General Chat

Hi all Been very busy lately so haven't been in..Thanks for the pics Fred,, very interesting.. Looks like he has done a great job and the place is lovely..I think I would miss a bit of garden in the front though..but then he has one in the back..we don't have many homes like that in OZ, as most people wanted their 1/4 acre block and home in the middle of it.. Inner city homes are terraces and once upon a time they were disliked and you could pick one up for a song,,Different story now,,They are prized and cost a motza..mainly because of their closeness to the city and most have been modernised and remodelled making them lovely homes.Parking is now the problem..
Well my seedlings are starting to show their heads and looking good.. Hope we have a bit of rain soon so that I don't have to get out and water them to often..
Was going to take John to lunch today but his legs have got a bit worse lately and he finds it hard to get up out of a chair so decided not to go. I went over to the Bowling Club and got 2 Chinese takeaways,,then I had to go down to the Mall to get some money back from our doctors bills and had a haircut while there,,Haven't had a cut for 3 months so it was driving me crazy.. Put the emergency buzzer which is on a cord around Johns neck and left him at his puta,,Poor bugger was glad when I got home as he wanted to get into his easy chair but was worried yo try until I got back.
Well am off to bed.. Have a nice weekend all..

Love Mary xxx <3

Hi Susan ,and welcome ,[now who does that sound like] ,lol,someone off the telly from a few years back. :-).
Just thought i would come no here for a few seconds to say hello,and then i am off out into the garden to put all my beans and onions in before the rain returns ,lol :-D.
Catch you all later ,i hope ,Fred. :-D :-D <3

Hello everyone

I hope you don't mind me popping in to say hello. I don't think I have been on here before but would like to say that I do read it now and then :-))

Morning all, Yes, Fred it is time to sit and have a quiet day for a change.
Our weather has been mmmgood lately. Lots of sun and warm days. The ice is off the big lake and it is the earliest ever recorded. Usually the fishermen are waiting on May 15th to get out on the lakes but not this year.
Oh, boy fresh pickeral coming up.
As our town is celebrating 100 years this year a picture book has been published. It was on sale as of yesterday and it is very well done. I have lived here since 1946 and am enjoying seeing the change in pictures.
We are so blessed to be in a spot on this earth that is not bothered by earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes and such. Yes, we have cold and snow but even that goes away :-)
Lots of celebrations coming up for the Centennial and of course I have to help :-D Yes, Fred even my family is saying whoa Grandma. Like my Grandfather who said he was not going "out" with his boots on I guess I am more like him than I think :-D :-D
The neighbor and I transplanted some pansies yesterday. She bought them in a pop top tin that you added water to and now they are too big for said tin, so we moved them to peat pots that can go right into the ground.
Different way to get folks to buy plants :-S
My coffee is perked so time for me to move, see you soon. Edith <3

Morning to everyone ,from one sodden area in Sunny Newcastle ,not :-( he he ,so my plants and new Roses are still waiting in the greenhouse.
Ih have had another look at Marys cencus images ,which don't quite jibe with the flat idea ,so i had another look at the family home and noticed that it was more like the previous house that the son had ,in Leamington ,which seems to be a closer match.
Leamington was a very narrow ,but deep house built to house miners with two biggish size rooms downstairs ,and two bedrooms up,quite a size for those days,but again ,no kitchen ,or inside toilet ,with the same coal fired cooking range.
With 14 plus living in there Mary ,i reckon the two downstairs rooms would have been used as sleeping areas too.
Once you get Johns needs sorted old buddy ,i expect you will be trying to find out what happened to the bulk of this family in Ashington as i don't think they would have all shipped out to Oz' ,though stranger things have happened.
The offer stands anyway ,i can search the local grave yards for you to find head stones of any that died in the area.though no doubt the nephew & possibly brother moved on to a new mine to work.
One of the Ashington mines is now a museum ,so i can even go and take some pics ,if it turns out to be the pit that your family worked in.
Seans parcel turned up last evening ,so all i am waiting for now is my fruit tree ,lol :-).
Rhian must have the bestest dolly in Canada Les ,and you are still making clothes for it what ever her name is ,i reckon it should have Princess before it ,this is no common dolly :-D.
Looks like our Edith is still full of busy with the work she is doing for her groups ,i just hope she dosn't over do it and make herself ill.
Time to do the shopping now ,to find when i come home that the tree arrived ,lol,never mind ,i can collect it from the local sorting office that is only a mile away.
Catch you later people.Fred. :-D <3

