General Chat

morning all ,yesssss the old git is still here ,but was making hay and all that.
Tons to do in the garden ,and loads of painting to see to,but today the rain is back ,so i am indoors apart from the shopping later on,lol.
I am soooo pleased that i got the lawn feed on yesterday ,planned in hope of todays rain [yessss,result] ,as by now the water will have taken it into the soil ,he he ,hello nice green grass.and goodbye weeds.
Shopping at Cramlington later ,i will buy five new lights for the back garden ,and replace the ones leading up to the greenhouse,and the old ones can go out the front where i notice that three have stopped working.
I got my bum kicked good style at the clinic yesterday ,because i had been eating some of the wrong foods and bicckies ,crisps,and the like and my sugar levels were well up,and i was very near going into type one ,and the dreaded needles.
So ,it has had to stop ,and i'm going back to the proper diet of low sugar or none ,and plenty of salads ,stir fries,and pastas.they said i could have the occasional treat if i watch what i'm doing ,so this months treat will be the meat and potato pie from Fleetwood ,yummy,but it isn't so much the fillings ,it's the pastry itself ,so good by to my once a fortnight tattie cake ,and back to the Kalgannon instead .
Nice to hear that your kids are fine Les,they certainly keep a body on their toes ,he he.Hissy has found a mouse nest somewhere next door ,and keeps bringing a playmate home with her.so the new game is ,her trying to bring the mouse indoors ,and me trying to stop her ,lol.so far it is 3 nil to me,but the furry baggage is getting craftier all the time he he.
I Did hear that the lack of snow over the winter has put you all in a spot over forest fires Edith,you keep a weather eye open old buddy ,and be prepared to move in a hurry if you have to
Going to get the tape on the floorboards now ,so that i can get on with the painting as soon as i come home.
Catch you all later,Fred

Morning, Anybody out there????????

Good Evening just thought I would "pop" in and say hello, been keeping up to date with all your news just haven't been well enough to "join in". Nice to see everyone seems to be keeping well and busy, all talk of gardening (which I love), just a little bit of sunshine makes everything seem much better doesn't it. Well I will keep it short and sweet and pass on my good wishes to all!!

Edith the kids are doing fine. Sometimes they lay side by side and just groove, then Ollie rolls over, pokes Bella and off they go. In the morning they are on the bed one on each side of me...pretty cosy!!
Fred I am as old as you!!
Today hubby is taking a group of school kids to a local farm to take pics of the animals. He loves these days, fresh minds and all that.
I am now going to resort to using my digital and taking pics of the illustrations in some books I have. Hopefully that will give me a few more scenes to show.
All go here today.
Lesxx
Where are the rest of you guys? napping??

Morning all, Happy to see everyone had a good holiday !!!
Hold it one minute Fred, I see you are pointing a finger at we Canucks for your excess snow this winter. Well now ,you can blame the "El Nino" and not us. heehee. Sadly it means a summer fire watch as we have a lot of treed land and when the fires start we can get into a very big mess.
Our town was evacuated a few years back and it was no holiday.
Les, hope the back gets better quickly. How are the "kids" getting along now?. Time for breakfast so bye for now. Edith XXXXXXX

Good morning all you peeps out there,from the north east of England where the sun is shining [at last] ,and old git Fred has been out side already surveying his domain ,and sitting at the small patio table ,enjoying a morning cuppa.
Hi to Les ,who ,it seems ,is recovering after a rather frenetic weekend,he he ,you wit until you are as old as me and a few others on genes and you not olly feel whacked after a few days like you have just have ,but find you have sore backs and legs to go with the tiredness too ,he he.
The story about the snapdragons made me chuckle ,i love the flower but don't grow them because they spread club root ,which is fatal where you are growing Brassica and have to be avoided.
There is nothing worse than getting mice in a house but i don't have that worry.with Hissy around,i think she is part Italian,part French ,because every time she comes across a mouse ,or frog ,she kills and eats them,it can't be because she is hungry she gets fed better than the missus and me [chuckle] so it must be because she dosn't like them in her domain ,and having killed them ,dosn't like to waste good grub [yuk].
The builders arrived yesterday morning ,and re rendered the gable end to the tiles,replaced two broken tiles ,and reduced the chimney stack by half ,and repointed what remained ,replacing the pot ,and cowl.
They also left me four spare tiles ,just in case next winter did any damage ,so that they could pop out and repair the damage.
The whole job cost £310 ,so i am well chuffed,seeing as the whole outside has now been seen to ,and all that is left is the interior,so ,i am getting there.
While they were busy i cracked on ,trimming the lawn edge out back ,and cutting the front lawn for the first time this year,and getting the garden waste bin filled up prior to putting it out for collection late last night.
My daff's are out at last ,and the Bluebells are showing their heads now too ,things are indeed looking up at last.
My Eldest son has found me two of those new reversing bulbs which i will fit to the new car,they bleep when the reverse gear is engaged ,so what with those ,and the reversing camera ,any one walking behind the car while i am moving will only have themselves to blame.
Hissy is on pest patrol out back ,soi think i will join her out there with a cuppa while the sun is out,when the son arrives i reckon it will be time to put the feeder ,weeder on the lawns.
Catch you later peeps,Fred.

