General Chat

Mary it is pretty much up hill and down dale. Port Alberni only has a flat area around the inlet and then its all up hill. Part of that walk I humour Norm. He likes to go on the trail that hugs the side of a ravine, scary for a woozie like me, and then ends up in Dry Creek Park. Bella loves it. From there it is an interesting walk past the fish plant (phew!!) and the cedar mill and onto the quay where the market is.
It has been pretty cold here for the last few days but is going back to rain this weekend....just as long as it doesn't snow. I am going to do my BHC presentation for Qualicum Family History Society next week and want the roads to be bare and dry as I have to drive back over the "hump" at night.
Oh well...housework calls. More later.
Lesxx

Morning to all ,Fred is in the building ,for half an hour ,that is ,before i go out to check the car over before going out to visit a friend tomorrow.in case she gets any worse in the near future .
We complain a lot about our health [with good reason in lots of cases,but Jill has had a long running battle over the years with cancer ,and has just come out of hospital after a large tumour has been cut out of her left torso,which they hope will give her another lease of life,yuk ,give me my heart and arthritis any time,they are piddling compared to what Jill has.
We have some sun this morning Mary ,and it's supposed to heat up to 9c by this afternoon,while over in the west country they had snow yesterday ,He He .sister in law Hazel can keep it too .lol.
Seems Queensland is suffering yet again ,with a plague of new locust which have migrated from the northern territories,a very nasty sort which can strip a whole crop over large areas overnight,not very nice on top of everything else.
I would get my veggies covered up Mary ,in case the blighters come your way ,thank the lord ,we only have to contend with grass hoppers and crickets.
I may just get one of these Lemon Trees Mary ,to replace the Willow the sever frost and snow killed last Jan',but i caan put the Lemon in a large urn ,sunk into the soil ,so that i can over winter in the greenhouse if i have to.
Time to get some work done folks ,i will get on with it while the sun is out ,lol,that way if it rains later ,it won't matter ,Fred will be done and dusted by then
Catch youi all later ,Fred.xxx

OH Edith That poor fox.. are you still feeding them..LOL...The thought of hot soup at the moment is to much..we have had a heatwave and it is telling on my energy,,LOL
Fred.. Glad you have the haggis in the freezer..that is where it should stay..yuck..not a popular food here in OZ..LOL,,and swede is only put in soups,,occasionally...very occasionally..in fact sometimes never...LOL...we do eat differently don't we...LOL
Is England trying to copy us with its gale force winds and rain..It really has been bad this year..The fire in WA was started by a retired policeman using a angle grinder in his yard..Bad choice as it was a fire ban day..he is going to cop it when they get him,,he has gone into hiding..

Well my life is nice and quiet again..It was Johns birthday last Monday and sons on Tuesday and brother on 2/2 so we had a big family lunch at our local pub and all the siblings came and it was lovely...One sister in law brought a big cake and boy we went home stuffed..no dinner that night..LOL

Still have to replace my dead plants.. might do that soon,,but at the moment I need a few days rest..hope all are well and all the sick ones are on the road to recovery..

Les That walk to the farmers market sounded lovely,,is it up hill and down dale, or can you do it on the flat..quite a good distance..

Stay well all

Lotsa love MAry xxx

Hi everyone. Our weather is still doing it's thing!!!Clear and cold or cloudy and snow. In snow mode just now.
Noticed the fox last nite having a time of it trying to climb a high snow bank
to get to the food at the neighbours. Took 3 runs at it and finally got over and down the other side. Hope she put out extra for him!!!
See the folks in Oz are now having fires to deal with,hope it ends for them real soon. Don't think it's too fair with all their troubles.
Made some potato leek soup as per Fred's recipe and it sure was a hit with all the folks in the Complex. Sad cries for "more" fell on deaf ears as I only had enough left for me. hee hee
Also made a crumble from the rhubarb and strawberries in the freezer, sure was tasty. My son took an extra dish home with him, bet he ate it before the wife got home too!!!Sneaky!!!
Stay well. Edith XXXXXX

