General Chat

Just a quick one this afternoon come evening ,i have been rather busy today putting in my Olive Bush ,as yet ,which looks nice and healthy ,plus my pear tree which i went and got from the post office late this morning.
The perishing moggy had me up at 5 am this morning grrrrrrr ,so i was out in the greenhouse at 5-30 ,cuppa in one hand ,as i shut the sliding door to keep the wind out :-).
There i was ,waking the neighbours up ,clouting the sides of the pot with my trowel to loosen the root ball sounding a bit like a demented woodpecker with a metal beak.
I did get it out after a good bit of pulling [gently on the trunk.and potted it into a slightly larger pot ,after reading the instructions ,do not over pot ,sounds like the olive likes to struggle to grow.
My Pear tree i did late this morning too so i now have a full compliment of fruits ,with no room for any more.
Cracking idea with the Verandah Gromit lol ,yes ,that should make a built in autumn room as well as a greenhouse where you should be able to sit well into November ,Edith ,darned good idea.
You be careful there Les ,too long on your hands and knees at one time is going to play hell with your back until you get used to it ,though it may well prove very relaxing after you being restricted for so long.
Nice ,easy late tea tonight,wholemeal torpedo rolls ,sweated white onions ,brockhurst sausages ,and mustard yum yum.,
catch you aall later ,Fred. :-D :-)xxx

Here I am on Norm's puter. My computer crashed yesterday afternoon, wiped the hard drive totally clean...grr!! I think I will have lost my internet favourites, my email address book etc.etc. Norm took a look but could not fix it, 2 trojans and some malicious spyware. I have tried to remember what I had been sent in the last 48 hours. Nothing from you lot but my cousin had sent me a video with a dancing 2 year old which I opened because his stuff is always safe. Maybe not!! I did not forward this to you guys so I think you are all OK. I am totally po'd with this. Luckily all my genealogy files are backed up on a CD and I also run an HP second hard drive that Norm hopes is not infected. If it is OK I will be able to restore most everything.

Fred do you have a perennial over there called Loosestrife. It comes in purple and yellow, mine is yellow. Let me know and we will chat.

Looks like it may be sunny today
Lesxx.

Morning Les' you sound as lucky as me with the puter ,lol,i finished up with the paid version of A V G internet security ,and have had no problems since upgrading to it so it was money well spent ,as it automatically filters out all suspect crap and asks you to look into the vault so that you can decide to keep or delete.
All virusses and trojans it deletes before it can get into the computer.
I looked up that perrenial ,hmmmmmm ,native to America and Canada a very invasive species that is hard to get rid of ,lol,the one i looked at in the plant catalouge was purple in colour but ,no matter ,you can keep it and welcome he he :-P.
We have a plant here that looks simular ,called a fireplant because it grew along the railway tracks in the steam era and has spread to the whole countryside from cornwall to upper Scotland ,and yes ,i have it in the garden he he ,i have to take seedlings out every month and as fast as i remove them ,more seeds blow in from around the area :-(.
Going to be packing later today with two of my puters ,one really the wife's [the pink one ] the puter that is ,not the missus ,lol.:-).
Going to go into the garden shortly ,to check the plants for growth ,and then check the greenhouse to make sure my seedlings won't dry out before i come back,and then i am going to take it easy for the afternoon ,having already updated my gps system and angel for the car.
Hope all are having a nice weekend despite the weather ,take care all .Fred. :-D <3

HI everyone.. We have some nice weather at the moment but it is still warm at night.Think it is going down to 10 next week so am looking forward to that but the days are still up in the 20c's...not to bad..
Been busy with John but have not been feeling the best myself,,Don't know why but just not well.. But today I have started to pick up and so feel a lot better..
My seeds have loved the wet we have had lately and are coming along fine..If one lot I put in don't do anything I will sow a second lot of Chinese greens so that when the first lot fade out I will have a second lot coming on..
Haven't had the desire to cook anything much lately,,think I am getting tired and just want to get it cooked and on the table..so it has usually been meat and 2 veg..but perhaps tomorrow I might do something nice as its our 52nd Wedding Anniversary, so think we deserve something better..and a nice bottle red bubbly.. :-D :-D

Hope you all had a nice weekend..

