General Chat

Evening to all,old Fred has been soooooo busy since coming home ,i need a holiday to get over coming home from the last one ,he he.
I waqs so darned sick of ongoing problems with moisture running down the windows on both floors that i decided to investigate and what a shock i got ,not one of the windows that were double glazed before we brought the house had been sealed on the inside to the brickwork,all that had been done was sealing outside to the brick,no wonder it was so noisy and draughty .
There were holes of over half an inch along the tops of the windows ,,all that covered them was the bridging strips ,no filler or foam to keep the wind out at all.
I got some of that expanding ,waterproof foam ,and some builders caulk from B & Q and got cracking,finishing off by putting the bridging pieces back ,and doing the joints with white silicone mastic,quite like oldd times ,he he ,anyway ,job done as it should have been in the first place ,and what a difference ,lots warmer in the rooms ,the road noise has gone down 75% and the running moisture down the glass has stopped.
I have now started upstairs the same way ,with the second bedroom which i will shove the missus in while i do tother bedroom .
I am now in the process of putting the bridging strips back,soi should be finished by mid morning ,leaving one other bedroom to see to.
Otherwise ,i am doing okay the two lawns cut for the last time this year [i hope ] and the hedges to do yet ,but i have brought a lightweight Bosch trimmer which is also battery operated,so as far as the hedges go ,i am cordless ,and when my lawn mower goes home ,that too will be going battery power.
Oh yes ,the new fridge freezer came three days after we got home ,and that is now in the dining room ,the old freezer going to the sons seeing as it still works okay.The table and chairs are now in the kitchen where the freezer stood ,and the fridge is in the greenhouse ready for the winter and the beef corning [notice that Mary ,lol].
Where the fridge was ,will be taken up shortly by a a new tumble dryer which will be far better for the house ,doing away with damp clothes from the washing machine hanging in the dining room,that alone will make the whole house less damp on wash days.
Yep ,Edith ,i have some smashing pics of Cornwall ,and the sights there of,so great was the holiday that we have already booked the same two weeks next year,at the same site.
We had a late thanksgiving too by the way ,but only because the fridge freezer was slightly smaller than the old freezer ,so we had to do some condensing he he ,so out came the turkey ,now cooked ,and a meal smaller ,it can now become a flat pack ,along with my Lasagne and go back in the freezer for later use.
So,All in all the missus is happier ,the dining room with new appliance in,she is as happy as larry decorating the walls as we move things around in there,at her leisure ,and i am happy too getting on with the garden ,the windows upstairs ,and finishing the decorating in the bedrooms as i finish the other work..
I am knackered ,but everything is coming together well so we have no complaints.
Blackpool is looming up ,next weekend we will be down there for 7 days,which is the last of the holidays this year ,so i will come back from there ready for the run up to Christmas .
That's it for now folks ,i am off to get the tea ,and then see if i can start finishing off that widow ,or wether i will have to wait until morning.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend ,Fred.xxxx

Morning /evening all.. We are having some lovely weather lately..sunny and cool...Lots of rain and storms about but it seems to miss us and we get naut..out comes the watering cans...LOL

No news from the specialist yet.. wish he would hurry up..this sitting and waiting is getting to me.. if nothing by Monday night will ring the quack and see if any word,,OH had to have some blood tests and a cat scan..

Fred.. Isn't that clotted cream just lovely...especially as a ice cream..I don't know about that fridge in my chalet.. will give it some thought..do you have some tea making facilities there also so that you can keep the milk cold in the fridge if nothing else.PMSL..

Les.. So glad you won the contest...Should give the town a boost..I love fishing and when we were up north in the gulf of Carpentaria I went fishing with my brother in a charter boat and caught lots of fish..I find it so relaxing..

Edith... Whats with the turkey...its not Christmas yet..though its not far away..are the bears asleep yet..

Hope all are well and have a lovely weekend..

