General Chat

g'day all of you peeps over the pond,i thought i would put a few lines on here before going to the daughters for lunch and tea because i hear that the fires are still causing problems in at least three states.
Hope everyone is safe ,enjoying their Christmas break ,and grub ,specially Tony who will be needing to go into the local gym or the back garden with a spade if he keeps up those meals much longer lol.
Happy new year everybody ,have a great time ,but ,stay safe .Fred,Liz & Hissy[who is enjoying her Christmas Salmon ,with gusto, he he]

Merry Christmas to all,

Hope that you all celebrated in style and really appreciate all the extra sox and jox you received.

Tony I would be surprised if you could move at all after such a feast.....

We has a realativly quiet day yesterday, just the immediate family at home for the works for lunch and then thwy all nicked off to various boyfreind /other family do's. We will have a big family bbq tomorrow.

Time to go and evict a few spiders and dead ants from the camper so we can move it up onto our block for a few days r&r.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

love June (the other one!! cowgirl)
xxx

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone

Fred we have rain here in Canberra and it is most welcome - just means we can't eat outside and can't eat at the dining table cos it's covered with so much junk so it will be plates on laps when it comes to eating - so what's new with that!!!!!!!

Have a bonza day, eat, drink and be merry but all in moderation - lol

Gwenda xx

Aftrnoon June,you may have got better weather with your heat and sun ,but i am sat here looking over the top of my laptop ,and i can see large snowflakes ,so ,i think we win this round lol,,the first white Christmas in years. Merry christmas all ,and a peaceful new year ,Fred & Liz.

Hi to whoever who is on the site. Merry Christmas, wherever you are, and may 2010 be happy, healthy and prosperous.

Heven't been on for ages- not one for chatting too much.

cheers, June in Batemans Bay (hot and steamy)

Morning Tony ,reckon we are about t he only ones around at the mo',he he ,everyone else must be travelling to rellies,or if in Queensland ,without power ,thank the lord that it isn't the depths of winter there.
Hope they all get back on the grid well before christmas eve,it is not the best of times to be without power.
Thanks for the insight into an oz Christmas morning ,hey,i could go for that ,a B B Q brekkie with all the trimmings ,sigh i don't think i could even fire our gas one up in these temperatures ,far too cold,the only way i could do an outside one is light the garden rubbish burner and use a cleaned down shovel to put the grub on ,[now there's a thought ] nah ,i will stick to using the cooker indoors ,lol
You watch what you are doing on that roof as well ,i seem to remember an accident ,or nearly last year hmmmmm.
Poor Sean has to travel to the Nottingham regional airport tomorrow morning to pick up his missus who is coming here for Christmas,cor ,she won't half get around while she is here,the son's Christmas day ,the Daughters Boxing day ,and the eldest sons New years day ,wow ,no cooking for fred he he ,roll on ,next year ,as we are thinking of bogging off on holiday over the festive season leaving all our kids to fend for themselves,and lovely peace and quiet for me and Liz.
The second batch of beef is now ready ,and i will cook that tomorrow ,slice and put in the fridge ,half for the sons Christmas day ,the other half for the daughters ,cor ,i have my kids spoilt ,they won't touch ordinary beef now ,it has to be corned.
Had i have known it would come to this ,i could have started a part time job cooking it and selling it to the public ,i think i would have had a ready market ,lol.
Well .in case owt goes wrong with the puters or the power ,before the big event ,i will say now ,to all of you ,Happy Christmas ,one and all ,have a great time,and have a good ,and peaceful New Year.
Fred & Lizxxx

Mmmmmm.....Yes, Christmas season....lol

Well this is how we spend Christmas Eve, and Christmas day....:>))

On Thursday night ( Xmas eve ) at about 8:00pm myself, Barb, Sarah, Barbs sister, and also Barbs girlfreind and her 17 year old daughter sit down around a low coffee table ( aka chinese style...lol ) to a full sea-food platter, consisting of two large red Crays, three large dinner plates consisting of Shrimp, Tiger prawns & Crab meat, all decorated on a bed of lettuce, with cherry toms, spring onions and small radishes. Barb makes up her own Sea food cocktail sauce, consisting of Mayo, Tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce to tang it up....Yummmm
Three bottles of chilled Riccadonna Asti to wash it all down, and sit back and watch our Melbourne Carols by candle light on the tele at the Myer music bowl till around midnight.

