General Chat

afternoon to all .crikey ,two days of morning frost and cold winds ,enough to make my garden go back into hibernation ,and a lot of it has ,lol.
I do haver my new water butt in place on the 'tother side of the greenhouse door,upon two sandstone paving slabs ,and got the drain pipe from the greenhouse gutter in place too,since when there has been no rain ,[sounds about right ] ,but when they are both full ,will give me 90 gallons of rain water for my seedlings.
I did manage to get the fir hedging trimmed this morning ,arms and legs both covered in goose bumps in the chilly air with me in me shorts and body warmer ,causing the post man to shudder as he opened the gate with him in his overcoat,soft aporth'.
Going to have a change of venue in July Brenda ,5 nights in Liverpool,at an Hotel, because ,A never been there to stay,and B because i want to visit the Titanic museum and C it is within striking distance of Southport which i am still determined to visit,and i may even take time out to visit North Wales for the day.
Well ,i think ,crumpets for my tea today ,with a light covering of blue cheese ,with a slice of tomato topping.
Catch you all later ,Fred. :-D

Afternoon all.weather today is sunny and breezy,such a change from yesterday!! Have managed to get the washing on the line and its all dried .!!
Had a visit from my sister and her daughter and granddaughter,which was wonderful,she was so well behaved and is just gorgeous!! very much like her mum and dad in a funny way ,depending on the face she was pulling.!!!
The last five babies we have had in the family have all been girls,so in a way wehope the next one who is due to be born on Friday will be boy,but as long as it is healthy is the main thing.
I keep thinking of getting a water butt ,but as we have not got anything in the garden but a couple of bags of spuds and three tomatoe plants we are ok at the minute. hope it goes ok for you Fred.
John is at the docs tomorrow first thing for bllod tests and then goes back next week for the results and to see if he needs any change to his medication.
We are having fish and chips for tea , but its a lightly coated haddock with spices and nuts ,with oven chips ,not had them before will see what they are like.
David is off to the match soon,and John is watching it on tv ,will watch a bit with him as I have to be nutral tonight .!!!
Take care Brenda

Afternoon all.weather today is sunny and breezy,such a change from yesterday!! Have managed to get the washing on the line and its all dried .!!
Had a visit from my sister and her daughter and granddaughter,which was wonderful,she was so well behaved and is just gorgeous!! very much like her mum and dad in a funny way ,depending on the face she was pulling.!!!
The last five babies we have had in the family have all been girls,so in a way wehope the next one who is due to be born on Friday will be boy,but as long as it is healthy is the main thing.
I keep thinking of getting a water butt ,but as we have not got anything in the garden but a couple of bags of spuds and three tomatoe plants we are ok at the minute. hope it goes ok for you Fred.
John is at the docs tomorrow first thing for bllod tests and then goes back next week for the results and to see if he needs any change to his medication.
We are having fish and chips for tea , but its a lightly coated haddock with spices and nuts ,with oven chips ,not had them before will see what they are like.
David is off to the match soon,and John is watching it on tv ,will watch a bit with him as I have to be nutral tonight .!!!
Take care Brenda

Hope everything is okay there Brenda ,,nice to hear that you have a new addition to the family ,it's been a good while since Liz and i had any ,he he ,showing our age now :-).
Yes ,even up here in our little Tyneside bubble where we seem to be in a less fraught area than the surrounding areas ,we are getting a lot of unsettled weather ,with tons of rain ,hail ,and whatever ,lol,if it were warmer up here i would even think of growing rice it's that wet :-(.
We are going to go to the builders yard this week and get three concrete slabs to build the new barrel hard stand ,and then go to Cramlington on Wednesday to buy the stand and water butt,to ensure that ,at least we have soft rainwater to keep the greenhouse viable,and the seedlings moist.
Have to go for my blood sugar test tomorrow morning ,bright and early ,so i hope all will be okay as i have tons to do as soon as the garden dries out a little
:-D.
Time to take the missus her cuppa up ,hope everyone is okay ,including our Dorothy ,hopefully she can still see us on here ,even if she is unable to put a post up .
Catch you later all ,Fred :-D

