General Chat

Hi Brenda ,well here we go back to normal and back to the daily grind .
Been to the shops early and found 5 packs of Asparagus 27 p a pack ,guess who is making soup for the freezer ,and two bowls worth left out for tea,lol :-).
I got another batch of sun dried tomato and basil loaf mix too ,which i will knock up after dinner ,which will go with the soup well ,i reckon.
Got a few stock items in as well because looking at the long range forecast, it dosn't look very promising :-D.
Think Australia Day is going to be a washout this year ,with the ban on ALL fires in force ,so fireworks are out ,and the stalls in the parks will be unable to use anything but electric to cook any sort of foods,not looking at all good.
I have found a very nice freeview box for the front room with a built in hard drive that records shows the same way the Virgin tivo box does ,so i reckon that the tivo box is going back in the next two weeks :-|.
The call blocker i brought off the net works fine ,thank goodness ,all the PPI calls and wild calls have stopped ,and only ones we programmed a while ago with names next to the numbers are getting through at all ,utter bliss,the box stops the calls even before the phone rings ,a heavenly silence pervades the house ,well worth the £50 :-D.
Hope the hubby gets his game in these next couple of days while the weather lasts ,he he ,i know how he feels ,i used to love going cod fishing in winter ,lol,i didn't even mind when there was ice on the reel and line with the bitter cold up here ,but when it started to drizzle ,or rain ir spoiled everything ,[sigh ] those were the days ,gone for good with my health these days ,sometimes memories can be very cruel , like when you have tied in to the biggest fish you have ever latched on to ,only to wake up in a sweat as the fishes head comes out of the water :-(. grrrrrrrr.
Time to see to the dinner cobbler today steak and kidney two cheese and onion buns halved in the top with roast tatties ,and boiled ,brussel and cabbage out of the garden ,and red roast onion with chunks of roast parsnip ,no wonder it' soup for tea ,lol.
Catch you later ,Fred :-D xxx

Evening all.
I see you have been busy again Fred and got all the bargains again.
I have been out visiting my friends parents,they are going to Australia next Monday to vivist her,for about 6 weeks I think,so they should miss all the bad weather here.However Ihope they do not have any problems with the fires etc over there.
Just had a nice pork steak with mushrooms and some steam broccolli and a couple new potatoes,very nice.making a nice spag bol tomorrow ,Hope it is as good as last weeks which was rather good if I say so myself.That free veiw box sounds good will you email me the etails please .
Take care Brenda xn

Morning our Brenda,don't need to send you any details of free view boxes ,they can bw brought from Curry's,the recorder versions with the hard drive the same as the tivo for £150up to over £250,the one i have looked at being £180 with exactly the same as our tivo [virgin box.]
Having your own means no paying £35 a month to a broadband company as it is run from any modern t v antenna so ,no junction boxes needed either,and you can connect it to a normal dvd recorder if you want a recorded disc to clear space on the hard drive.
Yep ,back to the cooking ,lol,making a pasta based dish for dinner using pasta shells filled with potato and onion ,done with small carrot and peas par cooked.
Adding cooked rashers [diced ] into the potato bake sauce ,all covered with thin potato slices [par steamed ].
Using cabbage from the garden again ,and carrot ditto ,for the veggie side of things ,can't use the tatties from the barrels yet because the ground is so wet ,i can't get to them ,but ,they will keep until early march if needs be.
Took the wife Monday for her eye appointment ,dragging her kicking and squealing and ordered her three pairs of glasses ,one pait perscription sun glasses ,one pair of distance glasses ,and one pair of reading,and managed a deal with the optician who looked deperate for work ,the shopping centre being pretty small and neither the missus ,or i qualifying for help because we are both just above the limit for pension credits.
However ,i got the three pairs for £160 so i did all right with the wrangling it took me back to my days of bartering in Aden he he ,and the optician ,who was asian ,had beads of sweat on his brow by the time i had wrung him out to dry ,lol.
Don't even know what the wife was screaming for either ,because i paid the bill ,part of her Christmas box :-).
I have emptied both the boxes of carrot out back ,layered them in sand in a large box in the greenhouse ,and have enough to keep us going until early march ,the same with the parsnip,leaving the leeks and beetroot out ,because they will stand in the ice and snow which they recon will be coming within two weeks ,brrrrrr. :-(.
Still ,looking at friends in Oz and Canada ,we should be thankful for what we have ,one of my friends in oz has the family car parked outside the front door with cases in the back it looks that bad ,and others in Brisbane are looking a little worried too ,if anything ,even worse off them being all on the outskirts of town.,not a nice place to be at the present time ,so i hope your rellies are going to be okay where they are going.
Have to go out this afternoon to have my feet seen to so we will check to see if the glasses are ready ,seeing as the optician is only four doors along from the foot clinic ,
I had told the wife last year that i was sure she had cateract's starting in both eyes,which the optician verified on Monday ,so i will at the foot clinic get her fut on the list before she starts cutting her feet instead of the toes he he ;-).
Off to get on with the baking and cooking now or it will be a later dinner.catch you later peeps ,Fred,xxx.

