General Chat

Hello all Where o' where did my post go??

I was in a rush so maybe it wasn't sent. Thanks for

setting the new site up Les, looks good.

Sure nice to see al the new folks!! Hope we can keep

it going like this.

See Les says I am from the middle of nowhere hee

hee. It is Nothwestern Ontario, the land that Toronto

forgot. Halfway between Winnipeg and Sault St. Marie
Met Les and Norm on a quick stop over on the Via

train going cross country.

Hugs for Mary and Sylvia.

J.A hope to see you more often you always brighten

up the day.

Back home again and looking forward to sleeping in

my own bed, always enjoy coming home.!!!

Can relate to all the bear tales as well as deer

and also skunks. stinky critters.

Have some chores to sort out before I nod off so bye

for now. Edith XXXXX

WOW What a great start...Welcome all the new peeps who have popped in.. lovely to see you.. A nicer lot would be hard to find on here, and it is always a pleasant place to be.

Sylvia Sorry to hear that Norman is not to good but glad you are getting some help looking after him..

Fred.. Enjoy your little break in the van.. We want to see some pictures of all the fish you are catching,,,,hee hee hee..

Think I am coming down with a bit of something so will make this short as I am in need of a bit of lunch..and a couple of panadol..back soon..

Lotsa love Mary xxx

Just snuck in to add a few lines peeps.
Lizz had a restless night and so i decided to come back to the house to give her a long ly in this morning.
I have just checked out the house,fed the hungry one ,and made a fuss of her .
Nice to see the good start to the thread,some names familier ,such as our Deb',and i notice a new name from the black country[Staffordshire],a lovely part of the U/K which i have visited once or twice.
Hang in there Sylvia,and do try and get some rest,Liz and i are thinking of you.

.Be back Saturday ,when the son and family go up the van,which leaves me time to sort out the garden,now showing RED tomato's Edith lool,AND we now have some ffrench beans ready ,yum yum.
Fred.

Been reading this thread. Very interesting.

On the subject of moose and deer. Some years ago one of m y nephews was travelling from Queensland to South Victoria for a family funeral. Of course he was TRAVELLING! Hit a 'roo and carried it for about 100 yards down the road. Luckily he was bringing down some tyres from my son(a tyre dealer) for my car. He had tied these to the radiator of his car, otherwise he would have had a very nasty accident. Finished up with a dented bonnet but no other damage. Unfortunately the car was his wife's and she was 'not happy Jan'. (Local joke)

Beth

Hi Fred...Long time no see :))

Don't get me started on tomato plants. I still haven't been able to eat any of the few that we have this year. The summer started out slow, and so did the tomato plant. Don't they know that it's September? lol.
I bought a yellow variety this year which are supposed to be delicious, I'll let you know when and if they rippen.

My plum tree on the other hand went crazy!
We have a "fruit cocktail" tree which we planted about four years ago. It consists of six different grafts all together on the one tree, mainly plums.

We had a late snow after the blossoms were out. We were worried that the snow had damaged the blossoms and we wouldn't have any fruit.
I was away one weekend (April I think) and my OH said that a swarm of bees had ravaged the tree.

Well! The poor tree had it's branches draped on the ground it was so laden with fruit.
I weighed the plums as I gave them away (I was begging people to come and get them). We had a grand total of 95lbs, mainly Greengage and another yellow plum.

You could hear the poor tree give a huge sigh of relief after the fruit was picked. It has had it's fall haircut, and is ready for the winter to come.

Over a few days, I made 48 large jars of jam. Everyone that comes over leaves with a jar:)

Hello to our Australian friends, and those in the UK of course.

Our daughter is in a suburb of Perth, Woodvale, right now. She has been gone for nearly a year, and will be back home in October. I can't wait.

She met A from Woodvale when she went to Europe two years ago. He was here for 5 months last year, and will be coming here on a two year work visa. Have any of you from Perth ever heard of a store called Jango on King Street?

Deb

Hi Beth, welcome to our world. Good to see everyone on here.

We also have a plum tree and it is loaded this year but they are like purple bullets, just not enough sun I guess. Plum jam makes one of the best BBQ sauces ever. You need about two overloaded tablespoons of plum jam. Put in in a saucepan and heat and thin out with worcestershire sauce. When all liquidy, stir in some finely chopped garlic and several squeezes of ketchup....to your taste. That makes enough for about 4 chicken breasts/steaks etc. It is also very yummy on ribs.

