General Chat

Good morning all you peeps out there,from the north east of England where the sun is shining [at last] ,and old git Fred has been out side already surveying his domain ,and sitting at the small patio table ,enjoying a morning cuppa.
Hi to Les ,who ,it seems ,is recovering after a rather frenetic weekend,he he ,you wit until you are as old as me and a few others on genes and you not olly feel whacked after a few days like you have just have ,but find you have sore backs and legs to go with the tiredness too ,he he.
The story about the snapdragons made me chuckle ,i love the flower but don't grow them because they spread club root ,which is fatal where you are growing Brassica and have to be avoided.
There is nothing worse than getting mice in a house but i don't have that worry.with Hissy around,i think she is part Italian,part French ,because every time she comes across a mouse ,or frog ,she kills and eats them,it can't be because she is hungry she gets fed better than the missus and me [chuckle] so it must be because she dosn't like them in her domain ,and having killed them ,dosn't like to waste good grub [yuk].
The builders arrived yesterday morning ,and re rendered the gable end to the tiles,replaced two broken tiles ,and reduced the chimney stack by half ,and repointed what remained ,replacing the pot ,and cowl.
They also left me four spare tiles ,just in case next winter did any damage ,so that they could pop out and repair the damage.
The whole job cost £310 ,so i am well chuffed,seeing as the whole outside has now been seen to ,and all that is left is the interior,so ,i am getting there.
While they were busy i cracked on ,trimming the lawn edge out back ,and cutting the front lawn for the first time this year,and getting the garden waste bin filled up prior to putting it out for collection late last night.
My daff's are out at last ,and the Bluebells are showing their heads now too ,things are indeed looking up at last.
My Eldest son has found me two of those new reversing bulbs which i will fit to the new car,they bleep when the reverse gear is engaged ,so what with those ,and the reversing camera ,any one walking behind the car while i am moving will only have themselves to blame.
Hissy is on pest patrol out back ,soi think i will join her out there with a cuppa while the sun is out,when the son arrives i reckon it will be time to put the feeder ,weeder on the lawns.
Catch you later peeps,Fred.

Morning all, Happy to see everyone had a good holiday !!!
Hold it one minute Fred, I see you are pointing a finger at we Canucks for your excess snow this winter. Well now ,you can blame the "El Nino" and not us. heehee. Sadly it means a summer fire watch as we have a lot of treed land and when the fires start we can get into a very big mess.
Our town was evacuated a few years back and it was no holiday.
Les, hope the back gets better quickly. How are the "kids" getting along now?. Time for breakfast so bye for now. Edith XXXXXXX

Edith the kids are doing fine. Sometimes they lay side by side and just groove, then Ollie rolls over, pokes Bella and off they go. In the morning they are on the bed one on each side of me...pretty cosy!!
Fred I am as old as you!!
Today hubby is taking a group of school kids to a local farm to take pics of the animals. He loves these days, fresh minds and all that.
I am now going to resort to using my digital and taking pics of the illustrations in some books I have. Hopefully that will give me a few more scenes to show.
All go here today.
Lesxx
Where are the rest of you guys? napping??

Good Evening just thought I would "pop" in and say hello, been keeping up to date with all your news just haven't been well enough to "join in". Nice to see everyone seems to be keeping well and busy, all talk of gardening (which I love), just a little bit of sunshine makes everything seem much better doesn't it. Well I will keep it short and sweet and pass on my good wishes to all!!

Morning, Anybody out there????????

