General Chat

Happy Birthday dear Badger, Happy Birthday to you. Blessing s wished for today and the year ahead JA

***********Happy Birthday Badger,***********Welcome back to Merle ***********
Hi to Yevette and also to Mary & JA on the Limestone Plains,
I feel hungry after reading your last 2 posts Badger.
Your new purchase's sound good, and I am pleased to hear that your Liz is better but sorry to hear you are not so good, exercise seems to be the best thing for arthritis.
Mary I had a busy time with my daughter sorting and priceing all her stock for the Garage sale on the Saturday my granddaughter Lyndal was home so it was nice to see her,she will be going to the US in early Dec as she has signed a contract with a dance company on a cruise ship for 6 months.
Merle it is good to hear you are in your new unit and liking it also that you have a beautiful dog and that life is very busy.

I will close as it is well past my bed time.
Love and hugs
Marie.

Hi All it looks like I am on my own .
Hi to Ja on the limestone Plains I see it is hotting up over your way, it is very warm here to-day also, I am hoping for a storm to-night so I wont have to water.I hope all is well with you

Merle I was sorry to read you lost your brother, I have a younger brother the only one, so I hope I go before he does ( but not for awhile yet fingers crossed.)

I am organizing a reunion for the HAYWARD family from West Coker Somerset for the 1st. weekend in October 2011. I am still waiting to see if we have a venue, then full steam ahead.

Hi Fred they tell me that Ingland is expecting Snow soon, Brrrrryou can keep it.

I had to pull my Bok Choy out because of all the rain, it went to seed,I will try again.
The pesky Cabbage Moth is doing the rounds again you dont happen to have a remedy for them????

Hi Yevette, I hope all is well with you, tell me once more Where do you live, Is it some where on the south coast ?My memory is shocking I seem to have put it away safely and now I cant remember Where, LOL

That is enough said, except it is very sad that so many lives were lost in the mine blast in New Zealand.
May they rest in peace Amen, and may their family and friends find comfort in the knowledge that they died quickly and peacefully from monoxide poisoning before the 1st Blast.
Kindest Regards
Marie

Morning Marie,expecting snow? we are innundated with the stuff,lol,looks like we got that other bag of grit and salt just in time.
Hissy is enjoying it ,she gets that mad look in her eyes that most cats get when looking for mischief ,and is scooting around the back garden like a dervish with hot feet.
At the minute she is lurking under the patio chairs ,where she is well camoflaged ,waiting for an unwary mouse or bird to come too close,but she is unlucky so far.
We took the mattress out onto the path this morning ,ready for the recycle people to pick up ,but i reckon they will be held up in this .only three inches so far ,but the sky is full ,and it's snowing like there is no tomorrow ,he he ,Fred dosn't give a stuff,well prepared we are after two weeks of stock piling spare gas cans in case we loose the mains supply,batteries and candles,and plenty of dried food in case we get a bad spell.
This is usual for me ,going back to when i was a toddler in Bucks,in 1945 ,such a bad year ,snow everywhere for weeks on end ,nothing moving on the roads,and being on an R a F base at the time where my dad was stationed ,all the food and fuel was being brought in by Lancaster Bombers ,transferred to choppers ,and flown out to the towns and villages to keep the populace in food and fuel,even the sheep in the fields were being bombed by bales of fodder and turnips to keep them alive.
We had tons of fun ,snowman springing up all over camp ,but the grown ups had a miserable time of it whole families sleeping in one room ,trying to keep warm .
Nice to hear that things are warming up for you over there .lol,but ,our turn will come in a few weeks [hopefully] when spring arrives.
Goes to show though ,that i got these windows done just in time ,if i had left them it would be very chilly in the house now ,with the heating turned right up,but we are comfortable now ,even first thing in the morning with the heating having been off all night.
Nice to hear that the Italy trip was okay Marie ,it sounds as though you really had a good time ,,oooooops ,family crisis ,have to go ,catch you later ,Fred.

hey there,

I heard from the cuzzies too that it also was snowing in Surrey . I think it would be nice to look at but I get crabby staying inside, so would end up wet and cold.

Cabbage moths - urgh, the curry plants I put in seemed to deter them them a bit, the white plastic moths that I made and hung up were useless, the egg shells didnt work, the bird netting was probably the best as long as all the edges were pinned down. you get a big amount of that from bunnings for a reasonable price - maybe give it whirl. I haven't got any brassicas in at the moment but moth deterent techniques take up a lot of thinking time. Marie, i live in Shellharbour - never too hot or cold here. I'm currently making some more pomanders, just time for lunch

xox

hey Marie, I would love to come to Croker at the same time, my mums maternal side of the family have their roots in Chard and Yeovil.
Stranger things have happened. lol xo

Hi all,

Just thought I would drop in to see what is happening. I have been busy trying to organize a reunion for early in the New Year, probably on our Australia Day, there is just one small problem what place to have it. Does anyone have any suggestions, I think personally that it should be central, so all people will have to travel some distance, others think where they first arrived in the Colony, where they lived the longest etc.
By the way, we are in the middle of a massive storm, hubby has just come in to say that we have waterfalls, our dams overflowing and we are nearly flooded out!! I had better go now. My poor vegies, we sure wont have any now. I'll let you know what happens hopefully!!

