General Chat

goodmorning from a sunny but not overly hot barrie good to read the thread from fred and brenda this morning, brenda hopefully they will sort out what is wrong with your dad this time once and for all and please do look after yourself it won't help if you get run down, glad you and john had a nice evening on his birthday, fred your stories on your garden are always great to read, my pepper plant is doing very well but the tomato plant is looking a bit faded lots of tomatoes still green at the moment but some starting to turn red.spoke to hello uk myself to-day they have sent 5 copies I have now recieved 2 the hold up seems to be at this end I have spoken to the mail dept over here and they are looking into it after I spoke to them yesterday the july 1st copy turned up in the mailbox !!!!! so I will be on to them again this morning, the family are in edmonton to-day and will be on the drive home stopping in at several places along the way should be home on saturday, the cleaning service they have will be in to day so they will come home to a clean house, not that I have mucked it up that much, andrew insisted lindy have this service when she went back to university and they have kept it on since they come every 2 weeks, woth the money what with the size of the house three children etc. though the children do have a weekly list of chores to keep on top of things plus it teaches them responsibility does it not. I shall be glad to see them when they come home and hear all about the things they have seen and done bye for now dorothy

Morning dorothy Brenda ,edith ,and all the others lol.
you are right Brenda,i have been very busy in the garden,putting in the last of the winter veggies[cabbage] weeding out front ,doing the hedges and all the rest ,but it's well worth the effort,and it keeps me on my toes he he.
Slugs,i think i have got on top of them,being in buckets ,i have put a strip of copper tape round all of the tops .which slugs can not cross over,have used a systemic spray to keep the catterpillers at bay ,and the flies too.
The rest of rthe garden i use slug pellets,you can get some now that do Not harm birds [very important] so ,i use those freely around the flowers,a few pellets every couple of feet does the trick,too many ,or too close together confuses the slugs and snails ,and then the pellets don't work.
I am also keeping my eyes on ebay peeps ,having found 8 folding caravans i am determined to have one for the wife [and myself] to get us out and about for a few days here and there.
To this end ,i am away to durham [dragonville industrial estate] this Friday morning rto have a towbar fitted to the wifes car ,and have cleared it with motobility,they arn't bothered because at the end of the lease ,they will get extra for it,and we have only to clear it with the insurance company as soon as the job is done,which won't cost any extra, so Fred is a happy bunny.
This folding caravan looks like a normal van when put up,with all the usual stuff inside,cooker sink running water 240 volt power through a hook up,tables benches cupboards, the lot.
When collapsed it is just a trailor ,850 kilos no wind resistance when towing ,so chepish to haul around [just the job].
I have recycled the old recycle bin [pun intended].and it's now on the patio ,filled with a mixture of compost and sand,and has four rows of carrot in ,ready just in time to do the soups for the3 winter,and i can see me getting another one ready for early spring for parsnips.
Be back later,things to do and all that lol.Fred.

Morning everyone,I am sorry i have not been on again for a few days,was ill with a cold on Friday and Saturday ,but as It was Johns birthday i rallied to enjoy it with him,but was over at dads part of the day.Dad is in hospital now he is on a drip and having investigations as to why he can not eat or drink properly.He went in yesterday ,so I am a bit tired as i was at the hospital til nearly midnight last night and was over at his house at 10.30.before that i had a docs appointement myself at 9.30 so it was a long day.
Hope you get the magazine sorted dorothy.Am hoping to go to our favaourite place on friday ,depending on if dad is home or not,they did say it wpould only be a few days.in the hospital.
Where are you Fred lost in your amazing garden!! How do you keep the slugs off your veggies my friend is growing them for the first time and is really troubled by the slugs.Tak care Brenda

goodmorning brenda I do hope that you are feeling better and that john has a good birthday, nothing much planned for the week-end other than going over to see the cat at andrew's, anne phone me this morning she had been trying to get in touch with hello magazine uk for me as I have only recieved one copy of the years subscription that I paid for that was on june 27th nothing since it is supposed to be one copy a week, but i guess they don't work on saturdays so she will try again on monday, I tried from here but could not get through, I like the uk version better than the new canadaina version. I hope the sun is shining in newcastle for fred he seems to have had a lot fo rain,my half brother who works in leeds is going home to scotland for a week and his wife and son are coming to canada on the 27th of july to stay with her anunt so I shall get to meet her it soon will be a year since steven and I met for the first time having this other family so late in life still seems strange to me at times, well its time to get this day started bye for now again happpy birthday john bye dorothy