Love Mary xxx <3 <3

Morning all, Hopefully another sunny day. Surely spring will show up soon.
The plant your talking about Les, is banned in Ontario as it is a noxious weed. The purple one takes over small lakes and ponds and destroys them. They are then useless for wildlife to live on so the "weed" is now cut downby the ministry folks. Apparently wild birds are also endangered by the flowers on the plant.
Mary, it sounds like you really do need some help with John. Please look into getting someone or you will also be in trouble and then who will help him. It does not take too much stress to get into a lot of distress.
Having been in your position a while back I do know how much it can take from you and set you flat on your butt very quickly.
Les, I too have A V G and it does what Fred says. Have had some scary stuff taken off by it, not fun to lose all that good stuff.
Hope you and Liz have a good trip to your holiday site Fred, and good weather while your there. Are you taking Hissy?
Time to get some breakfast so bye for now. Edith <3

I was running Microsoft Essentials and it had done a good job in fact in the morning of the crash it detected a trojan and quarantined it as it is supposed to. Norm thinks that whoever sent the other two they might have been from the same attachment. What a royal pain. Now I did unplug my external hardrive almost as soon as I crashed so I am hoping that everything is sitting there safely...if not...well another lesson learned!!

So Fred you are off today, lucky guys, have a nice relaxing trip. I sure could use a trip but I don't see it happening right at the moment.

And Mary, Edith is correct. You need to get all the help you can right now. John may not like the idea but there is no point in debilitating yourself. You don't bounce back as quick when you get older...just look at me and my b--b and that bloddy cyst. Still have not got my stamina back.

Yesterday in the early afternoon Norm was bogged down with dismantling all the dozens of floppy discs that we had recorded over the years. I do have a disc reader and we were able to save some of it but everything else...kaput!! So in the middle of this smashing frenzy I said to him that I fancied some chips and gravy..not really on my diet sheet. So off we went to the drive-in, sat in the sun and shared a hot dog and some spicy fries and gravy....what a treat. Then for supper we had slow cooker beef stew and homemade buttermilk biscuits with a pepper, salt and sugar crust..yummy!!

Am doing a little work on Norm's father's family. Some came from Russia and the 2 x great grandfather maybe from Holland or Poland...hard work trying to sift thru that kind of history. It could even be that one great grandmother was born in the States but her parents were from Germany. This would have been back in the mid 1800's and not much in the way of help from Ancestry or Cyndi's list. However I do like a challenge so will plod along.

Raining here today but not really cold.
Later Lesxx

Hi Les'just as well you had a microsoft programme on ,but this is probably part of your problem,Problems like Win 32 and other microsoft tools are always being targetted by hackers ,who delight in putting this sort of thing out over the net.
Good quality software like A V G internet security ,and Norton are online 24 7 fighting these people ,and are far in advance of microsoft ,it is honestly worth the $35 for two years full protection. :-).
I always get my coverage online and upload the programme ,but you can get it slightly cheaper if you can get it from a shop,so ,i would suggest you go online and upload the free to try version ,and see how you get on with it :-).
We are only down here until Friday morning ,before heading home again ,and then will be heading due south in the middle of May to see the grandsons new house before he goes back on duty,hopefully a couple of B B Qs in the offing there .
No harm at all in a few goodies once in a while ,so long as you don,t overdo it,and why not ,sounds good to me ,my treat is going to be a carvery in Fleetwood tomorrow night ,and then ,my fish and chips on Thursday at my usual shop. :-D.
The new trams are now running throught the whole system ,so we will be taking a ride from the terminus at the top of Fleetwood ,all the way through to Stargate in Blackpool ,and back again,a real treat after them being off for two years .
Hope everyone is doing okay ,nice sunny day here ,and quite warm after the last three weeks ,long may it last .
Catch you later guys ,off now to start the tea ,Shepherds pie ,roast potatoes ,broccoli ,Asparagus ,and peas.,oh ,nearly forgot ,ginger cake pudding with custard for afters ,yum ,Fred. :-D :-D <3xx

Morning all.. we have sun.. :-) and cool...

