General Chat

Morning Les' ,looks like you are getting on well with the trailer ,what with all the peeps looking to borrow it you may land up putting a hitch lock on it to prevent it being borrowed without our permission ,he he :-0.
We still have a house full here ,with another two arriving tomorrow ,the grandson ,and his wife ,just before he goes out to Afghanistan for his 6 months stint,boy ,he is a popular lad ,him being flown out to Cyprus ,4 times in the last 8 weeks to help out with troop movements to and from the gulf theatre where things are busy as usual,still while there he wont have the winter weather to contend with ,lol.
Just noticed that my fruit trees are ready to start picking ,the plums anyway ,they are turning a nice deep purple ,and i'm thinking of a nice plum crumble over the weekend ,yum.
The freezers are stuffed now with beans and calabrese heads ,nice and juicy ,ready for winter use when we can't get out to the shops because of the weather.
i have even managed to get up to date with the gardening and hedges over the past four days in the dry spells ,though i feel darned sore and tired after the heavy bout of shearing and weeding ,but ,result ,all done and dusted again.
Looks like i may even get a B B Q this weekend ,if the promised dry spell comes in as promised,and i have found some nice salmon to go on the coals wrapped in foil along with some herbs and spices,yum.The missus made some nice spiced beefburgers two weeks ago ,and some pork and apple ones,so what with the cumberland ,and Lincolnshire sausages we get from the local butcher we should have a nice ,lazy afternoon and evening.
Going to get on with some work now ,to get ready for the new guests he he ,no peace for the wicked.
Catch you later all ,Fred.xxx :-D

Fred, the son is way ahead of you and is already thinking he will put a tow package on his vehicle and then borrow the trailer. Rhian loved altho she opted not to sleep in it.
We had a great weekend, the sun did shine and we spent Friday in the garden. Rhian and Bella got wet and happy in the pool. Rhian made some mud pies, soaked her feet in them and then trailed mud everywhere...why do kids do that?? :-D
We watched some kid's movies, drank a little wine and generally just kicked back. It is Norm's birthday next week and Rhian had made him a paperweight and a card. Saturday she and I made a birthday "pudding" .
I cooked ribs one night and salmon the next....too much good food as always.
Now the house seems quiet. Tomorrow I will get started on making the curtains for the trailer and then I will take some pics.
Off to do more laundry. Later. Les <3

Morning all ,well ,what do i see outside [holds breath in disbelief] lol ,not raining ,not clouds everywhere ,but SUNSHINE,cor ,eck it's burning my eyeballs out lol :-D.
Way to go Les' i have my fingers crossed for you hoping that the fridge is okay ,which will leave you ready to go,great stuff.
We still have our little cooker from the last van we had ,and it sounds a bit like the one you have ,about the same size as a microwave oven ,with the two shelves in running on two heater tubes ,that would cook steaks and reheat ready meals ,fry bacon and eggs ,that sort of thing.
We kept ours in case we ever lose the gas over the winter ,at least we can still cook a quick meal.
Sounds as though you are going to be nicely invaded this weekend ;-) and ,i must say ,our invasion is going okay .and it's keeping me busy ,we may even get the B B Q in today if the rain holds off.
Hope all are enjoying their weekend ,as i intend to do
Next weekend is going to be interesting ,he he ,with a houseful already ,we are getting the grandson and wife coming up for a few days prior to him going to Afghanistan for 6 months ,so ,if our Les gets up in the morning to find the trailer has gone oooooops .Fred has perloined it for a few days ,he he ,it's either that ,or the big tent up in the back lawn .
Catch you later peps ,Fred is off to find a big chicken for todays dinner or tomorrows ,depending on weather :-D xxxx

Mary, our little trailer does have a 3-way fridge and we are hoping that when checked out that it is firing on all cylinders! We have a 2 burner stove top, no oven. So we bought a very samll toaster oven that toasts, broils and bakes and fits nicely into one of the lower storage bins. Norm tried it out yesteraday and it makes toast faster than the one in our kitchen. I would never do a roast but it would be nice on a rainy day to maybe try a cottage pie or something....anyway we will have good toast! :-D
The kids and Rhian arrive today. We always turn our little sunroom into a craft area for her and so today I will haul out all the crayons, paper, paint, scissors and anything else I can find that she can "create" with. They are not calling for good weather this weekend so at least I can keep her busy.
If everyone feels like it we may, tomorrow, take the steam train out to the mill. I think my son will be fascinated by the working steam mill and the steam donkey. Rhian will likely not be too thrilled but there is working blacksmith out there and also a lot of the original cottages that she can explore.....we'll see!
So I am off to do a last minute run round with the vac and swiffer. More later. Les <3

