General Chat

Well I think this is our last day and we will head back tomorrow. It has been sunny but they are calling for rain tonite and tomorrow. We have decided not to go to Tofino in the rain but will maybe try and get away for a few days in October if the weather bucks up.

Yesterday we cruised around various spots in Vic and then had a late lunch with a friend of mine. Today we went to Sidney. It is a really old fashioned seaside town that has been gussied up and is very cute. We even had fish and chips!! On the way back to the RV site Bella got sick and threw up twice in the truck. So then I had to scrub out the back floor etc...not best pleased...poor Bella.

Yesterday we invested in two new feather pillows and ...finally!!...I had a good nites sleep. I will be pleased to get back in my own bed. Norm has obligingly let me rummage thru some of the thrift stores here and I have amassed 6 cups and saucers. I think two of them I will get rid of as I maybe don't really like them but the others are great. Norm says to me....what are you going to do with all those things??...hmm!..err!!.....still think I will drink wine out of them or if any of you come for a visit I will serve you in high style...LOL!!

I got a bunch of stuff at the deli so tonite we are having pineapple chicken balls, veggie pakoras, greek salad, potato salad, italian pasta salad and some roast ham...just a little of each not being too hungry after the F and C.

More later. Les <3

Hi Edith ,and anyone else who shows up today ,or any other time come to that ,we on this thread are a great crowd ,and ain't proud [hows that for a quick rhyme] ,lol. :-D.
Following your advice ,re the dill Les' ,i will put a paper bag over the pot ,and put it in the greenhouse ,where hopefully the seeds will drop into the pot and set themselves away,next spring.
My other herbs in pots will come away next year on their own ,but i will still put them on one of the greenhouse benches.
Can't go out tomorrow because the gas board will be back to put the main liner down the old piping ,all down the road ,and then fill in all the holes.
Looks like next week now before we can get to B & Q for the kitchen bench measurements and other bits and pieces,such as the new sink and lagging for the pipes ,might as well do the lot to save any grief with freezing pipes.
The new cooker ,a full height double oven,hopefully with a fifth central burner on top for the wok all the latest mod cons,thats us .
Edith Les',have you seen the Moroccan Tageenes that are used for the spicy dishes that the natives out there use/cooking done on pottery bases ,ditto covers ,and charcoal as the heat source.i do fancy getting one of those to go with the B B Q,the stuff i saw these two Hairy Bikers cooking in them looked lush ,lol
We never got to go to b & Q as planned today because by the time we got the bank seen to AND HAD TO STRUGGLE THROUGH THE CROWDS IN TOWN ,IT WAS TOO LATE TO GO.
Instead with the heat ,we fought our way into the local market at 0 oclock and had a lovely iced tea before coming back to the car and going to Aldi on the way home,where we found to lovely heather plants to go into the empty urn out front.
Our little B B q is on for tomorrow evening ,a couple of lovely Angus Beef burgers ,stuffed with cheddar cheese and chives ,from my meat supplier at the local farm ,where we also got his home made sausages ,cumberland and Lincolnshire ones,all spicy and loads of herb in .,On the way out of the market ,the french bakery had fresh bread rolls on sale ,so we brought six of those ,topped with sesame seed and rolled oats ,the snags will go lovely in those,and i'm sure there is a big tub of Bombay potato frozen down from the last time ,he he,the last one of the season ,so i am making it a special one :-.
Hissy is asking me to join her on the patio ,so i am away out with a cuppa ,catch you later all.Fred :-D.

Hello Just a quick note as I like Fred have been on the run all day.
Had laundry piled up plus house to clean and bills to pay, plus family to
visit. Had spent the week before the trip just getting all the details sorted
on how and when to feed 50 people. Just calling all the restaurants and
booking the place for lunch and dinner took the better part of 3 days.
So my apt looked like a slow and careful tornado had run through tossing
clothes papers etc. about.
At last it is is liveable again and I can get to my computer without a
maze of paper to go through.
We are having amazing weather for Sept. to-day it was +28 and again
tomorrow. All the trees are red, gold and yellow so must get some pics
too.
Glad you are enjoying your camper Les, been there and did have fun
even with a few gliches.
Must go and will be back soon. Edith XXXXX
:-S :-D

