General Chat

Sounds as though your weather is about the same as ours Les 'lol but at least i don't have to take a dog for a walk in it ,i just open the door and ease Hissy out of the door with a gentle foot in her rear ,he he ,i get some disgusted looks when it is raining too.
Busy days ahead this week ,what with the decorating and garden,still ,i have son number one coming down to give me a hand papering [to save me poor old back] which will make it a bit easier for me.
Well,not long till the holiday ,mmmmmm a week in Blackpool is just what we need after the winter we have had,and it is usually a lot milder over that side of the country.
Have to take the missus her morning cuppa up now and no doubt get a playful swipe at my ankle as i get to the top of the stairs ,where the furry baggage lies in ambush.
Catch you later peeps ,Fred

On thursday while walking Bella in the afternoon a gale blew in...and I mean gale!! I was soaked to the skin so much so that I could wring the water out of my jeans. Bella said Mom don't wring me, so she had a brisk rub with a towel which she loves anyway.
Then yesterday and today it is warm and sunny....bloody weather.
This morning I went into Nanaimo to buy outdoor fabric to recover my garden swing set. I treated myself to brekkie, did some serious window shopping and then trucked on home. It was nice to have a bit of time to myself.
Tomorrow is TV day with omnibus Corrie in the morning and Come Dine with Me in the afternoon. (Edith that's on Woman's Network at 1 my time....worth a look if you can). In between I hope to do a little yard work and bring in the swing canopy to use as a pattern........its all go here!!
Edith they have just shot the first bear of the season...very early and the field across the road is white with daisies...now am I dreaming or is this a tad earlier than usual???
Catch later.
Les

Mornin' to all,from a warmish,wet Newcastle which has stopped me venturing into the garden today. not that i needed any persuading to stay indoors ,my back still a bit sore after the tumble in Mary's chalet, no lasting damage done ,and none to the greenhouse.
One tattie barrel has been turned out ,and i will be sticking with charlotte in future ,the only tattie plant that gave me a good return for the effort.
The other barrel at the top of the garden has lincoln reds in ,so we will see if these are okay.
Having a little bother with a couple of roof tiles again ,hmmmmmm ,time to call in a roofer methinks . he he.
Catch you all later , Fred

Morning all. The warm spring days have gone and we again have snow.
As tomorrow is the first day of spring, hope this stuff disappears quickly. So looking forward to the seed planting etc. I think
Les has sent her messy weather east to us. Sure hope they are having better days now.
Must go and clean my car off so I can get some groceries in. Bye for now. Stay well everyone Edith

Happy St. Pats day to all. It's again a lovely day in our neighbourhood.
Most of us are waiting for the other shoe to fall as this is just not
the usual weather for us at all. I so envy Fred being able to get in the
garden, I have polished all the tools and just waiting to dig in some
soft black earth. Nuts hhmmm!
My next door neighbour got a new kitten Monday a lovely little calico
named Chloe. So now I can enjoy a cat sitting job when she goes
out. Yaaay.
Mary, so glad your brother is on the mend. Will look forward to the pics
when you find time to send them on.
Stay well everyone. Edith XXXX

Good morning all ,from a dry but dull day [so far] but looks promising.,and looks like a tattie lifting day ,and a mooch around Aldi ,where i noticed bedding plants on offer at £3 for 20.he he ,two of those packs will keep me going out back till the missus gets cracking with the new seeds.
Glad to hear your Bro' is starting to improve Mary ,at least .it seems you will be able to breathe easier now.
The chalet is ready to go again ,and i have four big bags of potting compost in for the tomato buckets ,which i'm hoping the wife will start this week.
I went out first thing this morning to open the door and let the greenhouse air ,and glanced at the house roof as i turned round after the wind last night ,and yep ,that plurry tile has slide again ,so i have just been in touch with the eldest son who is going to shove it back up for me.
I think i will have to get in touch with a builder and get a few tiles wired in and the rendering between the tiles and wall redone to try and fix the problem once and for all ,the wind hitting the end of the roof this way is a pain ,but thankfully ,it is the lower end and can be got at with our ladder.
Have to go now and get the ladders out ready ,see ya later peeps,Fred.

