General Chat

Good morning all ,from one near winter country to another,lol, last week i was taking breakfast outside on the patio ,sunning my white nobbly knees[ not a nice sight] ,and this week we are back to rain ,sitting indoors with the heating back on .
For something to do this a m i was looking at the construction of the Tyne and Sydney Harbour Bridges and was amazed at how two architects from different sides of the earth could design two bridges that looked identical,but one being far longer than the other.
I was also amazed to find out that both bridges were built by the same firm.Dorman Long of Middlesbrough.
I always thought that the Sydney harbour bridge was a copy of the tyne bridge too ,wrong again he he your bridge was started a full year before ours ,but your ,bridge being nearly ten times the size of the Tyne Bridge took three years longer to complete,so ,i suppose its easy to see where the mistake comes in that you nicked our design lol.
Having seen a close up photo of the bridge on the net this morning ,cor ,it must be some sight to behold ,stuff your opera house he he ,i know which looks far better to me.
I would still love an extended visit to your fair land,but it needs a lottery win for sure now,cause Liz could only make the trip in a few thousand mile stages ,a little expensive for a pair of decrepit old pensioners he he.
I did manage to get into the greenhouse to pot on some veggies yesterday,some kale ,and some herbs,but i will go back in there this afternoon and do my midsummer cabbage.
Found some nice seeds via the net last week too ,and they have arrived today,some Holland late cabbage [a huge white type ,great for stir frys and Coleslaw] so i will put some seed in next week ,i also got a free three packet of herbs for ordering in the first place ,which pleased the missus ,she takes charge of all the herbs ,being far better at growing them than me .
It's my clumsy great fingers i reckon ,herbs seem to require a delicate touch ,def' not my style he he.
As of now ,for a few weeks anyway ,all that is showing in the veggie patch is the windmills i use to keep the birds away from the seedlings ,not that i need them yet ,it's just that i need the space in the chalet ,and it is getting a little crowded in there ,more so ,as when i go in there ,hissy comes as well ,i think she likes to be with me ,or she likes to supervise ,a sort of minnie Liz ,you know lads ,a woman thing [ducks to avoid the slipper] ,lol.
Gonna have to do a shoot,company has arrived [good god ] someone knows where we live.
Catch you later Fred...

hello to all wattlers out there,it has been ages since I posted on here.
Only got back from Perth last night,had a busy time and very tiring but great,was unable to meet with Merle as way to far to go.we were only around perth and surounds
Had a great time watching the BMX Nationals,at the start of their trip my Granddaughter had an accident while playing and ripped open her foot and crushed her little toe she spent 48hours in hospital and had surgery.but like a trouper she is she went on to race later in the week with a well padded special shoe she became 8year 3 Australia champion.
her brother got to semis in both classes and qualified for the "worlds" in Adelaide in July.so am one proud Nana.
The other part of the trip was to meet people contected to my Mothers tree
and was very interesting.
The weather in the west was great nice and warm so missed the cold snap you had here.
sounds like everyone has been busy with this and that.

time to catch up with the post.
Bye for now Cheers Sandra in the Gong.

Just me popping in again to see how everyone is getting on . . hope the cooler weather isn't making life miserable for anyone.

Had a lovely weekend with the honeymooners, just getting organised for this weekends trip up to hand over the new camper van to the younger son . . picked it up yesterday, and have started filling it up already - can't let the opportunity to get some things back up home . . :)

We haven't booked yet but will probably spend the weekend at South West Rocks.

Yes Alison . . I know Gloucester, used to go there to play hockey from Forster/Tuncurry one or two years ago . . teehee

Glad things are going better for you Merle my lovely . . . keep the chin up. Now we know your FH . . it all makes sense . . teeheee

Best go get washing in . . had a bruken machine till this morning - so had a few loads to do. There is no recession in the little fix-it mans household to be sure.

