General Chat

Morning to all ,crickey ,where is the sun these days? it looks like yet another cloudy day ,humph ,and there was i wanting some sun to go round the boot market later this morning ,grrrrr.
It looks like i can go to Bury on the buss Brenda ,so i will be doing that ,and enjoy the scenery on route ,which makes a heck of a change from driving.
Can pensioners use their bus passes on the trams there or are they the same as the trams in Blackpool which are run by a private company ?
Looks like the wife and i will be dining on stuffed marrow one day later in the week ,this courgette is a good size now ,and i can taste the thing already ,yum ,stuffed with a mix of minced beef ,rice and herbs .
Aubergenes Brenda? ,i have never grown ,cooked or eaten them so i can't help you there ,so it looks like a look at a gardening book ,or a look on the net,they don't have any appeal to me as a veggie ,and i don't even like the color ,he he.
The new loungers and matching table for the patio came yesterday,so now ,all we need is some nice ,warming yellow stuff ,that has played hide and seek all year ,lol.
Have to go now ,i have to see my diabetic nurse this morning before going anywhere else ,but i have been a good boy since the telling off i got the last time ,and all my readings are normal ,as was my eye check at the hospital .
Catch you later ,Fred.

goodmorning who sent the wet weather over it was raining at 7am this morning and we are to get thunderstorms later but it seems to be clearing up maybe the weather man is wrong, oh fred I was so pleased to hear that you may pop over to bury I hope that you do like it make sure you go when the market is open, now if you did take the car you could make a quick side trip up to high st walshaw number 82 that is where I used to live a quiet but nice village and the local pub the vic is great as well but anyway I hope you make it and enjoy it maybe brenda could meet you and liz there, nothing much on to-day I may go and get a haircut to-day or to-morrow , brenda hope you start sleeping better and that you find a good trip at a reasonable price, bye for now dorothy

Hallo one and all. About time I showed my face isn't it?
I now feel quite well thank goodness. I had a nasty week of artrose (hope this is English as well as Dutch) and couldn't move from the pain, but thank goodness it has gone together with the intense hot weather.
Johan has booked us up for another cruise. Not too far just a week up the Rhine in Germany. We have done this many times but always enjoy it and it is a boat which caters for handicapped people. They will put my elastic stockings on for me every day. I do it myself at home, but ok I need a holiday as well!
My plants on the balcony are looking a bit sad with all that heat we had and me not feeling too well to help them. I now have some time so will see if I can revive them because it is only July and I want them to look nice for another couple of months.
Hope to write more next time.Sylvia xxx

Morning peeps ,ans welcome back Sylvia,he he ,another holiday? go for it Lass ,only kidding,lol,i have already had three this year ,and have two more booked before December,and have to admit ,that Rhine cruise sounds the biz'.
Think you must mean what we call arthritis ,where all the joints swell and become very painful ,i have it myself in both the right hip ,leg ,and left ankle ,so i can imagine the relief the warmer weather brings ,ihave heard that a Cortizone injection helps for a while ,but have not tried that one yet,preffering to keep exercising through the pain to ease it instead,and in my case ,it seems to help a lot .
Hi Dorothy ,i have had a look ay my options for getting to Bury ,and will def' leave the car at Fleetwood and go via bus ,and maybe tram ,which is half the fun,being able to look at the passing scenery instead of staring at the road ,and traffic.
Yet an other dull ,cool day forcast here ,with possible rain ,so i have been out back already and picked some runner ,and french bean ,yum ,and the broads are not far behind either ,no more bought veggies for a while at least ,apart from tatties ,and cabbage because mine are not ready for a few weeks.
Get yourself down for two weeks in the Cornish Riviera Brenda,our who weeks in a luxury park ,and van have cost us £280 for a full two weeks ,and no flights to pay for ,or worry about the airline going bust,there is a lot to be said in staying in Britain.
The other alternative is coach travel to a resort in Portugal ,or Spain ,lots of nice places to be had over there too.
You could even go to the costa not a lot in sunny [not] Newcastle and stay at the Hotel Fred & Hissy ,free room and board and plenty to see, from the roman Wall to a old herring fishing Village , Cullercoats a few miles away
,that is ,if you can put up with the Geordie ,and Mackum dialects ,which take a lot of getting your head around,i have lived here 40 years ,and i'm still having trouble ,but the people on the whole ,are great ,and mainly friendly[so long as you carry a bit of raw meat ,just in case] he he.
Well ,time to shove off again ,raining a little ,i think i will try growing rice nect year ,lol,Fred.

