General Chat

Morning all, We have at last had a sunny week-end. There were so many boats on the lake they looked to be side by side.
Fred, my balcony finally looks like it will produce some food by the end of summer. Everything is coming up nicely and to-day I will give them a feed of miracle grow.
Yes, Mary you do run the other way when you see a big black guy. Once he was in the pen, he sat there and whimpered like a small child. Hope the bluberries are plentiful where they let him out. :-)
To-day is laundry day for me so must get on with it. See you again soon.
edith XXXXXXX

Afternoon all. We have lovely rain..its filling up my water tub lovely..and watering my plants nicely..

You all sound busy with sales and bears and gardens..I havent had much time for things as it was back to the quack with John and it really wore him out..Have a lunch tomorrow with all my siblings which I am looking forward to..My brother is back from his holiday to the UK and I am dying to hear all aboout it..
On the way back from the UK my brother stopped of in Singapore for a few days and went out to the Changi Jail Museum where he managed to get a list of inmates of the Japs in Changi Jail and Sime Road prison Camp where my dad was imprisoned during the war..Another bit of news to add to my tree..
While doing some FH yesterday I found a great uncle who went to Wormwood Scrubs jail for being a naughty boy..that is 3 jailbirds and a convict I have in my tree... :-D :-D
Great family I come from... :-D :-D

Life is quiet at the moment..so its FH for me to keep me off the streets and out of the gutter.. :-D :-D :-D

Hope all are well

Love Mary xxx <3

Morning Mary,and all else who enter here ,lol,from the land of clear settled weather [not ] :-S,and where Fred is recovering from a marathon stint in the garden after a trip to the metro centre and Argos.
,all will be revealed shortly.
Glad to hear that your balcony is now looking green and herb'y Edith ,all you need now is plenty of nice warm sunlight.
The wife and i went out yesterday to get the spike i needed for the line ,from Argos ,and the concrete and pea gravel i needed for the same from B & Q,before coming home to get cracking on the lawn.the job started by 2 p m,and not finished until 5-30 pm ,groan ,was i packered :-\, stiff ,sore ,and needing a hot bath to ease the back and legs :-S.
To start with the spades wouldn't go through the turf ,which have curved blades any way ,not conjusive for a neat job,so after a long hard think ,i nicked the 14 inch carving knife from the kitchen rack ,the steel one i use for the corned beef and venison [,all i could think of .lol.
So ,having found a length of planking ,i marked out three sides in the grass ,and started to cut .[this was easy ] there i am carving a way when i hear a chuckle from the fence ,where the neighbour has lamped what i'm doing.
Next thing i know ,he asked me if i was going to biol the turf ,or roast it ,at which ,knowing what i must have looked like with a damn great butchers knife in my hand, started to chuckle myself.
I used the to spades to lift the turf along the cut ,which alone took me 15 minutes ,rolling it up as i went ,and after a long sit down ,started the easy job [so i thought ]of taking out the soil.
Ruddy 'eck ,it was like concrete and i quickly gave up with the shovels ,after jarring both wrists ,and settled in to using a hand trowel ,chewing the soil out little by little,
Nearly an hour i spent doing this to remove a square hole 14 inches deep,down through a soil that was as hard as the hobs of hell [now i know what it feels like to go gold prospecting] without the possibility of a yellow reward :-0.
Any way ,i was glad i settled for the spike from Argos ,it being a lot harder than the previous one i used the last time.
The spike i drove down into the bottom of the hole using a 3 pound mash hammer,driving it well down until the top was an inch below turf level.
The concreting was easy ,a large bucket of mix ,with pea gravel mixed in,poured down the hole [dry] until i had enough ,then used a watering can with a fine rose to wet it well in.
I was half expecting that voice to come over the fence again asking how long the spike would take to grow now that it was planted and watered ,but no ,his car was missing ,no doubt he was at the watering hole talking about the mad git next door ,cutting slices of turf out of his lawn with a ruddy great knife :-P.
Any way ,finished at last ,sore and stiff ,i sat down at the table satisfied that nothing short of landslip was going to move that drier he he :-).
Had an early tea ,the wife making me a beutiful Greek salad with feta cheese ,and for afters ,the first of our very own strawberries with low fat cream :-D.
This morning i was out with the knife again ,lol,putting some of the dug out soil on top of the concrete and soil,bringing the turf half an inch proud of the lawn to allow for settling,finishing off by cutting a slot into the turf so that i could work the turf round the pole,to lay it back down.and finishing off by using some lawn patch repair to fill in where i had cut the lawn to start the job.
Looks like we are town bound this morning to renew our metro passes,so i will park the car at Morrison's and catch a bus into town ,renew te passes ,visit the market to buy a sarnie and coffee,before visiting our meat and cheese stalls.
This afternoon peoples ,Fred is doing NOWT ,lol sitting in the garden ,rain or no ,under the parasol.
Forgot to mention that after i had done with the lawn ,i moved the courgettes from the side of the house to the border next to the Rosemary and onion grass,so everything is tons neater and easier to tend :-D.
Have a nice day everyone,Fred.xxx

