General Chat

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...:>))

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.

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

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 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

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....:>))

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 .

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

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

Hello Friends,
Tony Merl,Mary,Yvette, Hz if she happens to look in,and Fred .
Finally I have found time to look in truly I don't know if I am Arthur or Martha, its been more than a week since I opened my computer.

We had a large costume Birthday Party for my son-in-law last Saturday (the big 40 th ) we had 80 guests and I & my daughters Kathleen Brians wife and Barbara cooked for 3 days, spent Friday cutting meats and Saturday making salads etc.then jumped into the shower with only1 hour to get the costumes on and dress the children for a 6 pm start.
Everyone dressed up and a wonderful time was had by all, and as usual for Aussies we over catered, lucky we have freezers and extra refrigerators in the shed for Xmas & drinks.

It has been very hot up our way which has made us all a bit tired, especially myself,the past 2 days have been cooler but the weather man say's it is heating up once more .I do hope we dont have any more bushfires I think this country and it people could do with a little bit of relief from all our bad weather.
I hope you are all keeping well.
Mary thank you for the email re the Wattlers Meet, I havent had a chance to get on to the Posts, hopefully next week I may be able to set aside some time for that.
Merle I do hope your leg heals soon. True friends are always there when needed..
I must close as I am feeling a little hungry, it is well past my lunch.
Love to you all,
Marie

Afternoon people, gosh, seems this thread is almost dead, no body here any more.

