General Chat

Hello girls and Shaun,


Well, Alun retired today, I think he's been quite looking forward to it so that he can spend more time working on his train layout and also spend some time on our family tree. We need to go to a few places so that we can look at the parish records for those areas, so it looks as though we have plenty to do to pass the time.

Also got a few jobs to do in the house......would like to have a holiday too, but not sure when that will be yet.lol!!!

Although, I feel a bit wary making too many plans, as things can turn pear shaped.



Over the last week we have had some good news about both my cousins...the one
with Alzheimer's and the one with heart problems.




My cousin seems to have settled down in the nursing home, so we are all keeping our fingers crossed that it will stay that way. Apparently, she is joining in all the activities in the home and she no longer asks her visitors if they have come to take her home.




My other cousin has had her heart operation, although she had to have it done in Bristol because there were too many on the list to wait to have it done in Birmingham. By what I've been told, I think the operation had become crucial for her. Anyway, she has been transferred back to the Abergavenny hospital, so hope that she will make a good recovery now.




Shaun, thank you for the lovely poem for Mothers Day, beautiful and meaningful verses to it.
Glad to see that you your mother had a lovely day with all her family, and a very nice meal cooked by you. I'm sure that she appreciated all the time and work you put into it for her.




Marie, lovely to hear from you and to know that you have sold your cottage at last.




Sylvia, also pleased to hear that you have sold the cabin and keeping fingers crossed that the cheques will clear each month as they should.

How are things with your daughter and OH? I really hope that they will be able to sort out their differences and get things back on track. Also hope that your little grandson is alright.




Mo, glad that you had a lovely Mothers day too. It's nice to have the family call to see you and bring you flowers, chocolates and cards.


It's a pity that your eldest daughter couldn't have brought you the chocolates and card herself . It's a shame that the rift is still going on since last August....I feel for you Mo, it isn't at all nice having rifts and bad feeling in the family.

I hope that she will see sense very soon and she will either ring you or call in, so that you can talk it over and hopefully make up. <3





Ann, hope you had a nice weekend at your grandson's I bet you seen a difference in your great grandson since you last seen him in January. I can't get over how quickly the littlies grow, it seems no time before they are having their third birthday.
Not sure if the time goes quicker as we get older but, it seems like that to me.

Have they finished your fencing now, or are they still waiting for the fencing panels to get back in stock?





Jean, how are things with you and your family? I hope that you are all okay.

Sorry to hear that D has pulled the ligaments in her knee..... .it's very painful. and takes weeks to heal.
My knee has taken twelve weeks to heal, and I still have to watch it as there is still a weakness there. Has D seen a doctor with it? Although there isn't much the doctor can do for it, except strap it up, and tell you to elevate it , put ice packs on it and to take pain killers.

Anyway, if D's leg doesn't improve soon, perhaps she should go back to see the doctor about it.


Hope that you and J will have a lovely break away and that the weather will be at least dry and not too cold. A bit of sea air will do both of you good.

Have they still got the craft shop there? Hope they have so that you can have a good browse around.





Huia, how are things with you? Hope that everything is alright with you.

How are things with Phil? Hope things aren't too bad at the moment.


My sister-in-law rang last week and told us that her hubby isn't very good at all.
They had had a sickness and diarrhoea bug at the home for two weeks, so there were no visitors allowed for that time.
When she visited him she was shocked and very upset by the difference in him in those two weeks. She found that he could no longer feed himself, she said she wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want the food or that he was no longer able to feed himself. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's ten years ago when he was fifty-eight.




Well I think it is time I went to bed, although I have been having trouble getting to sleep for a few weeks, that's why I am up so late tonight or should it be early morning.






Speak to you all again soon.




Love and best wishes to you all. Sallie.xxx

Thank you Shaun, the verses are really lovely, and very meaningful today.

Hi there Sylvia and Marie, good to hear from you both.