Morning all. WOW Fred again you make the world a dizzy place with all you manage to fit into a day.
My balcony is indeed a green space now. I didn't think the beans were going to take so planted a few more in the same trough, well it is now FULL of plants :-D :-D so am going out in a bit and take out the weaker plants. Otherwise I will have beans up the you know what.
My rosemary plant is also a "mutant" it is soooo big, looks similar to the bushes of rosemary I saw in Arizona. Very pleased as I do use it a lot. Nothing like chicken roasted with a thyme and rosemary rub. mmmm
Our weather has finally turned to summer and all the plants are thriving.
Our fish dinner has been rescheduled for the 7th of July so am looking forward to that. The pickeral is very tasty this time of year and with all the side dishes it makes a great meal. :-) .
Mary, hope you enjoyed your family visit. Maybe it will perk John up as well.
Would love to have your family history, mine are just basic Brit families.
No royalty/criminals or lords :-( Did have a couple of "thatchers" tho' and saw a house which had been roofed by a distant uncle.
Must go as my tummy is growling to be fed. See you soon. Edith

Well Fred, I am also not as busy as you but the garden is finally coming together. We found two wasp nests in the greenhouse yesterday and when the wasps left Norm destroyed them.....so now I have to be careful for a few days until the wasps go away and build somewhere else. We lost a lot of shrubs due to the freezing temperatures last winter so yesterday Norm dug out my lavatoria and I replaced it with a shrub lilac. My beautiful butterfly bush has not leafed this year but I am hopeful it will return next....too big to dig out. Miss it a lot the bees loved it and the butterflys also.

Made a huge tortilla pie on Wednesday and we got two nights of dinners from that. It was great yesterday having been in the garden all day not to have to cook...yeah!!

Now today is maybe a fish day, we'll see. Edith it is years since I ate pickerel. I do remember years ago going lake fishing in southern Saskatchewan. We took my Mom along. At one point she threw her line over her head, caught her sun hat and then cast it out into the lake. We laughed until we cried, the kids thought it was the best thing they had ever seen. Then the dog got sprayed by a skunk and we had to drive home with the smell...now that wasn't quite as funny!! :-D

Took Bella for her annual check up and shots and vet said she was "portly" so I guess it's going to be diet time for her, bless her heart she will not be pleased about that.

Time to get on with the day. A wee bit more gardening if the weather bucks up or if not the huge job of sorting out all the books that we want to sell at our yard sale. (Did I ever tell you guys that over the years we have amassed probably 1000/2000 books, idiocy on our part) I am hopeful to reduce the collection by at least 50%.
Off to the wars. Lesxx

