Find Ancestors

Maybe not!

My old MD always had his Christmas cards printed (Well he did also own a printing company). These always had a religious theme as he was a Methodist lay preacher and always contained what you are describing as a Christmas letter. He was certainly not boastful about his family and what they had all got up to during the previous 12 months, in fact more often than not he was self deprecating. He had 4 children and would usually give a progress report on their education or careers. My favourite comment of his was regarding his son Tim which went as follows:

"Tim is now something in the city....A barman"

Hi Gins

not mad at you!!



Jonesey ....................

I like that!!


We have one friend whose letter is always a little boasting, just a little. But most of them are more to the self-deprecating side ....... or a travelogue



s
xx

we went to IKEA this afternoon ...................... they are the only place that I know of where I can buy elderflower drink, and they also always carry UNICEF cards.

It is a new building, opened back in July, and it was my first visit since then

The new store is at least 3 times larger than the old one. It's HUGE .......... and is built on top of covered parking (as well as an outdoor parking lot).


We managed to get what we wanted ........................ by dint of buying the juice from the shop, asking the cashier there where the unicef cards were.

Unfortunately, the cards were in displays inside the check outs ............ so we had to a) find the Marketplace, then b) negotiate our way through the shortest distance to the check outs.

It only took 45 minutes :-D :-D :-D



Ikea is always exciting!



s
xx

As I said earlier, we had a Pacific storm go through overnight and today (Monday) ..... high winds and heavy rain


We have 2 kiwi vines in the back garden, 1 male and 1 female. We have had as many as 600 fruits on the female in one year .......... this year there may be as many as 200.

The vines are supported on 3 7'+ (above ground) 4 x 4 posts, with a cross bar across the top on the 2 end ones (making them into T bar posts). The posts are connected at the top with strong wires to help support the vines.


The vines are late losing their leaves this year, and the fruit is still on there because you don't pick them until there has been the first frost and the leaves have turned yellow.


The wind was so strong last night (Sunday/Monday) that all 3 posts are now leaning towards the house. One has broken at the base, obviously it was rotting, the others may be OK.

We have, quite literally, never had that happen before, even with winds that were much stronger!



OH is going to have to try to replace the one that is definitely broken, possibly replace the other end one as well, and re-position the central one.

AND collect the fruit, then prune the growth back ................... along with all the other jobs that have to be done before we leave in 3 weeks time.





s
xx

good morning everyone
xxxx



it's very calm outside after the rain and wind on Monday!



Breakfast is ready


Selection of fresh fruit


Porridge with chopped up dates, bananas, and maple syrup (other fruit selections over there >>>> )


Selection of cold cereals


French (eggy) toast, maple syrup, Golden syrup

Caribbean Banana Fritters


Toast (sourdough, rye, white, whole grain, 100% brown, Hovis, gluten free),
hot cinnamon rolls,
barm cakes,
croissants,


bacon & cheese quiche,
broccoli and cheddar quiche,


Full English

Ulster Fry-up

The Continental – choice of assorted chilled fruit juices, hot oatmeal or assorted cold cereals, toast or fresh-baked muffin

Pancakes, served with maple syrup or Golden syrup, and choice of bacon, ham or breakfast sausage

Boiled eggs and toast

Huevas Rancheros


stirfry (chicken, beef, or vegetarian),

Chicken Karage (Japanese deep fried chicken pieces)

Country Wrap (Black Forest Ham, Fresh Scallions and Cheddar Cheese),

Veggie Wrap (Fresh Tomatoes, Basil, Roasted Peppers and Feta Cheese)

spanikopita,

Hummus served in a lettuce cup with warm pita bread, slices of cucumber and tomato

Grilled Chicken Satays

Five Spice Beef Kebabs


home-fried potatoes with garlic and bacon


Potato, dill and cheddar soup



apple pecan muffins,
cranberry & orange muffins,
raisin bran muffins,
morning glory muffins,
pear ginger muffins
gluten-free cranberry and orange muffins,


jams, jellies, marmalades, Nutella (hazelnut spread)


Tea, coffee, juices


some extra bacon, turkey sausage or sausage patties, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced baby golden beetroot, Maple baked beans, olive oil, in the hidey place to cook up for the very hungry ones!





enjoy
xx




s
xxx

Good morning all :-)

Another grey day here so I will need a large Ulster Fry-up please to cheer me up - thank you Sylvs.............delicious ! <3 <3 <3

See you all later.

Dea Xxx

Thank you Sylvs........lovely breakfast but sorry about the plants in your garden. :-(


My little coffee shop sells the most delicious elderflower drink - it's a bit pricey but very nice! I will think of you next time I buy one...... :-D



I like the word 'deprecating' - wish I'd thought of it - it suits my style of letter very well.