morning all ,yesssss the old git is still here ,but was making hay and all that.
Tons to do in the garden ,and loads of painting to see to,but today the rain is back ,so i am indoors apart from the shopping later on,lol.
I am soooo pleased that i got the lawn feed on yesterday ,planned in hope of todays rain [yessss,result] ,as by now the water will have taken it into the soil ,he he ,hello nice green grass.and goodbye weeds.
Shopping at Cramlington later ,i will buy five new lights for the back garden ,and replace the ones leading up to the greenhouse,and the old ones can go out the front where i notice that three have stopped working.
I got my bum kicked good style at the clinic yesterday ,because i had been eating some of the wrong foods and bicckies ,crisps,and the like and my sugar levels were well up,and i was very near going into type one ,and the dreaded needles.
So ,it has had to stop ,and i'm going back to the proper diet of low sugar or none ,and plenty of salads ,stir fries,and pastas.they said i could have the occasional treat if i watch what i'm doing ,so this months treat will be the meat and potato pie from Fleetwood ,yummy,but it isn't so much the fillings ,it's the pastry itself ,so good by to my once a fortnight tattie cake ,and back to the Kalgannon instead .
Nice to hear that your kids are fine Les,they certainly keep a body on their toes ,he he.Hissy has found a mouse nest somewhere next door ,and keeps bringing a playmate home with her.so the new game is ,her trying to bring the mouse indoors ,and me trying to stop her ,lol.so far it is 3 nil to me,but the furry baggage is getting craftier all the time he he.
I Did hear that the lack of snow over the winter has put you all in a spot over forest fires Edith,you keep a weather eye open old buddy ,and be prepared to move in a hurry if you have to
Going to get the tape on the floorboards now ,so that i can get on with the painting as soon as i come home.
Catch you all later,Fred

Morning all, The weather is doing it's thing again. We need rain but it's not coming. In the Prairies they have a winter storm, and lots of rain on either coast but us in the middle are getting zip. !!!
Fred as usual your stories of all your doing make me dizzy. Can't figure how your sugar is high with all the work your up to??
Going to a bigger town next week to look at the plants available this year.I have all my patio pots cleaned and ready. Had a great tomato last year and will be looking for the same kind again. One plant gave me a tom for lunch every day and lots for tom sauce at the end of the season.Can't hope for more can I ?
Happy to hear the "kids" are O.K. Les. My little friend Chloe next door is a ball of orange fluff and just loves to rip around my apt. when she visits.Amazing how she can move so fast and then jump in your lap and purr so loud you can hear it in the other room.
Time for my breakfast so will wish everyone a great day. Bye for now. Edith XXXX

Well gang, today is the big day....presentation day!! I have all my pics downloaded and into a power point display and have read my "spiel" aloud several times to get it to the correct length. They have given me about 35/40 minutes. First shot was an hour when I read it....too chatty, that's my probs!!
Weather has warmed up a bit during the day, positively balmy some days but we have had several nights of frost...strange!!
Say Edith are you going into Dryden for your plants?? I am thinking of going into Nanaimo myself. The toms I bought at the nursery here in town were not good last year. Because my back is so iffy I have a man coming to dig over the garden patch and then I will get some of the veggie seeds in.
My biggest next project is to finish making the canopy and seat cover for the garden swing. The other canopy blew away in a winter storm...gotta love it!! It probably would have been cheaper to buy a new swing but Norm is attached to this one as my Mom gave it to us. When it is finished I will send some pics along.
Yes Fred, where do you get all that energy from??? I mostly procrastinate in fact it has become my retirement plan....when all else fails....procrastinate!!!
OK I am off to the trenches. Take care you lot.
Lesxx

Hi everyone.. Gosh its ages since I was here... well it seems like it is..Our weather is cooling down a weeeee bit and only up to the mid 20c's now..had a cool night last night,,it went down to 15c.....lol..

Well that brother of mine had a relapse and was back in hospital after only about 4 days at home..he had caught some bug and as he was so weak from his first stint in hospital it really threw him..They had to call a ambulance to get him back to the hospital and he only got out again yesterday afternoon..He is coming to me tomorrow for a weeks R and R.. and I hope to feed him up to get him strong again..I will have 2 old cronies with walking sticks to look after..lol...pmsl..it will be good to have a rest from the 4hours travel each time I go to the hospital. Am getting very tired..

Sounds like you are all getting into the garden again..wish I lived a bit closer so that I could come and raid it at night..and let you think it was the poor meeeses..

Will try and get on more often but might just be a bit busy with the 2 old crocks to look after for a week,,so keep warm and be good..well try...

