General Chat

Morning...:>))

Just popping into the Wattle thread to wish all a very happy,healthy,safe, and prosperous
New year, as we head into our last day of 2010.

Thank you for your freindship and kind words, and may the New year bring you and your familes much happiness.

Christmas day was a blast, and everyone ate there way through the Roast Pork, Chicken, Ham ( off the bone ) seafoods, salads and cooked Veg.
Plum Pud with brandy custard and cream,and at various stages i didnt think i could fit another bowl of pud in.....but i managed......lol :>))
Grandkids walked around with their new hand held DSI's ( aka Game boys )and bogged into lollies and chocolates, as kids do.

We are off to eldest daughters today, to spend New Years Eve celebrations,and a BBQ tea ( pending on weather )
Total fie ban for the state of Victoria as we head for a top of 41c predicted for Melbourne and surrounding suburbs.

Bacon & Eggs cooking away on the stove for brekky,and very soon the OH will smell it and put her order in...lol


Have a great New Years Eve, whatever you are doing, and i will see you all next year....:>))

To our snowed in mates in the UK.........stay warm.

A special thought also for our northern state ( Queensland ) where they are up to there rooftops with floods.Water levels are predicted to remain above nine metres for up to 10 days in some towns, and the highest flood since 1991.
A disaster zone, and many families are being evacuated from their homes.
The beautiful towns and houses of Rockhampton and Emerald ( among others )are literally under water.
Not a great way to start off the New year.
Thoughts and prayers for all.



Cheers. Tony & Barb x

Hi Tony,
I am a little anxious about my brother Neville also my sister Carmel who both live in one of the parts of Rockhampton that is cut off from the rest of the town, my brother and his wife evacuated their home and moved to their son's home but I think that he will be cut off now also.
I have been trying to get them on their mobiles but I havent had a answer for more than 12 hrs., I guess they may have been moved to dry land by the council as they say the flood waters are still rising and will be several weeks before the waters will go done.
I wish everyone a very ****Happy New Year*******

Kindest regards
Marie

Morning all you people from over the BIIIG pond ,from blighty where the frost and snow have loosened their grip ,for now.
Hope you get some good news very soon Marie,it must be terribly worrying for you ,not knowing what's going on with all the flooding over there,and in other places with melting tar on your roads setting roadside grass alight,and bush fires already raging ,you lot never seem to have a year without these troubles.
Tony seems to have been well organized ,as usual ,feeding half of town,it seems ,and is now no doubt thinking of the coming holidays in his usual haunt,lucky bloke ,still with the way he is always so busy with his work ,he needs time off to recharge the batteries ,he he.
Hope our Mary enjoyed her break with her rellies and friends,and hope j A and all the others are safe ,and coping okay.
God bless all of you,happy new year .Fred & Liz.

Happy New Year to all.....:>))

Start of another decade( 2011 ) and if the health fairy is kind to me over the next 10 years, i will be grateful....lol

Scored quite well this Christmas, and Santa gave me all i asked for, so i must have been good during the year.....;>))
I did write a wish list and posted it on the fridge...hee hee
Received ( among other items ) were $80 worth of Bunning vouchers from my children....so was very pleased.
I didn't need any more T-shirts and jumpers so large that would fit the Incredible Hulk......... and could possibly open my own menswear store. With my $80 vouchers i purchased a new step ladder, a duster buster, garden hose reel, new straw broom, large bag of mixed nails,and a punnet of spring onions.

For those not knowing....."Bunnings" is a hardware Warehouse, equivalent to the fairer sexes Myer stores, K-Mart,Target ,Woolworths, Coles, ect.... and carries every known item for the home handyman,tradesman or gardener. Ladies of course do shop there....hee hee... but its as close to a blokes heaven as it can possibly get.
Each time i enter the warehouse i start drooling, and my blood pressure rises with excitement of winning the lotto and the dream of letting me loose in the store....LOL

Fred. You read my mind mate...lol..... and yes, now looking forward to returning to my favourite holiday haunt ( Phuket - Thailand ) during the coming winter months in Oz. This year will be even more special, as i have talked one of my other daughters to join us this time, so there will be 12 of us this time round, from my own immediate children, spouses and grandkids. For under $1,500 Aussie dollars per head ( 983 GBP )........ in a 4-5 star resort for 14 nights/days including Air fares,all transfers,full buffet brekky, 2 happy hours at half price, $10 three course meals,and free use of all ammenities with temps hovering around 32c each day to boot.........you wont find this in Aussie land for that price with air fares. Our summer top resorts cater for the Yank, Chinese, Japanese, Canadian, ect....and you would be lucky to get a three course meal for under $100 bucks per head...lol
The Thai resorts and beaches we stay in are a mirror image of the Aussie...but for half the price.
For a young couple on their honeymoon, or perhaps retired folk.......then the Aussie Resorts and scenery around the country are fantastic, but for a med to large family you would have to mortgage your house to afford it....lol

OH ( Barb ) is off to Queensland - Gold Coast with daughters and grandies in March - April.
She takes the grandies to all the Theme parks...Water World, Dream World,Movie world, ect........and spoils them somewhat. I on the other hand will stay home and suffer watching the Footy......... and will have complete control over the Tele remote......:>))

Marie. Yes, its a terrible mess up north, and hopefully all is well with your family mate. My youngest daughter is holidaying near Toowoomba at the moment, but they are not near the flooding thank god.

Coffee is perculating away, and someone left an coconut iced "Boston Bun" on the bench......and it has my name written all over it...!!!


Av a good un.


Tony....:>))

Happy New Year To All !!