Hello weekend :-D and drizzle :-S ,oh well ,a good thing i got on so well in the gardens yesterday ,and can work in the house today instead.
The son arrived yesterday afternoon and got the flags by the gate up for me ,re raising them up an inch where they meet the path outside the drive gates.
The puzzle was solved as to the sinking .lol.the berk who laid the flags in the first place used just basic sand,on a slope ? i ask you ,he he ,the severe winter and heavy rains in the spring caused the sand to slip down the slope ,and the high winds can't have helped as they got under the flags as the sand slipped and eroded the foundations even more,i even found helicopters underneath ,the seeds from sycamore trees driven well in underneath.
Anyway ,we have replaced all the lost sand with the cement and mortar mix left from the other job he he ,and replaced the flags ,finishing with a watering can dribbling the water down the seams ,so that the mix will harden to make it solid.
The drizzle now will help too ,the water seeping underneath and helping to solidify the lot underneath ,so ,hopefully the problem is now solved.
Edith ,the chicken sounds great with the rub you talked about ,clue me in please as to how you do it ,and i will give it a go along with the treating that i do on the inside of the bird ,that should then be something else Yum.
Our market is nice Dorothy but not as quarter as big as the one in Bury ,nor as diverse in the products sold,our cheese stall is great yes ,but the cheese sold there ,yum ,but not nearly so many varieties from so many places,and our black pudding ,although nice ,is naff compared to the lanc's sort.
Nice to hear that the gardens and balconies are doing well ,with all the water i reckon my brassica will do well ,but i'm not so sure about the rest which need to flower first ,the lack of sun may knock the beans back a long way ,still ,win some lose some ,as they say.
The grandson will be here shortly ii reckon so i had better go ,do a bit of hoovering/dusting before i plan dinner .
Catch you all later Fred :-).

Morning all, Thanks for the pics Fred. Lovely !!!!!
The rub I use is 1/2 cup crushed rosemary, 1/2 cup crushed thyme
1/4 tsp salt, 2 shakes pepper, 2 drops of tobasco hot sauce.
I put them in a bowl with just enough extra virgin olive oil to hold them
together, dry the bird well and rub the mixture in well. Into the roaster and
in the oven for 20 min per pound. I have also removed the skin and
rubbed the bird but only when a family member who won't eat the skin is
here :-) Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Out to pull more bean shoots this a.m, the hot days have sent the plants into a frenzy :-D
Tomatoes are flowering nicely and 2 have set fruit as well. Can't wait for
that first sandwich MMMM.
Time for my breakfast so bye for now, Hello Les and Mary <3
Edith XXXXXXX

Thanks for the rub recipe Edith ,i will give that a try as soon as i have a chuck to experiment on ,but i won't be removing the skin before cooking lol,i can't have it but the wife will lambaste me if i bin her treat he he :-P.
A lovely morning here first thing ,so i got out and got the odds and ends sorted out before the promised clouds rolled in,a few bean shoots to wrap round the canes ,a few tips of calabrese to tie to supports ,and a few weeds to murder ,that sort of thing ,and oh ,the tattie sack to set away [done and sorted] :-D.
Tomorrow ,it's off to the hospital for the wife's bone scan at the Freeman ,which means the bus ,at least an hour to get there ,but far better than getting there to find there is no free disabled space to park,and i refuse to pay £7-50 for a slot.
A regional centre for heart clinics ,surgery ,and many sorts of ctc scans ,and there are 2 dozen disabled car spaces ,ruddy daft for a place of that size.
By the time we walk up a very long drive ,stopping often for Liz to get her breath back ,and she is tired out ,even before she starts an hours examination and scan,i'm afraid that if it needs done again ,i will insist that it's done at the Victoria or the general hospital where there is more room for disabled car parks. :-P.
My eye exam on thursday will be a bus job too ,because you can't drive for 4 hours after the drops go in ,but at least ,it isn't far for the missus to walk .
Off to do dinner now ,hope all are okay and managing everything okay .Fred.:-D xxxx

Morning all ,just a few minutes to add a few words before we go out to you know where,he he ,think i will give the missus her dinner out to cheer her up after all the prodding and pinching she will have to put up with ,lol
Watch what you are doing with those wasps Les' and check for a few weeks afterwards to make sure the blighters don't sneak back ,they are more stupid than bees ,who ,if evicted ,buzz off and find a new patch ,wasps tend to stay around.
Make sure you remove the nests and burn them,or the little bu***s will hang around for days,stinging everything and anything they come across that moves..
Pouring down here again ,so i ain't looking forward to the bus ride ,but ,ho ,hum ,best to get it out of the way ,catch you all later folks.Fred :-)xxx

