General Chat

Oh Ann, what a shame that the meal was ruined by the gobby, overly endowed person next to T.
Funnily enough, we had our darts team's christmas meal last friday night, at our local golf club.
The meal was not quite as good as last year, or the year before, but then I found out that they have changed chefs recently.
They did what I hate, dished up tinned carrotts, and solid brussell sprouts, the rest of the meal was lovely. The menu itself was very varied, to suit everyone, but I plumped for the roast turkey, but the roast beef looked delicious, so next year I probably will chose that. When I say next year, yes, it's booked already for the 12th of December 2014. It surprised me how many others did the same, booking early to ensure a table. We like to go around this time, as they have a live band and not a noisy disco, and it gives us a couple of weeks to get sorted before the big day.

Ann, I know what you mean about the hearing aids. I have the same problem.

Hi Mo, and everyone


it was a lovely sunny day, with blue skies, yesterday ......... but there was a strong wind coming down from the north!

And, sure enough, there was a change today ............ very cold overnight, gorgeous red sunRISE, and snow in the forecast for tonight :-(


I've been spending a lot of time with my ancestors .............. trying to sort out some of the siblings of our direct ancestors (his tree and mine). You know, did they marry, who, did they die, etc. Not going too deep into their lives ........................ but hard at times!


We have so many that have relatively uncommon names .............. except in the town/village where they actually live.

Combine that with the frequent recycling of the same few names, and you can end up with a mess!


I went to the dermatologist yesterday afternoon to have the squamous thingy removed ........... only he didn't remove it!!!

His copy of the biopsy report said it was basal cell, and he said that was what it looked like!

Anyway, I have to go back on Jan 8 to have it scraped off .....................he couldn't do it yesterday because he considers that the shin is a difficult place, and susceptible to infection. So I have to get a prescription antibiotic ointment, apply it for 7 days before he does the scraping, and then for the healing period afterwards.


Now we can think of Christmas.

I think everything is done. No food to buy as we go away on Monday to friends for the week.

We have to put the evergreen wreath up outside the house ......... probably from the sundeck railings.

I have to buy some gift bags to put the pressies in for the people we will see over Christmas ................ apparently we are having Christmas Eve lunch with 1 couple, Christmas dinner at another place, and Boxing Day lunch at the 3rd!




First though .................. OH has to take me to the Mall. My watch stopped at 12:15 am this morning, so it needs a new battery.

And, my printer had to be sent to printer heaven last weekend ................ so we much buy a new one. He's spotted one that might be good, and it is on sale this week. So we have to try to get to that store!




take care everyone




s
xx

Hi one and all, hope all is well wherever you are, we finally managed to get our decorations put up, although I havent done much , my back is only just starting to feel as though it is getting better seems it was /is the sciatica nerve,so I am still unable to move around much, but I am still here......
So my lovely friends, I wish you a very happy christmas and a especially good new year, enjoy your time with family and friends, keep safe and warm.... Ann safe travelling to you and T, take extra care.... Sallie have a rest you seem to have been dashing here and there, we are going to our friend on christmas eve , not looking forward to it , it was the last time we saw our close friend , so the emotions are a bit frayed.... hopefully C will be with us on boxing day , E came home and was doing o.k. but S told us she has a high fever again , and may have to go back to the hospital... but we are praying that will not happen...so I hope you all have whatever you wish for and more beside, keep smiling :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
summer is-a- coming :-D :-D

Love and hugs for you all, Jean and him <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Oh my word, where does the time go, I must apologise for my absence (sp).
It seems like I have not had time to breathe this past week, with one thing or another happening, it's been so busy.
Today has not been much different, with cooking all the christmas meat etc.

But I had to come on here to wish you all, " A Very Happy Christmas, and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year ".
Enjoy yourselves with family and friends, and I will speak to you all very soon.

Love and hugs, Mo xxx

Dear All

Hello

Just popped along to offer my very best wishes for a peaceful
and contented Christmas to all posters.


