General Chat

Hey Teresa, really great to catch up with you. Glad that Bob is doing OK.
Edith I got the recipe. I guess I thought that maybe it wouldn't have pine nuts in it....I am fearfully allergic to them, my mouth swells up...nasty. Do you have a recipe that does not use pine nuts??

Yesterday we bought a small vintage trailer. It is 13 feet, has a toilet, small kitchen and is very cute. We towed it home, a first for us in the towing department!! We noticed that the trailer really bounces on the hitch when we go over a bump and are not sure if it should be quite that noticeable. What do you think Fred? At the moment we have it parked out front. Today I am going to clean it thoroughly. Yesterday we hauled out all the junk that was inside...the folks we bought it from left everything in there, even their ratty old blankets. I found a small area of mould in one of the cupboards near the door and I am going to varnish the wall inside the cupboard once I have cleaned it and then Norm will caulk. It looks like water has come in from where the back bumper is bolted to the back wall. Anyway an easy fix. At some point I will take pics.

Even tho I have been spraying my zukes and cukes with a milk solution the mildew continues to spread. I don't want to use a fungicide because I know that we would not eat the veggies after.....too weird using chemicals. We have to move one tomato plant out of the greenhouse as it got too big. We have it near the fence, protected from the wind, and it seems to be doing OK.

That's me for today. Les <3

Hi Everyone,

Don't fall over in shock, it really is me!! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to the thread, time is my enemy these days. I do sometimes have a quick read of the thread when I am home for my half hour lunch but don't have time to reply.

The greenhouse is finally slowing down after the busy spring/early summer sales. I still love what I do but am really tired when I get home. I should have been doing this job in my thirties not now when the sixties are fast approaching.

We had a lousy spring with lots of heavy rain but now are in the hot time of the year, have had upper 20's and even a couple of 30 degree days. I don't like the extreme heat when working outside but at least can come home to air conditioning!

Bob has been on Chemo pretty much the whole time since early Feb. He feels fine but the doctors are experimenting with different treatments for him. His blood counts are not far from normal ( or at least normal for him) but his lymph nodes continue to swell especially in his neck giving him a chipmunk look. He is now in a clinical trial with a drug that has not yet been approved for use. He takes the iv infusion once a week for 8 weeks and this Wednesday will be half way. All of the stuff he has taken this year is antibodies not really Chemo according to the nurses. He is lucky with still not having any side affects. I am not sure if it is wishful thinking on our part, but we both think his lymph nodes look smaller. The doctor says that ultimately he wants Bob to have a bone marrow transplant and they are already looking for a donor. This is scary obviously, especially when Bob looks and feels healthy. But, apparently age will become a factor at some point where they won't do a transplant. Bob will be 60 in December.

My garden is doing fantastically with lots of tomatoes ready to harvest and beans too. The deer have eaten all the tops off my first crop of peas so have started again...grr. Yesterday, I looked out the window just in time to see a red fox grab a mouse that was lurking around the compost bin. Sunday there was a moose in the field behind us, such fun to live in the country!

Time to spend my day off in the garden.

Love to you all, I love to see all your news!

Teresa :-) :-)

Morning all, I have been busy with our Blueberry festival. Family came to visit and take in some of the events so a taxi driver was needed :-)
The weather has been so hot, and with the humidity it is warmer here than in Barbados :-P Not my kind of day for sure.
I was happy to see the rain this a.m. but when I opened the door the heat pushed me inside again. It is actually steamy outside. Will have to rethink my day now and find stuff to do "inside".
The forest fires around us have slowed a bit but with more thunder and lightening they may well start up again.
Hope this crazy weather stops soon and I am looking forward to an old fashioned snowy cold winter. I think the heat has rattled my brain as well heehee.
Hope you got the recipe o.k. Les. My basil is still growing like wild so will make some more pesto when it cools off. Enjoying the toms as they are ripening daily now so it's a B.L.T every day for lunch :-D
The sage I put in the garden downstairs is also going nuts so I will have to give a lot of it away or make lots of dressing!!!
Time for my breakfast so it's bye for now. Edith <3

