General Chat

Morning all. Thunder , lightning and weather alert for a tornado of all things.We have some very nasty weather roaring through the northwest.
Listened to the noise most of the night, hoping my balcony didn't get drowned. However everything looks o.k. this a.m.
The cucumbers I planted in the long thin planter have taken off and the leaves now cover most of the north wall of the balcony. Flowers and several cucs so look forward to lots of good eating !!!
My downstairs neighbour keeps giving my toms a hungry look so will have to share a few.
Fred I have some nicotiana plants and in the evening they have the best
scent and if we have a breeze I can smell it inside. Lovely.
I agree about the "dumb" people who try and invade the wilderness. I would love to shove them in a den somewhere tied by one leg.!!!!
Be careful with the chiminea as they spark a lot and will set small fires around them. We had a lovely jacket fire a few years ago. D.I.L hung it
on a chair just a bit too close. Of course she was not as amused as we were.hee hee.
Enough of my rambling. Stay well everyone. Edith XXXXXXXX

Morning all ,well some people need to remember that in going out in the wilds ,you are entering any wild animals territory ,it's THESE idiots that are the interlopers and the animals are only doing what these people would do if an animal ,or person would do if someone threatened THEIR children.
If these idiots are so ruddy dumb ,then they should stay home,and save the wild a load of grief.
If you take a walk along the cliff tops on the coast around Newcastle ,you are liable to be dive bombed by gulls protecting their eggs and chicks,no good complaining to the local council ,but some do ,he he.
Their are wild boar re introduced in to the New forest here ,but no one in their right mind would go close to them,they arn't the normally friendly farm yard piggies ,these are wild ,and very dangerous.
We even had some daft woman go for a wander in a farmers field with a dog ,letting her pet get too close to a calf,which of course provoked the cow to attack her and the dog ,her fault ,but she sued the farmer ,the magistrate giving her damages for pure stupidity instead of fining her for aggrivated trespass the judge ,and her should have been shot with s**t .
I got seen off by my sisters geese ,my fault ,i knew she used them as watchdogs but walked through the gate none the less ,i might add that i left more quickly by leaping a five foot five barred gate ,should have entered the Olympics that day lol.
The name means what it says ,WILD, as meaning ,treat with respect ,and thats from an old town dweller who still knows better.
The salad you mention ,i tasted for the first time in Cyprus ,and love it even today yum ,and often make one to go with either the B b Q or just a weekday tea ,specially as i now have all the stuff to hand in the garden ,bust needing balsamic ,and Feta Cheese.
sounds more like garage BUYING les ' lol ,but i'm jeal' he he ,no one seems to have them around here ,and i have to content my self with the bootsale up in Cramlington on a Wednesday ,which reminds me ,i must keep my eyes open this week for an empty Mac Gas can ,for the emergeny heaters i need four cans ready for the winter seeing as they reckon we may have long power cuts ,if it gets cold again ,like last year ,if we lose the electric ,we have no heat ,or cooking,and four cans of heating gas will keep us warm for at least six weeks.
I have already found a little gas can for the camping stove as well [4.5 kilo]
and will take that to the Calor depot this week ,which will enable me cooking to if the need arises.
I was even thinking of a small Chimnea for the patio as well ,i saw one at B & Q that can be used to cook in too ,nosh and toastie warm at the same time ,now that's an idea,lol.
I need all these chores Edith old friend ,i maay grumble a bit about them at times ,yes ,but i can't afford to sit around ,my hip is that bad ,that lazing about allows it to seize up and i would rather have the pain ,and be mobile ,than haqve the same sort of pain while sitting down ,for longer ,lol,'cides ,where would i be without my garden ,and the [nearly ] free veggies and flowers which don't take much looking after in return for much pleasure and sitting on the patio among all the scent and color.
Well Mary ,ouir summer ain't up to much ,but i'm hanging on to it for a while yet ,so there ,he he,you will have to wait awhile or go and Join Tony
,and i did suggest you hiding in his suitcase.
Well ,time for a cuppa before i wake all the neighbors up by getting the big mower out and doing the front lawn ,lol,Fred's up ,the missus is up ,EVERYBODY up lol.
catch you later.Fred xxx