Norm and I did our Saturday walk to the farmer's market, guess it would be about 5kms round trip. Saw lots of people we know...one of the nicer things about living in a small town.
Two nights ago we had a thunder and lightning storm....how weird is that in February. I was snoozing nicely with Ollie curled up in my arm when suddenly there was a huge streak of light. Ollie woke up but then there was a terrific clap of thunder and he went about 4 feet straight up in the air, landed on Norm's pillow and shot off to hide. Bella was also not happy so she got up on the bed, wedged herself between us and growled continuously until it stopped, about an hour later....what a night!!
Today it is just overcast and dampish which is OK. I keep wondering if we will get more snow....maybe we will get lucky this year and just drift into spring....one can but hope.
Sorry about John, Mary, but as you say, at least they are looking. Norm has this similar ongoing problem with his arms. It has been diagnosed as so many things and he has had so many tests. Now they say well you degeneration in your spine, it is pinching a nerve, so live with it!!! I have him going to an accupuncturist and it seems to be helping a little......someone should explain about these golden years!! Which week was it, I must have missed it!!
OK off to do a little research..have a good weekend everyone.
Lesxx

Hi to all from a rather windy north of England,where Fred spent nearly the whole morning squaring up the back garden ,again ,lol.
What a night i had ,so windy and raining that i had trouble sleeping ,even hissy kept waking up with the noise,but ,no matter ,we still have a full roof on the house ,he he ,and the fence is still up ,but i had to rescue the water butt ,which was way up the back of the garden against the fence.
I had to replace the downpipe that came off [not damaged] as the butt flew off the stand ,picked up the patio chairs ,which would have been in the greenhouse if the door had of been open ,He He and lastly had to re assemble the bird feeders and rehang them,so that's old Fred sorted for exercise today.
Made a quick dinner ,did a quick tidy job on the car ,and now have given myself the afternoon off.
I am sorry to hear about John ,Mary ,what a time you two are having of it all,makes me realise how lucky i am in that every time my health has gone pear shaped ,it has been diagnosed and sorted quickly.
My garden is sorted out as to what goes where now ,so ,all i need is the return to spring ,and i can get cracking .
I set the bomb off yesterday afternoon ,and as soon as the greenhouse was full of fumes ,i realised that i needed ,the mastic gun out of the back corner,so it was on with a hanky ,door open ,and a dash inside holding the breath grabbed the gun and beat a hasty retreat,he he ,Liz said ,as i came out that it was like watching a horror movie [cheeky besom ] i was more like Jessie James coming out of the bank vault.
Think it's time to go sort some tea out before the bairn arrives.oh Bu***r Liz is on the other puter ,and says Sean has just been on to her saying he has been posted for a tour of Afghanistan in September ,so it dosn't look like he will be home for Christmas this year either,but that's forces life for you ,not all fun and games.
Catch you all later ,Fred.xxx

Hi everyone.. Good to see old friends return..

Veronica,, Hope you enjoyed your trip back to the Old Dart..and warm up a bit on the cruise..

Teresa Do hope Bob keeps improving..is it warmer in the greenhouse..Your Canada temp are far to low for me..

Les You had a good bit of retail therapy by the sounds of it..good for you...

Edith..Time to start the garden planting.. Your verandah is about the size of my patio, and it gets the sun from midday to about 4pm..

I now have my lemon tree growing well and lots of chillies ready for the freezer.. but lost 2 flower plant due to the heatwave so have to replace them...my mint plant thinks its in heaven as it hasn't looked back since I planted it..

Well we went back to the specialist and after all the tests done he is unable to tell us what is wrong with Johns legs..he is going to consult his colleagues and see if they can come up with a diagnosis...ggggrrrr still its better than being fobbed off and put in the too hard basket..

This heatwave is to last till next week so don't know how I will be by then,,very wilted me thinks..

Have a lovely weekend all..

Love Mary xxxx

Hi All

Well it looks like winter is about to hit Dundas. They are forecasting 30-40cm of snow in the next 24 hours. Can't complain as we have not had much yet this year but it better not cause me a problem for next Monday - I am out of Dundas and Keith and I are off on a cruise to the Panama Canal.

