General Chat

Morning Dorothy,Brenda ,and perhaps John,who may just decide to look in.
Glad to hear that the meet with your friends went well Brenda,and that you are still able to get around okay .
I had a pretty good day yesterday ,sitting in the garden last evening after being a tad busy in the garden and greenhouse ,but wow i was knackered after half an hour in the sun in that humidity ,cor ,i issss gettin' old i remember when i used to walk around ,and work in Aden in much higher humidity and heat ,sigh.oh well ,time waits for no person ,he he :-( .
At last the garden is showing signs of producing ,to some extent anyway ,i have cut good heads out of two of the Calabrese plants ,,and the carrot ,and cabbage look promising,though of course the rest of the stuff outside is well behind,as yet.
The greenhouse is doing somewhat better though ,i have cucumbers everywhere ,and am giving loads away ,and the tomatoes are doing very well at last ,tons of soup to be made in a couple of weeks i reckon.
The leeks and onions look very good with all the water we have had ,and i could well be in line for a bumper crop.
I did the wife and i a Pannini each last night ,using pesto as a base with which i chopped and added some apple mint ,to make a change [very tasty it was too],and after spreading the pesto mix onto both halves of the sliced pannini ,i added a layer of leerdammer cheese ,deli ham ,sliced tomato ,chopped onion ring,another layer of cheese ,and finally ,more ham .placed them i n the press .and wallah two lovely meals ,finished off with strawberries and low fat cream :-D.
One reward for the review result of my diabetic review .the nurse was veeeeery pleased with me ,lol,i half expected her to give me a sweetie ,he he
Have half an hours work to do outside now ,replanting two troughs after using all the Pak choi up that was in them.
This time i am planting the Pak Choi in cups to transplant when they are big enough down one side of each trough ,the other side being planted with apache spring onions to see if they grow as quickly as stated on the packet ,because ,if they do ,i will use the same type next spring.
Dinner today is butterfly chicken breast into which i am putting Philli' cheese and chives.and wrapped in panchetta bacon ,brushed in olive oil.
Apache potatoes from Aldi , ,spring cabbage ,and the first of this years Calabrese heads. :-).
Did a good tea last night too ,two pannini's sliced down the middle ,spread with green pesto ,to which i added finely chopped ,apple mint ,from the garden to give it a different taste [worked well] i then added a layer of leerdammer cheese to the base of the pannini, followed that with tomato [thin ] slices ,home cured ham [wiltshire] thin sliced onion ring,another layer of ham ,and another layer of cheese,then banged them in the press for 5 minutes a complete meal on a little tea plate :-D finished off with low fat cream on top of halved strawberries ,yum.
Off to get on with the work now ,catch you later peeps ,Fred.
ps if you do get to Southport Brenda ,don't forget dinner at the Highlander on Coronation Walk ,you won't regret it .Fred & Liz.xxx

Hi All,looks like we have another great day.Had a good day yesterday,had lunch with some friends and did a few errands. Have a couple of errands to day and some phone calls
Must start to do some more decluttering need to lok at the bedding and towels ,Some have seen better days and some do not fit the mattres we have,!!
Have a good day whatever you do and where ever you do it.
Take care Brenda

Hi All,,woke up at 3.30am and could not get back to sleep,so have been up since 4.30/Have wrapped some birthday presents ,to deliver this week,sorted out some info on line for my in laws,And will now have breakfast with my h
ubby who has just got up. Have a nice day ,still a bit grey here but hope it gets better as I am out to lunch later.and have two or three errands to do.Brenda

Afternoon folks,have had a busy but enjoyable day today,did some ironing this morning and this afternoon we have been out to lunch with friends,have come home and have had a nice cool glass of wine( or two )to finish off the afternoon. all in all very enjoyable.
I am out again tomorrow as it is my friends birthday today so we are doing lunch tomorrow,there will be 8 of us ,hopefully getting together,
I am really pleased you had such a good time Fred ,its years since I was in Southport,might get John to have a ride over one day.
The hotel and the complex sound great and so do the buses ,think you feel on your feet there ok..
have to bring in the washing soon and can put some of it straight in the cupboards and rawers its that dry ,hoping to get some bedding out later or first thing tomorrow..
See you all tomorrow
Takecare Brenda xx