Hi all ,yep ,the old pest is back ,pretty tired with all the work getting ready for the families arrival tomorrow ,but satisfied that ,now it's done we will manage okay.
Mary ,i have now managed to find the Elusive Patrick Larner in Galway Ireland ,just managed to find him before the free half hour on an irish geneology website ran out :-D,but i don't think i will go any further back with him ,it would cost an arm and a leg he he.
We got stuck into a lovely roast dinner yesterday,using three sorts of beans ,and a cabbage out of the garden ,along with some spears of asparagus ,and calabrese.
I even made some home made stuffing ,and yorkshire's to go with it all,the beef and pork taken out of the freezer.
We need to get the freezer down in a hurry now ,we have loads of stuff to blanch and get down in the freezer.
Nice one with the car Les you isssss moblie again ,lol,and will be looking for a small trailer to go with it i'll be bound,one with a one piece roof [no leaks],hey ,you may even find one of those collapsible ones ,that are a lot easier to tow,and opens up with the help of inbuilt gas arms to take the hard work out of the erection.
I saw one of these at a caravan park three months ago ,put up by a young lass ,on her own ,in ten minutes,and getting inside it was a revelation ,no way could you tell it wasn't a rigid model.all mod cons inside ,toilet, cooker ,i wish i could afford one ,lol, even i could tow one of these ,and erect it :-),
'Ere Mary old buddy ,any chance of any Bartletts in London?,i have a connection there now with an alice Bartlett born 1878 who married into the Barnes family around 1905.but can i find her parents ,naaaah , :-0
We have a treat today when the son takes us to Asda this afternoon to do a shop using his family discount card ,we might save a good few pennies there he he.
What you up to Edith? ,still embroiled in finding uses for all the herbs ,and tomatoes,you could do with opening a Pizza parlour ,with those ingredients, you could make a fortune.
Well i think i had better go and get some work done,time stands still for no ,one .
Take care all ,Fred.xxx :-D

Hi everyone Sorry I havent been in much as things are declining here and I have more to do,,FH gives me a break and thanks Fred for your search as it was good and glad to be of some help,,I will send you the originals soon as that might be nice to keep..
Fred sorry to hear that your daughter is having so many problems,, Do hope the council can help and she can settle in her own place with some peace and quiet soon.. Poor Hissy.. she must be suffering from fright whenever you two go out in the car wandering if you will come home again.. :-D :-D

Les Good car hunting..have you takent the house off the market..

Edith. All those toms sound wonderful..cant wait for spring to get mine going.. My silverbeet is going well and we have had a lot of rain lately which is helping them on a treat..my citris trees are sprouting all over and should get good growth this year..must go and get my new tubs for my toms planting soon,, I know what I want just have to go and buy them..

Have a lovely weekend all and will try and get back soon..

Love Mary xxx

Sorry to hear about your daughter, Fred. It's good that she has a safe place with you and Liz.

We sold our van a week ago. A young couple came to see it and had cash in hand for us within an hour. Got a phone call from them this week to say they had already been off camping in it and loved it...good!!
Meanwhile we have a rental car and have searched up and down the island for vehicle that can tow a small trailer up and down all these mountains. We have finally bought a used Ford Explorer Sport. It is a 2 door which we have never had before but it is smaller than the 4 door and cute. At the moment it is in getting a hitch welded on and one or two other small refinements that Norm wanted. We might get it back today...yea!!

Last night saw Norm and I both in the kitchen, we had decided on a chinese night. I made chinese fried rice and chicken and peppers in black bean sauce. I got my first zucchini out of my garden (courgette to Fred) and popped that into the sauce as well. It was very yummy. Norm, who has more patience than I, made egg foo yung complete with the traditional "gravy" It was so good, much better than the local chinese restaurant who makes it using powdered eggs..yuk. So a good feast last night. We have lots of bean sprouts left so we may have another oriental evening tonight. Thought I might try making chow mein from scratch....will let you know.

My zukes and cukes have powdery mildew which I googled and found that it is a virus and the home cure is a mix of skim milk and water. So yesterday I cut off all the white leaves and then "watered: them with the mix. I looked out this am. and they do look a bit perkier so I will keep that up for a week or so and see how they do. My butternut squash is covered in small flowers so if I can save the plant I will have a bumper crop. My toms have taken over the green house and are at the ceiling so I had to top them yesterday. Lots of flowers, lots of baby toms but nothing remotely red or yellow at this point...well we aren't getting the sun..so what to do?