Well the first few days have been lovely, finally the humidity has
dropped and the temp not too high either.
Santa was very nice to us so we must have been good last
year too. Even better, I have finally learned not to over-cater. The
seafood lasted two days and so we didn't have our rack of lamb
meal until yesterday ! I have enough cold ham left over for a couple
of lunches only. Won a Xmas hamper which had some lovely
things in , so have been able to treat some girlfriends to a
babycham and cheese platter gathering. Saw the movie
"The King's Speech" and loved it !!

DD (19 now!!) has been going through some of her childhood
things and delightfully listening to stories on tape she remembers
- Brer Rabbit, Wind in the Willows etc, she wants to get them onto
MP3 so she can listen to them on her ipod. We need to get our
video tapes onto DVD too - might write that down on the TO DO
ONE DAY list !!

Marie, what a trial you have been having - hope
everything is smoother in January and you can
get your surgery done.

Floods up north seem terrible, such a lot of water. Marie,
Rockhampton seems pretty organised so I hope your
family members all get looked after. Long term this flood
will cost us all a lot - watch the fruit and veg prices in the
next month!! And no coal exports...... hits the bottom line
big time !!

Gotta water the garden tonight so need to use the
Aerogard first - one of my fave chores however, I
don't mind at all.... have a lovely evening all, Hz



I'd better water the veg garden tonight, so I'm off to put
on the Aerogard first ! Take it easy all, HZ

Hi Everyone... Back from a lovely week in Orange and starting to get things organised for the next test for John..He enjoyed the break but found the stairs in daughters house a bit hard but he got there ..with help..
It was a lovely Christmas and the weather was lovely and cool.. We had 2 nights of deluge that flooded the daughters rumpus room as the drains outside couldn't hold all the water..Lets hope that doesn't happen again..as they have parquet flooring..

Merle What a runaround you are having with the hospital.. do hope they get their act together and do something soon.. I had problems doing a copy of the list to and in the end Yvette sent me a printed one..If you still cant get it copied let me know and I will scan mine and send it to you,,Has something to do with it being done on a spreadsheet..?????

Fred. so glad you got away for a holiday..but personally I would stay home in that sort of weather..I is chicken...LOL

Wishing all a Happy New Year and lots of good health and happiness..

Love Mary xxxxx

Nice to hear that John is doing better at last Mary,and hope this is just the start of better things for everyone over there ,about time too.
I am thinking of getting hold of a canoe ,and sneaking over there to hide in one of Tony's suitcases ,lol ,i could do with a break in the warm ,he he.
Having said that it was still in the 15c bracket in the hall when i got up to put the bins out this morning ,so after doing the emails and lotteries i went out back and pulled all the spent roots out of all the buckets to make way for the start of the new season,so i feel i have at least started,next thing will be your chalet Mary,it is looking a bit forlorn at the minute,with all the empty buckets and benches ,still six weeks and i will be able to get the onion seeds in ,and then it will be all systems go again.
Going to do a stir fry for dinner today ,and made a soup last night from the chicken bones and little bits of meat ,which i finished this morning with a shredded carrot and a nice leek,and split peas and lentils.
Think i will do a nice curry towards the weekend using the new electric frying pan ,maybe a Malaysian red or green one ,with coconut milk ,the missus loves those,and they make a change from the indian curry which ,although nice are a bit harsh on the old palate at times he he.
It was nice to see the grandson again ,but it will be even nicer when his wife is home as well,but ,only 12 more months to go and she will be fully qualified and finished uni ,a new doctor of robo- biotics in the making
Told the both of them to go out your way when he is finished with the R A F,he is now qualified on the Hercules and can taxi the aircraft from dispersal to the loading bays without a pilot on board,and is now starting the same course on C 17s as well as a course on airfield security,so the both of them should find jobs fine over there.
Time to do a little housework now ,take care all you peeps ,specially the ones on the flood plains ,and watch for the snakes and crocks which may be lurking about,as if you hadn't enough problems already.
Fred.

hi,

I finally poked my head in again. I'm in total holiday mode now although I have gone back to work for a few hours a week.
The garden is producing enough salad stuff to keep us feeling healthy and we are lucky to not be suffering the terrible effects of all the rain.
The youngest one is starting to panic as year 12 began before Christmas for him. he says hes not sure how he will squeeze all his homework into 3 week - geez, gives him an excuse to stay in the cave I suppose. OH has been enjoying life, amnd talking of canoes, took a couple of tumbles yesterday when we went kayaking. Then stood on something that made 'guts' come out of his foot. My mum and dad have been giving more family history tuition, I think my mum has a couple of her pics mixed up though. Love hearing stories of when they were young. Even better now I have been to the places they talk about and when they say 'just down there and around the corner' I can visualize it, just 45 years later. The OH finally got his passport and we are off on our 'honeymoon' in April. Don't know how we will go as we can never agree on which end of Bunnings (hardware warehouse)to go to. It will be the first time we have holidayed together!


Hope everyone is embarking on the happiest new year
xoxo

Hi all, am devastated by the things I'm seeing on the tv. Does anyone know if all our folk are ok.Have a cousin in Toowoomba and can't reach them yet. It's obviously Oz's turn for the weather pixies to turn things upside down. My prayers are with all concerned.
Mary, you won't believe this, but I tried to get an authorisation for the next lot of swabs all last week and finally was told infection control was on leave!! Finally got them done yesterday so am hoping for good news and am on track for Jan 21. One can only hope.
Ser Tones, very glad your girl is safe and well. Love to you and OH.
Mary I got the list off thank you.Luv Me

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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 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

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.