General Chat

Badger, I will definately NOT tell Mr D of Hissy tricks -his latest last wek was to catch a wild rabbit which he proceeded to eat under the clothes hoist -slept for two days solid after that - hee hee welcome to the club - sounds like you could hire Hissy out to the local plucker lol My son has two english blues - he found feathers but no carcuse the other day. Kust after his partne had gone to bed he hears a shriek - races to bedroom and there on top of the wardrobe is a naked alive pidgeon cats will be cats

Sylvia W had a birthday the other day - she is on facebook and doing OK

~~~~~~~~~~~all and Edith I need your phone number again - outlook crashed -teach me to put in address book, and Badger given you have changed yours please email too

Gooood afternoon all ,from one very knackered Fred ,[all hissy's fault] i kid you not ,hang around and i will reveal all,i think she is one up on Mr D now J A , he he.
Came downstairs as usual this morning and decided to take my first cuppa outside onto the patio ,before coming onto the puter,was halfway through my drink when i heard the bin wagon out front,so i opened the gate and went out front to bring the bin in.
While i was out front Hissy went into the house ,and that was where the fun started.
I came back round the back ,shutting the gate behind me ,and sat back down ,glanced around and then picked up my drink to finish it off ,when there was such a shreik from upstairs,and i shot out of the chair,the drink going down my jumper,and ran inside ,coming to an ubrupt halt ,oh heck ,all i could see over the kitchen and dining room floor were feathers ,,oodles of them.
Walking into the hall ,ditto,even up the stairs and onto the top landing,and as i walked through the bedroom door ,the cat shot past me and ran down the stairs..
In the bedroom there were only one or two little breast feathers ,but there sat the missus bolt upright and at her feet ,one oven ready ,fully plucked sparrow,without a break in the skin.
I think i could easily get this cat a job in the local butchers plucking chickens.
I couldn't believe so many feathers could come off such a small bird,and i don't think the cat could either ,i reckon she pulled them all off while counting them,little b****r.
There was nothing for it ,the hoover came out ,and it took me three hours to clean all the floors and furniture, and work surfaces,no wonder i am feeling shattered. The cat is still in hiding he he ,she must know she isn't the flavour of the month ,lol.
partially my own fault i suppose ,cats will be cats ,and i should have shut the kitchen door before leaving the back garden ,a mistake i won't make again.
Off for a lay down upstairs ,oh ,me poor aching back.he he.anyone wan't a plucking cat? Fred,

Hi peeps ,sorry folks ,fred has been very busy with the garden and family research,dosn't help to see Mary boasting about her 20c winter temperatures grrrrrrrr i'll have you know lady ,that ,that is 2c higher than our summer temperatures [sob] not fair .
i did drop a huge clanger too ,and i'm lucky to be here at all ,who forgot for the first time ,our wedding anniversery on the 16th ,ooooooops ,it was a case of on with the coat ,and off out to get some flowers ,even the cat ignored me for two hours ,he he ,the two females of the house ganging up on me.
Ten weeks time and we will be on our first days holiday in Cyprus yippee,really looking forward to it now.
Looking like rain again this morning i got the lawns and surrounds done before having a look out back to see how things are going,and was pleased to see we have dwarf beans ready ,and cucumber too ,so things are looking up.
We had a stir fry for dinner using a few bits out of the garden plus some shredded cabbage and a little kale from the garden.
Tea wise ,i am going to get the sandwich machine out of the cupboard and do some ham and cheese toasties ,with some flash fried new potato,quick and very tasty.
Off now to do more research as i'm doing pretty well at the moment,so ,i will catch you all later.Fred.

Hello all, Yes, Mary I is just plain busy!!!!!! Things are slowing tho'
Finished the chairs and the last coat of varnish is on. So off they go
until tomorrow to be displayed for the auction.
Also busy typing up the stories for the Spirit Walk. This year I am doing the 2 pioneer Doctors who brought the town through the 1918 flu, the 2nd
world war and the Depression. They are not buried here(sad to say) so I will do a "Tribute" to them. Seems quite fitting as our multi-million dollar
hospital is a year away from opening.
The weather has not been summer at all, weeks of rain and chilly temps.
Yesterday it was finally 22 degrees and I don't think any homes had folks in them. The lake was like a freeway with everyone on the lake for a ride in the sun and fishing of course. No one wants to waste the sun heehee.
Here's hoping for a few more sunny days to get some much needed vitamin D. Haven't seen any bears Mary they don't like the rain either, Will be sure to send pics if I do.
Must get on with the day so bye for now.Love to all. Edith XXXX

Hi everyone We are having lovely weather at the moment.Sunny and Mild ,,around 18c to 20c my sort of winters day..

Well Johns legs have gone back to what they were so glad I didnt get my hopes up to high..Just praying that it happends again and this time last a bitl longer..

Had my daugher from Orange here for a few hours yesterday and that was lovely as we dont get to see her very often as she lives around 300km away..a 4 hour drive over the Blue Mountains.. not a road for speeding..Going to visit other daughter who lives in Canberra next month so I just might be able to catch up with JA..Hope the weather warms up a bit as it is so cold down there and dont know how JA takes it..I suppose she is used to it by now..lol..

