General Chat

Morning all, hope everyone is well and warm!!! It is a lovely bright morning here in County Durham. Real walking weather, if I was well I could just see myself, wrapped up well and having a lovely long walk in the woods... Oh well maybe next year... All these lovely recipes on here its great I will definitely have a go at your latest one Lesley, sounds lovely... It's all go in our area at the moment, the amount of sales in the shops is unbelievable, all encouraging people to spend, spend, spend. It's strange as my mam said it took her ages to work out how to pay for something using a card, she couldn't get used to not SAVING and then getting what she wanted, rather than just getting because you could!!!. Anyway I'm off to do a little (very little!!) tidying up...Take Care....

Hey Diane, pretty crazy here too....walmart is open 24 hours a day until the 24th. I ask you??? I told Norm that we would set the alarm for 3 am and go over there in our jammies and see who was shopping. We are a city of 18000 only, I doubt that they will be rushed off their feet....LOL

The slow cooker beef yesterday was amazing. We had it with peas and asparagas, You could tell that the soups had been in their except for the taste. Yummy will make it again, thought next time I might try chicken breasts.

Sent out all my ecards yesterday, took most of the afternoon. If anyone isn't on my email list and wants to be included in pics etc. then send me you email addy by PM. Don't worry you wont get inundated with jokes, I send out very few and only the really good ones.

Snowing here again and Norm and I are off to Nanaimo to finish up our shopping. Will take the dog in case we get stuck....brrrrr!!!!
Lesxx

Christine, they were Norm's photo's printed on canvas...they are called giclee's. Many of them were taken with his Widelux camera that has a rotating lense...that was how he could skip in and be in the pic.

Well Gang, it's minus 12 again today and wow!! did we get snow yesterday. Norm and I went into Nanaimo and a storm settled in. We drove back in near white out conditions, roads unploughed, and the windshield wipers mostly stuck onto the windshield...it was pretty scary. Anyway once home I had a fortyfying glass of red (well maybe 2!!) to steady my nerves....LOL Now we don't know what we will do about xmas because they are calling for more snow....it would be OK except that we have that wee range of mountains to drive over and a windy, twisty trip around Cameron Lake ....the bottomless lake!! Anyway I won't panic until I have to.

Had to take the car this am. to get the master cylinders replaced. Bella and I walked home, about 5 kms. I think. Talk about slogging thru the drifts, I could have used a pair of cross country skis. The ice got between Bella's pads and so I had to thaw them out with a little warm water when we got home. She was appreciative and gave me kisses...bless her.

That's me for now.
Lesxx

Hi everyone.. We have lovely WARM weather at the moment..ranging between 23c and 30c. hee hee hee,,Sorry Canucks...and of course the UKers..You all should come down here and try out a WARM Christmas,,not really turkey weather but what the heck,, we love our old English customs..hee hee...

Off to Orange on Sunday but I will have my lappy with me so should be able to keep in touch..I hope..otherwise it will mean fighting the grandies for the puta up there...lol,

I dont have to worry about the crowded shops as I dont start the Christmas food shop till monday when I get to Orange,, The kids mostly want money for Christmas as they are getting to old for anything else...and if we pick something it is usually the wrong size or colour so let them do it themselves..They enjoy that..

Keep warm all and dont go driving in the ruddy snow Les.. Its not safe,,or dinny ya know...get the skis out..safer..

Chat to you all from Orange..

Love Mary xxxxx

Hiya Mary ,and all the rest of you peeps.
Hey ,mary,i still like the idea of a laptop for when i go on holidays ,so i will be off to pc world boxing day morning while the boss holds the fort.
If i cant find one at a reasonable price ,i may go for a Blackberrry phone instead ,which has a proper minature keyboard on the facia ,for internet work and emails,there is a deal on here for £0 a month with 600 minutes internet access and email facilities per monthon an 18 month contract.not too bad ,anyway i will see .
I managed to get the missus a proper cam corder case for her new toy,so there's another pressie for me to wrap up,what with those two,and her new phone ,she should be set .
We have christmas day off this year,he he ,we go to the daughters for lunch,ans Stehens for tea.
Boxing day ,we have the son Stephen for tea ,and the other son and kids [plus partner] for dinner.And new years day we have the daughter and family all day,so ,no-one is left out.
We Fly on the 7th Mary,and the wedding is on the tenth,so the wife will have the opertunity to try the new camera,Me? ,i will stick to my trusty digital.
The new camera works via digital dvd disc ,so there are no tapes at all,handy for putting in the dvd player to see if it's okay before putting it on disc via the dvd player recorder ,or the puter.
At the minute i still have a bit of this cold to shift before the festive season starts ,but we will be taking special care this christmas with hand spray and anti bacterial sprays for the benches and work surfaces in the kitchen,i don't fancy catching this winter bug that is rife at the moment.
Time to gp all ,off to Asda in an hour to get the kast of the stuff in before the hoards get the same idea lol.
Catch you all later ,and oh,in case some peeps didn't get the card,Merry Christmas ,from Fred,Liz and hissy [claus]