afternoon all ,phew ,in again at last ,the trips to the daughters ,the youngest son ,the shops ,dinner and home again .he he ,we must be getting old ,lol,only been back an hour ,straightened the front room ,out ,fixed the new touch lights in our bedroom ,and made two coffee's and i am worn out ,fred is already longing for bedtime :-).
I did find two of those lovely beefburgers ,the ones stuffed with cheddar cheese and chives,so brought two for tomorrows B B Q,some minute steak ,and four granary buns,plus four cheese and onion muffins for the snags.so ,a little water fried onion ,and the small tub of Bombay potato out of the freezer and we are well sorted. ;-).
Just had a note through the door confirming that the mains gas will be completed on Friday when they put the new mains gas pipe in right down the road ,and that's the job completed.
Have to go to the bank tomorrow ,and then have that bit of hedge to finish off ,and that's it for the day,a nice ,laid back day for a change,and i am ready for it.
I will also buy a small bag of cement ready mix tomorrow ,ready for my son to come on Thursday and repair the cracks in the steps inside the front gate before the frost gets in them and creates more problems..
Going to close for the evening ,i am so tired at the moment ,i don't honestly know if i'm coming ,or going.
Catch you later peeps ,take care ,Fred.xxx :-D.

Fred, dill is an annual but if left in a patch in the garden will reseed itself. I have never grown it successfully but my neighbour has a patch about 4 feet in diameter that grows like stink every year.

Yesterday we went into Victoria and did some of our favourite haunts including chintz, a very upscale decor store that we just drool in. Then Norm did a couple of art and photography stores. On the way home we stopped at Thriftys, a grocery chain that has everything you can imagine. We don't have that in PA so a treat to shop in there.

Today we went into Vic and china town and the rest of the "tourist" area around Government Street, Johnson and Yates. Lots of metaphysical stores that Norm really like and so he loaded up on incense. I did the thrift stores and found 4 cups and saucers. Norm repeatedly says, whatcha gonna do with them....and I reply..collect!!

Tonight I ran out of wine and had to drive back thru Metchosin, Colwood and into Langford to find a liquor store....so much for being in the sticks. Now we are going to have bbq chicken, the rain has passed finally, and grilled veggies. Then we will try another movie....this will be #4 and we have fallen asleep in the middle of all of them so far....old fogies!! LOL
More later. Les <3

Hi To Edith ,and Les' whose journey i am watching with interest courtesy of Google earth ,and the locations supplied by you.
I couldn't help but chuckle ,resading of your being wet ,inside ,and outside of the trailer ,he he ,not funny really ,but i creased up about the broom jamming the toilet door ,lol.
Still ,your little trailer looks like it's standing up to very rough roads with aplomb ,well done tittle buddy,sounds like one ,sturdy little caravan tourer.
The mains water connection to tourers is not done over here ,we use small tanks and electric pumps for running water ,but i must say ,i like the idea of connecting straight to stand pipes ,lol,much easier than carting tanks of water on wheels like we do.
We have been without gas and electric since early this morning ,while we had new gas pipes run to the house via the old steel pipes.
First off ,they had to dig our drive out so we couldn't get the car out,then they slid a neoprene liner down the old pipe under the floor and up into the meter cupboard in the utility room ,and all the while we were without electric because of explosion risk.and daft old git that i am ,i never even THOUGHT to charge the puter battery last night so that i could sit on the patio with the laptop and dongle ,DOH. he he.
Never mind ,the job is now done ,the fitter has just connected us back up ,and we have heat and hot water again ,wahey.
Glad it's been all done now ,new neoprene water piping was put in last year ,so as soon as the gas board have finished this street as regards the mains ,there will be no more leaks ,or bursts of any sort over the winters.
We have a busy day tomorrow ,off out at nine to take the daughters remaining mail up ,then down to the youngest sons to deliver the forms regarding applied for jobs,that we copied out for him ,his own printer being u/s,and then out for shopping ,mostly household stuff that we need to stock up on .
Sounds as though you had a good trip Edith ,but tiring ,and i bet you have a load of stuff to catch up on ,like us ,he he ,it's all very well galivanting like us ,but ,wow ,the things to catch up on when you come home ,lol,what a bummer :-(.
We came back to loads of ripe tomatoes ,with no room in the freezers to take pulp .or soup ,so we have four or five pounds of tom's in the fridge despite salads every day,while we fight to find room to do soups ,he he.
We now have the Dill in the greenhouse hoping that it will survive the winter ,lol,having no idea if it goes dormant ,or dies ,but i guess we will soon find out:-).
Time to go and get some tea now ,skins tonight i think ,along with a nice tuna filling.
The weather is supposed to hold for another two days so i think we will have our final ,small B B Q of the year on Wednesday evening ,i have two lovely beefburgers with a blue vein cheese filling ,and a couple of nice steaks of Angus beef,just the thing to put with a nice green salad ,and ,by the time we have eaten that ,we will ,i hope ,have the room for the tomato soup ,lol.
Catch you later all ,Fred xxxx :-D.

