General Chat

Bridget, I hope you enjoyed your "day at the races" and you were fortunate to be one of the winners.
Val hope your weekend of celebration went well also, and that you enjoyed the occasion.I have been fortunate in going to two graduations for two of my daughters, and enjoyed each one, made me very proud as I brought them up on my own.
Well hope to get back on here tomorrow. Take care ladies. Penny

It's Sunday morning here (9:15) and a lovely day starting. Top temp forecast is 28 and although it was the same yesterday, didn't quite get that far up - but nevertheless, very pleasant.
Tess's post brought back a lot of memories for me. Some even applied to my own married life, as well as before. My children were born between 1961 and 1970, so I had nappies to wash but I also had bread and milk delivered daily and meat delivered three times weekly. We also had a man drive around the streets twice a week with the back of his delivery van set up with a display of fruit and veggies and another man had a panel-van with dress materials and sewing needs. He called around every few weeks. If we didn't feel well, we stayed in bed and a doctor made a home visit.
All of those things disappeared during the sixties, as the supermarkets increased. However, it meant that we had to find transport to go out to purchase all of these things - so many of us had no way of getting there until we bought a second car. For many, that meant that the women needed to get a job (for which they needed the car to get to the job) and they needed the job in order to pay for the car! It became a viscious circle!

Penny, thank you for posting. The racing was in fact held at the local English Bar and we were all outside in groups of six or eight. We were given toy money to use, I felt quite rich at the beginning and we placed bets as a table rather than as individuals, that made the money placed quite high. It was great fun and there were about ten tables with people travelling from the next little town. Our table did quite well and we came second, "out eiders came first"! the prize was bottles of champagne and chocolates. The food provided was very good. The bar closed earlier than usual, after all the hard work the staff needed the time off, and we went for a walk around town, along the sea front and just enjoyed the views.

We came home and OH fell asleep, to many beers methinks!

Berona, welcome back, and thanks for the description of your experience of the 1960s &70s. The 1970s were when my children were born and life was starting to change and not always for the better methinks!

I have been wondering if anyone has any thoughts for another topic for us to discuss ?.?? all suggestions will be considered and be great fully received.

Something that may make us all smile might be good, such as The things my
Parents never knew" , I could definitely think of one or two things that I did!!

Well time to take a cold drink to OH, and sit in the garden for a while, I will look in again sometime today.

Enjoy the day

10.58 Spain

Nudge

I will be back later

Bye for now

10.03 hrs Spain

7.37.

Good morning,

We arrived back late yesterday afternnoon. Thoroughly enjoyed the graduation ceremony on Friday and also the garden tea on Saturday afternoon. Guests who did not have seats in the auditorium were assembled in one of the halls where they watched the proceedings on television screens. The university catered for 6000 at the tea and my word they had such a spread and the trays of goodies just kept appearing on the tables, I think they did a wonderful job. On the return trip we made a detour to see my brother and SIL, she is looking very well and also speaking quite clearly, I must say they are both working hard at the exercise and speech theraoy which has really paid off.
Somehow two tyres were damaged, I don't know how that happened as the roads are in good condition, so in Port Alfred we had to have two new tyres fitted.

To-day it is back to normal and all the usual things.

Berona, your post brought back memories for me too as we also used to have bread and milk delivered daily, the milk was in glass bottles,

Take care all.




Val.

Busy gardening so have sneaked in just to say hello. The weather is glorious and as rain is forecast for tomorrow though we should continue getting the garden looking smart
Spain 12.35hrs

Just a quick Hi before I go to bed. Have been shopping today (my weekly shop) had to buy some more clothes pegs, now that I have got a washing line and a prop, to raise it up higher. Managed to get a pack of 48 for 97p

Tomorrow I go for my second Indian Head Massage. I have booked a set of three (for twelve pounds) at the local college. They will all be done by the same girl 9or should I say young woman). I will be a "case study" for her!
I have been called a lot of things in my life, that "case study" is a new one.