Hi Everyone, well a quick chat from an exhausted me!! We had a housefull of family from Thursday until yesterday. Much fun and laughter, an easter egg hunt for the granddaughter and a whole load of gourmet cooking out of my kitchen....I am whacked. Meanwhile yesterday I put out my back again...damn!!
Fred and Mary I have a "chalet" story for you. My Dads at 96 still grows an amazing amount of stuff and all from seed. His favourite plant for the front garden is antirhynums (Spelling) or snapdragons to us lot in Canada. Anyway my Dad had just finished pricking out about 200 "babes" into 4 flats. He left two on the bench and two on the floor. Next morning he went into the conservatory to check his handiwork and the two flats on the floor had only 20 plants between them. Then my Dad noticed the mouse poo. Guess the little blighters had come in from the fields at the back of the house and had taken the little plants to build a nest. A kindly beighbour came along with a trap and the two very preggers mices are....history!! I told my Dad that was quite sad...but hey! who wants an army of mice in their house.
Not much else to tell...busy working on my presentation for the local history society about the British Home Children. The writing is easy downloading any usable pics is a nightmare - copyright and all that!!
Be safe
Lesxx

Happy Easter everyone.

Hope you all enjoy the day.

Love Edith XXXXX

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the good wishes Mary, I am enjoying my time with the grandies. Took the eldest two - both girls (10& 12) shopping yesterday - browsing the craft shops as they enjoy making jewelry.
Happy Easter to you all

Regards
Ian

Happy Easter All..

Happy to say that our weather is at last starting to cool down..we have had a bit of rain but not much..

Fred Glad the Chalet is producing well... You should have a lot of veg to put down in the freezer me thinks..I think you will have to get your updates for your sat nav for the car when it goes in for service..I just plug my Tom Tom into my pc and it updates in no time.. so I would keep the portable on just in case.. or run them both at the same time and see what happens..hee hee hee..you might end up in Scotland..lol..

Hope all the Canucks are ok and not still snowed in..

Have a lovely weekend all and dont eat to many chockys.

Lovely to see you Ian,Hope you are enjoying the grandies,,they are such a gift..

Lots of love
Mary xxx

good morning all and a Happy easter to everyone.
Aunty sherlock ,the cookies sound great ,only it's a pity ,but old Fred is not allowed being diabetic ,but there must be plenty of peeps with a sweet tooth to help you get rid of them all.
I have been busy this last week ,putting finishing touches to the kitchen decor ,repairing faulty plaster in the same round the back door ,mainly because the people who put the upvc door and frame in before we brought the house ,did as lousy job of the measure ,and the door being forced in to the opening ,still ,done now ,awaiting papering /painting ,but i am having the weekend off ,no more work until Tuesday.
The weather is still damp and miserable so i havn't got much done outside either ,but i did get the other barrel turned out [another disaster ],the only potato being any good was again charlotte,so it's only one kind of tattie for both barrels in future.
Marys chalet is coming on well now despite the lack of sunshine ,all the brassica are through ,the peepers ditto.and a few of the tomatoes are showing their heads.
Nice to hear that your big bro' is home Mary ,he should get on a lot better now he can at least get some decent sleep in his own bed ,it makes such a difference .
The weather over there ,cooling off will help too ,nothing worst than being under the weather [pun intended] when it is so darned hot that you can't be bothered anyway.
Send him over here for a few weeks ,plenty of fresh veg' and nice corned beef to build him up again , he he.
Looks as though my garmin update has at last come through onto the laptop,i needed it badly to bring my sat nave up to date before going away ,the road system changes all the time here and it's easy to lose a turning on country roads.
It will be interesting to see how the built in one on the new car updates ,,wether it's automatic as the latest garmin and Tom Tom are ,or wether it gets updated when it goes in for service ,so ,just in case ,i will keep my trusty garmin handy.
Maybe ,if anyone has a built in system in the car ,they could let me know how it's done ,i would be greateful for any info on that.
Have to go and get the veggies prepared for dinner ,but i will be back later,Fred

Hey this is all about publicity.

Althought it looks pretty quiet on here right now.

Found it.

Just to let you Canadian types know that Rocky Mountain Shy and her Girl Guide troop are selling Girl Guide Cookies.

