General Chat

I have spent ages trying to find everything . . . think I have it sussed out now . . :-)

Did you find the boards Tones . . all mixed in together . . .

Fred . . it was my external back up that my techy lost everything off . . :-(

He did an upgrade for me . . thought he had restored everything off the external . . . turned it all off . . re booted with external attatched . . I had it set to do a back up when turned on . . of course, he hadn't checked to see if it everything was on the puter . . hadn't put my FTM program back in . .
So . . when he turned it on . . the puter did a back up onto the external, overrid what was there in backup . . and when I discovered it . . it couldn't be retrieved . . had 3 seperate techys try to find it all . . but to no avail.

Now I have two externals . . . and no techy will ever get his greasy mits on either of them :-)

Past my bed time . . TLR off to Vegas in the morning and I am off to QLD . . WOOOOHOOOO

Nigh nite L xoxo :D :D

O'oooooo lookey...we got emicons.. :D :P ;-)


STREWTH!!!,,,,its even got a picture of me.... :S :S

Now everyone will know what i look like :D

Testing!!!!....lol

Cant find General Topics??

Cant find "My threads"!!!!

scrub that last bit.....i can find "My threads"....but where is the "Records Office" and the "Tips board " gone!!!!

:S

Morning to all [and a gentle slap on the wrist for Laurie] who should get an external hard drive ,and backup all all her files on there ,tsk tsk.lol.
Well ,the wifes big 65 o birthday went off well,she got a lot of flowers off all and sundry,and a load of cards.
I brought her a few plants for the garden too ,and a few i suprised her with ,12 new strawberry plants,her Nectarine tree,and a nice little Rosemary bush,plus six nice flower corms and roots ,which i am going to put in up the top of the front garden where the barrel used to be.
I have a pretty busy schedule today,i got the bag of cement and will now repair the front step just inside the gate ,before some poor B****r falls over it [probably me with my clumsy plates of meat] ,lol.
I brought a bag of limestone chippings too ,which i will spread over the surface where i have put the Nectarine tree ,to keep the weed seed from germinating,and then clean the greenhouse out ,most of the seedlings now out in the garden.
Nothing from Tones for a few days ,bet what you like ,he is working like a beaver getting the pennies together for the coming holiday in Phuket,lucky blighter ,lol.
Garden is nearly onto maintanance only ,with only brassica and broad bean left to put out ,plenty of sit down in a patio chair coming,yippee.
My sugar ration has been used up for the next two weeks in one fell swoop ,he he,with a laaaaaarge slice of chocolate indulgence birthday cake that the daughter brought her mum , Hmmmmm, the sugar reading dinner time could be interesting ,oooops .
The missus says the birthday meal can wait until next week ,when i can take her to a Carvery down in Blackpool,which sounds good to me too.
Looks like time for me to go for my morning coffee on the patio ,the boss [cat is sitting by the patio door staring at me ,and if i don't move shortly she will come and paw at my leg until i do,lol,, 'ere, come to think of it ,these females can be very demanding at times,he he.
Catch you all later,Fred.,of the tanned knees.

I'm back again . . . :)
I'm enjoying getting my teeth into other peoples brick walls . . . been too long.
I have been stuck re-entering my entire tree thanks to a numbskull puter techy who wiped my back-up . . taking me soo long . . still got a long way to go :(
The plus of all that is I have gone over old territory and found stuff I missed before so maybe my own brick walls will get a nudge :)

Hi Marie, Hope your feeling better today . . the coughing and spluttering takes it out of you doesn't it.

Hubby off to the States tomorrow and I'm off to QLD . . . I get the better deal . . grammy snuggles :)

Hope all are having a fantabulous day . . .

Off to get the hair done . . .

Take care, stay well and keep the grin gear working

L xo

What a lovely suprise, to click onto this page and see all the old names. Laurie it is lovely to hear from you and to read the story about your grandfather they were made of stearn st.
God bless them all for what they did for us

.Hi Fred you have been busy, I have been cut down by a virus had to go to bed for 3 days ,to-day is my first up and about very sore ribs from all the coughing and I still have a temp,. hopefully better to-morrow.have a nice time away Fred say hello to Hissy and to your wife from me.

Hi Yevette , It sounds like you have been busy as well.
Did your boys like the story that you put together of their Grandfather.?
I am sure they felt proud of him.

I must close as I am fast Fading and my bed is calling me.

Before I go I must say hello to Tony and Barbara I hope you are both well
Good old Collingwood for ever , Yeah!