Stay well, and keep the grin gear working

:) luv Laurie xo

Hello all Wattles,WOW what a lot of news I have had to catch up on.
Mary No snow here yet brr, but a couple of weekends ago it felt like it, the last 3 days have been beautiful true autumn weather, I love this time of year.
I Have been looking after my Granddaughter she has been very ill,(she lives with me ) until the house she has bought is signed over to her, they thought she had Meningitis,they did lumber punctures on her and stuffed them up she has been in a great deal of pain with her back and has had severe headaches, I took her back to her doctor and he rang the anaesthetist we were sent to him and he booked Sarah into hospital ,he told her she has the headaches from the botched job they did on her ,the fluid from her spine is leaking out .
Early this morning he gave her a epidural then took blood from her this was then injected into her spine, she is now home with me and already the headache is getting better.
Dr.W.told us that if it hadn't been fixed it would have taken
9 weeks to heal. Thank goodness it has been sorted out.
The last 4 weeks have been a nightmare I sure hope the next few months are a little less hectic.
Printheth L'oz I hope you have a lovely holiday
Welcome to all our new Wattlers they are a mad bunch at times but Good pals.
Hi Tony, so pleased to hear of your success. I hope to get to Maryborough some time in Winter still trying to find that John O'Brien,you know he probably changed his name he certianly didnt want to be found.
Well folks I have much to do I am going to poison all those weeds that have grown in the last few weeks , I just havent had the time to do much gardening . Hugs to you all Marie from Bathurst.

Morning all you lovely people ,nice to have a bit of a sit down ,after a frenetic three days in the garden and greenhouse ,so busy that i have had to give up with a crook back he he [that will teach me] that i am no longer a spring chicken.
Having a laid back day ,with nothing to do but weedkiller the next doors garden where her son is going to put the new lawn,don't want the lad to do himself a mischief with chemicals.
He has done a fantastic job of her new patio though ,it's just that he has no green fingers he he.
When we moved here four years ago Pearl from a house hard to the inner city interlink road to this lovely quiet backwater we couldn't sleep for a few weeks because it is so quiet,but ,you will soon adjust,and it has it's compensations .
Glad to hear that you have had some luck with family history Mary,i seem to be stuck in a rut at the minute with my lot,sigh,but you can't have it all ways.
Hope all are having a great holiday ,Fred.

Hi lovely peeps, many thanks for the encouragement. I don't mind the move so much now. Getting used to the idea.Went up on Wednesday and had a look at one of the units they are hoping to put me into. They are lovely .22units but the place is like a morgue. Cant hear anything and after 31years next to a primary achool and all our traffic it will be a bit of a culture shock but I can always escape and go down time town or summat.Just have to wait till someone moves out!! before I can move in so could be here for a while yet.I'm putting my bulbs in tubs just in case.
The knee is slowly mending. Even did a bit of gardening today without falling headfirst into the bleedin garden.
Had to take my wedding ring off the other night coz my fingers were swollen now can't get it back on and the jeweller says its too thin to work on so will have to look for a substitute for the time being. Hi Ian my friend might see you later in the year. Havent used my free bus tickets yet.
Have had a bit of luck with FH of late and have been trying valiantly to keep up with it. The puter still turns itself off whenever it feels like it and causes a great deal of exasperation. Hey Ser Tones I found another convict.That makes two convicts for oz, a cattle duffer, two piratesand a ticket of leaver. Howzat!!!No wonder we're like we are. Trouble with a capital T.Anyway, that s enough for now. Be good Luv Me

Hi Alison, Yes, I know Gloucester. I have never seen a town with so many shops selling heating appliances. Says heaps about your winter!
But it is beautiful countryside around there. Before they did the Buladelah mountain bypass, used to use the buckett's way all the time.

Cheers, June (in Batemans Bay)

Hi everyone..

Just had a bit of luck with my Scottish side of my family..Scotlandspeople now have records up to the present or nearly,,which is so good as it only went to 1905 when I last looked,,I managed to find some deaths that I have been searching for so it was a good 6pounds worth..solved a few mysteries..

Having a lazy day today doing some FH and as it is my grandsons birthday, and they will be round soon for dinner..I had better move..

Merle It was great chatting..Anytime you see me on messenger contact me..love and chat...dont overdo the sorting..and watch that knee..big hugs.xxx

Slinky...Did ya bust the site trying to post,hee heehee heeh ee,,,they sure didnt like you posting..what did ya do to them,,huh..???try again...great to see ya back..

Love to all and hope you are all well..

Love Mary xxx

Thankyou everyone for the warm welcomes. I think I may take up that offer of help soon. Not just yet as it's not a good time but maybe in a couple of weeks.

Mary in Sydney - yes it's Gloucester in NSW. Anyone know it?

Alison xx

Howdy doody . . long time no see

Great to hear from you Slinky Honey . . teehee . .
Wow !! It would be wonderful to see you again.
You dont know what a monster you started . . :)

Welcome Alison . . .