Norm and I are off to the big city today...Nanaimo....LOL!! He's going to the dentist and I'm going have a bit of retail therapy!!
More later.
Lesxx

Hello again everyone and thanks for your hugs etc.
I certainly need them at the moment. I went to do some shopping yesterday and left Norman in bed, thinking he would be OK, but when I got home I found him lying on the ground outside, he had fallen down 4 steps which we have at the side entrance to our unit, and couldn't get up. He has a nasty lump on his head and lots of cuts and bruises. The doctor has been to see him and says he will be OK but now I won't dare go out and leave him again. I don't know when all these problems are going to end.
Sorry I never have anything cheerful to say. The grandchildren are getting on well and are all growing up so fast. I will send you some photos of them soon, to the people whose Email addresses I have.
Mary, I'm sorry John is not well and hope you are OK yourself.
Love and best wishes to you all and Happy Fathers Day to all the Australian dads.
Sylvia XX

Afternoon peoples cor ,never mind your tom's not ripening Deb,we are having the same bother with the wet and cold,more like the start of winter here ,than the start of fall.
We came home from the van early because there is torrential rain and gale force winds on the way,and ,yes ,i know i said the van is warm and snug[which it is] but with weather like that ,and grass which is waterlogged and damp,Liz dosn't need it ,so we are back until the weather clears up somewhat.
It's a small world lol,a van came in last night [a camper],and i got to speak to the driver this morning,turns out he is a native of coffs Harbour in Marys country of birth.He was telling me ,this place is the countries banana state,and here was i thinking it's only claim to fame was the vineyards.
I had to take the mickey thouigh,he he ,fancy leaving Coffs in their winter to come over here in our autumn to find the top day temperatures of 12 c lol,he would have been better off staying at home .
He was also bemoaning the prices here too,from food to fuel,you ozzies need to know where you are better off ,and it ain't here folks .
Sorry to hear that things are still a bit iffy Sylvia,but i hope things will get better for you before long.
Nice to see a few new peoples on this thread ,plus some off the older thread,come back at last..
Silly though it sounds ,i have had to put the heating on ,it's that cilly,much more of this and i can see the boss and i having an early night lol,dvd in the tv and the covers pulled up.
Hope everyone is doing okay,see you shortly .Fred.

Hi Everyone,

Sylvia I am so sorry to hear about Norm....what a worry. I don't suppose there is a "service" that would come in and sit while you had a few hours away....think we've been over all of that before. Anyway take care of you!!

Christine, wow you have a lot of connections to us Canucks you should come and visit. I live on Vancouver Island so we don't get a lot of snow however they do say now that our city, Port Alberni, is the most plauged with bears in all of BC. There are several places where you can park safely and watch them have their evening nosh!! I think I will try and go take some pics one nite and then I can send them out to everyone....maybe you can make a bear card!!

Hey Fred, what's with the weather? We have just had a few days of sun and now again it is overcast and misty. I have been thinking about your van parked in the wilds!! LOL and am thinking that maybe Normie and I should consider something similar except we really would be parked in wilds!! Just north and east of us are two lakes - Horne and Spider. There is a plan underway to put in a second road out for us past these lakes....I think we might see if there is a little spot available and then we could escape every now and then.

Nanaimo was a bit of a bust yesterday, didn't buy anything exciting at all except for some really good meat from the butcher. Our butcher here in town is rubbish so it is a joy to get some good stuff. Last nite we grilled a lovely piece of pork tenderloin and had a fresh patty pan out of the garden, perogies and new peas....can't do much better than that!!

Later....Lesxx

I feel I should say something here ... ;)

Picked my name about a month ago, didn't have a chance to use it til this week. Meanwhile, someone here told me that nobody here would know what it meant. So it was right thoughtful of you guys to introduce the concept first!

The Adventures of Janey Canuck in the West (the real adventures of the real Janey Canuck) is on line here:

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/murphy/west/west.html

Huh! University of Pennsylvania, part of "A Celebration of Women Writers".