Yes Edith there were two guys out in the bush west of here. "Humour" has it that they have a maryjane thing going on out there but I think the truth is that they like wilderness camping and are a tad stupid. They had left their cooler outside the previous day and the bear came for a look. He came back and was staring down at one of the guys who screamed bloody murder. The bear lunged and attacked, the other man got into the fight, whacked the bear on the nose so he ran away. The bear came back to the camp the next day and the conservation guys killed him. He was a young bear and obviously remembered there was food around. So the moral of the story is: if you camp in the wildernes...lock up your food and garbage.

Meanwhile there was a news piece about a couple of dogs who were attacked by a beaver in Red Deer. The City's game plan was to kill the beaver colony. I wrote to the Red Deer council along with thousands of folks from around the world, deploring their decision. They were so overwhelmed with mail that they did nothing and two days later, one evening, some as....le went into the park and shot one of the beavers...now it is an RCMP investigation. It is illegal to shoot within a park and shoot protected wildlife.

And then again there was a woman in Victoria who was walking her dog and she was charged by a deer (doe) who was protecting her two fawns. The woman hid behind a car and someone came and chased the deer away.
Crazy, crazy times!!

Last night I made a yummy greek salad which we had with new spuds from a local farm plus new baby carrots cooked in foil with a little oil and dill, and a slice of meatloaf.

Today we have been garage sale-ing. My score was a huge box of different laces and ribbons for $1...yea!!

Off to find a cool spot to read in.
Enjoy the weekend.
Lesxx

Morning all, Another nice day in middle Canada. Fred, when you describe all the chores you have to do outside I am thankful I moved to a smaller home. I can do without having to trim the lawn edges etc. However some days I would welcome the big garden and getting bone tired after a day of weeding etc. Darn women!! can't keep us happy no how hee hee
On our T.V. from Winnipeg last nite there was the story of a man out near Les's, who had a dustup with a bear and ended up in hospital. He said he would go back again but move the campsite, well I guess so.!!! Some folk are very thick.
Am still enjoying a daily tom, yesterday I sliced a large one on a plate
topped it with rounds of mozzarella cheese and basil leaves and drizzled olive oil over all. MMmmm everyone enjoyed it.
Good to hear from you Mary and I for one am looking forward to our cooler weather. Must get moving as I have a full day planned. See you all soon.
Enjoy the rest of the week-end. Edith XXXXX

Hi everyone We have a lovely winters day,,
All this talk of home grown veg is making my mouth water..When the spring comes I might get going and see if I can grow something out the back patio..It dosent get to much sun but just might get enough so will give it a go..
You all sound like you are enjoying your summer so make the most of it..not long to our spring,,hee hee hee arnt I horrid..but I DO LUVS YAS...

Have a nice weekend..

Love Mary xxx

Mornin' Les Edith ,yes please all recipes greatfully recieved lol,i often add a couple of drops of the oil to my noodles to make a change ,and often add it along with a little fish oil in my stir fry ,makes a nice change.
Was out feeding my veggie patch this morning ,and am pleased to find that my mid season cabbage is balling nicely,reckon a couple more weeks ,and ,bingo.
Hmmmmm,i managed to get the outer and inner sides of the hedge done yesterday ,at last,and today i will be copying you ,and getting the front lawn trimmed ,followed by weeding the back borders , so i am nearly up to date.
I reckon you are a little ahead of me with the peppers ,mine have just started to form their buds and are looking good ,and the tomato's are now big, plump ,and awaiting a little sun to turn them red.
I can't get my head round the govenment in this country ,they are chuntering on about leaving the cars at home yet again ,and then tell us they are going to put up transport costs ,i.E the train and tube fares 10%,so people are going to find it even harder to afford the fares to get into work,our law makers and MP's are living in cloud cuckoo land,one way ,or the other guys ,you have us dizzy over here ,it's make your mind up time,lol.
I am going to make up some of that Burger ,and sausage mix this afternoon ,using some of the spices and herb mix i have ,added a little at a time to give the mix a B B Q flavour,and then shove it on the hot coals to simmer in a tad of oil .should go nice in pitta bread with some salad leaf and tomato out of the garden ,though i will have to cheat with the tom's ,mine not being ready yet.
Time to get on with the housework now ,before starting in the garden again ,ho ,hum ,Fred's Work is never done ,he he,still ,it has to be done before laddo comes this afternoon .
Catch you all later ,Fred. .
,