Love to you all Mary xx

Morning all ,how are we all,this morrow? well and hearty ,? i do hope so.
We went to Howdon [on Tyneside ] yesterday and picked up the sons antique Adam fireplace that his dad in law had taken out and was going to smash and skip,[perish the thought] so now said son is the proud owner of a nice ,white marble fireplace worth a good few dollars in any country.
I got my two flower patches weeded and planted yesterday and ran the hose out last evening so that i could water the beds and lawn out front this morning.
This morning ,sharp at 6 a m i connected the hose up ,fitted the sprinkler shower head to the end ,went inside the house and made a cuppa,and on the way out cuppa in left hand ,i closed the door behind me ,and turned on the tap,walked to the lawn ,bent down and picked up the hose ,and pressed the trigger [who is well organised then ] not .lol.,who hadn't connected the spray head properly .Fred] of course ,who then got a facefull of freezing cold water [fred ,again] ,and who to crown the lot ended up with a once hot cuppa that was now weak and cold ,humph. half the cup full of cold water ,and half the tea on the lawn he he.
Gritting my teeth,i put a little water on the lawn to make sure the last of the feeder was well into the soil.and gave the flowers that i put in yesterday a quick water too,before coming back in the house to change my jumper [also soaking].
I put the last coat of paint onto the kitchen door before i took the missus up her morning cuppa.so all that is left to do today are the downstairs carpets and the dusting ditto,so all in all a nice easy rest of the day.
We will have to go and do a little shopping this morning for staples because of the volcano eruption in Iceland,the Scottish airports are already shut and i havn't heard any aircraft here today from Newcastle either,so i am taking no chances with my wifes bad breathing problems ,there is always a chance of the wind shifting ,bringing it over our way ,instead of further north
They reckon the clouds of fumes and dust will last a few days only ,so our holiday starting a week Friday should be safe enough.
I will of course fill the car up on the way home which should do us until it's time to come home from Blackpool.
We have plain flour and yeast in ,in case we are housebound ,and only need staples like a loaf of bread and a couple of cartons like long life milk.
.
Time to shove off now ,but i will catch you all later,Fred

Morning all, Our weather remains dry and clear skies.
Les, I had planned a short trip to Thunder Bay however a medical appt.
has now changed that so I well may be going to Dryden. There is a patio tomato I like so will try and find it again this year. Big round toms just great in a sandwich but also great for salsa and sauce. I didn't start any herbs this year so will also have to buy them,I love the purple basil with a hint of licorice flavor. Hope your presentation went well.!!
Bless you Mary, 2 gents needing T.L.C. wow. hope your legs are as strong as your constitution hee hee.
Fred, slow down before you drown by accident !!!!!
Off to get some food in my house, take care all. Edith XXXX

The presentation went well. There was about 40 odd people there so that was pretty good I think. There were a few folks interested in their family histories...I really must think about charging for my time??? What do you lot think??
Sunny day today so I think I will do a bit in the garden.
Fred I just read that the volcano is still spewing and unless the wind changes direction it maybe next week or even longer before most airlines will be able to fly again. You and Liz take care.
Christine, Ollie has his own chair now beside my desk and Bella has her bed at my feet....it is very cosy. Nothing doing with the aprons. No spring shows here this year and I am not inclined to go further a field at the moment.
This saturday there is a genealogical fair in Nanaimo so I am off for the day. There is a lady from the Society of Genealogists in England who will be there to give three talks....$50 for all three. I am going to take them all.
Somebody is out in our back alley digging a trench. Will have to go and see what they are up to.
More later.
Lesxx

