General Chat

I haven't had any problems so far?

My neighbour has gone to visit her folks for two weeks and we are looking after her dog. Cute thing, maybe a bit of a sheltie/collie cross. But oh! is she missing her Mom. I take her to her own home at night so that she and the neighbours cat (aslo looking after) will be company for each other but gotta tell you it is hard work. My Ollie really likes her but she whimpers a lot and is not comforted by his gentle tail on her face. Bella is jealous and we are only on day two!!! Ah! well!

We are now on day 7 of wet weather. The garden is growing like crazy along with the weeds. Never had any weeds until we dug in the compost this year...am a tad ticked by that. They do say that we may get a little summer in August...you are right Fred. Its going to be a hellish winter.

I think I am going to make a lasagne tonight and some garlic toast?? Sounds like a good lazy day meal to me. Nothing else to tell.
Later Lesxx

Again I tried to post amnd it is gone. :-PWhen they fix it I will try again.

Very unhappy Edith

Good morning Mary,Les,Edith,and anyone else who decides to give the thread a gander.
So dark here under the clouds that i still have the little light over the keyboard on,and poor Hissy is sitting by the patio door looking really teed off ,the rain coming down so hard ,she won't even go out in it .
Something tells me ,we are in for as bad ,if not worse winter than the last two we have had because the sea and land are not even getting the chance to warm up.i have visions of my winter fishing taking on a Canadian slant ,you know ,lol, mittens on ,woolly had down over the lugs,seal coat on ,short rod ,and a woood saw ,used to cut a circle in the ice :-S.
My beans of all sorts are loaded with flower and the crop looks promising ,i have now ,some calabrese heads ready ,courgettes ,and cucumbers,asking to be picked ,and lots of herbs,so the news isn't all doom and gloom ,not here anyway.
Nice to hear that your citrus trees are doing well Mary and i'm sure my orange tree will be a lot happier in the Winter Gardens after i drop it off next week,but my Nectarine ,they are NOT getting it being a good bit hardier for up here ,and that is throwing leaves ,left right and centre,it being small enough too ,for me to get it into the greenhouse in the autumn.
Going to try your chicken today Edith ,i found a lovely corn fed free ranger at my mates farm up the road ,so by the time i have found your recipe ,added your rub in oil/herbs to the mix ,i reckon we will have a great dinner today :-).
Liz is still a bit worried about her increasing lack of mobility ,but i have pointed out ,she ,like John,is no longer a spring chicken ,and at least she KNOWS what the problem is which is a hell of an advantage ,so i bucked her upp a bit ,pointing out that that is what her car is for ,and i selected it with as wheelchair in mind it having a huge boot ,and like Mary ,she need worry only if Mary and i can no longer push the chair for them,and if that ever comes about ,i will invest in a motorised one that will carry two ,so that we both can terrorise the predestrians in the town, ;-).
Been doing a lot of family history this last week to peoples,in Mary's old country ,Wales ,and the home counties ,where i have picked up a few snippets,so it's about time i uploaded my genes tree and merged it with my gedcom ,in case genes goes belly up ,which ,if they carry on messing about with their mainframe computer may very well happen.
Yep ,the old addage keeps haunting me about this site ,[if it ain't broke ,leave it alone] ,he he.
Think i will reacivate the other site i am on.[F T F] but i do hope i never need it,this one though so slow at the minute seems easier to use,and there are many people i would miss chatting to.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend ,take care ,Fred.and his long suffering missus he he ,well, she does have to put up with me after all :-P,Fred.xxxx

Hi everyone.. Cant believe it is 10 days since I last posted.. Time just flies these days.
We have some lovely rain at the moment so my pot garden is very happy and my water tub is filling up again,,not by much,,about a inch . but that is better than nothing..My citrus trees are sprouting new leaves and little branches and my silver beet is coming along fine..
Got a loan of a wheelchair for John so we will see how he goes,, There is one more specialist we wants to see before we give up totally,, That wont happen for a while yet as we have to get a letter to see him. Seems he specialises in people like John,,impossible cases..
Les Great effort with your garage sale,,well done..
Edith.. Hope your garden is now producing and you are enjoying nice fresh toms..cant wait for spring to start mine..

Been doing some FH and added a few names of great Uncles and Aunts.. I remember meeting some of them when I was young but they were never close..a very dysfunctional family..