Evening all,well Fred wa do not have a Tivo box or a dvd recorder ,so My thinking that what you had mentioned would help us ,wouldn;t really,never mind.
You sound busy again with your cooking etc,i will have to start looking at what is at the bottom of the freezer ,keep getting bits and pieces and nothing from the bottom is being used.!!
Sounds like you got a good deal for Liz.s glasses welldone.
Looks like Dorothy might finalyy have had her christmas ,meal with her family.Hope it all went well.
Out with my friends for one of their birthdays tomorrow,we are going for a chinese,
Take care Brenda x

What i meant Brenda was ,if you just have a basic t v on an antenna you could buy a freeview box with a hard drive to enable you to watch multiple channela ,and if you wished ,record some programmes to watch later ,lol,you do not need a Tivo box as well, sometimes find two shows on at the same time and with one of these boxes ,you can watch both ,one after the other without having to pay Tivo ,or sky prices,all on the freeview are free to watch..
Well ,we went no where today ,not worth even starting the car up in this snow,but i will have to sort something out for Wednesday because the wife is at the hospital ,be it the car ,or a taxi due to snow or lack of free parking spaces ,parking at the old place is now not viable ,my legs getting worse all the time and now it's less than a hundred yards and i'm buggered ,never mind a quarter of a mile ,even less in freezing weather because the angina kicks in :-(.
Think this coming season it's a case of finding a gardener to do the lawns ,as well as the hedges ,lol,this getting old is a pain in the ass. :-|.
Took a whole turkey leg out of the freezer this afternoon becuse it's gonna be a veeeeery cold night up here ,ans a cold day too ,so i thought a nice green Thai curry would go down well with some kolgannon out for the tea with a couple of snags ,and a slice of bacon ,loveeerly stuff. :-D.
Gonna feed the cat now ,then have a play on me kindle before i get the tea on.take care Brenda ,and watch the footing when out and about :-) Fred.xxx

evening all.well that white stuff has arrived ,not much here ====yet but we are supposed to get more by the end of the week..
Had lunch out today ,anice chinese at our favourite restauraunt,whuch was really quiete as was the place we went for a coffe afterwards, sign of the times I suppose..
Know whatyou mean about the legs etc not working like they used to do.we were all sat chatting today about our aches and pains etc when it would have been about fashion or holidays etc.!!
I'd go for the taxi if you can manage it Fred or can you get one of the volunteer drivers etc.from the hospital.
Making a nice chicken broth tonight for tomorrows lunch,,and a pork loin dish for tea.The pork has been in the freezer for a while need to get a few things used from the freezer so will be having some different meals.
Take care of yourself Fred and look after Liz as well in this awful weather.
Brenda x

evening all.well that white stuff has arrived ,not much here ====yet but we are supposed to get more by the end of the week..
Had lunch out today ,anice chinese at our favourite restauraunt,whuch was really quiete as was the place we went for a coffe afterwards, sign of the times I suppose..
Know whatyou mean about the legs etc not working like they used to do.we were all sat chatting today about our aches and pains etc when it would have been about fashion or holidays etc.!!
I'd go for the taxi if you can manage it Fred or can you get one of the volunteer drivers etc.from the hospital.
Making a nice chicken broth tonight for tomorrows lunch,,and a pork loin dish for tea.The pork has been in the freezer for a while need to get a few things used from the freezer so will be having some different meals.
Take care of yourself Fred and look after Liz as well in this awful weather.
Brenda x

evening all hope everyone is keeping warm or aswarm as they can,
This weather is awful. feel sorry for older people and less able bodied.
Take care brenda