Take gentle care
Love from
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

Elizabeth, Thank you so much for your greetings, I hope you and those you love also have a joyous christmas and a blessed new year, please come back and chat with us again, you are most welcome...

love and prayers Jean xx <3

Hello girls, a happy boxing day.
Thank goodness the "Big Day " is over. We are both exhausted, after clearing up the residue from yesterday.
Our poor house looked like a tornado had blown through it. The carpets heaved a sigh of relief when the hoover went over them, and picked up the crumbs from crisps, biscuits, sausage rolls etc. Despite having plates to eat from, how come the youngsters seem to miss their mouths, and decide to feed the floor I wonder.
I dread to think how much money has been spent on Christmas presents (not by us I might add) but every child getting what they wanted for xmas.
No wonder so many families end up in debt by December the 25th.
Oh for the days when one might spend £20 and get lots of goodies for children.
Bah humbug, I am becoming a Mrs Scrooge in my old age.
Unless they are taught otherwise children forget the true meaning of Christmas.
One of my friends became a grandmother on Christmas day for the first time. I do hope they remember that they are celebrating the birth of our lord, as well as the baby on that day in the future.
Well, I don't know about you, but it's cold meats, jacket potato's and pickles for dinner tonight, no big roast dinner today for us, we are still bloated from yesterday.
We had a wonderful meal at our son's house, and then came home and awaited the onslaught of the family. lol :-D :-D :-D I love them all, and wouldn't be without any of them, so I am not really moaning <3 <3 <3
Bye for now, take care enjoy the rest of your day. Hugs Mo xxx

No flooding or power cuts for any of our friends I hope.

No floods or power cuts for us, thank goodness Huia. But just a short drive from us in Tenderton and Yalding nr Maidstone, it has been horrendous. The poor people having to be without power, as well as being flooded out all over christmas, and still not reconected yet.
What ever they had to eat, was heated up on primus stoves....The poor people were freezing cold as well, as it has turned so cold here at the moment. And to top it all, they are expecting the same weather today, heavy winds and yet more rain.
The water level at the bridge over the river Medway in Maidstone, is expected to rise yet again today, probably causing more damage.
I just thank the lord we never chose to live anywhere near to rivers.
Our eldest daughter, lives opposite the river Medway, but is far enough away to be safe.

It was such a joy to go shopping today, without being crushed under foot by hoards of shoppers.
No need for us to venture near a super market now, till after the new year, hooray.

Bye for now, hugs Mo

Hi, everyone. home and abroad, home the festive season went well for you all, we went to see c on boxing day he was a delight and seemed glad to see us, sadly E is very unwell and has to go to the docs next week for results of her blood test poor girl is so scared that there is something major wrong with her, we are all praying that isint the answer, but she came out of hospital rather early I think, e-coli and cidf is something that is quite serious, and needs monitering carefully,she is in a lot of pain with a cyst on her overaries too, so hasnt been in the mood for much... but C has made up for it he is like a whippet, boy can he move fast :-D :-D :-D and so many toys and gifts, they are putting some away , for later....hopefully he will be coming on sunday. we still have a couple more gifts for him, but they will stay at our house.
I am still bothered with my back , one day no sign of it next day can hardly walk. ah well thats old age I suppose.
hope our Sallie and Ann have enjoyed their time with the families, no doubt we will get a full report, did worry about Ann though the weather looked rough for them , we have got off lightly , but know doubt will get our share later on...
decorations are almost down and I have a big stack of cards for recycling next years cards....just need to finish of the chocs and back to the dieting so far not put any more on , but didnt get any off either :-| :-|
sun is shining so looks promising... have a good weekend . back later ....
love Jean xx <3 <3 <3

We came home yesterday. Thankfully despite the gloomy forecasts for this area we had a good journey both down and back. Heavy traffic but all moving and only a couple of places with a small amount of standing water on the road. No real flood. Christmas day in Milton Keynes was sunny and crisp cold so we were able to get the children out for a walk.

We had a lovely Christmas day, the meal son cooked was very nice and the 7 of us had a pleasant time with far too many presents.

Boxing day was a bit boring really as we spent most of the day reading and sitting, a bit too cold for walking and the sun didn't come out until latish. eleven year old granddaughter was suffering from hormones so crotchedy because the men were watching sport (too much for me too sport from about 12 until about 6pm! They have a huge 55 inch HD TV (new) so the football looked good on it. Granddaughter wanted to play the Wii game she had for Christmas. Which, despite being expensive was a bit of a con because you can't get the full advantage from it without buying extras to add to it.