Teela's mom comes home tomorrow and I think we will mis having her furry little body around. She and Bella have settled nicely together and thanks to lots of little mats on the wood floors she has been able to wander around the house and not get freaked out. Yesterday was a sunny day, for a change, and we spent it outside with both the dogs. We filled the doggie pool and they had a good time and were pretty exhausted by supper time. Today is cloudy again...what weather!!

Edith do you have a recipe for your basil pesto?? My basil has taken on jungle proportions.

Hi Mary, hope all is well with you and John.
Later les <3

How is everyone this morning ? on a nice ,sunny morning ,NOT ,lol,still,one musn't grumble ,at least i am not sitting in Iceland near that biiiig volcano [Katya that is threatening to erupt ,cor ,with a 7 mile wide caldera that will really make huge clouds of ash when that decides to come out to play.
We landed up with ash on the car and garden after the last ,smaller one went up ,he he ,so i am hoping the wind will blow the other way this time.
Not able to play out there with Hissy much Edith ,the weather is too iffy ,lol,but at least ,i got the hedges done ,and the lawns trimmed last week before the rain came back.
Having a lot of family bother here ,what with my daughters marriage collapsing do do a ruddy useless son in law ,who won't pay a bean into the house ,expecting her to pay all the household bills ,while he gallivants all over the country doing nowt useful,a qualified engineer ,who would ,and does, sit on his arse at home instead of working where he could be earning £160 a day.
She has to go out to work ,to pay the mortgage ,feed the family,do everything around the house ,while he whinges about him having no pocket money ,and why can't he have this ,and that grrrrrrrr.
He wasn't pleased last week when i called him a waster ,neer do well,and idle git ,all in one breath.
Any way ,the daughter has been to her bank ,cancelled the direct debits ,and informed the mortgage firm as to what she is doing ,and is moving back here ,next week,with the two children.
The council have put her at the top of the housing list ,for a home ,because the son in law is very unstable ,being a violent wife hitting git,who has hurt my daughter in the past ,and if he does once more i will have charged by the police and barred by the court from ever coming within five miles of her .
again. :-(.
We did a good clear out of wardrobes ,drawers and the two needed spare rooms over the past few days ,and are now ready for their arrival,about Tuesday next week.
Hissy was following us everywhere ,poor mite ,lol ,i think seeing us up and down the stairs with bags ,cases and whatever ,she thought we were off on holiday again,but when she saw us come back from the big recycle place down the road she realised we wern't going to do a runner on her ,and settled down again. :-).
Hi Mary ,and Les ,both busy as usual i see ,one chasing round after doggies ,and pussy cats the other ,Mary,among other things doing a bit of research for Fred, looking at the wifes Larner Family ,trying to get back into Ireland to find out where her gt gt gt grandad was born ,no luck there ,suprise suprise ,but she did find us some cracking stuff about the wife's Tyneside family that i hadn't found so again old friend ,thanks a bunch ,you are a real star xxx :-D.
I think i had better put a coat on now ,and take a cuppa outside with Hissy ,who is sitting by the patio door looking daggers at me ,but ,at least her ears arn't laid back ,yet ,lol.so i had better not push my luck any further.
Catch you later all,Fred :-)

Good Morning all, :-D This is Edith this a.m. I have many ripe toms to-day seems they are all going to be ready at about the same time. Our hot days last week have given the plants a great "boost" .
The sweet basil is hanging out of the pot so it's pesto time this afternoon for sure.
Is everyone away??? Les may be stuck on the mainland :-) Has winter weather kept you in Mary?? Are you and Hissy busy in the garden Fred??
Our weather is settling down and we are getting a bit of rain then sun so it is much better. The forest fires got some rain as well so they are not as dangerous as they were. It will take a few weeks to clean up the mess and get the people back to their homes.
Time to get on with my day, have a great day all. Edith <3