Morning Les' how very dare you mention selling Bears :-| all mine have now gone in to hiding ,and won't venture out :-( lol,sell .'em perish the thought i must have 18 of them ,including my Canadian Post Bear ,must be because i never had one as a bairn . :-(.
Yep ,i have just edited the pics i took yesterday ,so i will send them to you as well,crikey ,even i got a shock when i realised just how small these abodes where,the living room with it's cooking range used as a bedroom overnight ,the main bedroom up two stairs through a door ,now gone and the now kitchen a small second bedroom ,and that's it folks.
a tin bath in front of the range for bath night was the order of the day,the outhouses having a small toilet ,a wash house with wood burning boiler for the washing ,and the wood/coal house ,all mod cons he he ,what luxury.
I took one extra photo of the doors next door ,still two flats ,to show how the frontage was altered as the sons place was converted into a house.
I still have the pic of 6 fir street on this computer showing my aunt's flat where my dad was born,exactly the same sort of build ,only they were Ship yard workers abodes ,just the same as the miners ,all over the north east of England ,all squashed to gether ,even down to my Grandad Barnes house in Twickenham London ,already converted before my Grandad brought it.
They were the same houses ,sort of ,all over victorian Britain ,Coronation Street being just the same and the height of suburban living at that time.
When i go to the Museum next [ Beamish ] i will take a few pics of the flat's there so that you can see the insides as they were .
He He ,i thought my pad was tiny ,but looking back ,i think i had a palace without knowing it all along ,lol :-D.
Had a great day yesterday ,i took the easter eggs up to the daughter ,after dropping Chris his ,up the road,and then went through to the sons over Wallsend way,where i took the pics ,made a fuss of the rescue dog ,a King Charles Spaniel who is getting used to her new home ,and wondering at the change in her fortune this poor animal was starving when the son took her ,frightened of anyone with a stick [tells you a lot] she hid as soon as Liz walked in with her walking stick ,poor little mite ,oh Lord ,how i HATE cruel people :-|.
Any way by the time we left ,she was fine letting us stoke and make a fuss ,wagging her tail , lovely little dog :-).
Coming away we decided to go to the disabled garden ,and got a hell of a shock :-0 closed down because of council cuts ,that says it all ,so ,being on the way home we went to the other place [Cowells] where i found two lovely replacement roses for the back garden ,and ssome lovelly onion plants for my boxes ,not quite enough ,but our lovely friend told us ,she had more coming on Monday :-D so i will get two more punnets then.
Getting home ,there was a card from T N T threough the door ,ooooooops ,we had forgotten Seans parcel delivery ,but hey ,serves him right for not having it delivered on Camp :-|,never mind A ,he he ,but they say they will come back today to try again ,so we will still have it by tonight. :-).
Time to go and bring the bin in ,the chaps have just emptied it for us ,only the recycle bin left to have done now,and the other wagon will be here within the hour. ;-).
Catch you all later today people ,in all day today ,dirty stop outs ,we are he he ,Fred :-D :-D <3

Can I see those pics too Fred??? They sound interesting.

Back at the sewing machine for the last few days making some more clothes for the "doll". Rhian was in England (and still is) over Easter and so we missed doing the egg thing. So I knitted a little sweater and hat, complete with pompom, plus made a pair of blue jeans to go with....even put little pockets on. Then I made a summer outfit with pedal pusher type pants and a strappy summer top. This doll will be the best dressed in Canada!!

Years ago I collected old dolls but as I lost interest I sold them all at various garage sales. However I did keep one. She is about 24 inches tall and a walker. The nice thing about her is that she just about fits 3 month baby clothes so will keep an eye out for a cute dress and maybe even pants......yes I know! going batty in my old age!! And you did all know that I have a stuffed bear collection....time to sell those perhaps...oh! and let's not forget my current interest in china cups and saucers...dau says I am a pack rat...oh! well.

Yes, Edith, we have had a few days of nice weather. Haven't had to wear my winter coat for the best part of two weeks. Now the grass needs cutting....too soon I say!

Did my first real housework today. My doc would be horrified to see me up a ladder cleaning shower ceilings but I was careful...and now I am exhausted. Guess it will take awhile to get my stamina back.