It's been a lovely day today, not just the weather, but seeing members of the family as well.
Our house looks like a florists, with beautiful flowers everywhere. And I guess the weight will pile on with the boxes of chocolate I have been given. LOL never mind naughty but nice.

Nighty Nighty all, hugs Mo xxx

Hi to you all,
We are still on daylight saving time and for us Mothers Day is the 2nd Sunday in May.
Well folks the property has been sold. I went to visit the other day and a car arrived that I did not recognise, it was a lady who has been living in the cottage for a few weeks, I felt rather sad seeing someone go into my cottage, but I soon got over it.
I should receive the money that I invested in it Kathleen tells me it will come through in a few weeks.
We have received some wonderful rain in the past week it is very welcome .however the western areas of Queensland and N S W missed out.

Love to you all Marie . :-) <3

Hi Mo, and everyone



We've got real April weather here ..................... sun, showers, downpour, sun, showers and on and on and on!

Meanwhile, all the trees are in flower or budding ................. cherries, plums, camellias, magnolias, etc etc.

this is a lovely time of year here :-)



Our clocks went forward on March 9 .................... I will now be 8 hours behind the UK once again. It's much easier to calculate an 8 hour time difference than 7 hours :-D



take care everyone




s
xxx

Hello Everyone :-)

A Poem For All You Mums .

My Mother kept a garden,
a garden of the heart,
She planted all the good things
that gave my life it's start.
She turned me to the sunshine
and encouraged me to dream,
Fostering and nurturing
the seeds of self-esteem...
And when the winds and rain came,
she protected me enough-
But not too much because she knew
I'd need to stand up strong and tough.
Her constant good example
always taught me right from wrong-
Markers for my pathway
that will last a lifetime long.
I am my Mother's garden.
I am her legacy-
And I hope today she feels the love
reflected back from me .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Poem For Mums That Have Sadly Passed On .
Mum we are thinking of you today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought of you yesterday
And will tomorrow, too.
We think of you in silence
And make no outward show.
For what it meant to lose you
Only those who love you know.
Remembering you is easy,
We do it everyday.
It's the heartache of losing you
That will never go away.
But now I know your an Angel ,
following me everywhere .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You all take care.
Shaun 

I hope you are having a lovely time Ann. Enjoy your time with the littlies as well.

Sylvia,I do hope for everyones sake, that the rain eases soon, it's a nightmare for all concerned.
Fingers crossed that the physio does help your knees, bless you, you are really suffering just lately.
What an idiot that mechanic was treading on the gasket, it must have been very fragile to have broken that easily. I hope the car was ready for you to collect it.
Great news, re the Cabin, but as you say, as long as there is enough in his account to cover the monthly amount. At least now you can both relax, without having to worry about break ins etc.

Our eldest daughters husband turned up at 8.55 a.m, with a lovely box of chocolates and a card for mothers day tomorrow.
I probably sound awful, but I wish with all my heart, she would have bought them herself. I have not seen her since last August, so the rift is still alive and kicking, but at least she thought about me. (yes it still hurts me though)
After lunch my second eldest daughter turned up, with my great grandaughter....aaah bless her she is gorgeous, with a pair of boot slippers, and three plants for the garden, who's a lucky girl then, yep me.

Don't forget folks, our clocks go forward an hour tonight. No doubt it will take us till nearly October, before our body clocks normalise, and then the flippin things change again.lol

A happy mothers day to you all, just in case I don't manage to get on tomorrow.
Love and hugs Mo xxx

Tomorrow all being well we are going to see our little great grandson, haven't seen him, except in photos since January so we will see a difference in him. Also of course seeing eldest grandson and his wife and third grandson. Back Monday. Have to take sundays meal with us so we have chicken and vegetables to take.

