General Chat

Hello all, I know what you are going through Les. In 1967 we had to evacuate the whole town for a forest fire. One rail line and one road.
When we got 5 miles out of town the fire was over the road and I had to drive through it to get out. Scary or what???
Hope your heat wave ends soon, we need some of it here. I know I would be in big trouble with that kind of heat, it takes the breath right out of you.
See even Whitehorse in the Yukon was 39 yesterday. Our world is truly nuts. Perhaps if we all did some kind of "good weather dance"!!!!!!!
Can't believe how much fun that cat is giving you Fred, does she get extra rations for the entertainment??
Hope all the others are well. Glad to see Mary back. Off to make a
"blueberry cheesecake " as the big festival starts Friday.See you soon.

Edith XXXXXX

Still high 30's again today but down to maybe 29 by Sunday....that would be OK. It is now supposed to rain by the end of next week....but I will believe that when I see it.

Got up early and grated a large zucchini and made a low fat loaf....yummy, yummy. It uses apple sauce instead of oil....very moist.

Edith I guess we could evacuate down the inlet. We have a BC ferry tied up here that was supposed to be going to China. If there were no cars on board I guess it would/could clear out a large chunk of the population. Yesterday there was a fire reported at Gold River which is quite a ways north of us and we have no wind so I guess they will be able to contain it. Now the next problem all over the Island is potable water. Here in PA we have several good large, clean lakes but Tofino is low and so are Qualicum, Parksville and Nanaimo. Crazy, crazy weather and there will be no end to this in the near future of that I am sure.

What are the rest of you up to??
Lesxx

Gosh VP, that is too much - 40 degrees no wonder you are in the basement with Bella - lots of coll showers, o drying and lots of water, tis too mcuh for us Yorkshire lasses take care Understand the concern about fires -they are not nice
Badger, Hissy will soon work out that birds are smart lol
Edith we did put the world to rights or tried anyway lol

I love blue berries - my favourite fruit so have my mouth round them - have a good time and look forwrd to the pickles of the chairs when they are finished -one talented person you are
Cold Friday evening here but house is warm and Mr Darcy already settled on my bed

Take care all

JA

Afternoon all, took the missus to The market this morning as promised ,and what a let down ,nowhere near as good as it was 6 years ago and a total waste of time .
That being so we went to Durham city instead and spent a couple of hours looking at the castle ,cathederal ,and the bridges and river,which was well worth while.
I at least got to try the new camera so a couple of pics are in the offing if they are any good.
We went to b & Q on the way home where i got the wood to repair the fence ,this time i may electrify it in case that thief comes back but at least the fence was the only damage ,and that wasn't too bad really,just a pain in the butt that i could have done without just now.
I have a parcel here for the son ,so we will run that down shortly and call for for my fish and chips on the way home ,yum yum.
The diet is def working ,lol,sugar level way down now ,and down to 13 stone dead [and alive] he he.
Catch you all later ,fred

Hey Fred, here's an interesting diet thing. When my blood pressure spiked back in the spring my doc said that I had to give up all canned food because of the salt. Now I am a soup lover and my favourite lunch was a can of soup. So this week I had to have blood tests and the results were better than previously. My doc says you're eating better....hmmm! what I am not eating is canned food....so isn't that interesting.

Woke up to clouds this morning and they did not evaporate until about 10 so a cooler start to yet another hot day......up to 35 they say. Anyway Bella and I had a good walk and I feel much better. Going to try a little trim painting this afternoon.

Catch ya later.
Lesxx

Hi Les' yes ,this is interesting ,and i have noted that a lot of canners have already noticed that lots of people are using too much salt already in their diet ,and have cut back on the amount in their tin recipes.
Baked beans are still one of the best thing there is for a diet and now you can get reduced sugar ones as well ,they are even more ideal and i even add a few to a salad ,with new potato chopped ,tinned tuna ,in oil ,no salt lol.and the usual veggies with chopped red onion, beeeeutiful ..Also noticed that as the weight came down ,so did the salt and sugar levels in my blood,so i scored both ways.
Having a special tea tonight ,a salad as quoted ,but with a nice piece of swordfish steak ,yum.
you watch yourself with those fires lass,if they get too close ,and you can't get out ,make sure you have plenty of water and go down in the cellar ,you should be safe enough down there.with Bella for company of course.
Far too hot for me ,i get hot sitting outside in the winter and my ideal temp is around 24c which is why we are waiting for cooler weather before going to Cyprus on holiday.
Have a nice weekend all ,Fred.

Hi again ,rather late this morning because the missus over did it yesterday and is paying for it now ,lol,nothing serious ,just aches and plus a little short of breath ,so i got to do the washing and hanging out ,the front border left from the last visit ,and of course ,todays dinner ,which is now cooking away merrily.
So ,i have just sat down for the second time on the puter this morning ,the first time lasted all of thirty seconds and them i heard this little cry from upstairs ,heeeelp ,i'm stuck he he,the rest you already know.
I got the chuck out of the freezer last night ,a big 2 kilo one because we have company for dinner,this bird never came out at Christmas ,one of the ones from the farm up the road,freeze dried so that there is no water in the bird as it is defrosted.
I pulled some dwarf french from the garden for starters ,did some cabbage and broccoli, carrots ,and peas ,and did new potatoes for the steamer,and did a few roasties with red onion and peppers for the oven,all timed for twelve fifteen.
I am having to keep my eyes on the sky outside because despite the forecast being good ,as usual ,it keeps clouding over ,and the air still feels a little damp.
hope everyone is enjoying what's left of the weekend ,catch you later,Fred.