Have a lovely weekend all..
Love Mary xxx <3

Hi Edith i have had the morning off after having a very nasty tooth removed ,but i am already feeling a good bit better,after the injection wore off.
We parked the car in Aldi ,which allows the surgery to use the car park seeing as the surgery hasn't one ,it being right next to the road.
Coming back after i had the tooth removed ,we did the usual ,and went in the store to do a little shopping ,and i am so glad i did.
We brought a lovely spring cabbage ,and cauli flower,at a knock down price ,the two for under £1 ,and picked up a nice piece of Dutch cheese which i use for my jacket spuds, ;-).
on the way to the cash point i noticed a lovely little generator unit ,light but powerful ,just what we needed for the winter and the power cuts,so we brought one of them for £49 ,which will give us power to run the emergency heater ,one of these halogen ones ,and run a couple of lights if needs be ,must keep the women of the house warm ,lol :-D.I have already cleared a space under the bench in the greenhouse where it will sit until wanted.
You are well ahead of us Edith with the sunshine and heat ,all we can manage is a miserable 18 to 19 c ,and that only for a couple of days before the cloud and rain come back,so i don't think i am doing too badly ,i isssss gettin' there slowly. :-0.
Time togo and turn these jackets ,then get a filling made ,be back shortly ,Fred.xxx :-D

Morning all, Time to bring us forward again. Guess the "summer" weather is keeping everyone busy :-D Yesterday we went from +11 at 8 a.m to +23 at 4 p.m. This week-end we are expecting 33 to 35, no wonder folks are getting sick.
I don't think the human body is made for such quick changes.
My wee garden is getting better by the day, should have edible toms soon and green beans next week. all the herbs are great and have now made 4 batches of pesto. Will start freezing the next one for winter.
Our Blueberry Festival is coming up at the end of the month so will be kept busy helping with a few of the venues.
It is 10 days of fun for our town and we do get a lot of visitors, family reunions and school reunions too. Next year we will be a young 100 years .
Time to get busy as I want to get out this afternoon so must get the rear in gear. Will be back soon. Stay well all. Edith <3

Wow Les' way to go ,bet you have a lot of space you didn't have before lol,and ,i expect you may sleep like the dead tonight ,enjoy the takeway ,well deserved is that,and wouldn't it be nice if you rounded the weekend off ,by finding your new R V. :-).
This morning ,the man upstairs is smiling on us ,the sun is out ,and i notice the first Calabrese heads are ready to cut ,with many little buds down the main stems showing already ,looks like a good crop this year,maybe even enough to freeze down for winter. :-).
Today the missus takes over for the meals ,and ,i'm told ,roast pork [loin] stuffing ,roast potatoes [and new] along with said Calebrese,cabbage ,sliced carrot ,and ,green beans,with gravy ,are on the dinner menu.
Still waiting for the wife to upload the latest pic's off her phone ,so that i can send them out,but that will be later this evening because the grandson is on her computer [again ] lol,and even when she has finished preparing ,and cooking dinner ,she will be unable to get near it :-0,until Chris goes home .
i will be back this afternoon ,the garden being so wet after the downpour last night ,that apart from picking some stuff for lundh ,gardening is out :-\.
Catch you later all ,including the sleepy ones he he Fred.xxx

A quickie - the yard sale started with the first customer at 7.15 am and we closed shop at 2pm. Did almost a thou....can you believe that. We are exhausted. Gonna treat ourselves to a pizza and ceasar salad delivery and them some TV. Betcha we are "nodding" in our chairs ny 8pm.LOL
Catcha later when my brain is not quite so fried.
Lesxx