ffee. She has just come back from a luxury cruise to celebrate her 50th brthday. You feel old when your youngest child reaches 50!Yes Fred, arthritis is painful, so am enjoying myself at the moment in just being able to do the normal things in the home. I have had cortisone injections, but you are not allowed too many.
Aubergines are delicious if made into a sort of pesto, mashed with garlic and eaten with meats or chips etc. The Greeks eat a lot of aubergines. I also use aubergine when making a groundnut stew - west African dish.
The weather has turned considerably colder here.
Tomorrow is market day so I shall be out there buying my fish and cheese.

tried to get on here for ages this morning and as I was going out didi not have time to wait.
Glad you are feeling better sylvia ,our weather has not been to great either and the weekend does not look that good
have a busy day tomorrow so not sure if Iwill get on here or not .Have been given some ides about the aubregine ,seems the simplest thing is slicing lengthways and griddleing. will let you know how we get on.
We can use bus passes on the tram Fred and I would love to see you and Liz the tram station is not far from me and its about 12 mins from Crumpsall to Bury. Will send you an email about it l
better get my horlicks and see if that helps me sleep tonight,
Brenda.

hello everyone nice to see sylvia back and I hope they enjoy the cruise, yesterdat morning(thursday) I recieved a call from my cousin avis she was at my aunt and uncle's house in stretford ( he died 8 months ago tot he day) to say that her mom had died she apparently got up in the morning before the carer's came got dressed and sat in her chair with the fire full on she did feel the cold and slipped away, she was in her late 80's. I felt so sad she was the last of the senior mills family my dads 2 brothers married 2 sisters so this leaves me as the eldest of all the cousin's , I spoke to the cousin I am closest too in reading this mornig and she remimded me of that and said that as she is next in line the fact that I found out so late in life that I was adopted does not get me out of that role , apparently as she was in fairly good health they are going to do an autopsy!!!!!. I was asked if I was coming over for the funeral and chris as well but as I have that apointment on the 18th and as they don't have a date for the funeral as yet I said no plus I am not sure if I can fly yet as the symptomsI in my brain are still causing a problem, fred glad you looked up how to get to bury the quickest way and it would be so good if you could meet up with brenda I so enjoyed my visit with her I am sure you would like the market there are some lovely areas around bury and coming by tram or bus you would see some of them. theholiday week-end has started the traffic up to the cottages is heavy, andrew is driving back from ottawa this am but he usually leaves around 5am so should be back between 10-11am I am off to mail a card to the cousin she lives in cheshire but I suppose is at the house in stretford thornbury rd my aunt went to that house when she was 3 and lived there ever since she would not move after my uncle died sorry if I am rambling this am still a bit upset bye dorothy