Gosh Marie, some bash that party of yours, sounds like a good time had by all

~~~~~~ To anyone peeking in

Shaz

Hi Shaz , yes it looks that way, I have been too busy to keep pushing it along it is very sad, it looks as if even Badger hasn't been on for awhile.

Hi Badger how are you, I guess you are busy with your garden as I am.
I put the beans down for winter and made Plum sauce I have started to prune my natives that have finished flowering, also I have been pulling out the horrible couch grass that continues to blight my life.

I will soon be putting in my winter vegies, we have a good crop of pumpkins, I just hope the frost holds off for awhile as some pumpkins are still a bit immature I also have some eggplants not Quite ready.

I hope you and your Oh are welland that you are still having lots of sunshine our nights are getting cool, mind you the days are still very warm ,(very Nice )it is as we had so much rain earlier as you know.

Well Fred I must go Busy Busy ,
Kind regards
Marie

Hi to all ,and Marie,i have been a tad busy as of late ,what with research and the garden ,and car ,but never mind ,i isssss back ,lol
The wife wasn't too well last night and went to bed early complaining of headache [a woman thing ,lol] aching all over and feeling generally yukk'y ,and is no better today so it is fortunate that she has had the two injections for fighting off flu ,and worse ,cause it sounds as though she has a mild dose of flu.
I have told her to stop in bed today ,so there is no chance of falling downstairs or on the floor,and saving me having to pick her up .lol
She won't feel like eating for a while so i am having my treat today ,Swordfish loin steak yum which i will do a new way once i look up a recipe off the net later.
I have had my first coffee of the season ,out back on the patio,sun shining ,and Hissy sat beside me with a smug look on her face ,as if to say ,hah ,i knew i would manage to get him out here sooner than later.
Sipping my cuppa ,and looking around i see the first signs of spring, the apple and plum trees starting to bud,wild onion ditto,crocus in flower ,and other bulbs that i planted last Autumn ,showing through.
I found my self a computer stand with a built in usb fan that blows on the laptop underside to keep it cool.
The unit has a built in rotating base ,and a table that adjusts to tilt the laptop to a comfortable keyboard hight ,and flattened down ,slips into the computer carry case ,for transporting on holiday,not bad for£10.
Seems all you peeps over that way are still in the wars ,now New Zealand with yet another quake ,and a lot worse one than the last,i'm glad my cousin is only on the outskirts of Christchurch and should be fine with any luck.
Time to take the missus a cuppa up ,at least she can keep that down ,but i had better keep her off coffee for the time being.
Be careful all ,and stay safe.Fred.

Hi Fred, yes more trouble in our area, the disaster in New Zealand is dreadful, the number of deathsare now over one hundred and to see the beautiful Cathedral smashed,it will probrbly have to be demolished.
I feel very sad for all those who have lost family and friends .
I have friends who live in the north Island and have visited both Islands twice, it is a beautiful place but they have a history of Earth Quakes having several fault lines through the country, and an active volcano in the north Isle.
I am sorry to hear your Oh is unwellI hope you don't catch the bug as well. you do seem to manage to pick up the bargains, every little helps with the tight budget.

I have managed to do some damage to my left knee and I am mighty uncomfortable I may have to see the doc about it, that is if I can get an appointment. I think I over did it at the Gym and then when I came home straight into the garden for a bit more exercise , then on friday I helped my Daughter with the girls at the Pool as they are having swimming lessons, All a little too much for the poor old knees LOL
We have had a little rain here to-day very nice now I dont have to water , but I must go and do some dinner for myself.The Plum sauce turned out nice.
Kindest regards
Marie

Hi All,we have a nice morning again ,becoming a tad milder now ,and i have managed to get a couple of early morning cuppa's on the patio to keep the cat happy.
The wife ,silly Moo,didn't think to tell me how bad the headache was,which was an indication of a migrane attack,never had one shje winged ,dosn't matter says i ,there is always a first time for anything ,lol,still ,she will know next time,he he.
Hope everyone over there is managing better ,hopefully things will eventually settle down again,and return to some semblance of normality.
I have heard from both the cousins ,one in Brisbane ,and tother over the pond in Christchurch,both fine ,and both loosing their phone lines for a while.
We are having a quiet celibration up here in the north east ,with the deal done over the reopening of the Redcar Steel furnace and works,such a relief for a town where there is such a shortage of jobs,what with the other plants and factories that relied on the steelworks for their support jobs,up to ,and including the pits that supplied the coking coal.
Only four weeks until our first week away in Blackpool.and seeing is' in law and her dasft Yorkshire hubby ,a real tyke ,but a darned hard worker,like most of his ilk,and a very god provider ,
We are looking forward to the re visit to Cornwall later in the year too ,i fancy one of those proper oggies again ,the so called Cornish pasties made by Ginster are a ruddy poor comparison ,even if they are Cornish made .
I really am looking forward to revisiting the big tin mine which is shown on the television every so often,the two hours we spent there last time was nowhere near long enough,and going back to Padstow is another must it is a lovely little town,with a great sense of it's culture,and the only place i know of that you could still buy a reaal miners pasty that was taken [in the old days ]down the pit ,for their [bait] meal,consisting of meat at one end ,and fruit at the other,a real treat in one crust .lol.
My garden is coming along well ,the last of the parsnip are in the greenhouse until this coming week ,when a lot of soup will be made ,the remainder of that crop being frozen down for a treat through the summer.
Most of the soil is now full of cow poo ,and lime ,waiting for the seeds to go in ,and the greenhouse buckets are empty ,having been sterilized and waiting to be filled up again.
Mary's little garden sounds amazing ,what with her orange and lemon trees ,and her herbs ,and i am looking forward to her pics ,when she gets them taken.
Have to go now ,i had a half hour to myself after the housework this morning but i am under orders from the grandson ,for his mince and dumpling dinner,one of his favourites ,lol.
I have a few slices of New Zealand lamb in the freezer for midweek ,as a treat ,rolled up and filled with sage and onion stuffing ,begging to be roasted,he he ,must make sure it isn't dissapointed,lol.
Catch you later all ,hope you are all managing to get something of a weekend ,God Bless ,Fred.

Hi Fred, Gosh your cooking sounds good and it makes me feel Hungry.
I wish you were my neighbour I would be in for a meal, of course I would work for it either in the house or better still in the garden, but not to-day as my knee is still giving me pain.
I would love to get back to England again,. I would employ you as a guide , it sounds great the way you describe it.