Will be seeing my sister on Thursday, we are going to a Ladies Night at the Warley Male Choir (bro-in-law sings with them).
We keep out of the mens way, just have a get-together, where we have a talk, with a speaker, as well as a talk/chat to each other.

They are a group of lovely ladies, very welcoming. I have been on holiday with the choir a few times.
They tended to go on a Whit-week concert tour, every other year. It is all for charity and great fun.

Now I need to have a rest, as shopping tires me. I need to be fit enough to get into Birmingham tomorrow.

Good night all,

Tess

23.06 in U.K.

P.S. I used terry nappies too. Quite easy when you got used to them.

Tess, I can remember going to Colchester Institute for head massage and for having my hair cut I always found them to be very good and excellent supervision..I am sure that I saved quite a lot of money as well. Is the Warley you go to in Essex, if so I know where you mean.

I wish that I had lived near to my sisters but unfortunately I lived in London and Essex and my younger sister loved in Scotland and my older sister in Hertfordshire so we could not just pop in to have a chat.
Enjoy your visit to Birmingham.
Also rather pleased that someone else remember using Terry Nappies.

Still gardening but almost finished taking out what we do not want and today we cut down one of the Bougainvillea and will be removing another tomorrow. I then want to plant some more fruit trees. We have oranges, one apple in its first year of fruiting, an Olive tree, several Orange and Lemon trees, so need to think what else. I may try a plum tree but not in this particular place.

The words Whit Week brought back memories as well so I may write about those memories tomorrow.

Val and Berona, I hope you are both well and am looking forward to seeing an entry on here soon. I expect like most of us you are very busy, have you tried any of the recipes on the Culinary thread.??

Well time to go and set the table etc, I wish everyone a happy evening.

Spain 18.11hrs

Evening all,

It was a lovely cool day here, in the early hours of the morning we had a lovely shower of rain, the grass was cut to-day not that there was much to cut.

To-morrow I am going to make one of Greenfingers' chocolate cake recipes, haven't decided which one yet they both sound so good. Will let you know how I get on as cakes are not my strong point, I never get them light and fluffy.

Bought some potting soil to-day as I have a couple of pots in which I want to plant some flowers.

I was quite pleased with myself to-day as I managed to scan in the photographs of the graduation myself, but now I need my daughter to help me with the re-sizing so that I can send them to my brother. Thaty will be tomorrow's lesson.

Have a lovely evening.


Val.

19.40.

16.48.

Well, the pots have all been filled and hhhhave planted some lilies, flax and aloes.

Haven't had my lesson on re-sizing pictures yet, daughter hasn't had time to show me how it's done, maybe to-morrow?

This morning I made Greenfingers' recipe for "Elaine's Chocolate Cake", it is very , very nice! I know what you mean Bridget about not losing weight with all these yummy recipes. Next I would like to try the Lumberjack Cake. I also made a chicken pie for lunch which we had with a salad also very nice. So many dishes to wash!

Val.

Oh dear we had a full day without any postings! Well I hope that I am not the only one today.
The weather is glorious, the sun is shining and there is a slight breeze which means that the weather is perfect, at least it is for me. OH is outside painting all the white walls, so they will look good for the summer.

We have finally managed to get the pool back into good order, just in time for my son and his girlfriend and her son to use when they are here for Easter.
We hope to buy a few more plants and trees in the next few weeks depending on price.

We had a pleasant evening seeing some friends that I haven't seen for two years, and the husband has been very unwell but now looking so well, having had a delicate operation reversed.

Not much news today so will go now to prepare the veg for diner tonight

Have a good day everyone

14.27 hrs Spain

Good morning to you all.

Yesterday was very busy. OH painted all the exterior White Walls and I must say he did an excellent job. The house is now becoming home again, as the people who stayed whilst oh was in the UK with me cared for the dogs wonderfully well but house and garden keeping was................