Well here we are at Weirs RV park in Victoria. Getting here was quite a trip. We had good weather until we reached the road from Mesachie, thru the mountains to Port Renfrew...it bucketed. Had it been sunny it would have been a very pretty drive. At Port Renfrew we stayed at Pascheedaht RV park. It is on native land, mostly not looked after but we were able to camp on the beach for $20 a night. Saturday was a lovely day, we beachcombed much of the day and then this morning we awoke to torrential rain. We set off on the first leg of the journey to Jordan River and drove what is the worst stretch of road we have ever been on. By the time got to our destination I told Norm he was now qualified to drive anywhere in the world with a trailer on the back!!

However, as always with us!!, as soon as we were in our spot at Weirs and levelling the trailer a flash storm came thru and Norm and I were soaked to the skin. Then inside the trailer all the drawers had flown open so more chaos and then the bathroom door would not open. Ha! Norm says to me, you must have pressed the lock.....er...no!! Well in the end Norm had to unscrew the door hinges and lo and behold the broom had fallen off its hook and was wedged in the door handle....what a palava!!

Norm and I ran around in our undies, guess the neighbours enjoyed that, and then it was off to the laundry to wash and dry all our stuff. Now we are hooked up to city water for the first time and the taps are leaking....and on it goes. Never a dull moment with us two!!

Tonight I am cooking chili from scratch. Yesterday we had grilled chicken and grilled veggies and new spuds....very yummy. I quite like cooking in the trailer. It has a largish counter so easy to chop and dice etc.
More later. Good to see you Edith, glad the trip went OK.
Lesxx

Hello all, Have just returned from a visit to the U.S.A
Toured the upper half of Minnesota with 48 Seniors from our local club.
My first time as Tour guide and I am not sure if it is my last Trying to please that many folks is liken to an Olympic exercise. The other lady and myself
fell into bed every night totally exhausted. Then of course did not sleep well as we went through the next days agenda.
However all the folk said they had a great time so I guess we did o.k.
Learned a lot about our neighbors to the south and enjoyed the scenery and a lot of different sights. Their economy is very low so they were happy to see we Canadians boosting their coffers.
Will be home for about 3 weeks then off to the big city again for some Christmas shopping. Seems to get closer every year :-) :-) :-)
Haven't had a chance to read all the posts as yet so hope all are well and I will get back again soon. Edith <3

