General Chat

Morning all, Big announcement to-day!!! I had some new onions with my sandwich yesterday and now have 2 toms on my patio plant!!!!
We are having a hot summer so far,but I know we are lucky as last year all we had was cold and rain. Hope your weather gets better soon over there Fred. Les, my mixed spice has no corriander in it but the others are all the same as Fred gave you.
Sent a note along to G.R as to the bouncing page and they say it isn't happening so I will repeat the problem to them step by step and see what happens!
Have some flower plants to get in to-day so will get some breakfast and then downstairs to the small flower garden at the side of our building.
Makes a bright spot to the entrance.
Bye for now. Edith

Mornin' all ,cor Les ihad to make a hurried trip to my secret recipies for the answer to that one ,he he ,[ only joking] The usual British mixed spice is ,Cinnamon, Cloves,Ginger, Nutmeg,Corriander ,and Carraway seed ,but there are a few variations from area to area,so don't take the recipe as gospel.
I buy mine ready mixed so i can't give out any idea as to how much of each spice is used ,lol, a case of [suck it and see i,m afraid]
I looked at the fat content of pitta breads funnily enough ,and found it to be ultra low,so i am inclined to use them instead of buns at my B B Q 's now,only wish i could find a brand of flour without added sugar ,and i would be a very happy chappy.
We wewre without the internet and tele for 8 hours yesterday after
the virgin system went into meltdown,caused i'm told by a fault in the street distribution board so i was off air until late last evening.,but i don't have your problem as i don't use internet explorer as my browser ,using google chrome instead,much more stable,and i'm told firefox is very good too.
Glad to hear that your bro' is fighting fit again Mary,But it's a b***r about John,there must be SOMETHING out there ,but ,as you said a while ago ,it's finding it.
The problem with your grandpappys records may be a transcription error too Mary ,i have a Barnes relative that was supposeldy born in High Wycombe ,according to Ancestry . com , but i have the birth certificate proving she was born in Kent ,but christened in Wycombe three weeks later,so ,i hope you get your grandad sorted and it turns out to be the right one.so that you can clear one problem up ,once and for all.
Got to go now ,i promised to take my youngest son out this morning to get his flooring for the dining room ,he he ,he reckons he will have it laaid it two hours ,yeah ,but properly ,lol ,i think not ,be back later ,Fred,

More rain here....it will be a late garden this year!!

Fred I got this low fat baking cook book and it is british. Lots of recipes call for "mixed spice" now what would that be?? We don't get that here in the colonies. All the various spices come on their own unless of course you buy an Italian mix etc. Norm and I always blend our own except for herbs provencal. So tell me, what will I blend to get this mixed spice??
Only you will know!! lol

Mary I have been helping someone else with their tree as well...another decendant of a british home child. It is always interesting to me how so many of these families just fell apart and totally lost contact, sad really.


Oh I see this board is jumping all over the place again. I am off. Maybe back later.
Lesxx

Hi everyone.. Winter is coming..yyyaaaayyyy we have lovely cool days and nights ..such good walking and sleeping weather..

My brother John is now fit and well again.. A great relief..Hubby john is just the same,,dont think the new pills are doing much, but he is persevering with them..

Went the funeral of our aquaerobics instructor who died of cancer..so sad.. only 50yo..and such a lovely lady..While getting ready to go I realised that my winter wardrobe was sadly lacking so nipped out yesterday and got some new slacks and tops and a lovely jacket..Now all set for winter..

Fred. Glad you are not climbing ladders any more.. and that goes for the rest of you.. leave it to the young ones..

Been helping people with their trees as I am having trouble with mine,,Think I have found a grandfather who I have been looking for for 4 years but he is not in the same place he said he should be.. but everything else fits.. I think he has been telling porkies and I just go to prove it..

