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Post by tod2 on Jun 8, 2023 13:55:22 GMT
Tonight the final bowl of veg soup with a sausage and salad wrap on the side.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 8, 2023 13:53:16 GMT
I hope so. I waited all yesterday to hear from the gentleman who may know something but no phone call. I rang his place of work this morning and was informed he only comes in during the afternoons. So I waited till this afternoon and rang his office again. This time I was able to speak to him - he was delighted to hear from me and is going to do some digging on my behalf. I appreciate that very much, but some of you may have waited for some kind of result sooner than later - but when someone is doing you a great favour you cant ask them to get a move on. So I will wait.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 8, 2023 7:08:07 GMT
Bad luck for me....Got an email back saying they have notes taken from church meetings etc., but no sight of a Marriage Register. I was very disappointed but have thought of one more avenue. I have contacted by phone message and email, an old boss we both worked for in the Estate Agency Business. He was the one who suggested St Andrews when neither of us were church goers. I don't hold too much hope but he was a member of the Board of Governors so may well know where to look for old records.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 8, 2023 7:00:40 GMT
I agree Kerouac! But this is where I get lucky....we have a dog. Her second name is Rubbish Bin (was Patchy). She eats anything from fruit like apple, banana and any kind of vegetable , raw or cooked. I do give her those dog chunks but lace the meal with veg or leftover dinner.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 6, 2023 16:20:41 GMT
So beautiful Lugg! I love those old fashioned roses that are all crimped in the middle.!
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Post by tod2 on Jun 6, 2023 16:16:25 GMT
Derby Is a small town situated in North West Province of South Africa that was named after the British Secretary of State Lord Derby. Derby began as a refuge for destitute people.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 6, 2023 16:13:04 GMT
Lovely pork sausages grilled in the airfryer. Sweet and baby potatoes, baby rainbow carrots (bought on the discounted shelf) and fresh broccoli from the garden.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 6, 2023 16:10:20 GMT
After this long time hunting for answers I finally switched of my computer and went to fix dinner. Just filling a pot with water my cellphone rang. I was going to ignore it as there is always someone selling something but I answered and got the shock of my life! It was the Archivist from The University of The Witwatersrand - called Wits for short. I had no response from her telephone earlier and she saw my call and phoned me back. What a lovely lady and so knowledgeable. She took my particulars and told me she looks for old church records all the time. Can I be at the end of my search? Can I? OMG I dearly hope so.!
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Post by tod2 on Jun 6, 2023 13:07:11 GMT
That's if they don't do my head in first! I have been running around phoning here, there and everywhere for the last 2 hours with no result. Oh well. tomorrow is another day and an attempt to wear them down......
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Post by tod2 on Jun 5, 2023 15:39:41 GMT
We still in the midst of the application documents. Cost another R15,000-00 for an agency to procure the documents from the archives in Pretoria on top of the R40,000 odd to UK agency. His Majesty's Passport Office has asked me for a Copy of the Marriage Register we signed on 15 December 1970. The church had its last service in 1971. The Minister who married us is now a lecturer somewhere. He left the clergy soon after marrying us. Where are the church records? Who knows? What I did send them was a beautiful photo of Mr.Tod standing next to me while I signed may maiden name for the last time. Oh, and the Minister was on the other side beaming down on me.
Patience is called for. Lots of investigating on the internet and hoping like hell all will be well!
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Post by tod2 on Jun 5, 2023 15:24:52 GMT
Going to watch the last two episodes of Hope Street. I tend to hop from that to old episodes of Endeavour. The latter is so brilliantly done but gets heavy, Hope Street is really a Soap Opera disguised as a detective/police drama. Maybe I just like the Irish Accents...
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Post by tod2 on Jun 5, 2023 15:04:16 GMT
COLIGNY - Originally named Treurfontein (Afrikaans: spring of sadness), it was renamed Coligny when it became a town on 23 July 1923, after Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot leader who died in the Massacre of St Bartholomew in 1572.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 4, 2023 14:30:31 GMT
I always worry that the puff pastry will not cook properly on the bottom especially loaded with meat etc., so to overcome this I put extra butter at the bottom of the dish and baked it on the lowest rack. This is also chancy as puff pastry wants high heat and burns easily. I guess with my thermo-fan on full at the same time, and lowering the heat halfway through did the trick. Also leaving it in the oven after switching off seems good.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 4, 2023 13:37:02 GMT
Whatagain that is a terrible tragedy. My friends husband suffered a broken neck from a car accident. He had an extremely strong mind and during his wheelchair life he taught himself to write lefthanded and feed himself. He did have a carer that saw to his toilet needs. During his lifetime he suffered a lot of hospital visits because of infections and finally died four years ago at the age of about 68 I think- He was 34 when the tragedy happened and a successful lawyer. Eventually became our Deputy Attorney General. No mean feat for a man crippled for life. To do this one can only realise the strength of his mind.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 4, 2023 13:26:01 GMT
Thokoza Is a township in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. It is also a Zulu based word that is a form of greeting to South African shamans of a South African spiritual tradition.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 3, 2023 10:34:21 GMT
Mrs Cactus and I have paid into a plan so when we pop our clogs the company collects the body, takes it to be cremated and bring back the ashes. That’s it Us too, but what arrangement for the ashes? I just want to be scattered not left in a box or jar and cemented into a wall of remembrance.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 3, 2023 10:26:22 GMT
Last night I made a pâté lorrain. Inspired by this masterpiece I made a pork and beef mince pie - with supporting carrots and onions inside as well. It was really nice so Im off to buy more puff pastry sheets!