More later. Lesxx

Seen your Da's house Mary ,and i notice that the google is 2012 so the house is still standing,and even better ,the house i see is the same as all in the north east of England ,be it a dockyard worker ,or a miner ,so i can do better than photograph the outside of it for you :-Dthe youngest son is living in a house of the same type ,and era ,so i will take the camera and take some snaps of the inside for you ,including the back yard .
If all the males [grown up] were on different shifts at the pit ,they would have used the sleeping system used in todays submarines ,the shift off duty slept while the others worked ,and rotated as the ones came in off shift.
All the bairns slept in the one room at the same time ,the women of the house doing ditto,and because there were only two bedrooms ,the downstairs room was used as well.
The kitchen was off to one side ,pretty small,and all the washing and ironing was done in the backyard in an outhouse.
The community was very closely knit together and if there was a shortage of space due to an extra large family ,they would often share sleeping rooms with other family's on the same shift cycles
Believe it or not ,these houses were the luxury replacements for earlier hovels where disease and illnesses were rife,and the people of the day were used to the life as it was then knowing no different.
My grandad in Shields had to lead this sort of life in the shipyards when the houses you see were in fact flats [this is why the doors of the houses are so close together] my grandads family in this same cencus numbered 16.
My sons house may seem pretty spacious to you in the pics ,but again ,it was originaly a flat ,so the rooms were two rooms ,living room/second bedroom. and a bedroom ,a kitchen and the outhouse .The stairs you see inside the front door was the stair leading to the upstairs flat the wall between having been removed,so your da's abode was even smaller than you thought ,lol.
Even my great grandads house in Twickenham London was originally two flats,so ,lass ,count your blessings ,lol :-) .
Catch you later ,Fred.xxxx <3

hi Mary ,brilliant about the cencus and finding your da' [geordie for dad] ,lol.and yep i know Ashington pretty well,as my daughter lives no more than two miles away.
Nothing left of the pit's now ,they have all gone,which is a shame as i did some construction work on two of them ,Bates pit ,and Lynemouth pit ,both massive in their day and Lynemouth being closed while it still had at least fifty years of coal reserves left.
If you can give me the exact addy for the house,originally 2 flats not a house by the way ,i will swan up there for you and take some pics of the house and street for you ,providing it is still there, a few terraces have gone ,but the street may still be extant :-).
The pac Choi you will love i reckon ,most useful steamed as a small cabbage ,raw on salad ,and great in stir fry ,very quick growing ,and easily to guage when to resow for continued supplies [when the leaves are about two inches] high. :-D.
Huh ,it will be something when our temperatures get UP to 12 c ,he he ,still managing to drag itself up to 10 at best ,and down to 3 overnight :-(.
Be interesting to try tracing your da' and family back over now ,to find where the family were living before he moved south over the border ,or do you already know? i had one heck of a job finding the link from Sunderland and Tyneside to Wymess up in Fife ,for my lot ,and then even further back to the Highlands,for which i finished up using Scotlands People.
Hope you enjoy your swim ,hopefully in a heated pool ,brrrrrrr, a little on the parky side otherwise.
nice to hear John is getting over his flu ,we are going through to The youngest sone later this morning to take the chocolate chukkie eggs ,visit the disabled nursery on the way home to get my onion plants ,and then top the car up so that i have a full tank ready for the Blackpool trip :-D.
Catch you all later today ,need to take the missus her drink up :-D <3 Fred.

HI everyone..We have had our coldest morning since last winter..12c,,just my sort of weather :-D :-D :-D

Quiet week this week to let John recover from his flu..he seems to be coming on well..Appointments start again next week..

Checked my seeds yesterday and one lot are showing their heads well,,think they are Chinese veg..but no sign of the others yet..they better show soon or I will find something else.. :-D :-D

Nothing much happening here,, quiet life..Did get a walk in yesterday afternoon but might try for a swim today..all depends on when John has his rest period.....

Fred. Wasted pounds searching for my dad in the 1911 census in Scotland, with no success, and then Ancestry sent me a hint about a man by that name in the 1911 census in England,,Checked it out and sure enough it is them..They were living at, 42 Pont Street, Hirst, Ashington Northumberland,,Found the house on Google and it is so small..13 people living in a 4 room house..they went there to work in the coal mine.
It is a great census as it gives me more people than I hoped for..Uncles,nephews.brothers and sisters.. Was my lucky day..Is that place anywhere near you.. I got a photo of the house through Google Earth and it looks so small,,How could 9 males and 4 females live in such a small place....

Well lots to do so have a lovely day all..