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/

Our Janey is famous. And of course her author, Emily Murphy, was one of the Famous Five.

~~~ from effete urban Central Canada, where we have racoons (is that stupid word one "c" or two?) and squirrels and skunks, but no bears.

Oh -- but I did see the Northern Lights late one night from my downtown deck. Amazing things. Organ music in technicolour.

Hi Y'all,

Christine we don't see the Northern lites....too far south but have seen them and they are wonderful. Maybe OH could just get one of those premade firepits...they don't take much effort and the ambience will be just as good??? We have an old Franklin woodstove in our yard but we don't burn in it. This year I placed a tub of red impatiens in there and so it has been "burning" all summer!!

Janey where are you??? I guess maybe Calgary or Winnipeg or maybe Toronto?? and of course everyone here would know what a Canuck is....a Canadian or if you live in BC....the hockey team!!! yeh!!!! I can tell you that when the hockey team plays poorley we all call them Canuckleheads.....LOL!!!

How ya feeling Mary??? For some unknown reason I am exhausted today....too much shopping!! Hope you're feeling better.

I am off to the kitchen, time for me to be creative or maybe I will phone for pizza!!
Lesxx

I will say only: Ontario. ;)

It was the poor Brits that it was thought might not know the term.

You know ... the Brits who asked my mum and me, every single time, as we travelled around England in 1994: "And what part of America are you from?" (People in the States always think we're both English ...)

Of course we replied: "The Canadian part". Canada being equally part of America.

Or at least we did until we embarrassed a couple of nice people. Then we just said we didn't care what they took us for (a white lie), as long as they didn't take us for French tourists. ;)

OK Janey in ON I know the feeling. People always think I am from the USA when I go back to England and I was born there!! but after about 48 hours in Yorkshire....I sound just like a Yorkshire lass...now I know Fred will like that.

Christine I forgot to mention that my uncle was Tom Jones!!! LOL
Lesxx

Hi all.. We have a very rainy day.. We need it but not this much at a time..

Still not 100% but am getting there..

Glad to see so many new peeps on here.. More the merrier...

Fred Loved your story about the Aussies from Coffs Harbour.. That is about a 6 hour drive north of Sydney.. We actually bought our caravan there and spent a lovely week enjoying it before we brought it home..You seem to be having the sort of weather we are having at the moment,, Cold and wet.. 11c at the moment and that is not nice for us..We had 21c the other day..Good idea to come home with that storm brewing.. much more comfortable..
Did that Aussie chap tell you about the BIG BANNANA at Coffs Harbour.. Will see if I can find a pick of it..or much better google Coffs Harbour Australia and it should come up..nice place..

Sylvia Sorry to hear that Norman had a fall..Hope he is ok,, and you to,,

Well better go and get some lunch.. HAve a nice day all

Love Mary xxx

Hi all, just found this message board, so thought I'd join, being a Canuck. Hope this is the way to join the group?
Born in Hampshire, England, - parents brought us to B.C. many years ago, been here ever since. We live about 20 mins drive south of Vancouver. I've got 2 grown daughters and 3 "grands".
We've got 2 yellow Labs, a little Bichon that nobody wanted and an Abyssinian cat. We love our flower garden, the birds that visit us, plus am into photography, esp the wildlife and birds in our area.
Hello to my neighbour on Vancouver Island :) My brother lives there, Parksville.
best wishes to all, Alandra

Wow, one goes away for a few days and comes home to lovely new people as well as loved old ones (old friends I mean (lol)
Sylvia, sounds like hard times for you and Norman, as you will have to shop and have a break you must arrange for carers to come in, stand up to that family of yours and get them to help - opps JA on lecture soap box - not a good look, but we do care about you and want you to look after yourself.
Weather in the northern hemisphere sounds rotten - after a cold few weeks spring seems to have come - 6 degrees last nigtht and 15 today.
Fred the Coffs harbour person sounds like his whinging genes had come to the fore - nice coast up there but not the friendlist of towns when we went through there and stayed awhile. Sounds like Mary had a better experience though.
Mary we could do with some of that rain - I was in Sydney yesterday for work and it rained heavily - no sign of it here when I got home. Mind you the rain was needed to wash the blood off the streets after your bloodless politicalcoup lol - new Premier today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Edith and all
I have a new found relation in Calgary, great great grandmothers were sisters - Evans girls form Barnsley way
Hope you are feeling better Mary.

JA

Alandra Welcome to a great thread.. . Just lovely people..You dont live far from our Les... Lucky girl.. You two should meet for a coffee..Am counting the day to when I can do that to...

JA Yes we did have a little spill in the state parliament..quite a farce really..if it wasnt so serious it would be funny...I still think its silly...Dont know where we will be going from here.. Such a new boy on the block..Ah well he cant be any worse..

well am off to bed as I am still not the best..Catch you all tomurra..


Love Mary xxx

Morning all.
Welcome to all the new folks.Thanks again Les for
restarting the site. Lets hope everyone stays with
us.
Fred, I now have "red"toms coming out my ears as
after a short hot spell they all decided to ripen.The Roma toms are doing very well so will make a lot of sauce for pasta dishes and spaghetti this winter.
A neighbour downstairs makes a great tom soup so will try that too.
Hi Christine, we here in middle Canada get the
Northern Lights. They are really clear in November and again in April.At times the sky turns an eerie
green and I think that is the best show ever.
We are just above the 49th parallel,and in the middle of the "bush" so viewing is great.
Mary sending you hugs,get well soon. J.A hugs for you too.If you get to Calgary we could have a great
"meet" that is half way between Les and I.
Please pick up Mary on the way by !!!!!
Must get some food in me to start the day so bye for now. Edith XXXX
I for one am proud to be a True Canuck.

Edith a meet half way and me with you for a time (only a little friends like fish go off if kept for twp days lol) and then with Vp for a time, maybe I can see my cousin in between
Whatever, we will work it out - watch out Canada
Mary hope you get up feeling better tomorrow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~everyone else, kep sharing

JA

Hi Everyone, Fall Fair this weekend and the parade this am. Norm wants to go and take pics.

Hi Alandra. I came here from Hampshire also. Guess you must be in White Rock?or maybe you are were Di is in TisWas?? Anyway visit often...we like evryone on this site.

Glad you are feeling better Mary and JA you are working too hard as always. I see that we have a whole host of new animals to add onto the thread. Pretty soon there will be so many pats and no room for us!! LOL

Dr. Who's granddauhghter...wow Christine you fit in really well with the rest of us!!!

Hi to Everyone else...I am off to the parade!!
Lesxx