Can't complain abhout the weather at the mo....hot and sunny. My vegies while not tall are flowering and starting to produce. The peppers and toms in the green house are coming along nicely.
Meanwhile our house seems to be this years "place to visit"!! More and more guests the next lot arriving early in August for a week. Please book early if you plan to visit....LOL!!!!
Fred I have recently discovered the joy of sesame oil, dunno why I had never used it before. Have a great recipe for a sweet and sour sauce, will post if anyone is interested. My next project is to make samosas with filo pastry and then bake them in the oven.....however in this heat a nice salad seems to be the thing!!
Off to cut the grass before the noon heat settles in.
Lesxx

Morning all, Another bag of mixed weather, little sun, little rain etc.
The note about the onions Fred, my Gran told me never to save onion way back in the late 40's. She was a great cook and had a lot of do's and don'ts. Over the years her advice has helped me for sure.
The toms are now ripening faster than I can eat them so the other folk here are getting a treat as well.Have also made my 4th batch of basil pesto and shared it with the neighbours. I tried the herb basil this year but the pesto is not as good as the sweet basil. Cucs are doing well and should be ready to eat this week-end yaaay.
Time for breakfast so it's bye for now. Edith XXXX

Eening Edith ,lol, i would love to have been a fly on the wall when the funeral firm got your letter ,he he ,i have a vision of you ,stick raised in the air shouting No Prisoners,no Prisoners ,lol,i bet the ingrate had nightmares for years after that episode ,and rightly so.
The waterfall you mentioned is a weir on the Avon, in Bath Edith,and i am in the process of getting together some more pics ,of the trip ,and some of Cyprus too.
We have a little steamer here ,with four tiers in which we steam all our veggies in ,i think boiling leads to loss of taste and overcooking,the only veg i sometimes do not steam are the tatties ,sometimes i nuke them ,and sometimes roast ,but don't even boil them for mash, 'orrible that way yuk.
Carrot & Apple soup for tea today ,lovely with a little Parmesan cheese and a tad of black pepper.
The sandwich sounds great too ,you have talked me into one for tea tomorrow ,he he,catch you all later ,Fred.

Morning all, So sorry about the knees Fred,my my we can't have that. You may have to get to a tanning bed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so pleased with my wee garden, yesterday I had a lovely tom, lettuce and onion sandwich . Sat out there and ate my lunch and cup of tea and enjoyed every minute hee hee.
Mary, yes the bears are out but happy to say they are in the forest, the bluberries are fabulous this year as it's been so hot so they are munching away just where they should be. A neighbour has been out picking them and says for the first time ever she saw gulls in the patch also having a feed.
I agree with the broccoli Mary, I steam it for 3 min. and sometimes with grated cheddar others just salt and pepper. Love it!!!
Fred, several years ago I had a go at a funeral director about Asto turf. When my Dad passed and I got the bill I noticed a $35 rental charge for the bit of turf around the grave during the service. Thinking about the number of times said turf is used during the year I got to thinking the stuff must be worth a fair bit by years end.So being me I phoned and ask for the turf as I had paid for it. Well, a hornets nest is nothing to the controversy I unleashed. Letters to the local paper all demanding payment for same turf etc. A long apology was sent to all and the turf never charged for again!!!!! Sometimes even tho' the injustice is small it pays to holler about it. Enough from me for to-day. Enjoy the day everybody. Edith