Love Mary xxx

Morning all, Happy to hear you and Liz are home again Fred. As usual you
are busy there too !!!
The sealing of the windows I know about. Where I live it is a fall ritual to make sure everything is tucked in for the winter. Every type of weather
stripping is sold as well as all the caulking stuff.
Rather nice not having the big house anymore, so the new owners are welcome to the chore.
Mary, the turkey was for our Thanksgiving dinner.Canada does not echo the U.S as theirs is in Nov. ours is always in Oct.
No, the bears are not to bed yet as the weather is fantastic. It still is not real cold. Mild days and cool nights but no snow or frost even.
I do look forward to the pics Fred, but will happily wait until you have completed all the chores and of course enjoyed your last holiday of the year.
Enjoy having you all back, it has been too quiet on our thread. Enjoy the rest of the week-end and return soon.
Hope to hear from some of our old friends too.
Stay well. Edith XXXXXXX

Morning all ,gobble gobble ,lol,who else has had turkey then ,we had ours out as we put the new fridge freezer on,and placed it in the fridge to thaw slowly,and i took my big ChicagoTown Lasagna out to and did ditto with that.
The turkey i cooked Saturday morning ,and seeing as Chris was here we had a sort of practice Christmas dinner,which was very nice,and as i took the bird out of the oven to rest ,i banged the Lasagna in.
The Lasagna i let cool ,sliced it in the tin when it cooled ,and then banged it back it the freezer overnight to refreeze before taking it back out ,seperating the portions ,bagging them up and putting them back in ,along with the rest of the turkey,which i sliced into dinner sized pieces for two.
Hey ,it was worth the effort ,it went back in the freezer as flat packs. taking up far less room .and great for taking out as needed.
The wifes room is now lots warmer and comfortable ,and i finished off by getting the de humidifier out of the shed and unwrapped it [it's been in there since we moved house] ooooops ,that should help stop the problems ,as iv'e put it on the landing.
My own room window i will leave until we come back from Blackpool as i don't feel the cold very much,and sleep with the window open anyway .
Once we get the tumble dryer the problems should be solved anyway as there will be no need to put damp washing in the kitchen if it's raining out,causing damp in the house.
Today it's off to the bank in town ,then do a little shopping for fresh stuff like milk and a loaf of bread,before coming back so i can get this dining room finished and put back in order ,but ,it's lookin' good .
hope you get some news soon Mary ,even better ,i hope it's good too .
I enjoyed the pic of Oliver that Les' sent out ,lol,i think Hissy approved as well ,he looks to be one smart cat.
off now to take the wife's morning cuppa up so i will catch you all later.Fred.xxxx

Morning all.. We have a lovely sunny day..

Well the specialist sent his report and he cant find a cause or cure either..Everything is normal as it should be and there were a couple of tests he suggested which we might try in the next couple of weeks,, but in the whole we are back to square one... Thanks goodness I dinny have my hopes up as I have been there and done that to many time already..now I just take one day at a time..still there are more worse off than me..so for that I should be thankful..

Fred. How many rooms do you have in that house,,I thought you had redecorated them all last year..LOL..How was the turkey..yummy I bet..

Les.. Loved the pic of that red devil... he is so lovely.. Bet he is the boss of Bella...LOL

Edith.. Tell those bears its bed time... LOL

Well I am having a quiet day and that is good as had a busy one yesterday..Took OH to the docs to talk over the report from the specialist..they both are scratching their heads..LOL..