Kindest Regards
Marie
Marie

Hiya everyone . . long time no see :)
Hope all are well and giving the grin gear a good nudge

Been on here helping with some research so thought I would pop in and say hello

We had a lovely time up on Bribie Island with the kids for the Easter/Anzac holiday.
We both went along to the march, and before the march fell in we met up with a guy who was on the same ship as TLR on the Vietnam tour, and had worked with me at the relay centre in Canberra, so had a lovely time with him and his wife after the march.

My Anzac project has turned into a doozie . . I decided this year to do an in depth into Gt Uncle Harold, somehow his record of service was lost, and officially only begins 22/4/1916.
But I have a hand written account of his service before then from his file, he wrote it in 1962, and I have been researching to follow the official accounts of his unit.
He was a member of the 3rd Field Ambulance, collected wounded and dead from Gallipoli and transported them to Egypt on the "Warilda", came with a ship load back to Melbourne aboard the hospital ship "Port Lincoln" then went back to Ismalia, then to France. He was discharged, permanently unfit for duty in London 26/10/1917 after being wounded in France.
He married a little nursey who was looking after him, and lied to the Army . . telling them his parents were residents of England so that he didn't have to come back :) Must have changed his mind because at the end of the war, the army brought him, his wife and child back to Oz :)

:) Wonderful to have the hand written account . . easier to make sense of than the offical record.

Weather has cooled off a lot here . . wont worry me next week . . I'm back off to QLD on Friday for some Grammy time :) and some warmer weather (fingers crossed)

Take care, stay well and happy
:) L xo

Morning all you people over the pond,and other places around there ,such as Tassie and New Zealand,wow ,what a change in our weather now ,warm during the day for the most part sunny ,and old Fred has his tan back,at last.
Been very busy in the garden this last week ,and have now got the front more or less sorted for this season.
The empty plot where the Willow was ,is now taken up with a Tulip Magnolia,and the barrels are re sited behind the shed ,and now have the tatties in .
The back sees Marys chalet ,all tomato's through,the cucumbers well away,the six pots with the herbs in all through apart from the mint,and the garden itself now has the courgettes showing ,the 6 brussel plants in ,and the 16 Runner Beans in their growing position..
All the other stuff for the garden is nearly ready to go out too ,so by next week end the chalet will be nearly empty,and i can get the peppers into their growing positions.
I found a nice ,square portable B B Q which folds up like a case for putting in the car boot for holidays ,and put it up to see how it unfolded,and noticed that the foil sided instant B B Q 's for picnics go inside a treat ,wahey ,no having to clean the barbie ,after use ,lol,just remove the foil tray and fold it up after use ,Result.
We are due off on our travels on the 9th of next month back down to Lancashire where i can try out the new camera on Southport's sights like the Victorian shop fronts ,and arcades,the lovely parks and lakes ,as well as the sea and promenade,a nice four day break lovvvverly.
Forgot to mention, i did at last get the fence out front replaced ,and have to admit ,it does look a lot better,have to pop out now ,and get another lightweight hedge trimmer for the front ,long hedge ,the big one i loaned to the daughter is far too heavy for me now ,he he ,by the time i get to the other end i feel like i have been chopping logs with a heavy axe ,this getting old is no good to me .
Hope every one is having a nice weekend,take care all ,Fred.

Hi all,

Well my fb friends have been exposed to my short holiday in Malaysia, which was wonderful- well for me anyway. OH spent the last 3 days in bed sick with an awful flu. I had considered using the insurance to stay longer because I truly didn't think he was going to manage the trip home. Dosed him up with a pile of stuff from the chemist, but would he go to the doctors- o no. The very modern medical center was just up the street and hes still on the lounge.

I got to see the sites in Melaka on my own, I actually prefer wandering about by myself but felt bad that I had to leave his lordship in his misery.
I loved your home town Mary, a wonderful mix of old and new, the people were so friendly and there was stacks to look at.

My garden is not looking too hot, still haven't pulled out the summer crops and we have a huge mulch pile from where we had a tree cut down.

My eldest will be moving into their new house in 6 weeks time and I said I would do all their gardens for them. His partner wanted rocks in all the beds, but with the baby due in August , I think they will have to be grateful with beautiful gum mulch instead - beggars cant be choosers.

I have seen my cousins in the south of England are starting to moan about the impending heat . Poor things, suppose at least there is a taste of spring this year. I would gladly live in summer all year although I cant wait to get back on the plane to the UK again and see them all.

Being ANZAC day, I did a little family history for my boys this morning and printed up their grandfather's service record + back ground history on the places he served. He fought in the Middle East,New guinea and Borneo. Was wounded in action at Milne Bay. I cant believe that as soon as he recovered he was trudged off to Morotai, then Tarakan where he was wounded again before subsequently being discharged. If the war hadn't ended he would have no doubt been shipped off somewhere else.

