General Chat

Helloooo Where are you all.? I see Fred posted 3 days ago.

The weather in middle Canada is still half in winter mode.

half in summer.

We get a nice warm day, then snow flurries, then rain. I

really don't remember such odd weather before.

Will have our first B.B.Q. to-day. Eldest son will do ribs

for our Mother's day dinner. He has a great recipe for the sauce

so am looking forward to it.

The fox are still coming to visit and the little ones are growing quickly,

Mom makes sure they both eat and then pushes them out of the way so

she can have a bite. Will save a few of the ribs so she can have a treat

for Mother's day too.!!!

Can't wait to start gardening in all the pots I have on the balcony as soon

as it warms up.Fred is way ahead of us here in the "cold" .

Time to get some breakfast so Happy Mother's day to all the Mom's

out there. Hope you all enjoy the day.

See you. Edith XXXX

Hi everyone. We have a touch of autumn at last.. but no rain..the weather man keeps saying showers but he forgets to look out the window and see that there are no clouds..and ya need clouds for rain to fall..hee hee ee..

Had a lovely lunch with my 2 brothers and sister in law.. I did enjoy the drive and it was so good to get out on the highway again and drive...had to much to eat as she did a lovely curry and sate which are some of my favourite foods..I am trying to lose some weight but I think I overdid it a bit that day,,Never mind I can start again..Luckily I didn't put any weight on after the lunch but didn't lose any either...hee heehee..Funny I don't get very excited over a lettuce leaf...lol..

Fred So glad my chalet is clean again..You just never know..we might win lotto and I would be off like a Bondi Tram.(aussie saying) and fly to the UK..to surprise you and Liz..Poor Liz I wouldn't do that to her..
When are you getting the caravan out and ready for the road again..must be getting near to holiday time again...

Hope all the Mothers had a nice Mothers Day..

Edith So glad the fox is still around.. Seems like she has adopted you and you are now going to look after her family..She will be getting lazy and not bother looking for food for them,,just bring them around to Auntie Edith for dinner each night,,You are a softy..but nice..xxx any bears about yet..

Hope all are well and those that are ill big hugs and may good things happen..

Lots love Mary xxxxx

Yooooo Hooooo Edith lol,at least two of us are still around and keeping busy.
I got round to pulling out the old washing machine yesterday ,and it's now out front awaiting the scrap man,and the new hoover is ordered.
It did very well ,we bought it over 12 tears ago while still at Birchvale ,it never got serviced in all those years ,and never broke down,sorry to see it go really ,after all this time it was part of the scenery in the kitchen,ho ,hum ,i only hope the new one is half as good .
I raced around the garden chores yesterday morning ,cutting the front hedge for the first time this year,cut the front lawn cleaned out the chalet [just in case ] and by the way Mary ,liz says ,any time you win the lottery ,you [and the tram ] are welcome any time.
I got the garden finished at 11 am ,got on with the housework ,did the dinner ,and then ,i had a lovely lazy afternoon in the garden ,can of beer by my side,enjoying a lovely sunny afternoon.
Hope everyone is having a good week ,catch you all later,Fred.

I worked the Provincial election yesterday as a poll clerk.......14 hours in a freezing hall. Spent much of the day wrapped in a blanket, smiling thru my chattering teeth....the money will be nice tho.

The hall where I had my aprons on display burnt down this morning. Bella and I walk past there often and today it was just a black, smoldering mess. Now I wonder where they will have all the artisn fairs??? Oh well....something will come up.

Still have done very little in my garden....just cant seem to get the energy or enthusiasm. Norm and I are planning to drive the Alaska highway in Aug/Sept and I guess whatever I grow will need a "gardener" while we are away....any offers???

I am trying to find one of those old cast iron dutch ovens, the kind with three little legs and an indented lid. I can just see me in the wilds with my dutch "cauldron" bubbling away....hmm! and likely a bear looking over my shoulder..LOL Anyway we are pretty excited about this, a truly adventurous trip that will take us about 4 to 6 weeks.

I am off....stuff to do.
Lesxx

Hi everyone We have lovely weather at the moment.. sunny and mild...

Les That trip sounds great,, We saw a tv programme of Billy Connolly doing the inside passage across the top of Alaska and he got a lift with a Truckee doing a long highway down from Alaska.. is that the one you want to do...Looks spectacular..not a bad road either..Butter about the hall..perhaps you could hold it in your basement in future...hee hee hee..

