General Chat

'eeeeeelo peeps ,Badger is still alive ,and has entered the building .lol.
Had a good week so far really ,and have done a lot of family history as well as the mundane stuff like housework [ badger spit] and seeing to the garden.
The garden isn't doing so well this year ,too cold ,and not enough sun ,but never mind ,there is always next season.
The strawberry plants are loaded but of course ,most won't ripen in this weather ,but next year should be a lot better
The apple tree is doing okay and the plum will hopefully fruit next year too ,so we will be okay for desserts.
Kale i will grow again next year because it is so versatile and grows right through the winter ,but the ordinary cabbage i won't bother with,it's cheap enough to buy.
Taking it's place will be pak choie and perpetual spinach,both of which have a good long growing season,the spinach growing right through to spring from july,like the calabrese and kale you pull a little off leaving the rest to grow on,which means plenty of winter veggies for the pot,
The brussel and calabrese are doing well with all the water ,but the sweede and beetroot are a bit iffy so far ,but ,you can;t have everything.
Liz and i did go for our meal out last Wednesday,to a nice place in Seaton Sluice called the Astley Arms[a crown Carvery]
We had a meal of 3 meats ,one ,turkey one beef ,and one gammon all well cooked and tender,the veg was a mix of help yourself , we had cauil done polish style [lovely] green beans,diced carrot,roast shallot,brussel.,and parsnip[roast] stuffing balls ,yorkshire pud',Roast potatoes ,and new,with a nice gravy.
Condiments there were also english mustard [very hot] horseradish [also hottish], mint sauce, cranberry sauce ,and the usual salt ,pepper .
Every thing was hot ,meat carved off the bone as you waited even the veggies were hot ,not cold as you usually get.
There were also other options ,salads ,jackets ,and plenty of different starters.and main courses.
Ours cost £3-60P and boy ,were we stuffed,lol,so much so that the following day we had two slices of toast for dinner ,and a light salad for tea, it was agreed ,we will be back .though,he he
Well ,i suppose it's off to do the housework [spits from side of Badgers snout] and groans for good measure .
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend ,oh ,and spare a thought for all the people in Greece who are having a bad time with the wild fires that are raging there, ,seems the weather, world wide is causing so many problems this year,Fred.

Hi everyone.. We have had lovely weather and its so warm you would think it was spring instead of winter..while in Canberra we sat out on the verandah all afternoon as it was lovely and didnt have to come inside untill the sun started to go down..Had a lovely meet with JA and some of the other Wattlers and got lots of hugs,, a great bunch of peeps..love them all...

Really enjoyed my drive down to Canberra and the road is such a good one,, 4 and 6 lane expressway most of the way..so easy..would love to live in Canberra but John cant stand the cold..yes it does get cold down there most of the time,,I think we were just lucky..a hot northerly wind was blowing warm air down from the tropical north...

Fred You certainly did well with those vege prices.. way to go.. you have got to be in the right place at the right time..are you going to cook up and freeze some meals,,Sorry to hear about the spider bite,, pesky little critters,,hate them, and we have some real nasty ones here in OZ..some that can kill you but thank goodness we now have antivenim to counteract it and not many die now,,spiders and snakes are the two things that I hate..

The new car is going well and I am likeing it more each time that I drive it..so am a happy little chappy...lol..

Left a post on Less blog but had a bit of trouble doing it,,I am not to techy minded..lol...

~~~~to Christine and anyone else looking in..

How goes you Edith,,Hope you are well..It was nice to see a post from Michael on Les. Blog..Miss him...

WEll hope you all have a nice weekend..dont work to hard..


Love to all
Mary xxx

Hi peeps ,back home again after getting stronger anti biotics from the docs late this morning .
We wen't straight into the new Morrisons store from there more or less next door and picked just the right time too ,found a nice cabbage30 0dd p. some asparagus 45 p, broad beans 25,pand a nice marrow, plus a few other bits and pieces.
The marrow has been stuffed with cous cous ,chopped chicken ,marinaded in corriander , lime ,and mint ,and a little mace ,plus a little very finely chopped red onion..
The broad beans are shelled and in the steamer along with some cabbage ,carrot batons,calabrese,and two potato varieties .new ,and old for mash.
The rest of the veg ' is in the form of a roast potato each ,and half a parsnip.
I may even spoil us rotten ,picking some fresh strawberries for desert with some clotted cream
Fogot to mention ,the trip to Asda before we camr home ,we had a nice time in there ,mostly me chuckling at liz doing the usual woman thing [ you know lads] spending half an hour or more ,picking things up ,and putting them down again,in the end buying now't he he..
