General Chat

Morning all, Sallie so pleased to see you back on here, and that you are beating the usual problem, just like me when the dizziness comes I wont let it win !!! :-P :-P

Making cards is such a lifeline I think, takes ones mind off other intrusions....
I did some colouring of white die cut shapes and made three more cards.. waiting for some valentines toppers to come, hope they come soon , 14th Feb is the day , so not much time to get them in the shop that sells them for charity....I also did some stamping as a background, but found some of my ink pads had dried up I am sure there is a way to bring them back to life, any ideas?

it was brilliant sitting in what was usually a cold room , now a lovely warm one thanks to the new roof and I can do any crafting anytime....lol...or just sit and read, listen to music and nod off ......

take care every one home and abroad, keep warm and safe..

love Jean xxx

Hello girls,

Sorry I haven't been on here for a long while, the usual thing. Although over the last ten days I have started to improve and am feeling a bit better and I am able to do a few more cards-----so feel really pleased.

I hope that you are all alright, you must all think that I have forgotten you, but I just haven't been able to get my head around writing messages.

We have Richard and Christie here for the weekend, it's nice to have them stay. So tonight we are all going out for a meal together, looking forward to that.

Will post again when R and C have gone back home.


Jean, I will return your pm too.


Take care everyone and keep warm.


Love and hugs. Sallie. xxx <3 <3 <3 <3

Mo, do hope that you and Roly are getting over the flu. Didn't you have the flu jab? I know that there is a virus caused by a mutation of a flu virus but the flu jab should give a bit of protection from it . I think that is what we had so we were not confined to bed but it was more like a fluey cold with a cough. We are both much better now, T even played golf yesterday. I too have made a couple of cards Jean today, as well as doing the Tesco shop and having our hair cut. T has also cleaned the car. My cards were more made with the Hunkydory toppers daughter gave me for Christmas. :-)

Dear Mo and Roly Hope you are feeling much better now its turned quite cold here and a miserable drizzly day, so I have made some cards... lots of hugs for you both, and also anyone else who needs some too.....

love Jean xxx <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hello dear friends, sorry for not posting in a while.
Both Roly and myself have not been to good, the flu virus has got us both laid up again.

Sylvia, it's nice to hear that your time on the island went well. Your friend is lucky to have good friends looking out for her, and helping as you and your OH have been doing.
But then thats what good friends are for isn't it.
It sounds like you had a good meal, and weekend with your other friends as well.

Oh Jean my love, I hope that they sort you out soon sweetheart. Hanging about and worrying is so frustrating, but god willing all will work out for you.
Sorry to hear that you are snowed in up there. We have been so lucky here in Kent, just a few flakes that didn't lay, but it is oh so cold, even with the heating going full blast, neither of us are feeling very warm at all.
But then having this darned flu bug doesn't help.

I send you all my best wishes, and hope to speak to you very soon. Hugs Mo

Hi, everyone, Sylvia where do you get the energy from....good to hear you had a nice birthday meal, its my big 80 in June, but we will probably have a few days away and a family meal too....we have been hit by lots of snow here and daughter had trouble getting her large car in the parking plot neither J or myself could help, but two good younger neighbours got it in the plot,it was very bad and now its looking as though its ice... we do have bags of grit so that has gone down, hope we dont get any more...

Ann, I dragged out my cuttlebug out so I could sit down and do some die cutting , alas it a no go for me , all the details are one your cardmaking post...

now for the main news, I have to see a consultant and have a biopsy in Feb, also another one for white patches in my mouth, but havent got a date yet, and theres more ;-) ;-)we need to get the ears sorted too, snow has held us up ,so if we can we will book in asp....My six month check up for the eyes has just been cancelled as they are restructuring the clinic lists and will give me a new date six weeks before I need to go..... its mad.....

