General Chat

Persie ............


it sounds as if you had fun :-)

We had inclement sort of weather whilst we were down in Ohakune and on the way back the mountains were not visible despite going on the road that goes close to Tongariro and Ngauruhoe .. Lake Taupo was really sparkling as we drove up on the Eastern arm of it which travels close to the lake.. the sun was shining brilliantly in Taupo.

They went out to the pools at Turangi on Wed .. funny really cost a $1 to get in and August and his father had the pool to themselves.. they drove up away for a café for Lunch there was no pancakes on the menu which is his favourite so they got him French toast with extra syrup instead of bacon.. it had banana and blueberries with it and they all got eaten. He did well on Tuesday night when we all went to dinner and ate nearly all his pizza. I had Lamb Pappardelle and it was really nice.

Whilst they were in Turangi we went to the stationery shop to get a paper and I bought a sketch pad (20 sheets) and some coloured twistable pencils and sticky tape. When he got back I had made a windy road all linked up with houses, school, church etc for him to play with his cars on. When I got up in the morning there was a tissue box on where I had the bridge and it was open either end. I asked if he had made a tunnel on Nana's bridge but no it was a car wash... not many car washes in the middle of the express way.

I did use my daughter's I-pad a couple of times but decided not to come on here.. I need to learn more about how to use it rather than have it conjuring up words I had not thought of and replacing my own perfectly acceptable words.

Hi Sue, and everyone


it absolutely poured with rain this morning, then slowly stopped round about 1 pm ...................... it will be dry for the trick or treaters


We decided not to have Hallowe'en this year ................


the last couple of years we've only had 2 or 3 littlies knocking at the door .......... and then lots of teenagers causing noise on the street from about 8 or 9 pm onwards.

So, we'll turn off all the lights at the front of the house, including the outside light, and we don't have a pumpkin in sight


Lights and a carved pumpkin with a candle in it are the signs of sweets available over here.




take care everyone



s
xx

Dear All

Hello

Hope you ALL have a good weekend, whatever you are doing.


Take gentle care
With many good wishes
Love Elizabeth,
xx

Enjoy your day Sue - don't get too hot :-D Bye

A panic button is such a good idea.

I need to get on with my day, Tec so I will say goodnight and sweet dreams <3

It's common sense really Sue. I am lucky to live here though, as it's a safe little village where nothing nasty ever happens.

I have my neighbours phone number, and also a personal "panic" button hanging around my neck, in case I'm ill, or have a fall. That's a good thing.

Definitely not paranoia, Tec. You do right to look after your personal safety. There was a campaign here awhile ago about keeping safe in your home when you live alone. We have two neighbours who live on their own. Both have our phone number and can ring at any time if they are concerned.

It is a problem to many older people.
Some of the masks worn are really grotesque and frighten the elderly.

I was glad nobody called tonight because it's awkward for me to get to and open the doors.
Also I'm not keen for the "wrong types" to get to know there's an elderly man in a wheelchair living here alone - you never know, and I'm not paranoid.

My daughter has said the same thing. The teenagers follow the little ones and then knock on the doors hoping to get whatever is left. My daughter's neighbour is an elderly lady who lost her husband a fortnight ago. She invited the lady to spend late afternoon with her so she didn't feel intimidated or upset by constant door knockers. She accepted gratefully.

There are no children here now, which is a shame, as I miss hearing them laughing, or fighting :-D when they played.

The little ones made a big effort dressing up for Halloween. Then there were the older teenagers that made no effort whatsoever, just hammered on the doors, which some elderly folk found intimidating :-(

Hello Tec - we really don't have young children around here anymore just a couple of toddlers.

My SIL took the children 'trick or treating' although my daughter isn't too keen. They wanted to go as some of their friends are also going door to door in their area. I don't know how they went but I'm sure they all have a nice little stash of sweets.

Hello, :-)

Huia I think people are always pleased to have plants from other peoples gardens.
I have lots of plants to dig up and give away, as I'm clearing a lot of the border.
There is a lady in the village starting a new garden, so she is having lots of them.

Good Morning Sue :-)

That would be much too hot for me. Today was 22C here, which is a record for Halloween.
I spent the day in the garden making the most of the warmth. A cold snap is forecast for next week. That would be seasonal.

There were no Halloween callers here either. Some years we've had hoards, but when not many called all the sweets went to my little fan club.
So this year I'll give them to my daughter to take to school, unless it's against the rules for teacher to give sweets.

Hello everyone :-D

I have a bag of sweets for Halloween but no children came begging so I guess we may have to eat them ;-)

You have been busy with your plants Huia. I love granny's bonnets and many of the old fashioned flowers. You don't often see them here.

Another sunny morning. It's supposed to get to 32C today with thunderstorms in the afternoon. It's pleasant at the moment but I know it's going to get hot very quickly.

Hmm. all the ghouls and ghosts have got our Aussie friends, and possibly the ones in England and Wales too. :-0

Today I had to go to town so I took some plants that I had roughly potted up yesterday, to the shop, but one of the ladies who works there said she would have them as soon as she saw them, even before they had been priced. She is trying to sort out her garden. There were 2 of the old-fashioned granny bonnets, one with deep plum coloured flowers, not sure what colour the other is, and there were a couple small clumps of a low-growing mauve Michaelmas daisy. One of the granny bonnets also had a small piece of our native creeping fuchsia in with it.

When I came home I potted up some taller blue Michaelmas daisies, and a hydrangea plant which was either a seedling or had layered from one of my many old-fashioned bushes. I also intend to pot up some more of the fuchsia procumbens. I will take them in to the shop on Monday.

Hello all. Checking in at noon on Friday. Just beginning to feel the house beginning to warm up, so had better switch on the aircon. Forecast is for 37. I can't see that happening, but better take steps in case it does.

Linda - thanks for that lead. It's not the one I used before, but I will print it off and see if it helps, whilst I continue to look for the other. It was all definite squares without linesi in between - but this one might turn out to be better. Thanks again.

Hi Sue, and everyone


although I guess all the UK-ites have gone to bed :-)


Yesterday was very warm, almost broke temperature records for the day


Today????


well, it's raining harder than it did last Tuesday, when we were told to expect the tail end of Hurricane Ana :-0


I must admit that the North Coast and north end of Vancouver Island got hit by Ana with very high winds and heavy rain .................. we were just lucky down here in the Banana Belt :-)




I booked our hotel for over Christmas back in late August.


Today I got a phone call to say they were closing for 2 months for major renovations .................... including over the Christmas period :-0

He was a little tiny bit upset that I didn't want to transfer my booking to their sister hotel in Halifax .................. but that would have meant twice daily trips over the bridge, and who knows how far out of Halifax it was!


Now, I'm trying to book into another hotel .............. it's a little more expensive, and no free breakfast :-(

It'll probably work out to about $200 more for the 9 days.



At the same time, I got an email from the train company to say they had made equipment changes that could affect our bookings :-S :-S :-S

A phone call to one of their agents in Montreal told me that they had changed our cabin number, still in the same carriage, on one leg of the trip.

Phew!!!



I'd better get on with checking the hotel




take care everyone




s
x

Bye Sue - Enjoy your day :-)

I'm sure it is. You always feel virtuous when you declutter :-D

I must be off Tec - the morning is running away. Goodnight Tec - sleep well <3