Have a nice day all

Love Mary xx

We are doing well Mary ,there is only the window in the main bedroom to strip down and insulate properly this year ,plus of course touch up the paintwork on the surrounds ,and upstairs is finished ,lol.
There are five rooms upstairs alone ,plus 3 downstairs,and a darned great hall and stairs,these are all ear marked for decorating next year apart from the kitchen ,finished earlier in the year ,as you so rightly reminded me ,and the little dining room which i finished this morning ,so ,all in all ,next year should be easy ,with only the hall and stairs ,and the lounge to see to.
I got the hedges done this morning apart from the top of the tall part ,which i need to get the big pole cutter out of the shed for,and once this has been done ,it can all go away until early March [ i hope].
all that remains to do outside now ,is the lawn edges and weeding ,plus the clearing out ,and storing the root veg' and onions,plus odd jobs in the greenhouse like bombing the inside to kill all the mites and bugs.simple , squeek , he he.
The new tumble drier is ordered ,awaiting delivery a week after we arrive back from Blackpool,then we should be set up for the winter washing,which looks like it could be worse than last year,think i might put in for a spring holiday at Edith's while the weather warms up here ,lol.
The trees out back looked lovely all last week with their autumn colours .but the high winds these last two days have seen most of them come off and fall.
the turkey was lovely,and if we stay at home Christmas ,we won't have to do lot as regards dinner ,just the veggies and stuffing to do ,the turkey in the mic,for a few minutes to heat up ,and done.
We are thinking of doing away with the electric fryer ,and getting one of these halogen cookers in it's place,less energy to do the same job than even a microwave ,and it does everything from fry a few chips to a full Sunday roast,cakes ,to Rissotto,to pancakes,and fry ups.,and much healthier as well ,very little fat needed,if any at all.
Looks like i am on cookhouse duties this evening again ,so i will sign off for now,no peace for the wicked ,catch you later,as tomorrow is an easy day ,just the bottom floors to hoover ,plus the dusting,bliss.Fred.xxxx

Hi Everyone, just a quickie from me...again. I have just started my teaching session at the college and that will keep me out of mischief until early November. I have 12 in my class this time...genealogy is very popular.
On the weekend I made spanakopita from scratch. It took 2 lbs of fresh spinach which had to be washed and chopped....what a job but the pie was amazing and so very yummy.
This weekend we are off to visit friends. I am taking dessert so am making a strudel and an ice cream cake...that will be fun to transport!!!
Then I will need to get back to the sewing machine the first xmas show is in mid Novemeber.....how busy does a retired person need to be....well I guess Fred could answer that one.
Every night at the moment the racoons come for a nosh in our plum tree. Although we picked all we could reach there are still some plums left. So in the middle of the night Bella goes beserk, whining and fretting to get outside but we don't let her. Racoons can be spiteful.
Be good. More Later
Lesxx

Morning all From a town shrouded in fog. Any travellers will have to be alert to the moose on the road this a.m. This is a sign our weather is
getting colder so will get out some heavier clothes etc.
Fred, you and Liz are welcome any time. As long as you don't choose June
as that is major mosquito season here.
Fishing is great and a trip around the lakes in a big covered boat is fun. Liz could relax in luxury and watch the eagles etc. A sunny day on the lake promises a sound nights sleep hee hee.
Mary, sorry to hear you still can't get John's problem resolved. The bears will surely head to bed after this cold spell, but some will stay at the trash dump all winter as there is a lot of food for them. Fred
See where your government has finally clamped down on all the welfare
so perhaps you can rid yourself of all the immigrants who are sponging off your system. Wish ours had the guts to do the same.
They come here for a new life ????and then want to change our laws to suit them. Oh, well off the soapbox and on with the day.
Les, I have a cat next door who plays in the bathtub in the middle of the night. Her owner tried to lock her out but she opens the door and drags all her toys into the tub. Some times I think there is war going on.
Animals gotta love them !!!!
Time for breakfast. Edith XXX

Good morning all ,from a veeeery cold Fleetwood in Lanc's,our first morning here and i got up at five to turn the heating on for Liz ,and set the timer for the rest of the week because it seems we are in for an icy blast from the arctic by Tuesday resulting i more snow in Wales and the North east,so i hope we can get home okay at the weekend.
This van is fine ,once the owner of the van we hired knew that Liz wasn't too well ,and suffered a lot in the cold,he changed the proposed van to this one which has full central heating and double glazing,so
we should be nice and snug.
With the weather the way it is ,i don't think we will get out and about much using the buses,but we will make the effort to get Chris out on his tram run to see Blackpool lights which he has never seen.
I have a couple of Spinach plants growing well Les ,so i may give your Pie a shot if i can have the recipe please.
We will be using the car to go to Fleetwood later this morning ,would you believe we went to Morrisons there yesterday and forgot the tea bags ,and coffee ,and oh the sugar yet ? he he what a
downer ,lol.
The new tablets seem to be working already and Liz's breathing is getting better already thank goodness,but if it gets ascold here midweek as is promised ,there is no way i will take her to Bury ,and the biggest open air market in europe,that may have to wait until our return at the back end of March next year,when hope fully it will be warmer.
Time to take the missus her tablet with a cuppa,so i will come back later,this new T -Mobile dongle seems very good,and reception is so good i don't need to go to the owners lounge to use the wi-fi,Fred will be cooking brekkie in the caravan this morning,he he.
Catch you all later ,Fred.xxx

