General Chat

Morning all Just lost an entire page to cyber space. So here goes again

Hope all the Oz friends have a great holiday . Lots of pics please Mary.

Happy to have you back Fred, waiting for your pics as well.

Recently went to a Greek restaraunt and had a lovely meal but the best

part was after the dessert, the owners did the Opah dance for us. Up and

down the aisles several times and got some of our group to join them.

What fun!!!!! This thing is acting up again so I will say bye for now.

Stau well . Edith xxxxxxxx

Hellooooo Where are you all.????

let's hear from you please.!!!!!!!

Edith

Hi Edith, I read the thread regularly and sometimes add my little bit, and I too have noticed that everyone seems to be really busy, Fred must be either cooking or gardening, Les must be sewing or sewing or sewing (ha ha). Maybe everyone is Spring Cleaning... I'm not... trying very hard at the moment with my family history, and getting nowhere fast. Think I'll call it a night.. Take care everyone have a good weekend....

Hi to everyone, apologies for being out of thread -thanks to everyone for keeping it going - a few distractions here - went to Adelaide, went to beach for a week (sighs -was a savoiur) new job and family things as we all have. Love the piccies Badger
How you going Sylvia?
VP, thinking of you, Edith, send me the bear piccies please
Mare will be in Bendigo now -could not get there but sure Wattlers will be wattling up a storm :)

Love to hear all news

JA

Weeeeell,hello all you people,nice to see you all again.
Sitting here at my usual station with the laptop on the go because the missus is on the mainframe giving it six nowt with her lotto's and games lol,she may be an old bird ,but her fingers are rattling over the keys there,he he ,i'm suprised there is no steam coming out of her ear'ole's[ouch].
Someone else is busy on the family research as well, i see,but i for one am doing okay with it at the moment.
We have headed back to winter again ,but at least we have escaped the snow [he says hopefully].
We had a couple of boiled eggs for tea last night ,and what a change it made,nice ,simple ,and very tasty,with a few slices of home made bread,it was even worth the indigestion afterwards ,he he.
Yeah Les ,you will have to admit,Ediths Bear is something to behold ,what a size ,i will def' stick to my cuddly ones thank you very much.
It would appear from investigating further,that the olives off the trees need curing before using so if it turns out to be a lengthly proccess i will opt for the lemon tree instead as we use quite a few in salad making and cooking anyway.
Off to do a little more research now ,but will probably look in later,Fred

hi from a misty rainy day in barrie not much ski-ing will be done to-day I would think which will disappoint the grandchildren but the hills have had a good season this year for my part I hope that we don't have more snow but april can be tricky at times,I spoke to my friend in bury lancs this am as it was her birthday and it was sunny there, a friend of hers has offered to look after her doggie if she wants to come and see me so I am hoping that she will take her up on her offer she knows her dog well and would look after it very well, the doggie is 7yrs old and blotted her copy book she was left when anne came over and the people who looked after her don't want to do it again, she piddled all over the pl;ace she is a lovely dog but dare one say quite spoiled I enjoy her when I am over but thinks she is a person but as I spoil my cats I can't say too much anyway it will be great if she comes this summer bye for now dorothy

Morning folks, and think yourself lucky Christine when we get hail or snow,we can't get Hissy out in it at all,and any other time we can't get her in without bribery or something like.
The weather isn't too good here either ,very dull ,not very warm and cloudy as hell ,but not to worry ,spring is here all right ,it just dosn't know it yet,lol.
Old Badger is at last getting used to this new lappy and having tried Google chrome these past few days as an alternative browser instead of internet explorer and msn explorer, wow what a difference,faster ,a lot better laid out ,and quicker to move between tabs and bookmarks i,isssss impressed.lol.
Getting on well with the research at the moment too,just sent for a birth certificate but got a shock as to the way prices have gone up in two years,but hey,i have been looking for the birth certificate for this person for years,you know how it is i expect ,going back to the early 1800s ,some peeps can be quite elusive he he .
Going to go out into the garden very shortly to turn out the rest of the tattie barrel no1,which should keep us going for a couple of weeks,and by the time we have emptied barrel 2 ,it will be time to start all over again for this season he he..
Have a mission to do now ,my ruddy missus has just volentered me to help the son with his heavy shopping grrrrrrrr,still i suppose it's worth it for the free lasagne i for my tea, yahoo,havn't had one of those for a looooong time.lol.
Off to do the tatties in a hurry,see ya later folks Fred [akka badger.

