General Chat

Hi all, Mary do hope good news for you and John.
Have finally had my op and am now stuffed in a lounge chair with said leg on the other chair laden with pillows.not the best news in the world I,m afraid . One graft has taken 100% but the other is about 20% and looks disgusting. The staph infection is still there. Would you believe the infection control nurse went on six weeks hols and noone took her place!
Did she send out an edict forbidding anyone to get any infections in her absense I wonder.
Badger,who,s been a lazy boy not making his own rissoles.so easy to change the flavour by mixing the meats as well as the herbs.
make a ratatoille to go with them. yum. Hi ser tones love to you and her.
Was able to watch the local fireworks on Australia day from my front porch. Howzat. Noeline and I had the chairs outside for an hour. She's on the run a bit looking after me. Dog and self get our own brekky and
noeline brings lunch up then tea if noone from church has arrived with a meal.Dont know what I'd do without her.
Shevaun has gone happily back to bible college and her cat blames Noeline for that and won't talk to her.
ah me. Can I have theinfo for that other website please. Don't like face book much. All that info went too of course.
A big hi and a hug to everyone and catchya later. Luv Me











b

Morning to all,cor Tony ,home made rissoles ,yum ,you have now given me an idea for tea on Friday ,years since i had them .
I agree with you as well regarding the tools ,nibblers being used by me for the same sort of jobs on site ,sheeting on roofs and cutting on alli' for large area glazing,the dremel being more of a do it yourself tool ,handy for cutting in awkward corners like chopping nuts off bolts that have rusted in.
Weather wisw ,we had a good day yesterday and the day before,mild though very windy ,and i have managed over two days to clear out May's chalet of all the old compost ,and roots ,the old compost being recycled into the buckets ready for digging in,the roots into the garden recycle waiting for the bin men to collect.
I noticed a few smallish beetroot that still look useable ,so i will lift them today and see if they cook up okay,if so they will go on a plate as a hot veggie ,so nice and sweet i don't see why people don't use more of them this way instead of smothering them with vinegar [yuk].
Off for a visit to B&Q now to use my Wednesday pensioners pass [10% off all prices today] where i will pick out a medium bomb [fumigator] for the greenhouse to kill all the bugs.and five compost bags for filling the pots for this years tomato's ,cucumbers and peppers.
Have a nice day where ever you are ,Fred

thank you tony, exactly the information I needed. Miles(youngest ) has been hounding me for a dremel for ages, but looks like he'll have to get his own.

I'm getting a nibbler

Your bbq sounds very nice, the sweets even nicer

off to think about dinner, which might include a beer .

Arvo.....:>))

Happy Aussie day.

Having a BBQ ( as ya do ) being that its a public holiday.
Laaaamb chops, home made Rissoles, Snags, Beef & Chicken skewers.

Tossed salads straight from the Vege patch, and just in the nick of time for me to make up the coleslaw.
Potato and Pasta salads.....a fridge full of VB and a few bottles of Bubbley for the fairer sex.

Daughters will bring the sweets, Pavlova, Chocolate Mud Cake, and Barb has made up some Lamingtons and Jellies for the grandkids ( Green & Gold ) to simbolise the Aussie colours.

Have a great day, however you spend it.


Yvette. There are various types of Nibblers for sheet metal.
Industrial........ and Hobby.
I used a few different types when i was in the corrugated roofing game, and also when i worked for Garage door manufactures. ( Renlita )
The Nibblers we used were to cut and shape Corrugated sheet roofing, and they glide through metal sheeting like using scissors on paper.

You can pick up a reasonable Nibbler for around $60 upwards at Bunnings that attaches to a drill. Dremels are not so hot on cutting curves or circles on metal, but very useful for other jobs..........with attachable bits for drilling, grinding, sharpening, cutting, cleaning, polishing, sanding, routing, carving and engraving.


Av a good un.

Off to watch the Cricket on Tele...lol



Tony....:>))

Hi there, making the most of the public holiday and sitting about.

I was going to enrol in a TAFE course this year for Art, however, I know what I want to do, and now have been looking for the hand tools to do it(corrugated iron craft) might mean a trip to Bunnings, now that's a good way to spend the afternoon.

Fred and Tony, do you know anything about nibbler tools or dremels?

Enjoy the rest of it

Just looked in to say happy Australia day to all ,have a nice one,
I will drink a tinny to you all over there as i enjoy my burns supper.
Hope everyone is safe as well ,no matter where you are.Fred.