Mo hope you are o.k. also Roly...

where is our Sallie ? I do hope she and the family are ok, I know the area she lives in has had lots of snow, so hope its not affected her too much... and she iback to card making. missing you pet ... <3 <3 <3

love to Huia, Marie and all our other friends....


Jean xx <3 <3 <3

poor little thread :-(



we spent the weekend on the Island, from Thursday to Monday.

Managed to do quite a lot to help our friend ................ she has moved into a condo, but there are still a lot of books and pictures at the house (closing date is end of February) that she has to sort out.

We didn't get into the cottage (where we used to stay) as we ran out of time, that is still on sale, so there is some furniture in there as well as pictures and books.


We enjoyed ourselves, had a good birthday dinner with our closest friends on Friday evening, and then lunch with some other friends on Sunday.

The weather was very uncertain ................ pouring down with rain on Thursday, bright sun on Friday, wet on Saturday, terrible overnight, "April showers" type of weather on Sunday, and sunny on Monday :-S


Anyway, we're back home now :-D


we may go back after February 10, if our friend needs more help.

Hi Huia, that is frustrating for you. I think it must be either your phone or the alarm causing it because the GR format has not changed.
Anyway, good to see you on here and know that you are ok. for once the sun is shining this morning. We have both still got nasty coughs and colds (2 weeks in my case) soa re not going out anywhere today. Had to go to town yesterday though as I had a chiropodist appointment. Found it exhausting.

Jean I have put a message to you on the craft thread. <3

Thanks for the birthday wishes, girls. I have spent about an hour trying to read the Aussie thread, but the format that GR comes in these days I get very confused over which page I am on and sometimes go to the same page instead of the next one. As a result I dont come on too often. I think it might be the St John alarm which is causing the problem. Presumably GR have only a weak signal, or are on the same wavelength as the alarm, or something like that. I have the same problem with one other website, but not my emails or FB. It is very annoying. I hope a new phone might be the answer.

Ann, Jons funeral sounds perfect, hope you and your family are o.k. and that you arrived home safely,

belated birthday wishes to Sylvia and Huia... not been too well and so havent been on here for a while... but much better now...started card making and I added it to the Birthday Girls post, so wont repeat myself....

very cold here and I dont cope well with the cold weather, but dentist tomorrow, hairdo on thursday, really need to sort the hearing aids out too, both J and I need new ones...
keep warm and take care....

love Jean xxx <3 <3 <3

Ann, your SIL's send off sounds like he wanted it to be, a celebration of his life, wonderful....though it was a sad day for you all.
May he rest in peace, pain free.

Sorry Sylvia, I was of the understanding that your SIL had OCD, I am sorry for making the mistake.
Your daughter must have the patience of a saint.

Our birthday girl has not been on today, I do hope she has seen our birthday wishes for her.
Just in case she hasn't seen them
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
A HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUIA.xxx
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3.

OK people. We are home again and hopefully staying here now. We were sad to leave daughter on her own but I think she will cope. today she went out with her son and DiL who live up there for lunch. when theya re not at work they will keep her occupied I think. She and I have both had the colds from hell and nasty coughs to go with it, neither of us are better yet. She has had hers since boxing day and I have had mine since 2nd Jan. (I caught hers!)

If a funeral can be said to be 'nice' Jon's was. Nothing at all morbid about the burial nobody in black, well except for a few black coats at the burial, underneath everyone in bright colours. The day before was very wet and wild, windy and rain all day, the day after, the same. Thursday was a beautiful day, blue sky, brilliant sun, lovely. There were about 60 there, lovely woodland spot right out in the country. when we all arived we waited near the gate everyone chatting quietly in various groups, people from work, Jon's family (brother, sisters, nephews, niece Mother in wheel chair, ex wife and husband) and us, our son and DiL, the boys and wives/girlfriend, Luke. Plus a few local people. When the hearse arrived it stopped and waited for us to walk behind it to the grave which was not far down the footpath.