You ARE in the wars our Dorothy ,what a to do for you ,and all happening over such a short period too ,but i think you are doing the right thing in staying home ,after all ,YOUR health is paramount to anything else ,and you making yourself worse because of the extra travel ,or worry is helping no one.
I know what you mean about the lineage too ,i am now the patriach of my family since the loss of my uncle and sister,and it does make you feel sort of vunerable at times,but when i depart this mortal coil ,it will be someone else's turn to assume the mantle ,the world keeps on ,lol
Well ,here we are ,another wet miserable weekend ,and i have given up on all hope of a summer ,starting to bring in the green tom's from Mary's chalet,and putting them into newspaper to ripen ,and giving the smaller ones more nutrients to grow larger.
The pepper plants are now showing flower so i will do well for them next month ,having 16 plants in there ,plus 4 patio peppers out front as well .
At least we have a glut of cucumbers and courgettes plus the lettuce ,so ,loads of salads in the pipeline.
I am getting set up for autumn now ,the tw other gas bottles came yesterday ,and the little bottle for the camping stove i will get this next week,so things are coming together ,what with the gas company coming out tomorrow to service my central heating ,before it has to be fired up again well worth the few pounds i pay monthly to ensure it's always on the top line for when needed,i even get a new one fitted free if it can't be repaired under the contract,
Time i was off to get the dinner ready ,stir fry ,again ,but with all this green stuff to use ,cheap as you know what ,lol
Catch you all later on ,Fred..

hi it is a nice sunday morning a good morning for a stroll around the grounds and area to-morrow I am going with andrew and two of the children up to huntsville to the camp to drop them off for two weeks it is a lovely drive beautiful country side, lindy will be taking bryan to waterloo to the first camp that he will be attending for the 4 week training program one week there one week at another then 2 weeks back at the camp he usually goes to I shall miss him while he is away, we have to have laura and ian at the camp for 11-30 so shall leave my place at 9am, we will hook up with lindys two sisters and their children and lindys mom at the camp have a walk around and see what cabins they are in and meet the camp leaders assigned to their cabins , then have a nice drive back I am hoping to stop at a couple of the local markets the wild blueberries are in season plus maybe buy some fresh vegatables, and of course some of the local jams hope you all have had a good week-end bye for now dorothy

Hi all sorry I have not been on,just been busy with different things and then tired!!!!
Also not very happy with the font on the lap top need to see if it can be changed can hardly read some things.
Benn out to St Annes on Sea today to see our friends who live there had a great day but we had to pay for some of the train fare fred!!!Will eplain in a enmail to you.
Hope you had a good visit taking the grand children Dorothy and my sympathies on the loss of your Aunt.
going to watch who do you think you are !! Be back tomorrow.
Brenda

Good morning all ,got a bit of a shock this morning when i went out at 6 am to put the bins out ,there was a chill in the air ,and the spiders webs were glistening on the hedge with dew ,oooooer,a distinct hint of autumn ,but in August ? hmmmmmm ,something fishy going on here ,lol.
Sounds as though you are doing too much still Brenda,you need to slow down ,the world will still turn when you are gone you know ,gently ,gently catchee retirement ,lol.
I got a couple of ideas as to cooking carrot and onions in foil from the other thread yesterday and seeing as i am using spare mashed tattie to make the veggie shepherd's pie ,i am gong to give them a go,along with some fresh runner beans from the garden.
My courgette cum marrow is ready to stuff too ,so that is on the menu for Wednesday.
My youngest grandaughter got her results from the hospital tests yesterday re the kidney reflux, and apart from a little scarring ,all is okay and she is in the clear at last.
Yes Brenda ,nearly missed that about the fonts ,it can be changed no prob's you need to go into all programmes ,find the app you need and just change it from there ,you can go to and from Arial to italics ,and change the size of the lettering.
Well ,time for a look around 'tother threads ,so i will say by -by for now.Fred.

good tuesday morning hot an hazy at the moment and even hotter this afternoon, had a great deive up to huntsville yesterday to take laura and Ian to camp arrived early so the checking in was not too hetic, first of all they met up with their cousin suzanne who is a camp leader this summer and we went to check out their cabins then had a stroll around the camp and after about half an hour left, they really don't want their family hanging around while they meet up with with friends from last year on the way out passed the other 2 family cars with the rest of the cousins, plus lindy's sister who lived in england for a while had her english nanny and daughter visiting with her so brought helen and her daughter ruby along to show them the camp, andrew had meet them on monday at the family cottage,on the ride back my son and I had a bit of private time to chat etc re my upcoming tests and his upcoming birthday on the 8th can't quite believe he is going to be 44 how time lies by, so all in all it was a good day. brenda take it easy remeber you are retired so it is ok to slow down a bit, fred do you have a reciepe for the vegatarian shepherds pie laura has now decided to be a vegatarian so I need help with some meal ideas bye for now dorothy

