jasper123

Thanks Rosie,
I will go into boots and ask them about what dose of calcium and vitimin D that they recommend, and see if I can get them both in one tablet,

dgjamison

Dear Beedubya, sorry I am only back on my computer after a couple of days, and am catching up again, but I am so sorry to hear you are having a really bad down time at the moment. I suppose this was meant to happen but it is a terrible feeling, and I really am hoping you get over it sooner rather than later I don't know if this will help you any, but when I returned back home, the eutopia was fantastic, I saw all the grandkids and kids, and it was great, for about a month, then things went back to normal as they should, my kids went back to work, the kids to school , and now from seeing them nearly everyday and phone calls everyday,, it is now once a week phone call, or a visit when they are not busy, so the novelty has worn off with them, mums back and there if needed I realise now, I have my sisters, and would see them more as like us they are retired, and we have just joined a golf club to try a meet new friends. My kids have moved on and although I know they love us, their own lives are very much more important, and I suppose it is I who have to let go and move on (I know when I was working I did'nt expect them to visit all the time, ) I suppose what I am trying to say and not very good, is if you were back it Australia, it would be great for the first few months and then it would be back to square one, and just as lonely, so if you could get a compromise in you head, ie start trying to put a little bit aside for a holiday back next year it would give you a goal, and maybe lift your spirits a little, and as someone else said maybe skype would help. I truely admire people like yourself and Easterndawn who have done so much by yourselves, to me you are so so brave and I truely pray everything works out well for your own happiness. Another example of the curse of us expats who have travelled and settled in other countries for long periods of time, I think we will always be pulled between the two countries and a little bit of us will always be in our adopted country as well.Keep posting as we are all here for you and wish you only the best Denise2

dgjamison

Charleygirl....Denise, again so sorry to hear you are having such a bad time, my thoughts and heartfelt best wishes are with you, and again no matter what you end up doing there will be times you will ask yourself" what have I done or what if" (I am still doing it even though we are settled its the wonderlust in me, I always say "I wonder if we had done this or that") Its a really big step for you and I know you have gone through a terrible time domestically, but maybe if you treat it as a fact finding mission and say you are going to give it 6 months, (if you can live with your mother, or rent a furnished place, until you decide if its for you for good) then maybe this way in your head you are leaving the doors open to return if things don't work for you, and you won panic so much, I don't know. Its such a hard decision and I don't envy you, but you will know in your heart when you get back how you feel. Would it be possible for you to go back if things did'nt work out? Keep your chin up, your a strong Northern Girl Denise2

dgjamison

Jackie, you are probably on your way back to Vegas now sorry I missed saying goodbye, but please keep posting and let us know how you get
settled back. I wish you all the best and hope it wont be long until you are back in the swing of things. You have hit the nail on the head regarding the weather, I have to say that is the only thing that is getting me down badly at the moment. With us being so much more North we have had a really miserable summer so far, grey, grey, grey, and quite cool, 14 degrees, (I am sitting at the moment with a sweater on)now I like the seasons, I like looking at the rain, in spring and autumn the changing colours of the leaves, snow (in moderation) especially at xmas, but I like a couple of months of sunshine in the summer, and we are just not getting it any more. If I won the lottery I would buy an apartment in Spain, Italy, Cyprus for 6 months and 6 months here would'nt that be the perfect solution, also a nice place somewhere in the USA, I really do love NY, anyway I have gone on rambling again please have a safe journey home,and don't forget to let us know how you get on Denise2

sallysimmons

I don't know if you can get them in the UK, but I take Citracal, which has the daily allowance of Vit D, calcium and magnesium.

DDL

We've been back now for 11 months and last night we finally got around to doing one of the things we'd been looking forward to doing when we were back in the UK: ordering our groceries online for home delivery.

We used to do this when we lived here before (8 years ago) and never had any major issues (see * below for minor issues with online grocery shopping), so we're looking forward to seeing how it works out for us now.

I thought it was going to be a pain to set up our initial order, i.e., having to scroll through all the different departments and selecting the items we wanted to buy. But it was dead easy. We have a Tesco Club Card that we have been using every time we go to the store. Well, when we signed in to our Tesco account, everything we have purchased over the past 6 months was already 'saved' so it was super-easy to add items to the online shopping cart!

All the sale and buy-one-get-one-free items are clearly visible, and they even have a separate section of items that only cost £1.

The food doesn't cost any more when you order it online. The only additional cost is the delivery charge (tonight's delivery charge is £4.00 - the charges range from £3 to £5, it's more expensive for week-end deliveries) and any tip you may want to give the driver.