morning troops ,and all the happy campers ,no matter what you are doing :-D.
Your trees sound as though they are growing well Mary,and you may find you have a few fruits on them next season with any luck.
Our little Nectarine had loads of leaves just like your two have ,and i should have fruit on it within another two years.
I am running up my Acer this morning having put the new auto defrag programme in it which saves having to do it manually every couple of weeks,this chinese programme does all the usual things for you ,gets rid of the temp'files ,deletes the rubbish ,and empties the recycle bin at the end of the cycle,so i will keep it if it's half as good as it is supposed to be,but it is a free to try ,and a free basic utility,which you can upgrade if you wish ,and pay for .
Not heard of the three way fridge Mary,but what a good idea for towlng a trailer specially in a hot summer.
Seems we are sorted here peeps ,the son in law has moved out of the house ,but is keeping up the house payments on instructions from his elder brother who has called him all the names under the sun for the grief he has put his wife through.
The deal is ,he gets the bungalow for nothing while it is going through probate ,providing he keeps up the payments on the house ,while the daughter gets herself back in and sorted out,if however he tries any funny stuff ,the brother will kick him out onto the streets,to fend for himself.
at the end of the six months ,he can stay in the bungalow ,and pay rent for it,by which time ,the daughter will be able to continue to pay for the house herself.
Wahey peeps ,at the end of the month ,Fred and Liz get their house back :-D,result.
Nice to hear that the fires are under some sort of control around you Edith,and don't worry about the soil where the fires were ,the soil will be full of potash after the fires and the winds will blow seeds back which will soon shoot away again,this sort of thing is natures way of renewing,and your administrators may even have a scheme to replant trees in the area,as they do here .
Snap as regards the salting down of herbs too ,he he ,we are freezing stuff and finding room for the beans and whatever ,making pesto and chutney like it's going out of style lol.
Def' getting a chimnea for the patio as well ,a place to burn the old wood,get the potash for the veggies for next season ,and do the odd burger and snags at the same time as getting rid of the rubbish overflow,to save room in the dustbins.
Still piddling down here ,groan ,my water butts are overflowing and creating a pond out back,maybe i should think of keeping a few ducks ,instead of chickens ,that way i could use them as patio Hoovers ,lol,no more slugs and snails and boy ,i do like a nice fresh duck egg ,yum :-).
Must get on ,the top of the house needs a clean ,and there is dusting to do,catch you all later.oh ,and by the by Mary ,good luck wit the doc's,keeping my fingers crossed for both of you. :-D Fred.xxxxx

Hi everyone..We have a few showers today which is nice..my little garden likes it to especially the silver-beet which is doing well..The lemon and orange trees have buds on and new leaves sprouting..they are to small to bare fruit so the buds will drop off and not come to much..but it is sprouting all over the plant..
The new specialist spoke to our family doc and has now brought the appointment up and it is now on the 24th of this month..happy about that..
Les can just see you getting that van ready for travelling..we had a 3 way fridge in ours..gas.electric.amd battery when attached to the car.so it kept going while we were travelling,,it was fantastic.. we had a gas cooktop..no stove as we dinny intend to cook huge meals and if we ever needed a stove for a roast dinner we used a electric frypan..the roast were fantastic,,cakes we dinny cook as they were easy to buy ,,and a lot better than the ones I could make anyway... :-D :-D :-D
We had 2 gas bottles as if one emptied out we had a spare as you are not always where you can get them filled ,,especially if outback in oz.. :-D :-D :-
Edith,, Do hope those fires are out soon.. so sad to see the burnt bush..
Fred. Your garden sounds like it is going ahead in leaps and bounds..you will need all those veg with the family there.Are you managing ok..
Well John wants to go to lunch at the pub so better get my skates on and see if we can dodge the weather as it is spitting rain at the moment..
Have a lovely weekend all

Mary in Sydney xx <3

Morning, Looks like another sunny day only not as hot as it has been.

The fires have slowed but not out. Apparently some of them have gone

underground and are burning in the roots. This is really bad as the

trees will not regrow. The soil is actually sterilized!!

My wee garden is going great guns and the toms are ripening faster than

I can eat them. So sauce making is the order for to-day.

Hope your shopping trip was succesful Les.