Morning world ,tis a brand new day ,and all is right over in Newcastle in the north of England.
Hmmmmm ,sounds as though you need a new main beam relay in your car Les,not expensive to replace ,but it could have been had the weather been even worse,not the best way to have to travel,having had one blow on my old Ford Escort many moons ago ,he he ,luckily there was a good moon that night which helped me a lot ,but i wouldn't have envied you being in the dark ,pouring rain ,and under forest canopy to boot ,you must have been very relieved to get home in one piece.
We got the day off yesterday ,the lad who drove the van for my daughter the first time finding he was available after all,and what with the two sons and one grandson to help the move back from storage, we wern't needed after all.
That being so ,i decided to bottom the house top to bottom ,finishing off bu using our carpet cleaner to shampoo the carpet and deodourise the lounge.
Yikes ,the colour of the water the cleaner sucked up [i felt like a young maiden caught out in the woods adjusting her dress .lol] blushing in shame wasn't in it , :-\ :-0.
The water ? same colour of the soil in the back garden ,i kid you not,this machine is soo good ,i will take it down to Lyneham im March to clean all the carpets in the house before he marches out ,saving a packet on hire charges from Rug Doctor.
I was pretty tired by the time i had done ,the wife coping with the cooking while i got on with it,and was sat ,getting my breath back.when i spotted a flutter of grey and white plumage settle on my back fence,blast,a pigeon ,where are you Hissy,lol,but no .Fred Does a double ,no ,triple take out of the old eye balls,but there is no mistake ,there sat in all it's glory is a young Barn Owl.i squeaked to the wife owl ,on the garden fence ,owl on the garden fence a bit like the typhoo advert on the tele ,and Eagle ,he he.
The missus grabbed the camera and very quietly slid the door back on the runners,but the little critter heard and flew off but landed on our neighbour George's house over the back where she did manage to get a long range shot of it.
I am now hoping this bird is out sorting out it's hunting territory and will come back so that i can get to use MY camera which has a far better lens than the one i gave to my missus ,when she lost her other one.
I was rather exited, it being the first time i had seen an owl since i wast last in Lincolnshire at my mums,and i never expected to see one in the suburbs of a city ,even if there are farms within a few miles of here ,it made my weekend anyway.
The sun is showing itself too ,and it would finish the weekend off if i can get the front lawn done ,probably the last time this year if the weather gets bad as it looks to do.
It would give me a week or so to get the hedges done too ,probably the last time for those as well .
Well ,veggie wise ,we are fine ,i have cabbage ,leek,kale,onions,beetroot and brussel to start on,as well as all the tatties ,so the shops are going to have a lean time for a good few weeks from us,he he .we even have the freezers chock a block in case we do get snowed in,we finished the upstairs freezer with a four bird roast ,in case we do get snowed in and can't get to the mates farm for the Christmas meat and poultry.
I have the two other bottles of propane gas in too ,giving us five bottles in all,and the emergency genny in case we loose the power,but ,no matter ,we are sorted for all methods of keeping the house warm,and in case we get the white out we are expecting.
Today for dinner we are making a Chicken ,leek,pie ,i a cheese sauce with a potato covering,Chicken from Aldi.Cheese sauce from aldi,leeks,potato ,and onion from Freds garden He he.
Hope all are having a great weekend,take care everyone .Fred.:-D xxx

Thanks Guys.
Was in Qualicum last night to give my presentation on the British Home Children. Hopefully this is the last one!! The weather was atrocious, almost zero visibility driving out over the Hump to get to Qualicum. When I left to come home at 9.30pm, headed out to the highway and wow!!! the high beams don't work. This is the first time the car has been driven at night time if you can imagine that, so this was a complete surprise and therefore a bloody miserable drive home as it was still bucketing down.

Today we will pack all the remaining stuff into the trailer and then tomorrrow we are hoping to leave. The weather forecast is not great but maybe we will get lucky. I have found a really nice rv park on the beach just outside of Victoria, so hopefully that will work out.....$50 a night tho with hook ups....yuk!!

Wuill try and post while we are away, will have to use Norm's mac. Will also try harder at taking some pics.
More later.
Les <3

Quick happy birthday to our Lesley, just arrived back home ,spent a few minutes with the cat who was all over me like a rash ,lol,and am now off to start unpacking ,see you tomorrow peeps ,when i am rested :-Dxxx

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Lesley
Happy Birthday to you..

Have a lovely day lovely one..

Lotsa love
Mary xxx <3

A very Happy Birthday and blessings wished for VP <3 for 22 nd
Blessings wished for everyone else too
JA :-)

Hi All ,from a sunny but coolish Lyneham,but ,hey ,it's that time of year now ,and everyone has to take what comes. :-).Got our video footage of The royal place ,he he ,and so decided to visit my first R A F home this morning ,only four miles down the road towards Calne ,R A F Compton Basset,cor ,all that's left is the main gate ,locked up ,looking very sorry for itself ,and needing a few defaulters to give it a lick of paint ,lol.
The whole site is now a land refill site and council recycle plant ,so nothing but the gate to be seen.
Found the local in Calne too ,still a pub ,but up for sale ,so ,no more lovely toasted cheese sarnies being sold,more's the pity,but ,things change.andi suppose ,you have to move on.
Just outside the camp is a little village i never noticed before ,but i can finally say i have been to New Zealand without ever leaving blighty ,lol,nice little village too,clean and well loved by the locals ,not a smidgin of rubbish to be seen anywhere..
Seeing as we go home Thursday morning ,and we won't see Sean and wife together until next year ,we are taking them both out for a meal this afternoon ,in Swindon ,a nice buffet lunch in the best chinese place in the town ,yum, :-.
Glad the yard sale went so well Les',loads of pennies ,well earned,and now you have lot's more room to build up clutter again he he .well .we do ,every time ,lol. :-(.
Time to go now ,so the wife can have a play on her games and whatever,see you later folks,Fred.xxxx :-D

Busy as always Fred! And Mary I have already emailed you but again I am so glad that there is an answer finally.