Morning Edith ,Les'and anyone else who decides to show up over the weekend,[the sun with any luck] he he.Been doing a fair bit of research over the past few days ,seeing as the only thing our weather knows how to do is dump on us ,lol
Poor old Edinburgh yesterday ,flash floods ,just at the start of the rush hour too ,it must have been bedlam,cars floating down the streets,house cellars flooded,and mud cascading down the banks onto the roads.
Lots of the streets mentioned i know ,having walked down them lots of times in the past and i feel sad for the residents of that beutiful city.
Well into July now ,and the temperatures are still only 19c here this morning,i issss freezin' my bare knees off lol, can i bring my garden overt here Edith pretty please? ,with knobs on :-S,evem my poor veggies are wondering what the hell is going on with the weather.he he.
My garden has plenty of stuff about ready ,but nothing is going to ripen at this rate,and me marties will be looking at being wrapped in newspaper [not the NOTW mind :-( ] and put on the kitchen windowsill to ripen.
Your hubby is lucky Les ,he he ,when i go for a haircut ,it's short sides and sides ,lol,i don't even get a reduction although it takes about two seconds to shear me :-0.
The doc' was fine yesterday ,putting me on to penicillin to bring the swelling down though he did mutter under his breath about stupid dentists who don't know what to prescribe for certain things ,Fred kept quiet :-\ ,because my dentist is brilliant at what he does and even the wife dosn't get worried at having to go to him ,a far cry from the last one ,when i had to drag her, kicking and squealing to have her seen to.
Edith ,loved the email ,and when i brought it up on the screen ,i was mesmerised ,a bit like Mowgli in The Jungle Book when he met Kaa,lol.i am still seeing those colours spinning round even now :-P,lol.
That ,email has been sent on to Family where i'm sure it will be getting some air time as it circulates from there .
With all this water ,i have high hopes for my onions ,and garlic cloves ,which are already huge,but the red onions are still going to seed despite it ,looks like i will have to grow them from seed ,not sets ,in future ,but ,i suppose you can't win them all .he he.
Take care all ,and have a good ,safe weekend ,Fred :-D xxx

Hello all, peeping out from behind the tomato plant !!!!I have taken advantage of our weather and have spent the days outside.
Temps in the low 70's with sun and a breeze ooohhh can't get better than that. We live in tourist country and have decided to join them without having to pay the prices they do :-D
Garden is great, all the herbs are on steroids I think, as everything is shooting up and out. My italian parsley is covering the pot plus and the thyme is doing the same.
Sorry, no tooth problems this way, touch wood!!!!
Watching the days recap of the Will and Kate every nite and they certainly do look happy.
Forecast is for rain tomorrow so just maybe I will stay home and tidy up a bit ;-)
Stay well all, see you soon. Edith <3

Well our Norm is going to get a partial plate and at a very reasonable price...thank goodness. We did do the british shop and not only got oxo but mushy peas as well...yummy! Then we went to an RV place but didn't see anything that we wanted. We did see a really nice 27 foot motorhome that was beautiful inside but way too big for us to drive.
On the way home we skipped the goats, too many tourists, and decided to get hair cuts. Well gotta tell you that Norm is a realy bobby dazzler and I look like "Shorn the Sheep" lol :-D
It was very hot again so we had a nice chicken salad for supper. Picked up some potato salad on the way home, made a tomato and cuke salad...and it was all good. Some crusty garlic bread too....yummy!!
Today I am back to the sorting slog but I have to say how good it is to look at a china cabinet that is nicely filled instead of crammed with stuff we will never use. On the downside they are calling for a change in the weather and it is already over cast. Don't want to be yard sale-ing in the rain. Oh well.
More later. Lesxx