Hi everyone.. We have hot again...Must start counting the days to winter,,

Been busy with my back patio garden and have started to get thing organised,,Son took me shopping to get some large pots to grow things in and it is now starting to look a bit better..Got a midget lemon tree in a pot and it only grows about 4ft high but will give me lemons.. Then I have a herb bin which has now got some chillies and parsley and mint in,Though I might transfer the mint as it might take over the rest of the space as it does travel a lot.. I have 2 hanging baskets of flowers and 2 tubs with flowering climbers ,1pink and 1 red that will climb up over the back trellice and hopefully cover it..Got to get some more herbs next..To late to put in tomatoes so might leave them till next summer..My lovely son came around and did all the heavy carrying,,aint he nice..

Well John has his MRI today and then its back to the doc next week for a prognosis..

Happy Australia Day to all the Aussies..

Love Mary xx

Hello All, nice to see all the posts from some absent friends.

The wattlers meet was mentioned, I havent had an email about it so could someone let me know where or when it is , as I would like to try and get to it this year if possible.
I guessed you would be a Tennis Widow Tony, I have watched a little but I much prefer the cricket
It has been rather hot here so I am only able to graden very early or very late,things are coming along well I am having to put a good deal of compost ,blood & bone into the soil as most of the goodness was washed away.
Brian is still working on the drains to stop all the water rushing down the hill into the lower gardens. Hopefully this will do the trick.The Floods are still causing havoc I do hope the waters soon go down in Victoria.

cherrio to you all
Kindest regards
Marie
Ps my Brother and mySister are back in their home, busy laying top soil on their lawns to cover the mud.

Morning from a much cooler 27c Melbourne.

The floods are quite bad in northern Victoria. Many towns are cut off now as rivers peak, and some places are inaccessible by roads.
The infrastructure of the whole eastern seaboard is taking a beating somewhat, and it will take many months/years before things get back to some sort of normality.

With the bad comes the good, and its great to see the Aussie spirit of getting on with it, as thousands,and thousands of peeps roll up their sleeves and are helping each other with the massive clean up. Community towns banding together as one. One old age pensioner widow living alone and caught up in the floods, was quite surprised when a group of people( perfect strangers ) turned up at her home and saved her furniture, by moving it to higher grounds. This is happening all over the east coast, and seeing folk knock on peoples doors to see if they need help, with tradesman from all walks of life giving their services free........made me feel proud to live here.

Perhaps some of these insurance companies could take a leaf out of their book. I hope our Government have the guts to review the system and some of these shonky insurance companies that now wont pay up, because their apparently is a difference between "Flash floods" and "Flooding in general".


On a lighter note..........my Vege garden has taken off, and producing some great returns this year. Must be the strange weather effect with all this rain, then heat, and humidity, and my Cherry bites,Red cloud and Grosse Lisse toms have reached a height of up to 6-7 ft....and are laden with so much fruit Barb has been giving her customers some just to get rid of it.....lol

Fred. Not flogging myself to death, and just working at a leisurely pace now. I had a few large contracts to get done before the New year, and these are finished now.
Taking some time off in March with Barb,daughters and grandies, and heading north to the Gold Coast ( Queensland ) for some R&R and will sit on the 38th floor balcony of a well known Chevron resort in Surfers Paradise with a cold beer, and watch the sunrise and sunsets for a few weeks. According to Barb, I'm not allowed to take my Binoculars, as there are to many Bikini clad females walking the beaches......Drat!!!...LOL
This is our appertiser leading up to Thailand in August.....:>))

26th Jan ( Wednesday ) is Australia day holiday, and will be having our usual Bar-bie with the family, and then a 4 min walk to the Council gardens so the grandkids can see the fireworks display.

The Australian open tennis has started, and i will be playing Tennis widow for the next week as Barb has her normal book of tennis tickets to the games, so this will leave me and tele remote to watch the 50 over cricket matches in peace...hee hee

Wishing all a great weekend.


Tony...:>))