We got in extra milk and bread today, freezer has plenty in and we got cash to pay the guy who clears our drive (no more of that since Keith had the heart surgery). We have loaned our snow blower to the chap next door as his broke a couple of weeks ago and we won't need it on the cruise will we!!!

Ready to hunker down with a good book/

All for now

Veronica

Good morning all, WOW, how nice to see you all back. It is always special when you get to visit old friends again.
Veronica, I too have had a family find like that. Husbands side of the family is a visit to intrigue and we have only started on it.
Teresa the balcony is 81/2 feet deep by 24 feet long fully covered by a roof.
As I'm on the west side of the building I get direct sun only after noon. So lots of daylight with only afternoon heat. I'm putting up more netting this year so I can have more climbing plants.
I also have to leave room for my little sofa and chairs so I can read out there.
My neighbour says she will take the whole set if I want more planting area
heehee. Don't think so.
Weather is warming up again for the week-end with snow of course.
Our town is running out of places to put all the snow they remove from the roads. They have made 2 sliding hills for the kids but now have to find room for more.
Winnipeg is expecting flooding again this year as they too have way too much snow.
Sounds like your weather is getting a bit better Les. Hope it stays.
Almost time for me to get to the coffee bar so will see you soon. EdithXXXX
.

Morning all ,from a slightly warmer Newcastle ,in the old country,nice to see things picking up a little,with visitors ,and a few oldies .
Teresa,your Job is one i would have loved when i was working ,a 14 hour day even ,spent in horticulture is my idea of heaven ,lol but i made do with my two allotments and garden which was the next best thing,and now ,the old bones getting stiff and creaky i am still pottering about and enjoying growing some veggies.
The eldest son is improving now ,but i am sooooo annoyed with him for putting himself at risk in such a stupid and well avoidable way.
After 21 years of a very healthy diet ,loads of veggies ,home baked bread ,and sensible meal times ,plenty of fish and white meat [mainly] ,he decides to kow tow to his partner,starting off with missing meals ,eating rubbish ,when he eats at all until finally his whole system goes to hell and partially shuts down.
What a pratt,i wish i was still able to give him a good hiding ,but the idea of putting a six foot two farmer over my knee is a bit bizaarre ,lol.
At least ,so far the giddiness ,blurred eyesight has gone since the doc's put him on vitamins ,iron tablets and a few others to start building him up again,but it will take months to get back to normal,to where he can go rambling again.
I might give squash a go Les ,it sounds a bit of alright ,and we love the sweet potato ,so versatile and tasty,and goes so well with lots od dishes.
I am growing three tubs of onion this year ,two white ,probably ailsa craig ,and one red baron,as onions over here are a lot dearer than carrots ,or parsnip.so they will have to share t'other tub .lol.
It looks like our Oz contingent are in for yet another pasting,three more cyclones heading their way,i hope everyone is going to be okay.
Blessings to all ,'specially the ones who arn't too well Fred.xxx

Hi Everyone!

It took me ages to read all the posts. Sorry I haven't been around, life seems very busy right now.

I am very busy working at the greenhouse. I am now in charge of the perennial department so am full time year round. We have been busy planting seeds and transplanting since November and are now potting up to larger sizes. We had beautiful warm weather last week so took the opportunity to take last years leftover plants out of the coldframes to begin thawing them out. Boy, are we glad we did them then as we have had a huge dump of snow this weekend. I think we got about 8 inches to add to the foot we already had. Right now it is about -22 with a wind chill of -31. It is supposed to warm up to plus 8 by Friday as a chinook will blow in.

Bob will have another set of treatments in February. They are not really calling it Chemo as it is only one drug to reduce the size of his spleen and lymph nodes. He will get 4 treatments, one a week for the month of February plus steroid pills. His blood counts are good so hopefully this will not affect anything and the leukemia will stay in check.