Nice one Jonesey......

.......reminds me of my son who, when he was choosing his options many moons ago, couldn't decide what to pick. He was glancing through a book of careers and got stuck at the 'B's. He sighed, put it down and declared "I don't know whether I want to be a Barrister or a Barman"..... :-S


As it turns out, he wasn't far off the mark.......he works in litigation - often takes clients to court and is chosen by his firm to entertain clients at various venues!!


Bit late this morning 'cos a friend sent me an email to watch something on youtube and ......well.....I've been busy laughing!!


See you later ~~~~#

Mornin all~~~~~

Veggie wrap sound good, thank you Sylv <3


Jonesey, I remember you telling us that story before, very funny :-D


I found this on Yahoo earlier today and thought it quite good. If you are selling a pc it might be useful


To erase data and all digital traces of it, you’re going to need extra software to do it, unless you physically remove the hard drive and deploy a mallet.

Before you start, remember to back up your files by either burning them on to DVDs, using an external hard drive or cloud-based online storage options like Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDive or Google Drive.

You should also ensure you have your Windows discs that came with your PC or at least the code on the back of the disc packet which proves ownership. Whoever uses your PC after you’ve erased the hard drive will need to re-install the Windows operating system.

Choose which hard drives to erase


Know your PC and discover how your PC is set up. Head to Control Panel and see what hard drives you have active on your PC.

Your home drive is usually ‘C’ but this may be divided into partitions and, depending on your PC, you may have two drives - one a standard hard drive and one a fast, flash-based memory drive frequently called a SSD or Solid State Drive. Erase both to be sure you've got rid of all your data.

Pick software to wipe the drive

There are many software programs which allow you to erase data on your PC but the best free one is called DBAN or Darik’s Boot and Nuke.

Use your CD/DVD drive

DBAN is supplied as an ISO file, which needs to be burned to CD or DVD as your computer will be operating from your CD or DVD drive in order to erase the hard drive, which cannot be active when you’re clearing all the data on it.

You may already have software that allows you to burn DBAN to a disc as an ISO file - right click on the file and see if your computer offers you the option to burn as an ISO file. An ISO file differs from a simple file being copied to a disc. An ISO file allows a computer to boot the disc automatically and run the program - in this case, it’s DBAN.

In order to download an ISO burning program, visit Free Iso Burner. Alternatively, you can try the popular Nero Burning Rom 12 software which isn’t free but is very easy to use and currently offers a 15-day trial.

Gin,

That is a problem with old age, other people notice that you begin to repeat yourself. :-D

Gin,

That is a problem with old age, other people notice that you begin to repeat yourself.

:-D :-D :-D

Its a nice story, I dont mind you repeating yourself

hi all
xxx


sun is shining :-0



just going to have a late breakfast


s
xx

Care for a lemon meringue pie for pud ??

Dea Xxx

OOOoppps !!

Just been and got my jimmy jams on then I looked at the clock and it was only 6.45 !!!

It is getting dark very early these days - I thought it was 'nite nite time' :-D :-D :-D

Dea Xxx

Jim Jams....Dea :-S


Going to watch Holby

We are supposed to get at least one more Pacific storm, with high winds and heavy rain, today and tomorrow :-( :-( :-( :-(

These storms usually come in groups ("waves"), and are not unusual during the winter. We get alternating days of storm and calm!

I know OH will not have time to do any work today on the poor kiwi vines and their supports .......... it gets dark so early. Then the rest of the week is Fall Graduation time, and he will be involved in all the ceremonies ........ I think there are 12 or 15 separate ceremonies.

We'll just have to hope that the winds are not coming directly from the south, as this is what happened on Sunday night.



I've just looked out .................. and the rain has arrived, and the wind is getting up :-( :-( :-(

What on earth would you do to 200 - 600 kiwi fruits anyway Sylvs ?????

Dea Xxx

arrrghhh.....I feel as though I have been chained to the kitchen for hours....... :-(


Picked up the grandchildren and then stayed in the kitchen .........I don't have a dishwasher (except for OH) and must have washed up about 7 times!!!


Our son stayed for a while to catch up with all our excitement....hahahahahaha and then I got my jim jams on too Dea.... :-D


Since then, I have been googling for info for summat and am now x-eyed so am browsing for a bit.


Sylvs.....it sounds as though you out to be battening down the hatches..... :-S


ooooh Dea......lemon meringue would be very welcome. Thank you <3

It is coming over right now Cynths !!!......>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dea Xxx