General Chat

*Breathes sigh of relief* Just finished the scrap book I have made for T for our 50th. Will have to give it to him before we go away as I don't think it would help my luggage allowance on the flight Lol. I am really pleased with it, so many memories in those pages.

Sylvia, would like a bit of your heat but not too much.
Lovely sunny day here today.

Hello everyone hope your all well ,the weather here is abit clammy Jans in the garden trying to make alift to go under his motorbike so if it needs looking at he can just jack it up.but not having agood time making it ,well im just going to try and make some more cards after my B.I.L has been i put aload of photos on and now cant get them off to print ,as one of my son and g,sons dont have pc so sending them the photos i took while i was over,
Sallie nice talking to you yesterday
Caz how are you today will ring you weds
Mo ,Liz ,Ann and anyone i have missed i wish you all better days take care all got to get on with what im doing
nearly forgot our Jean thinking of you always
bye for now
Love Dutchxx
L

Hi all


quick visit ...... another hot day.

Yesterday broke a record set in 1946


today is expected to be even hotter



Retreating to the basement again



Mo .... not too much has gone to the Sally Ann

Actually, we have also thought about ebay .................. J knows that MJ will not be interested in a number of her toys from the '70s and '80s. We're going to keep a few for when the little nieces from the north visit. But some of the stuff is also possibly wanted by collectors


But, none of us have got any experience with ebay!


MJ had tepid baths, wore only a nappy ...... but he'd also got overtired and fought going to sleep 'cos there were too many interesting things to see!




off to the cool ..................... it's just coming up to noon, and it's already 30C outside and over 32C inside this room .................. with the fan going strong!




see you later ....... maybe!!!




sylvia
xxxx

Hello Ladies,

Just a quick look in to see how everyone is. I'm busy doing my cards, but have just stopped for a cuppa and a very quick look on a few boards.
I need to send some pm's too, but I'll leave those until later on today.


Sylvia, I don't envy you having it so hot there. Alun is quite envious, as he loves hot and sunny weather ----I can't stand it, it makes me feel very lethargic, so I tend to close the curtains and blinds have the fan on.

Did J enjoy herself visiting the family? I bet they were all thrilled to see MJ. If the weather is too hot, it does tend to make the little ones a bit restless, so they seem to take more time to settle.

We need to have a good sort out in this house. Richard has so many of his things stored here, ever since he left to go to University eight years ago. He only has a small flat, with two bedrooms, so only has limited storage space. Of course, it’s worse now that Christie is living there too.

Well, back to card making now, I might look in again later.

Love and best wishes. Sallie.xxx

My lord Tess, what a coincidence, that we were both out in Malaya. You must have been on your way back as we headed out there.
At the time of our going out, the Suez Canal was closed, and we had to take the long way round. It took us six weeks on the boat. And the Bay of Biscay was awful, we were all so unwell at the time.
We used to go Penang to visit the beach.
So you will understand, when I say we used to play in the monsoon drains,during the heavy downpours of rain. We would start up at the top of the road, and get ourselves washed down to the bottom.
Many a night, we would move our beds, and mosquito nets out onto our veranda, to sleep.
Did you have an ahma (sp) (maid out there). We did, and she used to make us laugh so much, especially when it was chicken for dinner. It was always a live chicken, and she would kill and pluck it, then cook it.
On one occasion, she cut the head of the chicken, and it continued running round the kitchen, minus it's head.
Ohh did we scream, dad had to come running to catch it, as Mai was up on a chair in tears.
Oh I must stop this I will be boring the others, with my reminiscing (sp)

Sylvia, I am blowing cold air your way, to try and cool you down a bit.
Poor little MJ, babies don't understand do they. They all fret when overheated.
I suppose you could have put him in a tepid bath, to cool him down.
So how much did J give to the Sally Army. I bet there was more left at home than was given away. How on earth is she going to be able to carry extra back with her, it's hard enough carrying a baby, let alone the extra's.
So as per norm, it's down to good ol mum and dad.. we do come in handy sometimes don't we. lol

Sallie don't strain your eyes to much, doing all those cards love. When you set your mind on doing something, you certainly stick to it don't you.
Oh it's sunday isn't it, has Richard been over for his lovely sunday roast.
I don't know about you, but sometimes I wish that someone else did the sunday dinner. It's always down to me. Still if it goes wrong, it's down to me and not Roly.