HI Everyone what a rotten day weather wise we have been having ,i expect a lot of trees and branches have been blown down not to mention fences and getse etc
Well we had a lot of arrangements changed around a few few times last week and it llooks this week is going to be the same,!!
There are too many things to explain to tell you them all,but one change means that I am now going to meet my new grand neice tomorrow instead of later in the week,which is a nice thing.
hope everyone was ok with the weather and nothad any adverse effects from it.
Take care Brenda

Evening all. Glad your veggies are coming on ok Fred.
Managed to get out and get the cards and pressies we needed.
Had a coffee while out and came back for lunch ,
Leg wasn't to good as I was standing about a bit looking at things,hope the visit to the pain clinic on wednesday will help sort it out.
Hope you all have a good weekend.Take care Brenda

Not a lot to report today troops ,out in the greenhouse early on to find my seedlings are well through ,and potted a few more into cups .
The Horseradish is in as well ,yum ,roll on the first cut so that i can make my own sauce ,far hotter than you can buy.
I Have two more troughs lined up for planting ,one carrot ,and the first Parsnip ,now that i have found the variety i like .
Apart from that i have sat outside with the cat in a sunny period and a cup of coffee ,and done the upstairs floors and dusting.
Found a nice little chuck for tomorrows dinner ,which i will do with some home made stuffing and the usual veggies ;-) no puddings though ,what with blood sugar level tests next week,and other concerns.
Catch you later peeps ,hope everyone is having a decent weekend ,Fred. :-D ;-)

Evening all.glad you got home ok Fred ,and that you had a good stay and all was well when you got home.
Got my books from the library that i ordered today ,and picked one up for John ,which when I gave it to him he had already read.!!!
Have a couple of things to pick up tomorrow need a couple of birthday presents ,and also need a few cards.Might get lunch out ,depends on when I get out and if Johns with me or not,,will not be doing lunch on my own.
Had a beef stew for tea and did some Jersey Royals with it.all really good.!!
Only got the jreseys as they were half price ,still cost over a pound for a pound. !!!
Going for a cuppa and a bicci, take care brenda

Home at last to a welcome and a half from our cat ,so pleased to see us that she rolled straight over to have her tummy rubbed ,all the time sounding like a sewing machine ,lol :-).
Hazel told me to do home made chips by slicing them putting them into boiling water for two minutes ,then drying them on paper towelling before putting them in the fryer ,so i am going to give that a try . :-D
All is well here ,the Tomato and Cucumber seeds are through and even the missus's leek seeds are showing through so we ain't doing so badly,all i need now are my bean seeds to get a move on ,lol.
Found a large bit of Horserasdish root in Wilkinsons and brought it home with me ,you can't beat home made sauce ,creamy and ultra hot .
Going to be having a lazy day tomorrow ,just a little to do out back ,and a tad of work around the house to do.other than that ,it's feet up and a darned good laze Might just go and get an early tea made once i can find something to cook up ,no way am i taking the car out again ,done enough driving for one day. :-D.
Catch you later all ,Fred :-D :-D

evening everyone,its been a very very wet day here and so grey it was like evening at lunch time??
Hope fred has enjoyed his holiday sounds like it.
I have tried to make a cheese and onion pie numerous times but all have been a disaster I am ashamed to sya.The M&S pie is one we all like and the price isn;t that bad.we do not have it often as we try and keep the cheese and pastry down,,
Managed to get rid of all the cardboard from the packing on the furniture,took it to the big recycle bins at Sainsburys,
Lots of family and friends have birthdays coming up next month so I need to get some shopping done.
Take care Brenda

Hey ,what's all this ,a a Lancashire wife that Buys cheese and onion pie ? shame on you ,lol,know what you mean though ,a good one takes some beating ,and after reading this ,i may well make one for Saturday's dinner ,with a good souse in tomato sauce lol,found the reduced ,salt ,and sugar sauce in Morrisons today ,verdict ,outstanding.
Time to get the tea ready for sis' in law ,and hubby ,who will be finished on park at 6-30 ,so tea is set for 7 pm.
Shepherds pie ,roast potato ,parsnip, peas ,asparagus and broad beans ,with ginger cake and custard for pudding .
Catch you later peoples ,Fred. :-D