Thanks for the rain Fred, we made good use of it and can now breath

a bit easier. Time for me to get busy so it's bye for now. Edith

<3 <3 <3 :-) <3

The problem with ebay, Fred, are the huge distances in Canada. It would be great to find a fridge say in Calgary but astronomical to ship it here. Locally we do have Craigslist and Kijiji and we would definitely give them a whirl. Now we are just waiting for the cushions so that we can sit in there and have a nice glass of red. In fact I am going to invite my three neighbours (gals) to bring a glass and come and join me...almost like a girl's night out....LOL
Mary I sure hope the motor neuron guy is able to help. This has been so frusrating for both of you and it would nice to get a little help. Norm's arms still bother him a lot which is one reason why we got a small trailer as I will have to drive as well. There are many days when Norm just cannot drive. He has had all kind of treatments and has now given up on the accupuncture as the benefit only seemed to last a day or so and then nothing!!
How's the weather Edith? Are you out of the extreme forest fire rating?? Southern Vancouver island is now rated extreme and even tho it has been cloudy now for a couple of days it is still quite warm. What a very strange year!
We are off to the big smoke today (Nanaimo...LOL) Going to get some fabric to make new curtains for the trailer and also do a little grocery shopping at Costco. Then a quick trip into Parksville for Norm to get his teeth :-D
Later Les <3

Ebay Les ,Ebayyyyyy,lol Get your bits for the trailer From Ebayyyyy.,no need to buy new both the fridge and the cooker you can buy for a few $s compared to new ,carriage paid ,though it will of course take a little longer.
You could even cheat a little you know ,go for electric hook ups when you go out on walk about and get a dual fridge .
Yep ,we had to renew the cushion covers on our last one too but we had a place who do them ,and reproofing for tents ,not three miles away so we scored good time .
That grand daughter of yours knows what she likes he he ,and why not so long as there are safety measures in place re roaming wildlife and nasties ,i used to do it myself ,lol,spend the night in the van ,while there was a perfectly good bed indoors he he ,and make myself a cuppa without leaving the van using the hookup and the electric kettle,you know ,i still miss the little critter :-\.
Your tomatoes could do with a spray of a fungicide which kills mildew of all sorts ,red spider mite ,which spreads them ,and the other nasties that attack greenhouse grown stuff,and come the back end of the growing year ,clear all of the stuff out ,empty the pots ,and stick a bomb in there closing the door on the way out ,the resulting fumes given off will kill all the spores in the greenhouse that would otherwise overwinter in there and start off again next year :-).
I noticed last night that the troubles over here are spreading over to Manchester where i have family ,a worry indeed ,and while i agre with you as to many of the causes it is no excuse for it ,i had a low wage all of my life ,and now have a low pension along with a lot of other people ,and had to support loads of people on the dole ,people on child benefit,job seekers allowance ,immigrants and asylum seekers through taxes without causing mayhem on the streets,and i wonder ,why start now?:-S.
The weather is still the same here ,lol ,rain ,rain ,and more rain ,and i think i will mooch out the back to the greenhouse ,,sit down there with a cuppa and pretend that it is sunny ,warm ,and pleasant ,and try to encourage MY tomatoes to start turning red ,other wise ,i will have to take them indoors and wrap them all in newspaper ,which will sort them out ,but ,what to do with the insiped looking cucumbers ,grrrrrrr ,what a season :-\.
catch you later all ,off to sulk ,he he.Fred.xxxxxx

Hi Guys, yesterday was yet another really hot day. On the weekend we were up in the low 30's but yesterday I think we were at about 26 which is OK for me. I made potato salad and a greek salad and home made sirloin burgers...yummy!!

The kids and Rhian are coming this weekend. My son tells me that Rhian has already said that she wants to sleep in the trailer. I shampoo-ed the trailer cushions on the weekend and then yesterday took them to get new foam. Well, as always in this house, life does not go according to plan, some of the zippers would not open and the tugging ripped the vinyl covering on the bottom. It was the original cushions and the trailer was built in 1978 so not surprising I guess. So now we are getting new cushions made. I can hardly wait to take it in and get the propane apppliances and gas lines checked....I can just see us having to buy a new fridge and stove...bugger!!!

I dunno about those riots, Fred. You probably got some news of the ones in Vancouver after we lost the Stanley Cup (ice hockey). I think that times are getting tough for lots of folks, rising prices for food, gasoline, household heating etc. Some folks just cannot survive. In Canada now we no longer have a middle class really...just rich and not rich. I think that we will see lots more rioting all over the civilized world and it is up to the governments to get working on levelling out the huge profits made by greedy corporations so that everyone can have a decent living. My rant for today!! :-S

Still having problems with the mildew and also we seem to have a bit or a virus attacking the toms. One of the toms we took out of the greenhouse and put it in the shade of the fence outside and it is doing really well. We may try and move the others altho they are very tall and bushy.
That's me for today. Les <3

PLEASE would someone on this delightful thread write on Now Known as...which is a new thread for peope who schose to live in a country which is not where they were born OR whose ancestors moved some years ago. Currently we have people from Spain, Switzerland, Cairo, Boraders of France. and others but none for, Australia, Canada, and many New Zealand.