Hi Everyone, we are visiting friends in Nanaimo and wont be back until later tonite. Heather and I went around all of the junk stores yesterday...lots of fun. We got all kinds of toys for the babe and a couple of cook books.We have spent the weekend cooking, eating and drinking wine.....I will need a rest when I get home.
If you can imagine there was a hurricane sailing across the pacific ocean headed for the coast of Vancouver Island.....winds up to 150 k....wow!! luckily it veered north and was swallowed up by another weather system....even BC ferries quit running yesterday evening. Whoda thunk it!!! We never ever get hurricanes!!!
OK off to the rest of the day.
Lesxx

Morning all, The weather has cooled and the four letter word(snow) is in the forecast. Time for gloves, hat etc.
I see the west coast is in for all kinds of nasty stuff. The city of Vancouver has ordered snow plow trucks for the first time ever!!!!
Les, our genealogy club has a photo restorer coming to opur next meeting and we can take one photo to be restored. I have one of my 3rd gggrandmother so am really lookoing forward to it.
Up very early this a.m as my cat"pal" next door had a game of football or something in the bathtub and what a racket. Made me jump out of bed, sit dazed for a few minutes until I figured out what was happening hee hee.
She is a lovely marmalade color and is really active. Her Mom does not hear all the noise as she is a heavy sleeper. Will get my chores finished early and go out for tea so all is not lost.
Time to get breakfast out of the way, so bye for now. Edith XXXXX

Hi everyone.. We have lovely weather..sunny and mild..

Edith.. You should share the cat and enjoy its antics in your place..LOL.. Sounds like your winter is well on the way.. keep warm. and put the bikini back in the closet..LOL

Fred.. Boy that van sounds lovely and warm,,So glad as I am sure Liz will be a lot better in the warm..Love vans as they are so compact and easy to manage re cooking and cleaning etc.. loved my van.. still miss it..

Les.. Hope you make lots of money for your Christmas presents.. Are you making jam with those plums..love plum jam...

Well we are off to another specialist if our doc agrees.. I am going around in circles and should soon meet myself coming back..LOL..

Hope all are well and so glad Liz is doing better on the new pills..

Love Mary xx

Hello all Sorry I haven't been able to get on here. We are having new windows put in all the apartments, so I have had 2 0r 3 workers in and out most of the week. They still have trim etc. to put on but have returned home for the week-end. Amazing the clutter they can make. The boss is very good tho" and makes sure the men cleanup before they leave for the nite.
We had a few snow flurries but nothing stayed on the ground, lots of wind and cold temps, just getting us used to the winter ahead. hee hee
Good to hear you and Liz are enjoying your trip Fred.
Must get this place sorted out a bit so will say bye for now. Edith XXXX