Afternoon all,its been a fairly good day weather wise.Its also been busy ,
We had to unpack a new Tv cabinet this morning , we got it delivered yesterday along with a new side board and dresser top ,it looks like a welsh dresser together, and its very nice, We unpacked the dresser yesterday but left the tv cabinet till today,now we have loads of cardboard to get rid of,will probably take it to Sainsburys as they have a big skip for things like that.,Then I had an appointment at the hairdressers to get my nails done(she hada half price offer on).
Then we had to go to the car showroom while John had a test drive,
he had a good chat with the salesman and it looks like we getting a new car at the endof next month or early June.
Today is Daviids birthday and we had cheese n onion pie ,mash and beans for tea ,cheated a bit on the pie as it was bought from M&S.It was at his request so i couldn't let him down.!!!
Going to have a bit of cake with a cuppa now Take care Brenda xx

Afternoon all,its been a fairly good day weather wise.Its also been busy ,
We had to unpack a new Tv cabinet this morning , we got it delivered yesterday along with a new side board and dresser top ,it looks like a welsh dresser together, and its very nice, We unpacked the dresser yesterday but left the tv cabinet till today,now we have loads of cardboard to get rid of,will probably take it to Sainsburys as they have a big skip for things like that.,Then I had an appointment at the hairdressers to get my nails done(she hada half price offer on).
Then we had to go to the car showroom while John had a test drive,
he had a good chat with the salesman and it looks like we getting a new car at the endof next month or early June.
Today is Daviids birthday and we had cheese n onion pie ,mash and beans for tea ,cheated a bit on the pie as it was bought from M&S.It was at his request so i couldn't let him down.!!!
Going to have a bit of cake with a cuppa now Take care Brenda xx

Hi everyone,weather has been a lot nicer today ,yesterday turned out to be a right horrible day.I went to pick up my sister to go to my uncles funeral and the heavens opened!!! We had heavy rain,then hail which was like walnuts hitting the car.!!I had not been to the cemetary before so was pracitally driving blind!! Luckily it stopped raining as we got there so it was not that bad,.My uncle had been in the Army during the war and was in the Burma star association and they were there to take him into the chapel and carried their flags.The last post was played at the end of the service ,which had lots of us in tears again,!!
driving home was a little better as it was just heavy rain ,but I was really pleased when i dropped my sister at her house and then got home myself and John made me a brew!!.
John has a new great neice born late last night ,she has not got a name yet .but both her and her mother are well.which is the main thing.
Will tell you her name when she has one.
Glad the trees are doing well Fred I could just picture you with the Olive tree ,repotting it !!!it sounds brilliant ,.good luck with them both.
Take care Brenda

Hi everyone,weather has been a lot nicer today ,yesterday turned out to be a right horrible day.I went to pick up my sister to go to my uncles funeral and the heavens opened!!! We had heavy rain,then hail which was like walnuts hitting the car.!!I had not been to the cemetary before so was pracitally driving blind!! Luckily it stopped raining as we got there so it was not that bad,.My uncle had been in the Army during the war and was in the Burma star association and they were there to take him into the chapel and carried their flags.The last post was played at the end of the service ,which had lots of us in tears again,!!
driving home was a little better as it was just heavy rain ,but I was really pleased when i dropped my sister at her house and then got home myself and John made me a brew!!.
John has a new great neice born late last night ,she has not got a name yet .but both her and her mother are well.which is the main thing.
Will tell you her name when she has one.
Glad the trees are doing well Fred I could just picture you with the Olive tree ,repotting it !!!it sounds brilliant ,.good luck with them both.
Take care Brenda