Hi everyone..Well I am back on deck and my darling brother is on the mend though slowly..he is due to go to a high dependency ward as soon as there is a bed available..they still don't know what the cause was that made his organs start to close down but we don't care as long as he recovered.The last thing to start was his kidneys and they only started to work a bit in the last few days so he is improving..All he wants is a cup of coffee...heeheehee..I am off to see him tomorrow and the next day..We are taking 2 days about as it was getting very tiring going every day which involved 4hours travelling each day ..

I hope all are well and your winter must be slowly coming to a close and am waiting in eager hope for out winter to arrive..We have had a very humid summer and its only just in the last 2 days starting to cool down a bit,,Been in the high 20c lately and I don't like that..To hot for me..and very humid..

Veronica Welcome to the list of retirees and now learn to slow down and enjoy a rest..Do hope you start to feel better soon..

Had a lovely weekend with the Wattlers so that is my annual holidays gone and am waiting for next years..Haven't downloaded my photos yet as haven't been home much to do it but will do it soon..

Lots of love to you all..Love Mary xxxx

Hi All

Hope you are all keeping well. I have finally been forced into retirement from the school board. I was diagnosed with Poly Myalgia and Rheumatoid arthritis in December and am so unreliable in the mornings that it became impossible to take work (I was on ly a temp having retired from Toronto School Board 6 years ago).

Now Keith and I are settling in to semi-retirement having just taken our first official winter holiday to Arizona.

We have had such a mild winter with only 2 lots of snow that needed clearing and the crocuses against the house which is south facing are in full flower and the daffies have popped their heads above the ground.

I enjoyed watching the winter olympics particularly the maniacs on snow boards and that cross skiing that was like roller derby on skis, also the curling.

regards

Veronica in Dundas

Went walking with Bella yesterday and got caught in a wet snowstorm, absolutely drenched even thru my rain coat and then just as we got home the sun came out....go figure.

Spent the last little while researching the Ashby's and the Beeson's both married into my Darbon family. What a crazy bunch!! They all lived in Harmondsworth, Bucks along with many of my ancestors...I think this lot probaly qualified to be the village idiots. They change their names, their ages, they have illegal stills, they vanish at an alarming rate never to be found again which leads me to believe that they were up to some "naughties" and changed names yet again. One Beeson baptised half of his children using his real name Edwin and the rest using his "aka" as Edward. The kids must have been confused. And hardly any of them knew their own age even right down to the 1911 census. Most fun doing genealogy I have had in ages.

Cold again today with a promise of more snow. The vet put Ollie on a wet diet and it seems to be doing the trick. Both he and Bella love pumkin so that is good and seems to keep their insides peachy keen!! Hard to believe it is Saturday and another week gone by.
Keep well you lot.
Les

Morning all, Sounds like you have our weather Les. We have been
above normal since Christmas.Have very little snow left and the lake ice is not too safe. Hope Ollie is O.K. Loved your woodstove adventure as I had a few of them in my former house.
Will start some of my herbs indoors this week and then transplant to bigger pots later. Sure wish I had a lovely chalet like Fred's. Oh, well dream on Edith hee hee..
Never eaten buffalo but moose meat is similar I think. Very lean and the flavor is like veal. Makes the best stew ever yum.
Hello to all the others hope all is well with you.
Time for breakfast so will sign off. Edith XXXX

Taking our Ollie to the vet today. He doesn't go to the toilet everyday and now that is starting to worry me. I don' t think he is in any pain but best get him looked at. His nights now are spent beside my pillow and Bella lies at my feet....Norm clings to his side of the bed valiantly in the hopes that he can stay on the bed and keep some covers....LOL

Snowed last night and stormed pretty good. All white this morning and now more snow again. It is only the wet stuff be aggravating all the same. Lots of reports of bear citings around town so they are up and at 'em!!