Morning Edith,your forgot glasses email you sent had us all in stitches,and i just had to pass it along to some family members to give them a chuckle too.
I hope your window fitters remember to fill the gaps to the plaster on the inside before putting the trims on ,lol,my fitters didn't,and neither did they measure the frames on the outside resulting on my windows being over an inch short all round,no doubt because they were too lazy to get the ladders out and measure the outside as they were supposed to.
If the house had been mine then ,i would have condemed the lot and made them start again.
No matter ,the frames were sound ,and well secured ,so i brought expanding sealing foam,builders caulk ,and silicone sealant and did the job myself ,and now have the second bedroom to do today when we come back home from the doc's and the weekly shopping,and that's the last of the original windows sorted.
I spent yesterday clearing out the greenhouse of all the old plants apart from the peppers which are hanging in there ,i pulled all the runner beans too ,and cleared a load of the old veggie haulms,and trimmed the lawn edges,resulting in the garden recycle bin being chocker and so heavy the wheels are creaking .lol,the bin men will love me tomorrow,when they come to empty it.
Please Father Christmas ,can i have a garden incinerator for Christmas this year ? pretty please,he he ,it's all i want ,and would give me tons of lovely potash for my veggie patch.
I have done very well this year.the brussel are doing great ,i have loads of red onion waiting to be lifted and put into the greenhouse as soon as i have fumigated it with a bomb to kill any nasties that may be lurking there.
My two kale plants will be ready come the back end of this month,the potato barrels are full to the brim,and even my spinach plants seem healthy so all i will have to buy for the festive season is the odd cauli, and calabrese .my own being about finished now ,apart from a few side shoots ,good enough for a couple of stir frys'.
I can't make up my mind as to what to do for dinner tomorrow ,wether to try the new halogen cooker ,as soon as i pick up the crisping pan ,skewers and cook book which i ordered last week ,and are now awaiting collection at the post office .or to get the trusty slow cooker out and do a hot pot ,maybe i should ask the second cook what she fancies.
I really miss one of my old favourites. a lovely moist fruit cake with a big chunk of Wensleydale cheese ,but Liz dosn't make cakes any more because there are only the two of us at home now ,and cakes just go to waste.
Maybe i will get her to do one of her quick Christmas puddings that you cook in the mike' ,that will do for after lunch on the big day.
Have to go now ,time to get ready to go out as soon as the washing is out,seeing as it's a good drying day,catch you all later.
hope everyone has a good week,Fred.

Hi everyone.. We are having the coolest spring I can remember for a long time.. All this global warming is a lot of rot and they just have to look at the temps for the last couple of years and see its cooling now..some people are stupid..

Fred. You make me laugh talking about christmas puddings,, A friend of my daughters said to her ,,,dont make a pudding as I have done one for you..so daughter didnt make one but I had already bought a large one in a tin in case we didnt have enough as Daughter is inclined to invite all and sundry to Christmas lunch..so glad we did as when we cut into friends lovely gift of a pudding it wasent cooked inside and we couldnt eat it..so we just opened the tin and it was yummy...not as good as a home made one but it did the trick..

Well we are off to another specialist first week of december...hope this bloke can do summit for John..the last one got the sack as no good..LOL..

Better get my A int G as I slept in today and have things to do..

Hope all are well and keeping warm..

Love Mary xx

Morning all, Mary don't know about you folk down under but us here in the north are definately getting warmer. We have less snow, more warm days in winter, more hot days and less rain in summer. !!!!!!!
As for the windows Fred, the men make sure they are well caulked and the foam is all around inside and out. These are triple-pane filled with argon gas between panes so will be much warmer than the old 2 pane ones. Even the trim around the inside is all caulked in.
As they are all white it sure brightens up the apt. the old ones were dark brown.
Fred, I too love Wensleydale cheese on my 2nd trip over there I brought a whole wheel of it home. We get it here but only the apricot one.
Some day soon I hope to get over there so I can enjoy it again.
Have a busy day ahead so will say bye for now. Edith XXXX

Evening Mary,Edith,and anyone else who turns up over the next few hours ,lol,after which time Fred will be by bye's he he.
Have to agree with Mary Edith ,French Scientists ,working on weather symptoms ,say that the gulf stream is getting ever weaker ,and will stop altogether before much longer ,resulting in a new ice age,something that happens every few thousand years ,and so is about due.
My last window is about finished Edith ,and already the warmth in the room is far better ,not suprised seeing that when i started to fill the gaps in ,i pushed the foam nozzle deep into the gap and the end of the tube went to infinity and beyond ,lol.
I have reached the stage now ,that tomorrow ,i will carry on ,using a silicone mastic ,and reckon three tubes will finish the job,yippee ,snug room here i come he he.
Tomorrow it will be time to dig out one of my parsnip plants to see how they have done ,but not one plant has gone to seed ,so things are looking good,if they are a good crop ,i will be well set up for a good two months with lots of stuff Liz can use for soup making [smacks lips] in anticipation.
We did pull out a tub of soup for tea ,and by 'eck ,i did smack my lips after we had scranned it ,lol,the first bowl of this soup,[parsnip & Citrus] beutiful is the only word to describe it,i think it may be the right time to reopen Liz's soup page .
I am still hoping the missus will make a little Christmas pud for me ,the one that takes 10 minutes to make ,and stores in the fridge overnight,and cooks in the mic in a few minutes on the day itself ,the best tasting, moist pud i ever had.
Hope your new doc does the trick for your hubby Mary ,it's about time you both had better luck,and he could def' do with a cure for whatever it is.
Think i had better go and see to the washing up before the wife plays hell ,unusually for me ,i have left the dinner dishes with the intention of doing the whole lot together ,because i was busy upstairs after all.
catch you all later troops,Fred.xxxx

