General Chat

Hi Sallie
Thank you for your concern. Yes hubby got home fine, it is not too bad here and most of our snow has disappeared. I am glad he is at Heathrow not Gatwick at the present. That looks really bad down there. Mind we had it last year and hope it doesn't happen again. We just aren't geared up for it in England are we?
I am stuck in the house at present, not a bad thing. The little one I care for has chickenpox so I can't really take her out.
I must sort my christmas cards and get the ones for abroad posted asap

Linda :o) XxX

Mo, glad to hear that your son got home safely. He must have been freezing cold, and very fed up. I hope that you are taking care and not going out in this horrible snow.



Jean, hope D won't have problems coming home from work, it it starts to snow in Huddersfield, I hope she'll make her way home.
Glad that J has managed to open the washer for you so that you can get some washing done.



Alun isn't in work today, the school is closed along with lots of other schools in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. We had about 6-8 ins of snow overnight and there's more forecast for us. I don't think we'll be going to do some more Christmas shopping tomorrow, as planned.



Ann, hope the weather will get better so that you and T can get to Torquay alright.



Huia, hope that you are okay, and that all was well with Phil when you last visited him.



Marie, sorry to hear that you having a lot of rain, and that the farmers are losing so much of their crops.
Hope that you are not going to have too much trouble with your knee again. Just take care!



Caz, how are things with you today? I hope you are having one of your better days.
Also hope that you have been able to make some cards today.



Joyce, hope you are not in as much pain today, as you've been lately.
Have you been able to make some cards ready for Christmas?
Hope Jan and his mum are both alright.




Sylvia, thanks for telling us about the train to your daughter's and back, it sounds really lovely, I feel quite envious.
MJ is doing well cutting his teeth with no trouble at all. Bless him!



We haven't heard from Tess for a few days, I hope that she's alright.


Also hope that things are alright with Liz, as we haven't heard from her either.



Linda, if you're looking in, I hope your hubby got home safely, last night.


Speak to you all soon, take care everyone and keep warm, except Marie and Huia, of course.


Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

Hi All
thank you Jean got it and also forgot to thank MO for the card,and Ann thank it came today your weather is worse than ours we have had the gritter out twice last night they do all the side roads ,tried to get in touth with Danni my g,daughter as she was having ascan and was going to tell me if she was going to have agirl or boy .but you no me i panic when i could,nt get in touch anyway she has to go back the hospital again tomorrow as the scan was ok but baby was,nt moving so they told her to go for walk but that did,nt help ,baby was curled up but when they left the hospital it moved there going to measure baby and do everything just to make sure shes just going on for five months,due on St Geroges day but she lives in Sheffield and the waether is realy bad,they both could,nt get to work today but she said she will ring me to let me no,this cold weather dos,nt help with the pain in my spine but im not going out so will stay nice and warm,so pleased got another family connextion the second one in two weeks one on my mum side they still live were i was born,and the other he lives in Ireland realy chuffed at this
wishing you and your familys safe time if there out in this weather
Love Dutchxx

No, Mo its a front loader, the door wouldnt budge, Jeff has finally managed to get it open, but reckons its not right and will jam again., but it is a big heavy washer and the stairs are quite steep, we had to have the doorway widened to get it in , so the thoughts of getting it out is a nightmare....I spoke to soon about the weather it snowing very heavily now and I am waiting for the salvation army folk to pick up some furniture, so hope they make it.....or I cant move for stuff ready to go.... what a life....lol..... Jean xx

Good morning dear friends.
Well my son managed to get home at 12.30 a.m. He left at 3.p.m yesterday afternoon.
Both he and a work colleague had to abandon their cars, but fortunately they had all left in convoy,and the boss was able to continue in his car.
Roly has just dug the car out from the drive. He has to open my son's showroom today,as they are due some deliveries, that is of course if they can get through.