I made a yummy meat loaf last night using buffalo meat. We buy that all the time now, hardly any fat and it doesn't have that beefy taste. We had it with scalloped potatoes and I make them without any fat...also yummy. Heaven knows what it will be tonight....not as organised as our Fred.
More later.
Les

Morning Les' he he,sounds like your place is as crazy as ours lol.you must admit though that a dull life is no good for anyone.
Hissy was accidently locked in the back bedroom overnight ,and upon my getting up she made her displeasure known by yowling and scratching at the door,as soon as i opened it she shot out and i tell you ,if she could talk i would have got a right dressing down ,she didn't stop grumbling until i picked her food bowl up in the kitchen,she is the light of my life ,but two females grumbling together gives a male a sore ear 'ole, he he.
The missus had a good day yesterday and decided to make a varietry of soup that i have never had before.
It stemmed from Morrisons where we went shopping last ,we spotted three large globe Fennel on offer at 39 p,and the wife decided we were having some.
We came home ,where apon she got her soup cookbook out and found a Fennel, sun dried Tomato,and leek- celery soup and made a batch ,i tell you folks ,it was amazing ,rich and very very tasty ,told her that she could make that again any time.
It was a veggie day yesterday,because for tea i made a basic stir fry with diced chicken [a few ounces only],done with a home made sauce which was mainly fish sauce and Hendersons relish,and some noodles.
Today's tea is going to be stuffed jackets ,with tomato .cheese [low fat] chopped onion ,and celery,mixed together with a little coarse ground black pepper,and a tiny amount of chopped Chilli ,that will do nicely ,a meal fit for a king.
There is an offer on for 75 litre bags of compost at Cramlington until the end of the week,buy one bag for £5 and get one free,so i think we will slip up there to shop at Azda ,then call at the market garden on the way home and buy four bags for a tenner,this will do to fill up the tomato and cucumber buckets in the greenhouse,a nice ,cheapish way to kick off the season.
I have found too ,a little bag of Gladioli ,so i will put those in this week ,they won't flower this year i know but should be worth looking at next year when they come back up.
By the way Les ,be careful with that sugar ,it is very explosive given the right conditions ,you could loose more than your eye lashes ,he he ,i did that years ago up the allotment and blew the chimney off my pot bellied stove,luckily the fella who put the fire in covered the roof inside around the chimney with sheet metal ,or i would have been needing a new hut ,lol
The lad next door said ,you should have just closed the damper ,ooooops.,still it was bad luck with your damper ,i hope Norm can get ,and fit a new one okay.
Hope every one is okay ,and looking forward to their weekends,,take care all ,Fred.

Well I have a story for you.....
Yesterday Norm was off out somewhere and he says, as always,keep an eye on the fire. He hadn't been gone very long when I noticed that the fire was just smouldering and almost out....heaven help me if it goes out!!!
So I put on some kindling and another log, poked it around and sure enough after about 25 minutes there was a nice flame and bed of coals. So I thought to myself I'll put on a big log and it will be great. I had to wrestle the big log to get it into the fire box, scorched my face in the process....but in it went finally. I closed the door and the fire box erupted like a towering inferno....inside the box of course.

I looked out of the window and I could see this monstrous shadow coming out of the chimney. Bella and I raced out side and you would not believe the smoke, clouds of it. Sugar, sugar I yelled and raced into the house. The woodstove looked like that old furnace in the basement of the house next door in "The Burbs" (Tom Hanks movie). Sugar and more sugar. Bella and I ran out side again....smoke!!!!!!

Back in the house I tried to damp it down but the blurry damper broke in my hand. I called Norm on his cell...no answer. So I sat and watched and it started to slow down a bit. Back outside the smoke was still pouring but not as bad. So I watched and waited and sure enough after about thirty minutes it looked OK.

So then I thought well bu---r this I am going let it burn right down, too scary for me. An hour later Norm gets home looks at the fire and says...why didn't you look after the fire....grrrr! Men!!!!
Later Lesxx