In the mean time i was left to have a mooch about ,yeeees ,in the electrics dep't where i spotted a lovely little four port hi speed drive for a fiver ,[back of the net],this little tool was the size of a ten packet of cigarettes[if you are old enough to remember them],and only half the thickness,just the right size to fit in the laptop bag for the holidays.
Having done that little deal ,i swapped my big terrabit hard drive with Liz for her little verbatim drive ,again ,nice and small to fit in the case.sorted.
Liz is as happy as a piggy in you know what, having a very big external drive now,she is already shunting all her files ,photos ,programmes and dvds onto it ,so they can never be lost.
Think i had better get on with the tea before i get a rocket off the missus for not getting on with it.
See ya later peeps,Fred.

wahey still alive everyone ,and rarin' to go despite some darstardly spider lying in ambush ,in among the parsnips,but i got my own back by spraying them all with systemic insecticide to get all his mates and relations all in one fell swoop.
Seems i have some Riley rellies on the wifes side over in oz ,so ,i have at least one proved connection after all .
Seems one Uncle Watler Riley emigrated to oz around the early 1900s,where he had [with the help of his wife] a few bairns ,at least two of them boys ,who grew up to play in pro' oz football teams,so perhaps with a little help from someone over there ,i might be able to trace them.
Managed to def trace some Rowans to New York too [blast ] ,he he ,i was looking for more oz connections but you can't win them all.
Yes J A the three musketeers are off on their travels all right with the help of one Bella whe i shall call Porthos ,the tubby one who seemed to spend most of his time eating and sleeping ,lol
Bella will indeed be handy to snuggle up to in the cold.but the weather should improve very shortly.
Hope Mary gets home shortly so we can get the scuttlebutt about the goings on at the meet.
We 'ad a few more strawberries with the tea last night ,oooooo,but they were tasty he he with clotted cream yet [naughty but veeeery nice .Fred.

Darn it Badger not nice -good youa re going to the DR, spider bites can be nasty, look forwrd to hearing some good news really soon

VP, love your blog go there everyone A treat to read of the adventures of the mighty 3, VP, Norm and the ever lovable Bella , who has more uses now, is a great dog heat source lol

Lovey meet with Mary last weekend, a truly lovely person

JA

Morning peeps ,just to say i will be back later ,my leg has become infected despite lacing it for three days with anti septic cream,so i have to go for treatment at the docs,see ya later Fred.

Hi Everyone,

Remember I am blogging and cannot post to that and this site. We do try to blog each daybut we cannot only find a wifi hookup.
If I have not sent you my blog address then pm me and I will send it to you.
See you on the blog.
Lesxx
PS I am away until maybe end of September.

Morning peeps ,i won't say good because it isn't very here ,cold ,windy,threatening rain,and it looks like another wash out ,lol.
My leg is a lot better this morning and i have been out back early to water in the lawn feeder/weeder again because the grass is turning a little black in places which is normal ,but a little unsightly.
The poor old cucumber ,inside the greenhouse and out in the garden have a lovely coating of mildew on the leaves ,but thankfully not on the fruits.
We are off to the son's for dinner shortly ,so i will take down a cucumber and some tomatoes for their teas,no room in the freezer for owt at the minute.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend ,fred is sulking [again ] he he,found some Rowan rellies on my grandmas side that went missinjg from tyneside in the late 1890s,well .i found them all last night ,all of the family ,including the dad in New York ,U s A [sobs heart out lol] waaaaah.i wanted a link to oz ,not fair,i now STILL need a link to a Rowan i know is related, and in Kiwi Land.
Oh Well back to the drawing board lol,see ya later peeps,Fred.

Hi all ,another day simular to to the weather in Durham exept that it is blowing a gale across the valley ,so ,Fred has an excuse not to totter out into the garden this morning.
Totter it is because i got bitten by something in the garden last am and my leg gave me such bother that i had to go back to bed and take anti hystamine to bring the swelling down.
I was in a bad way for a few hours ,sweating,a high fever, headache,and leg pain and have noticed two little puncture marks in the middle of the swelling .hmmmmm.some sort of spider i reckon ,though what sort and where from i have no idea.
Feeling a lot better this morning so ,apart from no driving until tomorrow ,and no garden ditto,it's about back to normal.