We are supporting them and thought seeing you were closer to her, geographically speaking, than what we are, you might like to be involved.

The details are on her "Get Your Cookies here" thread on General Topics. Well, there will be details once she manages to sort out the how, the when and the how much.

Please pass the word around.

Thank you for your time. AuntyS in Oz

Happy Easter to all..

Well our weather has at last started to cool down,,We have 23c to 24c all this week so that is much better than the 38c we have been having.. We even got some rain woo hoo.....LOL

Some lovely news on the family front ,,,My lovely big brother is home from hospital.. He is still very weak and has to go back to the clinic next week for physio but he is so happy to get into his own bed and get some sleep..He didn't get any in hospital as the beds were to short for him and he was always getting woken up at 3am to give them some blood..what a time to collect it,, thanks for all your prayers I am sure they helped ...

Hope all are ok and enjoy your little holiday..

Love to all Mary xxx

Hi everyone, Hope you are enjoying good weather same as we are. The snow has just about gone and the lakes are thawing quickly. Now we are hoping for a "warm" summer. After the cold rainy time we had last year can only wish for better this year.
Even the birds are confused as we are seeing species that usually live much further south. Animals too!!Apparently raccoons are in the area and getting into folks trash etc.
Fred I see you too recieved a big raise from the govt. Here our yearly increase was $1.35 from O.A.S. Can't wait to get out and spend it Hee hee.Mary,my sympathy for putting up with the heat I am already looking to get my A.C unit put in the apt. If the temp could stay around 65 I would be very content. !!!!
This site is again jumping 2 or more spaces so will say bye for now. Edith XXXXX

Morning all you lovely people out there,specially those in oz' N/Zealand,Canada,The Netherlands ,and other places i forget to mention ,cause i am getting too forgetful,as in going to the kitchen to get a cuppa ,forgetting what i went for as i reach the door ,and am halfway peeling the days potatoes before i remember ,hmmmmmmm. he he.
Well Mary ,i only grow for the family so eight or nine plants of cabbage ,brussel and calabrese keep us going a long time ,the new cabbages [big mothers] that can grow to 7 kilos will cut up into ten meals at least,and the earlier cabbage that grow to 4 kilos ,gives us a long season,'specially with ten pak choe which grow so fast ,i can do at least two crops from the same buckets.
i have decided that the spare row of buckets along the back fence ,will be taken up with runner bean ,two to a bucket ,giving twenty plants ,that ,along with the dwarf french bean will also keep us well supplied for a good three months ,any spare being frozen down for winter use.
The stuff like late Carrot and Parsnip improve with frosting Mary and will happily go through to early March without spoiling.
All this keeps me active as well ,and gives me an interest .
My new pension increase has come through ,cor half a chinese meal for one [don't spend it all at once Fred] £ 3 extra a week ,life on the high hog [not] ,lol.
Thank the Lord i listened to my financial advisor some years ago and took out two private pensions ,which was a struggle on a poor wage.but now ,at least i am reasonably comfortable,and we both manage okay,a lot of others arn't anymore.
Four weeks to go ,and we will be Blackpool bound [yippee] our first break of the year ,he he ,i only hope the weather improves a good bit,some poor peeps in this country are getting snow again ,brrrrr.
Hope you poor lot in oz are managing okay with your storms and heavy rain ,i even seem to remember somewhere ,hearing about al old railway there having part of the track weakened causing a derailment ,so i do hope that there was no loss of life [see ,i do keep my beady eye on you lot.
Read some where that the snow is back in Canuck country.yes ,i am keeping my eye on you too ,he he,these 'puters are wonderful things ain't they?.
Woo hoo.,nearly B B Q weather again ,i am waiting for the first real break in the weather so that i can get my gear out and get cracking ,lol, a couple of hours out in the front garden ,and then onto the patio,to start off with a nice chunk of Swordfish ,with spice wedges yum.
Off now to have a look round the boards,catch you all later ,Fred.

Hi everyone..Still hot here..Nearly cook going to the hospital in the sweatbox of a train..Our trains have a lot to be desired...LOL..

Fred Are you starting this season trying to copy a fruit and veg shop..You will have enough veg. to supply the countryside..sounds lovely..do the ones you leave in the ground during winter not get frozen and spoil..or are they ones you planted early in the spring..I hope we get a cold winter,,It will go down to at least 10c if it is ,,,lol Our winter is so mild I dont even wear a coat when I go out ..unless it is raining ...as I have a shower coat to keep dry..a jumper is all we usually need..Good find with that phone..have another look down the back of the sofa and see what you can find..usually some loose change down there..lol.

Hope all are fit and well.. Have a lovely weekend..