Morning to all ,back home ,work done ,and am in for a lazy day ,[for me anyway] lol :-).
got the garden up to date and did the ground floors yesterday ,and am leaving the upstairs till tomorrow ,sod it ,he he :-D.
The hotel was basic ,but the room clean and the staff fantastic ,we arrived and booked in at 3 30 pm ,and as soon as the staff realised that the missus was disabled ,they changed the room for a disabled one ,with a large wet room and seat ,in the shower ,so we both made good use of it . ;-).
Being on a complex we had Mc Donalds next door,Frankie and Benny over the car park,Burger king too,and four food outlets ,Coop ,Iceland,B & M.and a basics store,1 multiplex cinema ,a night club ,[Isis], and a childrens play area ,plenty outside the door without having to use the car,very well thought out.
The bus service to Liverpool was every ten minutes,taking 45 minutes to get through ,and terminating right on the dock side at Mann Island,at the old White Star Line departure Pier Head.
We ambled around the town using the tour bus to get on and off where we wished ,making it easy for Liz with her motability issues ,so all in all ,with the museums ,parks ,eateries ,and the jaunts across the Mersey ,we had a brill' ,time :-D,go back ? any time ,in fact we are planning a return in the middle of September ,maybe to The same hotel ,or Premier Inn just up the road ,we will see.
We did two days in Southport too Dorothy ,so some pics are in the offing ,once i get them uploaded off the cameras,and we even found a nice little scottish cafe in Coronation walk.called the highlander ,nice clean friendly people ,and exellent food ,from a scottish breakfast [humungous] through to a two course meal for £5 a head ,the soup was asparagus and herb [fantastic] and a full roast dinner with real potatoes and veggies [no ruddy chips ] lol,this place i recommend to anyone visiting the area.
We didn't get onto the road train along the front this time ,or the electric train that goes across the piers to the headland ,but we will do that the next time around. :-).
Be back later peeps ,time for a coffee out back with the furry pest [who had me up at 2 am] ,grrrrr ,little bu--*r will be spending tonight in the kitchen he he .Fred :-|xx.

Hi Everyone,sorry I have been absent had computer troubles,have the laptop fixed and will have the other done in a week or so.Glad you had a good visit to Liverpool and southport fred.
Will be back tomorrow .Take care Brenda

hope everyone is okay back up north ,lol,we is in Liverpool having a good look around ,visiting museums ,going on the Mersey ferry ,and trying to get on the ww2 submarine [so long as we can navigate the ladders below decks ,he he .
Taking a few picks of Southport too ,more to come if it dosn't rain.
We even found a nice Scottish cafe in one of the side streets ,very good food and a two course meal costing less than a fiver,eat your heart out Fleetwood ,lol.
Back later ,Fred & Liz .xxxx :-D

Hi at last again Brenda ,and troops,still alive here and head above water [just about ,lol.
Have you tried Morrison's crumble mix Brenda,two varieties one oaty & one normal,just add the mix to the top of your rhubarb or whatever ,and get 'em in the oven,smashing too.
I am having to buy rhubarb this year ,after losing mine over the winter ,but i have two new roots ,in their second year ,so i will be back to normal next season :-).
Got round to making a tomato and basil bread from a packet Sunday ,the type of bread that uses olive oil in the mix ,it was beutiful,lovely and soft in the middle,with a crisy crust ,fifteen minutes to bake ,and fifteen minutes to prepare using my good mixer,i am now thinking of making continental bread in future ,much nicer than brit' bread ,and no going stale and heavy after two days.
We now have 18 cucumbers in the greenhouse ,but only small yet ,and loads of small tomatoes ,and the peppers are well away,all sweet variety though ,blast it ,i forgot to buy the scot's bonnet and chilli peppers :-(.
Well ,that's it for now ,time to go back to bed to try getting some sleep ,lol, the cat has already deserted me and shot off back upstairs :-P
Catch you later guys, Fred.xxx

Evening All.had good day today ,managed to get a couple of errands done and some jobs in the house,
Glad Fred and Liz are ok and hope the forecast is not as bad as it says with the rain and flooding/
It has rained hard here today but luckily it was while we were in the shops and when we got home.
Have made a couple of Rhubarb crumbles tonight from Johns home grown Rhubarb,will let you know over the weekend what they are like,
Have a good weekend ,whatever you are doing.
Take care Brenda.xx.

