away the seal round the skylight, lol.but all is okay after being resealed by me ,using a silicone sealant using a fine nozzle to get right into the gap between the light and the van roof.
The flight has been organised ,we travel down to Manchester on the afternoon of the sixth ,we stay at the airport hotel overnight,and will get up early enough to get the car to the park,and report in to the flight desk at 6 a m.
I am doing the insurance through the coop bank,as we already have insurance through them with axa.
It now transpires that the lady has parents who will not be going to the wedding ,so i have now been asked to give her away,which i will do no problem,but he will have to get one of his mates to be best man,as i canna do both he he.
His new home turns out to be a bungalow with a built on sun roof out back [shades of oz],and is supposed to be very large by brit' standards.still .we will see.
We had two pannini rolls out of the freezer for dinner with a few chopped new potatos done in the fat from the cooked steaky bacon.I cut the rolls down the middle ,placed them on the cooker grill pan.
The bacon went on one half followed emmental cheese,the other half had tomato and fresh chive on ,followed by cheese,which i then grilled until the cheese melted,all that was left to do was put shredded cos lettuce on and stick the halves together.
For tea ,it's just pasta with cheese and broccoli.with,chopped turkey breast,nice and light.
Well ,time to get busy again,i need to do the most hated house chore [whispers,the oven] gasps of disbelief,lol.
Not so bad as i will split the job,do one of the shelves tonight along with the door,and tomorrow i will do the other shelf and ,if the mood takes me ,the sides and back.
See ya tomorrow peeps.Fred.

Hi Everyone,
Glad you are enjoying the books Dorothy,you can only reserve up to 12 books in our libraries,we do have borrowers who have a list which they bring with them and add them as soon as they have got an earlier reservation..I have about 8 on my list ,but I also have over a dozen books which I have been loaned or bought which need reading!!.
Fred,do you ever just take 10?? I get tired just reading what you get up to..so pleased you sorted the insurance and are ready to go.
Off to sort out the tea ,some sort of omelette/frittaa ,but a low fat version !!
Brenda

Hi everyone
This month in New Zealand is referred as 'Mo-vember' as its when attention is given to prostrate cancer - guys grow moustaches which are then judged at the end of the month. The funny thing is that a lot of wives and partners are glad with the top lip is shaved. I mentioned the other day 'Marmite' the manufacturers are one of the sponsors and they have renamed it as 'Mo-mite' for this month. Strange isn't it.
The bruises are still coming out on Gayle's knees following her tumble on Sunday.
Catch up again soon, John

Just managed to get on a public pc at lunch ,to do some scanning ,it did not work,but thats another story.Hopefully will be back tonight or tomorrow.brenda

goodmorning all well I am quite bleary eyed as I stayed up till 1am my time to watch history being madeI was very impressed with mr obama's speech and I wish him well in a job that is so thankless in many ways I pray for his safety and wish him well. I found the whole thing very emotional as my partner of 22yrs is also black and I can understand how many of that race feel to-day it goes to show that really the colour of a persons skin should not matter if they have the skills to do the job, I understand that many may not agree with me but perhaps my years in nursing have made me colour blind as far as all races are concerned the patient always came first not their race. and lets face it there are good and bad in all races and colour, to-day it is going to be warm again very unusual weather 20 degree's to-morrow I am taking the car in to be winterized, fred you never stop good to hear that the wedding plans are so well planned I hope that you and liz have a great time bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone
Friday has arrived and I have today to finished editing a newsletter for Sunday.
Pollsters are predicting that Labour won't be the government after Saturday's election and that National will be. Several polls over the past few days with the final yesterday, says National would win. New Zealand has MMP so the final outcome could be quite different with several parties who don't win an electoral seat but get over the five percent threshold to be in parliament.
The election of Obama in the USA has been very interesting and already spam emails are surfacing that are not at all nice, the people that send them obviously have nothing else to do. It seems no matter what is done about spammers they will still carry on which is really annoying, fortunately the amount that I used to get is possibly one a day which Telecom misses. Mind you there must be heaps that they stop getting into our emails boxes.
I am cooking dinner today - chicken stir-fry and rice which will be very nice.
Catch up soon - John

Hi there,been very busy today ,my day off and errands to do again,just going to sit down with a nice cuppa,but no cake or biscuit,they are rationed,not banned just very severly rationed.!!! Only having them at weekends as a treat which they where when I was a kid,
Out for a chinese meal tonight as its my friends birthday but it is bitterly cold already so it will be freezing tonight,!!!
I agree about the spam and the horrible jokes that get sent ,not just after this US election but about all sorts of "news items".
Again there are good and bad in all walks of life ,colour and creed,don't judge a book by its cover is my motto.
My tea is getting cold i have been informed by John so i had beter go and drink it..
See you over the weekend and have a good one.brenda

hi everyone I am recovering froma nasty 2 day cold not sure how I got it especially as the weather was so nice for a week, now it is changing rainy and cold this evening we are having a pot luck supper in the lounge area of the building these are very interesting as the menu is so varied my menu item is desert but seeing that I felt so awful I did not make anything but bought a dozen fancies. anne called from bury this morning I gather the weather was not great she was expecting a storm this evening. not much going on at the moment so I will say bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone
Politics has ups and downs yesterday the current Labour government lost the election to National. As the prime minister concluded her thank you speech she dropped a bombshell saying she was standing down as leader and a new leader will be appointed. That news shocked people across the country, nobody close to her knew that was standing down. Anyway enough of that.
We have had two sunny days and that's nice. On Saturday after voting I cleaned the outside windows but its still smeary, so I have to try again later. We have put seeded potatoes into some pots however I think it may be a bit late. Jeepers its coffee time, catch you soon. John