Fred Have a nice holiday..and enjoy the fish and chips..yummy...

Les A butter about the puta..I run Norton and so far touch wood I haven't had any trouble..Hope you and the puta are on the mend.. :-)

I am up early this morning waiting for the washing machine man to come and fix my machine..it has given up the ghost me thinks..it is 8 years old so don't know what it will cost to fix..they said he will be here between 7am and 12 noon..couldn't get a afternoon one so its up with the larks and wait..yuck..just had to have a coffee to wake me up..bet he doesn't come till the 12 noon..

Just had a email from a cousin in New York who hasn't had contact with our family for 50 years so am over the moon about that.. Our daughter will be in New York in July so she might be able to visit them..

Quiet life here, stay well you all...

Love Mary xxx <3

Morning Mary and all, The weather here is now changing every day. One day sun then rain then snow :-P Can't seem to make up it's mind.
Spring may just move into summer before we know it :-)
Did the washer get fixed Mary, the one machine that is essential in a home.
We have a communal laundry here and at times it is a real pain. Just love the folks who wash the floor mats and then don't clean the machine.
The sand takes about 3 rinses to clear so you don't end up with gritty clothes etc. :-( The joys of living hee hee.
At the recent market here I got some buffalo steaks, cooked them up last night and they were delicious. This same fellow has elk meat and it is very tasty. Will definately try them again.
Hope all the others are staying well, time to getting moving. Edith <3

Afternoon troops ,my last day here ,so we went out on the new style Bombadier tram ,a bendy bus on rails ,very smooth and comfortable ,very much like the trams in Antwerp.
We tried two senior specials for dinner while in Fleetwood ,two slices of Lancashire cheese and onion pie [to die for] and i had mine with home made chips ,again the best i have had in years &baked beans,the wife with hers had mash ,carrot and peas,both meals with a large pot of teas cost me the princeley sum of £8.
I found my large Horseradish root too ,so that is in a bag to go home tomorrow ,and i have that spare urn waiting for it.
Hope as Edith said Mary ,that the washer repaired okay ,and you don't need a new one :-(.
The people who take over the van from us are going to get a shock at tea time lol ,the ducks have come back every day for their bread and make a heck of a noise until they get fed ,lol,after which they waddle on to the next tea stop,which has been two vans over the way :-D.
My old fish shop has changed hands and is now ruddy awful :-0 but i have found another in Thornton which is very good ,and we now have another carvery sort of place ,called The Harvester ,in Thornton as well ,a bit dearer yes ,but they have a bar that does pastas ,salads and the like which you can help yourself to while your mean is being prepared,and i had a beutiful 8 ounce steak with all the trimmings ,all i can say is ,wow ,i will be going back there again ;-).
Going to do the last meal for the sis in law tonight ,nothing special ,toad in the hole with a veggie medley& mash & roasties ,red onion,and the wife has made a trifle for a pudding ,so they will eat tonight before going off park :-).
Time to get most of the packing done ,so i will catch you later peoples,take care Fred. :-D <3

My puter is now fixed and up and running. There are a few odd glitches that don't seem to want to resolve themselves the main one being that I cannot get my shortcuts back on the desktop....irritating. Anyway nothing was lost so....whew!!

Our excitement today was getting an overpayment of $400 on our pensions. Norm said he was sure they made a mistake and so spent about an hour trying to get thru to them only to find out that....yes!!! it was a mistake.....and on it goes. Good job we didn't rush out and spend it.

Have spent the last couple of days trying to find out when and where Norm's grandparents came to Canada. His grandfather was born in the Russian Empire an area which is now the Ukraine and his grandmother was born in Hungary in an area which is now Lithuania. Thank goodness my ancestors roamed around England. I would have gone crazy trying to research otherwise. Norm has one Aunt left alive and she is 96. Her memory is not bad but not great. I chatted to her and she sent me down a couple of wrong paths...ah! well. The joys of genealogy.