I wonder where Ann is today. If she's got any sense, she will be sitting down resting her poor bruising.

Jean my lovely, hows you today. ((((BIG HUGS)))) just for you. mwha.

Cooee Marie, hows your weather over there.. As you have seen already Sylvia is suffering from the heat in Canada.

Huia, hello sweetie how are you doing.

Liz, I hope the pressure on you is not as bad as it has been love.

Well girls, I am going to love and leave you now.
Take care one and all. Love and best wishes Mo xxx

Hi all

It was soooooooooooooooooo hot today that we all went down into the cool basement after we came back from morning coffee. I only re-emerged about 30 minutes ago, to check my email and my "sites".

We had lunch and dinner down there, J sorted out some more of the boxes of her stuff ........ what to throw out, what to send to the Sally Ann, what to take with her now (or for us to take there at Christmas), and what to leave in storage with us for a little while longer.

I read, entertained MJ .... and spent a lot of time trying to put him to sleep ............ without too much success most of the time. Poor little mite was so hot.


It is still 29C outside and 32C in this room at almost 9pm! The maximum outside this afternoon was almost 32C


And it will be like this until at least Thursday.


Take care everyone



s
xxx

Mo, the first time we were in Malaya 1953-55. We lived in Taiping and then moved to Penang (I think that it was that way round). I vaguely remember swimming pools in the hills, partly fed by a cold stream, used to sit in the stream and look down at a lower pool. All very natural looking, with just a little help from man.
If the C.T.'s had been active that week, we didn't go swimming. We had three or four different homes in that time and at least two schools. (not boarding schools).

Made a short visit to the Cameron Highlands, during my holiday in 2003. The nuns from the convent I went to 1958-1960 went there if they had been ill, as it was much cooler than the lowlands.

I am still trying to get all my family tree material properly organised. My sis-in-law, is doing her tree (we exchange info) and is keeping records of the different generations in book form.
I am tempted to follow her lead, but may also combine it with a sort of scrap-book effort. So will have pictures, photos and pretty bits too.

Just need to sssort out my mass of paperwork before getting anymore bits and pieces.

Mo, it's difficult to say how many cards I'll be able to make with the stash I bought today. I bought enough Christmas toppers to make fourteen cards, but I also bought a few sheets of card with a Christmas theme, but not to go with the toppers I bought today. I also bought five sheets of gingham patterned card so that I can finish several Wobbler cards. I haven't been able to find any lately, but I noticed that Kate had had some in---so I can now finish them, and put them in the box with the other finished cards. Although, I wouldn’t buy any more Wobbler cards, they are certainly not worth the money.

I hope you can understand what I mean lolol!!


With me, it depends on who the card is for, if it's for someone in the family or a special friend, then I don't mind spending a bit more. Jean and Ann will tell you, we crafters never throw anything away, even small bits of card----so we can always make some cards without having to buy anything. I also recycle some things off other cards, we don’t waste a thing.


Ann, sorry to hear that your bruises are still a bit painful and seem to be taking a while to fade. Let’s hope that they’ll be better very soon. It certainly ‘sounds’ as though you enjoyed your birthday. It’s lovely to have a fuss made of us sometimes, it gives us a special feeling.


Well I’m not going anywhere tomorrow, apart from making the Sunday roast, the only thing I’m going to do, is cards. If I don’t keep at it, they won’t be finished in time for the church fair, so girls if I’m missing for a little while, you’ll know where I am.


Speak to everyone soon.



Love and best wishes. Sallie. xxx

Mo, yes I used Witch Doctor which is Witch Hazel, and then Arnicare which is Arnica, both good for bruises. The worst pain is in my waist, the bruise is tender but I think I must have twisted my waist as well because the pain is muscular. Hopefully it will go in time.