Morning to alllllll,on a cold and frosty morrrrrning with snow on the way traaaa laaaaa :-D.
Fred don't give a damn ,lol,our last outing to stock up on the odd bits and pieces ,the snow sox are on the car just in case ,and it's now a weekend in the warm ,with plenty to keep me going,and the missus is quite happy playing games on her Kindle fire during the day ,and reading in bed on the reader at night.
I did buy two trays of steak mince at Morrisons when out and noticed that they had a bigger tray holding nearly 25 ounces less ,for £1 more bloody disgusting i calls it ,ripping people off that way ,i spotted at least 4 items in the same store where you pay more ,for less buying one tray instead of two ,no wonder Morrison,s are going downhill.
Any way ,after the burger scandel ,we are back to making our own ,using steak mince ,and herbs out of the garden ,and pork burgers ditto ,both a lot tastier than shop brought anyway ,lol,the only ones i will be buying ready made now are from the farm where i buy my meat and poultry for Christmas and easter ,at least i know what i am getting there ,and i get all my bangers from there anyway.
The meat products are a little dearer yes ,but the taste is far better,and there is no rusk or garbage in their stuff ,even the turkeys die happy ,being fed grain soaked in wine for two months before they get topped ,,and the colour of the meat is amazing as well as the taste.
I won't be picking veggies from the garden today seeing as i did that yesterday ,so ,apart from burger making this morning ,and deciding what to cook for dinner ,a fresh chicken,not frozen ,corn fed of course,or steak and kidney ,or even liver and onions.whatever we don't have today we will have over the next few days,people of leisure ,that's us.
Every time i see my haggis in the freezer i drool ,he he ,i found a vegetarian one which i am going to try and still have half a normal one in the freezer ,which i will cook up as well ,just in case ,but seeing as the veggie one is by Grants of Roxbrough who have a heck of a reputation to uphold ,i can't see it being at all bad.
This afternoon i will crack on and get the whole house hoovered and use the pelmet brush on the skirting boards and picture frames ,leaving only the doors and furniture to dust tomorrow
Looking at your weather Brenda ,i hope you got your trip to Bury in yesterday before the white stuff arrives ,he he looks like you are the ones who will be next in line after the worst of it is dumped in Wales [poor lot of beggars ] first flooding and then landslip ,and now the worst snow in years on top of it all,i really love Wales ,and the people and really feel for them at the moment ,hope Jude is okay and holed up in her cellar or kitchen with plenty of firewood for the stove,and hope that they have snow sox on their transport.
Well ,time for me to get on with the burger making and dinner ,so i will catch you later ,.take care down there lass ,you are going to cop it much worse than we are up here Fred.xx

Hi Fred,we used to do our own burgers years ago,we had an old fashioned mincer and used to mince the steak ourselves.John did a bit if butchering when he first left school and makes a mean burger.Which was just as well as at one time burgers mince and sausage was all david would eat.!!
We have been shopping to Day and stocked up on a few things.We cancelled going to Bury I did not fancy shivering round the market.Will have to wait till its a bit warmer!!! Good job we do not need that much from there just yet !!
we are having chicken tonight with one of those cook in bag and spices. which are really nice.
Better get my coffe drank ,
Have a good weekend and take care
Brenda xx.

Morning to Brenda ,and anyone else who are trapped on the old homestead he he,i am not bothering to go out and clear the paths and drive ,because there has been nothing with tyres or tracks up ,or down our street since Friday night :-).
Made a nice soup this morning with the tiny bits of meat i got off the chicken carcass after boiling it up .along with a little stuffing i got off the dinner tray.
The missus chopped up one of the parsnip from the garden ,two carrots ditto and even a little shredded cabbage,which i have thrown in,added a new potato chopped ,salt pepper ,and it is now simmering nicely on the cooker,i will come in handy for the tea tonight.
The left over potato ,and cabbage i will chop into largish pieces and heat up in the frying pan with a little olive oil ,and have taken 2 burgers out of the freezer and 4 bangers which i will cook on the electric grill ,to take all the fat out,he he ,a little horse radish sauce ,or mustard on those ,and we will have a nice quick dinner.
Stripped the other side of the bird off the bone in one piece along with the other leg ,and it is in the freezer for another meal for the near future :-D,We have warnings out again for heavy snow late this evening and overnight ,with more on Monday and Tuesday,. hmmmmmm ,time to keep checking to make sure my feathered friends have seed ,fat balls pea nuts ,and dried meal worm ,along with fresh water.otherwise the poor little mites won't survive these temperatures for long :-(.
Going to make a couple of hot coffee's now ,and then it's the dusting to keep myself warm ,and mobile,catch you all later ,Fred & Liz xx