Love Mary xxx <3

.Hello all, A great Easter was enjoyed but the darn rabbit left and this am we had a skiff of the white stuff. It was all gone by 10 a.m tho so can't complain really just annoyed.
We do have some daffs up and blooming and a few scillas. A
few more warm days should see a nice lot of blooms :-)
See where Les had a nice weather week-end for a change. My great Aunt in Vancouver was so happy to get out for a walk with her pals. She is 89 now and still going strong. She claims it is because she is a Dane :-D
Lovely to be able to have a clear brain and a strong heart at her age. A sense of humor too!!
Had a tasty piece of key lime pie for Easter dinner and enjoyed every bit of it.
A nice light dessert.
Hope you had a good rest Mary and hope John is getting over his flu.
Surely it's time things went your way for a change :-)
Time to get moving and get some chores finished so bye for now. Edith <3

And a very good morning to everyone ,suprised i can get on here at all this morning with my puter having funny turns ,lol,maybe my sneezing on the keyboard a couple of dsays ago gave it a dose of computer flu ,he he ,i can't even get on to my web card site to send my Easter cards out ,sorry peeps ,i will try that again later.
No Mary it can't have been me that gave John the flu , but i know how he must be feeling,by now i have a headache that has lasted three days ,sore throat ,and an unusual dikky tummy ,not nice ,yuk :-(.
You must be having a hell of a chore on there with the re doing all those appointments ,you take it easy there ,we don't need you ill too with all that's going on.
I may have got away with the trees and buds Edith ,no sign yet of the blooms dying off ,or dropping so i may get away with it if we don't have another severe frost.
Got my new tree too ,a Pear i ordered on line for £13 with no postage charges ,and from a reputable firm ,now looking forward to it's arrival next week [hopefully] :-).
I will have a look to see what i can pull out of the freezer for tomorrows dinner ,no way can i go over to the sons with this cold ,flu ,whatever ,his kids have enough problems with health without giving them this on top,besides ,it means they can't eat all the eggs in two days like normal :-P.
I have gotten Liz a nice fish portion with the sauce on top,[Haddock] which she loves ,and will do myself some Salmon ,or hoki with new potato and Spinach ,nice and light ,hopefully not setting my tummy off again.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend ,and enjoying better weather ,ours could be a lot worse thinking back two years ,so ,i will be thankful for what we are getting :-D.
Fred. :-) <3

Morning all, Yes. Mary, the weather seems to be weird all over the world. Watch the weather network and they have video from all parts and I watch in awe at some of the disasters going on.
I know we are blessed in many ways as we get cold etc. but no earthquakes, tornado's, floods, just have to count our blessings.
The bears are indeed out, Mary looking for something to stop the grumbling in the tummy I guess. They will stay at the dump until the grass and plants start growing.
Waving back at Les. You can take the holiday week-end off and rest up for next week to worry about getting ready to move.!!!!
Hope your plants got through the cold Fred :-) Our bulbs are all up now and I would not be too happy if the flowers all froze.
Wish everyone a very HAPPY EASTER .
Edith <3

Hi everyone.. Been a funny week.. John has gone down with the flu. and had to cancel all the appointments but one for the week and now they have been rescheduled for later..Just cant win...
My little tom was delicious, and there is another pea size one on the plant,,will wait and see if anything comes of it..Have planted some Chinese greens and some carrots and spring onions..Well put the seeds in I should say..hope they sprout..
Have seen all the snow that you are all getting on our tv.. Crazy weather,,We are now getting our summer that we dinny have in summer time.. :-D :-D don't really want it now as I would prefer the cool thanks..
Shame about your fruit trees Fred.. I have 2 lovely lemons on my lemon tree and it is doing well,,the orange and lemon trees have doubled in size and look healthy..
Les. Go easy on the working to get the house ready to sell.. Little at a time until the doc says ok..
Edith..Have you seen any bears around yet.. I still have polar bears as my screen pic.. Think you sent them to me and I change them every now and then..They are so lovely..

Well a quiet day today ,,been to church for Good Friday , and so might do some FH and take it easy..
Happy Easter to you all , and stay out of the cold..

Love Mary xxxx <3 <3

Seems like we do the hot dogs more or less the same way although we use ranch finger buns here ,and they are much bigger ,and thicker than yours.
The onion we sweat down a little ,and sprinkle on an oxo cube just before serving.
Your kids have more than likely got caught by the snow as well ,i know it played havoc here ,Scotland ,and as far down the east coast as far as Whitby before slewing over Wales [part of] and Wiltshire.
More glad than ever that i brought the Nissan diesel ,the last trip up from Wiltshire 340 miles it returned a tad under 80 mpg [£26] so we are doing okay ,the strike on hold for the time being,but i will be topping up with 4 gallon this weekend to ensure our trip to Blackpool is well covered both ways.
Had to recover the Nectarine with the two fleece bags hoping it will be okay ,but i reckon i will get the dreaded bud drop in the apple and plum because of the return to winter,so ,no fruit this year ,a bu**er because last week they were loaded with blossom..oh well ,win some lose some :-).
Hope everyone is having a good week,despite the tricks the weather is playing on us all,off now to take the missus her morning cuppa,Fred <3 :-D :-D

Our back steps are cedar, Fred, and don't always take kindly to salt. I think the problem was more that Norm did not look carefully where he put his tootsies.