Next morning ( Xmas day ) at approx 7:00am we fire up the Bar-bie to Eggs, Bacon,Sausages & Hash browns.
Hot pancakes and maple syrup.
Then under the Chrissy tree we hand out a few pressies. Barbs girlfriend Carol and daughter will leave at approx 10:00am and drive 300kms up to Echuca - Moama ( Victorian - N.S.W border ) to join her family for Christmas lunch.

Barb and her sister will start preparing our Christmas dinner ( Full Roast Pork, Ham,Chicken, sliced turkey and vege ) washed down by a nice Red or white wine.......followed by Plum Pud with custard or thickened cream.
Barbs sis will go to nursing carers home and pick up their mother to bring back for Xmas lunch...at approx 1:00pm
After lunch at around 3:00pm we will open a few more pressies under the tree.

At around 5:00pm Barb will take her mum back to carers home, and the rest of us will go into full clean up mode to prepare, for the onslaught of my own family ( my children,spouses & grandies, siblings, cousins, nephews, neices, grand nephews/neices,my mum, consisting of around 30 -40 people.
At approx 6:30 pm, people start arriving, with B.Y.O food, grog, presents, and TonyOz will sneak out the back door and dress up inthe red suit and white beard, and attempt to climb the house roof ( as he does every year...lol ) and do the Ho,Ho,Ho thing with a sack of lollies for the littlies ( about 12 off E'm ) and toss the lollies off the roof by the handful, and littlies will scramble everywhere like ants to a sugar bowl.....hee hee

Then Santa ( aka TonyOz ) will dissapear ( like magic )...Pooooooof....while the kids are fighting over the lollies on the ground...LOL
At about 7:00 pm the kids will sit quietly ( Mmmmmm ) in the family room in a semi circle with Santa sacks, while i hand out about 100 presents to them from under the tree..lol
Xmas wraping paper will be ripped off and tossed to the four corners of the family room....lol

At at around 10:pm on goes the Food.....( finger food ) Salads, Cold Ham, Chicken, Turkey, and then a full Plum Pud boiled in the cloth that will be drizzled with Brandy and lit and served on a platter, out on our decking.

Now its about 11:00pm and adults presents are handed out, with Coffee and Tea...while the kids are busy playing with their toys ( some will be asleep where they drop exhausted.....lol ) or if a Hot night some will be swimming in our pool

At about 1:00 am ( next morning 26th ) we open the bottles of Port and a platter of Cheeses, Grapes, Mangoes, Cantelope, dry bickies,Mince tarts, christmas cake,and nick nacks.
By now all kids are asleep somewhere in the house!!!.....hee hee

At around 2:30 - 3:00 am the last guests will leave, and the house looks like WW111....but nobody cares....so whoevers left finds a bed, and if ( Boxing Day ) goes by un-noticed....nobody gives a hoot.....LOL

Then next year 2010....we will do it all over again.

Tony......:>)) * Who loves every single moment of it*

Badger sidles in entrance left ,sniffing at the air in case there is tomato soup being made yet at the Wilson household ,lol.
another eight weeks and my tomato seeds will be going in ,along with other seeds for veggies and flowers ,my favourite time of the year.
Well ,i tried the parsnips in a blanket yesterday with a honey glaze coating ,and have to say ,they went down a storm the streaky bacon [the blanket] made a heck of a difference.
the Christmas day line up is now as follows ,the Turkey and Corned beef ,of course with country stuffing [home made as usual]. Mash with parsnips to give the mash an extra tang.potatoes tossed in semolina for that extra crisp finish,red cabbage done in balsamic vinager with a few spices , plain Brussel sprouts ,the parsnips as described.fresh garden peas,and bread sauce for those who don't like stuffing [shame on you ,lol],and finished off with beef gravy.
The dessert ? apple pie for those who don't like Christmas pudding and brandy sauce /custard.
This year though all the cooking is being done at leamington [the sons] .at last i get to let someone else see to the cooking of apart from the stuffing that is
Even boxing day we will be at the daughters ,and again new years day ,yippee ,the whole holiday main meals and i get to cook none ,yeeeeeees.he he.
Have to go folks ,lots to do getting the house ready for the company,but i will look in later ,Freddie Claus.

Howdy All,

I have an oven that could use a clean :-), not my favorite job, and one that gets put off in this house. The Christmas fare won't be getting cooked here this year, so i have been able to put off the spring clean a bit longer. We are going to my dad's, which will be a lovely change. All our children and grandchildren will be there on boxing day, so i am really looking forward to it.

Weather has been lovely, the past couple of days, not too hot. No doubt the hot weather will be back with us before we know it.