Morning all ,just a few minutes to add a few words before we go out to you know where,he he ,think i will give the missus her dinner out to cheer her up after all the prodding and pinching she will have to put up with ,lol
Watch what you are doing with those wasps Les' and check for a few weeks afterwards to make sure the blighters don't sneak back ,they are more stupid than bees ,who ,if evicted ,buzz off and find a new patch ,wasps tend to stay around.
Make sure you remove the nests and burn them,or the little bu***s will hang around for days,stinging everything and anything they come across that moves..
Pouring down here again ,so i ain't looking forward to the bus ride ,but ,ho ,hum ,best to get it out of the way ,catch you all later folks.Fred :-)xxx

Afternoon everyone.. We have such a lovely winters day..Sunny and mild..The poor people flying around OZ today are having a bad time due to the ash cloud from the south American volcano,,It has disrupted the flights around OZ for 2 weeks now,, a right pain in the ......... ;-) ;-)

Was going to get my plants today but didn't have time..Had to get back to get Johns lunch..The last specialist didn't find anything bad in Johns lungs so now we have another specialist to see who might know what is wrong with his legs,,Apparently this chap is into people with problems like Johns so here's hoping..that is about the last one we will bother to see I think..Enough is enough...

Edith Bet you have been enjoying all that lovely fresh fish..so good for you so go for it..Doc wants John to lose some weight,,he said it might help his breathing..now I have a diet to worry about ..might do it myself and you never know might lose some weight myself.. :-D :-D

Have a good day all..

Love Mary xxxxx

Morning to all ,and hello to our Mary ,who is always welcome ,like a nice spring sunshine .
Liz and i will keep our fingers crossed for John ,lassie,'tis about time you found that specialist that knows what the problem is,and gives you the answers you are looking for.
We found out that Liz has lost a lot of bone mass at the hospital yesterday ,due to the steroids she has to take for the emphesima ,and was told off for stopping the calcium tablet that was effecting her breathing.
The sister who was treating her said ,to try the tablet again ,and if it didn't work ,to get in tough because there are another three tablets that do the same job she could try,and if they are all no good,at the end of the day ,there is a monthly injection that can replace the lost calcium.
We got home pretty early in the forenoon ,so got the car out ,and went to Morrison's to do some veggie shopping ,and noticed that the knocking on the front suspension was still here ,despite the garage being told when it went in to have the service that there was a noise on the front end suspension :-( so ,getting home ,i rang them up ,asked them why it hadn't been seen to as i requested,and was told the message hadn't been passed on.
I then got the missus back in the car and took it down to Nissan and asked for an explanation ,saying ,a noise coming from the front end suspension ,should ALWAYS be investigated and told them to get it out on a road test ,stat.
I also asked to speak to the manager ,and as he came in the door ,bingo ,it was the same manager who fobbed me off last year as to the damage done to the car before i even took delivery from the pre delivery check.
The temptation was too great ,lol, :-D,there ,in the middle of the reception areain front of staff ,and customers i collared him saying in a loud voice ,can you please tell me ,why ,after 12 months ,i am still waiting for you to call me and set a date to bring my car in to fix ,the paintwork that was damaged in your workshop before i even picked it up ,and why was my wife ,kept waiting two and a half hours while you tried to cover up the damage ,before bringing the car to the reception area. :-P.
Silence ,he was trapped ,and he knew it ,i even got an admission at last that the car HAD been damaged in the workshop,and he said he would have the car in on Wednesday [today ] to have the damage repaired.
The customers and some of the staff were agog by this time ,loving every minute of it ,and to cap it all ,at this moment ,the fitter who took the car out on the road test ,came in and said ,yes ,there was noise from the front end suspension ,and the car was ,not going anywhere until it was seen to.
ASt this point ,said manager could see that i was rather annoyed :-( at my request for the suspension check to be forgotten [ignored what ever,and i said ,if it wasn't fixed to my satisfaction before next week when i was using the car for a holiday ,i would be writing to the head office ,complaining of his lack of supervision of his staff.
End result ? we were brought home yesterday after an abject opology ,by one of their courtesy cars my own car being kept ,firstly for the check on the suspension ,and then ,this morning ,for it to be taken to the body shop ,to be sprayed.
I had a phone call at 4-30 pm ,yesterday to say the fault had been found , two loose bolts on the sub frame ,so i think i will be writing that letter anyway,to miss a loose sub frame on a service is disgusting to start with ,to ignore a request for a suspension check on top of that ,and the fault being, at the very least a safety issue ,is unforgivable.but one thing is for sure ,i bet he won't try any flannel with me in future.
So ,i'm glad the sun has come out ,after a wet start 'cause we can't go nowhere with no motor ,so i will be in the garden before long,tying up bean tips to the canes doing a bit of hoeing,and checking in the greenhouse for little jobs to do.
I noticed that the courgette plants love their new home in full sun [when it comes out] and have rewarded me with five little fruits [yum] cor, a couple of weeks and we will be well in what with those ,cucumbers on the vines in the greenhouse,tomatoes on the trusses,and even a pepper forming on one of the bushes ,,result, :-)
The newest of the two nectarine trees is showing buds now ,and the older one is ,i'm sure ,showing signs of life,so ,i may yet land up with two instead of one.
All the rain we have had this last week has done a lot to refresh the lawns ,but the front one has a load of bare patches ,so i will be keeping an eye on those in case i need to reseed them.
Hissy is sitting at the patio door looking at me ,dropping hints ,lol, so i am off now to make a coffee ,and then go sit with her outside.
Take care all and keep safe ,Fred.:-D xxx