It was raining on Friday afternoon so we had to put up two "gazebo's" and a tarp. Nicky is well trained in the tarp area from her camping days and soon we had rope criss-crossing the front yard and then the tarp over the top of them. Saturday morning we got up early and the tarp had shifted and so all of the tables were were wet. Anyway we managed to get it undercover and hauled all our stuff out. What an amazing day. We had hundreds of folks wander in and and at the end had another $680 in our hot little hands!! Norm now says no more yard sales as it took us hours to take down all the ropes etc...we went to bed at 8.30 and I slept on and off until 8.30 next morning.

Yesterday we went to a yard sale just around the corner and found a fabulous pine book shelf about 5 feet tall, just right for the kitchen and the cookbooks. means we can get rid of the ratty white one we have...yes!!!

We had the gas fire on this morning, first time this Fall....it was chilly. Now the sun is shining but it is a cool day. I think we will leave on Friday with the trailer all things being OK, no monsoons or gale force winds etc. I am going to start to load it today.....that will be pretty exciting.

I decided to put a couple of coats of satin varnish on the bookcase so I am off to sand and continue.
Keep safe and well everyone.
Les <3

Hi Mary ,and all else who look in ,glad to see the cavalry has arrived he he :-).
We had a good trip down yesterday but had a few hairy moments as we came near to Lyneham ,it raining so hard the drains couldn't clear the water off the road ,resulting in large rivers running down the road sides.
I hit one very large lake lol,and aquaplaned a good twenty yards while i backed off the gas pedal ,got a bit of a fright as i wasn't expecting it ,lol,but managed to keeep the car in a straight line :-(.
A mile further down the road i came up behind another intrepid motorist who was really taking it slow ,so i rather gather he got
a fright too ,lol.
Couldn't go through the village ,because all the roads were shut off ,and there were tarmac wagons everywhere,so i couldn't do my usual coffee break :-\, lol ,i rather gather that they were resurfacing all the square in the village prior to the official name change to Royal Wooton Basset today.
I hope that ,if this is the case ,that the bunting is still up when i go to get my video footage later this afternoon.
We now have to go home on Thursday morning ,my daughter needing a hand to get her furniture out of storage ,the son being at work ,and me being the only other driver with Pan Tech' knowledge ,he he ,i am beggining to think i am a removal man, ;-).
Glad to hear that you know know what the problem is with John Mary ,it may not be good news ,but at least you are now in the know ,and can fight it all the way.
I need to call in at a fishmonger on the way home this time ,to get Hissy a peace offering ,she wasn't best pleased when she realised we were leaving her on her own again so soon after coming back from Blackpool,,we had one hell of a job getting her in from her last trip out before we locked up ,making her pitiful mewing noises as i ushered her back indoors,,whoever says cats don't understand things should have seen her,i must admit i came away rather subdued and upset,not nice at all.
Rather looking forward to Seans move back to Brize Norton ,so that when we go to see them ,we can call in to see cousin Sharon who lives a few miles down the road,AND i can visit family members from the Barnes ,and Baird ancesters in the high wycombe and west wycombe church yards on the way home to pay my respects.
Well ,time to go for now ,and get the hammer and nails on the go lol,silly old duffer Fred ,never thought to bring the big stapler gun with him that fires nails as well as staples,DOH,so back to the old method with usually ends up with a sore thumb and at least one sore finger as well,ouch ,lol.
catch you later all,Fred. :-D

Hi everyone..Sorry haven't been in for a few days but when you get my email you will guess why I have been feeling a bit stressed lately..
Thanks for the birthday wishes and yesterday was a big day for us,,A diagnosis for John and a birthday for me..We ended up with a big bottle of red bubbly last night with dinner to commiserate and celebrate..don't know which was first..LOL..It feels like a big weight has been lifted off our minds and we can now go forward knowing what we are up against..Thank God for the Professor of Neurology we went to see..