Just a quick hello to you all as I am feeling a bit off colour,have a sore throat and a banging headache,hope its only something like the two day virus Dorothy had,and not this Australian flu everyone is talking about!!.
We do not appear to have heard anything about your election yet John it might be on the news at 6 o'clock mind you I missed the news this morning as I stayed in bed with not feeling well.
Be back tomoorw,feeling better i hope.Brenda

Hi all,
Hope you are not going down with the flu Brenda. Have you had your anti-flu jab yet?
Johan and I had ours last week, so we should be ok.
The weather is cold and miserable, but then again it is winter. Almost time for Johan and I to go to Spain, then when we come back almost Xmas, then New Year. I always think after Xmas the weather seems brighter.
See you tomorrow.
Sylvia xxx

Goooood morning all,Brenda,John,Dorothy ,Sylvia,and anyone else who drops in.
Hope too that you havn't got the flu ,Brenda,it's the last thing you need,and certaily hope the oz flu hasn't arrived on these shores yet,it is a killer,and the jab will not kill it it's a mutated virus ,so all a body can do is take to their bed and dose up on asprin or whatever,to damp the symptoms down..
Well ,i have kicked off the Christmas cooking folks ,no kidding,i spent two hours yesterday evening cooking up the brine and spices for the corned beef,[which is taking up half of the fridge ooooops]
The bairn [Chris ] enjoyed his sunday rioast yesterday,lol,he is into his veggies now.
I did him cabbage sweede,carrot and parsnip ,all out of the garden,along with roast pork loin,with roast tattie ,new tatties,and home made stuffing,and of couse gravy .
Chris has instructed his dad NOT to come and pick him up until he has had his dinner He He,seems he likes his grandads cooking.
All the housework that needs doing is out of the way until Tuesday,so ,apart from visiting the council offices this morning ,i have the day free for my research,into my scottish Bairds.
I have at last found my Gt grandad [many times removed to David Baird ,born Wemyss Fife c1816,and have also found his siblings ,and the parents.
Turns out Davids Brother Charles was also a mariner,and when David moved to Sunderland ,durham,his brother emigrated to N S W oz,on board the ship Nantulus,so it looks like research is moving to oz and new zealand.
Off now for a swan around the boards ,catch you all later.Fred.

hi everybody once again fred had my mouth watering re the meal he cooked up for his grandson the man i should have his own cooking show, brenda I hope that you are feeling better I think that I am over most of it, to-day Laura is 12yrs old so we are all going out for dinner this evening she has picked the manderian resturant for the birthday meal it is a great chinese buffet place lots of really good food, Lindy is the middle of doing report cards for her classes at school so I am going over early to do some ironing for her I know my friends think I am crazy but I do love ironing it is one of the things I do well, don't do crafts of cook that well but my nana taught me to iron and I love it. we had a sprinle of the white stuff in the night it is on the roof tops but thats all . andrew just called to say he is working at home to-day so he has made a start on the ironing which is mostly his business shirts, and so he should I trained him well to do these things so I shall just finish what is left when I get there, sylvia I hope that you do enjoy your trip , fred I just recieved two new contacts on the yates family that look interesting that is on my dad's side of the family his mothers relations so I shall follow up and see where it leads bye for now dorothy

Hi everyone
Keeping an eye on my internet limit, got a message the other day saying that it slow down to dial-up speed. The weather the past few days has been nice and sunny but forecasters say rain is coming. Cleared weeds from the garden this morning before it got too hot.
Checking out whether its worthwhile having a heat pump installed, if we do it won't benefit the whole unit which will be a pity - plus the cost is another thing too as they aren't cheap to buy. Take care, John

goodmorning from a drab winter day in barrie though the sun is to shine later !!!! we had a good time at Laura's birthday dinner and the chinese waiters sang happy birthday to her though Laura ended up sounding like flora that had the children in stitches but it was nice of them to sing to her. the boys are coming on saturday for a sleep over as she will have some girlfriends over at her house for a sleep over, so I will enjoy having bryan and Ian. to-day I am heading for the shops and the library alsoon thursday I have a job interview I recieved a phone call from a resort near here asking if I would be interested in doing some part time phone work for them so I said well I will come and see what is involved they told me to bring a resume well I have not done one of those since the 60's so I had a fun time putting one to-gether last evening. not sure who gave them my name I think it was one of the people in the building who knows some of the work I did over and above the nursing with the union and management and I think that she read one of the articles I had published at two of the universitys on nursing skills, I shall have to track her down and see if it was her. anyway it might prove interesting as it would give me something to do over the long winter months I will keep you posted, brenda hope that you are feeling better bye for now dorothy