We promise to to keep bothering you but would like to stay in touch from time to time.
I am crossing my fingers and my toes that when I look at the thread tomorrow at least ONE person will have written their views. I will look up where some of my family lived when they went to Australia a long time ago and see if anyone on here knows the areas.

Thank you

Bridget in Spain, time 13.37 hrs

Hi Edith ,glad you got the rain i sent ,if you want any more there is plenty more i can shove your way ,we are nearly flooded out already ,and more on the way [groan]. :-\.
Made a lovely bread pudding this morning ,to keep the bairns happy ,done in my biggest tin so that i can cut it into decent sized squares once it goes cold.
We got a big piece of brisket beef out oof the freezer yesterday afternoon ,and i am pot roasting that for todays dinner along with roast peppers ,sweet potato,red onion ,and .of course roast potatoes.
I already have the home made batter mix done for the yorkshires ,and made some horseradish sauce up as well,the gravy i will make up once i have the beef out of the roaster so that i can use the juices from the meat.
I loved the pic of the town too Les .in fact ,it is now my background pic on the laptop.
If our prime minister dosn't soon get the rioting nipped in the bud ,and stopped ,if we have any trouble in our street and they try to get in here ,i will protect me ,and mine any way i have to up to ,and including peppering someones butt end with buckshot,if the police can't protect the public ,i will do it myself and hang the lot of them.
no one ,but no one is raiding MY veggie patch ,lol :-P.
Hey ,we may even get a break in the weather this week ,long enough to get the B B Q fired up and an al fresco meal done up ,with a lovely home grown salad to go with it all.
I found a lovely half side of salmon lare tast week ,so that is earmarked for a cheese sauce ,like the one that Les' described a week or two ago ,yum ,there was a huuuuuge ,swordfish loin there too ,but it was a tad too dear to buy ,pity that because Fred loves that fish above all others :-\,but ,there are signs of the skate coming into season ,and that is well tasty too ,lol.
Hope everyone is getting over the weekend by now ,but make the most of it ,i see the Christmas toys and cards are being put into the shop windows already ,meaning all the young ones will be starting the usual whinging he he ,okay for us two ,no kids at home now to keep harping on ,for this and that ,lol.
Well ,time to start the rest of the dinner,so i will shove off for now.
Have a nice day everyone ,Fred :-)xxx

Good afternoon, Whooohoooo, the rain is coming down in sheets and Edith is running around her balcony enjoying it!!! We need it so badly to wet down the forest and the lawns.
Everything is so very dry and the rain will really help.
Hope you are all well and thanks for the pic Les a lovely view of your town.
Back soon Edith <3

Morning all, Another day of sunshine and heat. The forests around us are burning up at an alarming rate. All of them started from lightning.
We could sure use some of your rain Fred :-)
Our Blueberry festival winds down to-day for another year. Next year our town is celebrating 100 years and the Festival will be 30. Lots of reunions etc. planned.
All the sunshine is causing my toms to ripen so fast I can't keep up to them. I guess it's sauce making time :-D
My freezer will be full of pesto and sauce, so lots of pasta dishes for winter!
Good luck with your new Doc Mary, Hope he can help John and make your life a bit easier.
Time to head out for a Blueberry breakfast brunch. They have a lot of very fresh ideas on how to use that little berry so must go and see what they have this year. :-D
See you soon, Edith <3

Morning to all ,and a nice one it is here too,and Fred is chuffed to bit's for Les' and Norm, :-) and i am thinking again of the old saying ,[Good things happen to those who wait] ,don't forget the pic or two of the inside when you are both finished ,please :-D.
Mary ,yep ,i had noticed that you had Bartlett's as well .
Just found my connection in the marriage of a Barnes ,to a Bartlett last week ,so i havn't tried to see if we have a connection there ,but ,i live in hope.
Finally i have managed to get my road angel up and running again ,after the update provider moved their service from windows X P and put it onto windows vista and above,again chuffed to bits .
The garden is going very well now ,with my lovely plums stating to turn red at last ,oooooooo,i can feel the crumbles coming on ,yummy. ;-).
Time to go and get some work done ,but i will be back this afternoon.
take care all ,Fred.xxxxx

Hi everyone.. We have lovely sunny spring weather at the moment..yyaayy

Waiting on Grandaughter to ring and say she is ready to be picked up from the station ,,She is on the bus from Canberra at the moment to spend the weekend with us before she heads off to Spain for 12 months..

