Using Word now to see if this posts now I have turned off the anti spam filter.

I am so sorry about all this and will let bravenet know that using notepad doesn’t work if you have windows 7.

Will be back in the morning.

Til then much love always

Mermaid…xxx

Good morning dear friends {smile}

I think the Universe decided that we weren’t going to be able to post for a while as between all of us life has taken over somewhat. These past few weeks have been fairly challenging but then I have just thought it is usually May that is for me one way or another.

Mind you the two nice things that happen in May are Chakhotay’s and Nelson’s birthdays. Chakhotay is now 12 which is brilliant for him although he is getting more staggery but we have been given a bonus with him after thinking he was going to be going over the Rainbow Bridge at Christmas so I am very grateful for the extra time we are having with him. It was Nelson’s birthday on the 27th and although he is 4 now you would think in some ways he is still a pup bless him! {smile}

I am still having to use laptop though this morning I have set it up with Paul’s keyboard off his laptop as it is easier to type with a proper keyboard than the laptop’s one. On Wednesday there were linesmen changing the telegraph poles in the road replacing them with new ones. At 5pm we lost our phone lines (so internet went down and the landline that we use for talking on) but they said that they would be back on shortly. Well the main line and Paul’s internet line were back on but I didn’t realise til quite late that mine wasn;t. After a fairly bizarre conversation with someone in an Indian call centre (as BT have outsourced their call centres to Mumbbai or Calcutta or heaven knows where as costs are cheaper) I got nowhere. He was quite unpleasant as I tried to explain that it was linesman working outside the house that had not reconnected the line and it would be a quick thing to reconnect. His English wasn’t that brilliant either and he informed me that the work would be done by the 3rd June! I tried to explain that I needed the line for my work because all my programs are on my desktop PC for updating websites etc but to no avail.

Yesterday I called again to see if there was an update to when the work was going to be done to get a very nice lady who was very sympathetic etc but couldn’t tell me a thing. I spoke with little Emma yesterday evening and she said that is part of the training for call centres to be empathetic and to agree with everything the customer says as they operate from a script and cannot deviate from that. It is not the operator’s fault in India they are just doing a job but they don’t understand the problems here in England when they are 3,000 miles away in a different continent. So now I will just have to wait and see how long it takes for my phone line to be switched back on.

At least I can hook up my laptop using wireless from Paul’s router so I am more lucky than most. I put the spare keyboard on the boat as Paul will want this one back so will pop into Ipswich and fetch it back today as I have to go and get animal feed from Ipswich anyway.

Well as I have disabled the anti spam filter hopefully this will post in and I can check and see if we are getting hit by any spam. I will try and post this now and then can make a start on responding to posts (which are now outstanding for way too long).

Love always

Mermaid…xxx

Good morning dear friends {smile}

It is a beautiful morning outside and today I am going to get stuck into the garden as the lawns have to be mowed. Robert came last Saturday and we did so much work that it took me all of Sunday to recover! Mind you the part of the garden that we did looks brilliant. Paul was also planting up the hanging baskets and he has the tubs to do over this weekend. After all the rain we have had it makes a lovely change to wake up to sunshine so it will be good to make the most of it.

Anyway before I really start wafting along I will make a quick response to posts as I am feeling so guilty about not doing so before. Mind you it has been somewhat challenging also with getting the message board sorted out so that we can actually post in here! I suppose the joys of technology moving along so fast. I didn’t want to put the verification facility back on (with having to type in figures and numbers in the little bow) as if that went awry and you kept losing posts then I think we would just stop posting anyway and as we are dwindling with posts with our own nows being busy and time taken up on the social networking sites then it is important to keep it as simple as possible to post for those who wish to. If we get hit with spam then I can simply delete them.

{{{elfina}}} I have really felt for you with all the dust and soot etc. It must have been horrendous to come back to! I hope that by now the cleaners will have taken the worst of it and you have not tired yourself out completely getting it to how you want it. I had a similar thing here years ago. It was two weeks before Christmas and I had given our big sitting room (the Tudor one with beams and the huge inglenook fireplace) a mega spring clean and done all the brass and copper and it looks absolutely wonderful. I was down in the stables (after our friends had taken their ram home after him doing his duty as we were lambing the sheep then) and thinking how nice it was to be able to go back in the fields and stables with the ewes, when Paul arrived and told me that the sitting room was full of building rubble and soot! I thought he was joking and say “yeah yeah etc” and he said no really you had better come and see so I did and what a sight met my eyes – I could have cried. There was a whiff (sp)chimney inside the main inglenook for the fireplace upstairs and it had collapsed and come down the inglenook so bricks, plaster, rubble and soot had all come into the sitting room. We have beige natural colour wool carpets so you probably don’t need to imagine.It was a case of getting wheelbarrows and barrowing out the rubble and then I stayed up til about 2 in the morning on my hands and knees vacuuming up the stuff out of the carpets so it didn’t get trodden in by the dogs. It had broken the top of the woodburner so not possible to have a fire and to cap it all it then started snowing! I can smile at it now but I could have just cried back then. So I do understand how you must have felt and probably was worse because you had been travelling so you would have been fatigued by that.