Morning troops :-) sorry for any delay ,caused by us getting ready for the next deluge,plaans well under way for putting barriers up at all the doors,and low air bricks ,just in case ;-).
Glad to hear that the wedding went well John,and as Brenda says ,here's hoping things go very well for them in the future.
My legs have started to settle down now,it makes me very aware though ,that i am no teenager any more ,and can't go out back now expecting to get everything done in one day [worse luck] he he,still i managed to get the back garden and lawn up to date yesterday apart from the lawn edges :-).
We now have tomatoes on the vines ,two cucumbers growing on one of the four plants,and i have Pak Choi ready for use ,things are looking up at last ;-).
Front garden isn't looking bad either ,apart from the front lawn ,there is only one border to hit with the hoe,and a bit of hedge work ,and that will be up to date as well. :-D.
Working on Liz's laptop now to bring it up to date,ready for the off next week ,so ,it's time to sign off for now ,to get the dinner on the go.
Catch you all later,Fred.xxx :-D

Good evening,this is my second attempt to post a message tonight,do not know what went wrong.!!
Glad the wedding went well John,and hope the newly marrieds have a lomg and happy marriage.
Weather was lovely today and has completly changed tonight wet and moserable,!!
John is full of a cold at the moment ,think he picked it up at the wedding at weekend ,and getting wet at golf on Monday did not help.
Managed to get to Bury Market yesterday had a good day ,but did not get much,and it was really busy,so had trouble walking about ,but managed to sit down a few times.Will have to get there earlier to miss the crowds.
Johns mother is moving back to Manchester in the next week or so,which will be better all round ,
Better go and get my Horlicks and have an early night and hope John does not keep me awake coughing.
Hope Fred and Liz are ok.
Brenda

Hi again, Craig and Gemma's wedding went well on Saturday - a bit different from others as it was mostly in sign language at the service and reception. The signer had to speak what the bride, bridesman and groomsman said - Craig signed and spoke his own speech. I know Gayle would have tears in her eyes seeing that, I felt them welling up myself. My sister-in-law spoke one on behalf on Gayle's family and ours. Another friend also spoke. There was dancing after the breakfast. - Gemma pulled me up for dance and that was hilarious. John

Afternoon all.weather still damp ,had a few showers on and off all morning ,stopped John playing his golf ,he had to come of early!!
I agree with you Fred I do not normally mind the sports as long as there are good alternatives on the other channels.!!!! I also have been watching some recording and dvds which I have had bought or given me and even been and borrowed some.
Not come across that spud Fred ,but have noticed some say they are allrounders when they are not,we have had some very paler roasties which would not brown and some mash that was mush really. so sticking to my Maris piper . and jersey royal. having a shepherds pie tonoight .with some peas and carrots ,hav to defrost the chest freezer so stuff from there .
Hope all goes right at the hospital Fred ,with Liz ,remember how my mam was on those tredmills ,think she thought she had to push herself like she was doing a test she had to pass ,and was so shattered afterwards ,instead of just doing what she could if you know what I mean.
Hope to be going to Bury Market on Wednesdat Fred,will have to hope its not raining .,,
Betetr get on to my emails and then start a bit of ironing before the tea,
Take care ,Brenda.

Nice to hear that the reception went Well Brenda ,something at least has gone right for you for once.
We have had a nice ,quiet weekend ,nothing much happening apart from me chomping at thwe bit waiting to get the last of this years brassica into the buckets ,but again ,rain stops play :-( .
We have flower on the tomatoes at least ,and one of my Cucumber plants has a baby fruit on ,he he ,things are looking up :-).
The wife is back at the R V I at 4pm today to see what the specialist has to say ,so i'm hoping i can have a word this time as i have a couple of questions to ask,as to her diminishing mobility ,and the need for more mobility aids in the house.
What a load of rubbish we have on the T V these days all repeats ,and soaps ,darned good job i have the Tivo ,and a good collection of Dvds ,lol,with the best will in the world ,i am cheesed off with Tennis ,cricket ,and football,why oh why can't we have some factual programmes to watch ?.
Moan over ,he he :-) and onto dinner prep Scotch eggs today with new potato and a few spears of Aspagus,a lightesh meal in case the missus gets some stick at the hospital ,the only way she could even begin to do a treadmill test ,is on her knees ,lol :-D.
Have you come across a so called jacket potato ,called Harmony Brenda? grown in Yorkshire , if you havn't tried them ,don't even think about it,they go to mush if you try to make mash ,are as watery as hell if you try Jackets and will be totally useless for roasting,the worst breed of potato i have ever come across :-| ,they would even be useless to make potato soup :-0 .
.Time to get on with the dusting now ,be back later i hope ,Fred.