Tomatoes are in full flower, and won't be long until, we can start gathering them for the sauce and relish making. I can't wait, i love relish on toast, and we ran out of last years quite a while ago. I think i will make more batches this year.


If i am not back here before Christmas, Have a safe, and happy time.

Take care
Wilson

Morning again Tony ,seems i have a few minutes before i start packing the car ,to enjoy my coffee and relax ,so ,here goes.
Firstly ,i am now back on the main 'puter ,the new modem working fine so the first job was load the printer with the recipe someone asked for ,and put them on the hard drive of both puters,so ,if this person will P M me ,i will shovel them through to you as soon as i have your email addy.
Checking the recipe for the pudding ,it is quick to knock up ,after which it is put in the fridge overnight,taken out ,and put into the mic' as the table is cleared from the main course,ten minutes later ,it's on the table ,hot and yummy.
The cake is a little quicker to prepare than a lot of the others ,and turns out ,nice and moist and taste wise knocks brought ones into the middle of next week,both items have been prepared and cooked by Fred Cook lol,and come highly recommended.
The trip down south may be a quick one ,lol,seems that none of the laddoes stuff has arrived yet from Cyprus,and it may be a case of handing over his new licence so that he can hire a car,sleep there overnight ,and if no gear has arrived ,come home tomorrow, and this ,being the case ,Hissy will be more comfortable ,left at home with Martin and Chris.
We are all organised now .with only the stuff that won't stay fresh ,to pick up when we get back ,the turkey and duck from the farm,and the cream plus a few other odds and sods.
I don't half miss my horseradish that i had in the allotment [sigh] always fresh and tart ,the real mackoy .hoooott and spicy ,but i darn't try growing it out back ,these roots go deep ,and in no time take over the garden,so it will be hot Colmans best horseradish and ditto mustard ,slurp ,i can taste the meat now .luvverly ,lol
Well ,that's it until i get down south and get settled in for the evening,i only hope i get on the net all right Fred.

Evening.......and good morning to Fred.

A warm day in ol Melbourne town, a temp of 32c and at 9:30pm stil sitting on around 26c
Tomorrow they have told us to expect 39c, so no repreive, and the air-con will get a good working out.
Pity those lady's who will sit in the chair under hot hair dryers tomorrow to get their perms in Barbs salon in the back of the house.....but come rain ,hail or 39c....the perms will be done....lol

Must be a Oven cleaning day today, as i gave ours a good cleaning out getting ready for the onslaught on christmas day. Our leg of Pork is in the freezer, along with the chooks, and the girls in our office asked me today if i wanted a leg of Ham ( company xmas bonus ) again this year.

I get an option. A slab of V.B ( Vic Bitter ) or a leg of Ham.........Well, i always go for the Ham...because it would be worth my life if i took the slab of V.B as a Xmas bonus...and walked in the house door to show Barb.
She relys on me getting the Leg Ham each year, and its my way of staying alive at Chrstmas, and in the good books.....hee hee

Best go put the outdoor flood lights on and give the pool a good chlorination in preperation for to-morrows 39 c, seeing now its a bit cooler at night.


Av a good un.


Tony....:>))

Good morning troops ,a wet and chilly one up 'ere in the frozen north of England ,but that is far better than a lot are getting in various parts of the world.
I hope you and all your family stay safe all this year Tony,it must be a huge worry for you and everyone else in those areas ,so at risk even this early in the year.
I was worried about my cousin in Brisbane but have now had a Christmas card off her saying the whole family are okay ,which is a relief.
The second load of beef is in the Chalet getting corned ,hope it is as good as the first batch which tastes spot on [weeeell .i had to test it didn't i?]
Going to be a busy day today ,i have the whole oven to clean out ready for the Christmas fare ,and i have to pack a few things for tomorrows trip ,which looks like being a run over to Carlisle ,and down the west side of the country to Oxfordshire [ m6 -m5 -m4] nice and simple ,i hope.
For any of you home soup makers ,wondering why some soup splits after being frozen it tends to be because there is milk in the recipe,i find that if you use long -life milk ,this doesn' happen ,the other alternative is ,add the whole milk after the soup has thawed ,before heating.
Have to go ,the oven still needs cleaning and it won't do itself my name ain't Merlin ,more's the pity .Fred.

Howdy All,

All the talk about corned beef, made me pop some in the slow cooker before i left for work Friday. I arrived home to a lovely smell and only had to make some mash spuds, pumpkin, and peas Yummmmy. Cold with salad and pickles tonight. You are right though Badger, it can be expensive. Being farmers we eat a lot of lamb, so beef for a change is nice.