Les Just you watch yourself with those bears.. don't want you being bear dinner.. did the van pass muster...and is it this weekend you are having your garage sale..put a stand of your aprons out ,,good advertising if nothing else..and you might sell some.. ;-)

Fred.. Hope you are enjoying your holiday,,The weather dinny sound to good but then you are in the UK... :-D :-D

My silver beet is nearly a foot high.. will start snipping bit off soon.. :-)

We have had lovely weather here.. into the mid twenties yesterday and for the rest of the week..

Have a lovely weekend all..

~~~~~~~~to the missing Edith..xx

Love Mary xxx

Well Fred, it is just you and me at the moment. A little bird told me on Facebook that it is Mary's birthday??? Is that right Mary?? Well if so Happy, happy and all that.

I did make shepherd's pie, Fred and it was yummy. I made mushy peas to go with....gotta love those mushy peas. Dau arrives today and so I am going to make a batch of minestrone soup in the slow cooker. A local bakery makes amazing foccacia bread with asiago cheese and olives. So we'll have a loaf of that, maybe some balsamic vinegar and EVOO. Nicky arrives fairly late so it will be good to have supper ready and waiting.

We have had a bear rambling down our back alley the last couple of nights. I sure wish I knew when he was there and then I would sneak out and try and get a pic....dangerous I guess especially if he saw me and hopped over the fence. Then he'd see my plum tree and that would be that!!

Hope you car is now nice and warm and clean Fred. Also hope that Liz didn't get too cold or wet on that little jaunt.
Lesxx

Hi Les' yep ,we did get some pics of one veeeeery rough sea when we went to Blackpool yesterday but we forgot the camera and had to use the wifes phone to get them.
LIke a stupid old git ,i forgot to check on the state of the tide before we parked the car next to the sea wall.
Leaving my poor car ,we hopped the tram into the golden mile before getting off for our walk ,stopping off at the south pier cafe for a drink and watching the poor little gulls cowering on the concrete below ,it being too windy for young birds to fly in ,and we took a couple of picks of them as well as some of the sea breaking over the new sea walls that have only just been put up to prevent that very thing ,oooooops ,think the wall should have been at least two metres higher guys ,lol.
When we did get back to the car ,wow,the sea ,as we turned the corner was well over the road and the car was covered in sand ,salt and foam,and i was soaked before i got anyway near it,so i turned back to the wife who was some way behind me ,and told her to go back to the main road ,and wait there :-0.
The poor car looked very wobegone as i got near to her ,and i could have sworn she looked at me with accusing soaking headlights ,he he.
Never mind ,i took her out after breckie ,got a bit of veggie for tomorrows last tea ,and got my car cleaned and spruced up at the local car wash.
Out to tea tonight at a carvery ,and or last tea for this weeks stay will be a nice Shepherds Pie ,with roast pot's onion,and Parsnips ,with cauli done Polish style ,in a cheese sauce and sprinkled in a cheese ,breadcrumb mix.
Have to get the dinner out now ,so i will catch you all later ,Fred. :-D.xxx

Got our first load of wood today for the stove. Looks to be nice and dry but Big!! Norm thinks he will rent a "splitter". Think that may be gas powered and has a track that the axe head rolls down and whack.....split city....or something like that.

Put the ad in the paper today for the yard sale. Sure would be nice to get rid of the last of the "stuff"!! Dau is taking home some of the china from her grandparents that has been living in my cabinet for years. Have to make way for my cups and saucers that I am suddenly collecting....and don't even ask me why, I don't even drink tea!! Did think I could probably sip wine from them. :-D I got one on ebay last week and am waiting for it to arrive.....it's OK I know, second childhood and all that.

Picked the last of the broad beans and pulled out all of the plants yesterday. The beets are still in the ground. I am still not in bending mode, Norm says he will pick them but I think Dau and I will get at it maybe on Thursday.....we'll see.

Hope the weather bucks up a bit Fred. Meanwhile there is always something quite awesome about watching a stormy sea. Don't forget me when you send out the photos.
More later. Lesxx