General Chat

Sorry Liz I didn't see your message with mine going onto a new page. We are hoping to buy a second property to rent out and don't want a big mortgage so if we sell this place and buy something smaller, as we don't need all the rooms we have now, we can release some of the equity and use that towards the second property.

I like the new pic of Cassie <3

Oh, I see! Sounds like quite a project!!
We've done a load of gardening!! The rain and the sun have made the weeds grow like mad, and it's seems a never ending battle!! Having a C.O.T now and a rest!! Meatballs to night (Frank!!) pots, and you guessed it, beans!!

I could'nt for the life of me get the youview box to work last night to watch WDYTYAso I watched a Miss Marple instead on the tv. I shall try again tonight and hopefully I can get it to work as I like to see gardeners world when oh is in bed. He dos'nt like Monty.

I had little submarines in the cornflake packets you put baking powder in and popped them in a pint milk bottle of water and when you put your hand over the top they went up and down. Also my grandad did that with a matchstick broken in half I think?? Anyone heard of that? There was also a trick grandad did with a glass of water and a sheet of paper. The other grandad showed me how to get a sixpence out of the water in a saucer without gettig my fingers wet. He had a candle (short piece) in the middle of the saucer water in the saucer with the coin to the side but in the water. He lit the candle and put a glass over it and when the candle went out it sucked the water into the glass hence you could pick up the coin.

OH SOD IT. I have just lost a very long post.

Not again Frank, you always seem to lose your posts, have you tried back spacing, sometimes it comes back then you can send it. I've tried it and it works.

It sounds like you've had good weather if you've been in the garden all day Liz, I bet your garden looks a treat now. I tend to use a hoe on my weeds, I used to try and dig them all out for hours at a time but they always came back, so now the hoe does the work for me and it's much quicker, even if I have to do it quite a bit. It keeps it looking tidy which is the main thing.

I've just noticed the Dolphin email Ruby. Sandra is absolutely mad about Dolphins, always has been since she was a little girl, she loved the email so much she watched it twice and then saved it to watch again. She said it's made her day <3

Sorry to hear you couldn't watch your yourview box Mel, hope it works ok for you next time you try. Have you tired looking on the iplayer online instead, you might have better luck. I love gardeners world with Monty Don and isn't Nigel, his dog, lovely? I've never heard of all those tricks your granddad's taught you, they sound fun though.

OH is busy painting, there isn't to much to do with us leaving all the wardrobes in there. They cover a complete corner of the room so you can't see anything behind it so no need to paint there and we have a massive bay window across the whole of the opposite wall too so not much painting there too. OH should have it all finished before bedtime. He'd already done the door when he did the hall a few weeks ago so that doesn't need doing either. I think it took Sandra and I longer to move everything out and clean everywhere down, than it's going to take to paint the room ;-) So that's a nice quick job for him. I can do the second coat tomorrow if he gets to tired today. I just need him to do the ceiling as it's to high for me to do.

Going to sort out some food now and empty my washing machine, it's just finished.
BBL

It's raining here.............................................what a miserable day again.

Not beans tonight! We've got a picking of spinach instead!!!
Ripper Street tonight Mel!!!!

Blue Sky here Mel :-D :-D.In fact an almost clear blue sky !!!!
Liz I am not keen on Spinach .But bet yours will be very tasty :-D.Chris says he has white fly on someof hte veg :-S..We will be having more beans tonight.
Hannah is home .We have been sat o.utside having a good old chin wag.Her poor foot is so swollen .She has it in an ice wrap with foot elevated on the coffee table !!!
She did something to it at he Gym over three weeks ago.She needs it fit before next weekend when she goes to Italy where she is going to be Bridesmaid (in heels) .No way she can wear heels at the moment :-S

Frank not sure I would fancy hiring you in underpants and sweating like a trooper !!!!
even though I am sure you would do a great job :-D

Gill I have things jotted down now ,so am getting there :-D

James is just off to get Jess from Northampton .They will pick up a take away on the way home.Chris ,me and Hannah will be eating in about 30 mins .I am getting pretty hungry now.

We are having a grill up tonight because thats what I fancy.

Well the soaps are just starting, that's two hours of the evening gone.

I had a beer with my meal tonight, which is unusual for me. Now I'm thinking I may not go to the pub tonight.

Got my little friend round my feet wanting a fuss.

Lewis failed on his English exam but got 2 Bs and 4 Cs Whatever that means. I didn't have the change for further education, within 5 days of becoming 15 I was at work, contributing to the household expenses. :-( :-( :-(I hope he will carry on next year and get what he needs, for the job he wants .i I don't know what that is, but I assume it will be to do with computers.

