General Chat

You can buy what we call in Britain ,Trailing Tomato's that you can grow in plant pots up a height,which then trail down,,much the same as upside down tomatos,which i must admit i have never heard of.
I am chuffed to bits today because i now have 2 orange trees showing in the pots,not bad eh?
Can't get out into the garden today,it's gone back to cold and it's drizzling from time to time [bummer].
Having an early night peeps as i don't feel too grand at the moment.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend.Fred,the snffling Badger he he.

Nudge,be back after i take the car in for repair ,Fred.

Morning all,was coming on here earlier after putting some photos on the pc,but I can not find the lead which connects the camera to pc,I am the only one who uses it but it always gets moved!! so have spent almost an hour looking for it to no avail.I am out to lunch with a friend and have to call in the bavk to pay in a cheque.It is my day off, but have agreed to help out with some extra hours tonight.I know they are desperate when they phone me!!
Hope the weather improved Dorothy and that the car is ok and you are feeling better Fred.How are you Kathleen?
Hope everyone else is ok.
We had a walk round a garden center yesterday looking for a rose bush for a silver wedding present for some friends ,we did get one ,but I also saw loads that i would like,but some of the prices !!!
have to go now and get ready to go out.
TAke care Brenda

goodmorning well I had a great day yesterday it was warmer 50 degree's and sunny went to the library and picked up a few groceries as they said we will be hit by a storm on monday, then murray won his match and it was a good one to watch. then I made the mistake of getting out of bed this morning and watched great big fluffy flakes going by the window it is now 9-30 am and no visabiltiy out of the window all the school buses cancelled roads in a mess snow plows out and a toatl of 25cm expected by this afternoon more to-morrow, but by easter week-end it will melt and a high of 50 again april has gone mad, sorry that all my news is about the weather but not very much else going on. andrew and lindy have booked the flat in paris for the french part of their trip I think that it is the one her sister used last year so they have an idea of what is involved , her other sister is over from england at the moment looking for a house to buy in ottawa for when they return to canada in the fall and to look into schools for the children. I have to go over to the family to-day as andrew is in windsor (canada) for meetings for three days and lindy has after school commitments ie the girls basketball team practice so I am in charge of homework and guitar practice I may go over early so that I don't have as much snow to shovel off the car, bryan will clean off the car for when I come home this evening bye for now dorothy

Morning all,its cold here today but the sun is trying to get out,we have rain predicited for the rest of the week,!!!
Will be staying in for the bank holiday i feel,good book and all that.Might sort out some drawers and wardrobes again,too much exitment !!
off to lunch now see you all soon ,hope everyone is well,
Brenda

Good afternoon to you all, hope everyone is keeping well. The weather has turned cold again - and my central heating broke down on Thursday!!! Can't be repaired so now have to get a new boiler. Quote from British Gas was £5,000 - don't have a spare £5K hanging around so called in someone else and waiting for their quote (he called BG quote "criminal") hoping his will be more reasonable but probably still too expensive. Luckily I have an immersion heater so we do have hot water and have borrowed a heater. Good job it didn't happen during the REALLY cold weather. Although after reading about Dorothy's weather we sound like a load of softies complaining about it being cold.
Off to the physio shortly, my hand has improved quite a bit following the excercises she gave me to do so I am hoping that I won't have to make many more trips there.
Really please Murray won his match, didn't watch it but read about it the next day.
Fred, advice please about growing onions. Never tried them before so could do with some tips. Never had much luck with carrots as they always seem to fork but will keep trying. Going to try some different tomatoes this year, Beefsteak and plum. Last year had loads of cherry tomatoes growing in a pot - they were so tasty but rather small.
Must be off now for my appointment with the physio, I hope she will be pleased with my progress.
Take care everyone
God bless
Love
Kathleen

Morning all,Fred has just had a naughty thought ,he sees in his mind Brenda sorting out her drawers he he, know what you really mean Brenda,i normally leave the missusto do that sort of thing as i'm now busy outside in the garden,with plenty to do despite the rain.
The son got that fir out for me,so,it's off back to B&Q tomorrow to get one of those palms that they have at Cala,that will make a very nice centre piece for the front garden'
The car has to go back on Thursday,the piece they need is not in stock ,but they have fixed the horn so that it works on a temporary basis.
Have to go and put dinner out,Kolgannon with mince pies and beef gravy.
Catch you all later Fred