Hope all are well

Love Mary xx

Morning troops he he .hey oooop.Les & Edith .What a great weekend i have had ,tons of sun ,starting to turn my legs a shade of brown [and no ,i havn't been kneeling on the borders] a great B B q after my daughter and family turned up to help us eat all the grub ,that the wife paid for this time [we take it in turns]
The weather is a lot cooler again with rain a possibility by this P M.but no matter ,i watered my veggies and flowers just in case ,and the morning is made already ,lol,my Parsnips are showing through [yippee] one of my most important veggies of the lot.
Got my runners in yesterday ,and the dwarf beans will be ready in a few days ,along with the broan beans ,and then it's a full veggie patch.
The wife is doing well in the greenhouse [no room for Mary at the moment ,but we have two spare bedrooms,just in case any of you colonials turn up he he.
The tomatoes are now well away ,along with the cucumbers ,courgettes ,and the herbs are coming on fine ,even our new Rhubarb is coming on fine ,which is really to cut into small pieces and put down the holes before planting brassica [it keeps wireworm ,and clubroot out of the soil] we have to do somethings the old way here because the E U is removing all the insect killers, and disease controls from the market ,forcing many veggie growers to give up and buy from shops ,so that the french and europeans can shove all their products over here and take the p***.
Strange that these products can still be purchaced and used in all countries but Britain ,while we are a part of the e u as well,think it's time Britain pulled out ,it would solve our cash crisis in a year too ,a bonus.
I Am ,this afternoon doing a round of the cheap shops ,to pick up what i can of derris dust ,and and insect powder ,and roseclear ,while they are still on the shelves ,production over here has already stopped ,and i want a stock piloe to keep us safe in the garden for 10 years ,after which ,i ain't [bovvered] ,lol .
This volcano has apparently stopped it's antics,maybe just for a while ,maybe for a couple of years ,but hopefully the airspace will now be okay for aircraft,but i am still going to the continent by coach ,much more relaxing to my mind and the package holidays are worked so that you still get the full two weeks to relax ,there being two full days for the travelling.
Hissy enjoyed the weather too ,lying under my chair in the shade ,sprawled right out ,getting her little bits off the B B Q, bits of fish ,and chicken and a tad of beef .he he ,this cat is spoilt rotten.
If you think that the idea of shutting this thread down is the way to go Les,then go for it ,it may as you say bulk up tother thread he he,maybe it will even wake up a few of the others who seem to be on holiday a lot of the time ,i leave it to you lass ,can't see any harm ,as long as the others know we are moving .lol.
Need tro go now ,and get ready for the off ,catch you later peeps .Fred.

Well' we seem to be in monsoon season again. A storn blew thru a couple of nights ago. The wind was so firece that the curtains in the bedroom had blown them selves up and on to the top of the bedside lamps....scary. Meanwhile Ollie goes crazy and is fine tuning his window screen antics. I shall murder the little b....r if he is not careful. Yesterday we had a wee break in the weather and Norm and I rushed around like mad things with the weed eater and the lawn mower. Thank goodness as it was raining again by mid afternoon.

This is our May long weekend and the town is pretty much quiet altho it doesn't matter where everyone has gone to 'cos this weather is all over BC. Now I hear today in Quebec it was 30 degrees...grr!! that should be us. And I still haven't got my garden planted altho my toms and peppers are doing great in the greenhouse. I did also plant parsley and cilantro and it is pretty perky as well. I keep promising you pics...I will get on it...I promise!!

Wonder what Veronica and Theresa are up to also that Joan??

Also wonder if we should not amalgamate with friends international or whatever it is called and start a new thread that suits us all??? Then Fred wouldn't have to post twice and we would have more folks to chat with...what do you think?? There is only about 3 people on that thread so if we all got together...wow!! we could party!! just a thought.