Dont be afraid to ask for help here, we have all helped one another along with our research . . . as Mare said . . Tones is a little ripper on the research.

I am in Sydney, (when not living out of a suitcase . .) but it will never be home - that's in Qld.
Bit chilly here, and I dont do cold weather very well.

Only little over 4 weeks till we go on holidays to Vietnam, as long as Piggy virus doesn't alter our plans.
However, till then we will be on the go a fair bit. The Honeymoon Printheth and Tez will be here on Saturday for a couple of days after the honeymoon in Darwin . . then the following weekend we're meeting up with youngest son for the weekend in Coffs. We have to be in Brisvegas on 20th, so will probably go a few days before to check on the house, and stay the weekend after to spend some time with the kids . . . I am sure I have missed something there seems to be a couple of days to spare . . teeheee

Great going with the gardening Fred . . nothing like homegrown
I have a HP littler ripper too . . cause Tones said they were the best (his brother works for them teehee) Got myself a nice supply of ink at a big sale a few weeks ago - massive office supply was closeing down.

Where is yah Merle . . hope all is well and that your not worrying too much about moving . . . new beginings . . and the memories will go with you lovely lady.

Best go do something to warm up . . thick vege soup filling the house with a lovely smell and making me feel a tad hungry - might have to do a taste test I think

Keep on Grinning . . . :)

luv Laurie xo

Mornin....:>))

Been head down and bum up deep in Family History lately.

Finding a few branches of the tree that i set out to find 37 years ago, and last week after all that time made contact ( through Ancestry.com ) with a great grand daughter of my grandads brother.
May sound trivial to some....lol.....but in all the years i have been researching, i have never had one single contact from anyone, that is/was decendant off my grandad siblings on my fathers side.........and last week purely by accident, "Bingo"......i found one with her tree on Ancestry U.K.
When my grandad sailed to India from the U.K...1900.........and then immigrated to Ozzie....in1915.......... he never bought one single photo of his parents or 9 siblings he left behind in the U.K to Aus. with him ( Typical bloke thing...lol )......so my dad b.1919 and his two siblings never saw whom there cousins or Aunts/Uncles were on there parents side from the U.K .
On the other hand, my grandmother bought many Photos of her family from India, so at least we got to see this side of the Family tree.

This contact is the great grandaughter of my grandads elder brother, who i had followed through the U.K census from Earls Colne 1881...then to Coggeshall 1891 .........and then into Colchester, Essex 1901 census......with wife and eventually 8 children. Some of his other siblings never married, or died, or moved away O/seas...but this one brother stayed in Essex......and i traced him through the U.K Kelly's directories to 1921 ( Beer Retailer ).........but it was 100-1 shot that someone ( a Decendant ) might be doing the Family Tree.

Only Photo we ever had was the one of my grandad, and he died in 1947 aged 72 leaving behind 3 children..............and now at 2009 many grandkids, heaps of Great grandkids and numerous G,G,Grandkids all over Oz

As he died two years before i was born, i never knew him, and my dad and his siblings new nothing about his family back in the U.K or at least my own father never mentioned them. When he himself died in 1961 i was 12............... and not interested in Family History ,so never asked questions, as in those days the saying was ( "Kids should be seen but not heard".....lol ) ....some may remember that saying......:>)))

My new found 2nd cuz x1R.......mother is my 2nd cuz, and had a photo of her grandfather and grandmother ...which naturally is my grandads brother and sister in law.....and sent it to me via email "Attach"........i was U'mmmmmm ...Strewth!!!........( or in me best English lingo ) "Gobsmacked"..........lol

Now after 37 years of research....and a thousand plus Ancestors i can put the faces to two more people in my tree that were only ever a Census and a BDM..............for so many years.......although i must say.....my grand uncle is not as good looking as me......:>))))). They never smiled much back in those days, and looked like the grim reaper......but i s'pose if you had 9 kids upwards, there wasnt to much to smile about.

G'day to Slinky "Honeyrum"....nice to see you drop in mate.xx
Hope you can get over to Oz again, and come to one of these Ozzie meets ( which you started in 2004-5 ) and has now grown into massive proportians of laughter, B.B.Q, and much beer and wine drinking parties....hee hee
If all goes well and we dont overspend this year, Barb and i will be over there in June 2010..........This will be our 3rd trip now. Might as well buy a house over there, it would be cheaper in the long run!!