Youngest son and Jon's best friend from Iceland (met at uni) helped the funeral directors carry the coffin to the grave (and later helped lower it in). No flowers at all by request but it didn't look wrong as the coffin was covered in a beautiful photo of Derwent water and was blue.

The celebrant was lovely and she spoke softly but clearly so we could all hear her. Before the coffin was placed in the grave she read the following verse:

How long does a man live, after all?
A thousand days or only one?
One week, or a few centuries?
How long does a man spend living or dying
and what do we mean when we say, gone forever?
A man lives for as long as we carry him inside us
for as long as we carry the harvest of his dreams
for as long as we ourselves live
holding memories in common, a man lives.

After the coffin was lowered into the grave Lyn and the boys and their wives and girlfriend each put into the grave a small bunch of flowers, a rose a carnation and a sprig of Rosemary. Instead of throwing earth in on the coffin leaves were offered round to throw in. Youngest son then sprinkled Jon's favourite drink (whisky) onto the coffin.
She then read the following:
You can shed tears that he is gone, or
You can smile because he has lived.

You can close your eyes and hope that he’ll come back,
Or you can open your eyes and see all he has left.

Your heart can be empty because we can’t see him,
Or you can be full of the love you shared.

You can turn your backs on tomorrow and live for yesterday,
Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

You can remember him and only that he’s gone,
Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.

You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back,
Or you can do what Jon would want;
Smile, open your eyes, love and go on.


The celebration of life
We then all made our way back to the cars to drive the short distance to the hotel where we held the celebration of Jon's life. This too was really lovely Lovely music and readings.
The first verse she read was:

Don’t think of him as gone away
His journey’s just begun,
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.

Think how he must we wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness can really pass away.

And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched...
for nothing loved is ever lost
and he was loved so much.

Second son spoke on behalf of the three boys and they stood together, then Jon's best friend spoke. there were two pieces of music/songs by Andrea Begley.

Jon had planned the whole thing so he would have loved it.

After the celebration we had food and people mingled and chatted for about an hour. Looking round the room with everyone in coloured clothes it looked like a party and Jon would have loved it with everyone talking, he so liked to chat to people.

R.I.P. Jon <3 <3 <3 <3

I haven't copied it all as it would be a bit long but I thought as many do not know about humanist funerals (I didn't know what to expect) I would let you have a brief taste. As a Christian I found it very moving.

Hi Mo, and everyone



you all are certainly have bad weather ............ the weather is very quiet here. Just very foggy and rainy


We are going to the Island next Thursday for the weekend, to continue the celebrations for my birthday with our friends there, and to also give some help to our friend who moved just before Christmas.



Mo .......... our s-i-l doesn't have OCD, at least not in the form that I am familiar with!!

................ it's his brain that gets obsessed with ideas, thoughts, songs, or whatever. He can sit at his computer and listen over and over again to a song that has obsessed him

Or, he can begin to think that our daughter wanted to leave him, and cannot stop thinking about that, so she has to stop everything and convince him that he is wrong. That can take a couple of minutes, or half-an-hour, partly depending on how tired and stressed he is. The more tired and stressed, the longer it takes.

Lots of blue tits here plus a nuthatch, blackbird, robin all on the feeders. Boys gone back to Hampshire today with their families we go home tomorrow I think. One Grandson has a week's leave left so will be on hand for daughter.

Another flood in the bedroom we are in last night as the wind is obviously blowing the heavy rain in somewhere. Hopefully Jim the builder will be out to check next week. Meanwhile OH is busy with the vax we brought with us soaking up the water from the carpet. A bit like trying to stop the Severn Bore."""

And it is still blowing a gale and raining, thank goodness the day of the funeral it was sunny, dry and calm.