Morning, Yes, Fred I have been in the same place with a car and a so called manager. The car was in for service and on return there were 2 big chips of paint missing from the side of the drivers door.
Back I went and said manager told me it was from the studs on my "jeans" well I totally lost it, very loudly I told him I had never had a pair of jeans on my a#### in my life. As my parents were only a short distance away I called my Dad, (he was 78) at the time and he came over and also chewed out the guy. By this time a few more folk had gathered around and were cheering us on, needless to say the car was repaired at no charge.
My plants are also coming along, I will make some basil pesto tomorrow and hopefully will have beans in about 2 weeks.
Mary, hope things work out with the new Doc. Yes, the fish has been great.
Would love to have your kind of winter weather Hee hee
Time to move so bye for now. Edith XXXXXX

:-) :-) :-D :-) <3 <3

Ah! Fred, you and Norm would make a grand pair. Norm loves to fight injustice in any form and even this week had a real go-round with the Safeway manager because they won't make poppy seed bagels any more. I think his favourite rant is the automated answer service that so many companies employ. He now deals with that by saying/yelling "I want to speak to a live person" over and over until like magic, a live one appears. Pretty funny somedays to listen to him.
Everything is up and growing in the garden, so even after a late start we are raring to go. I have three best boy red toms growing nicely and two yellow pears toms that are flowering as well. My peppers have flowers and baby fruit and my squash seem to be doing OK. I am growing patti pans, butternut and green zukes, courgettes to you Fred.
BTW a nice way to cook zukes is to slice them into thick spears, roll in flour, dip in beaten egg and then roll in panko crumbs. Bake in the oven at about 350 until golden. Very yummy with a nice mayo/mustard dip.
We are in the midst of having the lower bathroom re-done. The floor was just painted concrete before and now has two coats of levelling compound on it so that we can put in vinyl. The blurry thing still isn't level and so a third coat is going on today. Meanwhile the house is in chaos/confusion as we root out all the unwanted stuff for our yard sale.
Mary, over the last couple of years Norm has developed a similar problem to John only with his arms. He has finally decided yesterday to quit the accupuncture as it gives no lasting relief....and on it goes. Now I think we have exhausted every medical solution that is available and have no idea what to try next. Old age is a real B....er!!!
More later, Lesxx