At last we have some sunshine. Bit late in the day though. Looks like being another humid day tomorrow with thunder storms on Sunday.


Ros couldn't do the garage door this afternoon, as she couldn't find a clean paintbrush. There are plenty around, I will find one tomorrow, or she will buy one while out shopping

Liz Spinach is a veg that I have never tried. Ros has it sometimes in her Indian takeaway. I know it's suppose to be good for you, but I have never fancied it.

Lots of rain down your way then Mel. Makes a change for you. !! I bet OH isn't pleased if he can't get on with his jobs.

Cat want's feeding, so I'm off !!!

I keep forgetting Ripper Street is on on a Friday night Liz. If I can't get the box to work I shall watch it on iplayer.

Gill, I've pmd you.

thanks Liz I've replied :-) Haven't been online for a few hours with OH painting as I have my router in the bedroom so I haven't read some of the posts. I'll read them now ;-)

Evening all...

I've enjoyed reading the thread tonight with all your fab comments. There were so many that I can hardly keep track but I'm sure once I've been on here for a while it will be easier. Someone asked for age and where I'm from. I'm in my 60s, was brought up in Cheshire and now live in Aberdeenshire. I've been out and about today. It's been a beautiful warm day so plenty of dog walking, gardening and my reading group in the afternoon.

I didn't have a walking talking doll as I don't think my parents could have afforded it. I preferred baby dolls anyway which was just as well. I was once given a doll and pram when I was four or five by a neighbour who worked in the mill in the 50s. I have a photo with that doll, my older sister and the neighbours son George. He was a character and no doubt I'll tell you a few stories about him given time. The doll had a pot head and I loved it. I didn't have it for many years as when my younger sister was a toddler she bounced it straight in its bonce and cracked it open. I loved that doll but I don't even remember it's name. The pram was very old and black and I'm not sure what happened to it. I had three older brothers so it was likely turned into a bogey/cartie.

I remember the pegs that were mentioned, they were called dolly pegs, probably because of the shape of them. One of our neighbours had what you would call dolly peg legs - the same thickness from ankle to knee. I also used to dress them and draw faces on the pegs too. I once made a fairy queen for the Christmas tree using a doily for the wings. My mum, who had an ample bosom, used to stick several dolly pegs into her cleavage, which she called her 'happy valley' LOL. Very handy when hanging out the washing with six children to look after! She had a beautiful singing voice, Deanna Durbin style, if any of you can remember that far back. She always sang when hanging out the washing and standing for hours at the twin tub.

Some of my childhood memories:
Sitting on the swing and getting a row for singing 'drown him, drown him all you little children. He is love, he is love! I didn't know It was supposed to be crown him.

Going all over the estate on stilts made by dad, and for one summer, with a sparrow called Cutie on my shoulder. I found him in the garden with a big bubble on his chest so he became a member of the family and was the sweetest little bird.

Sitting on a Beano annual, balanced on top of a roller skate, and racing my friends down the street. It was a bus route but in the 50s it wasn't really a problem, all the kids played out on the streets.

Playing cowboys and Indians. We used to make our own bows and arrows. There were some bushy elderflower trees in a neighbours overgrown garden. The saplings were very bendy so that made the bow. Two slits with a penknife and some string and job done. Small garden canes for the arrows, four slits and a Park Drive cigarette packet cut up for the four feathers. Woooohooooo talk about Custer's Last Stand!

Well, enough of my blethers. Looking forward to your memories...

you're going to miss the cat Frank when it's gone :-( You'll have to get one of your own to fuss over ;-) it'll be good company for you when Ros is out.

Thanks Jane, like I said there's no rush I was just curious as to how it all ended

Hope you managed to watch your programmes on the iplayer Mel, sorry to hear your viewbox is still playing up

Well, it's getting late and we're all tired, so we're off to bed now
Night NIght see you all tomorrow

Thanks for the email Gill, it's always useful to know the latest on these things, but we wouldn't qualify I'm afraid. We got a boiler for MIL and FIL a few years ago with the Warm Front Scheme and it's been brilliant. We decided tonight to go for a new one so I rang the chap to tell him. It's going to be needed before much longer as it's very old in boiler years anyway and we don't want to be worrying about it failing in the winter. He can do it next week and it will take 2 days. We don't have any water tanks at all Jane, no hot one and no cold ones in the loft, so there's no immersion. Our water is heated as we use it.

Yes Gill, I would be very interested to know the white paint your hubby has used.