My mum has been visiting us for the last week and a half so I have been busy entertaining her when I have not been at work. She still lives with my sister but since Elaine and her husband were in Vegas this week it was easier for mum to be here. We have watched lots of movies and done some research on the Walkers. Every time I spend time with her and the rest of the family is not around I manage to find out more about her family that she thinks she has already told me. Then I have a little more to help with the research. Her memory is failing though, mostly for current stuff. She turned 82 this month so I guess that is normal.

We are trying to decide whether to go to the UK again this year. Even though we were there for five weeks this summer there is still much more that we would like to see. Will have to decide soon.

Mary, I do hope the doctors are able to help John in some way. It has been a tough haul for the both of you.

Fred, I am exhausted reading about your daily activities. You put me to shame.

Edith, how big is your balcony? Every year you seem to be able to grow lots of herbs and veg.

I love having the big garden we have now. I hope we have a better summer than last year which was mostly rain so that I can plant lots of veg and fruit. The best weather we had was when we were in England. The only day of rain we had was when we visited Bath.

Must go,

Teresa

Had breakfast in Qualicum yesterday and then walked around the quaint shopping area. Bought Rhian a cool birthday present in a wonderful toy store there. (Birthday in March) Then some enterprising guy has opened a vintage candy store...spent a little money on some of my all time english favourites...had a flake last night...woohoo!!!
Then we trotted off to Parksville and went to the Brit store to stock up on Oxo and mushy peas and then....to the beach. It was raining and blustery but the whole promenade, if you go from one end to the turnaround at the other an then back again, is about three kilometers....nice walk although at home I usually try and clock about 5 a day.
Fred, the royal chantenay carrot is a stocky fellow, doesn't grow too long but is nice and fat. It is a very juicy carrot and has a rich flavour. Two years ago I tried the "ball" carrots and was very disappointed with them. I don't grow regular green beans, Norm is not too keen. I grow scarlet runners, mainly for the colour, and broad beans. This year I am going to try Windsor broad beans. I think I am also going to try a varity of squash, zucchini for sure, maybe a patty pan and a butternut.
There are masses of winter squashes in the grocery store at the moment. A favourite dish for us is red spuds, an orange sweet potato (yam) and a butternut squash, chopped into chunks, coated lightly with a little olive oil, covered in spice, may favourite at the moment is salt free red garlic...yummy!! and then bake all of that in the oven. Sometimes I drizzle a little warm maple syrup over the top just before serving. Too much!!!
That's me for today. Sunny here, blue sky, about zero degrees. Bella and I just came back from a good walk.
More later. Lesxx

Thanks for the info on the carrot Les ,and the beet ,very informative.
I would go for Calabrese rather than caulle though ,after the main head they usually throw lots of shoots that will crop well into Autumn.
Try the climbing dwarf french beans too ,they are faaaaar more prolific than the usual dwarfs,and ,just as tasty.Fred,off for his dinner.lol.xxx

Veronica, don't you just love those shivery family stories....we all have them I think. I do know that there is someone who puts flowers on my 3 x great uncles grave in Harmondsworth, Middlesex. I have a cousin who lives close by.....she has even left a note...but nothing??? Who could that be?? I have a BHC cousin who (along with her husband) bought two plots in a cemetary in Brantford, Ontario. They are both deceased but apparently not hanging around in those plots...can't find them anywhere...too weird. Maybe they were abducted by aliens.

Fred I have always grown cylindra beets...they are the best for pickle making. They do push up out of the ground and you will need to keep their tops covered....I have been growing nantes coreless carrots and they also like to get thier "shoulders" out of the ground...cheeky buggers!!! This year I am going to switch to royal chantenay....I think they will do better. I have been trying to decide what else I should try and squeeze into my small garden. There is a mix of cauliflowers that is very tempting: green ,yellow and orange....likewise there is a carrott mix too, purple, yellow and white....I so wish I had more room.

Not to worry Edith this thread always seems to ebb and flo. I often wonder why we don't have more canucks on here....maybe they are all facebooking!!!