I took all the covers off the very large cushions that make the settee. There are two very large cushions to sit on and two for the back and then 4 small cushions. Then there are the two big arm chairs each with the large seat and back plus two small cushion. They look bright and cheerful again and smell fresh. It is the taking off the cushions and then putting them back on that is the difficult part.

Whilst these were washing, I decided to pull out the furniture and also took out the little slide through the bottom of the doors gadget. Well what a shock I had. These are supposed to stop drafts but mine were covered in dog hairs!!
As I normally clean these every six weeks or so I was stunned to learn that neither of the two families who stayed here have never removed these in their own homes let alone in mine whilst they were here!! One couple has a very large dog so I am amazed.
I must say though that housework is proving to be very therapeutic for me and I enjoy doing it.

No big plans so far for today apart from going out to buy some salad items I think we shall have a restful day. We had pork for dinner last night and it was succulent so as we have some left over we will have it cold with the salad for our dinner tonight.

The view across the sea this morning was stunning, it looked as if it had been covered in a silver blue and was so calm and still. The fishing boats left at around five am and it was rather sad to see just how few are aloud to go compared to when we first moved here. The quota has diminished considerably and therefore the cost of the fresh fish has increased.

This weekend is going to be busy as it is Easter Weekend and it will be interesting to see how many non Spaniards come, again the economic climate is affecting the tourism. Many shops have closed this winter and we are all hoping that they will re open.

Well enough chatter from me, I will look in again during the day.

Take care of yourselves, and have a good day


10.01 Spain

Hello,
A lovely day here, warm and a gentle breeze. Early this morning the sky was a beautiful pink.

Washed all my net curtains this morning, they dried very quickly and are all back in place. The next job to tackle will be the lights, but that's for another day.

Have just been round to the neighbour, it is his 83rd birthday to-day. Next thing to think about is lunch which I think will be something very light.

The town will be busy this weekend, the schools close for the Easter holidays so there will be lots of visitors here.


Val.

11.47.

Hello everyone,
before I forget Bridget..the Warley I mentioned is in the West Midlands, near Birmingham.
The Warley Male Choir will be one of the (many) choirs singing at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on Saturday evening (23rd) my son has bought me a ticket.

I have still been keeping quite busy. Doing loads of washing now that I can hang it on the line to dry.
Also bought myself an electris mower (ordered Thursday arrived Friday).
I had to put it together, adn now can't get it to wok! Meanwhile the grass is growing. Has anyone got a goat I can borrow?

I have been rather busy recently (for me), activity makes me tired, and tiredness makes me muddled.
So, recently I have
-

Put my watch on upside down.
Stood on my glasses, which were on the floor,
Tried to stir-fry some veg, which were clearly labelled "roasting veg"

These are the mistakes that I have noticed and can remember!
I dread to think what else I have done.

All-in-all though I am keeping quite well, just a little muddled and tired.

Bye for now,
Tess

16.21 in UK

Evening all, I am back!! Goodness all this spring cleaning from you all makes me feel quite guilty, feel I should be doing some too.
Tess it rather sounds as if you are not too keen on gardening, I must admit I am not too keen, never have been but have an excuse now as I have arthritis in my knees so find it difficult. Had most of the garden made "friendly" a couple of years ago so now only need to tidy, that is hard enough sometimes. Your garden Bridgit sounds lovely,can just imagine it. Val are your seasons the same way round as ours in the uk?
Well ladies hope to back on tomorrow. Take care. Penny

Hello Captain Pugwash

So pleased to see you on here again. Being rather mosey I wondered where you were! I have found thatbthe knees actually benefit from a bit of gardening. I had to have ops on one knee a few years ago, the cartalige had to be removed andvthen a couple of years later the other knee was done following a fall. However I was determined to do some gardening and all I do is have a break about every 30 minutes and I find that helps.
I am interested in a "friendly garden. Is that a raised bed garden"? When I was working every nursing or residential home I managed had raised gardens put in and most of the residents really enjoyed keeping them in good order.