Hi Kathleen your new boiler should be no more than £3-500 and that includes installation,there are plenty of firms cheaper than the ridiculous price quoted by B Gas.
.Carrots and Parsnips are easy enough to grow,but choose a spot that was manured for last years crop whatever it was,do NOT use fresh manure in a seed bed or your carrots will fork every time.
Root veggies must NOT be transplanted, they will grow like corkscrews.
Any other sort of seedling will transplant okay,including beetroot.
Onion take a lot of care and can be difficult to grow,and i gave up growing them when i gave up the two allotments i had,all i grow now are spring onions which are easy enough. he he.
If you must grow onions ,choose a good strain of seed ,and either start them.late august the previous year ,or start them under cover in January.
Sets are easier to grow ,but keep well watered in the dry or they will bolt.
I find beef tomatoes very bland and prefer a variety such as moneymaker or ailsa craig pretty tasty and easy to grow.
Time now to go into my own greenhouse and get some seeds in ,lolFred.

hi kathleen that price for new heating sounds ridiculous glad fred could give you some advice on more reasonable prices all this talk about planting vegatable sounds great I am taking all this advice to heart for when I am able to plant on the balcony. the car had about a foot of snow on it yesterday but it was the fluffy kind so cleaned off fast but later it got colder and the snow was hard but the boys cleaned off the car for me when I left last evening and cleared the double driveway for their mom, bryan the oldest tried to talk me into letting him use the snow blower quite a big machine but I said no was not sure that andrew allowed him to do that. I am heading over there again to-day and will be there till at least 10pm this evening Lindy has to attend a drama course for school. it is still snwoing but it is supposed to clear later. I am clinging to the fact that it is supposed to be a sunny easter week-end maybe this is winter's last blast. gosh I have to find something else to talk about you all must be bored with my weather reports bye for now dorothy

Hi just a few quick lines ,just finished lunch .was v good with jacket potato and cottage cheese salad,then spoilt by having a slicce of choc fudge cake brought by my colleque.
Been quite today hope it stays sam this afternoon,as we are both tired I di not sleep with my sore knee and Mel has had a head cold for a day or two.
see you tomorrow.
Brenda

Jut thought you would like to know that i have now found the cable to attach my camera to the pc ,have been searching for days!! will ave me a trip to get anew one anyway.
Off to bed now ,see you all soon take care,brenda

hi one and all I would like to wish you all a happy easter week-end we are having dinner to-morrow (tea supper) at andrew's just a small gathering including me and his dad, on saturday lindy and laura are going to kitchener to her mom's to be joined by her sister and family, as the ladies are going to a production of west side story so andrew and the boys are having a guy's week-end I presume his dad will stay over. they were to be joined by her other sister and family who are over from lewes england staying in ottawa and buying a house for the return to canada they have looked at 45 in one week and have bought one but the husband is in hospital with his third attack of pancreatitis so they may not make it to kitchener not sure if they were flying back to england on monday from toronto or ottawa plus mike may not be fit enough to be allowd to fly so some things are up in the air. never a dull moment but I am happy to report that the snow is melting the sky is blue and the temperature is to be 10 to-day and not a snow flake in the forecast fo the next week yippie. again happy easter bye for now dorothy

Hiya ,one and all,the old pest is home,car fixed dinner [curry] made and eaten and the washing up done.
i have been out back ,put the 12 strawberry plants in ,three asparagus into buckets and three more buckets earmarked for another three.
I have decided to grow just two kinds of cabbage this year a summer ,and an autumn variety which should keep us going well into the new year.
Two sorts of carrots again,french bean ,leek,parsnip,swede,and the old asparagus which will keep us going until the new ones are ready to crop.
We have decided not to bother with cauli' this year ,they are cheap enough to buy
We are trying a new brussel.,a hybrid called Fortress,low growing, needing no supports,with medium size tight buttons, that stand well into February.
With the extra cabbage beans,and swede ,there is more than enough to keep us going.
Of course there are the tomatoes ,cucumber and strawberries which will make a welcome change too,so,all in all ,we should do very well..
Still too windy to get my palm in ,but no worry ,the weather will improve by next weekend ,he says hopefully.
Time to make the tea,a salad tonight,with a piece of Lasagne ,i think .
Catch you later peeps.Fred.