Keep well and safe
Lesxx

Morning Edith,from a nice ,sunny Newcastle ,where it is already starting to warm up nicely.
We are going to make the most of the day because it is all supposed to change tomorrow ,getting back down to the usual temperatures for the time of year.
I have the mixes ready to make up for the B B Q ,Lincoln sausage that should taste nice ,and a burger mixthat i can add any spices or herbs that i like to make anything up that i fancy ,so ,today the burgers will have a hint [he he ] of chillies ,and cayenne pepper.to go with the belly pork slices [the only meat] that we brought yesterday with the pittas,buns,and ranch buns.
i was out front doing the watering this morning early on and am chuffed to bits ,as my bluebells have returned in the little border and are spreading out nicely,and one of them ,i know not how ,has sprung up under the Hollyoak i brought home from Lincolnshire after the funeral ,a spare ,still in pot that my sister had grown before her death,so seeing the two together ,and seeing as my sister loved Bluebells above all other wild woodland flowers,the sight brought a lump to my throat,still miss her a lot,and the little bluebell stops where it came up ,hopefully to spread a bit each year.
The rest of the garden is doing really well ,and the greenhouse is spot on ,with the special patio peppers showing through at last ,the other hot ,and sweet peppers growing fast ,and all the other herbs well away Corriander ,the new Mint plant, that being in a large tub will be sunk into the garden later in the season,and the Basil that is well away.
The only plant that died over the winter that i have yet to replace is the Rosemary ,which i am sad about ,the original cutting grown from a sprig brought home from my mums bungalow in Lincolnshire ,but i will buy a new plant when i go to the garden centre ,can't be doing without me Rosemary ,lol.
Yes Edith my red onions are doing very well ,but i will have to buy ones for my salads for a few weeks yet ,and spring onions i have no room for ,besides being cheap enough to buy,but i may go with some seed sown in late september in a spare trough ,and grown on over winter in the greenhouse.
The salad leaf ,mixed is in another trough out in the open ,and doing well.and the Pak Choi [ two rows] are now doing very well which leaves one empty trough for rotating Pak Choi to keep me in stir fry veggies .
Well ,i am going to close now ,not much to do in the garden ,only a hoe job to get rid of a few weeds,he he ,and that can wait until next week ,the new trimmer was a great success ,enough power in that battery to do ALL of the hedges twice over i reckon ,so old Fred is well chuffed ,thank you Flymo,for a great cutter ,strimmer ,and lawnmower,i isssss now goin' to sit out in the garden and enjoy the sight of a well kept and green garden,from a patio chair ,cup of Java on the table next to me ,and get the old knees browned he he,see you all later,and as Edith says ,you all enjoy your weekend, Hear ? Fred.

Morning all Another sunny day , so I will spend the week-end planting. The onions are up and waiting for lettuce etc to make a salad. !!
Fred, I can only agree with you about the americans. I n this area Forestry is one of our main industries. However the wood they sell to the U.S comes back to us for sale at a higher price than the bought it for.???
Also because they have ravaged the forests and polluted most of their water they now want our clean clear water from the Great Lakes !!!!!!
Thay are also planning to put oil rigs in Alaska and run the oil lines across Canada to the upper U.S. Can you even imagine the mess that would cause ??? O.K off my soap box and on with my day. See you soon Edith XXXX Enjoy the week-end everyone.