Made a huge cottage pie yesterday so wont have to cook tonight...yippee. We have a friend coming to stay for the weekend so today I must rush around with a duster and mop, I have come to hate housework....want a maid. :-D :-D :-D

This site is acting weird today so I am off. Enjoy the day you lot, Lesxx

Well,that's me home to a welcome and a half from the cat ,luggage away [sort of ] and what housework that's getting done ,done and i am now sat down,after a quick walk round my domain .lol :-).
The leeks have started to come through ,so it looks as though i will not be having to buy plants ,the cucumber seeds are also showing ,and the tomato seeds are well away ,all in all not at all bad.
We had a good trip up home which took two and a half hours,and used just over two gallons of fuel.most pleasing at today's prices,and if i am able and can still manage the clutch by next year ,i will keep it for another 3 years.
Glad to hear you got your puter sorted Les' but still try to get a decent anti virus programme by early July ,as the C I A Have put out a warning about the Doomsday virus which is going to hit in earlyJuly that may cause widesperead damage to unprotected computers,not quite so bad for people that have a backup drive that is connected via usb .
There are quite a few though who leave this connected when not being used ,which is a bit daft ,the idea being ,back up all your programmes and files ,and then disconnect it until such a time when it's needed :-)
The Cottage pie sounds good Les' we made a largish pie of the other sort early in the week ,and i mixed a little cheddar in with the potato ,which gave it a tang without being too strong. :-D. Hope everyone is enjoying the start to the weekend ,i know i am ,lol,
Going to put the new batch of carrot & Pac Choi in tomorrow ,and i have found some stunt rooted Parsnip seed that i will be sowing next week,so all i am waiting for now are my bean seeds to start poking their heads.through.
Have tro do a shoot now to update the antivirus ,so ,catch you all later ,Fred :-D <3 .

Afternoon all..we have a nice cool day..

Washing machine fixed. not to bad,, so hope that is it for a while..back to the grind and washing again..
Had son and family around for dinner last night as it is eldest grandies 12 birthday..Gosh they grow up fast.
Nothing much happening here ,,having a quiet day,,doing the washing.. :-D..not very exciting.. :-D :-D
Glad you are home safe and sound Fred,,sounds like a nice break. and Les glad your puta is fixed and working again..Edith has the sun come out so that you can get the seeds in yet..Have you found good help yet,, let me know when you do,,I would like to know how to get it to.. :-D :-D :-D

Have a nice weekend all...

Love Mary xxx <3

Had a big day out yesterday, first since xmas....got well and truly tired but it was great!!

First we went to the Old Country Market (Goats on the Roof) in Coombs for a quick look around. They had Italissimo stewed tomatoes 3 for $5....what a deal, bought 6.They are the best canned toms you can buy, plump, juicy and no salt.

Then it was off to Parksville to my favourite thrift store where I found another cup and saucer (you can see Norm groaning!!) and some books, like we need more!! Norm and I snuck across a building site to the next street over, to the English store where we stocked up on Oxo cubes and Mushy Peas. Norm also got a packet of Marks and Spencer strong English tea so he was happy.

Then into Nanaimo to Fabricland and Costco. Did a huge shop in Costco, they had some good deals as always so now our freezer is plump and full again. I noticed in Fabricland that they have some amazing new materials in stock. I was so tempted but controlled myself..lol!! I did get a pattern for a summer dress for Rhian so that will be my next project. I think my poor old sewing machine is on its last legs tho, dunno what I would do if it gave up. New ones are seriously expensive. After all of this shopping Norm was exhausted so I drove home.