Well, after lunch we looked around a garden centre and OH got himself some clogs for nipping up the garden in. I use them too, so quick to put on and take off. I felt shattered by the time we got back so lay on the bed and was there till 9.00pm!!! I still feel tired though so will be back there again shortly.

MIL was a bit brighter and sitting up this morning and managed a bit of porridge Frank, but after half an hour was tired, so the visitors left then. She seems to vary day to day. It sounds like the boxing in hit a few snags, but then don't most jobs! Still you got it sorted. I bet you will need the HOT!! shower tomorrow to ease your aches.

I hope Lewis can resit some of his exams and get the results he needs. He musn't give up or he might regret it!

It sounds like Hannah will need to slow down a bit and rest her leg if the swelling's to go down for her to squeeze her high heels on by next weekend Jane. What a time to get an injury!

We played cowboys and indians too Iris. I think most small boys (and girls like me!) had toy guns then and would pretend to shoot each other and no-one worried about it. Our bows and arrows were made from bracken stems and string and we'd stick bird feathers we found in our hair and paint our faces. Your mum sounds quite a character with her singing and 'peg rest'! lol. I often wonder what happened to various toys....they just seemed to disappear!

I don't mind spinach in things like lasagne and used to grow it for the small leaves for mixing in salad. It didn't give me strength like Popeye though! :-)

Morning All,

Another sunny one that is to get hotter and hotter today, so I shall be nipping out for a lettuce and cold meat soon for a salad later and before it gets too hot.

OH has gone to the hospital and will then be off to footie later, so I'll be home alone like Frank says. I don't like going out at the weekend as everywhere is twice as busy and it's more difficult to park. I slept like a log last night and feel more like my old self again this morning. Mind you the neighbour went out and left the dog in the garden barking and howling for over an hour so that wasn't too restful. The shower was nice and warm this morning too. :-D

I'm enjoying Iris's memories but better get my skates now! BBL.

I give up, I have been sat here like an idiot for over half an hour and suddenly the screen went blank. So I lost everything. and I had such a lot to say. Will try again sometime later today.

Enjoy the weather

Morning all and evening Kim,

So good to see Iris postng this morning with all her memories. I loved the bit about mum and her peg holders!! What a scream.........and singing too. She sounds a happy lady Iris. Yes I made bows and arrows too and put feathers in my hair. Mum made me a chiefs headress once with swan feathers we gathered along the river where we went fishing. She sewed them onto elastic but they got bent in the end and did'nt stand up anymore. I had a cowboy outfit one Christmas as I used to watch the cowboy films on the telly with grandad. there's a picture of me in it somewhere. I was only small. Nowadays it is all pirate outfits and the comic book characters.

I was looking in Mo**iosn this week as last week in the que I was talking to a little girl of 5 (she told me she was 5 nearly 6) she had two little dolls on the belt behind her mums shopping. She then came up with two dresses from the Princess movie and spoke to her mum and asked if she could have them. I did'nt catch what was said but she came back with the prettiest one and it went on the belt with the two dolls. I told her she was very lucky and her mum told me she was buying them with her own money. This week I saw the dolls in there and they were £4.99 each. I then looked at the dress she had chosen and that was £12.50 so she must have been a very lucky little girl and get quite a lot of pocket money to be able to spend that much. She was so cute though............

We had nothing like that when I was young. She told me she had 8 dressing up dresses now.

Wish we had some sun today...It is still grey skies and it did rain a bit last night but it is warm. It is really strange weather.

I used to make a covered wagon out of dads wheelbarrow and a wooden frame found in the garden and put a white sheet over it. A home made hobby horse woud be put between the shafts (handles) and I would play for hours with that al on my own in the garden.

I am pleased MIL was able to sit in the chair when the visitors came and that she managed a little porridge for breakfast. It must put G's mind at rest when he sees she is more comfortable but as you say she varies from day to day.

Did you manage to get the pipe job done Frank? Without any mishaps???? :-S

Lovely day here, very sunny, but windy!! Done loads of washing and all the mowing between us and we're now sitting out in the sun with a beer!
Cas has a new toy!! We bought her a reinforced nylon ring to throw for her and she is having a high old time! Having to be a bit careful though as it is HOT and we don't want to exhaust her.
We're very fond of Spinach Jane and grow a lot of it. It's best when it's very young and tender. Can be a bit difficult to cook though as it makes a lot of water so you don't need any extra water in the pan even to start it off, else you end up with mush, which isn't pleasant!! You need to use a very low heat to get it started, else it will burn!! As you can see, it's a bit of a fiddle!!