[LilyG]

Karen: Recipe looks great! Slow down!

Glenda: I know what you mean. I lost a contact this past weekend to. I have a spare but its old and I dont see to well out of it. Have an appointment This week to get news ones. Hate not seeing very well

Peggy: That Potato salad looks good. I love Potato salad. Its a red light food for me. But I have gotten it under control. Just need to watch it.(I have to get rid of any left overs as it is very good for Breakfast ) Will diffenety try this!

Maria: Congrats on the new laptop! Sounds like a great one. Im jealous. My DH is very gadget orientated to. More so then me. Im pretty bad myself I must admit Use a Palm Piolt now to track my points and other things.

Slavika: Sounds like you had a great day! The weather was perfect for spending time in the yard. SOunds like you got alot done and had a great weekend!

Ann: Your party sounded fun! Lots of work, but at least you had help!

Got back from trip yesterday so have lots to do. Have a great day all!

[flaggies]

G'day all

Nice to see the posts this morning
sounds like you all had a good weekend.

Peggy You have a son like us, we love him dearly but he is not what you would call a 'handyman'. He just seems to have no idea eventhough he tries and helps dh to learn, it never quite works out!
Sorry to hear about the youg person that you are having a fundraiser for, I hope you will raise lots.
I spoke to ds this morning who is attending the funeral of the lad who died on Saturdaynight, tomorrow. The real tragedy is that he was drunk driving, thank goodness he didn't kill anyone else. As you can imagene, the family is devastated.

Glenda Yes we have seen on the news and stories in the paper of the tragedy in your town. I thought of you, isn't it surreal when you have often travelled that bridge yourself.
Pleased you had a great weekend, your memorial day is like our Anzac Day. I always find it very moving and I can understand it would have been even more so this year after Sept.11.
Poor you being 'stuck' with Austin , life is tough for you Glenda!

Lily Nice to 'see' you back. Did you have good trip? My new laptop is just great and I am discovering more and more things it does.
You are one up on me though, I don't have a Palm Pilot. DH uses one for work and finds it quite handy.
I'll be off continueing my discovery tour

Have a great day/night all
Cheers
Maria

[Lizziepie]

More rain in the night.

Glenda: Didn't realize until reading the thread today that that bridge accident was in your home town. Just watching it again on the news tonight. A scary thing. Something one would never think about when driving over. Sounds like you are enjoying Austin a lot. Little ones are so much fun. And then they grow up: But we love them just the same.

I really blew my points the past couple of days. I'll hate to go to weigh in this week, Will probably have made the numbers go up again. It get so disgusted with myself when my will power just seems to disappear.:

Slavika: Have started on the second bath now. But when it comes time to paint the bedroom we are having someone else do it. Too much for me. My aching joints couldn't take it.

Hi to everyone else. Hope you have all recuperated from your week-end.

Maria: Any loss of life is tragic, but when a young person dies, and especially alcohol related, it seems to be worse, because it is just so unnecessary and such a waste of a life, all for a few too many drinks. Sounds like you are having fun with the new toy.

Time for some shut-eye, so I can finish the paint job tomorrow. Have already found the border for this job. so it will be done before we travel.
Good night all. Ann

[flaggies]

Back again...................

Ann sounds like you deserve a good night sleep with all that painting
You going over points is such a familiar story and so is beating yourself up about it!
It is extremely frustrating, to say the least.

I just received an e-mail from dh telling me to get ready to 'retire' from my job and prepare myself to go to Hong Kong and Beijing
It is enough to send a person to drink AND eat
Knowing what the company is like, nothing is certain until the day we go! India was looking a real possibility, I guess this is an improvement especially with what is happening in India at the moment.

Thank goodness I have my new computer

I'll let you know as soon as I know more............................

Cheers
Maria

[painter5]

Good grief Maria I would be so confused when I get up in the morning just wondering what country I am in. I hate to see you give up the "perfect job". Do you like Hong Kong? And do you have any idea how long you will be away this time? Glenda I thought of you when I read about the bridge collapse in the news. I wondered if you ever went over it. Such an awful tradgedy. It seems like Oklahoma has had more than its share of wierd things happening. Ann don't wear yourself out. When are you leaving? I know it is soon. Lily welcome back. Nothing is going on here. I might go out today and look for a new bed comforter. Depends on if it rains hard or not. Hate doing the highway in the rain. Now it is time for a walk.