I am sorry I have not been on and given you all the news from the wedding etc ,but i am down with a miserable cold,feel really grotty and its my day off.!!
Just came on to check my emails,
Its Johns 60th birthday tomorrow so we are going for a meal in the evening,my treat.Have a few birthday coming up for friends and family so have to shop for their presents tomorrow have no othet time.
Weather not as wet but still miserable.
Dad not too good still not eating.....
Be back over the weekend ,enjouy all your plans
Brenda

Morning everyone ,from one cold ,very wet and miserable Newcastle.
Nice to hear that you are home safeSylvia,sorry ,but i never got your phone number to arrange a visit,and may have been away at the time in Blackpool anyway,but i had to take the oppertunity to get away as soon as i could,Liz was more than ready for the break.
Hissy has taken to going out into thegarden,but makes no attemt to climb the fences to escape so we don't bother with the harness anymore.
I upset the little minx this morning he he,i gave her her breakfast,and then opened the back door ,knowing it was piddling down outside[polite to the last ,lol]
The cat shot between my legs in her haste to be out in the garden, then froze on the threshold ,one paw in the air ,tail straight out and hair up like a bottlebrush and yowled like a demented demon,she turned round ,shot me a reproachful look and shot under the kitchen table to sulk. he he ,this puddy tat,does not like water ,in any shape or form ,other than in her drinking bowl.
All this water though ,is doing my veggies the world of good ,and it looks like a bumper crop with any luck,even the late winter cabbage are now ready to go out,and the apples are doing great.
All i need now ,is a sign that all is well with the second tree ,which has never bloomed yet,but ,it is a different variety,and it is only it's second year,so ,there is time yet.
Hope everyone is looking forward to their weekend,even if the weather isn't too good for the campers lol.
See ya later.Fred.

hi brenda good to see sylvia back and hear all her newss sorry that your weather is so wet and windy to-day it is a bit cooler over here and we are to have some rain to-day and that will be fine for the garden over at andrews so far I have not killed any plants, andrew called from calgary to say they are having a great time and all are well, I am keeping busy looking after the house and cat for them she is such a diva so small but a voice like a fog horn. have a dinner invite for the 19th from isobelle's son and daughter in law so that will be fun it is the day the family arrive back but I will go over in the morning and see to the cat and then head down to brampton and stay over till sun or monday. nothing else new at the moment bye for now dorothy

Just another quick message I am afraid,ben here for hours doing "personalized birthday cards for a few family members who have special birthdays coming up. Took me ages to do the first one and get the hang of things,so did the others as well.Weather very wet and windy again,we are supposed tohave momsson weather shortly.
Sylvia glad you had a good visit.Hope you get a cruise sorted and the cystitis,
probably be friday when back again,due to work etc,
Brenda

Hello all,
Pleased to hear that the wedding went well Brenda and the weather at least behaved for the photo's.