Afternoon all..we have not had as much snow here as we were led to beleive we would get,but it is still very very cold and slippy out side.
I have not been out side since Friday afternoon,not even to empty the kitshen waste bin.
John and David have been out ,Davi to the match yesterday and to keep his bir d
feeeders filled .
John has been out for papers this morning.
Made a very nice spagetti carbanara last night,but it was a Slimming world recipe and was really nice and not that exspensive.
Having a peice of brisket for tea,love the gravy it makes,!!!doing some baby potato ,cabbage and carrots and swede ,might do a tin of butter beans as the ones I did and froze have been used will get some more and dothem in the week.
Also got a reipe from my friend for a chilli made with Black eyed beans and veg,which I will do in the week.and let you know.
At the doctors again tomorrow for another presripton for the increase in my medication.,might call on my friend on the way home for a coffee.if she is free.
My sister was in France sking last week and they got held up coming home for 3 hours,which was not that bad.One of my neices was held up coming home from London the other day by train,the first 4 got cancelled and the 5th was packed,then it stopped due to something being frozen,took nearly 7 hours altogether,to get to Manchester ,she lives up in the hills near \hyde and thought she would have more trouble getting there but did not.
Hope the expected snow for tomorrow and the rest of the week does not appear as I am supposed to starting a new keep fit. class on Tuesday night.And out with my youngest sister and her friend on Thursday.
Going to do some ironing now before the football starts ,then might bake some blueberry muffins.
Take care and keep warm
Brenda.x

morning Brenda ,glad to hear that you had a reprieve from the snow forecast ,but we wern't as lucky ,lol.
I had a day off from snow clearing yesterday because i was cold ,and feeling lazy after the housework,but had to shift 6 inches off the paths ,front and back this morning ,in case our bin men manage to get round ,i doubt it of course ,but no matter ,i have done my bit.
havn't cleared the drive yet ,but will do that this afternoon ,hoping that it will thaw a bit over the next two days so that i can get the car out onto the road ,which by the way ,is a little better now and is just usable ,with care. :-).
Looks like a perog'y day tomorrow ,something nice and warming needed ,after going out in the back to get some veggie out of storage ,today i am making the wife a cauli' cheese ,and myself a macaroni cheese ,with some nice new potatoes and carrots from the greenhouse ,enough cabbage left from yesterday to save me cutting another one.
Ruddy women ,grrrrr ,i spend six months growing some beutiful brussel ,and have a load and a half in the back ,and the wife says ,oh ,i just don't fancy them at the moment ,no pleasing some females ,huh. :-P.
Time to crack on ,with plenty do do after getting some feeling back in me poor tootsies ,ouch ,it was ruddy freezin' out there this a m. :-D.
Catch you later peeps ,Fred.xxx :-)

Afternoon all,well Fred we are still very cold,or rather freezing here.!! but have nothing like you have in snow.
Round the main roads and shops etc is clear but very slippy in places,Further out and in the parks it is still under a few inches of snow.
Had an errand at the Club house at the golf course where john plays,my sister has booked it for my brother in laws 60th on Friday,it looked really lovelly with all the snow and they had left the fountain on in the middle pond to keep so the birds would get a drink.
We have been out twice this wek and I am out tomorrow and maybe Thursday but I am not that sure ,will see what it is like on the day.
Keep yourself and Liz warm,Fred and those brussels will be ok for a while ,or why not shred them in a stir fry?,
Take care Brenda x

hi
am up here in Lancashire, trying to get on the right dates, I hate the dreaded dates , I cannot always get the times right, it look like you have been doing this for some time now, so its hello from me, and a happy new year,