Sorry to hear that you can't fly ,Dianne ,that does make it awkward for you, but if it's some sort of motion sickness ,a liner can also leave you feeling very unwell in heavy seas,which is even worse than flying..he he ,i get seasick on the local pond ,lol.
We were in Sunderland and Middlesbrough last week ,and i treated the wife and i to a palma for dinner ,very nice too but a heart attack waiting to happen,we enjoyed it very much ,but i won't be having it again ,faaar too much fat for anyone with a dodgy ticker like mine.
Wow ,this weather is really screwy this summer ,the trees at the back of the house are losing the leaves already ,which makes me a little uneasy,fat too soon for that to be happening yet.
Hope our Mary arrived alright,and is enjoying the company and the wine,which i feel sure will be imbibed with gusto along with the sammies,he he,hope we get some pics of the mini meet,when she gets home.
Time to get the dinner ,but don't know what yet,but we are at the sons tomorrow for dinner and tea ,so ,in this weather it def won't be a B B Q,lol.
See ya later peeps ,enjoy the weekend,what's left of it Fred.

Sorry Edith did it again (sent my message to you instead of here) me and computers........

Hello everyone, its been a damp day here in County Durham it can't make its mind up whether to rain or not. I have had a slow day today, can't get out of my own way..... we are considering a cruise to the Med, so I have been having a look on the internet. We will have to go from UK as I am unable to fly (with being unwell). I have heard lots of good things about cruises so just might give it a go...
Hope everyone is well and has a good weekend.....

Hello all Fred I have the same problem with this reply text.

After about 10 lines it will not stay on the line I type on but

jumps up and down every time I hit the forward key.

Surely Genes could fix it !!!!!!!!! That said I will keep this short

We have had 3 hot days and my Toms are "lovin" it 4

more ripened yesterday so I will try your greek trick Fred


The jump has started again so bye for now. Edith uughgh

Just a note before I head off tomorrow..I have a 4hour drive and then home on the train with a lunch on board..John will like that...hee hee he..
Looking forward to seeing JA on Saturday ,,she is one lovely lady..

Loved the picks Fred.. Lovely Abby..and some nice ones of Lizz. She is looking well .You might get that trip to OZ yet...Has Martin given up the idea altogether..

Les must be on her trip...hope she is leaving the bears alone..and being a good girl to her BIL...lol..

Love to all

Mary xx

Sorry to have to add lines in this way peeps ,but this ruddy thread has got hiccups again ,so i am going to give up for the evening,Fred.

starting with the gardens where we found a plaque that stated that an oak tree had been planted by the captain of The Australian Bowing Team Way back in time so we took a pic ,and also took a photo of said sapling now,97 years old ,and a mature lovely tree ,couldn't help thinking [these ozzies get everywhere lol]
Took a pic of our Liz supping her cuppa in the abbey tea room and quite a few others of the Abbey and town.
We have now found out that we can use these bus passes to make the three hour trip toScarbrough get off at tother end and stop over a couple of days before coming back,using one of the many b & bs,or hotels for a nice little holiday.
Pity i can't get over with some of my strawberries for your special tea mary ,oooooo ,they do taste good,i could have bought you some tomatoes and lettuce too.

Well,this is worth coming home to see,good news on one front at last,i bet you are cock a hoop Mary,at seeing John managing to move around a little better,Liz and i have our fingers crossed for a sustained improvement.
I needed a bit of cheering up after visiting Middlesbrough today for the first time in years ,a one vibrant ,busy town with half it's industry and shops gone is not quite what i was expecting to see,when i remember a time when it had tons more shops than Newcastle ,and it was all hustle and bustle ,what a change,none of it good.
We went to Hexham yesterday which was nice,as usual ,all the shops recovered from that terrrible flooding of two years ago,and we really enjoyed ourselves.
We took the camera with us and took some nice pics of the abbey.

Hi all.. Our weather is still lovely..went down to 6c last night so that must be the coldest we have had so far..days are up in the hight teens and low twenties..very nice..
Edith bother about the bear coming at night.. would love to see one scrummiging in a bin...hee hee hee...why dont you feed him like you do the foxes..are you still feeding them or have you weaned them off to search for their own food..Hope the chairs sold well and would love a pickle of them if you have some..

Fred.. Glad you and Lizz are getting out and about..do you both good.. We are off to Canberra on friday for the weekend..Home on monday on the train..Meeting up with JA and a couple of other Wattlers..should be a nice afternoon tea..