Hi Mo, and everyone



another wet day here :-(

................ and of course, that also means wet at the site of the mudslide in Washington State. They're really having major problems working there .................. it's like being in quicksand



I'm looking forward to going to my physio on Tuesday ............ he rarely hurts me now, and I usually feel much better after he's worked on my back. I'm hoping he'll work the same magic on my knee .............. which is slowly getting better :-)



We had a recall on our car the other week ....................... the dealer fixed that, but said they had spotted a leak in the oil system and the gasket needed replacing ................. a 4 day job, so they said.

OH took the car to our own mechanic on Tuesday for them to do the work ........... they said 2 days, possibly even by lunchtime on Wednesday.

They still have it! They hope it will be ready by lunchtime tomorrow (Friday)

...................... it seems one of the mechanics was carrying the gasket over to the car to put it in when he dropped it, then proceeded to step on it o:O

so they had to order in another one :-)




The cheque for the down payment on the property was deposited in our bank account this afternoon (Friday) ................... so the property is officially sold, and he has legal access to the property from noon tomorrow (Friday).



Now all we have to do is hope he makes his monthly payments :-)

He has given us 12 post-dated cheques, but there does have to be an adequate balance in his bank account each month :-)






take care everyone





s
xx

You had a busy week Jean, what with one thing and another. Busier for J though it seems. sorry about D's knee, I hope it is soon back to normal, I can imagine shje will get frustrated not being able to do things.

Mo Fence panels are in short supply nation wide. We were lucky as the man doing our fence happened to go to another supplier who had a waiting list of people but knew he would have enough when his order was delivered. Which it was this week. As I said though they have put the price up.

I will have to find an outfir for October for Grandson's wedding. I have only worn the dress once that I bought for first Grandson's wedding but daren't wear that one again. don't actually know what I want either. Oh you'd be surprised, I am at least a stone over weight. Just can't seem to lose it no matter what I do. I have not weighed myself since the fish and chips Lol!!!!

Goodness me Jean, can you send J down to our house, I am STILL waiting for those bedside cabinets to be made up. You know the ones we bought before 2008 when I retired. lol :-D :-D :-D
It doesn't seem possible that J will be 80 at his next birthday, he's still like a spring chicken when it comes to doing jobs around the house, no wonder his lickle bones are aching.
My daughters do their shopping on line, but we still do it ourselves, dragging the trolley down to the car, and lugging it into the house to unpack. What a bore, I sure do wish they would develop a tablet we could take, instead of having to buy the food, and then stand there and cook it...lazy ol me.

Ann, my friend is waiting for her garden fences to be done, as the gardener who is going to be doing it for her, is waiting for the panels to arrive. There is such a waiting list of people who have ordered them, and not enough being made to fill the list.
I shall have to try and get myself up to M+S, if they have got a sale on. Like you, I do like their clothes.
I have to find myself an outfit for my daughters wedding in June. But I really don't know what I want at the moment. It will have to be a maxi dress or suit of some kind, as I don't wear the shorter dresses anymore. My legs look like AA maps, with veins everywhere, yes I know Vanity.
I don't know what you have got to worry about, as far as the scales go, there is nothing of you love. I can't remember when we last had fish and chips whilst we have been out, it will hopefully be on our agenda, IF we get a nice summer.

Love to all, Mo xxx

Morning all, what a so and so week we have just trawled through, lovely weather but did we get out ....nooooooooooo...... waiting in for parcels , D has twisted her knee and could hardly walk , she still feels it , so it fell to me and him to do the shopping, now I dont usually do any but had to give it a go, so early sat morning off we trotted , and I was pleasently suprised how quiet it was, so we dashed round although J would keep wandering off and I was a tad fed up with him ;-) ;-) ;-) however we got back home by 10.am, so not too bad although we didnt get all we were supposed to get :-S
I wont be doing it again .....it has been very cold here and dull, I had to go to the dentist and have a tooth rebuilt, £78 it cost :-0 :-0
J has just built another set of drawers for me, to match the ones we have in the conservatory, but its lovely now and tidy ,now he cant understand why he cant move very well , this coming from a man who has climbed ladders to clean windows, been on his knees screwing the drawers and sides together, making lunches, and endless cuppas and all the other odd jobs around the house you wouldnt know he is 80 in June :-D :-D :-D :-D

hope you are all doing as well as can be expected ;-) ;-)
best wishes to those who are trying to beat the battle of the bulge, now we can include our Ann in the club ;-) ;-) ;-)

take care folks enjoy your weekend .....