Sylvia, what a shame that you didn't get to meet up with Fred but I am sure you enjoyed meeting up with those GR members who did make it.
My son needed prolonged anti-biotic treatment for cystitis when he was about 10 years old. Poor lad suffered quite badly and had to spend time in hospital as in a boy it can affect the kidneys - he used to tell people he was the only boy in his school who had to go to hospital every day to have a wee!!! I can't remember what the name of the medicine he was given back then but I believe nowadays they would give a suspension of Nystatin. He also ate quite a lot of plain yoghurt - he can't stand it now. It took quite a long time to clear up completely.
I do hope that the treatment you are having now cures the problem, have had to have something similar (but not for as long). Thankfully I have not suffered cystitis since so I guess it worked - it was about 25 years ago. Where will you go on your cruise?
Dorothy please could you blow a little of your hot weather this way? Not too much mind - 33 degrees is a tad too much.
It has been a windy but mostly dry day and even some sun, however the forecast for tomorrow is rain, rain and more rain - guess that rules out any time out in the garden.
Hope everyone has a good day.
Love
Kathleen

Hi all,
Hi Kathleen, do you know how to get rid of thrush? I have had this so long now and cannot get rid of it.
I seem to have got rid of cystitis now - at last!
The urologist thinks my bladder has been damaged by the radiation treatment which I had when my cancerous womb was removed. I have to begin a few months of treatments. 4 weeks long, once a week my bladder will be rinsed out in hospital and then once a month for 3 months.
Fred, I thought we might have met up when I was in England recently. We sailed home from Newcastle. Our last camping was at Winston near Darlington. We had fantastic weather.
Johan is now trying to get us away on a cruise.
Met up with some nice members of GR.
Sylvia xxx

hi brenda I am glad to hear the wedding went off well and the rain held off, it is !!!!!!!!! hot here 33 degree's with the humidity about 40 the same for tuesday but i keep telling myself it is better than snow looked after the cat againto-day and called the kennels the dog is enjoying his vacation!! off to make a late tea it is almost too hot to eat bye for now dorothy

Just a quick hello tonight,Wedding went really well .will tell you more later.weather was very wet but held off when coming out of church for photos etc.
Nice to see you Kathleen,hope you manage t get your garden done,its not my thing at the monment so can not give you any tips but I am sure fred will.
Dorothy I did not see the match at all but have been told it was GREAT.sorry you did noy get the result you wanted/
See you all tomorrow ,brenda

Hello again, have been able to log in from time to time to catch up on everyone but computer problems have made it difficult to post. Now have a rebuilt computer so hopefully will be able to join in more often.
Fred you have been busy in your garden, bet it looks wonderful. After nagging for the past couple of years No.1 son finally got around to digging over one side of my garden so now I can start growing things again. Would be grateful for any advice on what I can try - this will be a vegetable patch, it's a bit late for some things but still time for some things like lettuce and beetroot I think. Growing tomatoes in a hanging basket this year, usually use growbags so this is an experiment. Any ideas for autumn planting please?
Spent a couple of weeks at my youngest daughter's house in Solihull. The weather wasn't brilliant but a few fine days, very windy most of the time. There was one night when the sky was clear enough to see the stars - not so much light pollution up there as we have here. Still had a nice rest and spent time with my two grandsons - watching and talking cricket and football mostly, one is cricket mad and the other a qualified football coach and referee (a ManU fan and me Chelsea so quite interesting "discussions")
Hope your Dad's throat gets better soon Brenda, anti-biotics can cause severe thrush. My second son had that problem when he was younger and was on a prolonged course of anti-biotics, it took quite a while to clear up.
I noticed a posting from Tudor - if you are looking in Tudor it was Jude from Sarf Wales you did the look up for Meninsky.
Got to go now - granddaughter wants a lift. Hope everyone enjoys their day. Dorothy, hope you enjoy your lie-ins now the tennis is over - what a finish!!!