My Garden is getting to the stage of pulling out and preparing for the winter crop, we have some large Pumpkins and I am hoping for a little bit more of summer as the watermelons are not ready for picking .my dwarf beans are doing well i must pick some more to blanch and freeze., my eggplants are almost ready for picking I am looking forward to eating them.
How do you do yours?? please let me know as I would like to try your way.

The family worked very hard in the Native Garden on Saturday they went and got a load of Bush rocks and put it round the edges for me .

IT does look good we need another load to finish it off , also some more mulch as it breaks down fairly Quickly. I use all our cuttings and I rake up all the pine needles that fall into my yard from next door as the native's love acidic soil, I have a chipper on my Mower so when I am pruning I chip all the small stuff and add it also, we also have 2 compost heaps on the go and I also have a Eco Bokashi Bucket for all the scraps then I use the Liquid 1 part to 100 ratio for the lawn or garden beds, what is left in the bucket I dig a trench and add this to the garden.makes lovely humus.

Political news: there is a big Debate on at the moment as the GOV. has announced that we will be moving to a Carbon rebate system In 2012??not sure about the date so much ado going on, For and Against.no matter what they decide it will cost.

Hi Mary I hope you and oh are doing well .

Have a nice week Fred
Regards
Marie from over the BIG POND

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

Havent been on the thread for a while.

Busy,busy as usual.
Lots of work about as we move towards the end of our summer.

Looking forward to some R&R and a few cold beers in Queensland ( Gold Coast ) shortly for a nice break.

Also booked and fully paid for is our upcoming trip back to Thailand later on in the year ( Phuket ) and apart from one daughter who will be travelling Europe.....there will be 16 of us holidaying in Thailand from my own immeadiate family....lol
The number has grown since 2007 ( our 1st trip ) when there was only 8 of us. I'm now thinking of doing a deal with the "Thai resort" heirachy as a PR man........as it might get me a few free Red & Green Thai curries for bringing more custom to their resort......hee hee

One daughter got flooded out ( House ) during the recent Melbourne floods,and it was going to be a very expensive excersise to clean up the insides of her house, so with the help of her work mates from the Footy Workers Social club ( Carpet Cleaners ) where she works, they al turned up and pitched in............. and got the insides of daughters home back to normality. ( for free )

Hope all are well.

Av a good un

Tony...:>))
ps. Time for a cuppa and a Jam & cream Lamington.

Morning Tony,Marie,and all the rest of you over the pond,where you all seem to be coping okay with your weather,which is diverse as to where you live ,as normal.
Seems like you have the holiday situation well in hand Tony,you must be looking forward to the first one very much ,a difficult year so far for all of you in ,Oz ,and even more so over the water ,in New Zealand,where the City of Christchurch ,is still having strong aftershocks,and still more over the next months ,the experts reckon.
I watch both your countries on Disaster Watch which keep me well informed as to what is going on,and i can keep my eyes on what my rellies ,and friends are having to put up with weather wise.
Wow Marie ,my garden is so small i couldn't grow Pumpkins if i wanted to ,lol,i don't even know what they taste like ,apart from in soups..
I stick to the staples ,like climbing French bean,runner bean ,and broad bean ,they all grow very well in the buckets and it saves wasting water ,all of it going straight to the roots.
With the lack of really hot weather here ,we put out stuff in ,in early March to april ,and that's it for the season,we get no chance of secondary planting,and the winter cabbage have to go in within a month after the spring and summer cabbage seeds are planted.
You sound well green to ,i prefer that to artificial fertlizer ,although that word artificial is a misnomer,all fertelizer comes from the soil and is green ,as it were,all this green balony is just a way of screwing the public for more money as they pay lot's extra in the shops for crops that cost no more to grow ,than any other.
my only contribution to green crops is planting Pyrethium Daisy around the garden,the only plant that exudes natural pest killer as it grows,lol,i just move it around every couple of years,and you can also buy it in liquid form for watering over your crops ,to kill the bugs,and being 100% natural ,dosn't hurt the birds ,or wildlife.
made some lovely Parsnip&Citrus soup yesterday ,and it was lush ,no pepper or salt needed ,and freezes well too.
I have about 6 kilos of Parsnip left in the greenhouse ,so i will make some more soup this afternoon parsnip curried i think ,then i will freeze the rest down for roasting ,and adding to mashed potato, later on in the year.
No parsnip going in this year ,because the soil needs a good feed of manure so root crops are out,onions this year i reckon.
Well ,time to go and do some work,around the house,too cold in the garden today after a heavy frost ,but not to worry ,it's killed a lot of pest this year after the sever cold,there won't be many wire worm around for a few months,and the chunks of Rhubarb i put under all the Brassica at planting time ,will also keep the club root away.
Take care all ,and have a good week,Fred

Hi Tony ,
Good to hear from you I know you will have a great time in Phuket, Re daughter its great to have friend,s like that who drop all to help, that is one of the good things about our fellow Aussies they are willing to help especially if there is a few beers at the end of the day
.
Fred I had to end up going to the doctor as the pain started to get to me , I am to have ex-rays done on both knees to-morrow to see what the problem is. I do dislike not being able to get around as I enjoy going to the gym and being in my garden.

We harvested a beautiful watermelon to-day and had some of it after our Dinner for dessert it was lovely so sweet, and for part of our veggies we had eggplant which was lovely.,I pulled out the cucumber vines last week
I was going to plant some more beans the small bush ones but then I hurt this knee so I havent been able to turn the soil or plant the seeds.
It is late and I am feeling very tired , I hope all is well with you and oh also Hissey.
Badger what is your wife's name??

Bye have a nice day Marie

hi ya,

life is plodding along quite nicely. I don't have much family history to do as the relos have all been so good with their oral history over the years. Told the kiddies a couple of the naughty stories but it all adds up to a colourful past. Adrian was happy to see a bit on the tele about Kings Lyn where his gggrand parents lived and worked for customs - what a rotten job then.
I've planted the seed re visiting the UK again next year, this time with his lordship. I cant wait to go back . There wont be any children to worry about as the youngest child will leave school this year and has already got his new abode sussed out. I encouraged the eldest to broaden their horizons by leaving the nest, I didn't expect him to follow the trend so readily. I suppose I should feel lucky that they all felt adequately equipped to do it.
The weather has cooled down and I anticipated having the winter veges in but I've been slack and have been feeding the bugs with stuff that has gone to seed and needs pulling out.
Gee the weekend flies, its back to it tomorrow nice and early and not much longer until we embark on our Easter holidays to Malaysia. We will both be more than ready for a break in routine.

Enjoy the week,

xox