I had been thinking about you and wondering how Pat was doing after his second op and his general recovery. Like Scooter chakhotay is slowing right down now but we are grateful for the extra time we have had with him and hope he has a little while longer to enjoy the sunshine. Every day is a bonus {smile} Am sending you a {{{big warm hug}}} together with a dollop of extra {{{energies}}} whilst you get organised back across the Pond and hope that you will be able to post here again soon as your own now {and the silly hiccups that we have had here} allow. {{more hugs}}

{{{Diana}}} I do hope that all is OK with you both and that {{ed}} is responding to the treatment. I have just read back re your own health issues dear friend so if you can pop a line in just to let us know that you are both ok that would be great. Am sending out a {{{big dollop of healing energies}}} your way with an extra request to dear Raphael to help you both {{{more hugs}}}

{{Hathor}}} I still owe you an email sweetie and am so so sorry I missed your birthday! May has just flown by here with so many challenges and then suddenly it is now nearly June and the Sun is now in Gemini! Sending belated {{{happy birthday hugs}}} and wishes and I hope this new solar year brings healing and recovery and less stressful times for you and I will write an email this weekend I promise! {{{more hugs}}}

{{{robynne}}} I hope that you are doing well sweetie and sending out {{healing energies}}} your way. I was a real shock to hear about {{greg}}} and as you say even though you were separated it doesn’t negate the feelings you had and lessen the loss. The Serenity prayer is one that I use a lot when life gets challenging and it does help. Hope things are better on your health front as well and perhaps you can pop in and leave an update now that we can post again in here. I haven’t even been able to catch up with things by reading Facebook much and I figure that if I am not able to write a catch up post here then I shouldn’t be posting on FB either. {smile} Hope to hear from you soon and sending love and {{hugs}} Down Under {smile}

{{{kermit}}} I think finally my teeth problems are sorted (fingers crossed) with having had the three wisdom teeth out in one go took some doing and recovery but I can now eat without pain thank goodness. Ole Saturn has been doing a bit of a number on me these past couple of years and I think that was a passing shot as the influences start to ease up a tad {smile} I have one filling to be done on Monday to complete the treatment and then all should be ok hopefully for a good while at least {Smile}

Good to hear about your new computer – I am actually using the laptop at the moment with a seprate keyboard as I can’t get on typing fast with the laptop one. This has windows 7 which I quite like so am a bit behind you on that front [smile} My PC is Windows XP which I know Microsoft have now discontinued supporting as they like to force us to use new software so I will be upgrading that at some stage. The trouble is that Dreamweaver probably doesn’t work with later software and that is now discontinued and I need to use that for the ORC web site and updating my own (which is stilloutstanding) so I will keep the XP one for that and upgrade the main one later this year methinks. The joys of technology… perhaps not! [smile}

The boat is doing well and hopefully we might take her out next week as we have decided to go out on her in the week time for now as the traffic is so busy at the weekends it is a bit like a freeway going down the river with all the other boats (but with a speed limit) and going into the locks is an experience as they try and get as many boats in there as they can and some of the people are less than experienced in boat handling so it makes for interesting times. {chuckle}

I guess you might have seen on the news the sad story about the British yachtsmen who were lost in the North Atlantic and the big search on for them. Paul had said when it first happened that the keep had probably gone (as we knew the type of yacht which had a fin keel on it and it was not an integral part of the hull) so when we also heard that they had not got the liferaft on deck in readiness to have to abandon the vessel it really was tragic as if they knew they were taking on water (which they did) that should have been the first thing to do (get the liferaft prepared etc). when a fin keel comes off you only have seconds before the boat rolls over and it can’t right itself with no keel. So really tragic with a young skipper not thinking ahead of the possibilities.