Hi Guys,
I have been busy with a million things!! Okay I have to tell you about the ice cream cake. I actually got the idea from Nigella Lawson (sexy chef!!). I used a container of half fat ice cream, let it soften and then stirred in milk chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, chocolate cookies, crunchie bar-smashed, crispy crunch-smashed and salted peanuts. I wacked everything to try and make it a bit smaller, then I packed into a lined (saran wrap) cake tin with a removable base- old fashioned kind, not a springform). Shoved it back in the freezer until the next day. Wow!! is all I can say. I served it with chocolate fudge sauce. I only had a small piece but everyone else pretty much inhaled it!! And the plum strudel was to die for and I plan on making that as my plum pudding for xmas....it was that good.

Now today I have a beef stew in the slow cooker. I did use a recipe for a change and I have cloves and paprika as some of the seasonings. It smells very good and we will pig out in about an hour or so....will report on this.

Tomorrow I really have to hit the sewing machine and make a few more aprons. I am in a three day show in 2 weeks time and I think too many aprons will be better than not enough.

Ollie went for his annual check up and shots today, so he is feeling a little "delicate"!! But he still manages to stuff his face...such a lad!! Bella is on a diet as she is having a hard time getting into her harness....oh! those big brown eyes it breaks my heart but it is no treats for the moment.

Wonder where Christine is??? am a bit worried actually. And Veronica and Teresa?? hope all is well.

My last genealogy class tomorrow. I managed to get a bunch of free stuff from ancestry and findmypast and Archives Canada so my students will be pleased.

Off to the kitchen. More later. Keep well.
lesxx

Morning all, Les I chuckled when you talked about Nigella. My eldest son watches her cooking show and has 2 of her cook books.His wife says he is besotted with the lady !!!!He is a very good cook however and has made a few of her dishes.I too have been on the "stew"as it does taste really good at this time of year. Made my oven "maple" stew last week and as usual all raved about it.
Fred, I have your soup recipes at the ready and will get one started for next week. Have a few "old boys" in our complex and they enjoy a bowl of hearty home made soup during the winter.
Tonight is our British Pub night at the Senior centre so will be helping with that most of the day. They decided on roast beef etc, for the meal so will man the salad section and later the yorkshire pudding.
Hope you all got the Walmart e-mail, hard to realise what some folk get up to. I'm sure they must take those pics during the night as I have never seen that stuff during the day. hee hee
Our weather is still very nice for November but we are not our holding our breath as the white stuff is sure to get here.!!
Going on a bus trip in 2 weeks so hope it stays like this, will be so much better without big boots etc.
Time to go. Be back soon. Edith XXX

Hi everyone.. We have a lovely COOL day and a bit of rain which the garden can do with..

Les That icecream cake sounded lovely ..but I am afraid I would pig out if I made it and my figure cant stand that effort.LOL

Had a funny message from Facebook yesterday,,Some young man sent me a message that he had fallen in love with me and would I write to him..pmsl... I answered back that I thought he was a idiot and to get a life..got a reply to say that he loved older women and he loved me...I then told him he was a dick head and deleted him,,,Now how stupid can some people be,,did he think I came down in the last shower..pmsl...ppppp

I dont go onto facebook much as I dont understand it much but it has been useful with my grandies away in europe and the uk and Ireland ..I could keep up with their movements and see some of their photos..and chat to see how they were going..my grandson comes home on monday so it will be lovely to see him again..a lovely boy..he has been away about 8 weeks and had a great time..

Well having a nice quiet weekend..John has had a couple of falls in the last 2 days so I dont like going to far away..roll on the next specialist..cant come fast enpough..

Have a lovely weekend all and keep warm,

Love Mary xxx