Morning C .C ,all is not lost as regards the sun ,it came out to play for a couple of hours last evening ,enabling me to trim both lawns ,and water the borders ,and on getting up this morning i noticed a mist hanging everywhere ,so ,i have put my shorts on hoping for a good day .
No what you mean about the ice cream ,there are so many things i can't eat any more [sniffle ] he he ,being diabetic ,but i don't just accept these things ,i try to find alternatives like these meat free mixes i have found at Morrisons ,and Asda, even finding a new one yesterday,a meat free sausage mix that taste lovely ,with the right texture too ,the new one is Lincolnshire sausage ,which i will be trying tomorrow on the B B Q.
I often wonder why flour makers insist on putting sugar in their flower ,making it so hard for diabetics wanting to enjoy a pie .without sending their sugar levels through the roof do mc dougals ,and home pride think that people are soooooo thick that they can't add sugar if they want too ,derrrrrr.some flour makers wan't to wake up and view the REAL world.
I brought my new toy yesterday [my hedge trimmer ] the battery giving a cutting range of 1000 square metres in one go is amazing ,and i will be giving it a go today ,it being on charge all night,there are four other cutting heads for different things you can get for it too ,but i already have a good mower ,and strimmer so i didn't bother buying the extras.
I notice the yanks are kicking up a stink over this oil spill in the gulf of Mexico with their president saying B P should pay for the clean up ,which is fair enough ,but what an arrogant , stupid man America has in charge,he should get his oil companies to clean up all the messes they have left in the Amazon forests ,open dumps everywhere ,with animals and people dying of cancers caused by the pollutants ,the oil company {Texaco ] dug into pits,and left ,thousands of acres in places scattered all over the Amazon basin that people can'e even walk or live in without catching diseases ,wake up Obama ,and look to your OWN countries Laurels,that you have been avoiding for twenty years,two wrongs don't make a right.
Sorry about that peeps ,but yanks make me spit ,sooooo full of themselves ,mouthing off at things ,never looking closer to home to see what THEY should be doing grrrrrr.
Well ,i have to go and see to the missus's brekkie before we go out shopping ,not much to get today ,mainly some pitta pockets for the salad and burger sarnies tomorrow ,even the burgers meat free,lol,watch out you moo cows ,you may breathe a sigh of relief ,but i still needs me milk ,now ,come here you four footed critters ,where's me jug he he.Fred

Morning peoples ,huh ,the good weather promised by the long range forcast bods ,has arrived NOT, i don't think these people should give up their day jobs ice cream weather ,yeah ,that's right ,true enough ,you don't need a freezer here ,just leave the ice cream on the bench outside ,and it will take three hours to melt.
We are STILL getting a tad of frost overnight and my poor plants don't know if they are coming or going.
Finished chasing mice for now mary ,if that ruddy cat brings any more presents in ,,she will be like puss in boots,outside the house with her roll on a pole ,he he ,evicted .
I can't help wondering if all this cloud and rain has something to do with the volcanic ash that's hanging around.
The van i went to see was a pup ,a right horror in fact ,rotten chassis ,every window cracked ,i think this fella will have to pay someone to take it away ,lol.
Anyway ,the wife and i decided that it is just as cheap to hire a van on a site somewhere as it is to haul one behind the car ,or ,in the case of just a weekend away,just a motel which we can get for £29 a night ,and it saves a load of hassle.
Fred is off to Asda this morning ,for the weeks shopping,such as it is [we only need staples like a few lbs of tatties , veg ,and bread ,milk ,eggs ,that sort of thing,we were going to go to Morrisons but decided that it was time i went to Argos and got my new toy for the high hedges ,no more climbing ladders to trim the tops [Bliss] ,my heaert was in my mouth every time i wen't up the stepladder with this bum ankle of mine ,eight feet to the concrete is a long way down at my time of life .lol.
It will also save having to drag a cable over the garden damaging plants as well ,i will only need the mains cutter to do the outside of the hedges in future ,a tad safer too ,if it starts to rain ,fred dosn't like being lit up like a christmas tree as 200 volts whistle up his arms and make what's left of his hair stand on end .
The big battery that is on a belt to go round the waist should last long enough to go along the inside of the hedge from end to end ,and while i charge the battery back up ,i can use the mains one outside to finish the job off [good thinking batman].
Despite the lowish temperatures ,the plants are starting to shift ,the brassica being about four inches high now ,and the tomatoes are halfway up the canes,and the peppers are at last showing.
Looks like the beans will all be ready to pot on into the buckets within two weeks ,and then it;s a full house,no room left in the inn ,lol
Hissy is earning her keep ,chasing the pigeons if they look to be using the path out back as a runway ,so i dont think i will need the nets ,although i do have the hooks in the greenhouse draws if i decide to use them.
Time to try out the veggie and sausage mix this weekend ,weather permitting ,The son says i can add herbs to the mixes as i add the water ,the likes of ,mint ,sage .garlic.or even apple ,to make my own style of tastes ,and for 85 p ,for eight burgers ,or sausages ,heck ,they are far cheaper than buying them from a butcher ,or store ,and are just as tasty as meat ones,bring it on ,lol,rarin to go am i ,lol,might even shred some of my corned beef from the freezer and make some corned dog ones as well ,could even start a new trend ,he he.
We even tend to usr pitta pockets now ,instead of buns ,because you can stuff them with salad stuff as well as the burgers just like a sarnie ,but only half of the mess,and pittas are far lower in sugar content as the bread.
We had a Tornado yesterday Edith,three in fact ,but of the aircraft sort ,from our local R A F sort he he ,no damage done ,apart from the ears as they came over ,but the noise was so sudden that the old ticker gave a jolt , and my ears were ringing for a minute afterwards,as they headed up towards Otterburn in Northumberland,the big army firing range ,so i reckon there must be some sort of inter ,forces exercise going on ,we ,at times have fighters and bombers coming over from nato counties too ,the Canadians ,yanks and French,as well as visitors from other ,smaller countries.
Both Liz and i are still hoping that your doctors will come up with something new for John, Mary,it must be a worry for you and the rest of your family .
Have to do a shoot now peoples ,time to go galivanting, he he ,Fred.