Hi all,a nice sunny day here again ,after a coldish night and widespread frost.
Hissy even lay out back this morning for a good hour ,looking at me as if to say ,come on out dad ,and bring your coffee like you did last year. lol.sorry pusser cat ,it's a tad cold yet to bare the old knees ,and start the tanning for a while yet.
My new phone has to go back to Tesco's because although the international top up card entered okay when put in ,the uk top up card didn't ,so i will take it back tomorrow ,for THEM to put in,and if it dosn't go ,they can give me another phone ,or a refund.
I am still using the last of the winter veg' and made some dinner veggie today using brussel tops ,3 of which are more than enough for two meals,and when i have used all of them i will pull the plants one by one,binning each haulm as i take the last brussels off ,leaving the bucket ready to manure and replant.
We found some lovely rhubarb at Morrison's 25 p per kilo and brought some home to make crumbles with,and brought some apples for ditto use.
The rhubarb is the forced variety ,and is much sweeter than the usual garden grown type ,needing no sugar ,ideal for us diabetics.
My missus was feeling pretty good today and gave me the day off from cooking [bless her].making a lovely casserole ,roast tatties ,parsnip. and red onion,and all i did was prepare the veggies.
We got 4 rhubarb crumbles ,,2 apple ,4 apple & rhubarb,and a tub of stewed apple to keep for Easter and the roast pork.
We are both into planning our first weeks holiday,back to Blackpool as usual ,where we will no doubt see the tramway about finished.and back in use.
Hope you arn't flogging yourself to death with those blinds Tony,give yourself some free time to enjoy life and don't flog yourself half to death like i did.,i worked till i dropped ,and i tell you mate,it aint worth it in the long run.
The youngest son has finally found the house he was looking for ,five bedroomed with dining room ,lounge ,kitchen and utility room and a summer room built onto the back,cheaper too ,than the one he is renting at the moment,reckons to be moving in March,so all he needs now is to find the new job to go with it,lol.
Time to go and prepare the tea ,the usual friday offering ,of fish ,he he ,no worries there i can eat that until i grow fins ,luvverly grub,any way i have some nice battered pieces of Atlantic Pollock that i spotted in the fishmongers ,supposedly as nice as cod and being of the same family ,two pieces for £1,and for the missus ,some nice fish [haddock] fingers until she trys a little Pollock to see if she likes it.
Hope everyone is starting to return to normal out there if they are in flood zones,and if not hope your gardens are starting to produce,have a nice weekend all ,Fred.

Hi all, have been on here a fair bit but doing family history. Isnt it amazing that something you struggled with finding all of a sudden comes - many thanks to some lovely people on this site who have helped out.

After being in the Uk and meeting my cousins, I'm still feeling homesick. Sounds weird but I'm missing them a lot.

Shaz, we did agree on where to go- Adrian had the say on our accommodation choices ( he didnt like my cheap with homeliness :)). therefore I get to chose the rest of itinerary. We are going to Kuala Lumpur and Melaka for food and culture. haha carry on baggage only so he cant shop.

my vege garden is going OK too, I'm getting some patches ready for the winter crops. Also having a big tree cut down so that will provide a lot ore sun.

and I'm going to be a granny yaaaaaaa

That 2 p a minute deal is fabulous Fred.

my aunt is visiting Brisbane, sadly wont be able to visit her, but I was wondering would she still go after the terrible floods, apparently her son was one of the very lucky ones up a hill.

Have taught a few aqua classes and some weights clases this week and gradually gettin back in the swing of the working life. Thinking, do grannies have to go to work??? or is it a good excuse to stay home

love to everyone and stay safe . xxxx

Well good afternoon people, seems like its been years since posting on here, well, it has been months anyway.
Hope you are all well and your xmas was an enjoyable one with family and friends

Hi LM, poor John, I feel for him, like Fred says, B....Y drs, these days, certainly are not what they were in earlier days, they do not have the same bedside or patient manner any more. I think you need to tell that doctor that you wish to go for an MRI elswhere, dont wait for them anymore

Wow Fred, that deal is a great one, happy house finishing

Marie, had a reprieve from grandie minding this year, they are getting a wee bit old and didnt want to spend time with nan and pop. Ah how I would to have the room for a vegie garden, but alas, its not to be