Hello everyone. I feel a little blessed to be living where I am. We have
had a few cold nights but not all the snow. All of North America seems to be under the spell of Mother Nature and her bad side except us.
Can't imagine snow in Las Vegas !!!!! Cousins in Arizona not too happy either.!!
Been busy getting organized for the big day, not as well as Fred however so still have a few things to finish up. Loved the Christmas e-mail Fred
also the e-cards from the others.
Here's wishing you a happy and joyous holiday. Do make the very best of the days ahead. See you again soon. Edith

Hi All from very very snowy Dundas!!!! with more forecast today

We are buried under at least 14 inches of snow today. Friday was horrendous and Keith and I hunkered down for the day - got the wrapping done and also watched the continental Cup curling tournament on TV. yesterday I got the urge to bake - don't know why so I made a fruit cake out of the BERO Book - remember those Fred. I have 3 editions of it and it is interesting to look at the changes. The first one I have is probably from the very early 1950's and then I have edition 35 & 37. I am all sorted to make mince pies today and chocolate chip cookies and some of my favourite oatmeal raisen ones as well.

All this to be achieved in between the 2 final curling matches on TV today.

Keith has done very well since his surgery and was signed off by the surgeon last Thursday. He has permission to fly so we will be taking our Grandson on his solo trip to the UK in March break holiday.

Glad to hear that everyone is safe and well and that holiday plans are well in hand. I don't get to do Christmas this year which seems a bit strange we are all off to our daughter and her partners and will meet his family also that day (22 of us in total)- but I have been warned NO ANNOUNCEMENTS will be forethcoming. AH Well!!!!

off to make coffee and grab a hunk of that cake and settle in for the first curling match - bye for now

Veronica

Hi from me in a very cold (minus 11) and very snowy Port Alnerni. We awoke this morning to white out conditions, couldn't really make the houses out across the field in front of us. Brrrr!! Lucky Edith, we must be getting all of yours. At this point we don't think we will be able to get to the ferry terminal and so may have to stay home alone for christmas. Yesterday the roads were ploughed from here to a small place called Whiskey Creek. From there the roads come under the Nanaimo Regional District and apparently they have used up all their snow removal budget and have not ploughed....so the highway was impassable. A friend in Nanaimo tells us that the roads are not well ploughed either and conditions are more like a skating rink than anything else....wonderful!!!!

I went yesterday and stocked on a few essentials just in case we got stuck....'cos if ya can't get out then no-one can get in!! funny how that works eh?? Stocked up fresh veg and milk...we should be OK. Norm can always bake bread if we run out.

I am going to wrap pressies today....maybe that will cheer the Gods and the snow will go away....don't think so!
More later
Lesxx

Just popping on to wish everyone on the Canucks thread a Happy and joyous Christmas.
Safe travelling during the festive season, to all who are out and about.




Cheers.
Tony.....:>)))....... ( Ozzie Wattlers thread )

Morning all,and a Merry Christmas to ALL our readers ,lol.
Cor ,Who mentioned bero cookery books? ,lol,mine was my mums ,still in very good condition and funnily enough ,i will be using it today to make my pork pies ,which i make every christmas because i can cut down on the fat ,and enjoy a half one at tea time.
I thought i had better come in here this morning before i get started,because the wife is Banned from the kitchen while i gert started.
I have Salmon and parsley rosties to make for the tea tables,sausage rolls to do,but no mince pies ,i buy those while i make more important things.
I will get the stuffing put together this evening [dry] so that i can actually mix it [adding force meat Christmas morning ],i have the turkey to pluck ,and prepare ,pork ,gammon ,and beef [corned] to cook,enough to keep four families going until boxing evening.
The missus keeps well out of the way while i get cracking ,but ,i enjoy my cooking and apart from one year when i had to take to my bed because of the ticker and flu,my best half hasn't cooked at Christmas /,new year for well over thirty years
Reading about Edith's, Les's ,and dorothy's weather am i glad i live in britain,has any one seen the satate of Maine,/portland on the news,ice storms,temperatures below 40c,and ,on top of that thunder and lightening snow storms dropping three inches of snow in an hour ,brrrrrr .
Well ,i'm off peeps,lots to do and all that ,see ya' tomorrow [i hope ],
Have a great time everyone ,Fred.xxx