Love Mary xx

Morning our Mary,be careful Lass in what you wish for ,lol,if you get a winter anything like our last one was ,you won't be at all happy ,but i hope you do get down to more managable temperatures very soon.
From a little weather forcasting [long range] company in Wales'who have been far more accurate in the last three years than the boffins at the national weather centre ,it looks like we aqrer in for a scorcher ,temperatures in exccess of 36 c,oooooer.
I remember in a shop in the metro centre last year ,a water cooler which delivers very cool water for drinking ,or juices like orange ,and one othjer of your choice ,so i may very well buy one for the missus.
I was up early this morning before the expected drizzle arrived ,and took out the last of the leeks,and put the fertalizer and lime straight in so the whole veggie patch and back garden borders are ready to go.
I was on I E a couple of minutes ago ,but the pages started jumping again ,so i have swapped to google chrome to carry on so i can see what i am adding.
The Red onion are in their boxes ,32 in all which should see us fine for salads.
All the rest of the seed apart from the leeks ,are in the greenhouse so we are well away now .oh .and the first tattie barrel is started as well
We have ,Beetroot,Swede,two sorts of cabbage, calabrese,kale,
french bean, asparagus,leek,pak choe,lettuce,cauli,brussel,tomato's , chillie peppers ,peppers [sweet], cucumber,and a few assorted herbs,which should keep us going well into the winter.
I have just started out front by hoeing the long border to clear it of weed ,not that there was a lot,i have that much ground cover plants that weeds find it hard to get a hold ,so by the time i get the other borders done ,the flowers in the chalet will be ready to go out.
The only thing i don't like is doing the top of the big hedge which looks like the top knot of the jolly green giant he he.but the son will trim that for me i expect ,the rest of the hedges i can see to myself ,for now anyway,lol,that will take up another garden recycle bin,and another to take the rest of the plant trimmings and lawn cuttings ,oh ,what a merry life i lead .My phone has partly given up the ghost ,refusing to charge in the car ,but doing so okay in the house[looks like one of the circuits has gone ,but the phone is ,after all ten years old ,and dosn't owe me anything.
However ,i pulled out the cupboard in the front room last night ,and found a Christmas present from the son from three years ago,a brand new Motarolla phone ,not even out of it's box ,complete with a £10 top up voucher ,so all is not lost.
When i go down to the metro centre this morning i will take it with me and call in a t0.3 to find out if it is still good to go ,and if it is ,has it got Bluetooth ,so that it will work with connect in the new battle wagon,cor ,if it does it will save a few pennies from buying a new one these Motorolla are expensive but darned good phones.
Off now ,to get a shave ,if i leave it any longer it will be a case of lie down on the lawn and get the wife to run over me with the mower He he, i is gettin' lazy in my retirement ,lol
Notice too that the jumping stops as soon as i swapped to chrome ,so it IS i E that causes a lot of problems on Genes.
Catch you later peeps ,take care over there with the storms you are getting ,and stay safe ,Fred

Hi everyone..We still have hot..cant wait for winter..

Fred What is this about you having a fall in my Chalet..glad all is ok and you is not injured..wont be able to rent it out if you are going to wreck it...hee hee hee...do you have the caravan there to..We saw a lot of that white stuff falling all over your little island this winter,,hope that means we are getting a cold winter to..sick of this hot and humid weather..

Les.. Whats this about a bear being shot..poor thing..thought they were protected..By the way..isnt this the second time you have been walking and come home drenched...do you make a habit of it around this time of year...heee heeeheee...

Edith.. You tell that Les to keep all her trashy weather..Just send the nice stuff.. Have you seen any bears yet..hope your people don't shoot them..

Good news on the brother front,,He is now in a normal ward and progressing fine.. Still got a few tubes in him but he is getting rid of them one by one..nearly there..He spent a few days in the High Dependency ward but hated it so he did everything they wanted and got himself outa there..still to weak to walk yet but one day at a time..So grateful to the fantastic staff..

Well its my day for visiting the hospital tomorrow so it will be good to see him..Hope all are well and keep warm,,

Love Mary xxxx

Morning all, Our weather is finally warming again. Hope it satys this time.
Les, I watch the Food channel, they have chefs, grill cooks and some folk who are just off the street . One just opens tins and packets throws it all together adds a fancy name !!!! Some of the hotdogs with piles of goop on top make me laugh by the time you get it to your mouth everything will be on the floor or your shirt.hee hee.
Fred it sounds like you are off to the races this week. My new little calico friend next door is doing great. She is mostly orange and is a blur as she rips around the apt.She also ambushes her owner and the lady has the scratches to show for it. Keeps us all alert too. !!!
Time for me to get the chores out of the way for to-day as I have a very
good book to read. So bye for now. Stay well. Edith XXXXX