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Post by tod2 on Jun 3, 2023 10:17:53 GMT
Mr Tod keeps digging but now surrounds the plant - especially lettuce - with hay or wood shavings to prevent the soil splashing onto the plant. Where there is soil there are snails and worms climbing up. horrible for me but the birds still have to eat.....
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Post by tod2 on Jun 1, 2023 16:23:31 GMT
Mushroom risotto rice with added mushrooms, broccoli, sundried tomato pieces, a few red beans that were leftover, spring onions and garlic...of course.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 1, 2023 16:19:02 GMT
I do not believe in funerals...period. This non participation came to me from two sources. A young friend who loved sewing and made me umpteen outfits, got cancer. She never told us but when we learned of her death and funeral arrangements, the Minister/Priest/ Official, announced "Stephanie has requested there be no singing because all of you sing out of tune"! What a relief to just listen to a few tributes , the dedication to the earth and that was it. Short and mildly enjoyable. The second source was my mother. She only wanted a blessing and dedication to the earth where her and together with my fathers ashes were interred. My fathers ashes remained at home until my mother died which was at least 15 years.
I think funerals are more for the living. The ceremony to tear at their heartstrings, to make ones sorrow exhibited to family. friends and everyone else. I feel sorrow is very personal. I'm not advocating that you put on a stoic face but rather spend time at home with close relatives reflecting on the persons life and the love you had for them. To do this out of a comfort zone to me is raw and horrible.
I kept my daughters ashes at home for a very long time. About 25 years. My husband could not bare to part with them. Eventually I seized the opportunity when my mother was cremated. On the day of the burial of ashes, I mixed my fathers ashes, my mothers ashes and my daughters ashes all together. The family that attended the short interment all had a turn at pouring the ashes in the final place. Not one person ever knew my daughters ashes were included so no explanations or questions were asked. I'm happy she is at last with a final resting place. As for me - scatter me far and wide!
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Post by tod2 on May 31, 2023 10:41:39 GMT
I'll join you Mossie at being a dinosaur! Between the WhatsApp and an App from my grandsons school, which all parents are asked to have on their phones ( and grandparents) so that we know what time, where abouts, and which child is selected for the game. It is a tremendous help. That's all I visit on a regular basis.
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Post by tod2 on May 29, 2023 16:19:02 GMT
Perfecto!
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Post by tod2 on May 29, 2023 16:18:28 GMT
NTombi (the girl)
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Post by tod2 on May 29, 2023 16:15:36 GMT
Novorossiysk or Verulamium ??
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Post by tod2 on May 29, 2023 16:08:16 GMT
Errrr....not all Whatagain. Some of us are so far back in the using and understanding of stuff on our SmartPhones its pitiful. I have never heard of Waze....Never ever.
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Post by tod2 on May 29, 2023 12:51:16 GMT
I will definitely look out for that movie Whatagain. In the meantime Mr.Tod will continue to be in charge of that smelly firepit thing that we are told is so terribly carcinogenic. We don't do a lot of it these days and so I seldom hear a voice from the garden shouting "Can I light the fire yet?! "
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Post by tod2 on May 28, 2023 14:13:58 GMT
I was watching a YouTube gent advising the best way to sow peas. He had some really good tips which I will follow this week when I sow peas where my green beans have come to an end. Tip number one was dropping two seeds into 1 inch deep holes, so that when two come up you can transfer one of them to a blank space or simply take a scissors and nip the smaller out. Also the nitrogen feed was important as to when one should apply it. I'll give it a go and see what happens as I love peas!
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Post by tod2 on May 28, 2023 14:05:56 GMT
When I declared that men make the greatest chefs I was definitely referring to the Chefs in restaurants and hotels who's genius has made them noticed. I definitely change my opinion when it comes to home cooks - not chefs - as the custom in ages past put the woman in charge of the home cauldron.... Things are changing quite rapidly with Home Husbands so let's see how they take to critism from the little woman when she comes home hungry.
I have always cooked our meals. I come from a family where my mother cooked BUT so did my father at times. Not full blown meals delivered to the table but dishes like chicken and corn bread made with fresh picked snow white corn minced into a dough. My husband never went near a cooking pot until I went to Australia for 6 weeks. Now he can put a roast in the oven. BBq all our outdoor meals .....yes, that's it.
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Post by tod2 on May 28, 2023 13:53:27 GMT
Fabulous glorious photos of might I say the unusual garden! Maybe I should seek our more grass varieties to put in my garden.
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Post by tod2 on May 28, 2023 13:44:37 GMT
Its Grand Prix Sunday so we stay home so Mr.Tod can see his favourites in action. And of course Monte Carlo for me is a really boring track so I prepared a really nice lunch. I did a variety of vegetables and we got a BBq'd chicken straight off the rotisserie for R85 (about 4euros). Our dinner is also a late lunch so there will be a small snack around 8pm.
Kerouac - that looks awesome!
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