Morning Mary ,sounds like you could do with some Astro turf out there ,a fella at the allotment had some ,lol,all over the paths on his plot ,which is artificial but looks just like the real thing but never needs trimming,he was a green grocer by trade ,and used all the cuttings off his shelves in his shop to very good use .
Your comment on bloodsuckers brought to mind an old sketch of Tony Hancock's from years ago about the Blood Donor that was on the television ,don't know if you ever saw it ,but it was so funny it had me in stitches even thinking about it.
I have nearly finished tagging all my pics of Cyprus now ,and will have some nice ones to share with peeps before long..
Sounds as though Teresa is having a good time over here on holiday,so i reckon she will have loads of pics to share as well by the time she gets home.
Time to get some work done now ,starting with going out in the rain and bringing the bins in ,sniffle ,wah ,Mary ,i issss loosing my tan ,sob ,me nobbly knees is going all pale and 'orrible he he .Fred.

Morning all we have a lovely sunny day..going up to around 19c today..went down to 9c last night. lovely.....

Fred What you call calabrese we call broccoli..love the stuff and its very good for you..your garden is a picture and those veg are growing so well..great pictures..love your lawn,,so green and lush..nothing like the aussie lawns with our water restrictions now it is hard to keep them green,No rain to talk of for ages.Your pictures of Bath brought back memories of when we were there 25 years ago..great photos..

Hope all are well and enjoying the holiday season..had to go to the bloodsucker this morning and now feel at least a kilo lighter after all the blood she took..just checking on my thyroid..it plays up every now and then..

Love Mary xx

Morning Mary ,looks like your weather and ours arn't so very different ,lol,we managed to get up to 19c by ten this morning ,in the middle of July ,lol,and i am thinking we up here in the frozen north are in for another lousy ,cold winter.
I have ordered another two gas cans for the emergency heaters ,just in case ,i have to keep the missus warm at all costs.
I froze down four calabrese heads this morning after seeing that they were ready while looking around the brassica ,but i have left on on a plant for todays dinner ,and will leave a little for this afternoons tea [stir fry.again ] ,best time of the year for us ,all veggie apart from the carrot and cabbage coming from our own produce.
One courgette was a bit too large for a stir fry ,or frying ,so i have left it on the plant to grow marrow size ,it will be nice stuffed with peppers ,tomato, and rice ,and maybe a little minced beef or pork ,yum.
All the beans are covered in flower so i reckon it's a bumper crop this year all round apart from the leeks ,which i will get at least a few ,he he ,win some loose some ,and this year it looks to be the leeks and onion that are iffy,but ,you can't have it all ways.
The weather was not good yesterday so i landed up getting the health grill down from the kitchen cupboard top and did the two pork and apple burgers and the two beef burgers on it ,in the warm ,lol.
I did some onion rings too ,sweated down with a stock cube,and side salad,so we did okay.
today is a Fred lazy lunch ,two pieces of toad ,in the 'ole ,steamed calabrese ,steamed tatties with a sun dried tomato dressing ,all done in the steamer along with green beans and chopped carrot.
Another stir fry for tea completes todays line up all gear apart from the tatties and cabbage straight from the garden ,the best time of the year folks ,the only thing better than the growing of ,is the eating of ,lol
Going to go now and sort my new pics out by adding the captions to each one .
catch you later peeps,Fred.

Hi everyone..Seems like the Brits and the Canucks are all on holidays also..lucky butters...Enjoy yourselves and make the most of the lovely weather..
Not much happening here. and life goes on its normal way..Took john to the club across the road today for lunch just to get him out of the house,,He must get very bored with only me to chat to..
Teresa Lovely to see you pop in..Enjoy your holiday,,Hope you are both well..

Fred.. Sounds like you had a good time driving around Bristol..hee hee,,love your roundabouts..they are huge and you could be in 2 counties by the time you get around once..well thats what they were like near Hertfordshire,,We went around the same roundabout 3 or 4 times before we found our way out..LOL

We are having a lovely winter and no frost here in Sydney.

Les Enjoy your time visiting the kids and Edith are the bears out yet...