Yes, you all guessed correctly....I am just sewing away. My first venue is a Woman's Show this Friday and I do so want to have at least 30 aprons on hand. Hopefully the sales will be good as it was expensive to get into this show.

Yesterday was warm and sunny, might have passed for spring. Today is overcast and they are calling for rain and yes!!! more snow. I have lots of stuff coming up in the garden but it is all very "dwarfish" if you know what I mean. Just not enough warm weather to make them grow. Other years by April my Leopard's Bane has been ablaze with those lovely yellow flowers waving on their delicate stems...hmmm! at the mo they are maybe two inches tall.....what's this all about?

Now on top of all of that we had so much ice, and salted the steps at the front of the house continually for weeks on end that we have totally destroyed the lower part of the steps. Crumbling concrete everywhere....we look like the Bash Street Kids!!! I think that will be at least a thousand dollars to replace them....oh. well, it's only money!!

So kiddies, I am off to the dreaded machine. Be good
Lesxx

Hello all . Good to hear you grousing about the weather as well Les.

We have had the weirdest winter I can remember. We have more of the

white stuff tomorrow d---n it. Last fall I spent a fortune on bulbs and not

even a green shoot as yet. They are all covered in 3 feet of snow uuggghh

Hope you get a lot of sales at your show. How did the wedding one go???

Can't remember how many of you I sent the bear story to,but it sure was a

big one. Having met our black bears in the woods I sure can't imagine

what it would be like to see a grizzly.

Miss hearing from our friends in Oz. Hope the y have a great meet.

Nice to hear from Dorothy and Christine too.

Enjoyed Fred's pics, I have never been to Blackpool so will now have to

add it ot the agenda for my next trip.

Stay well everyone , will see you soon. Edith XXXXX

ooooooooh,lol ,we issss.in trouble aint we peeps[evil chuckle] old Badger in the frozen north of england has been out surveying his domain this morning ,snuffling the breeze and taking in the sight of rose shoots showing the first leaves,,bluebells opening ,ditto the early daff's ,the tulips showing leaves,even the Fushia budding [rubbing it in even more he he.
Never mind you two ,you wont be far behind,and i reckon your native woodlands will be a picture will be a thing to behold ,well worth the wait.
I got my first tattie barrel emptied yesterday,and got three carrier bags of nice tubers ,some of them a pound in weight,and i reckon the second barrel will do even better ,them being the Charlotte variety,so ,no buying tatties for at least four to five weeks ,not bad eh? considering they cost nowt,being what's left of the bags i bought for the table.
I will be back out in a short while to finish the bottom border ,before digging out the remainder of the leek crop for the freezer and removing the last of the cabbage and swede,after which ,i am ready foe action,lol.
the other bit ,the Chalet is the domain of the missus,along with the fruit and seed growing,so i will be winkling her out of the chair shortly[another evil chuckle] to go out back with me ,as the old strike saying goes ,one out ,all out he he.
I got down to the sons for that Lasagne and found that he had cheated with it,he hadn't the time to make one so he got hold of a Chicago Town ready made.
It was lovely too which gave me an idea,buy it ready frozen,cook it ,cut it into 4 pieces and refreeze ,which is safe enough being raw when bought.
Thing is ,the wife hates lasagne so i never make one ,so this is a far better idea,more so when they only cost £2 ,50 p a portion ,this goes lovely with a salad too ,can't be bad can it?
well ,i had better move my butt lol,it's gonna take a while to shift the wife he he,see ya later all ,have a nice day.
P S hope the quake was far enough away from you ,so your bears didn't get woken up you two.Fred

Quake????

Snowing here overnite and very white this morning. Am sick of it....totally sick of it. I have nothing going on in my greenhouse as it still dips to freezing most nites. Says on the weather network that it is going up to 18/19 degrees next week.....hmmmmmm! That maybe our summer so I best be ready to enjoy it...LOL

I have no other news. Off to do errands. Hope Mary is back safe from her trip.
Lesxx

Hi everyone I am home...Got home yesterday as the weather was so wet I stayed a extra night at Lauries place instead of driving home. on Tuesday night.. Sydney had record rains and half of the suburbs were blacked out including street and traffic lights and heard that there were 20 odd traffic accidents around the city so thought it best to stay put till the next day when I hoped the rain would ease..It did around 11am so I made a dash for home and got home about a hour and a half later..
We had a fantastic weekend in Bendigo and everyone enjoyed themselves ....We had a raffle and all prizes were donated so in the end we donated $1050 to the Bendigo Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade.. The Chap from the Brigade that came to receive the cheque was quite taken aback and I saw a wee tear in his eye when he receive the money as I think it was a lot more than he anticipated..The weather was fantastic and a really lovely time was had..I went down with Laurie and her husband Ray in their car . and it was lovely to be chauffeured by such lovely people..I hope the next meet is as good and I can get to it also.. John managed quite well while I was away and so now I don't feel to bad leaving him for short periods..I had the fridge full and freezer also so he didn't have to go or do anything but just look after himself..