Morning all ,Les',Edith and all else who happen by ,lol love the fish idea Les ,and that will be on the menu very shortly ,maybe with a good chunk of Halibut ,or even Skate ,both easy to get hold of over here.
Well our Autumn has already started ,and i have been busy this morning cutting the primary heads off my Calabrese ,and freezing them down for winter use ,and i have my first pickings of the runners ,which will go very nicely wit hte dinner ,mash ,onion and liver ,yum.
My fruit is still a few weeks away ,but in the meantime i have my Rhubarb growing like a good'un so i am eating plenty of crumbles,lol :-).
Today is a stay at home day ,so i am off now to finish the dinner off by mashing the tatties ,but will be back this afternoon Fred.xxx :-)

So on our anniversary we went to a local restaurant and I had the "Heavenly Halibut"...it was amazing. So yesterday I got to thinking about that fish and tried to copy. This is what I did, maybe you will try it. I used a salmon filet for Norm and Halibut for me.
I made a cup of regular white sauce.
(1 tbs of marg/butter melted. Stir in 1 tbs of flour, cook and stir, then gently add 2/3 cup milk, cook until thickened.)
Once the sauce was thickened I stirred in a half a red pepper finely chopped and a whole bunch of green onions, roughly chopped. I divided the mixture in two. Into one half I stirred a tsp of ancient grains mustard and then spread it over the salmon. Into the other I added 1/4 cup of parmagiano cheese and a touch of pepper. This I spread over the halibut. Baked them tented in foil at 350 for about 10 minutes and then about 15 minutes more open. I think my halibut was actually better thatn the one in the restaurant.
So there you have it...pretty yummy stuff.
Well we sold our van so we are now without a vehicle. We have rented a car and tomorrow we are off to Nanaimo and Duncan to look for our next adventure. We are leaning more and more to a mini van big enough to tow a small trailer. It will be an exciting day!!
The sun is shining and I think we will spend the day lolling outside just in case this is our one day of summer!! Can never tell here.
Later Lesxx

Morning all, Aaahhhh, at last the air is breathable and cool. The hot stuff has moved east and we have a cool spell.
The fires are still raging but more are under control. If we can get enough rain they will be reduced. There are a lot of people who have been evacuated to other areas, most of them are from more remote areas of our north.
In all the heat I lost my green beans, it was just too hot on the balcony. The toms etc. loved it and are doing very well. First fresh tom sandwich yesterday and oh it was good!!!!
Glad you liked the chicken Fred, it is a favorite recipe of mine. I use rosemary a lot when I cook chicken it seems to make it extra tasty.
Nice to feel like eating again too, that hot weather all I wanted was salad.
You folks out west are not a happy lot I hear. The Aunt and cousins say they are planning a long visit here if the summer won't come there :-)
Will have to put up a tent beside the parking lot hee hee.
Time to move and get some food etc. so bye for now.
Edith <3

Well it is our wedding anniversary today and I, as usual, forgot. Norm however remembered with red roses, bless his heart. So here I am lolling in my PJ's when a knock at the door brings a man who wants to put my neighbours new windows in her garage and would I give him the alarm code....er! no! So I have to rush around and get on my clothes. Poor Teela is running in circles inside because of all the noise and then the garage door wouldn't open.
Anyway windows are finally in the garage and Teela now is at our house...busy start to my day!!
Norm is making bread, and I am working up the energy to walk the two dogs.
Weather is cool and sunny witha bit of a wind blowing, How is it with you, Edith, supposed to be Ontario's hottest day of the year. Wonder if we'll get any summer.
Les <3