Have a lovely weekend

Love mary xxx

Morning every one ,and a special one for Teresa who looks to be enjoying her visit to the old country.We got through to Bristol airport ,eventually ,cor ,what a nightmare Bristol town centre is to drive in ,give me Manchester ,or London any time ,lol,you can't move in there for red light camera zones,and speed cameras ,you can see where Bristol makes a lot of money,this tale of cameras being there for safety reasons is pure baloney ,tis all to do with money and screwing motorists silly,if all the cars went on strike for a month the city coffers would be empty and the city elders would be getting no pension money he he.
The trip into Bath was lovely and the two hours we spent there was not enough ,so we have decided to stop off here on the way down to Cornwall for two days ,and spend a full day in the city.
I enjoyed the bus ride in too ,seeing the buildings way up on the hillside ,the curved crescent glistening in the sun [all of the buildings seemingly granite built].
The whole city seems to radiate out from the centre ,in straight lines of the streets crossed by lots of narrow alleys with loads of little shops and cafes ,all showing their wares in the windows ,it reminded my a lot of a huuuuuge shambles like the one in York.
The city centre park is like The Dingle but only half the size ,except it is right on the Avon bank with lots of stone flower troughs with the flowers hanging over the grass lawns ,and the water.
This city is lots better than London for tourists ,open ,clean and well organised ,open topped buses ever where ,and sightseeing walking tours complete with guides.and even a few boat tours along the Avon showing the buildings and sights you can see far better from the water.
Time to go now ,my last visit before going home tomorrow ,to make sure i am home for the main event ,lol,besides ,i am missing my little furry buddy a lot ,
Hope everyone is looking forward to their weekend,Fred.

Yes, everyone I am still in the land of the living. We are on an extended visit to the UK at the moment and I thought I would pop by to say hello.

Right now we are staying at Castle Keep in Reigate at the home of one of Bob's cousins. They also have 2 homes in the Calgary and Canmore area. It is fantastic to sit here surrounded by a moat and the old castle, quite different and much more luxurious than anything else we have seen since being here. We are off to Kent tomorrow, then London and then to Hanley Castle in Worc so I can see where my ancestors came from.

We return to Canada on the 29th of this month so soon will be back to normal.

Bob is good, no problems with his last doc's visit. We still love small town life and all that it offers.

Off to explore.

Love to you all, I try to keep up with what is going on even when I don't always have time to add to the thread.

Teresa

Morning all. Happy to see you are getting some good weather at last, Les.
We have been lucky this year,at least the cold has stayed away. My balcony garden is doing really well, the best ever for toms and cucs.The herbs are outdoing themselves so I will have a lot of work drying them all.I can also make some vinegars for gifts as well.
The bluberries are doing great and the open areas in the bush are blue fields. The bears will now stay at home and eat to their hearts content.At least it beats having them walking the streets looking for food. hee hee.All the berries seem to be ripening at the same time so those who pick them will be busy.!!! A busy day ahead so will get moving. Stay well all. Edith XXXX

Hi Gys, Here I am in Langley at my daughters. We popped over the line yesterday and had a retail fest. Coming back across the border with all our goodies we only got a warning and no duty to pay....yippee!!
Weather is hot, hot. Summer is here. Off today to the graddaughters for a a couple of days and then home. Nice break
More later
Lesxx

Morning Edith Fred Has a few minutes before we go to Chippenham on the local bus ,the car can have a rest today,lol.
Yes ,i was gobsmacked myself when i found out why the chopper was hovering over the roundabout ,nothing like that ever happens where we live [i wish] but it never has until now.
I must have been well relaxed though,because the incident was only 50 yards as the crow flies from our back garden,and if i had been alert ,i would have heard a shotgun going off ,being well used to the sound from years of shooting,so i must have been dozing ,he he.
I am now waiting for the wife to get the washing out ,being sat here ,shorts and sandles [my Cyprus ones] on ,rarin' to go ,he he ,it's market day and i love browsing the stalls ,hmmmmm,wonder what i can find for dinner while we are there,we too have been enjoying our salads for teas since we have been here ,local produce aplenty sold at the side of the road.
Back later peeps,time to be off,Fred.

Hi Guys, I am away for a week to visit the kids...may pop in if not, chat later.
Lesxx