Tees you write such pleasant comments and never any spelling mistakes, unlike me! Therefore I must be even more muddled than you are!

Val I hope that you enjoyed visiting your neighbour for his birthday, and of course that he also had a splendid time.

I think we have more or less finished changing the garden for this year. I have decided that if anyone asks what I would like for my 65th birthday I shall ask for plants and a new small table for my special and favourite place to sit.
Having cut down or taken out so much the tiling in the garden was a disgrace so yesterday wevwent outband bought some special cleaner. It is chemical based so we had to be very careful, I put Jet and Joe on the veranda upstairs and closedvthe door so they were safe. It took us about 3 hours to do all three levels , but it looked fantastic when finished, it made the tiles look like new.
Today the weather is also helpingbas it is raining heavily, so that will take away any residue. Of course the down side is that thevforecast is for rain, rain, and more rain including over Easter weekend.
That makes me rather sad as we have visitors and of coursevit is a very special weekend herevin Spain. The town would normally be packed and the businesses rely on this as the first good tourist time as well.

Well I think I have written enough for now, so keep well everyone, enjoy yourvday, I shall think of you all in my quiet time.

07.08 hrs Spain

Good morning,

How lovely to see you both on here again Tess and Penny. I would also . like to know about a "friendly garden". Penny, our seasons are opposite to the UK, it is Autumn here now and we are heading for winter, the winter in JBay is mild but some parts of the country have very cold winters with snow and frozen water-pipes!

We want to get our little water-feature working again so to-day will go out to buy a new pump and then re-organise some plants in pots around it. The pump has been out of action for some time so replacing it is long overdue. I love to sit outside for tea and listen to the water, so relaxing.

Am off to do some shopping. I think I was born to shop!

Take care.


Val.

Evening ladies, thanks for the welcome back nice to know I was missed. My friendly garden was done because I realised my arthritis was not going to go away. Had my lawns taken up and replaced with wood bark chip, never liked the idea of slabs all over!! They are contained in structures made from old railway sleepers, sounds strange but looks very nice. Borders are planted with various shrubs, and a small water feature.
Bridget sorry to hear its raining such a shame busy time of year for you. For a change we have a Bank Holiday looming and the weather looks set for sunny!!! Well all of you take care,. Penny

Afternoon all,

You have the rain Bridget, we have the wind to-day and oh boy is it blowing, as a reuslt the sea is very choppy.

Well, we had another birthday celebration to-day - about 20 of us were treated to a lovely breakfast at a restaurant, eggs, bacon, tomato, chips, juice, toast and tea/coffee. The food was very nice and the company good, needless to say we are giving lunch a miss.

We managed to get the new pump for the water feature and I bought some pansies to plant, now we must get ourselves into gear to sort everything out.

That's it for now.

Val.

Valerie, you certainly are having a number of birthday people who are having a great time..

Your breakfast looks great, judgment sort of meal my OH used to have when he was working at a port near to Ips...h in the UK. He worked shift work in the I......tion, department which of course was open 24 hrs per day.

Very occasionally we have one at home.

Good luck with the new plants. Our roses are thriving and the colours are quite stunning. We had to cut a branch off the lemon tree down stairs garden as it had a lot of White powdery stuff on it. I did not know what it was but thought it best to dispose it.
All the other fruits are doing well although my cumquats are still very small.

I am glad to note that you enjoy shopping, I think I may be addicted to it but have to remember now that we are one income down..just as well that the clothes shops where I live are certanly not my style!

Talking of shopping wevare going out soon to buy some food for the Easter weekend. All the shops will close early tomorrow, open again on Saturday for the day and then will not open again until Tuesday..just as well that we have two fridges and freezers.

Captain pug wash your garden sounds fun and such a good idea about the railway sleepers etc. We used these in our garden in the UK and they were super.

Well time to take OH away from watching the snooker so bye bye for now

14.19hrs
Spain