Fred. Tell Liz she is a sweetie.. I hope one day we will all meet,, I have been busy planting snippets that I have cut off other plants in the garden and hope they will grow,, It is getting expensive buying new plants just to see them die no matter what I do,, I think the soil is past its used by date.. and full of chemicals from spraying the roses every year for black spot..Just cant get rid of it..

Haven't heard from Sylvia for a while.Hope she is ok..

Hope all those not well get good test results and return to good health..

Edith .. How many foxes are you feeding now.. hee hee hee..Have you seen any bears yet....

Well must away and get some dinner..

Love to all
Mary xxx

Hello All, not too bad a morning here, but rain expected later. Do the gardens good.... Hope everyone is keeping well.
It is a shame about the hall Lesley, and your trip sounds great, lucky you!!!I'm like you Mary sick of spending money on plants that no mater what I do don't seem to like living in my garden. I would love a Maple or Acer tree, but they are quite expensive to buy established and the area I live in is always windy, so I don't want to take the chance...
I too noticed no word from Sylvia, hope she is well...
No doubt Fred is enjoying his gardening.
Everyone have a good weekend and take care.....

Morning all, Yes, Fred still around and with our weather it's just too cold to

do anything outside. Would you believe light "snow" this a.m !!!!!!

The ice is gone from the lake and now it;s turned back to winter uuggghhh.

Hi,Les glad your keeping busy hee hee. The trip up the Alaska is great.

We did it in the Motor home a few years back, just fabulous. Some of the

best fishing we ever had. I think we had 5 rolls of film as we didn't want

to forget all we had seen.

.Hello to all the others, hugs for Teresa and family. Hi, J.A, Ian and

Veronica, Sylvia and any one looking in.

Stay well. Bye for now. Edith XXX

Morning to all ,the rain has hit Newcastle o t at last ,and at least we were on our way home before the heavens opened,but i knew it was coming and reseeded parts of the lawn where i have killed off the ruddy moss courtesy of our weather which keeps coming up in the damp patches.
I only have the lawn side of the hedge to do now ,and i am up to date at last,with nothing left to do but the odd weeds to destroy and the chalet to see to.
I did buy four lonely little Fushia this morning in Aldi,and they will go very well in the back border among the roses.
My bluebell are nearly finished for this year ,so i will dig them all up and find a place to put them all in together ,and then let them spread as they will.
I my exposed spots ,which are many ,i have used Japanese bushes that are well used to the cold and biting winds,Japonica,and azaelia ,along with a Rhodedendron which has stood the test of time nearly everywhere.
The latter are easy to get to grow because they are lime haters and grow easily in poor soils ,never even needing feeding,which is ideal among fir trees.
That Alaska highway sounds really ace ,i will have to see what i can come up with on the net for a look see.
Gonna go and give the missus a hand with the dinner,nicking a titbit here and there till i end up getting my wrist slapped he he ,great fun lol,but today we are having some of her home made tuna fish cakes ,sometimes it's Salmon, but they are both yummy.
Enjoy your weekend all ,Fred.

Hi, just to say that today, hubby and I returned from two weeks in Canada, and it is a beautiful country.
My only gripe - jet lag!!
My parents, and hubby's sister and her son came too; we all have ancestry in Canada, and made a sort of pilgrimage if you like. Also, Hubby and his sister met some of their Canadian cousins for the first time, which was great!
What a lovely country you have.
x

Hey Glenys, good to see you on the thread....where in Canada did you visit???

Got the veggie bed dug over yesterday and put a few garden "fripperies" out for their summer sojourn. I was going to start planting today but got side tracked!!

A group of us have organized a city wide garage sale for July and we are shooting for 1000 participants. So the rush is on. I have been making calls all day. Walmart is going to donate half their parking lot to artisans and folks who don't have a decent space anywhere else...just for a $10 donation all proceeds to charity. We are all pretty excited by this. Even the tourism office is onboard...wow!!

Fred there are some great sites but the best would be the Alaska Tourism Board and also the Yukon Tourism office. The Alaska Highway starts in BC, runs across the Yukon and then dips in and out of Alaska before ending in Fairbanks. We are already starting slowly amass the things that we will need. We don't have a lot of room in our new van so we need to be "clever"!! if you know what I mean.