All in all though we had a good time and it was lovely to see them. But it is good to be home.

today we have done the Tesco shop which was not too bad so won't be shopping again until after New Year. Monday we have neighbours coming in for the evening which will be nice. New year we are (by choice) on our own.

Jean I hope C gets to visit you tomorrow. We have seen photos of Luke with some of his presents, I can't believe how many presents one little boy can have. I am sorry that E is still poorly. Did she have EColi and Cdiff? I hope she is clear if she is visiting you because I believe both are infectious. I hope her worries about having something more serious are foundless and that her blood tests are ok.

Mo sounds like you enjoyed Christmas with your littlies even if you were tired.

Huia, no floods here although apparently when we were away the wind was so strong that our neighbour could hear the tiles rattling on his roof. Our conservatory is now leaking when it rains heavily so we will have to get that fixed in the new year.

I still only have one working hearing aid and am unable to have an appointment until 3 February!!

An yway, I shall now sort out all the craft bits I had for Christmas. :-) :-)

Hope Sallie had a good time and was not affected by the weather on the roads.

OOH Ann what did you get craft wise,S and E bought me a Nao statue which sadly I already have in fact I have two the same, my fault I forgot I had it when I bid for it ;-) ;-)
so he will take it back for me and get me a gift card instead , we wanted a mantel clock but they are all sold out at the moment....J had a lovely sweater from me , now I see it has been reduced by £ 20 , doesnt it make you mad...I did get some new dies before christmas so he said he would pay for them... lots of chocs which i have managed to almost finish, ;-) ;-) I am glad all was well with you both, just need to hear Sallie is o.k.

I had 3 stephanie Weightman dies, some toppers etc, some 12x12 papers, ribbon, peel offs, pin flair gel glue and some ready cut dies that T got off Ebay.

Sounds like you mean to do some serious crafting Ann :-D :-D :-D I did a load of embossed cards but havent decorated them, got one or two ideas,my back is sore so cant do much at the moment I also got some fancy eged cards on sale, and bid for a couple of dies which I won, new ideas just came on youtube too, so I can sit and watch them....oh and just bought 11 stamps off C/C sale....

we are looking into having a new roof on the conservative, get rid of the glass and have a solid one warm in winter cool in summer, with two velux windows so we can use the room all year round, D says it will darken the kitchen but there are various ceilings to choose from , the one I like is cream coloured with set in lights,but it all depends if it can be done and how much... they seem very popular now....
I am off to bed now see you tomorrow....

Love Jean xx. <3

Hi everyone, back to normal again, thank goodness. Alun and I have had a very hectic few weeks, what with Jennie and Michael moving house, travelling about the country delivering pressies and then down and up to Richard's to bring him up for Christmas and then again on Boxing Day to take him home.... his car needs a few jobs done to it, so wouldn't use it for a long journey.

On Friday, myself, A, J and M helped our friends move house, so we were all glad to see yesterday arrive so that we could have a rest. I also started with a bad cold before Christmas, but still struggled on with things, yesterday I felt dreadful, so spent most of the day in bed......feel a good bit better today, so hoping to get back to card making tomorrow.

Alun is at the MRC most of tomorrow, they have a lot of stuff there, that badly needs sorting out, so they are hoping to get it done tomorrow. Sounds a bit like our
card making stuff at times.lol!!


Ann, glad to hear that you and T had a lovely Christmas with your son and his family. Gosh Ann, the TV must be massive lol!!......R and C have a 48ins one and that seems huge for the room. Still as long as they are all happy with the size of their TV's, that's all that matters. Looks as though had quite a lot of card making stuff and a few SW dies for Christmas. I bet you can't wait to use it all.



Jean, we enjoyed our Christmas with our family around us, although Richard had to go back on Boxing Day because he was working yesterday and today, still it was nice having him if only for a short time.

I can imagine that C had loads for Christmas, bet he didn't know what to look at first, bless him. I hope that that his mum's hospital results will be good and that there is nothing serious and can soon be put right. It's a worrying time for her,S and all the family. Sending her lots of hugs and positive thoughts. <3 <3

I got Alun two model steam engines for Christmas, but he had them a few weeks ago so he got a sweater and some chocs for Christmas day. I got the e-Bosser from him, so had some DVD's and a scarf that I fancied off him, wrapped up for Christmas Day.