We had hot dogs last night....a rare treat. I found some really tasty turkey sausages and cooked them up as weiners, lovely in a big fat bun (not a weinie bun...too yukky and thin) lots of raw onion and tomatoes, relish and the works. Norm made his amazing oven fries and I made some thick gravy to dunk them in, could almost have been at a drive-in....yup!! we still have one of those here in Port Alberni. They too are rare!!!

Did our grocery shopping for the month yesterday. It takes best part of the day after we get it home and packed away, all the meat individually portioned and into the freezer, the fridge junked out etc.etc. I found some lovely bunches of spinach and so tonight I am going to make a florentine lasagne...yummy.

Hey Fred, I wonder if my Dad got that storm in Huddersfield?? If so my kids will not be overly pleased...oh! and did the petrol carrier folks go out on strike??? News appreciated on that.

Off to make some brekkie, late start today. Wave to Mary and Edith and Teresa...how goes the world with you??
Later Lesxx

Morning Les' what a night we have had ,up to nearly gale force winds ,snow ,and me sitting watching it all through the window unable to sleep because of a heavy head cold i brought back from Wiltshire :-).
Hope the kids are enjoying their visit with grand dad ,i bet he is loving it ,a little prime time is good for everyone ,after all. :-)
Is some rock salt and grit no good for those steps Les?,we have two bags in the shed and use it on the drive and steps when it gets bad ,i know it makes a bit of as mess inside the door ,but we have a winter mat to wipe the feet on as we come in ,much better than stretching your length on ice ,or concrete ,and far less painful.
It's a day indoors for us today ,i can't as yet see the garden for snow ,lol,but the sun is trying to get out now ,so it may start to thaw in a couple of hours. :-).
A nice ,proper Cornish pasty for dinner today with new tatties with mint sauce,and cabbage & carrot ,nice and warming 'cause it's plurry freezin' out there ,lol,not even the puddy tat will do her dance in it today so it must be really cold.
Catch you all later ,Fred :-D <3

Snowing again here. We have had so little sun this winter that our back steps have become quite slippery with moss etc. Norm slipped and fell yesterday. It is the first time this winter so for that we must be thankful and at least this time he only whacked his shin...not his back!!

Still knitting for the doll!! She maybe near you today Fred, as the kids came over to England on Sunday and are at present visiting with my Dad in Huddersfield. I am not sure if Rhian was allowed to pack the doll tho!!

Still allowed to do nothing much of anything. Back to the doc tomorrow for a check over....maybe he will let me start floor and wall washing. Time is slipping thru our fingers and we really do want to try and sell this summer.

OK off to the wars...more later. Lesxx

Afternoon oh frozen one who is possibly still listening for the rain. :-).
Yes ,our forcast didn't look too good last evening ,so me and the missus were up and about by 8am ,dishes from brekkie done ,and ready for the off ,lol.
Up to Cramlington first ,and Asda where we did some veggie shopping,then along to Wilkinsons for soap powders and hand gel ,and some weed killer and seeds.
By the time we got back to the car it was raining pretty hard ,and the sky was a horrible dark grey.
Back on our home turf and Morrisons next ,where we got the rest of the weekly shopping in ,and from there it was Frydays for our weekly treat of Fish and Chips,and it started to snow as we went in. :-(.
We have now been home three hours and it's still coming down ,bigger flakes ,and heavier ,but we don't care ,the shop is done ,and we need now't more until the start of next week :-),so we is now into hibernation mode,the weather can do as it pleases :-P :-P.
We did find four lovely herb plants to grace one of the urns out back ,so there is now just one left to fill up.
Still looking for the miniture pear tree ,i am thinking maybe order one on line from the same place i got the Nectarine.
Time to make the coffee ,so i will be back tomorrow all being well,Fred :-D. <3.

Hello all, "Listen to the rythym of the falling rain" is the song going through my head. It should take away all the junk of winter and maybe we will get some green :-) I do love the sound of it on the roof after a winter of silent snow.
Temps are moving up too, so can't help but be in a good mood.
Even tho' Easter is early this year it will be much nicer than last year when we had snow, snow, snow.
Hope your getting through your busy week Mary, Just the driving can be tiring.
Did you save me any steak and kidney pie, Fred? Would love to go back a few years and have my Gran's pie. Even after all these years I can't make it taste like she did. Her custard tarts were to die for as well. Simple food but oh soooo good.
Still waiting to plant :-P time to warm up and stay there says I. The balcony is ready and waiting.!!!!
Time for me to move the buns so will see you soon. Edith <3