Morning our Les ,and anyone else who looks in,from a nice ,sunny north of England,where Fred has been out back with his cuppa ,assisted by my furry escort,lol,and looked at my fruit trees ,strawberries ,and rhubarb,all looking good.
I see no reason why you should not charge for your time Les ,after all ,you are saving the people you help time,using your facilities to help others ,and spending time which you could be using for other things.
Am i glad that i am spending our two main holidays in blighty this year ,or i would have already lost the first with this ash cloud .
My son hates flying and goes by coach to europe ,via a ferry or the channel tunnel ,which i quite fancy trying,much nice seeing scenery in the countries as you pass though them,instead of peering through clouds ,at the ground below,and working it all out ,it only takes two times as long to reach Spain by road,and wow muuuuch cheaper ,he he.
The garden is doing really well now ,the fruit trees are full of bud and flowers,my strawberries are growing well ,as is the rhubarb so we will do well for fruit this year.
I now have the Asparagus in all six buckets through and growing well ,so we will have our first meal off them in a few days,and all my brassica will be ready to put out into the buckets when we get back from Blackpool.
The wifes domain [chalet]looks good too ,the cucumber are well away,the courgettes are showing ,and all the tomatoes are well away,and the flower seeds are about to go in.
I got the front garden well squared away yesterday ,and now have only the top corner of the border ,and down the long side to the shed to weed and plant ,and the gardens are finished ,with only the lawns and hedges to see to ,so ,wahey ,time to slow down and enjoy the sun.
Time to go and have a look around the threads,catch you all later,Fred.

Morning all, Fred, I hear you calling from the other thread!!!!!! You must be in a hurry this a.m. Have at last got my hands into the earth. Potting up the pots ready for the plants when they come in.
Seems it's too early for our greenhouse people and I have to wait for another 2 weeks to buy my toms etc. Herbs I planted are coming along really well and as soon as the night temps are above freezing I will put them out as well. Our skies are blue but there is still a bite to the wind. We are hoping for a better summer as last year was all cold and wet, not nice at all. My little pal Chloe ia a real terror now she can rip around so fast she ia almost a blur. Growing quickly too.!!! Time for a coffee so it's bye for now. Edith XXXX

Morning all A big Hello to Fred ans Liz over in Blackpool. Hope the weather warms up and sun pushes away any clouds.
Things here are still very spring like and so will plant up a few things to-day.
I have two Patio tomatoes(inside for now) they look very strong and healthy so now can just wait for nice big toms all summer!!!!!
I think all the others must be on face book or somewhere as we don't see them any more. Stay well everybody. See you soon. Edith XXXXXXX

Morning Just bringing us up a bit.
Hi Christine see you are keeping busy as well. Not too much news to-day as I'm on my way for some minor surgery this a.m.
Hope Fred and Liz have a safe journey home. Will be back tomorrow, so bye for now. Edith XXXXX

HI edith,Liz & I are enjoying our last day at the holiday park and the cloud is breaking just in time to get the B B Q meats and side salad stuff ready for the sis,and bro in law to arrive for tea.
I have booked to come back in October for the week the lights are on ,so that Chris can get along to see them,he will have a good time here for the week.
cause he has never been here before ,other than a few hours while waiting for the dad to come up from Oxfordshire.
I am looking forward to seeing my little furry sidekick ,lol,i reckon we will spend half an hour rolling the floor fun fighting as soon as i walk in the door,before going to sit outside on the patio while i have a coffee and Hissy lays under my seat.
I think the weekend will be filled with putting out all the brassica into the growing positions,and putting the bean seed in which will fill in another few hours.
Time to start cooking the tea now ,so ,i will see you all Saturday morning no doubt.so ,until then,enjoy the coming weekend,catch you all later,Fred.

Hi everyone.. Well this time I think my life is back to normal..hopefully so anyway..

My brother was back in hospital for 10 days and then I got him to come to me for 10 days so I could feed him up and get him strong again..He needed a walking stick to walk and get up out of a chair so by the time I stuffed food down his neck for 10 days he was a might sight better..He didnny need his stick and was nearly walking normally..He is still not 100% but he is getting there..Was so good to see him getting back to the brother I had before he was sick..
We had our 50th Wedding anniversary while he was here so that was a added bonus..The kids took us all out to a restaurant for dinner and presented us with a coffee maker..all I have to do now is learn how to operate it..hee hee hee..Brother now is home and has to go and check in with a new doctor and see the specialist at the hospital for a checkup..

Edith Hope you are ok and everything is sorted for you at the hospital..Big hugs my lovely..xxx

Christine..You and Fred must be out best gardeners..pity you both live so far away..lol..