Afternoon folks Fred is darned sore this pm and has had to have a lay down upstairs after coming back from the shopping.
There was a window in the snow forecast with a slow [and i mean slow ] thaw until mid day tomorrow ,so i set to at 8 am and got cracking with the snow shovel ,moving the nights snow fall from the back garden path ,the front path up to the gate and the little path from the gate to the road .so that i could get the bin back out.
Had a hot cuppa ,put my gloves back on ,and started the heavy work ,lol,6 inches of snow to move from my drive way ,up to the double gate ,then round through the garden gate to the other side of the drive gates and cleared the path ,and drive to the road ,which i then gritted ,all of it :-(,so that i could get the car out.
Shopping done with the thought that we could well be snowed in again this week end so got the few extras ,i then brought the missus home ,unloaded the car ,put the stuff away ,and got the dinner. before collapsing on the bed in the back room ,lol.
I brought 8 wraps home today ,which i am going to do for tea ,Mexican style ,a hot sauce with diced chicken sweet peppers ,a diced sweet potato and a few other odds and ends ,a nice warming tea and a laze in front of the tele' or play a game on the hd kindle . :-).
Not a lot on tomorrow ,housework ,and some veg' for the dinner ,likely a cabbage ,Savoy] and some brussels ,to go withj a perogie dish ,made with grilled ,diced bacon , some veggies ,like diced carrot ,and onion ,some peas ,and thin slices of potato to lay on top of the dish ,with a nice pasta sauce ,and grated Cheddar,all with a few pre 'cooked roasties ,he he can't be bothered to do them from scratch this time.
They say next month is going to be pretty bad Brenda ,but followed by a very mild March /April .bring it on i say ,lol. :-D.
Still can't get near my bins ,and the potatoes ,but they should be okay until mid March anyway,and i am thinking of using big growing bags this season as well ,that way i can tip them out into the bins making it a lot easier,things are getting a little harder for me each year now ,and i think in 2 or 3 years i may have to do away with all the growing other than the greenhouse and my boxes for the carrot ,onions and parsnips ,oh well ,into each life ,a little rain must fall. :-).
Glad to hear you didn't get hit too hard with the white stuff ,you lucky lot ,some people were lucky this time ,lol.
catch you all later ,Fred Liz& the cat ,who is asleep upstairs as usual .xxx :-D

Evening all.Hello Cannie annie,not sure what you mean,but as I have not done any researching for a long time don't think I coukd answer any questions anywayYou might be better going on one of the other boards were they have people to help.
Well Fred what are you like ,doing everything all at once.we aint getting any younger you know..!!
Hope you do not get any more snow,don't want any here either.But what will be will be.
Just having a lazy night tonight, watching a bit of tv and then an early night to have a read,Finally been advised that a book I requested at the library is now in,hope to get it weekend.
take care Brenda

Morning all ,bit better here this morning after i have cleared the road outside the drive gates ,10 feet either side ,ouch ,i had to have it done as i had one hell of a job getting over the hard ice ruts in the centre of the road to reverse up the slope into my drive ,and finished off going in frontwards instead. :-(.
Not the ideal situation ,as i need to be able to get out in a hurry with the missus for the hospital if i have to ,but never mind ,it's done now ,and when we come back to day from picking up her tablets from the docs ,i will be able to get in the normal way.
Sorry our Brenda ,but if the forecast is correct ,it's your turn for the hammer ,with a lot of snow due down there from early evening ,and over night before it comes our way ,me i ain't bothered one i get the rest of the supplies in ,that will see us okay for over a week and a half .
Just had a horrible thought Brenda ,it's 11 months to Christmas eve [ducks to avoid the snowballs ,and worse coming my way ,he he] but it will give you some practice for the coming Christmas in Snow conditions. :-).
Everything is up to date in the house so it's time for a lazy day ,and nothing to see to but the tea.
Yesterday we decided on Mexican wraps for tea instead of the perogies ,so we will have them today instead.
Take care ,and stay warm ,Fred :-D

Afternoon,Fred,we have been having snow flurries all morning,and thought it was getting thicker,but its stop again now.Tonight we are out at a family do and half expect to be snowed in at the venue,which is at one of the highest points in North Manchester ! hope they have a hot buffet. Been for some shopping at Tesco but need some stuff from Morrisons ,will go there tomorrow ,weather permitting as its not far from the library and I need to go there as well.
Having a spaggetti bolagnese for tea,.Tomorrow we are having leg lamb ,and a roast dinner.then on Sunday we are having visitors and I will use the cold lamb and some cheese and salad and some frozen buffet/party things we did not use at christmas.Well thats the plan but the weather could scupper them.
We do not have a drive and park on the road so do not have to do that much digging out.We do try to clear part of the pavement putside the house but not many do that anymore so the street pavements get ver rutted..
Have an errand to do before 4 pm so better get a move on.
Take care Brenda x

Bet you is out shopping Brenda ,before the rain and winds arrive he he ,been doing housework this morning ,that and doing a au gratin dish for dinner ,with lots of diced carrot ,peas ,chopped up bacon [cooked] and some meat left from yesterdays main meal
:-).
Most of our snow has gone now ,thank goodness ,but i have had to check the patio door barrier to make sure it's still okay ,what with the high winds and heavy rain due plus the melt water lying in the garden ,i already have a lake out back between the greenhouse and the patio step. :-(,canny win in this sort of weather can we ?.
Still we are tons better off than Oz and other places round the world ,so i suppose it's not the sort of thing to make much of ,we are veeeery lucky compared to most.
Time to go and start the rest of dinner ,this was really to rescue the thread from going over the edge ,lol,be back later on ,Fred .xxx :-D