Evening all.well we also had a lovelly sunny morning ,but it changed again in the afternoon to wet and windy,dry at the moment but grey skies show a lot more to come!!!
Glad you got things sorted Fred.and hope you have no more problems til you can change.
Had a great time at the wedding reception last night ,but getting home was a nightmare.!!
Have a good weekend.Brenda

Good Afternoon all from a drier sunnier day than i have seen in a long time,even the roses showing sun worship by opening their blooms for the first time this year. :-).
I have the new cabbage plants ready so i ,no doubt will be in the garden at 5 am after my wake up call by the furry one putting them in before the sun hits them,that is ,if it comes out tomorrow ,lol.
I have got my phone back ,and have told the idiots in the shop to unlock my dongle or else .i KNEW something was wrong when i couldn't open it on the computer ,i also insisted that they take the stand alone dongle off my account yet again ,and stayed in the shop until it was done,roll on March next year when i move onto Orange along with my dongles ,phones and account ,can't be too soon for me.
The missus is a little better today ,and prepared Butterfly chicken breasts stuffed with chive and Philly ,wrapped in bacon ,ready for me to cook when i got back.
Hope all are having a great weekend ,catch you later ,Fred.xxx :-D

Afternoon all,
Fred hope you are all dried out,and back to normal,
Our patio needs a jet wash,but don't think I'd go for the floods to get it done HEHE
weather really nice today .shame I have no washing to go out,but did get it dry yesterday afternoon.
Hope there is not any lasting damage in your garden Fred.,we have rhubarb in our garden and it was ok over the winter ,about the only thing that we have besides the spuds.
John says we will be on rhubarb crumble next week!!!!

have to go out to the library ,John has a book to pick up that he reserved ,then I need to take a card to my friends for her grandson.,so had better get a few jobs done before hand,
TAke care Brenda

Sorry i was not able to see your Post yesterday John,but i was off line most of the day ,and all evening due to sever flooding in our road.
God give you strength and bless you ,and your wife ,John it is a blessing that you have the Lord for support,it will help you so much in the coming days.
Hi Brenda ,got your message this morning when the phones came back on line he he ,think the cables must have been swimming ,the water came up to within two inches of the door frames,the garden was completely immersed ,and we had a river running down the street ,i have some pics to show you when i get sorted out here .
The deluge came down so hard ,first hail stones that bounced off the patio tables so far that they bounced off the windows.
One upside to it all ,all the moss and lichen ,the dirt sand grass in between the paving slabs washed out ,and away,the patio this morning looks as though it's been jet washed which has saved me a job ,lol. :-).
Nice to know Dorothy can see the boards at least ,so i can say ,sorry Dorothy ,my phone is in for repair ,or i would have phoned before now,and i will be leaving T Mobile as soon as the contract runs out,but can get a better deal via Orange ,taking my phone with me along with all of the numbers,so i ain't bovvered he he. :-P to T Mobile.
Managed to find a nice rhubarb crown at Cowells yesterday which i will put in as soon as the urn dries out a little,and may well go back for another next week.
The lad who served us said a lot of people had lost their Rhubarb this last winter ,so we arn't on our own.
Have to go back to Morrisons this morning ,we picked up the wrong Hissy food yesterday ,the pouches in Jelly ,not gravy ,oooooo ,the cat was NOT impressed with me,lol i am in her bad books :-(.
Back soon peeps ,when i will get on with re installing my old faithful and bring it back on line,so ,take care all ,and have a good day,Fred. :-Dxxx

Afternoon All,John I can not really saying anything that you have not heard lots of times over the last week , apart from you and your family have all my sympathy and love .I had a phone call at lunch time from Dorothy in Canada who can not send any messages but can read ours and she asked me to pass on her deepest sympathy and condolences to you and your family,
We hope your son and his new wife have a wonderful long happy and healthy life together.
take care brenda

Hi everyone -Not the best news to give you on my visit today. What does one say when a love dies? Offer support. So true. Last Thursday 21 June, Gayle my wife of almost 39 years passed away peacefully at home. Gayle was dialysis and was told 16 May she had liver cancer and life expectancy was counted in weeks to months. She was looking forward to our son's wedding in October and this was bought forward to 30 June. Sadly that has been denied, and her passing on my birthday and two days short of our 39th wedding anniversary. The funeral on Tuesday at The Salvation Army saw a 162 people attend the service - and I surprised some by singing with our male voices a song 'Search me O God' - when asked why 'I said I did it for Gayle and that God gave me the strength to do so'. Three tribute emphasised that in despite of the dialysis, cancer and Parkinson she always remained positive and was more concerned about others than her own. A brave lady at peace. Craig and Gemma's wedding is going ahead as planned and we will be lighting a candle in Gayle's memory.