Hi everyone.. We have had the mildest winter I can remember..I think some of Les's hot weather is flowing down here..Some people on the radio are saying that their tomatoes are ripening and they are picking them, now in the middle of winter..I love it as it is just enough to put on a summer blouse and a light jumper..though the jumper is really not always necessary,,Just more from habit I think.
Hope you are not near the fires Les and have a plan of escape it it comes to near..we have seen them on our tv and they dont look good..Enjoy your trip away and hope the van goes well..
We now have the new car and its quite nice..Next week we go down to Canberra to give the other one to grandaughter so we will then be back to just one car..Brother who bought our Honda Civic with only 9000km on the clock is over the moon and cant believe his luck..He got it for what they offered us as a tradein so in other words dirt cheap,.lol..glad to see him so happy...
Edith Hope you are well and are you painting again..Does this hot weather bring the bears out or do they sit and wait for the cool before they start roamng again.

Hope all the other peeps are well ..

Love Mary xx

Hello all. Had to dig to find the thread so what's happened to everyone??? The Blueberry Festival is winding down, last 2 days coming up. The chairs did very well at auction and I did get some pics so will get them out to-day. Even the weather has decided to brighten up, so hope
to enjoy the week-end.!!!
Mary, we had a small bear get into the garbage the Day care folks did not store inside. Little guy made a real mess around their building as well as ours. No pics as it was during the night,woke me up when the container
was smashed apart. They are quite strong even as a cub.!!!!!!
Fred great to see you and Liz getting in some travelling instead of working all the time. The pics were lovely, enjoyed the "cat" antics.
J.A hope all is well. Sending your pics to-day hopefully.
Stay well everyone Bye for now. Edith XXXX

hI Mary ,Edith,and anyone else who happens by,my last few days have been so busy that i havn't had time to get on here ,but never mind ,lol,made it at last.
Your weather is as balmy as ours Mary ,our tom's are just turning red ,far later than usual ,and our strawberries are still green,really unusual.
This coming Monday the council have at last decided to start resurfacing our road ,so there will be no peace in the house for a week.
Liz and i have decided ,it will be a case of up early ,and get out of the house before all the noise starts.
The car will be confined to the drive ,so everywhere we go will be by bus,there will of course be emergency access if needed ,but we think this is the best way to go for the week..
I at last managed to get the pressure washer out of the shed this morning ,so the car has had a very late spring clean ,all the inside ,and outside done ,and i have now to go and have a lie down cause i am pooped he he,but i'm leaving the hose out ready to do the feeding of the front garden this evening.
The pressure washer will be out again on tuesday for the bin cleaning as soon as the bins have been emptied.
Glad to hear your festival went well Edith ,and reckoned your chairs would do well as usual ,pity about the bear pics ,but ,they are not to be approached ,even at that age ,with impunity ,so it's as well it happened when it did.
Catch you all later,Fred.

Hi all.. Our weather is still lovely..went down to 6c last night so that must be the coldest we have had so far..days are up in the hight teens and low twenties..very nice..
Edith bother about the bear coming at night.. would love to see one scrummiging in a bin...hee hee hee...why dont you feed him like you do the foxes..are you still feeding them or have you weaned them off to search for their own food..Hope the chairs sold well and would love a pickle of them if you have some..

Fred.. Glad you and Lizz are getting out and about..do you both good.. We are off to Canberra on friday for the weekend..Home on monday on the train..Meeting up with JA and a couple of other Wattlers..should be a nice afternoon tea..

Some good new is that the neuropathic pain in Johns legs is getting a weeeee bit better and we are hopeful that the brain might be healing itself..If he goes ok on the trip to Canberra we might try going away for a weekend somewhere else and see how he goes.. Slowly... but my Uncle in England said,,is it good enough to get to the UK..lol.. a bit of a way to go for that but we havent given up yet..if it still improves we might have a go at New Zealsnd to visit friends and rellies..it is so good to see him not grimicing every time he tries to stand up from a chair..he is a lot happier also..

Teresa hope you two ar ok...

Sylvia How are you going..

Les ..Are you off on that trip yet..if so when did you leave..