G'day...... and welcome AlisoninOz.
Everyone that post on this thread is an automatic Wattler.....Only qualifications you need....... are to be slighly mad or insane.....or both..... I'm both.......:>))

G'day to Fred....Hope you and Liz are both well.
Barb has entered a holiday competition here in Oz.....that takes us to the North - East of England.......and when they tell her she has won it .....( which should be next week or so )........Newcastle will be a must, as my SIL family are from Northumberland, and also some of my lot from Durham.

June. Sorry......but i never heard anything about an accident outside St.Vincents.

Hope everyone else is well...and giving the grin gear a good working out.


Best wishes to all who are not 100%


Tony........in a cold and chilly Melbin Vic......:>)))

Hi Alison Welcome to the OZ and sods thread...hee he hee..sorry Fred...lol
Where abouts in OZ do you live..or is it Gloucester..NSW..We are a mad mob but all good friends..It stuck on anything just holla as there will be someone who can help I am sure,,We have the best researcher in OZ on the thread,,Tony,, and I volunteer him often to others,,he hasn't caught up with me yet to bash me for it..hee hee hee..but we love him..and I am lucky he lives in Melbourne..and cant reach to far...lol..

Marie Has it snowed in Bathurst yet...bet it is getting a bit cold..

June CC Sorry to hear about your BIL..bet he is devastated...and your brother must have 9 lives..or perhaps 8 left..hope he is recovering ok...

Slinky Ann, Lovely to hear from you .. Have you slunk down to a shadow of your former self,,hence the new name...lol..Will be lovely to see you again next year if you come out ..time you had another trip...

Fred.. Glad the garden is started,, Soon you will be skiting about all those lovely fresh veges..Tell Liz I said she can sit on the puta as long as she likes...hee hee.. she my friend...lol

Well I must away as I have a Resident meeting to go to and see if they want to re-elect me again for the next 12 months..all good fun..Be good and hope all are well..especially our Pearl Of the Orient..Merle..xxxx

Love Mary xxxxx

Welcome Alison and welcome back Slinky Honeyrum

Yes Slinky we are still active and would love to see you when you get here next year so keep us posted as you know we are always keen for a yakest meet.

Alison, I'm from Adelaide but now live in Canberra via Alice Springs. Left SA in 1978 and lived in Alice until early 1993 when husband and 2 kids now 26 (daughter) and 22 (son) moved to Canberra. I've been researching since 2004 when I joined GR and last year hubby and I did "Our Other Anzac Day tour" to Villers-Brettoneux then spent 3 weeks touring UK to see where some of my forebears lived before they migrated to South Australia.

Very cold in Cranberry today - done 3 loads of washing - first load got another rinse but looks like the sun might be out for a while now so that will help, although the dryer will finish them off.

Time to get some groceries, so I'd better make a move. Catch up later

Gwenda xx

Hi All,

I'm 43, married, one 12 yr old daughter, three stepkids (all adults), 3 grandkids. Live in Gloucester. Been on GR for just over 6 months to find more info on my husbands family, found heaps but not the line I was looking for. I'm sure I'll be in touch again,

Alison

Hi all Wattlers... seems to have been such a long time since "Honeyrum" posted on here.... but here i am with a new name folks....i have rejoined GR for a little while to do some family research but my first stop nearly is your thread... I am so pleased to see the group still active and I wish you all luck and love to all my old friends on here. I am in the throws of saving to come over next year sometime but will keep you updated nearer the time... tc and speak soon xx...Anne xx

Welcome Alison, were a mad bunch but all welcome......

well we have had a bit more rain, not checked the rain gauge today...

middle grandie had her tonsils out today, a couple of hours later she was sitting up in bed eating jelly.....

Tone (or anyone else in Melb) was there a news itme about a person being knocked down outside St Vincent hosp? (sometime late last week) The driver was my brother in law and he was fairly shaken as the person jumped in front of the car.... actually not a good week for our family, my brother was knocked off his bike, travelling at 30 kph, by a labrador, if he was not wearing a helmet he would have been killed as his head hit the ground with such force his helmet was shattered...

have had contact from a "new" second couple, so its abit exciting...