We only draw three feet of water so our boat is not a blue water boat for Atlantic crossings dear friend (though we could put her on a ship for that and then enjoy coastal sailing {smile} We hope to take her down to the Med when we can actually retire and we can coast hop with suitable weather windows (or indeed put her on a ship) but that is for a future yet to happen methinks {smile} I hope all is well with you dear friend and thank you for perservering with a post for here. As I said up there hopefully we shouldn’t have problems now so friends can post when their own nows permit without the extra stress of the posts not being accepted! {smile} the wolfpack are fine here though as I have said dear {{chakhotay}} is slowing down. Mind you he is doing really well as we have never had a shepherd that has gone past 10 so this is a real bonus both for him and us. Nelson is still like a puppy though Shula does keep him in check thank goodness {chuckle} Hope {{B2}} is well and keeping you busy too {smile} Sending love and {{hugs}} across the Sea to you dear friend {smile}

Well dear friends looking at the time I had better try and get this post in as have been typing for an hour and the dogs are being fairly patient here. I am keeping fingers crossed that it does post after all the problems before so will try now and then go and make a start on my day {smile}

Leaving a {{{warm group hug}} to {{all}} who may enter and sending out more {{{healing energies}}} to those who need them. I think I will also copy the Serenity prayer again as a reminder {Smile}

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

With love always

Mermaid…xxx

Yippee it worked! {big smile}

Just a quick PS to say that if I have missed out responding to posts then please forgive me. I went back two pages and then ran out of time.

Am sending out thanks to the Universe and the ~Powers That Be~ at Bravenet that hopefully no more hiccups with trying to post here.

wishing everyone a good weekend and will be back soon.... til then

much love alaways

mermaid...xxx

Hello to all. I'm sorry for my lack of posting recently, but things have been quite busy here and we've had limited internet access, hence the delays in posting.

Firstly, Hathor I'm so sorry to have missed your birthday but sending you belated well wishes for a joyous and healthy new Solar Year.

Kermit,sounds like you have a good spanking new 'puter and are on your way to getting familiar with it. Stay cool my friend, the heat is now on for us here in the desert Southwest. We hit 110 already and the usual temp for June is 100 so it begs wondering how hot next month will be!

Liz, so relieved to hear that your teeth have been sorted out as I know how painful that can be. I'm also happy to hear that you have more time with Chakhotay. Lakota is 13 so we're also very thankful for our time with him especially after having to say goodbye for now to our sweet little Serena in January.

Elfina, I was worried about youwhen reading what you came home to and hope that you had some help in getting everything cleaned and sorted out.

First our brilliant news...Ed's treatment is going brilliantly! They are positively AMAZED by how well responding and have told us that they feel confident instating that he's now free of the autoimmune disease he's lived with for nearly 20 years! (Big grin). He will need to complete the whole course of chemo though as that is part of the guideline for this new drug but we're absolutely ecstatic! And what's even more exciting is that his liver also appears to be functioning better as for the first time in years, his liver enzymes are in the normal range! They believe his liver may also be healing though we will find out for sure the next time they do an MRI in July.

My own health isn't brilliant with both a heart valve problem recently diagnosed as well as serious lung problems caused by the embolism a few years back that's resulted in progressive narrowing of the "lines" that help fill the lungs with air, but I'm still.going through a boatload of testing to appease the insurance company so they will.pay for the treatments I'll now need for the rest of my life. But at least we're getting it all figured out and diagnosed so I can eventually have a better quality of life for whatever time I have (smile) and am so grateful to have the insurance!

Ok best post this now but sending my heartfelt thanks to each of you for all the energies and prayers you've sent, and leaving ((hugs)) to all.

Love,
Diana

Good morning dear friends {smile}

It is a beautiful morning outside and Paul is going to play golf today so some time to myself for the morning which will be lovely even though I am still tied to the phone and work. I will write up a longer post later this morning as I need to make a start on my day but just wanted to pop in a leave a post for you dear {{Diana}}}.

It is wonderful news re {{Ed}} and I am so pleased for both of you! Now I am also going to focus on sending out some {{healing energies}} for you dear friend and I know that everyone else will do as well. My asthma has been really bad this week but it has been stressful with things so have had to revert to three inhalers a day as I have been running out of breath so I do empathise with you dear friend but at least for me that breathlessness can be relieved at the moment. I for one hope that you and Ed have many years ahead of you to enjoy life yet know that we have to accept what the Universe has in store for us regarding life spans.