<3 <3 <3 happy birthday Huia <3 <3 <3

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
A very happy birthday for tomorrow Huia, have a lovely day.
I know I am a day early, but I have to allow for time differences.
Love and hugs dear friend. xxx
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Hi there Sallie. I am soo pleased you have managed to escape from the selotape.
It sounds like Christie has been suffering from that awful virus that has been going around, people have been going down like flies with it.
A friend of ours ended up being hospitalised, she had double pneumonia following it.
Mind you Margaret had a big operation on her lung a year ago, so she was made weaker by it, but bless her, even though she was very poorly, she's now on the road to recovery.

Well girls, I must go and start dinner now, so I will say cheers for now me dears.

Mo, it wasn't too bad trying to get out from under all the wrapping paper, the sellotape was the problem, just kept getting stuck to it.LOLOL!!!!

I hope that you, Roly and the family are all okay.


We are not too bad here, but Christie is still off work since she finished for the Christmas holidays.

She started with a cold and by Christmas Day she had developed a really nasty cough. By the time she seen the doctor she had bronchitis and then it went into a chest infection, so she is still on antibiotics She has felt really poorly, but is now starting to feel better, thank goodness.



Ann, hope that the funeral went well yesterday, and that your daughter coped alright with it. Thinking of you all.



Jean, hope that you and your family are all feeling better and that you all managed to see C over the Christmas/New Year holidays.



Sylvia, pleased that you had a nice Christmas with your family and that you had a lovely train journey there and home again.

I'm sure that your grandson was thrilled with his presents and was busy playing with them all on Christmas Day.



Marie, glad to hear that you had a lovely Christmas with your daughter, son and your son's future wife.




Huia, it must have been nice seeing your son and his wife and going out for a meal with them before Christmas and then spending Christmas with your sister and her family.


Hope you all have a good weekend. Take care everyone.



Love and best wishes.



Sallie.xxx <3 <3

Oh Sylvia, I am so sorry to have missed your birthday....belated birthday wishes my love.
I hope you enjoyed your meal, and that you have a lovely time with your friends over on the island.
I did wonder how things had gone on your vacation to your daughters. It must be so hard for her, living with someone who has OCD as her OH has, and must have tried both yourself and OH patience whilst you were there.
I do hope it doesn't affect your grandsons life to much, as it's so hard to live with someone who suffers with it.
They seems to think our grandaughter has something along those lines. At the moment her parents are waiting for an appoitment for her assessment, and she is only nearly four now.
At first it was thought it was just an age thing, but no she has got worse if anything.
It's strange how well behaved she is with her grandad and myself, but then we take no nonsense from her I suppose, plus she gets all our attention.
Oh well, what will be will be.

Hello to all, I hope you are all well. Hugs Mo

Hi Mo, and everyone


Christmas was very quiet, just the 5 of us ............... and even boring on occasions. OH read 3 books while we were there!!!

There were some uncomfortable moments, at least one a day :-( ........... we tucked ourselves into the corner and kept out of the way until each one was over.


But it was great to see them, and to really get a feel for how things are going there.


and, of course, we had a really relaxing time on the train, both ways, with lots of good conversation and fantastic food :-)



Today is my birthday .......... and it's a "biggie", but we're not doing much celebrating. OH and I are going out to dinner at the little local "bistro-style" place, and then we'll over to the Island in about 10 days to have dinner with our friends over there.

Good to see you back Sylvia. How was your christmas with the family? Little man must be at school by now I should imagine.

Marie, the fires out there are horrendous, stay safe my friend. The prayer for rain has been said, in fact I have been praying that you would get our lot from over here.
It's been another wet horrible day here in Kent, and by four p.m the lights go on, and the curtains shut, so that we can fool ourselves that it is summer time, whilst we sit here by the fire pretending it is.

Ann, have a safe journey, whenever it is you and T are travelling.

Where have our Sallie and Jean got to. Surely they are not under all the xmas wrapping paper, fighting their ways out. LOL

Reminder to myself....Huia's birthday on the 11th.

Take care all. Mo x

Thank you Sylvia x