good night all sleep well

love June xo

Welcome to our new member ,about time we had some new blood ain't it.
Hiya Mary ,i chose the hewlet packard all in one printer because it has an on line facility for help,a company base which stores and backs up all your pictures,and has the on line shop where you can buy inks ,paper,and all the other sundries without having to leave the house,handy for my old bones he he,easily worth the fifteen minutes of installing time,and when all said and done ,you gets what you pays for.
At the minute the missus is in the pilots seat ,lol,on the xp tower ,and she is having fun putting in her own version of yahoo messenger and whatever,looks like i have lost my mainframe ,huh,taken over by a rookie .
I may have to put a lock on my big lappy to keep it out of her hands ,she has already snaffled two of the puters in the house waaaaah ,lol ,should i put a lock on the vista tower too Mary old chum,?i reckon she should be content with two on the go
I never got my fifty bedding plants in yesterday because we got company and it would have been bad manners to leave them and go into the garden,but no matter,when the rain clears ,i have plenty of time on hand.
Talking about the weather,i hear that Victoria has seemingly gone straight to late fall with snow already in the ski resorts,hope this isn't a sign of a bad winter for you all.
I had a bad night three days ago ,and the following afternoon i kept dozing off on tjhis puter,and later in the afternoon i laid down on the settee and had forty winks ,lol, unbeknown to me ,Liz got the camera out and took some piccies of me with Hissy curled up on my hip ,and others of her watching me snore he he ,i must get them onto the puter but one of them i will be NOT showing because it shows my baldy bonce.
The greenhouse id coming on well ,all my brassica seedsare through ,and it will soon be time to thin them out into the cups to grow on for three weeks before going out into the garden.
I have reserved six buckets for asparagus ,three of which are already planted and growing well,so i will have to get three more when in the town next,six of the buckets will do,only Liz and i like it ,but it makes a lovely soup,and a few actual dishes that we both love,and of course ,we have an old bed over near the gate that i put in the year we moved in,which is still pushing up spears,which i nick while the boss isn't looking [they are ace when raw].
Are you out there under threat with the new porcine flu?,it looks as though it,s coming this way ,if it makes it to the smoke ,i hope Brown gets it ,he is the biggest swine in the country,and the home secretary coming a close second after stopping that ghurka coming into the country.
The sactimonius git gave the press a load of drivel a few hours down the line saying he had had second thoughts ,hogwash,the Government sight was innundated with emails DEMANDING he ,and the others be let in forthwith,and i reckon brown and his cronies got one heck of a fright.
I am pleased it happened though because now ,the general public here have realised what the ozzies have known for years the general public here HAVE got a voice and are waking up to the fact.
Our Government are running scared ,with an election looming next year they will have to watch what they do,and say.
Have to go now,looks like it's MY turn for the elevensies yet again grrrrrr,lol
Catch you all later,Fred.

Marie, Hi Alison, Welcome ,to the wattlers and no you dont have to ask to join.If you have read some of our posts you will have noticed we are a friendly bunch and love to chat. Call in any time and tell us something about yourself.
I live in Bathurst I have 6 children and have 11 grand children .I will be70yrs on the11 May I am very active and lead a very busy life My hobbies are Gardening,piano singing and Family History.I also love travelling and do as much as my budget will allow. Looking forward to seeing your posts Alison
Kindest regards Marie from Bathurst.

So, does being in Oz mean I can be an automatic member of the Wattle Club or do I have to ask to join?

Alison

Hi everyone. We have a lovely mild day today..

June CG What a butter you cant go with Ann.. Never mind your planned trip sounds fantastic..so keep saving..Hope they come good about the house,,Make out the cheques a little bigger..hee hee hee...Fantastic about the rain..

Marie.. So sorry you missed the meet,, It was a really good one and we all had a great time.. Start saving for the next one..Don'T know for sure where it is going to be yet..No definite place picked but a few names banded around...

Fred.. What a lot of trouble for the printer.. My darling daughter in law just got mine so that I only have to unplug the printer from a port in the desktop and plug it into my lappy and I can use it on either putas..no probs..didn't have to register the printer on the lappy ,,,it just plugs into the port and away I go..so I can print from either puta whenever I want. Try it...hee hee hee..

Lew Enjoy your time away...

Belated Birthday Greeting for the 24th June CG.. Hope it was a lovely day and you got lots of presssies..

Had a lovely weekend with daughter Terry from Canberra as her hubby had to come up to Sydney to march in the parade for Anzac Day.. We saw him on the TV and got a pic of him marching..It was lovely to have time with her as it doesn't happen often..We had a nice time shopping and I always buy better when she is around as she talks me into things I would hum and har about otherwise..lol..she is a good tonic..

Well its back to some of the dreaded today so better get my A into G and do something..

Love to all Mary xxx