Tess, I went to school in The Cameron Highlands, during all the troubles with the terrorists in the jungle out there. We had an armoured escort to and from the boarding school.
We were out there from about 1956-1959. My dad was stationed at Taiping, not far from Kuala Lumpa.
It was a very exciting time in my life, I have to admit.

Ann did you try Witch Hazel on the bruises. Thats the only problem with bruising, it takes so long to disappear doesn't it.
And as for the getting old bit, well, it comes to all of us, and there is no escaping it.
If we only knew when we were young, that when we took the mickey out of our elders, that we also would be in the same position one day, perhaps we wouldn't have been so eager to laugh.
There are days when I feel that I was born with two left feet, and when I struggle to get out of bed, I think I have left my spine on the mattress,as my back aches so much. Well sometimes I wish I could have. But hey, life goes on.

Goodness me Sallie, you were up and out of the house early.
I bet the lady from Katz was rubbing her hands together when she saw you
Card making is not exactly a cheap hobby is it. I hope you don't mind my asking but how many cards can you make out of what you bought.

Oh got to go, visitor, see you all later, Love Mo xxx

Hi Girls,
I’m just having a quick look in, before we go out again. We got the twenty past eight bus to Derby this morning so that we could get what we wanted while it was quiet there. Alun wanted to go to Maplins to get some kind of electrical things for one of his train layouts. So while he went there, I went to have a look in Katz, craft stall on the market. I thought I'd just pick up a couple of sheets of card and paper but I still managed to spend £17. The trouble is, I'm going there again next Wednesday, to another parchment class--- I'll just have to stop my eyes from wandering, Kate has so much lovely craft stuff there, that it's really difficult to resist. lolol!!

Mo, I've seen some card display stands on one of the craft sites, but I can't remember which one----just typical of me. Alun tells me that I should save it in my favourites, but I keep forgetting to do that.

Jean, I’m so pleased that you are feeling better and that you’ve been able to get back into scrapbooking. I’m really pleased that D has settled into her new job. She’s achieved so much, that she really deserved to have the job.
Well, I’ve just got to go and get one or two things in Mo------s, so I’ll look in later.
Love, Sallie.xxx

Yes Mo up and about, had to do a grocery shop this morning and then some washing. No effects from the cava you will be pleased to hear. Wish I could say the same about the bruises. It is a week now they seem to be taking for ever to heal. Side and foot are still quite painful. The joys of getting older and less flexible.

Mo, I too went to school in Malaya!
To Army Schools on Dads first tour of duty (we were there for the Coronation).
Later to a Convent School in the south of the country, where we went to school with local girls.

Didn't get back till 2003 but managed to find a Convent School friend in K.L

Tess, when I was at school in Malaya, oooh many years ago,we had to play hockey. Now we were supposed to hit the ball, but guess who got hit more than the ball, yep moi. I always seemed to be in the way, whenever someone was trying to hit the ball, and I got hit by the stick instead. Now Ann had bruises,from her fall, but I had bruises from the ball.lol
Anyway love, slow but sure is the best way to recover from your troubles, and we are here should you ever feel down. There is always someone to cheer you up.

I wonder if Ann is up and about yet, after her bottle of Cava last night.

Sallie what a shame you weren't looking for a stand for your cards, when Woolies closed down, they probably would have given you one, just to get rid of it.
Is there any cards shops in your area closing down, if so perhaps you could get one from them.

Hi Jean, have you got anything good planned for the weekend.
How are J and D. It's good to hear that D is getting on so well with her new post. She certainly deserved the promotion, after all the hard work she did.
Have you still got the noisy neighbour next door. Or has she calmed down a bit now. I do hope she has, as she was a nightmare wasn't she.
Her little on must be at the stage where she needs her sleep.

Sallie, I have a fear of water on my face as well, I never did like washing it, You can smell me coming from a mile away.

Just seen your post Tess, so thought I'd say hello to you. I'm afraid that I'm another one that wasn't very good at sport, and hated sport lessons at school. Like you, I suffered from a bad chest as a child, I had Asthma up until I was seven, and although I grew out of it, I still suffered from a tight chest if I ran. All my life if I suffer from a bad cold, it affects my chest.

I know I should be ashamed to say that I can't even swim. I didn't like putting my face in water, and I still don't like it.