Hi dorothy ,looking at your family and the camp you mention reminds me of my scouting days ,what with the yearly camps and meeting old friends sigh ,happy days ,lol
The veggie shepherds pie is simple ,i just make up the packet i mentioned a couple of weeks ago ,and split the mix in half ,one i use on the day for whatever i fancy ,the other half i freeze for future use ,which is what i did today.
i find i can get these mixes ,no problem at Morrison's ,the veggie shepherds pie mix ,the veggie sausage mix ,and the burger mix ,with the burger and sausage mix ,you just add the water ,some spice mix ,such as piri piri or simular and that's it .
Sometimes ,like today i grate some cheese over the top of the potato to make a change ,yum..
The red onion i peeled just the outer skin off ,cut a cross halfway through ,placed it in foil ,and added some olive oil ,and a sprinkling of salt,dried sage ,and parsley and placed it in the tin with the roast potatos.
The carrots i did as thick batons ,covered again in olive oil,with basil and lemon zest ,wrapped again in foil..
The wife ,after tasting the onion nicked mine too ,waaah ,not fair ,but it must have tasted well nice ,he he ,next time i make it ,i will eat mine before i put the dinner out ,lol.
The carrots did taste great too,suprising what you can do with a little oil,and spices and herbs.
The veggie pie mix,i have made into cornish pasties as well ,and you can even do pasties using only veggie ,chopped very small ,leaving the meat out,and using a little extra herb and spice to make up for the lack of meat.
Got my sit in the sun at 4 pm after the clouds cleared away ,sat outside for an hour before coming in to feed the cat ,and us.
Tea is a bit of mash and cabbage ,mixed together and fried with a tad of oil[ i never use animal fat for frying ] with a bit of salt and course black pepper ground over the top .so that it goes in as the mix is turned,this goes with the veggie burgers i had left from the B B Q and an egg placed on the top,nice ,quick and tasty.
Poor old Fred is at the dentist next week knowing before he goes that he is going to lose the upper back tooth that is cold ,and heat sensitive ,i can't put up with another winter of pain ,waking up at night with the tooth throbbing in the cold ,ouch.
So ,it's time to be brave and face the dentist pliers he he ,but i would rather face the Arab terrorists again ,lol ,what a wuss i am ,,no food for fred that day ,only luke warm drinks ,still .as the appointment is for 9-30 a m ,i should be feeling better by evening [i hope ] time to go and get the tea now .Fred.
We have to pay full fare on the trains Brenda ,the only exception being the main line as far as Sunderland and Back ,we can use our bus passes for that so it isn't too bad.
I think i can get to Bury totally by bus if i have to, but i would have liked a tram ride lol.we will see anyway.
Catch you later all,Fred.

Afternon all ,,hada look on my cookery pages Dorothy ,and there is a meat substitute you can use for a lot of dishes ,including shepherds pie and pasties.
Called Quorn,which is made from Soya Bean,which you can get in either form,usually in a packet ready to mix up ,all you do is add the water to instructions ,to which you add stock cubes ,or A good quality sauce ,such as Hendersons ,or soy .
The mix then takes on the color of meat ,and taste ,all you do then is add it to the other ingredients and use as normal.
If you can't get either of those over there ,i'm sure Ann can get it over here with no bother,and heck ,if not let me know and i will send some out to you.
Been a very busy chappie this morning ,cor ,i is bu*****d with all the blanching,he he ,broad beans ,runner beans ,and french beans,and even a full saucepan of beetroot ,loooooverly .
All the veggie left from last year has been moved to the kitchen freezer ,and the new stuff is up in the chest freezer which is in the box room.
The best season of the year now ,eating time ,and all fresh gerr to cook with.
We are doing okay for stir frys now ,because my courgette plants are going daft throwing fruit left right and centre ,and the tubs of salad ,and pack choe ditto,this is going to be a very cheap few weeks with us only having to buy meat,milk and eggs of the staples.
Weather is still lousy ,18c at the moment outside ,a bit like an early spring day ,lol , ithink my tomato's have given up on any sun ,staying plump ,but green ,at this rate i will be asking for a recipe for green chutney grrrrrr..
Hope everyone is okay over there and over here ,it's a tad quiet and i am starting to sniff my armpits ,lol.
Fred.