Love to all

MAry xx

Well,this is worth coming home to see,good news on one front at last,i bet you are cock a hoop Mary,at seeing John managing to move around a little better,Liz and i have our fingers crossed for a sustained improvement.
I needed a bit of cheering up after visiting Middlesbrough today for the first time in years ,a one vibrant ,busy town with half it's industry and shops gone is not quite what i was expecting to see,when i remember a time when it had tons more shops than Newcastle ,and it was all hustle and bustle ,what a change,none of it good.
We went to Hexham yesterday which was nice,as usual ,all the shops recovered from that terrrible flooding of two years ago,and we really enjoyed ourselves.
We took the camera with us and took some nice pics of the abbey.

starting with the gardens where we found a plaque that stated that an oak tree had been planted by the captain of The Australian Bowing Team Way back in time so we took a pic ,and also took a photo of said sapling now,97 years old ,and a mature lovely tree ,couldn't help thinking [these ozzies get everywhere lol]
Took a pic of our Liz supping her cuppa in the abbey tea room and quite a few others of the Abbey and town.
We have now found out that we can use these bus passes to make the three hour trip toScarbrough get off at tother end and stop over a couple of days before coming back,using one of the many b & bs,or hotels for a nice little holiday.
Pity i can't get over with some of my strawberries for your special tea mary ,oooooo ,they do taste good,i could have bought you some tomatoes and lettuce too.

Sorry to have to add lines in this way peeps ,but this ruddy thread has got hiccups again ,so i am going to give up for the evening,Fred.

Just a note before I head off tomorrow..I have a 4hour drive and then home on the train with a lunch on board..John will like that...hee hee he..
Looking forward to seeing JA on Saturday ,,she is one lovely lady..

Loved the picks Fred.. Lovely Abby..and some nice ones of Lizz. She is looking well .You might get that trip to OZ yet...Has Martin given up the idea altogether..

Les must be on her trip...hope she is leaving the bears alone..and being a good girl to her BIL...lol..

Love to all

Mary xx

Hello all Fred I have the same problem with this reply text.

After about 10 lines it will not stay on the line I type on but

jumps up and down every time I hit the forward key.

Surely Genes could fix it !!!!!!!!! That said I will keep this short

We have had 3 hot days and my Toms are "lovin" it 4

more ripened yesterday so I will try your greek trick Fred


The jump has started again so bye for now. Edith uughgh

Sorry Edith did it again (sent my message to you instead of here) me and computers........

Hello everyone, its been a damp day here in County Durham it can't make its mind up whether to rain or not. I have had a slow day today, can't get out of my own way..... we are considering a cruise to the Med, so I have been having a look on the internet. We will have to go from UK as I am unable to fly (with being unwell). I have heard lots of good things about cruises so just might give it a go...
Hope everyone is well and has a good weekend.....

Hi all ,another day simular to to the weather in Durham exept that it is blowing a gale across the valley ,so ,Fred has an excuse not to totter out into the garden this morning.
Totter it is because i got bitten by something in the garden last am and my leg gave me such bother that i had to go back to bed and take anti hystamine to bring the swelling down.
I was in a bad way for a few hours ,sweating,a high fever, headache,and leg pain and have noticed two little puncture marks in the middle of the swelling .hmmmmm.some sort of spider i reckon ,though what sort and where from i have no idea.
Feeling a lot better this morning so ,apart from no driving until tomorrow ,and no garden ditto,it's about back to normal.
Sorry to hear that you can't fly ,Dianne ,that does make it awkward for you, but if it's some sort of motion sickness ,a liner can also leave you feeling very unwell in heavy seas,which is even worse than flying..he he ,i get seasick on the local pond ,lol.
We were in Sunderland and Middlesbrough last week ,and i treated the wife and i to a palma for dinner ,very nice too but a heart attack waiting to happen,we enjoyed it very much ,but i won't be having it again ,faaar too much fat for anyone with a dodgy ticker like mine.
Wow ,this weather is really screwy this summer ,the trees at the back of the house are losing the leaves already ,which makes me a little uneasy,fat too soon for that to be happening yet.
Hope our Mary arrived alright,and is enjoying the company and the wine,which i feel sure will be imbibed with gusto along with the sammies,he he,hope we get some pics of the mini meet,when she gets home.
Time to get the dinner ,but don't know what yet,but we are at the sons tomorrow for dinner and tea ,so ,in this weather it def won't be a B B Q,lol.
See ya later peeps ,enjoy the weekend,what's left of it Fred.

Morning peeps ,i won't say good because it isn't very here ,cold ,windy,threatening rain,and it looks like another wash out ,lol.
My leg is a lot better this morning and i have been out back early to water in the lawn feeder/weeder again because the grass is turning a little black in places which is normal ,but a little unsightly.
The poor old cucumber ,inside the greenhouse and out in the garden have a lovely coating of mildew on the leaves ,but thankfully not on the fruits.
We are off to the son's for dinner shortly ,so i will take down a cucumber and some tomatoes for their teas,no room in the freezer for owt at the minute.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend ,fred is sulking [again ] he he,found some Rowan rellies on my grandmas side that went missinjg from tyneside in the late 1890s,well .i found them all last night ,all of the family ,including the dad in New York ,U s A [sobs heart out lol] waaaaah.i wanted a link to oz ,not fair,i now STILL need a link to a Rowan i know is related, and in Kiwi Land.
Oh Well back to the drawing board lol,see ya later peeps,Fred.

Hi Everyone,

Remember I am blogging and cannot post to that and this site. We do try to blog each daybut we cannot only find a wifi hookup.
If I have not sent you my blog address then pm me and I will send it to you.
See you on the blog.
Lesxx
PS I am away until maybe end of September.