Morning Well, Mary, summer is back with a rush, Sunny skies all week with temps in the high 20's.Plan to get as much of my balcony garden planted as there is daylight for.!!!!Then sit back and wait for the produce.hee hee.
The fruit trees have burst with blossoms, we have several on the property here. The choke cherry blossoms perfume the area for days and then fall off.Sure do enjoy this time of year. See Fred is off and running as well. Just reading all his exploits make me tired!!!! See you are enjoying some good weather too Les,guess we should count our blessings as we have no quakes, volcanos or tornado's.
Time for some breakfast so will say bye for now. Edith

Hi everyone..Cant believe it is so long since I was here..How time flies..Nothing much happening here and life is back to boring again..John is getting no better and in fact a bit worse as time goes on,,He is trying a new drug but it seems to be doing very little..Think we have tried them all by now,,We must be keeping the drug companies going me think,,,

Fred.. You seem to be having a good time chasing meeeses,, and Poor Liz,,Do hope she is back to her old self after her fall..Have you been away in sons caravan or one you rented on site..

Edith,, What happened to your summer,, Our winter hasn't really started yet,,only getting a wee bit cooler..still in summer clothes..

Les.. Looks like you might have to move the birds or get new curtains..LOL.. What is the class you are going to give..??

Christine.. Your garden will look lovely when it has been done again.. Now you can join Fred and get back into the sowing of all those veges..

Hope all are well and have a lovely weekend..

Love Mary xxx

Chrisitne, there is no insurance. The house is about 70 years old and we are maybe the 5/6 owner. It would be hard to say who and when the steps we poured. Anyway they have so much reinforcing rod in them now....they will still be there in a thousand years time...LOL!!
Made bruschetta for the first time last night and it was very yummy. I read a whole bunch of recipes on the net and then just made my own.
Norm and I were up early today for our Saturday fun of Garage sale-ing, car and boot to you lot and what would that be in Oz??? Today I got a spade with a narrow blade, two small frogs for my garden and a wind chime. I took Norm for breakfast (bacon and eggs) and then went to the annual charity book sale and bought about 6 books, various subjects. Altogether I spent $20....so that was a pretty cheap mornings fun.
Where are those Oz girls??? hiding??
I have company coming so I am off to take the cat hair off the dining room table..LOL!
Lesxx

One good thing your new government has done is to cancel all plans to build the third runway at Heathrow...this is a big yea! for me. My ancestors worked and toiled in that whole are for at least 200/300 years. So much was lost when they built Heathrow...it is so good to see the area left alone.