Dear Folks I wrote such a long letter to you all but the page kept Jumping
and I lost the lot I will try again later as I need to have some lunch
Kindest Regards Marie.

Well I am back I went and had a shower then some nice sandwiches and a hot coffee so I am refreshed and once more i will do battle with this dancing Box. First cab off the rank is,

Badger you say you are inundated with snow, BRRRRR, but I know you are well equipped for this winter and yes it is just as well you didn't slack off doing the windows, it sure pays to be on the ball.
I put some Egg Plants in (Aubergine) I think you call it, spelling my be wrong. Did Hissy Catch anything. My granddaughter Victoria 15 yrs.
Has downloaded my Photos of Italy to my computer and they look good.

Hi Yevette, I wont try the eggshells thanks, but I might get a couple of curry plants as I like the smell, I bought a spray to do the seedlings but didn't find time to spray and Just as well as it is raining heavy to-day, I dont mind as our water tanks need a top up we use the water for the gardens.
I have heard that Shell Harbour is lovely I might try and convince my friend Barbara that we should visit there, we might be able to meet up for a Tea or coffee.
Re Coker, my Haywards were born in Yeoval West Coker and the female surnames connected to the Hayward line for me were ,
Drewer Sukey (Susan), Hill Mary, Lay Eliza Jane,,O'Brien Mary Cecelia, then my mother, Hayward Eliza Ann Fay, who married, Julius Christian. Zackeresen.
One Day you or I might win Lotto then yipeee its off to Coker we go LOL.

Hello Mel, your reunion Place. I suggested to my cousins that it should be the place wher they settled and they agreed the graves of our ancestors are there all except Israel Hayward as he died at Dunwich in the home and was buried there. Earlier this year we had a plaque put on the memorial wall at Dunwich in his memory.It is located on Morten? Island near Brisbane Qld. Morton?
I have people coming from England and also from New Zealand., so if you really want to come, I dont think distance would be an issue, our reunion is to be held in Mackay Queensland. I live in Bathurst NSW.and all the living Great Grand children of Israel & Eliza will be attending unless some of us pop off before then..

I had some very exciting news on thursday night My grandaughter Karlee aged 14 won the Australian Show Girl of the year .
She was interviewed on channell 9 after the morning show but I missed it unfortunately. Apparently she looked lovely she is Tall and willow and is very pretty, she is the daughter of my Son Michael, we were and still are very excited for her, she is smart , has good manners and speak's well.

I will say good bye to you all,
Kindest Regards, Marie

morning all ,Fred is on snow clearing duties ,there being a foot of snow on the path and drives ,the car virtually covered over,normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.lol.any volenteers ?Fred.

What is snow!!!

Never heard of it.



Tony..:>))

Evening..:>))......and good morning to Fred the snow man..lol

7:30 pm in the south east and just finished making dinner for two ( Me n' Her )

Tony's traditional home made Spag Bolg with all the herbs and spices.....and baked Garlic bread......washed down with a nice red. Red for her and Amber with froth for me.

Gettng our fair share of rain in Victoria over the last week, and flooding up in the north of the state ( Victoria ) so our tele tells us. The Campaspe river has broken its banks and causing some chaos to the local communities, and for some of our crop farmers.
Poor beggars cant win.....its either not enough rain, or to much rain..!!!...and if neither of those two, its the locusts swarms eating acres and acres of land and wheat belts.

Work is keeping me busy, and all being well, i should be able to afford to buy the mrs ( Barb ) a little something for christmas this year. Bigger tea towels, so i wont have to dry the dishes.....:>))
Looking forward to getting a bit of me time, come the festive break 24th Dec till 2nd Jan 2011

With all the rain and sunshine at the moment my summer Vege patch is going berserk, and should be fruiting around the next 3 weeks...right in time for christmas day ( lunch ).

The cat,( Bourban ) now 1 year old is earning his keep, and an excellent mouse catcher.
Has caught 6 in the last few months, and brings them to show me that he is worth having around, plus his little pile of Cicada's that he stores in the back garden.