Amazing people remembered on this ANZAC Day 2011. Lest we forget.
Yvette

Hi tony and Fred ,

Is was a beautiful day again to-day, after a very cool night ,when I got up it was only 8 degrees in the house so I turned the heater on, it is the first time I have had to crank it up first thing in the morning.

I was going to do work in the garden to-day but my daughter Barbara talked me into going to the Garden outlet's as she was working on the gardens at the preschool that took most of the day .

I am hoping for another lovely day tomorrow as I have cauliflowers to plant and lots of weeds to pull., but only after I watch the Anzac Parade, I never miss it.
Like you Tony I think their courage valor and Deaths for our freedom should never be forgotten and I think it is wonderful that many of the crowds have increased with younger people also showing their appreciation .
.
Kindest regards,
Marie

G'day to everyone...:>))

Just popping in to wish all a happy easter weekend.

A family affair ( picnic ) with kids and grandies for us at a local park on sunday.
I'm not a chocoholic myself, but if i'm lucky might a small "Lindt" choc egg off the easter bunny....lol

Still getting reasonable weather in Melbourne,and sundays predicted 22c and Monday 24c ( not bad for late Autumn!!! )should bring people outdoors.

Garden is now bare of summer Veg........ but might add some Broccoli and brown onions, and perhaps some climbing peas and beans, that seem to thrive down south.

ANZAC day on monday 26th and will spare a moment to remember my father and family members who fought in both world wars, along with our New Zealand neighbours, which has allowed me to live and prosper in this great country i call home.
Through them... their decendants live on.
God bless them all.


Av a good un.


Tony......:>))

Hi Fred Thank you for the tip on the climing beans, we cant have too much nitrogen,. by the time I dig then out the top part of the beans should be fairly broken down, so I will try to bury it all.

We are having a beautiful day to-day . yesterday was a miserable day with a cold cutting wind.
I am going out to do some planting and repotting, then hopefully some weeding.
Fred, these people are very sick piromaniac's but some times just idiot's' just like the Graffitie ---** B---dy ***Artist it's just Sh--, as far as I'm concerned. I think if they are caught they should be made bury all the poor animals and then replant all the trees and they should have a guard with a rifle making sure they do it right.
It is just like our bushfires some are caused by lightning strike but there are many started by (((((so called humans))))) and rarely are the apprehended.
Time is flying I must close.
Kindest regards,
Marie

Marie ,leave the bean haulms where they are to rot,the nodules in the roots are pure nitrogen ,one of the most important plant foods there is ,if you must dig where they were ,just dig the roots back in.
My garden is about up to date now ,and i can take things easier,with just the long border along the privet hedge to weed ,so i'm having a lazy day today.
I have the first of the fence erection firms coming this morning to give an estimate,4 coming in all ,each of them being told just what i want ,and expect ,the cheapest quote getting the job,and if they are all too expensive ,then i will get on with it myself..
Who is a right prat he he who left the old brain at home when he went shopping for the vine urn yesterday? who came back home without the bag of pea gravel he needed for the drainage in the bottom of the urn ,doh,? and who has now to go out again this afternoon to get it? silly old bu****r,he he.
I saw on T V last night that some low life has set fire in the Welsh national park ,and they are well out of control ,when ,and if they catch that person ,they should throw ,he ,or she into the middle ,and let them burn to death ,the same way the wild life does,what a load of scum there are in the world.
This is made worse by it being the driest spring in 20 years,with all the grass ,trees ,and gorse being tinder dry.
Well if i loose myself in the garden under the parasol in our lovely spring sunshine ,have a goodun ,every one ,catch you all later, Fred.
Havn't seen our urban fox for a week or two ,maybe she is in the den with cubs .usually you can see her going for an amble at around 2 a m.

Hi Fred,
Lovely to hear from you and all about your garden.
Well we have had two frosts since you last popped in so we have picked our crop of Pumpkins, they look good.

I will be pulling the climbing beans out soon, I want to give that garden a good dig and add lots of compost before I put anythig in, the tomatoes are still fruiting and my bush beans are still looking good I put some late ones in not sure if they will flower and fruit.
Because I have been laid up with my knee the weeds have got a bit out of hand, so today I spent some time cleaning up some of the weeds
.
It was a beautiful warm day to-day but it is very cool now and I had to turn the heating on,we had some rain through the night.
I gave my neighbour one of my Queensland Blue Pumpkins,he then gave me one of his Strudles that he makes I had some for dessert it was lovely.