Teresa Lovely to see you again and glad Bob is doing well.. big hugs..

Les Love the van.. You done well and I can see you two off into the wild blue yonder in it.... :-D

Fred... I GOT BARTLETTS IN LONDON.SURREY AND GREENWICH KENT.. :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Edith Are we reaping a crop yet... ;-) ;-)

One more specialist to see for John.. this chap is a neuro professor, and charges $450 for the first visit.. 1 hour so not to bad as we get back about half from the gov. I feel he will be the one to tell us the good or bad news....probably will have to wait 2 months to get to see him..unless our doc can speed things up a bit..

Have a lovely weekend all, have to g pick up darling grandy..

Love Mary xxx <3

Day three of trailer ownership....LOL It is amazing how many people walk buy, look in and want to buy it. Norm looked underneath, Fred, and it has been well cared for. We get the electric brakes put into the truck next week and then will tow the trailer over to the rv place to get all the propane appliances tested and the propane lines replaced. Today I am going to do a little varnishing and Norm is going to fill all the many holes where previous owners have attached something to the walls.
Meanwhile the sun is shining and it is hot. We are supposed to go into heatwave mode next week. It will be time to hunker down in the basement and keep cool.
I have booked myself in to 2 artisan fairs and must get sewing pretty soon. Lord the year whizzes by eh?
Thanks for the mildew tip, Teresa, and thanks for the pesto, Edith. We will get on both of those today I think. I have more basil than I know what to do with.
Les <3

Morning everyone ,from a muggy Newcastle where we are expecting thunderstorms and heavy rain later today ,so i need to get out in the garden later
Hey there Les' way to go with the combo.the trailer looks amazing ,and should last you years with a bit of care ,lol,my son would be straight underneath with a brush applying underseal over the floor and chassis to protect the underside from all weather damage and then checking all the body seals.
The trailer is tapping on a bit ,and it sounds as though the towing cup is worn badly and needs replacing,you can't afford to have the tow bar coming loose on the move ,especially in the mountains.
A new Ball will only cost around $50 and can be fitted without any difficulty,by yourselves, as long as you have the right tools :-).
Nice to see you again Teresa ,sounds as though you are as busy as ever ,i cheat with the fruit and tomatoes though ,using a liquid pest and fungus control at the same time adding liquid feed to the mix so doing everything at once ,busy fella me ,with no spare time to make my own stuff up .lol :-P.
I use mine on all my veggies too ,to keep mildew away and the dreaded spider mite,and earwigs .
That email you sent me regarding the group of women Edith ,he he ,creased up i was :-D,even the wife loved it .
No Problem here with Deer,one shows up and bang ,in the freezer lol,but the nearest wild life we have ,[apart from the missus when i hide her puzzle book] is a good few miles away on the moors so the worst we tend to get is the odd rabbit,which Hissy scares off anyway.
Things are settling down okay and we are all getting on with our lives,
Managed to get the mortar/ cement mix ,and a grinder at B,& Q yesterday and will get the son up ,to repair the gate pillars sometime early next week ,and then take the remainder of the cement along with said son back home so that he can concrete in the new rotary line to replace the old one that he burned doing the B B Q last week ,lol ,suprisingly the snags and burgers didn't taste of plastic :-(.
Time i was off and picking these beans and a cabbage for the dinner.,Catch you later all ,Fred.xxx :-D

Hi Les,

Here is the organic recipe we use to control powdery mildew in the greenhouse.

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 quart water
A few drops of liquid soap

Mix and put in a spray bottle. Be sure to spray underside of leaves too. Some recipes call for cooking oil as well but we don't usually have that at work so this is our take on it. You should remove the mildew leaves too.

Teresa

Hello all, Another hot day in Ontario :-P Edith is yearning for winter!!
Les, you can leave the pine nuts out. I have when I don't have any.I just add more parmesan. Tasty!!!
As long as you peel the cucs etc. they should be edible. A few years back I had some peppers with mildew and I grilled and peeled them with no bad results.
Great to hear from you again Teresa, often think of you and wonder how you both are. We too have a problem with deer. The folks who live outside of town are always trying some new tactic to scare them away. No moose reports tho". Country living is the best I think.
Hope Fred and Liz are not too busy with family and take some me time for themselves :-)
Time to water my plants before the sun wilts them all.
Back soon. Edith <3