Hello Everyone,well its another sleepless night here again for me,after another busy day i thought i would be fast asleep when me head it the pillow! which I nearly was ,after a read for a few minutes I was ready to nod of and then me knee starts up ,I got up put some of my cream on ,goes back to bed ,but its giving me a fair bit of pain anyway ,so up again and thought I would see if I coud forget it on here ,but I have answered my emails and had a look at a few sites and its still there ,after this I think I need to get me horlicks and a painkiller!!
I hope you do get over to Bury Fred and if possible we could meet up when are you at Cala gran ? the cat has now joined me and is being a bit naughty want ing me to hold him on my knee .So its time for me to get downstairs and have my horlcks and paracetamol. ee you tomorow,

Morning peoples ,sorry to be late ,my fault [slaps wrist] ,hard ,i forgot to change back my windows update to manual last night after upgrading my laptop,with the result that i was almost finished an addition to the thread this morning when the puter shut itself down to install updates ,grrrrr ,he he [Fred waspishly set the puter back to install updates manually after this ] slaps wrist again for good measure .
Yes Brenda i think ,with my right leg [pardon the pun] with the hip and knee.and your knee ,i think we could do with tying ourselves together and tottering to the shops ,we might have two good legs between us ,providing your good leg is the right one [pun intended ] .
We will be down to Fleetwood in the bairns blackberry week [october ] and intend doing a shoot to Bury on Wednesdays market day ,because the wife want's some Chrissie shopping while we are down there,crickey,am i glad i opted for the Nissan cross over ,with the bigger boot ,i am gonna need it ,i may even bring the sons trailer for the extras .you ain't seem my missus when she catches the shopping bug ,lol.
I got up this morning ,as you do ,her he,and made my cuppa ,took it out and put it on the water butt beside the greenhouse,went back and ran the hose out to water me veggies,so there i am ,giving me prize cabbages a drink ,and having one myself,and noticed that there are a load more,runners needing picked ,they don't 'alf grow quickly once they start don't they?.
The missus will see to the greenhouse today ,but i did notice last night as i shut up shop in there ,that there are a load of peppers forming on the plants at last.
The sky was nice and blue then as well as i shut the hose off ,and is still nice and sunny now ,two hours later ,so Fred is wondering ,is today our summer hmmmmmm,anyway ,in case it is ,i have have the shorts ,and tank top on and my shoes handy.
The wife asks ,can we go shopping ,to which i reply " stuff that,i am off into the garden while it's fine" he he ,duck's the slipper that comes my way ,and bolts for the door .
Catch you later All,Fred.

goodmorning I have had a couple of days not moving as it was 42 degree's and the computor did not seem to like the heat had trouble getting on any sites, thanks fred for all the vegatarian tips I believe I can get that quorn over here or at least something similar, brenda sorry to hear that your knee is acting up hope it gets better soon, and fred I share your horror of going to the dentist hope it goes well, your garden is doing well with all that it is producing for you and liz. it has been quiet around here with the children away I shall write them to-day and slip in some extra tuck money for the 2nd week , the decorators should be finished over at andrew's looking foreward to seeing it maybe this week-end as sunday is his birthday but he may fly down east later on sunday he is in kingston for a few days home to-morrow I think it is the time of year that he does interviews for openings in his division. bye for now dorothy