MY other neighbour told me he has lost some of his fowls and a duck to Foxes he will have to modify his run to keep them out there is always some around but all the rain and growth around makes good places for them to make dens. We dont have fowls we leave that up to my other Daughter Barbara her and the grandaughters love chickens , they are giving her 2 eggs a day she only has four hens, they have only starting to lay as she got them as chickens.

Tell Sally she would be very welcome we would love to have her on board.

It is late ,10.15 Pm Eastern Standard Time ( off to bed for this old chook )

Cheerio Marie

Morning all you lucky people ,enough water for a while at least,for most of you over there ,yes ,even in our green country ,water tanks ,or butts are a must for the garden in the summer.
There is a heat haze outside this morning ,and while it is plurrry cold out at the minute ,it is going to be a good 'un today and i have my sun cream on my arms and legs already.
sorry to have been missing for a few days ,but there was so much to do to get the garden back to normal,that time has flown by ,still nearly there now ,with only two borders and the hedges to do now ,and i can slow down and relax.
I need to as i have done the usual ,gone at it like the proverbial bull at a gate,resulting in one very sore Fred , back and legs saying they have had enough for a couple of days.
I have reorganized my tattie barrels now ,and both are behind the shed leaving a nice space up the top of the garden where i have already put in two bushes that should bloom nicelly by next year,giving a bit of colour among the hedging in that corner.
I decided on a Nectarine tree for the last open patch on the patio ,and ordered it online a few days ago.
Got a hell of a shock when i went to B & Q yesterday for the big urn though ,up in price from £ 4-50 ,to £20 odd talk about rip off Britain, excuse.? the price of oil.hah too soon for the price to come though into the production chain,these pots on sale being produced last year,
Seeing as the daughter has asked to borrow my hedge trimmer ,i will call at Wilkinsons up Cramlington ,on the way ,and buy an urn there ,b&Q can go and get stuffed,lol.
Every thing in the greenhouse is doing fine exepting the tomatoes,but there you go ,something always has a bad year ,and if i have to ,i will buy some plants ,other than the sugar plum which i will have to keep trying with or lose the strain which i could not replace.
My fir hedging i nearly killed last year ,using the wrong fertiliser ,oooops , just found out in time ,and with plenty of watering ,and the right additive ,i can just see traces of green tips among the brown,which is a relief ,these bushes would take some digging out and replacing,which just goes to show ,lol,fifty years a gardener ,and i am still dropping clangers ,he he.
I am trying to get a newbie to join the thread Sally by name ,knowing you will make her welcome,and pre warning her about Tones ,who will make her Jealous when he mentions his holiday venue [ i know he does me ] ,lol,and seeing as she is doing research on her family [so i understand ] she could do a lot worse than speak to Tony ,and Mary who have mines of info on the subject,.Well that's me for now ,the sun is breaking through the haze ,and i must get my seedlings and young plants watered before they heat up .
Catch you late troops,Fred [the sore one ,lol.

Hi Tony,
Nice to hear from you, we had our first frost yesterday,I havent made it down to the Paddock to see how the pumpkins are,it didn't touch the tomatoes, it was only light.I have had to put the heating on & add an extra blanket to the bed.

The arrangment for the Hayward Reunion are going along nicely, I have found more reasonable accommodation for myself and family $95 a night for a Queen room or $125 for a Queen + single.
I have to Fly to Mackay so the cost will be a little above my budget.

It is good news about the Dam, water is so precious.
I hope Castlemain catchment has also received some of the downpours.
Do you have any tanks? we have one very large one and two smaller ones, they are for our gardens.
I have agreed to do a class for the U 3 A. it will be teaching a group of ten people how to sing, but ,To sing for pleasure.I am looking forward to it, I hope I get a nice group.

Congratulations on the coming birth, how many will that be Grandad .

My youngest son Ryan his wife Tracie and son Jaimen aged 2 will be moving into a new home next week . They sold their beautiful home which they built,and bought a smaller house so that Tracie could stay at home with their Son, as he was a little miracle they had tried for a long time to have a baby even had IVF, but it didn't work ,however about 3 months after all the injections plus,Tracie fell pregnant , a lot of Joy for us all. He is a big boy and a lovely child he is grandma's big boy.

I hope you and Barbara are well , its time for a hot cuppa & off to bed.