Marie,what the heck is happening to the worlds climate,you will torrential rain, and us with this awful snow.
The problem is,with the farmers not being able to reap their crops, the costs to the public will automatically go up, thats apart from their own loses.
Sorry to hear that your knee is playing you up again.
When you have your gym party don't play any of the games, like kiss chase, oh on second thoughts do, it will be easier for Gym to catch you lol

Jean, have you got a top loading washing machine then. We are lucky that ours is a front loader.
I do hope D does not have any problems getting in and out of work,that M62 is a beast at the best of times isn't it.
Stay safe my love, please don't venture out.

Sylvia, Canada have got so much better ways of coping in bad weather, we are wayyyy behind the times when it comes to coping.
I just wish the U.K would adopt some of your methods.
I am envious of your train journey, it sounds wonderful.

I hope that Joyce and Caz are coping in this big freeze,and keeping in the warm safe and sound.

Huia, how are you keeping. Was Phil o.k on your last visit.

Sallie, are you and Alun coping with the snow.

Well girls and Merlin,if you are looking in, I must get the washing out of the machine, and get it on the clothes horse and radiators to dry. Even though the place will look like a chinese laundry, a girls got to do what a girls got to do.
Bye for now. Love to all. Mo xxx

Morning Marie and all, I have just sent you and Huia and Sylvia, e-mail christmas cards and nearly for got Joyce as well, was hoping to send the real handmade cards but never managed it so I hope you all get them safely with my love, Sylvia I had a look at the trains and they are wonderful, it would be a great part of a holiday trip. makes our trains look like toy ones, why is it everyone else in the world do so much better at organising than us, the journeys must be a delight,

How are you all coping with the severe weather? it isnt too bad here, although I dont go out if there is any chance of ice, but D has gone to work over the dreaded M62 pennine run, she had to have new front tyres as the ones she had on didnt grip the road but she says the new ones are fine..that in itself is a relief,
my latest problem is cant open the washer door, its been hard to do before this time, J cant do it either , and we had it moved up into our large bathroom along with the dryer when we had the kitchen done, and now find the guy who moved them put them on the floor of the cupboard so now we cant get it over the edge, I definatley told him I wanted it to be lifted so there is easy accsess in case we have to have it repaired, now I dont know what will happen....grrrrrrrr....we are going to have another go later, there are only bits of washing in, so not a big worry yet....I will try to get it sorted asp, next washer we will have door handle at the frontmuch better bet....well see you later take care out there...
love Jean xx

Mo I hope your son got home in the end OK. How horrendous for them.

Sylvia that sounds fantastic, I am with it now, it is the trip that we would love to do, at least the part that goes through the rockies, what wonderful scenery I soooo envy you. We looked at it but it was too expensive for us.

Hello all, well we are not having nice sunshine it has been raining here since Saturday night it is Wednesday now and still raining.
The highway in to town has been closed since 3 pm to-day and the low level Bridge has been closed since this morning.
There is more rain predicted also for next week.
This is harvest time for many crops but because of the heavy rain our farmers cannot harvest so it looks like a lot of crops will be lost, poor beggars, another financial loss.

I seem to have aggravated my knee once more, It is aching and I am finding it hard to walk even with the brace on.
I went to a xmas luncheon to-day it was very nice, next Tuesday we have our xmas party for our Gym group it will be good as we all cook and take food with us we don't take alcohol as we all have to drive home
I will close hoping you are all well .
love especially to Joyce,I hope you are a little better to-day.
(((((((((((Love and Hugs)))))))) to you all Marie.

Mo, maybe they have managed to get to a pub or hotel where they can spend the night. Are you able to get in touch with him by mobile phone? You would have thought that the council would have cleared the roads by now.

As you say, no matter what age they are, our kids are still a worry.

Hope he gets home soon or at least let you know that he's safe.


Love, Sallie.xxx

Update Update, my son has still not made it home. They left at three this afternoon. They have only go to get from Orpington Kent,and I would have thought roads would have been cleared by now.
I dont even know if they have got any emergency blankets or food to keep them warm, if they have to sleep in the car.
Kids, it doesn't matter what age they are, are still a worry.

Hi Sallie and Linda


you snuck in there while I was answering Ann!

Hi Ann

just happened to look back .......... and saw all your questions!

we find it very relaxing, especially in the winter.