Today it is back to the usual drudge. Laundry and more laundry, sweeping and vacuuming etc.etc.....housework never ends does it? So I am off to do my bit. More later. Lesxx

Morning, Another grey day coming but need it so I can get some inside work done.
Mary, the bears are out and looking very hungry!!!!My nephew has a huge Momma in the back yard and it seems quite content to stay there.
They have called the M.N.R. to put in a live trap to take her further into the deep bush. The kids are afraid she will get their little dogs if she gets too
hungry. There is another at the local trash dump with triplets so hope she stays out there. :-)
Les, I know the urge to buy more fabric. When I sold the big house my d.i.l. was amazed at how much there was. We did sell it all at reduced prices of course.
What has happened to Fred and Liz. Are they off on holiday again??
Must get this mess cleaned up so it's bye for now. Edith <3

Well ,hello all you happy campers out there in the wild blue yonder ,from a very chilly north east of England where it is 6c at 1110 am lol,not good .
Been very busy this last two days trying to limit the damage in the garden because of the late frosts and the cold.
All the beans i have had to start again ,bu**er ,and this time i am starting them in the greenhouse in the usual cups ,instead of doing what the missus said and sticking them straight into the buckets ,grrrrrr,ruddy women he he ,they should stick to things they know about ,lol,in this case ,flowers ,and i am the first to admit ,she is ace with shrubs and flowers ,but needs to leave the trees and veggies to me :-P.
Only two buckets of Asparagus not showing yet ,but there is still plenty of time .
I now have the second water butt set up on the other side of the greenhouse ,sat on two slabs of sandstone paving and have already set up the second drain pipe from the other green house gutter giving me 90 gallons of rainwater for use in the greenhouse.
I was outside by 9-30 this morning in shorts and body warmer trimming the top and outside fir hedges for the first time ,and have to admit ,even pretending it was a nice sunny morning ,my legs and knees were in a state of shock :-(. :-0.
I hope you keep well away from those furry ,hungry mammals Edith ,they may look cuddly ,but i wouldn't want to meet one ,even on the other side of a steel fence,i prefer watching those critters via a tv screen.
Les ' seems to be getting into shopping mode again ,but it's nice that the weather is getting better over there to allow some forays out and about ,even if it does mean a sudden drain on the purse as another cup and saucer leaves a shop shelf ,he he, but i can think of more expensive hobbies .
Holidays Edith ,don't know what you mean ,hhhhhm,even if we are off again next week for 6 days ,down to see Seans new house in Carteton At his new camp,in Oxfordshire ,but this does have it's good point, it being within 30 miles of High Wycombe ,meaning i can swing round that way on the way home to pay my respects to my Dad ,gt & Grandads on both the baird and Barnes side of the familys graves to leave some flowers and reflect on the frailties of human life.
I would love to swap some of your cool weather with our cold spring Mary ,i'm sure the new Pear would enjoy some real warmth on it's buds ,which remain as yet ,tightly closed ,even my Nectarine bush seems to have gone back to sleep ,lol.
Time for dinner now ,but i may yet be back this afternoon as rain is threatening ,or could it yet be hail we get :-( ,take care all ,Fred :-D <3xxx

Morning Fred, Seems you and I are the only ones about. The others must be hiding :-)
Our weather is on the cold side as well,not spring like at all. I have yet to uncover all the furniture etc. on the balcony as I do not want it covered in snow. I see Calgary had about 2 inches yesterday and as the trend is west to east, you can bet the cold will be here sometime next week :-P
Even our garden centres are holding back. All the frames are up but the covers are still rolled up on the ground. I can't blame them as the plants are so expensive and to lose hundreds of them would be a disaster for sure.
Just praying for good warm days. crazy, crazy world we are living in :-S
Would love to be on my way over there this year. I was there for the last Jubilee and would also like to go to the Olympic site.
We have Charles and Camilla coming for a visit, don't know how it will go,
as we Canucks seem to prefer William and Kate.
Yes, I stay away from the bears, only fools and American tourists go near them. :-)I have seen them walk right up to the animal and take a flash pic . It's a wonder more of them are not hurt. Because of the lack of snow this spring, few berries and now not even leaves on the bushes they eat they are coming into Town for garbage or anything to eat. Would not want to get near a hungry mom with even hungrier cubs.
Time for me to put the rear in gear and get on with the day. See you soon. Edith <3

Hi everyone.. We have dull and cool..
Well just lost a big post and now have to start again. gggrrrr...
Just had a busy week with appointments for John and daughter from Orange came down for the weekend and that was so nice as I haven't seen her for quite a few weeks.. Had to get up at 5am this morning to get her to the train back home and my system doesn't like early starts.. Takes me all day to recover,, Got home at 6'30 and went back to bed and slept till 9am but it was not enough,,So early night tonight..Other daughter in Canberra is coming up next weekend so it will be another lovely weekend.. So miss seeing my girls and miss them lots.