love Jean xx <3 <3

Hello all. It is bitterly cold here today and I have just been out moving pots away from the fence which is supposed to being done tomorrow/ Friday. apparently we were lucky to get the fencing (or or contractor was) and we are probably going to have to pay more than the estimate he gave us as the fence panel makers are profiteering on the back of the storms and charging extra.

We went to town this morning as I had a chiropodist appointment and, as we had a £5 voucher to spend in M&S (for some reason they sent us one), I bought a reduced heavy cotton sweater and a lightweight long sleeved T shirt, got bot for £16 so thought thatw as a bargain. Then, Wetherspoons was not serving food as they are having a new kitchen installed so we went to a fish and chip shop which we hadn't been to for years, and had a huge portion of cod and chips and mushy peas. Shan't get on the scales for a few days now!! :-D

Hello Sylvia..(our own little Hopalong Cassidy) What a shame your knee played you up at the ball. Did you take any photo's in your ball gown my love...it would be lovely to see them if you did.
Oh your poor O.H, I bet his poor BTM was tender after the colonoscopy. Thank goodness they discovered the polyps, and removed them.
I agree that the land slip in Washington State, was a terrible disaster. These things are happening more frequently now arn't they, it's the climate change thats done it world wide. Stay safe my lovely friend.
Great news on the Cabin sale though Sylvia. One less worry for you both, having to keep treking up there and checking it out. Even though you always enjoyed it many moons ago, with age comes the need for our home comforts doesn't it.
Like yourself, I do wonder where the years are going. Our eldest daughter will be 50 in October, but it really doesn't feel that long ago that she was born.
Having our vehicles road worthy, is an essential isn't it. But my word a £1,000 is a lot to have to pay out. What on earth are they going to be doing for that amount of money, replacing the interior or something. LOL ;-) ;-) ;-)

Well now a weather update for here in Kent....Rain, Rain and more Rain. So much for it feeling like we had the start of some decent weather pah.... not on your life.
I will take my leave of you for now, take care all. Mo xxx

Hi Mo, and everyone

The weather is not as nice today as it has been ............... rain, drizzle, some sun ........ in other words, you name it, we've had it this morning :-(



OH had his 2 yearly colonoscopy last Thursday ........... they found 3 sessile polyps (ie, they didn't have stalks), and removed them .......... but that causes more scarring of the colon wall, so he was on a soft food diet for the rest of Thursday and Friday.

He has to go back for another one in 3 months, on July 3rd


We had great fun at the Opera Ball on Saturday evening ................. one of the major fund raisers for the student programme at the university where he volunteers so often.

....... but my knee didn't like the chairs. So I'm back to being Limpy Lou, as we always call it :-(

Though Hopalong Cassidy has also been said about me :-)


Isn't it terrible about the landslide in Washington State? ....... it's not that far from here, less than 2 hours drive, and we have much the same sort of terrain in many areas.

They're saying there could be as many as 170 people missing :-(


Daughter was 40 yesterday :-O


where did the years go o.O


I don't feel that old :-D



The sale of the property has crossed its next hurdle ....... the writing up and acceptance of the mortgage, which we are carrying for the next 2 years. We have to go and sign some more papers at the Notary later today.


Closure is this Thursday



OH had to take the car in to the garage for work to be done this morning ................... it'll take at least 2 days, and the bill will be around $2,000 (or a bit less than £1,000), but it has to be done, so "bite the bullet" :-(




take care everyone




s
xx

Oh lordy Ann, I am sorry, my head seems to be in the clouds just lately. I couldn't believe it till I read back, that I had actually spoken to you lol.
Did you have a nice time? Oh please don't tell me you have already told us about it.