There are actually 3 trains

1. Vancouver to Toronto, on The Canadian ..... 4 nights and 5 days. It leaves Vancouver at 8:30pm, and arrives at about 9:00 am in Toronto

2. Toronto to Montreal .............. leaves Toronto at about 11:00 am, and arrives in Montreal at about 5:00 pm the same day

3. Montreal to Halifax on The Coast ..... leaves Montreal about 6:00 pm-ish, arrives Halifax about 5:00 pm the next day


It travels about as fast as any trains do in Canada! It has a number of stops .. the main ones that you might have heard of being Jasper, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto ... but only one stop in each town. There are intermediary stops at towns, and one can arrange for the train to stop at a whistle-stop


Think of going on the Orient Express across Europe

All meals are included in the fare when you book sleeping accommodation on the train, and we book Business Class on the day train with meals included.

The food is FANTASTIC on The Canadian, it is prepared fresh in the train kitchen. That train also has coffee, tea, juices and water available all day and night, as well as cookies, snacks and fresh fruit.

The other two trains have meals prepared by companies, and they are a couple of levels above business class airline food.


We have no idea what they do on New Year's Eve .................. we're hoping something different! I was told by a crew member that they do get tourists coming specially to ride the train on New Year's


We take books, but I do a lot of knitting on there ....... and a whole lot of talking to other people, as we spend most of our days and evenings on The Canadian in the dome car and lounge. Or I just watch the scenery, and take lots of photos.



If you want to see what it is like, go to www.viarail.ca/en

Click on Trains, then select the train

If you click on Toronto - Vancouver, then on Train Cars, then on dining car, sleeping car or Park Car, you can even get a 360 degree view

You can even check out the menus for The Canadian ..... click on Classes, then Sleeper Touring Class tickets includes, then delicious meals


The stainless steel cars are the original cars, built in the early 1950s, at the height of cross-country train travel. They've been updated inside, within the last 10 or 15 years, but the carpets are beginning to look a little old again.

One English couple we met a couple of years ago on the train were just disgusted ....... the sleeping cabins were small, hair dryers were not supplied, etc etc

Mind you, they and their son and his family had refused to check any baggage .............. that meant they literally had no room to move in the cabin! You are told no more than 2 carry-on bags per person per cabin!



sylvia

Hello Sallie
Yes we had a light covering of snow this morning. Some cleared through the day then some flurries which sent some more. It only settled on the grass and green house but it is wet elsewhere. I do hope it doesn't freeze.
Hubby won't be home til 11:30 ish.

Hope everyone is keeping warm and safe

Linda :o) Xxx

Mo, I hope your son get's home safely, as you said, he should have turned round and gone home. Also hope that his boss gets home safely.

Where does your son work? It sounds as though he has a long way to travel. Bad enough at any time, but really awful in this weather.



Ann, we haven't had shepards pie for a long while, so it was a nice change. As they have a microwave at work Alun will take it to work tomorrow( weather permitting )and have it for his lunch.


Caz, glad that you got over your block, and were able to make a birthday card for your brother. I'm sure he will love it.


Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

Mo, he should have turned round and gone home when you said shouldn't he. I hope he now gets home safely and that his car is safe when he goes to retrieve it.

Sallie, that was a long post!!!! Your shepherds pie sounded lovely, one of my favourite meals. Trouble is I always make too much potato and of course can't bear to leave any so not a good meal for losing weight. There was some lamb left off the half shoulder. I shall let it get cold and remove the fat then see what to do with it, might make a curry with it tomorrow.

Jean, glad you have some medication for the vertigo.
Caz, so you got over your block on making cards then, hope your brother likes it.
Sylvia, I am sure you will find the train journey relaxing. Is it a fast train or does it stop a lot? Do you read on the train? It does seem a long journey. Presumably you have to buy meals on there as well. Will they do anything special on the train New Years Eve or will it just be a normal journey. (sorry for all the questions.)

I don't believe it girls. My son has had to abandon his car on the motorway. He and his boss, tried to dig it out and couldn't. So his boss is bringing him home, I am just hoping his boss doesn't break down now.