goodmorning from barrie we are expecting another blast of snow to-day will it ever stop good for the ski hills but not for me, talking about cook books I have a stork margarine cook book that I won in 1957 !st prize form 4a for domestic science as it was in those days the only prize I won at school the cake I made was a coffe walnut sponge cake, this book has travelled the world with me and I still use it from time to time. my sister in calgary has kept me updated with the cold and snow that she is getting I gather this is the first time in many years that all fo canada will have a white xmas I wish all of you a merry christmas and a happy 2009 bye for now dorothy

Hello All, Just a short message to wish everyone a lovely Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year... Take Care

And speaking of cook books I have a much used (by me) Pearce Duffs cookbook that my Gran got with her new stove about 60 years ago. Somehow it ended up with me and altho getting a bit tatty...I still love it. It has the best almond tart recipe in the world!!

Calling for more snow today and tomorrow. We are not going to risk the journey over to the mainland so will just be Normie and I. We went out yesterday and stocked up on DVD's and all manner of snacks.

Bella and I have been walking the fields for the last few days. She does a great impression of a snow blower, loves to bury her snout in the snow and generally frolics like a kid. She is so much fun that I almost lay down and made snow angels with her....and then common sense kicked in!!

Favourite xmas song this year??? "I want a hippopotomus for Christmas" it has been played so often that I almost know it word perfect.

OK my loverlies I am off to do stuff. Dont over work in the kitchen Fred and the rest of you keep warm or cool depending on where you are.
Lesxx

Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas and 2009. Keep safe and warm Canucks.
Thank you being here

JA

Just wanted to wish you all a
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY HEATHLY AND PEACEFUL 09
love brenda from friends and Neighbours worldwide..

Merry Christmas Everyone,

I wish you all good things for 2009.


Teresa

White Christmas coast to coast....first time in 37 years. We got about another foot today....yikkity yuk!!
Merry Christmas you lot. Keep well,warm and happy. Here's to a smashing 2009 for all of us.
Lesxx

Morning "Boxing Day"

Hope all survived all the goodies from yesterday. We had a lovely day,the temp was up to -11 with a clear blue sky.
Enjoyed the antics of the dogs, for some reason the big guy decided to guard "all" the toys, The pugs even tried ganging up on him, no way was he giving up. It was like watching a bunch of kids.!!!!!
Many of our local uni and college kids had loads of trouble trying to get home as both Toronto and Vancouver had horrid weather and planes were cancelled.
The "gift"was a real hit Les and fit very well. Hope you survived the yuck hee hee.
Waiting to hear from Fred and family after all the cooking he had planned.
Off to do some visiting to-day so will get a move on.
Edith

OK sometimes enough is enough.....and this is enough already. We are now officially snowed in. It snowed on Christmas eve thru to the 25th. And now today, altho they are calling for freezing rain, it is snowing like a pig!!! Walked to the grocery store with our Belle and ambled back (make that staggered) thru the field in front of our house. There were places where you could only see Belle's head, the rest of her vanished in the snow....and we are not talking drifts...just snow. Today is the first day I would say that the ploughs cannot keep up. There are some people about in their cars but not too many. The roads are treacherous.

Normie and I had champagne with our brunch yesterday and we liked it so much we had a little more with brunch today...how decadent is that!!

Hope you all had a great day. Glad the pinny was OK Edith.
Kepp safe and warm/cool.
Lesxx

Well I hope you all survived yesterday and had a great time with friends and family.

i was very proud of my youngest daughter, she managed to provide a very good Christmas dinner for all our family and for all her partners family - total 22 people. You needed a shoe horn to get another body in the house and we where seated cheek to cheek so to speak!!!!! Its the first time in almost 30 years that I haven't been heavily involved in the cooking - just did my bit as asked, but I kept thinking I had forgotten something.

Bless her heart, her and Bruce can hardly move today they are so tired but she says it is a very happy tired.

The snow is disappearing rapidly as the temps have risen above freezing and we had lots and lots of rain on Christmas Eve, by New Year most of the snow is forecast to have disappeared - but I suspect we will get several more blasts in January.

made some fresh bread today so the house smells lovely - my oldest daughter wanted one to take home with her when she leaves tomorrow, so Mum obliged.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays

Veronic