Although, I love scrapbooking and card making, I'm not that good at it--I only started making cards at the beginning of this year, and have been become, like many others, addicted to it.
Love, Sallie. xx

Just thought that I should make it clear that I am hopless at sports myself.
Had a "bad chest" as a child and couldn't run more than a few paces without having to stop to cough.
Tried doing the long jump... but couldn't jump as far as the sand.
One day a friend and I had a use of a couple of tennis raquets and a tennis ball however we gave up after about 15minutes as I couldn't hit the ball with the raquet, not even to serve.
Anything to do with running, jumping or hand eye coordination is just a no-no.
I can swim, (after a fashion) and managed to get my free pass when at Senior School. Now that I am a pensioner I can swim for free, so should try to start again.

My illness isn't anything really terrible, it is just low energy, with an occassional very very low energy, and general weakness.
When my energy is very low everything slows or grinds to a halt (including my digestive system) This includes both physical and mental abilities. So though processes and planning ability etc are yuk.

Anyway slowly getting over my latest bout of very very low energy, hope to soon to back to my normal SLOW.

Sallie I bought a card display off e-bay you build it up when it arrives it can hold 15 /20 cards in steps. I think it was about £11.00 with postage I then decorated
it with peel offs depicting what was on the cards , sentiments etc;and I also had a see through box for large ones to stand in....For christmas cards, I would have a look in a pound shop to se if there are any card holder sometimes a christmas shop opens and there are things in there that maybe could be adapted fo display....I have managed to get on with the album so hope to do christmas cards afterwards....D is doing very well, thank you, she is loving her new post same place but a more responsable one.....she is a workaholic,, but not in the house.....lol....sending hugs to Liz, I will get in touch too...

bye for now, love Jean xx

It's nice to hear you have had a lovely birthday Ann, you deserve it.
If I get quite a few birthday cards, I usually put a bit of blue tack on the backs of them, and put them on the living room door. That way I can get the beauty out of all of them.
Now you take it easy on that bottle of Cava tonight. I dont want to log on tommorrow, and see you have had another mishap. LOL

Hi Tess. I have not been to the theater for a couple of years now. The last show we went to see, was "Wicked" up near Victoria station. Prior to that it's been donkeys years, I believe it was the show " Buddy "we saw then.
I am not a very sport orientated person, but I do enjoy dancing, especially line dancing. And I do love to follow my grandchildrens love of their sports.
One grandaughter is into her athletics big time. Two grandsons are footie fanatics. One used to play for the Gills junior league, but got fed up of being dropped, so left them to join another club.
One of my grandaughters, competes in ballroom dancing. And she often goes to the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, for competitions. Her favourite dances are Latin.
I do enjoy my darts though. And during our darts season, I beg for support from all our friends on here. I need it believe me.
I think my best talent is yapping. Now Now Jean, no comments from you PLEASEEEE.

Hello Sallie.
It's good to hear that the counsellor has left the option for you to go back open. It's nice to know that you have still got her backing should you need it.
How nice that the children enjoyed themselves. But ahhh it looks like you will have to go back to the craft shop, to replenish your stock. Now I bet Alun will be dissappointed about that. Tut Tut thats a shame aint it. lol
Well he gets his enjoyment from his model railway, he definately wouldn't begrudge you your enjoyment with your crafting, that much I do know.
Poor Liz has been having a rough time of it from Im Indoors. She has been telling us about it over on the friendlies thread. I wont say any more other than, Liz don't forget we are here, should you need to scream and shout.

Right girls, I am away for now. Speak to you all tommorrow.
Take good care of yourselves. Night Night god bless. Love Mo xxx

Hi Girls,

Well our visitors left about eleven this morning, we really enjoyed having them, as we don't see them often. The girls are really lovely, polite and well mannered, with no sulking if there was something they wanted, but not allowed to have. They had brought their colouring pencils and some paper with them, so that they could do some drawing, which they both love doing. I got out some of my crafting stash, their eyes lit up when they seen what was in some of the boxes, needless to say, the two of them ended up going home with quite a few things. Alun also gave them a lot of paper and card that he had from work. So you can imagine how pleased they both were with that.