You all sound busy and looking forward to spring..I am looking forward to Autumn,,,as I am sick of the heat.....just cant please some..hee hee hee...

Hope you are all well and will send some pics off soon...

Lotsa love Mary xxxxx

Morning Mary,nice to see you had a nice time andgot out before the flooding got a grip,cor ,you won't be complaining at the lack of water for a while,bit of a bummer when it all arrives at once though ,it never rains but it pours in oz it seems.
The quake was centred in the yukon Les,so it was oviously too far away for you to feel,just as well i suppose ,i hope with the country being so big that no building damage was caused anywhere.
We got back from B & Q yesterday with my pelleted chicken pooh ,growmore,two punnets of 12 each ,Viola & Pansy,another windowsill seed starter,and10 assorted heather plants that i think will do well in the impoverished soil next to where i park the jalopy.
The quest for a replacement for the rockery fir tree is over because i have seen a decorative finger palm tree which is attractive,very slow growing and only grows to 12 feet ,so ,it will make a nice centre piece.
I was in the act of throwing out the 0range pips last night and took them out back and thought ,i will take one last look before i do the deed he he,and it's as well i did,they have started to grow yippee,so anyone wanting a young'un for the back garden ,let me know as i only want two and put seven in.
I will get two more huge urns and put them in between the apple and plum tree,hard to the house where it will be easy to protect against the frost.
I managed to do a deal with the gas board a few days ago,and the inspector will be calling this afternoon to have a look at the boiler and heating system.
If all goes well i will be taking out boiler and heating system cover,electric cover and water [inside & out] cover,including all call out and spare part charges,for £27 a month,not at all bad.
I have had to change my telephone number after repeated harrasment by Barclays Bank,not even a member of their ruddy organization but after my repeatedly telling them that i didn't want any more calls to this address they finished up two days ago calling six times.
They wanted to speak to the grandson who ,i kept telling them did not live here and only stayed as a visitor when he was home on leave,and even told them to write to him at his address in Cyprus and open a dialogue and ask for his mobile number whick i am not at liberty to disclose,but oh ,not Barclays ,no ,they would rather be lazy and cause harrasement and bother to elderly people ,instead of using their brains,lol,i wouldnt touch that bank with a bargepole [disinfected at that],he he ,if that was the last bank in the world i would dig a hole in the garden and bury my money there .
Hissy is sat down beside my chair here looking at me with those sorrowful eyes ,but she's had one ,been fed long since has water and had milk yesterday,no more grub till tonight so the furry pest is out of luck..
Time to go and start the dinner i think a small salads is called for today.
Catch you later peeps,Fred

Welcome back Mary, Sure did miss you here.!!! Happy to hear

you had a good time. Yes, am looking forward to the pics.

We have water problems in Canada too. Areas of Manitoba are in

trouble and Winnipeg and surroundings are building dikes with

sandbags, All the extra snow this year has not been good for

all that flat land. We had another blizzard for the past 2 days with

of course more snow.!!!!

Fred. can't wait to get busy with planting etc, but I think it's still

a long ways off. Oh, well soon soon. Stay well all. EdithXXXX

nudge

Hi peeps,i am feeling a lot better this morning and have a few minutes before i take the car down to the dealers to get the horn seen to,it will only work when i press it in one place instead of all around the outside of the boss which is a bit dodgy if you forget and there is a need to warn another driver ,or predestrian in a hurry.
We have our eldest granddaughter with us for the week,to give her a rest from looking after the younger members of her family,she is much put upon by her parents and has had a lousy childhood because of it,but she is a lovely bairn despite this.
My son is coming over later this morning to remove the fir tree from the rockery which ,it turns out is diseased anyway,and is dying,and i now have my heart set on a palm tree like the ones i have seen in Blackpool.
Over this week i need to get cracking in the garden again ,we are now starting to put seed in ,and the veggie patch is about ready,tattie butts and all.
The six big pots at the patio door end of the patch are going to have 12 Asparagus plants put in, we love the fresh shoots in the early part of the year,and the missus loves the leaves for flower arranging in the late summer and autumn.
Think we may take the bairn through to the coast when we drop the car off.the bairn will love the day out ,which she rarely gets at home.
Be back later Fred.