Off to Qualicum to the market today for a treat. Going to get the slow cooker started with a nice beef stew before we leave. The we will have lots of time to take Bella to the beach etc.
Have a great weekend you guys.
Lesxx

Hi Everyone

Don't think we have abandoned you Edith, I just got back from Scotland and a stranger than fiction geneology story is unfolding in my family.

3 of my Granny's sister came to Canada between 1909 and 1911, one of them Davina then went to Australia in around 1926 with 2 children she then had another child - no husband travelled with her. Davina died in 1974 and is buried in Roma, Queensland. Her 2 sons enlisted in the Military in WW2, one in the airforce and one in the army.

Robert Joseph Preston service # QX 1321 was in the army.

Are you still with me?

Now lets go to Scotland and my visit with my cousin Gwyneth. We went through her fathers Merchant Navy log books and memorabilia and with this stuff was a small hand made flag on which some small flags had been drawn with names and service numbers. Guess who is very clearly on that flag

Robert Joseph Preston service # QX 1321, Roma, Queensland !!!! this flag is from 1944 - 3 years before my Uncle Jack met Gwyneths Mum my Aunty May.

Now you tell me, what are the chances of My Uncle meeting my mother and Gwyneths mothers cousin Robert (who we only discovered existed in November 2010) on the other side of the world in 1944.

Sends shivers down the spine and the research is on going. We think that Jacks ship picked up survivors who were drifting in a lifeboat from a ship enroute to Australia that had been torpedoed by a u-boat , His ship set them ashore in Fremantle on 14th November 1944.

Keep well

Veronica in Dundas

I would hang-fire Edith,Les is still embroiled with the loss of her bro' in law,Mary is ongoing with her hubby and the doctors,and a few are on holiday ,or planning them ,lol.
No doubt they will be back later when things settle down a little,besides ,if you go as well ,i will have no one to talk to [sniffle].
You could send me your phone number of course ,i was meaning to ask a few people to do this,as my new phone is set up now,and i can even keep in touch on holiday using it,i can even get unlimited internet n it for £2 for 7 days which is easier than lugging a laptop around,he he.
We are back to pretty hard frosts at the minute ,but i don't worry about it ,my garden is coming on fine ,and i am now planning where to plant what .
I am trying a Beetroot called Cylindra this year,which grows up .rather than sideways ,meaning i can put three to a bucket ,so more crop in a smaller space.
Suppose i had better get on with the dinner ,as the Grandson is here for the weekend. good news ,it means we can get rid of more Christmas odds and ends.
Catch you later.Fred. P S,i use organic pelleted Cow or Chicken poo ,Edith,nice and easy to use ,needing only a few pellets per bucket,be sure to use gloves though ,or it takes many washes to get the smell of cow pats off your hands,i use washing up gloves ,and keep them in the green house.xxx

Morning Looks like it's time to put our site to bed. All the folks seem to have disappeared???
Weather here is shifting between clear and very cold to cloudy and snow.This year I think we will have a record snowfall but as we are not in danger of flooding we will be o.k. Winnipeg is looking at a major flood and a lot of the prairies and the Dakotas are in the same way.
Fred, do you use the pellet fertilizer in your plant pots?? I've been reading about it and it looks interesting !!!Only use it twice in the season and it is supposed to be enough!!
Must get on with my day so bye for now and I do hope to see some more posts. Edith XXXXX