Chakhotay is really slowing down now bless him but I am very grateful to have had this extra time and we are just doing one (or three) days at a time now for him. He loves being outside and today being sunny and warm he can enjoy sitting out on the front circle checking out the world and what is happening with the birds and squireels though he is too old to chase them now bless him..{smile} Tthe weather forecast is not good for tomorrow so will make the most of it today and get some gardening done as I managed to cut the lawns yesterday but might have to go over part of them as I could only do a high cut as it was too long to do the short one. That will have to wait until Paul gets back though as I can’t hear the work phone if I am driving the mower and it will give me time to sit and write more later this morning anyway provided that my now doesn’t take over! {chuckle} Am sending you a {{{big warm hug}}} across the Pond dear friend together with another dollop of {{healing energies}} whilst you sleep {smile}

{{[elfina}}} please check in soon dear friend as I hope that you have got your house now how you want it and also that Pat is healing. I hardly visit Facebook any more as I feel that if I can’t have time to post in here then I certainly haven’t got the time to go and post there though I will go and take a look later today to see if you have put an update on your own page. Sending love and {{{hugs}} across the Pond to you also dear friend.

{{Hathor}} I know I still owe you an email and I will get your address copied over from my main PC as I am using my laptop at the moment for my own personal things and trying to keep the pc separate for work stuff. I do hope that all is well for you and that you are healing up nicely {{{hugs}}} and more {{{healing energies}}} on their way to you.

Well that is about it for now dear friends as I must make a start on my day. So until later and leaving a {{warm group hug}} to {{all}} who may enter and sending out {{healing energies}} to those who need them {smile}

With love always

Mermaid…xxx

Hi guys.

I am having a bit of a problem getting this 'puter going.

First, my new address will be-when up and running as now wildblue is still good- skhaines5@hughes.net

I'm not so sure about IE8. seems to be a big problem. I will let you all know when things are straight here.

Diana, such good news. I'm very happy to hear that news. Yep, it's near summer. We have had temps to around 107. I surely didn't venture out. B2 is almost living out doors these days THOUGH DURING THE REALLY HOT DAYS opps she is in here with me under the cooler. Loads o HEALING ENERGIES AND THOUGHTS FOR THE BOTH OF YOU. So happy to hear the VA is Ed good. {{{HUGS}}}

MERMAID, happy all seems well for you now and Paul. It is always good when our four legged buddies are doing well. Hope all continues well for the both of ya. LOVE YOUSE GUYS ENJOY AND BE IN PEACE. {{{HUGS}}}

All our friends, Elfina, Robynne, Hathor, Maggie, ALL ! GOD BLESS YOU ALL. I LOVE YOU ALL. ENJOY!!!

LOGHT, LOVE & PEACE; Kermit and Friends + B2. B2 here. While he loves his new toy he is sad it is taking so long to get it up and running correctly. We love you all Take Care our friends and ENJOY. LIFE IS SO BEAUTIFUL and to have friends as you'll makes LIFE EVEN MORE SPECIAL! {{{MY SPECIAL PAWSEY HUGS AND LICKY KICKS}}} All are healed now!

Good morning dear friends {Smile}

I am so sorry that I haven’t been in to post – life seemed to have moved into the fast lane again with a speeding up of everything. I will write more later but wanted to ask if you can keep Paul in your thoughts today as he has to go into hospital for biopsies for some areas in his mouth. He had a problem with a white spot on his tongue and finally went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago (after quite a bit of nagging from me and Emma) the doctor said he didn’t think it was anything too serious but he wanted him to see a specialist so last week he went in. The specialist said the spot on his tongue is a polyps so that will be coming off today but there were a couple of areas at the back of his mouth that he wasn’t too sure about so in his words “whilst he was in there he would take some biopsies”. He was booked to get that done in less than a week so is going in this morning and I will pick him up later today as he has to have a general anaesthetic for the procedure. We are not thinking about whether they are nasty or not as will wait for the results of the tests and then deal with whatever it is at the time of knowing. In the meantime though a few extra blasts of healing energy will not go amiss I am sure {smile}

Michael is off for a few weeks as he had surgery on his knee on Tuesday so yesterday the Universe provided and I will have help in the garden in the form of Evalina who is Dorothy’s sister in law. She is a lovely girl who has worked here before when Dorothy has been away on holiday. I was beginning to tear my hair out as with working almost full time with the boat and the garden going out of control I just didn’t know how I was going to manage and yesterday the Universe provided {smile} Robert is a wonderful gardener and plantsman and I know he helps where he can but he has to work fulltime as a driver now in order to support his partner and son. I know he misses the gardening and did say to him that if I won the lottery and had enough funds then I would employ him fulltime so I guess perhaps I should start buying lottery tickets {smile} Hopefully he will be here on Saturday too so we will get there. Anyway whilst Paul is away in hospital today I will get stuck into the garden as the lawns need mowing. I will just have to leave the work phone on answering service for an hour so it won’t be the end of the world as I can just return calls.