And there was me ,having taken a piccie of my best clump of spring crocus,and about ready to send it to you along with one of hissy acting as foreman out in the back garden Les ,hmmmmmm ,think i had better hang on to it for a while ,i don't want to depress anybody ,lol.
Don't think i would win any prizes food cooking,being self taught ,and a very basic chef [if i can call myself that ]he he ,i would panic in a strange kitchen ,not knowing where anything was.
I got the last of the leeks out this morning ,froze most of it and used the rest to make todays dinner ,a colgannon ,with a little cheddar cheese on top,i had this ready to go in the oven by 8 a m,,and now the missus dosn't know what she want's with it ,huh ,women ,lol.
The back is about ready to start ,i just have one patch to manure and lime for the onions ,and i can start planting seeds.
The greenhouse is all cleared out and i will get the wife her compost as soon as i can ,probably Thursday.
Not so good here today ,mild enough so that the heating was up to temperature half an hour after it came on,but it's overcast at the minute meaning the sheets will have to take their chances out on the line.
Never mind ,he he ,by the time we come back from shopping it will either be almost dry ,or it will be soaking wet .
Nice to hear from J a and Mr D again, it seems an age since i heard that he ,[the boss ] was chasing his mouse around the drain ,he he ,it did make me chuckle ,and i'm sure he is the one teaching Hissy half of her tricks .
She has started the usual spring routine ,following me round the garden ,coming inside the kitchen when i do ,then going back out into the garden as soon as i do,he he ,she isnt daft though ,when i am doing something in the drizzle she will sit in the greenhouse and watch me ,and if that door is closed ,she will sit under the table ,this cat has things well sussed out,lol
Time for coffee ,out back of course ,see ya all later,Fred.

Now sing along with me....
"I'm dreaming of a white Easter".....
A storm blew thru at dinner time last night bringing snow. Was enough to make the ground white...for awhile.
Down to about 5 below overnite and a promise of more snow today and tomorrow.
So, Fred, no gardening for me at the mo.
Watched that english show "Come dine with me" yesterday afternoon. They run the five epiodes back to back so it's a good afternnon of telly. Makes me wonder what I would serve??? Anyway in our gang on here I am sure that our Fred would walk off with the 1000 pounds.
Off for a walk with the girl before the white stuff starts up again.
Lesxx

Gooooood morning all you happy campers ,wheeee ,spring is here at last,and the garden is galling meeeeee ,he he.
We had a nice time at the sons yesterday ,but he wasn't too pleased when i told him the Compaqie Lappy he had brought his missus for her birthday would not run touch screen because it wasnt in the computer for him to download ,
The touch screen he required could be bought with the driver for anything up to £250 but he would still have to wire it up to get it to work ,and the only other option was to buy a computer with it already on board ,costing another £250 to £300,don't think he is going to bother ,lol
The garden is going well ,we are off out there in a few minutes ,coffee first on the patio ,then Liz goes into the greenhouse to start emptying the buckets of the old potting compost into the big tub i have provided,this tub i will top up all the garden buckets from ,getting them ready for the season ,and filling the other tub ,making four in all ,two for parsnip and two for red onion sets.
I will take the missus for her potting compost on friday ,to a centre near Gosforth ,mainly because i can get three big bags of compost for £12 and aldso because i can get my three other plants [Asparigus] which will give us plenty for soups and dinners.
The potting compost for the seedlings she will be starting off today is already handy ,as is the new Cappilary matting we use for standing the pots on.
pussy cat is enjoying the spring too ,following me everywhere indoors and out ,a sort of supervisory role [she thinks] whereas i think she is just nosy .
That's it for now ,catch you later when it gets cooler out there ,Fred.

Hello, How great to see you all. Les, I had the same thoughts about letting the site go.
Badger and I seem to be the only ones around at times. Nice to have J.Aand Mr. D back. Did you go to the meet?? I asked Mary for some pics but perhaps she has been too busy, Soon I hope !!!
Yes, Fred I have been checking out the seeds again. Our local supermarket put out some"heritage" seeds last week. As I looked at the packets didn't seem any larger than any others however the price for 1 packet was $4.99. What on earth can be in there to warrant that price is beyond me????They would have to have a very high yield to make it pay back !!!
Les, sounds like fun with your"kids"good to hear you survived all the Olympic hoopla. I was tired after the first day hee hee.
Hi, Christine glad to hear all is well with you. Can't get the jumping to stop again so it's bye for now. Stay well everyone. Edith

Canada here, me and Bella and Ollie....what a pair!! A couple of mornings ago Ollie decided we would play hide and seek in the covers. I was under the covers, he jumped and I didn't move quick enough and now I have a long scratch on my cheek. I gave him a bit of a look and he responded by taking a swipe at me.....the joys of cats!!! That day I hauled out the water pistol and amazingly,,, all is quiet!!! Today he came to my pillow at about 4.30 am and snoozed there for awhile. Meanwhile Bella had an upset tummy and I was up twice in the night with her. Oh! my kids!!