Morning to all ,Fred is chuffed :-D we have sun ,wahey ,and the wife ws out of bed and downstairs like a whippet [for her anyway :-) ] washing machine on ,and rotary line up ,ready ,so it is a race between the machine and the promised rain showers he he,i give 3 to 1 on the wet stuff coming back :-0.
Yes Les ,we tend to make our own burgers now ,specially for Jordan because i can add her special bread as a binder to make them safe for her,we can buy special burgers at Asda ,and Sainsburys ,but they are very expensive .
We use steak mince and only other healthy fresh produce from the garden,but i'm afraid ,no garlic ,though i love it and grow my own ,the wife ,and grandkids hate the stuff ,so i add mine after the stuff is cooked.
Looking forward to another B B Q ,and watching the weather ,lol,i have brought an indoor electric B B Q unit which ,coupled with the George Foreman griddle i can use any time of year :-P to the rain ,lol
My Spinach is now ready too ,so i can do Sag Alloo next time ,instead of Bombay Potato.or i might just do both .
We are now using the French climbers and runners out of the freezer as fast as we can ,because we will be snowed under with the new seasons stuff very shortly.
Poor Teela has real problems , indeed the poor mite is only going to get worse,the animal can't cope with the new surroundings at all ,she is either getting on in years and is fretting ,or she is naturally nervous ,neither condition being good at all ,just hope her owners come back ,before long.
Knowing a fair bit about the breed ,my sister breeding collies and crosses of all sorts ,keep a weather eye on her Les ,she may even become snappy under the stress she is under.
Glad to hear the cat is settling anyway ,they do trend to adjust far easier than dogs ,you may even find yourself adopted by her ,and find she dosn't want to go home.
You could also try some Pork burgers Les' mixed with a tad of red onion [garlic is too strong] chopped apple and mixed herbs ,they are very tasty too.
Sorry to hear about those fires Edith ,they must be very worrying for you,and the smoke can be just as bad,we can see the smoke of the fires on the moors to the south ,but the fires can't get anywhere near us because the Tyne River is blocking it ,just like a natural fire break.
The cat is making noises again ,she is sitting by the window ,looking at me and complaining ,lol,i think it's time for a coffee out there to keep her quiet, pets ,and who would have 'em :-).
Catch you later peeps ,take care all .Fred.

More doggies.....well today Teela wouldn't even come in the house and Norm had to carry her in. She is terrified of our wood floors, she seems to slip and slide all over and then just sits and shivers, very upsetting. Bella is being nice to Teela no barking or pushing. Norm is being nice to them both, he gave them slices of salami yesterday...I ask you!
The cat was sleeping in the house yesterday and had eaten her food so that was one less thing to worry about.
Fred I used to simmer my ribs in a pot of water with no seasoning but I have to admit that the bay leaves do perk up the taste a bit. Tonight I am going to make openface hamburger sandwiches. We make our own "hamburger" (mince to you I guess) by grinding sirloin roasts...only about 7% fat and very moist. Anyway for each sandwich, I will garlic a large wedge of bread, put the cooked patty on top, then load it with caramelized onions and then lashings of gravy. I rarley make this at all and so it will be a treat and cold enough today (again) to enjoy it.
We switched our cable TV server yesterday from Shaw (Rogers maybe with you Edith??) to Telus, our phone company. What a difference in the picture. Now we have a small satellite outside. We get about 120 good channels, all of which we were able to choose and some of them in HD. We spent the entire evening glued to the TV, something we rarely do. Edith we get Corrie and Rick Mercer in HD...more then cool!
We have to take in the car to get the brakes looked at this afternoon so I am off.,,,,catcha later Les. <3

Morning all, Can't seem to keep us all happy !!! The weather here is brutal.Temps for the last 3 days are 30+ with a humidex of 39 to 40.
If you don't have A.C you are in big trouble. Now the forests around us are on fire and the air is filled with smoke, so all in all we too are ahving a baaad summer.
Even the pets are staying inside, and police are checking for kids and pets in vehicles.
Needless to say the plants are loving it except the green beans are a little too hot so will shade them to-day.
Edith is heading down to the parking lot to do a rain dance and praying for cooler weather. See you soon. Edith <3