Afternoon peoples ,a horrible wet morning with a few people wondering if i had gone mad when i was out in my shorts and top at 5 -45 this A M because the chuffing cat had me up early again .
There i was out there withj a cuppa ,greenhouse door tight shut ,large pot on the bench ,with me hitting the sides of i with a trowel trying to loosen the root ball of a lovely dwarf Olive tree that i brought yesterday,he he ,i must have sounded a bit like a woodpecker :-D.
curtains were twitching for miles around he he ,but ,i now have a lovely Olive Tree in a largish pot ,squeezed into it with a little difficulty ,because the instructions said ,do not over pot :-).
This pot can sit in a hollow in the front garden through the summer ,and autumn before being put to bed in the greenhouse over the winter,a lovely splash of colour all year starting with shiny green leaves ,through to dark green to black olives as they ripen.
My pear tree has arrived too ,and that was potted on by dinner time so here i am at last ,tree wise with a full house of fruits ,wahey ,there at last . ;-).
Have a nice trip to Bury Brenda ,still see that place in my minds eye every time you mention going there ,what an amazing place that is for a walk round.
We hope to be down early enough next week to have breakfast in the same pub where we go for our carvery,and then have a good amble around the two places we frequent before going on to Fleetwood and carla gran.
Nice easy tea this evening ,some wholemeal torpedo rolls filled with onions and hot dog sausages nice and tasty,and nice and lazy.
catch you later folks , Fred :-) :-D

Morning all,well its dry outside ,but still on the chilly side.
have washing to put out and then I have to go out to my uncles funeral,so hope it stays dry!!
Went to Bury yesterday ,it wasn't market day so was pretty quiet,had a nice salad sandwich for lunch .My friend and I had a short walk round ,as I am not able to walk far with out sitting down and it wasn't .We had a cup of coffee before we got the tram back. Only bought a couple of birthday cards and my friend got some groceries.Might go again next week with John. Hope everyone is ok Take care Brenda

Morning all.its a chilly but dry day here today ,no sunshine yet!
Not going out today staying and getting some jobs done ,as I am out tomorrow and Friday....
Seeing my old friend and going to Bury tomorrow and to my uncles funeral on Friday,
Glad you are on time now with the garden fred.
Will email you about the possibility of meeting next week.
Better get on with these jobs while i am feeling ok and in the mood to do them HAHa
Take care brenda xx

Afternoon all ,sorry to be late today but i have had a good morning in the garden,done the shopping and came back knackered and went for a snooze ,he he .
I did really well too ,both lawns cut three herb plants put in [only one space left now ] and my onions are now in position too.
We decided to do the usual two weekly dinner ,lol,finished the shopping and went in for fish and chips before coming home ,the fish is lovely from there ,and the fish cakes are to die for yum,even the chips take a lot of beating .
The wife is very fussy with fish ,and decided she wanted a spam fritter ,chips and curry sauce .
I asked for a standard fish ,a fish cake ,chips and curry sauce ,the fish by the way is for my furry chum ,who deserves a treat as well as me ,lol,she sticks by me through thick and thin does this pusser cat,i'm sure she thinks she is a dog ,lol.
Any way ,when i said the fish was for my cat ,i got a piece for her at half price,and did Hissy love it ,i got a special head butt for my trouble ,and there is enough fish left for two more meals for her :-D.
One week to go Brenda ,yessss,this time next week i will be having tea in the van at Carla Gran ,woohoo,and we are already looking for a week in late june in Southport.
The Wife says there is an Olive Tree for sale at the store Home Base for £15 ,so i think i will go and get one for the front garden ,ideal it is for that round mini patch in the middle of the lawn ,it may need fleecing during the winter for hard frosts ,but that would be easily seen to. :-).
Off to get the tea now ,stir fry i think ,with a nice low sugar fish sauce.
Catch you later peoples ,have a good evening where ever you are .Fred.

Morning all
,Welcome Hazel ,we are a small bunch at the minute but have a few who look in now and again,Hope the baby sitting goes ok.
Fred just reading what you are doing with the garden makes me feel tired!!
I have not been able to do much in ours with my leg like it is and John is only keeping things tidy as he is working out what he wants to do!!! We are still swaiting to see the the house behind us gets the planning permission to extend or not ,there has been a lot against it.
Have a few errands and then some ironing to do so better get started,Take care brenda