Hi everyone..Well at last we are getting some cooler weather..I love it but John is not happy as he feels the cold..What is cool for me is cold for him...
Am now getting back to normal..but was happy how John managed while I was away.. Gives me hope of a few more trips..Might make NZ at the end of the year..he says he doesn't think he can make it but he would be happy if I went on my own..just might do that,,will play it by ear...
Good to see you out in the garden again Fred.. Now you can start bragging about all the fresh veges, that we have to buy in the shops and you dont...hee hee hee..
You should be getting some warmer weather all you oop north,,,and the bears will be out again...yyyaaayyy...
Have a lovely Easter and stay safe..

Love Mary xxxx

Hiya all,and nice to be back,the car has to go back in on Thursday to be repaired properly,as Nissan hadn't got the part and have had to order it in,but they have done a temporary repair ,so ,at the end of the day,the horn is working.
Cor Mary ,you are behind the times mate lol,my veggie patch is as bare as a possoms bum he he but it is cleared out ,and ready to start again.
All i have left is one cabbage and one barrel of tatties to empty out,the last Kale plant i stripped this morning and made a Kolgannon for the granddaughter who loves them.
The fir tree isa out plus roots so i will be going out tomorrow morning top buy the palm tree,and find my chicken pooh to get the garden fed for the new season.
For a change we will be out for our Easter Sunday meal which will make one heck of a change for me, not having to cook it all.
Send John over here Mary lol,i can set him up in the chalet to keep him nice and warm or o can set up a deckchair under the palm for him he he.
Must go and do some work ,Fred.

The missus put some flower seeds in early last week,and put them on the kitchen windowsill,in their miniture greenhouse and by 'eck ,some of them are in a hurry ,lol,the Dianthus are through already,and i'm sure the giant pansy are away as well.
Were i you Mary i would steer away from rosesand try something far more disease resistant that can stand extreemes of heat and cold,such as fushia which are pretty and colourful.
Blackspot disease is airborne in the first instance that gets into the soil as the infected leaves drop,the only way to beat it ,is to remove all infected leaves off the plants as the pest shows.
On top of that some roses that are prone to blackspot need sprayed about four times a year covering the soil with the spray too ,to kill any spoors that have settled.
It's a full time job i'm affraid ,and any gardener cannot cope with this disease unless he ,or she is on hand half the week to look out for it.
Good feeding is a must too,tonks feed hoed into the soil spring and autumn is a huge help.
Not trying to be funny Mary ,but at your age lass something like fushie is much better for you ,much easier to work on ,prune in autumn,feed once a year with growmore and water once in a while and they will show the love you give them with fantastic flowers and beutiful leaves and variecoloured stems for months every year,and no diseases to worry about.
My car is a Nissan Note designed for use by wheelchair users,shove the rear seat right forward and the wheelchair will go hard to the back of the seat for carriage,leaving enough space for bags of shopping too.
There is a new diesel version with a 1500cc engine that does 45 mpg round town,and 70 + to the gallon on a long run.
Air conditioning is standard too ,a really nice little motor.
Another lousy day ,but hey it's to be expected ,easter starting and it always rains and is windy ,soooo ,its as well i will be getting the new tree and working in the greenhouse ,lol
I really must persuade the wife to buy a new bird table this year,the old one has done very well but is on it's last legs if you will pardon the pun,leaning over like a wooden version of the leaning tower of Pisa
Hope everyone is getting geared up for the weekend,hope you all have a great time ,Fred.

HI everyone.. It has been lovely and cool lately and good sleeping weather..We are having a quiet Easter as all the idiots get on the roads in Easter and its not worth the hassles fighting the traffic..It is also School holidays so everything is crowded so a good time to stay home..
Fred thanks for your advice,, I will have a talk to our gardener and see what he says about planting something else..Its a pity as the roses are so pretty when they flower but they are dying one by one..I rather like Gardenias as they are green all the year round and have a lovely perfumed flower which is creamy white..Might also look at a small hibiscus,,,or strike one from a beautiful one I have already in the garden..

I hope all are having a lovey Easter and spring has poked its head around the corner for you all..Keep well and lots of hugs to all..

Love Mary xxxx