Am so sad as my Uncle in the UK has not been given much longer to live and I would so love to see him before its to late, but not to be..It is awful being so far away sometimes,,My Aunt is also ill and is trying to look after my Uncle,,not a happy situation..The children are trying to do all they can and are being great but I will miss my Uncle more than ever as he is more like my older brother as we grew up as children together and he is nearer my age than my mothers,,Will miss him greatly..

Sounds like you lot are having a hard time trying to get in your seedlings.. Well we don't want to lose any of our warmth yet as we had a butter of a summer and would like to keep any warm that is left for ourselves.Will send it on as soon as we have finished with it.. :-D,,Bring on Global Warming..I like it..but the talk is now we are into a cold age, so they can keep it.. Have you noticed they don't call it Global Warming any more,,Its now Climate change..they have to say something if they want to get their sneaky hands on our money..don't get me started.. :-D

Edith Stay away from those bears.

Les. how much material did you buy or talk yourself out of..

Well will need a early night tonight to recover and lets hope I feel more myself tomorrow..next weekend when other daughter come they will drive so I wont have any early morning rushes with them..

Take care all..

Love Mary xxx <3

Afternoon to all ,sorry to be so late ,but i was up early and out in the garden getting as much done as possible before the rain arrived to spoil my fun.
Managed to get a lot of the feeding done ,before i recut the front lawn before feeding that as well :-).
Having lost my uncle Ray in Jan ,who was more like a brother with only 7 years between us ,i know how you are feeling Mary it dosn't get any better i'm afraid,and with the other problems you have over here with your family won't be helping at all . :-(.
Found an interesting plant online that may interest you all ,called Bullsblood ,it is a beetroot ,but with small leaves that make a wonderful garnish for many meats and salads ,a sort of cut and come again beetroot ,but at the end of it all ,you still get a pretty big globe that cooks well ,i intend giving it a go to help fill my herb tubs up .as well as putting a couple of rows in later in the year :-D
Our Market Gardens are well behind too ,Edith ,and it may well be that the Chelsea Flower show may be in trouble unless the gardens find some unusual flowers that can cope with the cold weather ,everything over here is weeks behind.
I have found out what was wrong with my Basil plants too ,not only the cold weather ,but i learned that watering them in the evening tends to make them sulk so to speak ,they don't enjoy going to sleep at night with wet bums ,he he,so ,in future it's the greenhouse for them ,lol.;-).
Time to crack on now ,i only have a few more days before the trip down to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire ,so ,i will catch you all later ,Fred,xxx <3 :-D

Looks like another sunny day here today, about the 4/5th. in a row. A friend put their garden in a few weeks ago and most everything is up....I haven't even started yet. I think today Norm will fork it over and perhaps I will get started.

I am researching Norm's family now....what a job. I have spent hours pouring over the Hamburg passenger lists with not a lot of success altho I may have found his great uncle Samuel. My biggest problem is with the immigration records and I think I am going to have to order the microfilms from Ottawa thru a library transfer. Has anyone else done that? Edith?

I have some pics to send you guys and I will try and get at it today. I took some yesterday of may favourite spring time garden bed....you will see.

Ollie has taken to chewig his fur off and is now a little denuded in the rear. I took him to the vet and she said he was stressed, think I told you that before. Well I have been cuddling him lots, especially at night, in the hopes that he would de stress but he is now chewing at his legs....what to do?

OK time for a quick shower and then into the fray. More later. Lesxx