Love
Kathleen

sunday evening 8pm my time well needless to say I am exhausted after watching the roger rafe match it did not end how we wanted it to do but I astill think that roger is the best player in my time and such a gentleman, I drove down to isobelle's yesterday and stayed over to watch the match with her what a long day from 9am till 4-30 then I drove back to look after andrew's cat and house one of my neighbours looked after my two, brenda I hope that the wedding went well and that your sister is better, fred how nice to come home to find the great photo's on the computor I really liked them thankyou so much, I am now going to go and make a coffee and relax and there is a new lewis on at 9pm maybe I will stay awake to watch it, life is going to be boring next week with no tennis goodnight all bye dorothy

hello all,we have had rain,wind and now sun,hope we get sun and dry tomorrow for the wedding,but they have forcast rain.
Hope you enjoy the tennis today and tomorrow Dorothy and then get your lie ins.to make up for the early mornimgs.
I am hoping to get to the market next friday,but at the moment I can not really arrange anything properly.One of my sisters as gone down with a really bad case of gastritis and that means she might mnot get to dads when its her "turn",looks like she will miss the wedding as well.!!
Having a lull in work at the moment.but its been a bit manic for about45 mins.Need my tea break now/
Will tell you all about the wedding tomorrow.brenda

Afternoon one and all,boy ,what a wet one today,it's as well i went for my walk early while it was still dry,lol,or i would have got soaked.
I was up at six anyway,got the lawns and gardens watered after the feeder was put on last night,so everything is well watered now..
As requested ,piccies of the garden follow,and ,a couple of the roundabout and the roads leading to Carlisle ,and the A1 north and south,so handy for us as the roundabout is less than two minutes from the house,nice and handy for travelling in any direction.
We havn't bothered with dinner today as we are at the sons for tea[should prove interesting because he swears it's B B q time despite it persisting down he he,but i aint sitting in the pouring rain eating a burger for no one lol.
I will have to take a screwdriver down with me as well to wire up his washing machine because son no 1 keeps forgetting to do it ,and son no2 isn't safe to be let loose on anything electric,last time he tried to wire up the tv ,he blew the main fuse ,and i had to call the leccie board out .
Off out now ,to put some juice in the car,i don't fancy walking down the hill in the pouring rain.
See you later Peeps ,Fred.

I havent written but do check in to read your news Enjoy reading Freds gardening exploits As a very keen garden myself intersted as to what hes growing
Winter here now snow expected today around the country side Maybe not here But very strong winds
and temperature high of 4 C So a day for computer Margaret

hi brenda the nadal match was ok I just hope that roger can win on sunday, sorry to hear that your dad is not doing all that well perhaps they still might be able to do something for him, I hope that you enjoy the wedding on sunday we don't have many weddings on a sunday over here, anne was at the market on friday morning also buying some new nets (sheers I call them) I just recieved a e-mail from the grandaughter filling me in on the trip they are having a great time she says that the west is very flat and hot they arrived in alberta to-day I was surprised to hear from her maybe andrew took his lap top with him or they went into the local library or I suppose the parks they stay at might provide internet hookups well I am off to watch a bit of tv will watch the ladies final in the morning bye for now dorothy

Afternoon all,just watched the nadal match (well some of it was supposed to be cleaning) it was good.Weather is good again ,but seems set to rain on Sunday when my nephew gets married.!! Good jo i did not invest in a new hat.!!!
dad is not very good at all today ,had a little visit with his sister,but just wanted to sit/lie in his chair.
The next appointment as been brought forward by Christies hospital so they can see him when he has seen the ENT specialst. North Manchester General.We are not really expecting them tobe able to do much as we do not think they will be able to examin him with the camera.
Fred the garden sounds wonderful any chance of some piccies? you have my email addy?
Let me know when you are back at the caravan site and we must arrange ameeting.
Off to do the oven fish and chips for tae,
with mushy peas for the boys.
Brenda

goodmorning fred and everyone fred your day trip sounded great to hexham I have always been a history buff and like visiting places like that your right what an end after such a long trip to end up being executed.your garden sounds great as usual I am proud to report that I have still kept the vegatables plants alive the pepper plant has started tos how signs of the peppers and the tomato plant is blooming and producing about 14 tomato's so far Ian will be pleased when they get back from out west. I amup early to get set for to-days tennis I am going to sleep in next monday after two weeks of getting up so early but I have enjoyed it enjoy the week-end bye dorothy