Mo, pleased to hear that you didn't have any flooding and power cuts in your area.
I wondered how far you are from Yalding when I seen it on the news, feel so sorry for all those poor people affected by the terrible weather.

Good to hear that you had a lovely Christmas with all your family. Hope you got the pressies you wanted.lol!!!....I did very well with pressies, between family and friends.



Huia, hope you had a peaceful Christmas and were able to visit Phil.


Elizabeth, if you are looking in, thank you. I hope that you had a lovely Christmas with all your family.



Well girls must go now, will speak to you all again soon.



Love, Sallie.xxx

Hello Sallie, nice to see you back on here. I haven't been posting much, I have been quite lethargic lately. I might go to visit Phil again after lunch, to see if he is recovering from his bug that he had the other day.

Hi Mo, and everyone


I am back in circulation!


We had a good Christmas, a bit different from what we expected, but it was still very enjoyable

Lunch on Christmas Eve at one house ................ tourtiere, which is a French Canadian specialty meat pie, traditionally served after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve

Lunch on Christmas Day at another house ............. turkey, ham, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes, bread sauce, stuffing, Christmas pud (we took that!)

Lunch on Boxing Day with our other good friends .............. tourtiere!

We were well fed :-)


One strange thing ................... we had not arranged to meet up with the 5th friend, a single lady, age 87. M does other things at Christmas.

On Boxing Day, my daughter phones the friend we are staying with .................... did we know that M was in hospital?? No, we did not! Neither did the other close friends. So it took someone on the opposite side of Canada to tell us what was happening :-)

J was doing her Christmas phone calls to friends, when M's phone was answered by someone in "to water the plants and feed the cat". Otherwise, we might not have known for days!

Apparently M had trouble swallowing on Christmas Day, and so her friends took her to Emergency!

She's now back home, more tests pending, but they seem to think it was a bad attack of acid reflux.


The weather here was pretty good ................. mild, dry, and even some sun.

Quite unlike what was happening in Toronto and southern Ontario, and in New Brunswick. They had a major ice storm before Christmas, and thousands of people are still without power .......... and some are unlikely to get it before New Year.

At one point over 300,000 people were without electricity!

AND ............ there is another storm for them tonight and one over New Year!


I was sitting here watching the TV news before we went away, thinking "if this had been a year to go east to our daughter, we'd have been in the thick of THAT ............ or that ............ or that"!




We will have New Year on our own .................. we're planning what "special" meal we might have.




take care everyone




s
xx

Hello girls, it's good to hear from you all.
It sounds like everyone had a reasonable christmas, even though it may have been a shock for you Sylvia, to find that your friend had been taken into hospital. Hopefully they will be able to sort her out properly, and that it is only reflux, even though that is bad enough at the best of times.

Well, it's been another horrid day, with high winds and yet more rain. It appears that the weather all over the world is haywire at the moment.
At long last, the electricity has been recconected (sp) locally, but with this bad weather, who knows how long it will last.
When I walked up to town, there were two smallish trees laying on the footpaths. I wonder how long it will take for the council to remove them, or someone has an accident tripping over them in the dark.
Thank goodness the dustmen are due tomorrow, the amount of recycling we have got is unbelievable. Just as long as the bags don't get blown away tonight, and end up at the other end of the road, I will be happy.

I will say cheerio for now girls, and hopefully I will be able to speak to you tomorrow, before we go out for New Years eve.
Take care, hugs to you all, Mo xxx

Hi Mo, gusty here. T has had to do emergency repairs to a fence post that has loosened in our sandy soil. A small flood at the top of the road from us but no serious flooding except at Tewkesbury where the flood plain is , well, flooded.

Are you actually going out for new year? We gave that up several years ago, think the last time we actually went out was the Millenium new year. Thenh we used to have daughter and family for several years and the past two or three we have been on our own. We usually stay up to watch the fireworks on TV, quite enjoy it really.

This evening we have our good neighbours coming in for a drink and nibbles. They are the lovely people who look after the house when we are away. It is nice to be able to repay them. :-)