The weather has been gloriously warm and sunny and now they are calling for snow on Monday....sure hope all my plants survive.

Fred if you come and play in my garden I will feed you canadian bacon every day...sound like a good deal?? We had a pizza last night, first one in ages...very yummy. They make mine with feta as it has less fat and they don't use too much, that's my rationalisation for that!

JA good to see you on here and you too, Chrisitne. I was beginning to wonder if we should just let the site go?? Guess we'll continue on. I am no longer exciting enough to post everyday but I will try to be on here more often.

Grand daughter is 4 today, how time flies. We got her a child's digital camera for her birthday. Norm felt it was time that she started. I think he is hoping that next time we are all together she will go ouit on a shoot with him....pretty cool. Camera comes with all the software including a picture maker program, video maker etc....should be fun.

Guess I am off. Take care all.
Lesxx

JA amd Mr Darcy still here - just been walkabout for a long time. Love to all, Mary delivered your big hug VP
Blessings wished for all, and always in my thoughts, all Ok here, just submerging for a wee while.
JA x

Morning all you Canadians ,hangers on ,[ like me ,lol] and anyone else who happens by.
Indoors this morning because it's drizzling [sulks] because i can't get out into the garden,but not to worry ,i got the screening finished and got a few more buckets cleared out before it got dark ,and tomorrow is another day ,supposed to be smashing ,lots of sun ,and the temperatures starting to climb at last.
Edith wasn't on long i notice ,i bet she is perusing her seed books ,spying on the bears ,and checking out her verandah ready for the sun ,lol,any new seeds to try edith?..
Doing a plate mince pie for dinner today with a few roast potato's ,some fresh new ones [steamed] with the last but one cabbage from the garden,the last Swede.and the last two parsnip,here ,[sniff] ,that's about the lot from the garden until the new stuff is ready,but i am not going to complain ,i have had my exercise growing and planting it all ,and saved a packet on the price of brought veggies.
We buy three of the plate pies at a time from the town for £1 each,and put two in the freezer ,hey ,at that price ,they would cost more to make,and they are tasty.
I have done a lot of the smaller tatties ,chopped themand added them to the steamer ,they will be dry mashed and a little chopped onion added ,then put aside to cool down ,hmmmmmmm.i feel a tattie cake coming on
with a sprinkling of good cheddar cheese on top before wrapping it in pastry.
This is a northern dish ,brought out during the war ,to use up the left over potato ,,nothing went to waste in those days,but anyway it went down a storm ,and now is a firm favourite around county durham and tyneside ,often finding it's way onto the Sunday tea table ,with the cheese straws and bread pudding,nice to see the grandbairns tucking in and every thing soon goes ,the wife and i have to hide a couple of bits for ourselves that we enjoy for supper.
We brought some Seabrooke brand, potato crisps yesterday seeing as it was a new flavour ,canadian Bacon ones ,wooooow ,if that's the taste of your bacon over there ,i could do with a holiday he he.
I picked up a piece of scrag end of gammmon yesterday ,around 3 pound in weight which i am going to get three different meals out of ,
I will gently boil it first ,using the water for making peas pudding ,and a green pea ,and lentil soup,and cut up the meat to shred ,a little will go into the soup, and the rest will be halved ,to make ham and egg flans,and a chicken and ham pie,lovely'
I am trying a new brand of brussel seed this year ,a more compact variety that grows smaller than the Norm, height wise but grows lots of medium ,tight sprouts,i even use the tops of the plants like they do over here in Lincolnshire ,when these people pick the brussels on the stem ,they arnt daft,he he ,the tops are sold locally and are much sort after by the local,far tastier than any cabbage around.
C C ,i'm afraid i can't grow fushia from seed either .i go and buy them from the local garden centre ,and at the end of the year take cuttings ,and strike them over the winter in the greenhouse ,weelll,whose to know he he.
well,time to be off now ,my turn to make the coffee..
Catch you all later Fred.