[flaggies]

G'day all,

Pouring with rain here this morning so much so that I abandoned walking to work and caught the bus, which takes longer than walking

DH and I went out to dinner last night to discuss the latest upheaval in our lives. It is not quite as bad as I initially thought. We will be in Sydney till early October when dh hands over the completed project but........he will be going to Beijing and Hong Kong for a week here and a fortnight there......over the next few months. He likes me to go with him and I will probably decide when I know where. I am not overly fond of Hong Kong but I have never been to Beijing, so I wouldn't mind going with him for a week or so there. It also depends on my work. It is supposed to come to an end in August/September when the department re-locates and I doubt if I will be needed in the new scheme of things. That would suit me perfectly but I am reluctant to resign to just go a week to Hong Kong then come back and start looking for work again
It also looks more and more likely now that after Sydney we will be going to China or Hong Kong for 6 months or so but who knows.

Tomorrow night is THE night, going to the Chris Isaak concert I am very excited about that!
Sunday we are going to Stockton Beach, about 2 hour drive from Sydney. The beach is only accesible by 4x4 wheel drive and we are told there is about 28 km of beach and it is as though you are in the desert.(with water ) the weather does not look good but what the heck, we will go anyway.

Have a great day/night all
Cheers
Maria

[painter5]

Time for a new name, this time a pirate name. Go here http://www.fidius.org/quiz/pirate.php My pirate name is:


Mad Mary Rackham



Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

[slavika]

Hi Everybody Ok Peggy my pirate name is:
DREAD PIRATE READ
Did you find a comforter?
Maria geez, my life is boring in comparison to yours. You have to decide whether you are going to quit your job and go to Hong Kong, and I get to decide which grocery store I will shop in this week.

Glenda that bridge collapsing is just such a terrible thing. We caught some of it on the news. I guess with the big news networks everybody finds out quickly what is happening all over the country.

This trying to get the holiday weight off is getting to me. GRRRR It seems that I am over my points every day....and what did I do today.....made a lovely lemon pie for dessert.

Talk to you all later.

[flaggies]

G'day all,

Captain Mary Read reporting

Thank you Peggy for a bit of fun this morning

Slavika How annoying trying to shift that holiday weight. It certainly is a constant battle. I take a few pounds off and put a few pounds on, just a never ending see-saw. I wonder if we end up in Beijing for a while will I loose some weight chinese food in china is not quite the chinese food we get at our take-away

Work is very pleased I'll be around for a while. I am at a loss why as I do very, very little. Today I do actually have some work but as you can see no screaming hurry, one has to get their priorities right and my priority first thing in the morning is coming here

Off to Chris Isaak concert tonight

Have a great weekend all
Cheers
Maria

[painter5]

Okay now here is the Ya Ya name for you. Mine is Princess Drunk as a Skunk. http://www.moviefone.com/features/fe...568,0&uid=5500 Now I really have to see this movie. With a name like that I feel I should be a Sweet Potato Queen. I did find a new comforter and Bed, Bath and Beyond. It is a pale washed green with purple and blue flowers on one side and stripes on the other. It was a Bed in a Bag. I am into purple and green lately. Maria have fun at the concert.

[Lizziepie]

Hi: of my two names I do like the yaya one the best. First my Pirate name is Mad Anne Kidd. I decided maybe Captain Kidd might have been my great great great great Grandpa.:
The description of me said I was among the very wierd, more than most.

Now to the good name Vicountess Magnolia Blossom. How about that!! I think of all three of the new names I have, this one has to be my favorite. Must be some royalty out in the woodshed somewhere?

I am happy to report that the bathrooms are all finished and settled. I must say I am happy with the results. It does give one a lift.. Of course, now I need to go looking for new bedspread, towels, etc. But that will have to wait until we get home from our trip. Expect we will leave Monday or Tuesday. And will be gone for about 6 weeks. I will check in from time to time like I did last summer, but know I will miss a lot.

Peggy: You new bed in a bag sounds very nice. I'll have a chance to look in several places on our trip. May find just what the Dr. ordered.

Hi everyone Maria Hope you enjoyed your concert.