Oops almost forgot , Hello Fred I hope all is well with you and everything in your garden is blooming, have you worn that Camera out yet LOL
How is Hissy still smooching up to you heh heh

Kindest regards,

Marie

Good evening/morning....:>))

Hi Marie.
Yes, very happy with my AFL football team ( Collingwood ) at the moment. Last years Grand final Premiership Cup. This years NAB night Grand final Premership Cup....and hoping to go back to back for the Football season 2011....and very happy chappy.....so far....lol

Some good news from daughter number 3.....who is going to make me a grandad again for the 5th time......... later on this year in Nov......... So my year has started well.....:>))

Autumn is well and truly upon us, and now looking at the 30 metre Pin Oaks on our front nature strips with red, brown, and yellow leaves.....that seemed only green not long ago. A mulitude of White Cockatoo that have come down from the semi rural area's turn up every afternoon at 3:00pm sharp to feed on the acorns...... and the Screeeeeeetching noise is deafning. Counted about 80 of them in our tree a few days ago. The cat runs and hides under the decking table,as they are to big and wild for even him to take on......lol

He thinks he is better suited to the odd mouse or pigeon......lol

The last of my summer veg are being picked now, as the weather has still been quite humid, even fo this time of the year. This morning we awoke to a downpour with water flowing over our roof guttering, and the tele told us more flash flooding over night which closed down several railway lines and stations.. ( Peak hour rush ) and folk being trapped in their cars in certain areas. The SES stretched to their limits with calls for help. They tell us, we ( Melbourne ) recived 50mm of rain over night......and it was an equivlent to a months worth for Melb.
The good news is that Melbourne's water catchment is at 51%....and rising slowly. Much better than the 33% we have had over the last years.


G'day to Fred, and hope you are well .


Cheers. Tony...:>))

Hi Marie,what sort of Spinach are you growing ,ordinary or the perpetual sort,i am growing the latter because you can pick a few leaves off each plant ,aqnd they keep on growing through the winter until the spring ,winter time veggies when they are normally scarce
My garden isn't up to much yet,what with the very severe winter we have had,but it is starting to look better.
At least 6 of the nine Asparagus plants have survived .and there is still time for the other 3 to come through,if not ,i will get replacements sown.A S A P,because i love the stuff ,as soup or fresh ,steamed on the plate.
Greenhouse is looking good ,and the seedlings are all showing ,and i brought the cabbage seeds this morning ,so i must get them set away this week ,the only cabbage to find yet is the late winter variety but there is plenty of time for those yet ,june for planting those.
MyNew Olympus camera is great now that i have configured it via the laptop , and all i need for it now ,is a spare Lithium battery,for holidays where i might go through two batteries within a week,but the camera is great ,chargeable via the computer ,or the mains.
I have done away with the Vodaphone dongle which was terrible ,and a waste of space ,cancelled the old T Mobile dongle which had expired ,and took out a new one ,with the android phone instead of the laptop [which is now mine] and taken out i hour each a month of phone calls to Canada ,America ,and Australasia,New Zealand,and all for £30 a month which is no more that the old computer and dongle one ,so i am well pleased with that.
The weather is back to normal for the time of year ,so i am pleased i left a load of sowing in the greenhouse to get on with the garden proper,which means i still have plenty to do out there even while it's raining ,lol.
I have emptied the tattie barrel up the top end of the garden,and will be moving it down next to the other one next to tjhe shed and concrete hardstand which makes more sense than having to traips all up the lawn in wet weather.
Only thing is ,i now have a garden with nothing in where the willow tree died in the winter,and now another where the barrel was ,two dwarf trees or what ever needed ,suggestions please he he.
Hope every one is getting a better nights sleep now that the heat of summer has gone,and that your weather is calming down a lot.
Things to do,catch you later ,all,Fred.

Hi toTony and Fred,
you must be very Happy Tony Collingwood has got off to a good start I hope they can keep it up.
The Swans are doing alright beat the Western Bulldogs( Only by1 point.) a bit close I didn't get to see the game.Our local AFL kicks off soon.

Our weather here is becoming cold especially to-night but I am hanging off turning the heating on.
Fred your garden must be looking good by now, we planted some Spinach yesterday as it was raining so it should be up in no time at all. I still havent picked the Pumpkin's I am waiting for the first frost which I think will be this week as they are predicting snow storms for parts of the Southern Alps.
I will say goodnight to Tones and to you Fred have a nice Day.

Marie from over the Pond

Hi Badger and Tones,
This is one very tired Gal been on the puter most of the day I even forgot to have lunch. Why you say! the Hayward Rreunion sending messages, instructions, Motels lists. etc.
Thee Invitations are made only have to write in them then address them and off they go, and they look very nice, my daughter had done a very good Job, she is the artistic one
I am pleased to hear that your holiday was good Fred even though the weather was rough . I am pleased to be able to say that my Knee is improving but I am unable to stay standing on it for very long other wise it starts to throb.
To you Fred also Tony I will say good night as I am dead tired .
Kindest regards
Marie