General Chat

Oh SueMaid,

Don't worry. I feel that way whenever I hear of anyone who passes or is close to passing with cancer. It brings it home to me and it's just a fact of life (and death unfortunately), so please don't feel badly.

I've had a whole cup of coffee this morning. Exciting!

Gotta go and attempt some breakfast.

Hi and Bye to all.

Ali-Cat

A whole cup of coffee!!! Now don't go silly Alison and drink another one:-))) Are you home now and still staying in the big city?

Sue xx

Good whatever all

Alison, it is so good to see you posting again and I am pleased to see that you are almost back to your old self. Enjoy the break, you thoroughly deserve it.

Linda you asked why we are putting artificial grass down; we are using it to create a path and as a ground cover in the gazebo. No maintenace, no water required and no lugging the mower up the steps.

Our block has a fall of 4.5 metres from the back to the front over a length of approimately 40 metres so the back area is terraced.

So digging up the old grass, which was pretty daggy anyway made sense. We now have more room for vegies

Allan

Hi Alison,
I am pleased that the doctors decided to "give you a break" from treatment.
I hope that you will continue to feel better as Christmas approaches, and that you may be able to enjoy it in the company of your family.
I can only imagine how good that coffee tasted.

Take care Alison - you're in our thoughts every day,

Tec

Alison - so pleased to see you posting and to know that you have finished the treatment - and also that you are not being sick! Will you be going back to the treatment later? or is that the last of it?

Yes, it's a sad time for those who have lost someone who was a part of their Christmases. It will be eighteen years this Tuesday for me, since my OH passed away and I find that I get a bit low until I have been up to the cemetery, then after that, I look forward to Christmas because life is different now - our children were not married at the time and I now have the inlaws and grandchildren. I keep telling myself not to go, as there is only a cylinder of ashes in a wall, covered by a plaque - but somehow, I always end up going there - and feeling better when I come away, so even though I have no intention of going there - I know I will go!

It is lovely to see you on here Alison. I am glad that you are finished with your treatment. Hopefully you will be able to eat a little more every day.

Tec, despite your best efforts, I am not taking up fishing. The children would seem to be buying OH a worm farm of some sorts for Christmas.

I hope both you and Berona can manage a little cheesecake, as long as you don't eat a whole one you will be fine. I most say that my fridge is rapidly filling with food. It is a tall one and with only the two of us, it never has all that much in it, but I am filling it with naughty things such as cheese.

Berona I know what you mean - I tell myself that I'm only going for my mum's sake but I somehow feel better for being there. Actually not far from my parent's house is a lovely peaceful spot near the lake and I often go there and sit and think of my father.

Sue xx

Berona, remembering someone we have loved so much is an important part of our lives. I am taking a holly wreath to put on my parents grave tomorrow. Mum always insisted on having one for dad and I promised her that she would always have one as well.

I must admit that I have been feeling very tearful tonight, after reading Jean's thread.

Linda, we have two fridges - one in the garage. It is usually used for beer but as none of the men in the family are huge drinkers it is well used for Christmas. It has a ham in there at the moment and the freezer has a turkey roast. Our kitchen fridge has been tidied up to fit all the little extras. We also have cheese, a couple of boxes of chocolate as well as the ordinary everyday stuff. The boxes of chocolates are "oh no, they've bought me something and I've got nothing for them" gifts:-)) All wrapped and ready to give. I only buy one tin of biscuits as I always seem to be given a couple of tins and we're not big on biscuits.

Sue xx

Sorry you're feeling tearful Linda xx

We don't need a fridge to put the beer in, the garage is cold enough on it's own.

Have you had any snow Tec? We have had a load more tonight. OH had cleared the path, but it is deeply covered again. I just got myself a drink of water from the tap and it was so cold I had to let it stand for a bit to warm up. It was like drinking ice water at first

OH said you're lucky it came through the tap, Linda:-)) Funnily enough he doesn't appear to be feeling nostalgic by the comments I'm making about the snow and ice.

Sue xx

I think the water pipes are buried deep enough in the ground for them never to actually freeze and the house is insulated really well.
I am worried about mum's house though as we only have the heating set to come on for two separate hours in the day to keep it aired. As it was due to be so cold last night I rang my brother and asked him to go round and alter the time clock to put it on for longer. It is all of three minutes for him in the car, but he couldn't be bothered to do it. He said that he would go today, but I know that he won't have. He hardly ever went when she was there and I am still having to make a weekly visit to check on things. I will go tomorrow, unless even more snow falls tonight, in that case the roads will be too bad

I feel at times that I take more responsibility where my mum's concerned than my brother or sister. My sister has moved quite away off and although it's her choice I feel she's left me with even more to do than I did before - and I believe that's one reason why she moved so far. I know I'm being unkind but unfortunately this is a long-standing grievance I have with her. With my brother it's just thoughtlessness on his part although to be fair he has a younger family still at home and doesn't always have the time.

Sue xx

My mum used to get so annoyed with my brother because he hardly ever bothered to pop in to see her. If he did , you can bet he wanted something. I used to try and shame him into going more often, but it was like water off a ducks back.
He has left me to do most of the sorting out of the will although he is joint executor. Now I have most of the money collected in, he thinks that we should have an interim share out as it will take a long time to sell the house.
I can just imagine my mum looking down and saying "I told you so". She always said that he couldn't wait to get his hands on her money.

Maybe I am being unkind because in the last couple of weeks he did pull his weight and he was genuinely upset when she went.

Gosh we are being maudlin tonight, or at least I am.

I wish that I could come for coffee with you and Berona, maybe I can win the lottery over Christmas so that i can join you

Hi everyone,
I've had a lazy evening. I fell asleep in the armchair listening to the radio!

I don't think you're being unkind Linda but like me you probably have a long suffering OH who has had to cook his own meals at times and spend many a day without your company. My OH did so with complaint and was so supportive when my dad was ill - but it was annoying to see my sister going out for dinner and enjoying her life as if nothing had happened. My brother was very good when dad was in the nursing home and hospital but my mother relies on me a lot and will always ask for my help first.

Good Morning Allan,
Have been busy on the phone - lots of our football pitches seem to have artificial grass - is it called astro - turf?
The local school games pitch is that also.

The snow hasn't arrived yet Linda.
Re your mother's house, if this extreme weather persists it might be a good idea to drain the systems down at the house, including water storage tanks, and turn the stopcock off.
Better safe than sorry ..........

Tec

Hello, Pat - you're not being lazy you deserve a break and a quiet evening.

Linda, yes we are being maudlin - that's the time of year I guess. I got a phone call yesterday evening from my sister saying that they wouldn't be down to see mum for Christmas and would hopefully see her sometime before the New Year. So I woke this morning feeling annoyed. I would love you to be able to come for coffee, Linda - and everyone else. What a meet that would be:-))

I must be off and do some stuff before we go to lunch. A good evening to you Poms and a good day to the Aussies. Don't know where Allan is.

Sue xx