I planted my herbs last week. Like you Christine, I am not as "bendy" as I used to be so had a guy come and dig up an old flower bed. Now I have put the bird bath in the middle and put herbs all around...we will see how they do. I must remember the pics!!

Front steps are finished, just waiting for the railings to go back on. It looks really good and once I get the flower beds sorted (fullof dust and rubble) then it will be smashing.

Fred, Norm fell on our front steps a couple of years ago and it took almost a year for the bruising to come out and he was often in pain. So give Liz a big hug from me, tell her lots of soaks in the bath, maybe a little Radox (which I might add is like gold dust in this country), and just take it easy. Hope that doesn't put too big a load on your shoulders, so you pace yourself as well.


Had a bit of a culinary experiment yesterday. I made a whole pot of spagetti with meat sauce in my slow cooker. I precooked the ground beef and onion and chucked it in the pot.
Added peppers, garlic, mushrooms, large can of whole tomatoes, about 30 fl.oz. of tomato sauce plus a can of water, a heaped tablespoon of basil and the same of oregano, a little pepper and cooked on low for 8 hours. Then turned up to high, popped in the raw spagetti and cooked for about another 30/40 minutes. All I can say is wow!! pretty yummy.
Thats me for now.
Lesxx

Morning Edith ,yeah I reckon the people in the north east of England are at last waking up to the fact that they can punish any government at election time by voting them out ,hence the very large swing away from Labour after 13 years of ignoring the north east as regards the railways ,roads ,and jobs in industry,everyone gets all of these things around the country exept the geordies.
Beware the new government ,if you shut down even more of our industries and ignore the updating of the A 1 to Scotland,you will be next to get the bullet.
Have you found any wild garlic Edith?,it grows well in a bucket ,and all you do is pick a leaf when green ,chop it up and use as you will ,another herb of the cut and come again type,i have a lovely clump of it in the garden put into a fifty fifty mix of soil and salt free sand.it has a nice ,white flower on at this time of year as well ,so you have the best of both worlds.
I Am now looking for some perpetual onion ,that is a cut and come again ,all the little onions growing on top of the plant which you pull off as needed.
Poor old liz is still not herself ,feeling low with all the bruising she has ,so low in fact that she has now a chest infection ,so i have to mollycoddle her for a week or so.
This is going to be interesting ,going shopping on my own ,no doubt forgetting half of the needed stuff ,meaning another trip out ,he he.
Weather is still not too good but i am still hoping for a chance of the first B B Q of the year tomorrow,or even Sunday if need be.
Going to see to the dinner now ,a gammon steak each ,with drizzled ,cooked new potatoes ,halved and put in the oven sprinkled with Piri Piri,and some fresh dwarf french beans,.
Catch you all later Fred.

Hello all. The rain has arrived and we welcome it. With so little snow over winter our woods are very dry and the rain will keep the fires at bay.
Still not warm enough to put plants out but the weather is warming at the week-end so am looking forward to spending a few days getting the balcony set up for summer.!!!!I'm trying Fred's bucket planting this year so here's hoping I can get a good crop. The herbs are looking quite healthy and I planted extra basil this year as the pesto is great for pasta dishes all winter. Last year I froze 4 lge bags of ice cube size pesto and only have 4 or 5 cubes left. Onions and garlic are also looking good especially the green onions that I love with cheese.
See you now have a new prime minister Fred, think things will change???It seems they all get the same problem when they get into office, greed, and me me me syndrome.I guess all you can do is hope for better days.This site is jumping again and it is beyond my patience level so will say bye for now. Edith