Morning Les' yep two old guys who know the ropes ,that's us ,lol.
I went to pick the car up when they called ,to find that the guy who does the paint jobs had phoned in sick ,so the car was now fine to drive ,but i had to set another date for the paint job ,no matter ,it's booked in for the 6 july because we are on holiday next week.
After i lambasted them for not picking up on the loose subframe after the road test that's done after each service ,i don't think they will take chances on my car again [don't mess with the old guy ,he bites he he :-(.
When she gets a minute ,Liz is going to send me some pics of Hissy over from her phone ,taken this morning .
I wondered who she was telling off upstairs ,lol ,,twas our Hiss' having found a way to jump from the floor up to the top of the wardrobe ,little bu***r ,there she is looking pleased as punch ,lol :-).
Got a few nice pics of Beamish museum to pass on too ,and once this plurry weather clears up ,we will be going back ,us now having season tickets.
It will be backpack time ,i reckon ,sarnies and drinks made to have on the many picnic tables they have there ,the days of sitting on the grass have long gone :-\.
Our weather is sooooo naff now ,you have overtaken us Dorothy ,nearly at the end of June ,and it's only 18c ,my fruit is small and green ,the tomatoes are tiny ,bo hoo ,taint fair ,lol.
Hah ,tell Norm to go to Morrison's or Asda ,they still make the bagels ,he he ,these shops should listen more to their customers,i agree :-(.
I will try the Zukes [lol] done as you suggest ,i sometimes let one grow until it looks like a small marrow ,then cut it in half ,stuff it with rice and some meat or other and wrap it in foil ,and cook in the oven ,veeeeery nice too :-D
Fred is off now to water the greenhouse ,pity you can't have a roofless one ,and let the rain do the job ,lol.
Catch you later ,Fred xxx :-)

Another cool day here, just cannot seem to get a decent summer day. Had a bit of an "altercation" (love that word!!) with the plumber yesterday. Now that the floor is finished we are good to go on the new shower.....hmm! not!! the plumber now tells us that because we bought a cheaper shower, not one that cost the earth, he wouldn't install it or put his name to the work. He will put the base in and replace the plumbing but for the rest...we are on our own!! Now I may have to tie Norm up so that he doesn't strangle this dude as soon as he walks in the door. So now we are stuck doing work that we really wanted done professionally...grrrr!!
Don't forget me with those pics, Fred. I haven't had any for ages.
We have a couple coming all the way from Campbell River today to look at our van. Hope they like it as we are anxious to sell and then get on with our next adventure.
Made greek rice last night. Cooked basmati rice in the rice cooker using low fat, low salt chicken broth instead of water. Then in a pan I sauteed onions, peppers and carrots (all chopped small) in some olive oil. When the rice was done I stirred it into the veggie mix, added some greek seasoning and it was done. Made chicken brochettes to go with, pretty yummy.
More later. Lesxx

Morning to all ,and to our Les' :-P,because i sent you pics at the same time as i sent them to Edith ,Mary & a couple of others ,your provider is at fault [sniff],not Fred,Lol, Never mind ,i will send them again ,and will keep trying until i get them through to you.,lol.
Firstly however ,i have the pic of Hissy on top of the wardrobe ,to send out,only three at a time because some peeps only have a small capacity emall provider.
Well Les ,and Edith ,the promised mini heat wave never arrived [sobs into a hanky] lol,i awoke this morning to a temperature inside the house of 17c,and pouring rain outside ,grrrrrr :-\,so ,again on the 25th of the month ,the heating is on.
I got the all clear yesterday at the hospital ,nothing had changed since last year ,and so no new glasses needed yet again,and my eyes had adjusted to the sunlight by 4 pm ,so i was able as promised to pick up the eldest grand daughter ,for her prom night at the Marriot Hotel in Gateshead.
I took the camera just in case ,and boy oh boy ,was i glad i did .
she had on ,a beutiful light blue full length dress ,and i realised that my grand daughter was no longer a bairn ,but a beutiful young lady ,that made her grandad proud to be escorting her to the front door of the hotel .
Anyway ,i will add the pics to the one of Hissy to send out ,resending the earlier ones later.
The earlier ones were nowt special Les ,just ones taken at the Beamish Museum of yesteryear ,old 1800 steam trains ,coal villages and the like ,but they will have to do until i get to Southport next week when i hope for a little sun to take some of the lovely Victorian town centre ,so much like Llandudno,in Wales ,that i'm sure the same architect was employed to design both towns.
We have to go shopping shortly to get the same grand daughter a few bits and pieces for our trip next week.
She was at the hospital yesterday morning for the results of tests done three weeks ago ,and ,poor little soul is totally gutted,as she has been diagnosed with the same malady as Les Has .
We need to buy special flour for the lass ,pasta ,and other stuff that is gluten free ,and has no wheat or other ceriel grains in,special sausage for her breakfasts ,and of course a bag of special cornflakes that she CAN eat.
She is a bit down ,so we said we would take her down to Fleetwood with us ,because ,later in the year she will be in the 6th form studying for her teachers degree ,and can't go with the rest of her family on holiday to Spain,she will have to make do with these few days in Fleetwood ,and the same on the next school long weekend when we may go to Berwick instead.
Might try your herby chicken this weekend Edith ,hope you are over the shock by now ,lol,but i for one ,enjoyed every minute of it,he he.[all will be revealed] , ;-) .
Catch you all later ,time for shopping,Fred, :-D xxx