Tony, we can only pray that this year will be kinder than last in the fire stakes. It was a terrifying, hearbreaking time for so many Australians. I totally understand how you feel about your children moving into a higher fire risk area. Doesn't matter how old they are, as parents we stil worry about them.


Take care All

Morning...:>))

O/cast Saturday in Melb, and the last few days have seen some welcomed rain.

Marie. I feel these fires happening around the various states already, are a reminder of what we are to expect come full summer heat and high winds. Our news tells us to expect what we received last year, and possibly worse.
Its a worrying time, and i can only pray that people living in these high prone fire area's are prepared as best they can.
One of my 4 daughters and her family are thinking of selling up and moving into the Warburton area of Victoria, and i am not happy about that, but there is nothing i can do about it. At 32 she is now studying Horticulture and Floriculture........ and loves the bush.( like her old man )
I reminded her of a section of a well know Australian poem
"I love a sunburnt Country" .............******its beauty and its terror******......ect.... I also reminded her of last year, and the "Ash Wednesday fires" 1983 in Melbournes outer, when she was only a 6 year old along with her elder sisters, and we lived at the bottom of the Dandenong ranges. We along with others lost freinds in those fires in the small community of "Cockatoo" which was completely destroyed. My best mate lost his house, and pets, and it was an area of which my wife ( back then ) and i holidayed at his house in Cockatoo with our kids, when he was away o/seas. He woud leave us the keys to go stay there when we needed a break. Can only be thankful we didnt go that Febuary. So now when my kids tell me they are moving further out into the Yarra Valley.....it sends shivers down my spine.
As we Aussies know, our bush has three of the most volatile trees in the world. The Eucalpypt, Pine, and our Gum.........all exploding fuel laden trees, that send sunami type fire balls, pushed along with 100km hr winds that can wipe out a town in seconds........ Its not a nice thought.

Am i paranoid!!!...you betcha life i am mate....especially if my own kids are moving into these areas.

Well...best go do something constuctive, like lie down on the garden swing and dream about winnng the Lotto.....:>))


Av a good un


Tony....:>))

Hello Laurie,Mary ,Tony, Badger & Wilson. Wow all that talk about Vegies and Silverside,my mouth is watering.I hope you are all well we are ok here but it has been a bad week with bushfires only 20 klms away from us and 2 farmers Father & son caught in the fire, they were airlifted to the burns unit in Sydney.I think (but havent heard an update) that they have it under control, as there hasn't been any Water Helicoptors flying over to-day,last Friday & Sat. the smoke was dreadful with the wind blowing it towards us., nothing much else has happened in our area.well folk I should go.
I wish you all a **** Merry *****Merry******Xmas & A Happy New Year
Marie

Thats it . . . I'm off to buy some silverside tomorrow . . you fellas have made my mouth water. :)

Busy week coming up for me . . I have the pleasure of catering for TLR's work conference . . . the four days will feel like a month . .

But the beauty of all that is . . . when it is finished we can pack up the car for the journey north . . QLD here we come . . Christmas and a Grandie to share it with :)

Hope your all keeping out of trouble . . and giving the grin gear a good workout

L xo

Hi all ,i agree with you Tony ,english Colmans hot mustard is the only boy to have .with beef ,corned or no.
Even when i do a snack of tinned sardine on toast i scrape mustard instead of butter on the toast first ,arrange the fish on next ,then add garlic and corriander powder before sliding it under the grill .delish'
The corned beef does well too with hot horseradish sauce ,again delish'
I plucked up the courage to go into the vodaphone shop about the loss of my dongle while away down bucks .
Have to say though ,that apart from a bit of a chuckle they were fantastic ,upgrading me to a more modern ,faster dongle free of charge,only charging me for the new sim card,they even persuadede me that it was worth the extra £3-50 a month to insure it for loss and damage.
the sim they put in the old phone number so that when i came home ,all i had to do was plug it in and off it went.
My T mobile dongle i got with the H P on windows 7 won't work over the vista programmes ,so i will leave the h p at home in future taking the t mobile dongle with the acer lappy which is vista.
That way ,if i am in a bad sector for reception on one dongle i can use the other one ,lol,if that don't work ,i have two options left to me,either set fire to the lappy and send smoke signals ,or use pigeons he he.
Well done with the cakes Cow Girl,but i ain't suprised you have back trouble after doing so many of them,you could do with Lizs recipe for half hour Christmas puddings after that lot ,so easy to make ,made Christmas eve ,and cooked in 45 minutes Christmas morning they are lovely and tasty ,far better than shop brought ones.
Off to make our tea now with Freds special coating on the roast potato's to make them extra tasty ,and crisp,on the outside but soft and fluffy inside mmmmmmm Fred.