Morning all ,not too good for us today ,back to Autumn weather again ,9,am,and still only 18c outside ,sniff.
What with the disaster with the wheat crops in Russia due to the drought and fires,they have banned all exports of wheat for the next year at least,and with the ground so dry and hard ,they can't even plant the winter wheat crop
With the same scenario in oz for the same reasons ,i reckon bread prices here are going to go through the roof,so the weekly shop today will have added ,a couple of extra bags of ,plain ,and self raising flour ,and some dried yeast, looks like make your own time again ,oh well ,i will at least be able to keep my hand in ,lol.
Looks like the same is happening in China and Pakistan with the rice crops too ,sigh extra bag or two of rice as well ,and a shortage of ready made curries in the shops no doubt..
Hope your knee has eased off for you Brenda ,but i think you need to see your doc' for advice ,a knee like that ,and you are still on Paras' ,they arn't strong enough lass ,believe me ,you need something stronger ,in case you get a really bad attack.
I feel so sorry for asia at the minute ,bad monsoons year after year ,and no relief getting through ,it makes me realise how lucky i am ,with my little veggie patch keeping us in fresh produce ,and tons more room to grow more if i need it ,those poor people have no such luck,seems such a shame ,Pakistan were just emerging as one of the new super economic powers ,and this happens to them ,knocking them back ten years.
I have a brill' dentist Dorothy so apart from a few butterflys in the old tum on the morning i have no worry's really, by the following morning i will be able to manage okay as long as i am careful as to what i chew ,no hard stuff for a few days he he.
Well ,that's my lot for now ,better take the old girl to the shops before the slippers ,or worse start flying about again ,lol
Take care all ,and have a great weekend ,Fred

Evening Folks sorry I have been missing again ,but had a few things to do ,been out everyday this week and have had to catch up with jobs!!!
also been catching up with sleep as you will know I have not had much in the last few nights.
I do have some tablets from the doc Fred but i am a naughty girl and don't take em unless i have to !!! But do realise that I might need to do so more often.Mind you I have realised that I have started to sit on my leg again or rather with my leg under me and that does cause the trouble as well!! So my little stool has come out of the cupboard,its my right leg as well fred so we might have a problem.!!
Looking forward to October now Fred,its a date.
Glad the children are enjoying camp Dorothy,your extra tuck money should go down well.
Off to bed now while I am feeling a bit tired befoe I go past it.see you tomorrow.
brendae

good sunday morning and it is pouring down cats and dogs but a great break from the heat of the last few days and the farmers and gardens can use this, fred you have a great idea to stock pile the things you mentioned I am sure that prices will go sky high this winter what with all the problems world wide with crops, I will be doing a bit of that as well yesterday I was over at the son's for a while as it is his birthday to-day but we had a lunch to-gether a day early I thought he was flying east to-day but apparently he goes to-morrow, so he and lindy are doing some things around the house to-day while the children are away, the painter did a good job their bedroom looks great, andrew has been out of town on and off for 4 weeks and is a bit fed up with the travelling but as he said it goes with the job but will be home all of sept.while he is away this week lindy is going up to her aunts cottage for a few days so I shall stay at the house to keep an eye on things so may be off line till thursday, it will be strange staying their without the dog around but I shall take over big quilts etc and make good use of the big washer and dryer I know a lot of their neighbours so won't be lonely. if you are away for a day or so insurance coverage states that someone has to be in the house at least once a day so that is why I am staying there. brenda hope that you recover from all your busy time and I did see in the daily mail that the crew from coronation st had a birthday party at the bury bolton train staion for anthony cotton. my cousin phoned and the funeral is on the 11th in stretford I assume the autopsy showed it was a massive stroke the cousins from london and the isle of man are going . just chris and I will be absent but there in thought oh gosh it is really pouring I am going to go and close some windows take care bye dorothy