Edith, a motor home would be a luxury. We did think of buying a small trailer but have decided against that as it just makes the journey more difficult.

So now I am off to get my new ram put in my 'puter and I will be so fast you wont see for dust....LOL!!!
Lesxx

Hi Lesley, and thank you for the welcome. :-))

We stayed in Mississauga for a few nights, and whilst there we visited Toronto. Ooh, that CN Tower is something else! Even my 31-y-o nephew, who hates heights, went up there, even standing on the glass floor!
Then we went off to Niagara Falls for two days. Oh boy; that place really is something else, seeing nature in its raw fury. I won't tell you how many photos we took between us ..........
We stayed one night in Gananoque, and wish we could have stayed longer, but it was a sort of drive through on our way to Ottawa, where we stayed for two nights. In Ottawa, I found where my great-aunt Belinda would have lived, and her husbands army station. We even received an unexpected upgrade in our hotel accommodation, staying in their most luxurious suite (so we were told). Wow, is all I can say about that. My sis in law wants to move to Canada now, but is torn between Ottawa and Montreal.
Then we spent the last 5 days in Montreal, seeing where hubby's father was born in Verdun, also meeting hubby and SIL cousins, who live just outside the city.
We have over a thousand photos between us, not to mention video clips, so will have to do a bit of editing methinks!
Well, we're heading for bed now, for some more sleep! This time last night we were on the plane, but couldn't sleep. So night night folks, and give our love to Canada .....
xx

Good morning to everyone ,wow what an interesting read i have just had on here ,makes Newcastle O T look very tame by comparison.
It was a lovely sight for a scot this morning ,looking out over the moors towards County Durham one way and Northumberland on the other,looking at the gorse and heather ,with the mist hanging over it all,it would bring a lump to the throat of any scot's ex pat anywhere.
Well,the weekend is here again ,andi have to find something to do indoors,or in the greenhouse because ,after the heavy rain yesterday ,and more promised ,work in the garden is out.
It looks as though my rain butt next to the greenhouse is full too ,which is good news,using rainwater in the greenhouse makes the stuff grow a lot faster,and i am thinking of putting another on the opposite side of the greenhouse door,getting ready for the drier times that are promised.
Thanks for the info on that looooong drive Les' sounds good to me ,and think i will try to find that programme on Billy Connoly too ,specially if he is using his bike part of the time ,lol ,what a machine that is.
sounds asthough you could do with an Oz caravan Les which i have seen at least one over here driven by a fella from Melborne over here on an extended holiday.
He had a vauxhall 2 litre diesel ,towing a van like ours [four berth] 16 ft and that towing a medium trailer with the extra luggage,he he ,he even had the kitchen sink with him lol,but he had everything he needed to travel in a very laid back fashion.
Our van is having a make over this spring,we are having a cassette toilet fitted which can be accessed from the outside to save all the hassle of taking it through the van to empty,far more hygenic too methinks..
we obtained a waste water container on wheels from a boot sale as well ,all mod cons now he he.
The fella doing the conversion is also injecting the whole van floor with resin to stop any possibility of the floor going soft in the future,and that is included in the price of £500,all in, complete with the new toilet, not bad we reckon.
Liz and i are getting on well with our family research now finding a few more links with canada america,and the biiiiiiiig land over the pond with it's two island neighbours ,sigh ,i need a pools win peeps,i have sooooo many places to see ,and peeps to meet,maybe one day yes?.
But for now ,i will have to be content with the 6 weeks jaunt to Cyprus in September ,woohoo ,not too long now .
Catch all you lovely people later,have a smashin' weekend [not literally though] Fred.

Hi everyone.. Cooler her in OZ but lovely weather.. We are going down to around 10c at night and 20c in the day..I know you lot up north will say that is your summer weather,,but that is cool for us..hee hee hee..

Thanks for the great read Christine..Sounds like a interesting project.. Good for you ...


Glenys Sound like you had a great holiday also..I think Canada is one of the most spectacular countries scenery wise ..but I love the quaint english countryside, with their lovely pubs and green fields..Probably cos we are so dry and brown her in OZ..

Les.. I thought you had bought a motor home..What did you buy..??? picture please,,,Your boot sale sounds fantastic..All you need is fine weather..Did you have on tv the trip over the top that Billy Connolly did..It was so interesting..Would love to do it...