Good morning troops,here is the latest news,and scuttlebutt ,lol,my missus as just given me palpitations ,and although i can now relax because all was okay ,i have just given her a right bollicking [pardon the french] for opening the upstairs window while the cat was in the room,the cat being a cat ,she flew from the bed onto the windowsill and out through the window and onto the ledge where i couldn't reach her.
!6 feet onto concrete was the only way down and i had visions of Hissy injuring herself by jumping down onto a solid surface.
Luckily said pussy cat decided not to chance it and sidled backwards far enough for me to grab her,and bring her back into the room.
Think we should name this week ,international toothy peg week ,what with norm needing new pegs ,me having to go to the dentist this week too ,with a abcess under that loose tooth that i had trouble with a few months ago ,but thought all was well with it.afterwards.lol.now i am on anti bi's until next Wednesday when i go back to have it removed.
On top of that ,Brenda off the other thread i frequent has tooth problems too ,her back wisdom tooth crumbling ,[ sounds nasty] so i think we could well be advised to eat very carefully until the new week starts ,lol.
Took the car in yesterday to have the paintwork done ,and got it back last evening .and i must admit ,they did a very good job,and i am chuffed to bits with it .
Instead of coming home when we dropped it off ,the weather started to clear ,and we hopped the metro to Sunderland instead . :-).
We had a leasurely few hurs walking round the beutiful park they have ,the markets ,two of them and another walk round the winter gaardens where the wife went daft with her phone camera taking pics of the tropical plants and trees ,one of which i asked her to take ,a pic of bananas on the palm,complete with the big seed pod that hangs down from the hand ,and i have never seen before ,hence the request ,lol :-D.
any way ,my kids not being garden minded ,and me not getting any younger ,i went to see the head gardener with a request ,which i.m glad to say he agreed to,so ,next week ,i am taking the orange tree down to him,where it will be added to their collection in the warm garden among the lemon ,lime and banana palms,it will be nice to know it will be well cared for ,and i can go see it among the other trees whenever i like.
I was pleased to hear about your silver beet Mary ,what i think WE call perpetual spinach,pleased for you in that it is doing so well for you ,i'm afraid mine has gone to seed grrrrrrr ,but there you go ,out of all the things that i have in ,if i lose only one variety ,i will be happy with that :-).
Read on the net this morning that some sick bas***D in the u/k threw a kitten out of a moving car ,grrrrrr :-( male or female ,if they catch this sick individual,i wish they would give him or her to me and my sons ,for a little trip down the nearest motor way ,where i would derive great pleasure in throwing THEM out at high speed.to see how it feels.
I think we will be in most of the day tomorrow ,we have the gas company coming to service the heating and hot water system ready for the coming winter ,cause looking out of the window at this moment and seeing the lashing rain and high wind ,methinks we are in for a colder winter than the last one :-.
Treat that bite with respect Les ,they can be nasty if ignored ,that one i got last year in th garden was from a midge ,and i didn't know i had been bitten ,and I landed up at the doctors with a high temperature and needing anti bi's to clear it up .lol.makes you wonder what would happen if these midges were wasp or bee size ,but come to think of it ,i don't want to find out.
Your comments on the old market and the goats made me remember a fella over here ,who ,on his 6acre small holding got permission to build an eco home where he has installed a small turbine ,and solar panels at ground level in his back yard to provide ALL his power needs,and a special bio tank where he produces his methane gas for the special stove for cooking,
The house is close to a large bank and sloping field where he has goats for milk ,and they too ,can get onto his turf topped roof ,which ,following the norse tradition ,makes the home far warmer,lol,boy ,i would LOVE his power bills ,instead of my own he he.
My nectarine ,the newer one has buds on Mary so i am not far from catching you up with the citrus trees ,but i am cheating as regards the orange tree he he.but after caring for it so well ,i couldn't chance losing it over the winter now ,could i ? ;-).
Catch everyone later ,Fred.xxxx

Hey Mary, it's great to "read" you, LOL
We are off today to see about Norm's missing teeth. I think they will suggest a partial plate,hmmm! wonder what that will cost?? The clinic is in Parksville so I will visit the english shop and get my oxo fix. Then maybe the thrift store which has so much good stuff that often you have to park 2-3 blocks away. And then on the way home perhaps a quick visit to the Old Country Market where the goats live on the roof. Likely that will be overrun with tourists but we'll see.
Very hot here now. Too hot for me to be outside, 10 minutes and I am frying. I got some bites on the weekend and one of them, on my leg, spread to about 6 inches in diameter, talk about an allergic reaction. :-0
Our big yard sale is this weekend and so I am busy discarding lots of stuff, sure hope it sells. So far I think we have close to 400 books for sale, crazy eh?
Roasted a chicken last night, first time in ages. The house was hot anyway so didn't make much difference.....very yummy with Chalet sauce.
More later. Les
<3

Sorry everyone but I had a hard time posting..kept getting the error message,,, :-)

Hi everyone.. We have a touch of winter and later on in the week it is going down to 3 and 4c overnight..boy that is cold for us..but the days are lovely and in the mid to high teens.. :-) :-)

Have made contact with a cousin in New York,, So pleased with that as I have been hoping one of them might start the family tree..her grandmother was my fathers sister..So it is quite a close contact..

Nothing much happening here.. I have silver-beet in my tub and hope it grows as I love it, and the beauty is you can cut off as many leaves as you want and it keeps on growing..my citrus trees are in bud and new leaves are starting to show. Now waiting till spring to get more tubs for some toms.. ;-)

That BBQ sounded lovely Fred.. Sorry I dinny get the time to come over and try it..bet there wasn't much left over anyway... :-P

Hope all are well..

Love Mary xxx

Hi everyone.. We have a touch of winter and later on in the week it is going down to 3 and 4c overnight..boy that is cold for us..but the days are lovely and in the mid to high teens.. :-) :-)

Have made contact with a cousin in New York,, So pleased with that as I have been hoping one of them might start the family tree..her grandmother was my fathers sister..So it is quite a close contact..