Morning one and all ,what a morning here in Sunny Newcastle O T after waking up to a a bit of a frost[again]
It looks like i made a wise choice as to where i put my little veggie patch ,still frost free because it is protected a bit by the fence on two sides,Mary's chalet on another and the house on the opposite side ,so my nice little new plants are still snug and cosy.
Well ,we have a new government ,so lets hope this lot sort out the pirates in charge of a load of main banks ,and remove their bonus schemes and their ridiculous pensions while screwing the customers in the process.
Mind you ,the government themselves need to put their own house in order,what with the waste that is going on ,the perks ,such as subsidised meals, waste of materials in the civil service ,and the lack of controls in the finance departments .
Lets hope that Cameron & Clegg get a grip of the job quickly,and start to rein in the waste in all forms of government from the houses of parliment ,to the countries councils ,and other public services ,BUT ,he he ,i won't be holding my breathe waiting .lol.
Poor old Liz is still hobbling around here ,i'm afraid it will be a good while before she recovers fully from her collision with the steps outside the door ,concrete is 'aaaard,after all.
I will have to take my time round the town today with her ,thankfully though ,there are tons of seats around ,and it looks like being a nice day,for a stroll ,once i have seen about my glasses ,and there are plenty of nice cafes where i can buy her a bite of dinner.
We had some nice soup for tea last night with a slice of brown bread,some of the carrot and apple she made last week ,very nice too,we have quite a few home made soups in the freezer ,and never buy tins now ,unless we are away from home.
I am going to make some of that sausage mix up this week and make some of my own ,good for the diet ,being meat free with no animal fats in at all,the sausages we had at the sons last week were very tasty ,made of the same stuff ,and we bought some burger mix as well ,so next B B Q day we will e having a veggie one ,apart from the belly pork.
Have to go now ,and see if i can find a programme for a friend with regards wiping a hard drive of store info of a personal nature,Back later ,Fred.

Morning all, As it is Sunday morning I slept in and then after sitting at the puter with my coffee preceeded to have the laugh of the week. Fred your cat and mouse story was hilarious. So vivid I could actually picture all the action. Thanks for making my day. Good wishes to Liz, hope she feels better real soon.
It is Mother's day here so am surrounded by flowers and will have dinner at the eldest son's. So all in all a great day. Weather is still cool so can't do any planting yet. I have everything ready to go so will wait for some warm days to get busy.Hope al the Canadian moms enjoy the day and don't get too spoiled hee hee.
Stay well everybody. Be back soon. Edith XXXXXXXXX

Well,hello all ,what a weekend i am having ,some good ,some a bit iffy and and only half over ,more or less.
Saturday started well with me getting most of the brassica into the buckets [only the Primo to do today,followed by getting all 60 beetroot plants out,the 6 replacement Fushia bushes into the tubs on the front patio ,and two lovely 'Mum plants into the urn that had the Lavender in.
I then finished off by going into the chalet and putting the bean seeds in ,,broad,,runner,and dwarf french,so once they are out in the garden ,that's all the planting done for this year,apart from one row of big leeks that i will get this next week from a garden centre [i forgot to plant my own seed until it was too late].
Yesterday morning the ruddy cat got past me into the kitchen with a playmate ,which she let get away,grrrrrrr ,this playmate promptly shot under the washing machine ,so i had to go out and get a mouse trap ,which i set last night before going to bed.
This morning i got downstairs to find the cat crouched down in front of the shoe rack which is right inside the front door,and upon tipping it forward to expose one field mouse ,i chased it out with the wifes brolley where upon the cat grabbed it and ran into the kitchen.
By the time i got in there it was playing [pardon the pun] cat and mouse again while also playing with her ball ,until the mouse tried to get away again ,which it did before i could get there under the table ,and it got under the washing machine yet again,and by this time i was getting a little annoyed with the cat lol.
I Had to drag the machine out from under the bench, and pull off the kick boards from under the cupboards to get the mouse out ,apun which that useless ball of fur grabbed it yet again and went under the table,grrrrrr.
I saw red at this stage ,and dropped to my knees [not to pray to Mecca ] but to get under the table ,with my slipper which i removed in haste i might add ,anyway ,i smacked Hissy with it ,and when she dropped the mouse ,smacked that too and killed it ,hissy knew i was annoyed and backed off into the corner until i got to my feet again ,mouse in hand,and took it outside to the bin.
I put the kitchen back together BEFORE the cat got her brekkie ,but i swear ,if that feline brings another moose in the hoose i will be keeping the mouse and Kicking the cat out ,lol.
The poor missus fell on the steps outside the front door last evening ,bruising her ribs and left wrist ,and is so sore this morning that she can't dress ,and has resorted to her dressing gown for the day.
I knew she had hurt herself because she was crying when she was picked up ,and she hasn't done that since she lost her mum.
Well ,i am off now toget the wife a drink before going out back before it rains again ,to put out the last row of cabbage [spring] and see to the greenhouse ,oh ,by the way ,by the time i finished the great mouse hunt today ,i decided exercise wasn't needed today ,lol,see ya later,Fred.