Morning to all ,seems everyones fingers are itching with that garden bug,lol,i even managed to get into the chalet Mary ,and cleared out all the pots of potting compost and roots ,and have cleaned down all the benches.
The old compost is now in the boxes on the patio ,and some of the buckets ready to be dug in ,and the roots are in the bin ,which gets emptied today.
I will be away to B & Q in the morning for five bags of compost ,and a pest bomb ,which i will set away this week once i have swept the floor down and repaired the little hole in the vent ,by replacing the broken pane of glass.
Ilam lucky Les ,my pet dosn't fly round the garden like yours ,lol,and so long as i put a few Skewers in the growing boxes Hissy and the birds keep off the soil .
My tomato's this year i am starting directly in the buckets ,not seed trays,the wife did that last year and we got them away in mid Feb' and they gre with the cold without being molly coddled so i am even doing that outside with all the veggies this year ,and they can take their chances.
Anyone coming to tea tonight ?,proper Burns supper on offer ,a top grade Haggis,neep. and mashed potato.he he ,i even have a spare home made Christmas pud ' for afters,lol.
I know how Norm ' feels Les ,i took a long time to get used to losing my only sibling and it hurts for a long time,but he is a strong fella ,and will get there with loads of T L C.
Hope you at last get a result with John Mary ,time you got some good news for a change.
I got your pics of the snow Edith ,rather you than me ,crikey ,not seen that much snow since 1945-6 [showing my age i guess ] he he.and don't fancy seeing that much again.
I will be going to see the eldest son this afternoon to see how he is coping ,the hospital results were inconclusive and he is on a strong medicant but he is back on his feet and moving around with relative ease so he has a lot to be thankful for.
If it dosn't clear after a couple of months ,he may be sent for an MRI scan ,but i hope it won't come to that ,he is a little young yet to have these sort of problems,but ,being an ex farmer ,it may have a lot to do with hard manual work ,and being outside in all weathers.bit like me in a way ,but he is ,as i say a lot younger than i was before i copped my heart and hip problems,but hell ,i am still mobile and still working outside,he may have to bite the bullet and cope best he can.hard B u***r ain't i ?
Well ,i am away now to feed my birds out back ,my Robin ,and Wren have returned as well as the Tits ,so i am a happy chappy,it may well mean the Sparrow hawk has moved on at last.
Catch yoo all later ,Fred.xxx

Hi everyone.. It is so hot here I am counting the days to winter...

Les Tell Normie I was so sorry to hear his news..Big Hug for him..I have just head from my Uncle in the UK to say he has cancer..I am so sad about that as he is like a brother to me..only about 4 years older than me and we grew up as kids together..This growing old is not nice sometimes,

Take John for his MRI today, so hope it is ok..Then its back to the specialist..again...

Been working on my back patio . Son took me to get some nice big pots and it is now starting to look really nice,,or will do when everything starts growing..I have a midget lemon tree in one pot and herbs in a tub..Chillies and parsley and mint..and some hanging flowering plants and a couple of climbers that will cover my back trellis I hope and give me a bit more privacy..To late to put in tomatoes but will next spring.Out the front I have a lovely new pot near the front door with a red dwarf bougainvillea which should look stunning next spring when it grows a bit bigger..Got to get some more herbs for my tub but that will have to wait till I have more time.

I hope you are all well and keeping warm..Happy to send some warm over in exchange for some cool...

Lotsa love Mary xxxx

Hi Everyone, here I am. Norm was away for almost a week to Ottawa to his brother's funeral. He looked like a wreck when he got home and still does. He didn't eat while he was away and so lost quite a bit of weight. Time, they say, is a great healer....let's hope that it is true for Norm.
The weather is damp but not too cold. While Norm was away I cranked up that woodstove to maximum every day...toasty! Now it burns at a more refined pace.
I got my West Coast Seed catalogue in the mail last week and was looking at some interesting stuff. I rather fancy trying some "heirloom" veggies especially the tomatoes. I don't usually start mine from seed but I am going to give it a go. Last year I planted and replanted my dill about 3 times and it was useless. I am going to try starting it indoors and see if I can get a container going, then I can just put it outside.
Meanwhile I look out of the window and see all the work that needs to be done. The bird bath has fallen over, now I wonder whose four paws would have caused that???, and it is laying on top of my oregano so must get at that pretty quick. My Leopards Bane is growing fircely already and I have lots of shoots coming up all over...always good to see the beginning of a new year. Today the birds are all chirping so much so that it sounds like spring....but!!...it is only January and I am sure there will be more freezing and snow for us.
Thanks for keeping us going Fred and Edith....oh! and that sweet Mary also. Would be nice to see a few of the others back, wouldn't it/?
Lesxx