Mmmmmm...Corned Beef.
Now where talking real food...lol

Corned Beef , Mashed potatoes with peas and beans.......:>))
Like some Hot English mustard spread on mine.Its gotta be Hot English.........and not the Aussie rubbish hot mustard we make here...its got no bite.
Cold corned beef sangas...left overs, for lunch the next day..:>))

Well.....the Pine Xmas tree is up in the family room ( 7ft high and 3ft wide ) and only paid $35 for it from the local scout hall, about 1km down the road. Barb and Sarah decorated it with tinsel, baubles and fairy lights on the weekend, and the smell of a real chrissie pine tree brings back memories from the 50s.

I remember as a teenager we would head up the scrub with a few mates in our ute's/vans ( sharpened Axe's ) and get our own, and a few for the widowed neighbours in the street, but they would hang you today if they caught you chopping down a tree. We woud stop at the mountain stream rivers and catch a few Trout on the way back to Melb....gut and clean them,and wrap them in newspaper to give to the widowed as well.

Gone are those days.

Fred. I had to laugh about you putting cayenne pepper and paprika on the Flake/Shark to give to the cat...LOL
No wonder he would run a mile when you gave some fish to him...hee hee

Mary. What about if i jump in a Ute and go chop down a Xmas tree up bush, and freight it up to you...Do you think they would mind..........It would only cost me a week in the slammer, and a $500 fine....but it would be worth it , just to annoy the hell outa the greenies........:>)))....lol

evening all,

Mary you got to have a tree of something, I agree with Laurie evan a few decorations can make you feel so much better, I love it. We have our moose collection spread out on the mantle piece and the angels around the tree.

I am trying to type this while sitting in my favouritious chrissy present ever......my big massage chair, except when it vibrates its hard to stype straight.......but it does help my poor back..

got the fruit soaking for another cake, always make 2 or 3 just love fruit cake, we made 77 small ones (size of a large tuna tin) last week and decorated then to go inot the food hampers the mission gives out. Although tiring we had grest fun with some of the ladies from church.

Nearly got all the pressie shopping done, just the last few stocking gifts to get. in.

Hope you all sleep well because I will tonight time to just sit and enjoy the massage

love Cowgirl xx

Morning troops,well here goes as to why you can not get corned beef in England ,other than in a tin.
Corned beef was never a staple diet in this country in the old old days,it was a luxury for the well to do ,a real treat,the hoi palloy were too poor to afford meat anyway,which is why there were so many poachers.
On top of that ,the butchers in this country are too ruddy idle to produce it locally,so ,if you want it here ,you have to order it in from either abroad [France or Ireland],or one or two speciallist butchers who post it out to you..
You lot over the pond are spoilt rotten being able to go into a butcher in the high street ,and buy it there and then.lol,
I did enquire as to where i could order it ,but as soon as i saw the price, .wow .make it yourself mate.
The stuff in the chalet is doing very well Mary ,and the first batch will be ready to cook up on Tuesday next week,just in time to take some down to Wiltshire for the grandson to try,he he ,the rest will be in the freezer ,and the second batch will be ready to cook and freeze by the time i get back here.
I managed to get a new dongle from Vodaphone yesterday to replace the one i lost while away in bucks ,grrrrrr.
Vodaphone were very helpful ,upgrading me free of charge to a far faster dongle and keeping the old number ,so all i had to do is plug it in when i got home,and it works fine ,all i had to pay for was the new sim card.
The whole package will now cost me an extra £3- 50 a month because i have now insured it against loss or damage[the puter is already covered.]
I will set the T Mobile mobile dongle up on the acer too ,because the reason it won't work on windows 7 is that there is a compatibility issue,windows vista is fine.
I suppose this way too ,if i am in a bad area for vodaphone ,like Carlisle ,the T mobile should be okay to use instead.
We is having the day off from all shopping today ,mr and misses claws of the Baird family are pressie wrapping ,lol ,my favourite time of year and this year we have another family member to help ,one with REAL claws he he.
Hope all you lot over the big pond [both of them] are fine and havn't too many problems weather wise,look in again later .love to everyone ,Fred,& the two bosses.