Might try that Les' never thought of infusing meat like that ,to give extra taste ,keep the ideas coming ,all donations greatfully received amen .lol
Well ,we are under sever weather warnings again over the whole north east,and to be honest ,i don'd remember ever seeing a worse summer ,we have the heating on yet again ,it being down to 17c this morning at 8-30 am.
Three nights ago we had a little ground frost,which luckily did no garden damage to any plants.
Yesterday ,the wife had a snooze in the afternoon and i slipped out to the moors 10 miles away to see what the weather was doing out there ,by 'eck ,i wished i hadn't ,he he ,soooo much water has come down in the last month that the peat can no longer absorb it all ,and the old lead mine workings have flooded to overflow ,and we have water coming up to ground level ,contaminated with lead and iron,which is actually killing the vegetation.
Poor Hissy won't go outside because she hates getting her feet wet ,and just sits under the patio tale as it persists down,he he ,she is one miserable pussy tat.
Afraid Teela is Pining for her pack leader Les' so it's a case of doing the best you can until the owner comes home ,i expect the more little thing isn't eating much either,ive had some and know how difficult it was,looking after my dear mums Sheltie while they were away ,looking after Shandy was bad as well,lovable as she was.
You will have to make it known that you can't be expected to do this again,once is more than enough ,and when your boarder won't even mix with your own pets ,it is a most difficult situation for all :-\.
Hi Mary ,nice to see you having a day at home to yourself :-),it makes a change for you, and glad that you little trees are performing as you expected.,my nectarine has loads of leaves on it now ,some coming out of the trunk which i hope means some new branches.
I will be having a look at the other website you mentioned too ,quite interesting ,and i think i will be looking to join..
Our Edith seems to be hogging all the sun :-S lucky her ,he he,i am even thinking of setting up a sunlight in the garden for my fruit trees ,but if i do ,it's a pound to a penny that i have all the birds in creation sitting under it having a sun bathe ,lol :-(.
Well ,that courgette i was talking about a week ago ,is now cowering under it's plant leaves because it knows i will be out with a knife in half an hour ,to cut ,slice it don the middle and stuff it full of veggie and rice ,yum :-D.
Catch you later all .Fred.xxx

Hey Edith, you must have our summer 'cos it's still cloudy and rainy here. Yesterday we had sun for about 3 hours. I took the two dogs for a walk...what a palava! One walks and sniffs (Teela) and one charges ahead (Bella) I think I was a bit frazzled when I got home. I had planned to have them with me in the basement with the back door open so they could go in and out. Well Teela doesn't like the basement and walked around for an hour so I gave up and went upstairs.
Meanwhile when I took Teela home at supper time she sat by the gate and was still there 2 hours later. I don't know what to do about that. And the kitty seems to be missing most of the day and that is a worry also. She is not a house cat so could be anywhere. I did bash a dish and call her finally. She saw me and hissed but then let me get her a rub. I am thinking I may have to sleep over there but Norm is not happy about that.....ah! well! :-\
I think we will have ribs tonite. Don't have any fancy recipes them, Fred. We always use back ribs. I simmer them with couple of bay leaves for about 45 minutes and then bake them in the oven in a garlic bbq sauce that I buy at the store......they are yummy tho.
Hope you had a good "me" day, Mary. I need to do that myself I think. Maybe trot off to Nanaimo and wander the stores, I shall have to plan for that.
More later. Les <3

afternoon to Edith and Mary ,from a still wet and windy north eastern England ,lol.at least with all this water my onions are going mad ,swelling nicely after i threw some feeder on them a couple of days ago.
Despite all the water ,we now have calabrese ,runner beans ,courgettes .and cucumbers ready ,and the summer cabbage are not far behind;
Inotice there are broad beans and dwaff climbers coming in too ,i will be interested to see if the dwarfs are as good as the bush variety,but running these ones up canes ,tney take up far less space than the other sort. :-).
The Chicken was a real eye opener Edith ,just shows you can teach an old Fred new tricks he he ,so ,any new ideas as to new recipes ,will be well received.
Time to find something for the tea now,i think i hear a jacket spud coming on ,lol,catch you later peeps .Fred :-D xxx.

Morning all, Will try again to post. We are again on a weather roller coaster. Hot, hot and more hot then thunder etc. now smoke from many many fires nearby.
Looking at all the news it seems everyone is having trouble of some kind.
Would be nice to hear some real happy news for a change!!!
How was the chicken Fred? I look forward to more of that recipe as I will have lots of herbs for it. :-)
Not going to take a chance again with a long story so it's bye for now.
Edith <3

Morning all.. We have a lovely day with sun and they say perhaps showers..later..

Les.. You sound like you are having a great time with all the dogs and cats..hee hee hee..keep up the good work... :-D :-D

Edith I to have been having problems with this site,,Lost a big post recently and if it is not losing them its having trouble posting them and then they get posted a multitude of times,, :-S

Fred..FTF Still has a lot of the old people from GR on it..quite a nice site..
Your garden sounds like it is coming along fine..all you need now is some sun.. :-)

Having a me day today.. Was going to do some of the dreaded but decided it can wait till tomorrow..no one will notice....I hope..

Love Mary xxx
in Sydney