Les..I agree ,,you should put on some lessons on FH in your home and charge..I am sure there would be people interested..also a few lessons on searching on the Internet..pity about the aprons..

Fred Hope you have had a nice holiday and not breathed in to much dust..Take care Liz doesn't either.. Bet that furry animal will be happy to see you both home..xx

Well better get some dinner ready so have a lovely weekend all

Love Mary xxx

Hi Everyone, I have been indulging my "research" thirst for the last week. I sure am impressed with all the "stuff" that is on Ancestry now and also TNA online. I am revisiting my Darbon family and it has grown from the original 450 to over 800 souls....lord they did like to procreate didn't they!! LOL
It is still cool enough overnite for us to have the woodstove going. Some days have been a sunny but not overly warm, and it still is raining most days. The soil is so wet that I cannot get my seeds in....late again!!
I have been invited to do my BHC presentation in Campbell River, that's about 2 hours north of us. I am also hoping to be able to present it at other historical societies. Seems a shame to have done all that research and not share it.
Christine, like you, we are having our front steps replaced. Norm is convinced that someone will fall off them as they crumble and then sue us big time....so Monday is the start day. Thanks goodness we have parking at the back and access to the house otherwise it would be murder!!
OK I am off. Trying to cope with spring allergies which are fierce this year, streaming eyes and nose...yuk!!
Have a great weekend.
Lesxx

Hi Everyone,well ,here we are ,home from holiday to drizzle and no sun ,well seeing Liz is washing today he he ,pity we havn't one of those biiiiiig 40 ft greenhouses we had up the allotment we could have put it all in there to dry,lol
The son didn't do too good a job of watering the plants in the greenhouse ,and we lost all the broccoli seedlings ,ooops,well ,never mind ,it is early in the season yet ,and i will go out back later on and reseed the tray.
I don't work hard in the garden Christine. i just shamble along taking my time ,so much at a time ,and the veggie grown in buckets is so easy ,it's a doddle,so long as you feed them every week,and i have a hose attachment to do this with ,or ,i can use watering cans to do selected areas.
I mix everything together ,garden ,housework ,and shopping so that i don't get too tired ,bored ,or make a mess of things.
The green curry i made in the caravan two days before coming home ,went down a storm ,the Bro in Law Darren was blown away and said it was the best Thia curry he had ever had,so ,i was well chuffed.
We go back in October for a week to show the Grandson the lights ,which he has never seen before ,and i have booked ,and paid for a week for the last week in March next year,we were that impressed with the park.
We were .through Hazel ,and Darren who both work on the park ,able to go into the owners lounge any morning and get a breakfast for £1 ,and free coffee and tea any time we wished.
If i were a little better off ,i think i would buy a holiday van for letting out,[the park see to the lettings for you],and just use the van for early and late weeks for ourselves,which means you don't have any payments to make because the letting pay for all the site fees ,rates ,and whatever,hmmmmmm ,maybe next year if i can save up the extra ,i will go for it.
Sorry to hear of the sniffles Les' my bro in law has the same problem every spring and summer ,and he living with green fields on every side but one ,which is beach and sand,he is still looking for a partial cure too.
Sounds as though you could do with one of those placca greenhouses you can fold up and store when not in use ,just big enough to start your seeds in,they sell the 2x 4 x6 ft ones here for a tenner,in poundstores.
Nice to hear that your brother is so much better Mary ,lets all hope that he continues to get back completely to the way he was,and Liz and i are still hoping your hubby will find the cure he so badly needs.
I am so ruddy annoyed at my camera playing up whilst on holiday ,i tried three times to take pics of the resident foxes they have on the park,the dog fox so sure of himself that he ambles across the road and grass th vans down from ours ,not at all fussed unless you get too close.
The park has a nature reserve at the bottom end and you can hear ,and see ,if you are up early enough the ducks flying in and out ,geese too if you are up really early.
Well ,thats it for now ,plenty to do today ,i can't sit any longer gassing to you lot ,byeeeeeeee..Fred.