LOL Yvette, fingers crossed you and Adrien come to a honeymoon destinationan agreement...LOL. Only a couple of months left to our S.Oz meet, and I havent even booked yet, slack person that I am

~~~~~~To anybody peeking in, must get back into the swing of posting in here again

Shaz

Hi Fred are you off on holidays again?
Our Floods are continuing it is flooding in NSW and now Vic. so far my family is ok in Castlemaine and I hope it stays that way .It is very hot here we have had a lot of Humidity and I dont like it as it makes me extremely tired and plays up with the arthitis in my right knee, I went to the Gym to-day and did water aerobics which I find very good .I had an afternoon nap yesterday and then went to bed early, so I feel much better to-day.

My veggie garden is doing well I am harvesting my Beans 3 varities also the Beetroot and cucumber and some lettuce I have some carrotts pooking their heads up also the aubergine is flowering Pumpkins are getting large, I hope we dont get any early frosts this year as I was late getting everything in, and as you can guess our fruit and veggies will be short and very expensive.
You seem to have achieved a good deal of work in your house it must be looking great.
How is your oh whose name escapes me I do hope she is well
Kindest regards
Marie from Down Under.

Just a quick reply to Mary ,who sounds as though she needs a spear to prod that doctor in the butt end.
I thought the idea of the Doctor ,patient relationship was for a doctor to make things as easy as he can for his patients not throw spanners in the works to make things as awkward as possible.
Has this berk never heard of fax machines and computers to pass xrays and documents between hospitals ,what a maroon this ruddy doctor is, to be sure. have had a few mild days before the cold returns ,so i have been busy finishing off the last of the windows upstairs ,the toilet .bathroom and landing and am now relaxing ,all the upstairs finished ,and just the kitchen and back door to do downstairs to finish the whole house off.
The gales towards the back end of last week have done no real damage ,and all i had to do was rescue the garden furniture from up by the greenhouse,and bin three bird feeders which i will have to replace,my fault for not keeping the garden ring at the bottom filled with water to give it weight.
Looking for a few phone numbers now Mary ,he he ,Tesco here are doing mobile phone cards ,two p a minute international so i issss getting one this coming weekend for phoning you ,J a ,Edith ,Les and a couple of others ,soooo handy when on holiday ,and saves trying to shove a laptop in the pocket while out in the streets ,he he.
Hope everyone is okay over there ,,.you all later,Fred.

Well I dont know what happened their suddenly the post
dissapeared
Mary I have had to turn the TV off also as I have been feeling very low all those people lost and all that devastation.

We had rain last night, I was up at 6.15 am and it was still raining,Later in the day I went out the back door to find that my bottle brush had split under the weight of all the water such a shame. I cut it down later in the day now I will have to spend a few days getting it out .I will use the area for more veggies,I have done some beans and they are in the freezer for winter I also pulled some beetroot to-day and will do them to-morrow.

I have been feeling very tired lately I think this body of my is starting to feel it's age
The Grandchildren came over for a visit and stayed for Dinner they were in a very naughty mood and would not do as they were told so after dinner I told my daughter to take them home,I couldn't stand the noise a minuet longer.
I feel very guilty now as Barbara has them all the time,the only break she get's is when Kathleen or I take them.
I will have to ring and say sorry to-morrow.

Goodnight to you all
Marie

Hi Mary, Fred ,Suemaid, Mel75, ,YvettePerl of the south

Hi everyone... We have sun and hot again today.. Don't like hot..when is winter back...LOL

Merle Glad you got all ,,and talk about the hospitals going on holidays,,John is still waiting to hear when he can have his MRI but they are all on holidays and they said they will post a appointment out to him,,trouble is they don't have his address on the application form so don't know how they are going to do that...We could get it done in a lot of places but the doc wants it done there as that is where he had the one done when he had the stroke..he wants to compare..ggggggggrrrrrrrr

Cant watch the tv any more as I have seen so much devastation and sadness about the floods that I am getting deeprest..it is so sad..so much damage and no help from the insurance company..

Leading a quiet life at the moment waiting to hear from the doctor on our next move..

Have a lovely weekend all and hope all in the UK are keeping warm..

Love Mary xxx

Morning to all,from the old country,which is enjoying a mild spell at the moment .
Heads up Melbourne and our Tony ,as it looks like the rains are now heading your way,but i do hope the forecast is wrong and it misses you all.
It is nice to see the old Oz stoicism is alive and well ,as is the sense of humour,which you over there are so well known for,by heck,not many nations can still smile after such adversity.
I am now able to start planning this years gardening ,and have found that my parsnips survived all the hard frosts and deluge of water after the melt,these will come in handy ,being as the area is so short of crops we are now facing ,something else you are facing ,i see.
I have the Haggis in the freezer ,the Swede ditto ,and it looks like my tatttie barrels are good ,so i am set for my Burns supper at the end of the month.yum.
I think i did the right thing at the start of the week ,when i went in to Netto.our local food store ,some nice Turkey Crowns still in the freezer ,and now reduced in price ,so i brought another one ,i am good for both Easter ,and next Christmas now ,which by the way is only around 49 weeks away lol,[ducks the flying bricks ,shoes and whatever is likely to fly my way ] he he.
I wonder if all this crazy weather and animal mystery deaths is anything do do with the shift of the magnetic north pole ,which could of course effect migratory birds,and fish the magnetiic north seems to be moving towards Russia at the rate of four feet a year,more than enough to upset weather patterns and any animals that use magnetic fields to steer by.
Hope all your Holiday plans are going well ,and stay on track,take care peeps,Fred.

Just to say - I hope my fellow Aussies and families are safe and well. I don't live in Queensland but like everyone else my heart and thoughts are with anyone who is dealing with the floods.

Sue xx

Hi to everyone,

Just popping in to say how terrible the floods are in Queensland, and hope that all, who have families in the flood areas are safe and well. Just watched the news, it looks like the rains are going to continue for days yet. To our friends in New South Wales, hopefully the rains will not be as devastating, as they are forecasting.

Marie, I hope that your daughter is home safe and well.

As 'phone lines and power has been cut off, family members will be frantic wondering if their loved ones are o.k.

My prayers and thoughts are with you all at this time.