Anyway looking at the time I will pop this post in for now and go and wake Paul. No coffee for him (which he is not pleased about!) as it has been nil by mouth since midnight last night. He has not had a general anaesthetic since he was a child so is quite nervous about it so I am glad that it is all getting done sooner rather than later and it will be done and dusted {smile}

I will respond to the posts a little later today or this evening and in the meantime hope that all are well. Leaving a {{warm group hug}} to {{all}} who may enter together with sending out {{healing energies}} to those who need them.

With love always

Mermaid…xxx

PS let's hope this will post!

Good morning dear friends {smile}

Paul came home yesterday late afternoon after I collected him from the hospital. He had the polyps removed and the surgeon is confident that the biopsies should reveal no problems but it is always better to be sure. For those who have sent energies thank you so much. We will have to wait two to three weeks for the results of the tests so keeping fingers crossed that there is nothing untoward {smile}

Evelina did a wonderful job yesterday – I can’t believe she did so much and the flower beds round the house look how they should. She has lovely energies and the dogs love her too. Above all she does think snd if not sure asks although her English is not brilliant at the moment we manage to make ourselves understood to each other which is the main thing {smile} She will come again next week as I know Robert would never be able to catch up everything and the box balls need clipping soon. We have men coming to do the big hedges so the garden is coming back together again. I have to mow the lawns today but at least Paul is about to answer the phone so I can get out there {smile} Hopefully he will have had a good night.

Chakhotay is still carrying on although he is slowing down – his heart is strong as is his will though it is his body that is letting him down (hmm a bit like mine at times methinks! {chuckle}) Nelson is much calmer now though still a big pup at 4 years old – shula keeps him in check though as if he gets too much she just throws him on his back {chuckle}

I am finally getting used to Windows 7 and the new versions of Word so I am using the laptop more for my personal things like writing in here etc at least by using it I am getting more familiar with things.

{{{Kermit}}} thank you for your message here dear friend it appears that everyone is very busy in their own nows at the moment so it is always lovely to see a post from someone in here {smile} I am glad that you are getting to grips with new computer stuff – I know it does get to me at times when we are forced to have to change even though we are mutable signs so it is not quite so bad. {smile} I bought a separate keyboard to use with the laptop as I find it easier to use than the laptop keyboard so that is good. I quite like Windows 7 though am not going to go for Windows 8 yet it always takes me a few years anyway until the glitches are all sorted out by the folks who want the latest version of everything! {smile} I guess too that I don’t always have the time to start going through new things with everything that I have to do although really it is just a question of making the time isn’t it? {smile} Good to hear that all is well with you and {{B2}} and hope that the weather isn’t too hot for you now that we are in the summer months. Sending love and {{hugs}} across the Sea to you dear friend {smile}

{{elfina}}} am sending out a thought wave to you to just check in please? I hope that you have now got the house sorted and that Pat is well on the way for healing. Sending some more {{energies}} across the Pond to you together with a {{{warm hug}} and hope you can drop a line in soon. I guess I should go and check your facebook account and see if there is anything in there.

Well that is about it from me for today as I need to get a few things done before waking paul up and getting the dogs sorted out. I do hope everyone is well in what can be challenging times for all of us.

Will look in later.. til then

Much love always

Mermaid…xxx

PS If anyone is still finding it diffult to post in here can you please drop me an email (seamaid @ btinternet.com) although it seems to be ok at the moment.

Hi guys,

After bit of bumbling around we finally got my new e mail straight away, which is: khaines5@hughes.net

Please send me an e mail.

Mermaid, I'm not the happiest with IE8. As with all new things one needs to learn to get around on it. The touch screen and all that is okay but...

All my friends ENJOY AND TAKE CARE.

Diana, the hot weather is here. The El Nino is catching on it appears and that will mean a lot wet stuff falling from Heaven. I hope you guys are doing well and that the VA gets their s... straight. ENJOY

LIGHT, LOVE AND PEACE; Kermit and friends + B2. B2 HERE. Well he appears a bit more mellow but who knows with him. Well, my buddy never hollers at me , we are great friends. I do sleep a lot more these days you know why... HEY, YOUR BUDDIES ALWAYS AND WITH MY SPECIAL {{{PAWSEY HUGS & LICKY LICKS}}} right on your noses. HEHEHEHE