Huia love, it's surprising how many people are now type two diabetics. Roly is, and he takes a tablet twice daily to keep it under control. Mind you, he's not very good where exercise is concerned, he can't walk very far as his knees give out on him, so he takes his walking stick when we go out, just in case he ends up on the deck.
Theres no way I could pick him up, if he did fall. He has lost about half a stone in weight, by cutting down on his sweets, chocolates, crisps, cakes etc, but could do with losing a bit more really. He knows that he should not have been eating all these naughty bits, but his sweet tooth took over.
Good luck on your exercise Huia, if anyone can do it, you can.

Now where is our Jean, I hope she is not up to her eyeballs in cards, or perhaps she has found a few jobs for J to do, and like me, overseeing that they are done properly. lol

Bye for now folks, love Mo xxx

Hello all.

I got the result of the blood tests last week. I am pre-diabetic, so need to lose 5 - 10% of my bodyweight to reduce by 50 % the chances of getting diabetes or heart disease, according to the leaflet the nurse sent me. I am now trying to get 30 mins a day vigorous exercise. I am also cutting out the cups of tea I have at the shop, since I have 2 tsp sugar in each cup.

Yesterday at the shop when it was my turn to man the scanner and computer I made some big mistake (don't know what) and managed to freeze the computer. It was near the end of the day and a couple of customers who were waiting just gave us the cash for their items (not many) which we had to put through the till after it was fixed. The woman who was waiting to pay by card when I made the mistake didn't have enough cash on her but went off to find a bank. She said if she wasn't back in time whe would return tomorrow to pay for her things.

Every week when I make a mistake and say I am resigning, but I always turn up the next week, But this is the biggest one I have made. :-0

This morning I have to go to the local garage to get new front shock absorbers. I hope the weather will stay fine so I can walk around the local block to get my 30 mins a day exercise while he does it.

:-D :-D What are you on Mo? You actually spoke to me on 22 March!! I came back on the 18th.

Hello everyone,
Sylvia, I am sorry to hear that things are still not going to well, for your daughter and SIL.
Unfortunately, with his OCD, ( I hope I have got the terminology correct) he will have difficulties understanding of how much pressure he will have put on your daughter, and grandchild.
Bless you my love, it's not like you can just drop in and have a cuppa with her, is it.
It's at times like this, we want to be able to comfort our loved ones, and it must be so hard for you, wanting to give her a big hug, and yet can't.

Where has Marie and Huia, from over the seas got to lately I wonder, I do hope they are both well.
Is our Ann still on her holidays...I must have missed her posting if she is back.
Mind you, I have been in a world of my own just lately, what with one thing and another.
Take care one and all. love and hugs Mo xxx

Ooops nearly forgot our special ladies, Jean and Sallie, cooooeeee my lovelies.xxx

Hi Mo, and everyone

It is a lovely sunny day here, the spring flowers are well up :-)

That's good news :-D


AnninG ......... I am so sorry to hear about your s-i-l. I hope he continues to be able to do activities, and that he will be well enough for his son's wedding in October.


Mo ........ I am sorry to hear about your 2 friends. It must be very hard for them.


Jean ...... thank you for your good wishes. Our daughter is having major marital problems, they're having counselling to try to save the marriage, but it is still very much touch and go at the moment ................ it's very hard being about 5,000 km away! I spend a lot of time trying to read between the lines, listening to the tone of voice, etc.


She will be 40 tomorrow ...... where have all those years gone??????????????



Take care everyone




s
xx

Hi Sallie,
Yes our friends have four children, one who still lives at home, and is caring for them, and two daughers who call in every day to see them.
It seems like there is nothing but sad news to relate just lately, and I am sorry if I appear to be so full of doom and gloom.
I hope and pray when our new grandaughter arrives in May, that good news will start flooding in.
Poor daughter in law is looking like a barrage balloon, fit to burst.