Hi Everyone,well I feel a lot better today ,my headache ,ear ache and sore throat have gone I just have achey limbs!! Its not been too cold today so I went a drive out to do some errands that I should have done when i was ill,but my shoulders and neck are now a bit more painfull so have taken some paracetamol.Glad you are all getting into other interests now the weather has changed i have a list of things to look up.
At my friends daughters weding on saturday so I had better be 100% ,she has already had 4 people drop out this weekdue to illness.
Brenda

Hi everyone,hope no one has got my bug??
Work was ok ,but due to the behaviour of some of the young people who use that library we now have security people on the door,!!!!
It is only on the days we open late ,and they now have to show that they are a member of the library and they have home work to do!! sorry state of affairs ,but when we have been threatend the management had to do something.the library is a bit isolated.it is on a main road but its not busy after 6,30pm/
Did some more shopping today and finished the errands i had to do the other day.Tonight i altered some pants i may wear to the wedding tomorrow.depending on the weather.
Tell you all about it on Sunday .At the hairdresseres for hair and nails at 9 am.
Brenda

hi brenda after the hair and nails I am sure you will look smashing at the wedding hope you all have a great time, another rainy day over here but not very cold, I had a call to the school yesterday and ended up taking bryan to the clinic there was a hole on the school exercise area and he joggied into it and caught his heel luckily nothing was broken a bad sprain his friend was not so lucky he has a hairline fracture in his foot, a teacher decided that they were pulling a prank to get out of a test so medical attention was delayed, needless to say that did not go over well with my son so he is taking futher action at the school, I had to wait about 20 minutes to be able to take him from school, bryan is a straight A student who has never tried to miss a test so I am not sure what the teacher was thinking but both boys were hurt, good job we have a set of crutches in the family he will be on them for about a week and no hockey that is the worst thing for him. never a dull moment with the three grandchildren. the boys are over this afternoon for a sleep over as laura is having a girls night for her birthday with friends, Ian has requested shepherds pie for supper please grandma he loves it so that is on the menu. bye for now dorothy

Goog morning all.Fred has decided to have the day off from family history,and so has time to himself [snigger].
Hissy is in the back garden having had her breakfast,and is skulking in among the brassica lol,she isn't too confident this morning after a run in yesterday with two HUGE magpies he he.
She was doing her usual,lurking in the undergrowth waiting for unwary birds ,when the magpies arrived.
She came barreling out of cover expecting the birds to scatter [ wrong],these two birds were having none of that nonsense,and in fact hopped towards her beaks at the ready,well ,hissy didn't know what to make of it all ,and skidded to an ubrupt stop,the two magpies hopped a step closer ,and her bottle went,i watched her scoot into the greenhouse ,tail like a bottle brush ,the coward he he.
I had to go out ,coax her to come out from behind the heater ,and carry her in doors,where she stuck to me like a klingon for the rest of the day,lol,even this morning when i opened the door it was ,nose out ,a good look around before the rest of her followed the nose ,tight to the house wall.then a quick dart into the undergrowth,where she is laying that low ,i can't see hide nor hair of her.
The meal out next Wednesday is fixed ,17 family members going to the chinese buffet in the metro centre to celebrate my retirement and birthday,so ,i hope someone is taking the cake lol,i will forget the diabetes for the day.
I don't normally bother with birthdays ,but this one ,being the 65 th ,well ,it is a bit special,after all.
Hey ,a litttle less than a week ,and i will be a man of leisure [yeah ,right] but ,at least ,i will be able to to the jobs ,as ,and when i want ,and do what i want ,within reasonhe he.
Sunday dinner today,on the order given last week,one frtesh chicken to roast ,together with sweet potato,sweet yellow pepper fluffy roast potato,and shallots.
The other veg is mash ,sweede and cabbage out of the garden,rounded off with giblet gravy.
The bird has had the cavity sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper,and will be stuffed whith chopped up apple and orange,cooked breast down for an hour so that the fruit juices soak into the breast from the inside.
I will then turn it over ,sprinkle the breast with salt ,after oiling it wit ha little olive oil,then finish it off with some streaky bacon,in lattice form on the breast ,overhanging to the thighs..
Any one coming ,will have to be here spot on midday or you have had it lol.
Christmas this year will be a rest day for me,aas we go to the daughters for dinner ,and the sons for tea,boxing day we are with Martin all day,so our turkey will be put down into the freezer until Sean and his missus arrive back with us,we will then have OUR Christmas dinner with them ,and a few guests.
I loved the butteernut squash soup that the lass made during the week,done with ginger,but Liz wasn't too keen,,she likes soups with a pretty strong taste ,and this was a nice ,delicate taste which i enjoyed very much,so ,the remainder in the freezer is mine ,and she will have something else.
Have to get on with the dinner prep' now ,but i have plenty of time this afternoon to come back and have a natter..have a good Sunday allFred.