Nothing much happening here.. I have silver-beet in my tub and hope it grows as I love it, and the beauty is you can cut off as many leaves as you want and it keeps on growing..my citrus trees are in bud and new leaves are starting to show. Now waiting till spring to get more tubs for some toms.. ;-)

That BBQ sounded lovely Fred.. Sorry I dinny get the time to come over and try it..bet there wasn't much left over anyway... :-P

Hope all are well..

Love Mary xxx

Hi everyone.. We have a touch of winter and later on in the week it is going down to 3 and 4c overnight..boy that is cold for us..but the days are lovely and in the mid to high teens.. :-) :-)

Have made contact with a cousin in New York,, So pleased with that as I have been hoping one of them might start the family tree..her grandmother was my fathers sister..So it is quite a close contact..

Nothing much happening here.. I have silver-beet in my tub and hope it grows as I love it, and the beauty is you can cut off as many leaves as you want and it keeps on growing..my citrus trees are in bud and new leaves are starting to show. Now waiting till spring to get more tubs for some toms.. ;-)

That BBQ sounded lovely Fred.. Sorry I dinny get the time to come over and try it..bet there wasn't much left over anyway... :-P

Hope all are well..

Love Mary xxx

Morning chas'ps and ladies, and the head chef and herb specialist ,Edith who is sitting over her herb garden ,flit gun and swatter in hand keeping those pesky bugs in hand he he ,fred is crafty ,growing a couple of garlic bulbs among them which keeps most of them away ,lol :-D.
Since getting home i have been rather busy playing catch up with the garden ,housework ,putting the holiday gear away ,and meal cooking ,phew ,i could do with a holiday to get over the home coming ,lol :-0.
There are only the lawns to do now ,before the wife hogs the drier ,and i like to get the grass done before she hang the washing out ,as i hate a slap round the chops ,at any time ,and wet washing is worst of all ,he he.
That being said ,i will away and get it done .
Hope all are enjoying the weekend ,catch you this afternoon ,Fred :-D.

Morning all, Hot and hazy to-day with a humidex of 38!!

Will and Kate have arrived in Ottawa and will celebrate Canada Day in the

Capital. They are a lovely couple and she seems to be real happy.

The heat has boosted the growth in all my wee garden. Toms are doubled

in size in 3 days. Another batch of pesto will have to be made tomorrow.

Will also be joining you in a BBQ Fred, it will be enjoyed to-day as it's too

hot too cook inside any way. As long as long as the skeeters stay away

should be good.

Time to get my day started so it's bye for now. Edith XXXXXXX

:-) :-)

Hi All,Les' the shower height is an easy one ,get norm to cut the pipe to suit ,and use a compression joint to put it back together ,all you will need are two spanners and a pipe cutting tool,or at the least ,a hacksaw ,lol,the very slight increase in the pressure from the shorter pipe should present no problems.
Sorry to hear about the tooth too [pardon the pun] and i feel for him ,as i hate dentists too .
Hopefully he will be better within a couple of days,and up to rejoining the fray,in the meantime ,give him a nice treat of a tasty ,soft meal to cheer him up.
Sorry to hear that John has had another mishap ,Mary :-\,but relieved that he didn't do himself a real mischief this time ,maybe the new doctor will find out what the problem is,John could really do with that about now ,you as well when it comes down to it.
Yep ,we are enjoying Carla Gran again,the weather is great ,and our B B Q is scheduled for this evening now that we have it all sussed,we have found a butcher up the road who makes meat products for celiacs ,sausages ,burgers and safe marinades,so we are well sorted there.
Liz has also found asda has buns for the same condition,so Jordan is well happy that she can enjoy her grandad burning her meat again [she says] grrrrrr ,it aint true everybody ,it's just a little charred ,lol :-P.
I have one other fussy bu***r he he ,one nephew who refuses to eat a Burger if it has onion in,so Liz has made him two special ones ,with mixed herbs in,no onion ,and has stuck swizzle sticks in them so we know which ones they are ,lol.
,Everyone likes Bombay potatoes though so i will make two lots up to go with the side salads ,burgers ,sausages ,and chicken strips.
Anyone coming had better get their skates on ,because it starts prompt at 6 pm , :-).
Catch you later peeps ,sorry to be so short this morning ,but Fred and the missus are going to be a tad busy .
Catch you later, Fred. :-D xxx