As i have avaries, and have been breeding the Budgie ( Budgerigar ) for years now,he is keeping the mice at bay during te warmer weather.
Have 15 new baby budgies this year, and had to extend my avairy to 15ft by 8ft
I breed both Australian and English pieds only. Its a hobby, and something i have enjoyed doing since i was a lad.
Actually.....The name budgerigar is derived from the Aboriginal word betcherrygah (meaning good food)....but the cat knows not to enter the avairy or breeding rooms, and sits outside the door with a look of "roast chick" in his eyes.....I have warned him, he will be cat gut guitar strings if he steps one foot inside the avairy...lol


Hope all are well.


Tony...:>))

Yeah ,right Tony so you never heard of snow,lol,you flippin' cheapskate,you never heard of dishwashers either ,go on ,be a REAL man and spend some of your ill gotten dosh ,on a dishwasher for your wife ,never mind tea towels,he he.
Glad i'm not the only one who gets kitty presents off the feline,my cat tries to bring them indoors to lay on the mat,lol,sending Liz onto the nearest chair,because the cat brings them inside ,alive ,alive o.
Poor Bourbon,not even a bonus bugie for all the mousing ,you is a 'ard man Tony,lol,hope you keep a treat for him Christmas,i'm sure he would love a bit of Chuck' or turkey.
Hope everyones veggies are okay with all the water ,can't even see mine for the white stuff ,it's all under two feet of snow.,catch you later all . Fred.

Hello Fred also Tony ,
It has been raining for the last 3 days Pis---G down as we say in this country, Water water everywhere, the farmers had a bumper crop of wheat but it will be all damaged Poor Bug---'s no good once it is wet.
My daughter Kerryann breeds birds,.several varieties including Budgies.

Fred we are keeping up with the news reports on the very bad weather you are having in the UK, we are all in woolie's here as the rain has made it very cool,--- hard to take after last weeks Lovely Sunshine.
Tony what do you think of the new gov down your way?
Stay well
Kind Regards
Marie

Hi all, can't believe I've let time get away again. The greeblies are back and life turned upside down.Have been having trouble with R leg now.
had a date set for nov4th tohave a cancer taken off and a skin graft, however it was discovered that
i was carrying a staph infection so it was cancelled without telling me I might add.Open warfare!!!! Had treatment and finally got date Dec 14th but I had to go to another anaesthetist and would you believe he refuses to do his bit. Reckons its too dangerous. A younger bloke who won't take the risk damn him. Have had a battery of blood tests and have to have an ultrasound and E K G on the 10th .AAAAAAHHHHH!
If it gets done at all, will be confined for two weeks with leg up. Thats Christmas taken care of! If it takes all this for such a small op I'll have mine and Buckleys of getting other knee done.
Am still making cards furiously. Have had a few orders so feel quite chuffed about that. I enjoy it and it keeps me focussed on the here and now.
quite relaxing really.
this is the third year I've written my bit to put in them.Not in your league dear old .ser .tones but here it is just the same.AHEM....
How sad the billabong looks, owl said
as he moodily scratched his ear,
Theres not a thing to be seen of the xmas green
thats usual this time of year
The drought has dried up the billabong to a muddy looking tar
The bush babies fear that xmas this year
means Santa won't know where they are.
But owl, o wise one, flew off with a smile
and didn't come back for quite a while.
I've been to the big billabong, we'll xmas there he said
There are trees and grass for our picnics
and reeds to use for our beds.
Santa will find us by the light of the stars
as the shepherds did long ago
when they looked for a babe in a manger
the story I'm sure you all know.
so they played on the sand and swam in the ocean
and so can you with plenty of lotion.
Thats how traditions are firmly kept
no matter where we celebrate them.
.with family and friends from near and far
I wish you joy wherever you are.
luv.me still dont' have copy of everyone.

Morning Merle,sorry to hear that the other leg is playing up now ,it makes my hip Arthritis look very puny so i won't mention it again ,i will suffer it gladly ,rather than having what you have.
Loved the poem ,and i reckon Tony will too ,when he reads it ,anyway ,i will pass it on to my eldest son ,who does this sort of thing too ,having had a couple of small ones published over the past few years.but nothing as good as you two serve up ,he he.
Wow ,am i glad i sniffed the possibility of weather trouble after suffering from it many years ago when i was a young Joey in my mums pouch ,lol,we had a couple of real corker winters setting in early down in Bucks.
I set too three weeks ago ,getting in extra supplies while i was able ,extra meat ,veggies and dairy stuff ,on top of dried fruit ,yeast;and flours.and long life ,and dried milk.
Finished off filling the battle bus to the brim with diesel enough to get me to Cornwall ,and back to Birmingham,and ,it turns out i made the right move in doing so.
We can't even get the car out of the drive for ice and snow,the roads are vitually impassable ,no buses or trains,after 7 pm in the evening.and walking in these conditions is a nightmare,so Liz ' and Fred have done the only sensible thing ,locked the doors .clo0sed the curtains ,turned the heaters up and B****r the fuel bills ,he he ,and are hibernating until it warms up a little.
Guess you lot will find the shoe is on the other foot ,and will be worrying ,as are your neighbors over the pond about the possibility of bush fires and drought,i really feel for you ,far easier for us over here to warm ourselves up than it is for you to keep yourself safe and hope you don't loose your homes from fire.
Take care all ,we can always swap you a little snow ,for some of your heat [i wish ] Fred.