Sylvia, I hope you and OH had a lovely anniversary yesterday, and that you all enjoyed your special meal at the restaurant, last night.
Oh, I love fresh salmon, and I’m sure that the one your OH bought straight from the fishing boat would have been wonderful. It must be lovely for you to be able to go and buy the salmon that fresh.
Sending lots of hugs and kisses to MJ!! xxxxxx

Mo, the colours in your spare bedroom sound nice. Mind you, blue is one of the colours that I really like and tend to go for, along with certain shades of green and pink.
I had my last session with the Counsellor yesterday morning. Apparently she has put on my notes, that if I have any problems between the next three to six months, I have to be referred back to her, and no one else. As she pointed out, I have a few issues that I still have to work through, so could find that I might go back a bit. We’ll have to wait and see.

Jean, it’s great to see you back on here, we’ve really missed you. It’s also good to know that you are feeling so much better. You have plenty to keep you occupied by the look of it. I’ve sold two of the cards that I had made for the church, so I’ll have to do another two to replace them. I still don’t know how many to make for them, so far I’ve made a selection of birthday, thank you, new baby and new home cards. My sister-in-law asked me if I could also make some Christmas cards, with the fair being at the end of September. Another problem I have is what to put them in, so that they can be displayed so that people can see them, without having to fight their way through a couple of boxes.
I hope that J and D are both okay. Is D getting on alright on the medication she was put on last?
I also hope that your neighbour and her friends are behaving themselves and not making the noise they were.

Marie, hope all is okay with you and your family. We haven’t heard from you for a little while, so hope that you’re well.

Huia, hope all is well with you. Have you been to see Phil over the last couple of days? If you have, I hope you found him more responsive while you were there this time,
Alun’s niece was telling us how much more difficult things are becoming with her dad. Her mum, Alun’s sister, is finding that he seems to getting more difficult as each day goes by. He also seems to be getting a bit aggressive if he can’t get them to understand what he wants. It’s awful to see a man that was always so gentle, kind and thoughtful, like he is now. But of course we all know that it isn’t the real Alan, that’s being like he is now. It’s the horrible illness that he has, that’s making this way. I just feel so very sad for him, but it’s terrible for Lynda, to see him as he is. Their children are very good, but they can only do so much, especially the ones that live away from them. Although they all know what he’s like, it’s only their daughter Sue (the one who’s been staying with us) that sees what he’s like a lot of the time, along with her mum.

Ann, hope you’ve had a really lovely birthday, and that you had a lovely meal out. Did you get some more stash out of your birthday money.
Knowing how difficult it is to resist buying all the lovely craft things, now maybe that was a silly question for me to ask you. lolol!!

Tess, hope we see you back on here again soon. I think both Mo and Jean have given you a pretty good idea of the mad bunch we are on here. lolol!!!
We all may be a little bit mad, but we’re also a caring bunch too, we are always here for each other, ready to listen and help if we can.

Well I hope that Debbie and her family are enjoying their holiday, and that the weather is good for them.

Dutch, hope that you and Jan are enjoying his holiday from work. Have you had any news of his aunties over the last few days?

I sent Liz a pm, because I was concerned that we hadn’t seen her on here for a while. She’s not too good at the moment, so she asked if I would let you all know.
She’ll be back with us as soon as she feels able to. All the best Liz, and hope that it won’t be too long before you are better.

Love and best wishes. Sallie. xxx

I'm back again ... you asked abou hobbies well....
Besides geneology I like reading (so am one of the GReaders). I love going to the Thertre, but haven't been for quite a while .... Has anyone been to see The Railway Children at The Waterloo Theatre? It looks really good but is a tad expensive.
I also like athletics, have managed to see National and International Athletics, both outdoor and indoor in Birmingham a few times .. earlier this year I went to International Gymnastics at the NIA.
In my youth I used to go to football and saw my team (West Bromwich Albion) play at Wembley a few times.
Have also done yoga and should really make more of an effort to find another yoga group.

I like to think that I have the soul of an artist, but know that I haven't the talent.

I'm off for a lie down now, still a little shakey.