Hi all,
Just want to wish you all very happy Easter and to let you know I'll be absent for a few days whilst our pc is at the doctors having a MOT.
I don't like the idea of them taking the pc away from me for Easter, but then again if they look at it quickly then I'll be very happy. It is not working as quickly as I would like it to.
It is then a question of what we will do, another pc or this one cleaned up.
Our USB stick doesn't work on this machine.
I visited our Garden Center today and bought lots of flowers for our window boxes. Please don't let there be any frost any more!
Until we meet again.
Sylvia xxx

Just a short message,fell asleep downstairs watching a film ,John was upstairs watching the golf!!!Came on to check messages as i have a few errands to do tomorrow nd might not have time .
Hope your Pc is ok Sylvia,and you do not need a new one.
Fred,you are so busy with your garden etc when and how do you relax.!!
Dorothy hope the meal went well and your daughter in laws, brother in law is well enougth to travel.
It been wet and grey here today hope it brightens up over the weekend ,but i can nt see it myself.
Fred, managed to sort out a couple of my drawers today,have a bag ot take to the charity shop next week.John has done the same but he is taking his stuff to someone he know who usually makes use of the shirts and jumpers he gives him.Also have a box of bric a brac and books,will have to get them taken asap,before I change my mind.!!!!
Hope you all have a great easter weekend what ever you have planned,and hope the weather stays good for everyone where ever you are/
take care ,Brenda.

hi everyone hope you all are enjoying the week-end we had a great dinner yesterday lindy cooked turkey with all the trimmings the weather was allright cool but sunny and this morning the sun is shining and the temp is about 11, brenda lindys brother in law is still in hospital in ottawa apparently they put a stent into the bile duct in england and unfortunatly it is not working like they expected ( this can happen not unusual) so they are doing more tests, we all thought they were due to go back this week-end but apparently they had planned to stay another week to sort out the schooling for the 3 children. jack the oldest is in a private school in lewes as he is classed as gifted so the school in ottawa that deals with children like this is full so they are looking into other options ie paying for him to go as a day student to a boarding school and then the other boy marcus is showing the same thing so who knows how it will turn out. this academic gene must come from lindy's side of the family sometimes I think it is more of a burden than a blessing to be classed as gifted. to-day I am going to have another wander around the garden centre still planning what I am going to do with the balcony reading about fred's garden is motivating me to take a better interest in plants etc I am sure john will enjoy the masters we are glued to it in my family when ever possible. my friend isobelle in brampton had some exciting news yesterday she knows that her daughter is expecting number 2 in august well her son and his wife told her that their first is on the way and due on nov 5 so two news one this year both of us working in obstetrics for all those years are nuts over babies so when I told my son and wife he said lindy isobelle has caught up with mom we better try for number 4 I won't write what her reply was but it went kind of like this you want another then you have it but a bit more colourfull!!! bye for now dorothy

Hi Everyone,hope you are all having a good easter.The weather is being good for us at last nice and sunny yesterday and today ,hope it stays the same tomorrow.
Glad your meal went well Dorothy and hope Lindys bil gets well soon.
We have only had sad news on the new baby front as Johns neice lost twins the week it was my birthday,she did not know she was pregnant ,she had changed pills the month before and was a bit mixed up with things.My cousins daughter has had a miscarriage at 6 months ,she was taken toa hospital some distance away which has a better reputation at stopping this sort of thing but no luck..
John has plante and replanted some of the tubs this weekend .I have been sorting drawers out ,I really must not put bags way without some sort of label I have found all sorts of things .
Going for a coffe now then will get the rest of the dinner on,theres only me and John so its very easy today/
Take care Brenda

hi brenda glad the weather has improved for you sorry to hear the sad baby news always a difficult thing,looks like we are in for a lovely day weather wise for easter monday a mixed up day retail wise some things closed some open no mail but the banks are open the children are off school till to-morrow. I have been looking at at book on balcony gardening it was a gift to me a couple of years ago to see if I can decide what to put on the balcony. it is about 17feet long and about 7ft wide. and I get full sun most of the day (plus it is 11 stories up). maybe fred will have some good ideas. bye for now dorothy

Hi all,yesterday was a really nice sunny day,today is chilly and grey!!
Been out looking at bathroom suite,and have seen three we like,all different prices so we need to see what extras we might need ,to get a final price along with the installation.
But feel like I am in for a heavy cold again have a banging headache and sore throat,will be on the hot toddys I think, as the honey lemon stuff is not doing anything!
Good luck with the balcony garden Dorothy the book will help and so i am sure will Fred.
Brenda

Still here folks lol,but i am having problems trying to take all my programmes off the xp desktop before it crashes and burns.
I thought i would be a clever bugger and d0wnload all my gear onto the external hard drive and just couple it up to the laptops in turn lol,whos'e a clever sony then ,trying to load xp files onto a vista laptop.oh the shame of it he he.
I finished up having to put all my files onto disc and do it that way,nearly losing half my research.
I have to empty the harddrive back into the xp and then delete it all so that i can start again with it coupled up to vista to be able to use the programmes again,o hum .
The weather is still lousy so i will be spending tomorrow in the greenhouse .
Catch you later peeps,Fred.