Morning.

I do so like the weekends.
Gives me a chance to ponder around the garden and just relax. Just dusted my tomato plants to keep the pesky tiny white moth at bay. We seem to have an abundance of them at the moment with all the rain and humidity.
Picked a few Spring Onions, as i do like them chopped up on a sandwich with sliced garlic knobs and sliced green or red capsicum......sprinkled with a little salt and black pepper.
Barb stays well away from me when i start munching on them......lol But you will never see me with a sniffle or cold come winter.

Merle. Sending lots of hugs and support mate, and hoping all goes well. I absolutely love your poem, and the way you have worded it. A very fitting chrissy bush poem to put in a card. I dont get the oppotunity to just sit and write at the moment. To much going on in my life, with either one thing or the other.
The company i contract for just sold 347 sun blinds in a new block of units ( 4 storey new building )....and they have to all be fitted before the 31st Dec so they can start renting them out.......Strewth!!!
Its times like this i wish was 21 years of age again, and fighting fit....lol On a good day i can install 30...but i need to soak in a hot bath afterwards.....lol

Marie. Dont think to much of any Gov. to be honest.
One thing i have learnt in my short time on this planet, is that it dosent matter who is in power in whatever Country..........the people will lose out, one way or the other.
I'm not a polictical minded person, and just get on with my life doing what i have to do to survive. There all crooks, regardless of who is in power, and look after themselves first, and the people only when it suits them. Just to sit and watch them bickering in parliment on the tele reminds me of my kindergarden days as a toddler.....:>))

Well.... its Sunday morning, and sunday morning means bacon & eggs.

Av a good un.




Tony...:>)) 32c today.

flippin eck Tony ,32 c would kill me ,never mind fitting blinds in those sort of conditions ,he he ,you must have the constitution of an ox.
The sarnies sound the biz' are they pure veggie ones,or do you add aa bit of meat or fish to them,? i could be easily persuaded to try one or two ,without any bother.
Have to agree with your summing up of politicians ,the biggest crooks going ,ours here are already fiddling their accounts again ,before the stink and dust settles from the last big government witch hunt,lol,rumour has it that the rats [the four legged ones are at it too,down in the basements of number 10.
I don't have trouble with white mites here ,but the red spider mite are a real pain ,and have been known to kill tomato ,and cucumber plants ,and i'm still looking for an effective treatment ,the best so far being a bomb ,set off in march ,before i start the seedlings.
Well,that's me off to bed with a cup of horlicks and my garlic tablets ,he he ,they should have had them in the old days ,they seem to keep the missus over here side of the bed ,so i reckon they will even keep the vampires away ,but as Tony says ,even garlic [and this is in tablet form] ,along with onion in any shape of form is death to any cold bugs,last thing i need in this weather is the dreaded sniffles ,or worse.
Hope everyone has had a good weekend .Fred.

Hello all ,so nice to read the posts , I am afraid there wont be any prose from me but if we had Skype I could sing you a lovely Xmas Carol

Merle I can sympathize with you I am having trouble with my right knee I am off to the doctor on Thursday, I am hoping she will order a scan for me as the pain has stopped me from exercising for the past 2 weeks.

I woke to sunshine just after 6am this morning Yippee.
I hope it stays around for awhile as all my Veggies are looking sick from too much water.
We have drainage problems, we sit half way down the hill and the water has been pouring down into our yard. I have built up beds but the water has been going under the higher beds and into the lower ones so the plants have been constantly in water we keep pumping the water out ,but because of the constant rain everything is saturated and I have mud and slush all over my grey pavers.
What a mess
We are having our Xmas Party for all our Gym buddies after classes to-day I wont be exercising but I will be there with my Santa hat on, only food no Alcohol no no
Tony you will be slim by Xmas all that work , is the air conditioning working in the building??

Mary if you are looking in Happy Xmas in case I don't get back on for awhile, I haven't written my Xmas letter or written one Xmas card.I'm not feeling up to it this year I have the blues as all will be away and I will be on my own. Never mind I guess I will get a few things done that I have been putting off.
Merry Xmas Badger, Tony, Merle ,Hz , and all the best wishes , from ********The Xmas Fairy **********

Just seen on the news this morning that there are some nasty flood areas in and around N S W,which is making life very hard if not impossible for a lot of folk over there,stay safe all ,specially along the river banks.
The world is sure going crazy about now,and i thought we in the u/k had troubles,but they are tiny compared to the ones over there,
Fred.