Morning all ,from one veeeeeery wet Newcastle ,i could swear the spuggies [sparrows to most of you] ,are growing webbed feet out there ,and the ducks are wearing gum boots,i have not seen that much rain in two days for many years ,i wonder if this ruddy volcano has temporarily altered our weather patterns
We did get an hours lull in the downpour last evening ,and we did get a very nice B B Q ,courtesy of the eldest son ,which lasted three hours,and i got an education and a half on al- fresco dining i will never forget.
I am quite proud of the fact that i gave all my bairns such a well grounded education on cooking to start them off in their adult life ,but both my sons have outdone me by a long sea mile he he.
\he showed me yesterday how to make my own potato wedges instead of buying the frozen ones ,using ordinary potatos ,and mixed spices as the garnish ,all oven cooked ,the ones we had last night were piri piri loooooverly ,but he reckons he has done hot ,spicy and cajon ones as well ,so ,here goes ,another dish to add to the collection,lol.
we had kebabs ,spicy tomato sausages,lamb burgers , veggie burgers and sausages ,all done with finger buns ,for the bangers ,and pitta bread pockets for the burgers instead of buns ,and had a beutiful greek salad as the main side dish ,with cous cous flavoured with sesame oil and mint .
I was suprised to see my sugar levels were only slightly up this morning ,so i did pretty well .as i didn't starve myself ,reckon the meat free stuff and the lack of buns for the burgers help ed no end.
He used a mixture from Morrisons for the meat free burgers and sausages that was very tasty ,low in fat ,no animal fat ,and very little salt and sugar in ,ideal for coliacs and those with diabeties problems and i will be getting some for my own use.
Sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble with the house Les ' i would have been tearing what's left of my hair out long since qith news like that ,here's hoping that this ,when done is the end of your property problems.
Congratulations on your presentations too ,but i have to agree with your hubby [us fellas have to stick together in the womans world] because you should be getting a fee ,for the work ,no matter how small it is ,to pay for your materials ,at the very least.
Pity you cant find the builder [and i use that term to mean cowboy] that did the steps originally and sue the sorry excuse for a human being,no one should be able to get away with shocking ,shoddy work like that.
Hope the possums don't give you too much trouble Edith ,they can be pesky at times ,cute though they may be ,but no guns lady ,he he ,one granny on the loose is enough ,lol.
It does seem though as though the weather patterns are changing all over the world and we just have to get on with it and adapt as the plants and creatures have to. I am off into the Chalet now ,to put in the large leek seeds i have forgotten to start off ,a few weeks late ,but they will no doubt catch up and i will also start the dwarf french beans ,which will be the last of the veggie crop for this year.
Have a good weekend all of you ,catch you all later ,Fred.