Have a nice weekend all. Ann

[slavika]

Hi Everybody I went to the park today for the school's "Folk Dance Festival". It was grades 1 to 3 so that included both my grandchildren. The dancing was to be done but everybody...including grandmother's, There I was dancing with the Princess to YMCA and Zorba the Greek. My grandson was "hanging out with his friends" so dancing with his grandmother was just not going to happen. It was a picnic too, so the Mother brought the lunch and the Baba brought the treats...LOL LOL Peggy My name is "Duchess Flying Leaf" and I put in my little granddaughter's ....and hers was, "Princess Three-Sheets-to-the-Wind".
Maria how was the concert?
Since I've been gone all day, I better see what I can whip up for dinner. Talk to you all later.

[painter5]

Those Ya Ya names for me are just too funny. Put in Margaret and got Viscountess Three Sheets to the Wind and put in my maiden name and got Viscountess Crazy as a Fox. So I guess I like to drink and am nuts. Ann aren't you glad your bathroom is finished? Maybe you will find the perfect thing for your bedroom while you are traveling. This is the one I got. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...U=102681&RN=31 Now I need some purple to jazz it up a little. Going to graduation parties all weekend. There will be too much eating. Slavika your party with the kids sounded like fun. Boys are funny aren't they? Have to be cool. Have a great weekend and Maria how was the concert?

[flaggies]

G'day all,

Well it has been a very mixed weekend
Friday night as I was waiting to go to the Chris Isaak concert we received a call from ds to say that he and his longtime girlfriend (6 years) are breaking up. She had been at a schoolcamp all week and he was going to tell her on her return. He said he had been trying to pick a good time but when is a good time. He said that the death of his football mate has put things into perpective and he does not want to continue in a relationship when he is not that happy. We are feeling very sad for both of them and this bit of news really overshadowed the Chris Isaak show.
On sunday we had arranged to go 4x4 wheel beach driving. We did go but I received several calls from son's girlfriends who is very upset and 'will do anything to get him to change his mind'. So I did very little of the driving, I just wasn't in the mood
Then on our return, a trip that should only take 1 1/2 hours, there was a horrendous car crash and the trip took over 4 hours.
And this was not the end of it.......whilst creeping along the freeway because of the accident, we received a call from home to say that s-i-l (the one with lung cancer) has been admitted to hospital with pneumonia, is now unable to speak and is not expected to come out of hospital again.
All in all a bit of a disastrous weekend, I guess it can only improve.

Ann Nice to hear your bathroom is finished. Have a great trip and I hope you may be able to post now and again at a cyber cafe.

Peggy I had a look at the linen you bought, it is really lovely. My two weakness are beautiful linen and stationary.

slavika The folk festival sounded like a lot of fun.

I actually have to work (again ) so I had better be off.

Cheers
Maria

[survivor]

From Dirty Jenny Rackham - ARR!

Maria - we had a better weekend than yours, albeit a kind of boring one. I know what it is like to fall in love with a child's boyfriend/girlfriend and have them break up, but I also know it is much, much worse when there is a divorce and they should have broken up. So, I think your son is probably doing the right thing for him.

Leon and I went to two shows this weekend--Spirit and The Sum of All Fears. They were both so very good. Take your kids or grandkids to see Spirit. It is so pretty and adults will enjoy it too. And if the kids get a little scared, just tell them it has a happy ending. I had a child who couldn't watch Walt Disney because he couldn't stand to see the animals always in danger.

I cleaned my house this weekend about as thoroughly as it ever is cleaned. And Leon has our yard about perfect. We are like two old farts who have nothing better to do. I also read most of a Danielle Steele book called "Lightning". One of my sons bought several of her books for me at a garage sale and I started this one and literally could not put it down. It hit close to home in that the heroine was diagnosed with cancer and went through an operation and chemotherapy. I literally hated her husband who blamed her for getting sick and ruining his life. I have never hated a character so much and I know it was because of my own experience, but it just made me really appreciate Leon and his compassion for me when I was so sick and my friends who made the whole experience not so bad. The heroine in the book just did not have friends and did not want to share anything. But I read last night until 2 just to see if her husband ever gets "his" and when he started having some problems, I could go to bed. This was one book I probably would have been better off not to have read because it upset me so much. I have been so blessed and so happy with my support group around me during illness. I cannot imagine throwing away a person because he/she gets sick. But I guess it does happen.

Sorry to be such a downer on a Monday morning. Ann, you have done some good work on your bathrooms. Enjoy your trip.

Glenda