Some good new is that the neuropathic pain in Johns legs is getting a weeeee bit better and we are hopeful that the brain might be healing itself..If he goes ok on the trip to Canberra we might try going away for a weekend somewhere else and see how he goes.. Slowly... but my Uncle in England said,,is it good enough to get to the UK..lol.. a bit of a way to go for that but we havent given up yet..if it still improves we might have a go at New Zealsnd to visit friends and rellies..it is so good to see him not grimicing every time he tries to stand up from a chair..he is a lot happier also..

Teresa hope you two ar ok...

Sylvia How are you going..

Les ..Are you off on that trip yet..if so when did you leave..

Love to all

MAry xx

hI Mary ,Edith,and anyone else who happens by,my last few days have been so busy that i havn't had time to get on here ,but never mind ,lol,made it at last.
Your weather is as balmy as ours Mary ,our tom's are just turning red ,far later than usual ,and our strawberries are still green,really unusual.
This coming Monday the council have at last decided to start resurfacing our road ,so there will be no peace in the house for a week.
Liz and i have decided ,it will be a case of up early ,and get out of the house before all the noise starts.
The car will be confined to the drive ,so everywhere we go will be by bus,there will of course be emergency access if needed ,but we think this is the best way to go for the week..
I at last managed to get the pressure washer out of the shed this morning ,so the car has had a very late spring clean ,all the inside ,and outside done ,and i have now to go and have a lie down cause i am pooped he he,but i'm leaving the hose out ready to do the feeding of the front garden this evening.
The pressure washer will be out again on tuesday for the bin cleaning as soon as the bins have been emptied.
Glad to hear your festival went well Edith ,and reckoned your chairs would do well as usual ,pity about the bear pics ,but ,they are not to be approached ,even at that age ,with impunity ,so it's as well it happened when it did.
Catch you all later,Fred.

Hello all. Had to dig to find the thread so what's happened to everyone??? The Blueberry Festival is winding down, last 2 days coming up. The chairs did very well at auction and I did get some pics so will get them out to-day. Even the weather has decided to brighten up, so hope
to enjoy the week-end.!!!
Mary, we had a small bear get into the garbage the Day care folks did not store inside. Little guy made a real mess around their building as well as ours. No pics as it was during the night,woke me up when the container
was smashed apart. They are quite strong even as a cub.!!!!!!
Fred great to see you and Liz getting in some travelling instead of working all the time. The pics were lovely, enjoyed the "cat" antics.
J.A hope all is well. Sending your pics to-day hopefully.
Stay well everyone Bye for now. Edith XXXX

Hi everyone.. We have had the mildest winter I can remember..I think some of Les's hot weather is flowing down here..Some people on the radio are saying that their tomatoes are ripening and they are picking them, now in the middle of winter..I love it as it is just enough to put on a summer blouse and a light jumper..though the jumper is really not always necessary,,Just more from habit I think.
Hope you are not near the fires Les and have a plan of escape it it comes to near..we have seen them on our tv and they dont look good..Enjoy your trip away and hope the van goes well..
We now have the new car and its quite nice..Next week we go down to Canberra to give the other one to grandaughter so we will then be back to just one car..Brother who bought our Honda Civic with only 9000km on the clock is over the moon and cant believe his luck..He got it for what they offered us as a tradein so in other words dirt cheap,.lol..glad to see him so happy...
Edith Hope you are well and are you painting again..Does this hot weather bring the bears out or do they sit and wait for the cool before they start roamng again.

Hope all the other peeps are well ..

Love Mary xx

Hi again ,rather late this morning because the missus over did it yesterday and is paying for it now ,lol,nothing serious ,just aches and plus a little short of breath ,so i got to do the washing and hanging out ,the front border left from the last visit ,and of course ,todays dinner ,which is now cooking away merrily.
So ,i have just sat down for the second time on the puter this morning ,the first time lasted all of thirty seconds and them i heard this little cry from upstairs ,heeeelp ,i'm stuck he he,the rest you already know.
I got the chuck out of the freezer last night ,a big 2 kilo one because we have company for dinner,this bird never came out at Christmas ,one of the ones from the farm up the road,freeze dried so that there is no water in the bird as it is defrosted.
I pulled some dwarf french from the garden for starters ,did some cabbage and broccoli, carrots ,and peas ,and did new potatoes for the steamer,and did a few roasties with red onion and peppers for the oven,all timed for twelve fifteen.
I am having to keep my eyes on the sky outside because despite the forecast being good ,as usual ,it keeps clouding over ,and the air still feels a little damp.
hope everyone is enjoying what's left of the weekend ,catch you later,Fred.