Just missed you all talking about what you are having for dinner, Tonight we had homemade cottage pie with carrots and peas, Really enjoyed it, the lean mince was what I bought from the butchers in Derby, their meat is really good.

Going to have a cuppa now and back to cardmaking.

Love, Sallie.xxx

Just a quick one before you all (except Marie) take to your nice warm beds. I will be going out soon, after doing breakfast dishes etc. Phils residence has a Christmas party on at 1pm - midnight your time.

I will see you all again when you wake up, if you can drag yourselves out of your warm beds.

Huia.

,


Hello Ladies,

Well it's snowing quite heavily here at the moment, Alun was about an hour late getting home from work, he says lot's of traffic all moving very slowly. Hope it will be better tomorrow.



Mo, how did you get on last night, I hope your team won.
Did the other team have far to travel? If they did, hope they got home okay in the snow.

I tend to sometimes forget what I've bought some people for Christmas. One year I had bought Jennie and Laura a jumper each, that they both had fancied, put them into a small case so that they wouldn't see them, and forgot all about them. I went out and bought them each something else, and gave them as their Christmas presents, which they both liked.

Come the April, got the case out to pack, because we were going to Richard's, wondered what was in it, and when I opened it I was surprised to see the two jumpers. lolol!!
,
Hope Roly's new glasses are alright. I think it's the same with a lot of things these days, they tell you a day when something will be ready, and it's usually days after before it is ready.



Caz, I'll pm you my address. Don't worry about not sending me a pm, I knew you were not well enough to be on the computer, and when you started to feel a lot better, you would be in touch again. I didn't pm you either, because I didn't want you to be snowed under with pm's that you were unable to answer.

Yes, I have plenty of blank moments when making cards, and like Ann, not only when making cards.lol!

I hope that Phil is managing to get to work and home again in this snow.




Ann, I hope the snow will clear and keep away for you and T's three days
away. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

What a good idea when we get blank moments, I'll have to try that, in fact I think you've already me told. Once I get my head around it, there's no stopping me then.




Jean, glad to hear that your vertigo isn't as bad some days as others. Take care and don't go out in the snow and ice, unless you have to. If this snow keeps on, I don't think we'll be going shopping tomorrow. I've also made arrangements to go and do some more Christmas shopping on Thursday and Friday, so will have to wait and see how the weather will be.

Hope that D isn't having too much trouble getting to work in the snow and ice. Pleases tell her to take care, and if it's too bad, to stay at home. Sorry I seem to be giving you a lot of orderslolol!! It's all said in concern for you both.



Joyce, not a very good day for you I know. We are all here for you, and ready to listen and help you.

Have you made some more Christmas cards lately? I've got a couple of more birthday cards to make as well as more Christmas cards. As soon as I've finished this, it's back to card making.

If you've had your scooter, I hope you've been able to go out on it, with having snow. I bet your dog loves the snow, Jennie and Michael's dog goes wild in it, and he especially likes eating it.




Sylvia, I hope you and OH are both alright. Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I seem to be way behind with mine, this year.

It won't be long now before you'll see MJ again, I bet you'll see a difference in him from when you seen him in the summer. Oh, it's lovely, you and OH will be there for his first Christmas.

Sending lots of love and hugs to MJ. xxxxxx



Tess, I hope that you are okay, we haven't heard from you for a couple of days.


Huia and Marie, you are lucky to be having your lovely warm weather in NZ and Oz. As you've both read, it's very cold and snowy here in the UK.
Hope that you are both okay.


Marilyn, nice to see you posting on here, we miss you and all your news.
You know the saying " the more the merrier". Hope you are enjoying your holiday in warmer climes.


Linda, great to hear from you again. Have you got any snow in your part of Berkshire? My son Richard says that they had a bit of snow this morning, in Langley and a small amount again this afternoon.
Hope all is well with you and your family.



We haven't spoken before, so I would like to say hello to Merlin.


I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, I'll speak to you all tomorrow.


Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

tonight's dinner will be cold roast chicken, sage and onion stuffing, greek roast potatoes

followed by icecream for OH (possibly), and soy dessert for me (imitation ice cream!!)