Morning everyone, Thanks for the pics Fred, you are right she is a lovely young lady. :-) I am over the shock now , perhaps an explanation is needed!! Yesterday a.m. I answered the phone by a gent who said his name was Fred O.k thinks I but which Fred??I know 3 who live in town.
When this Fred said he was in England I thought it was my cousin who is also over there on holiday. No, it was Fred from Newcastle :-D :-D Had a nice visit and I of course had a bit of a brag about my"3" tomatoes.
Our weather is staying hot for the next 5 days so hope you can get a few as well.
Loved the pic of Hissy on the wardobe,
I'm sure you will enjoy the chicken Fred it seems rosemary is meant to go with it. I tried a few sprigs in some wine vinegar yesterday, npw will leave it in a cupboard for a while before I try it in a recipe. The plant I had now is a bush. Guess it likes cooler weather .
Hope you got the pics too Les. Stay well everyone. Edith
:-)

Continuing the bathroom saga. The plumber came and put in the base only to find that the rest of the shower does not fit!!! So now we have a shower that we cannot put in, an empty bathroom...and on and on!! Obviously we will have to take the shower back. Now Norm thinks we should put a tub in there but then we will have to jack hammer the floor to move the toilet..and more on it goes!!! I will take pictures of this at some point so that can all laugh and cry with me!! :-\
Went yard sale-ing today and picked up 6 new DVD's none of which we had seen before so I think that we are going to have a movie afternoon and evening. Weather is crap as usual. Hail storm yesterday and yes, Fred, we also have had the heating on.
Took Norm out for breakfast. I had eggs benny without the hollandaise sauce...yummy!
More later. Lesxx
PS. Yes Fred, she is lovely. Funny how they grow up so quick.

Morning all ,well ,the weather is supposed to pick up here today Les ,but i ain't holding my breath ,they told us that last weekend ,and it'd done nowt but rain since .
That plumber of yours want's shot with S**t,no plumber worth a light starts a job without inspecting the work site first even looking at the unit to ensure he can fit it.
As to this not putting his name to a job without it being the most expensive shower unit in the land.? what twaddle ,he is supposed to see to his customers requirements first and foremost,huh ,if the shower unit has passed the stringent tests as to pressure and safety requirements ,there should be no problem.i would report the wuss to the plumbers guild and master builders association and get his licence pulled.
I will send you the pics of the revamped garden next ,before i do any more,so that you have all the ones the others were sent..
With all the rain this last week the places i had to cut for the rotary dryer ,are nearly grassed over ,this lawn patch kit is well worth the tenner it cost to buy,and i have two more packs in ,before ,having become well known ,it shoots up in price.
Did you get the van away when the prospective buyer came ,or have you still to sell it?,i noticed that with all the water the man upstairs is scattering around ,the number of rvs and caravans on the road is well down.
Liz and i watched the Antiques Road Show from Sydney last night [waves to Mary and John] ,he he ,they must have splashed a lot of water on the grounds of the University ,because the lawns were well green and lush,,and there were lots of high quality gear going under the hammer ,ranging from a painting of a man who was embroiled in the Boston Tea party ,before emmigrating to Oz ,to a complete china dinner service from the Derby pottery,complete ,and in mint condition ,he he ,the fella who owned it was stunned when told how much it was worth ,lol,he has no reason to worry about his pension.
Off out back now to put the feeder on my veggies before the sun comes out [hopefully] and burns the leaves .
Catch you all later Fredxxx :-D