So for us tonight, we will pay £5 to have our week's worth of groceries delivered to our front door at 8pm. This means only £5 for an extra 3 hours this week-end that would normally have been spent amongst the crowds at Tesco. No additional petrol used, and no hassle with parking!

Well worth it as far as we're concerned. Grocery shopping here is something we find a chore and not enjoyable at all. Because we both work full-time, the last thing we want to be doing on a Saturday or Sunday is spending it in the grocery store.



*Tesco guarantees that their personal shoppers chose items with the longest remaining shelf-life. The only real issue that we've ever had with ordering groceries online is that you don't know until your order is delivered if anything on your list was out of stock. But I think there is a way on the order form to denote any 'substitutions' you would accept if your item is out of stock (for example: if the 500ml shampoo is not in stock, will accept two of the 250ml bottles).

Beedubya

Wow Judes, you sure are moving faster than the speed of lightening!! Well done and (soon it will be) welcome home!!

Beedubya

Jackie, you BETTER keep posting here, or we will send over the big guns to sort you out LOL!!

I will watch out for your plane coming to land tomorrow at Manchester as it arrives to whisk you away, I work under the arrivals runway not the departures or I would wave you off with a red scarf, have you put your flight details on the flight tracker thread so we can wave you off?

If you do decide to come back AGAIN like me remember next time to bring more money and move to a more vibrant area if that is what you want........I saw Lincolnshire on some TV programme last night and man it is GORGEOUS!!! But horses for courses..........

Take care, have a safe flight to Vegas and I hope your return works out wonderfully well.

judes

well just bit the bullet and booked the flights, everything else will HAVE to fall into place !!

Mallory

I'm going to be in S Ireland in mid-August. Do I need to bring an anorak?

judes

I am getting hooked on this over 50/60 site, you are all so lovely and helpful

Celticspirit

Oh yes......plus a brolly and wellies ;-)

sallysimmons

Wow, congrats on the big step! Now, like you say, you'll have to get everything sorted out. It will be good motivation.

If I missed it I'm sorry but where are you moving to? Have you been away long? It's always good to hear other peoples' stories.

Mummy in the foothills

Don't you have to take one everywhere just in case?

judes

We moved here around 11 years ago, travelled for 1 year in a very old Rv on very little money , ( we thought the Rv was big, silly us !! ) then we returned to Uk for just over a year waiting for our green card.During that time we lived in a bedsit, with a bathroom shared by 3 families and a shower that required 20p to make it work ! all this to save money for the big move, and we were as happy as pigs in muck When the green card arrived I paniced, I KNEW deep in my heart I didnt want to go, but my DH had made up his mind, and I didnt want to crush his dream, so bit my tongue and the bullet to be honest. We left behind 3 kids, all grown, and 4 gorgeous grand kids, the eldest at 14, gave me his beloved "badger " for company, nearly broke my heart. We moved in with my Mum and took over her mortgage, not a good idea, but you do what you have to do. We got jobs and made good friends, but like a lot say, square peg, round hole, no feeling of belonging. We missed every American holiday because we worked in the entertainment / vacation business and every weekend we worked for same reason. Realised for the longest time we were just "living " not belonging. Days off were spent shopping and eating. I survived by being on permanent countdown, either waiting for visitors or waiting to fly back. My English friend returned in January, but I didnt feel envious, at that point I knew Id return in 2 years or so, so Jane leaving just made me happy for her, ( have to say she was the only person who truly "got" me. ) then we took a trip back in late March, my son suggested a property we might buy and rent out, long story, but it didnt pan out. So he (son) said shall i keep my eyes open for you, so we kinda said yeah , why not, but we werent optimistic, in time he sent us pics of a property and said shall I put in anoffer, we said it's too high so he suggested putting in a 10 grand less offer ( does that make sense ) and see how it goes, suddenly hes saying congrats, you got a house !! And we havent even seen it, pics only !! that was early May. We are still waiting to complete but hoping this week. son is going to do improvements for us, meant to be completed by the time we return. But thats not going to happen because we are so ready to just leave that today I booked flights !! so looks like we will be living in a building site, but I dont care!! Oh and just to complicate things a little more,, my 84 year old Mum is coming back with us and also our 101/2 year old cockapoo !! So much more to this epilogue but dont want to bore you all, so maybe more later, if anyone's intersted ?

Im going to hit send now b4 you all fall asleep!! Oh forgot, returning to my beloved cornwall Kida and grandkids, incliding a brand new one, so happy I could poop !!