Edith.. Hows your fox family... Hope you are keeping well...

Sylvia Where are you.....

Hope all is on the improve with Teresa and Veronica and families...

Better go and get dinner..HUgs for all...

Love Mary xxxx

Hi Everyone. Warming up slowly here,so am hoping the snow is gone

for good. Been busy getting stuff ready for summer, getting the "balcony"

cleaned and pots out to put the plants in. Our garden centre is open with

lots of choices for veg and flowers so will have to go and spend some

time choosing.

Fred,it seems you are about more than any of the others and you are the

busiest one of the group. Here's hoping more show up.

Must get to work, see you all soon. Hugs to Mary Edith XXXX

Hi Edith and Mary ,not a bad day for me,got a few aster ,and dianthus out of the greenhouse between showers and put them in the back garden,did all the carpets throughout the house and emptied both hoovers ,apart from that i have had a really lazy day waiting for the new washer to arrive ,hmmmmm ,still waiting lol.
Hope your weather dosn't slide backward as ours has Edith.only 14c today and ruddy cold at night ,i think that Mary has hijacked the sun he he.
Time to shoot off again and get on with the tea,anyone for a stir fry?,Fred.

Hi Canucks Int. apologies for being absent -been maega busy with work and guding and sermons and family. Have looked in when I could to check you are all OK. Teresa hope things go OK with OH. Edith eyes sound a bit troubleseome VP, piccies please of aprons

Love to all

JA

Hello everyone, well its a lovely day here and I've been enjoying "pottering" . Hope everyone is well and enjoying the weekend. I've had a number of message from my Canadian Rellies and it is nice getting to know them. Has anyone heard from Sylvia, as she hasn't been on here for quite a while now?? Thats it for now... Take Care

Been busy working in the garden. Very hot here, up to 40 on the patio yesterday. Have the garden planted, the toms and stuff all set up in the greenhouse and today it is time for hanging baskets etc.
Never a dull moment.
Sure hope that Sylvia is OK.
Love to all
Les

Hi everyone.. Well at last we have had some rain..and about time to..The poor garden was so dry it was starting to turn brown..The poor people up north of NSW and south Queensland have had to much rain and bad floods have resulted..It wasnt long ago they had floods so 2 in a matter of months must be disheartening..what a cleanup..at least the ones in Queensland are not getting to cold a winter so it wont be as hard as it is for those that are going into winter a bit further south..We cry when we see all that water flowing into the sea..where are our polititians when you want them to do something costructive..and conserve it ...dont get me started................

Looks like you lot ooop north are starting to get into the swing of some summer weather..I must say I am not sorry ours had started to go as it was a hot one and I am now getting to enjoy the winters more than the summers..

Been doing some Fanily History and didnt realise all the brick walls that I have..I am STUCK on 3 or 4 and it is making me annoyed..Just wish I lived in the UK so that I could go visit some places and search personally..I need to win lotto so that I can go to Kew and stay a week or more..I emailed Kew and asked them if they gave air tickets to the old colonials so that they could get there and search but they said no,,not as yet..lol..they were lovely,,did it in a moment of frustrarion...hee hee hee hee...

Am getting worried about our Sylvia Will have to email her and check up that all is ok and she is just enjoying life and her grandis..

Les How are the aprons going..

Edith Are you keeping well...

JA Is still running around in circles working to hard..

Diane Its great when you connect to new rellies and get to know them..New ones turn up in amazing places sometimes..

Fred I can see you are working full steam in the garden getting it ready for summer and its lovely colour and fragrence..and your veg garden is so organised...keep it up

Well its back to the grind..Hope all who are not well are on the improve...

Love Mary xxxx

Good Morning, Hi Mary, I am well. Happy to be able to finally use my balcony. It has been on the chilly side but now is warming up.
Have started getting all the old paint off the chairs for charity, will strip
them, then sand and paint the designs on.
Am waiting until this next week-end to plant the pots up outside. We had frost on Sat. night so don't want to push it.
Still feeding the fox,I think the little ones have left home as I haven't seen them in over week now.
Hi to everyone glad to see Les is still with us and J.A thought you had
left town hee hee. Good to hear from you. Hi to Fred, Teresa , Diane,
Kathleen,Ian, and anyone else I have missed.
This is my laundry day so must get busy,
Bye for now, Love Edith