Everyone must be either on holidays or busy in their gardens..Hope you are all enjoying life and are are staying well and fit..

Love to all Mary xxx

Evening all from a drak and cold Limestone Plains, but the house is warm and Mr D is keeping me company
Gosh you are all so busy in your gardens in the northern hemisphere
Edith would love to be part of your blueberry festival
VP how did the big garage sale go? Sounds like your heart is on that island. Take care of you
Teresa good news of Bob with the worrying time behind you. Take care and good luck selling your house
Have a great weekend everyone
Cheers

JA

Hi everyone..Sorry havent been on but have been busy selling car and looking for a new one and than lots of visitors..Am hoping that tomorrow will be a rest day.
Teresa What great news about Bob.. Am so happy for you both and do hope that house sells soon,,You have my sympathy re the packing as I had to do most of it when we sold our house as John was not able to help much. We went from a 5 bedroom home to a 2+study place and had to get rid of so much. Big hugs for you both..xxx

Edith Hope you are ok and where are my bear pictures..waiting..waiting..lol..

Fred.. You are not having much luck with that weather are you..hee hee hee...take a rest and put ya feet up..Liz wont mind..

Some good news is that something is happening with Johns neuropathic pain.. He is really working hard at it and we are hoping that the brain might be starting to heal itself.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer as we are enjoying our winter..

Love Mary xx

SORRY EDITH looks like I sent my message to you instead of the thread.

Welcome back, Teresa and especially with the good news.

You have been in my prayers and will stay there untill all is clear. Best

wishes Bob. I know the joys(horrors) of moving and and hope for the best

for you. I was so tired after 3 weeks all I could do was sleep.!!!!!

Keep posting when you can. Love to you both. Edith

Hi Everyone,

As usual it has taken me ages to get back on here. My computer needed an overhaul so that didn't help!

Bob has now had two three day Chemo sessions out of the six that he is supposed to have. The really good news is that he may not need any more Chemo as the Leukemia is now in the decimal points so almost non existent! Yippee!! The doctors will decide after his blood work on the 22nd, so please keep your fingers crossed. The only problem right now is that his hemogloblin is extremely low so he is anemic and has low immunity. I am making him eat lots of high iron food in an effort to change things before his next appointment. All in all he has been very lucky with very few side affects from the Chemo, no hair loss and just a slight touch of nausea. The doctors have said that when the Chemo is finished with they will watch Bob very closely to see if there is a recurrence of the Leukemia.

Well, our house went on the market last week so now we have the nuisance of people trecking through all the time. I normally come home for my lunch break and so must check in with Bob to see if the house is being showed before I come home. Lots of showings so far so hopefully we will have an offer soon. Mind you, there is nothing available that suits our fancy for another house so far. I am gradually going through stuff and purging what we don't need. I sure don't want to have to move it all to another place. Les, I need to do a garage sale, wish there was a parade of them going around here, you get much more traffic that way.

Things are starting to slow down at the greenhouse now. The annuals are almost finished and perennials will go on sale soon. I am going to try to work one day less a week as soon as the house sells so that I can get all the packing done. Our Christmas stock starts arriving next week though, so lots of pricing to be done so I may not be able to have many extra days off.

I have today and tomorrow off so of course it is tipping down out side and I can't get in to the garden. Yesterday it was 25 degrees and I had to work! I have the worst luck with my days off. I either have a ton of appointments (mum and Bob) or it rains so I never get in to the garden. Good job perennials are not too much work.

Time to make some lunch.

Teresa

Time for my lunch

Hiya Edith nice to see you again ,i could do with cheering up this morning because it's dank and 'orrible outside [typical weekend] and i is cheesed off anyway after putting my pic's on the puter that the son took ,lol,mostly they are great ,but after taking a couple of macro pic's ofa hover fly on one of the bushes out front ,he took a couple of the missus out back behind the jungle ,holding the first cucumber of the year in her hand.
Boo Hoo,he forgot to put the camera back on auto exposure ,and they came out well over exposed grrrrrr [if you want anything done right he he.
This is the first pic i have this year with the wife ,smirk on face showing off the first of her produce lol,mind you ,it's as well the common market is now allowing the sale of bent fruits and veggies again ,the cucumber in question looks like a rather large boomerang he he.
She asked me what ad gone wrong ,and i thought i would tell her that you are supposed to tie a small weight to the end to keep it straight but had second thoughts ,mainly for my own safety ,so i told here the truth,and said she had to make sure the fruits didn't touch anything to make them curve.as they grew.
All this rain lately is making the garden grow very quickly ,even the weeds [BU***r ] lol,and the edges of the lawns i have to trim every week ,not every fortnight ,but i suppose ,you can't have it all ways .
Had a nice salad last night for tea ,with a nice piece of tuna loin ,grilled under the mic' heater [more economical than the cooker],putting squeezed lemon ,corriander and chives on first ,yum.
Poor bairn ,here again for the weekend ,and i'm thinking of telling the son ,that it's time he had his son with him for a change for a couple of days ,the bairn is having no prime time with his dad ,and it isn't right,the lad is becoming withdrawn ,and i am a little worried about him being as he is slightly autistic to start with.
Don't get me wrong ,i love having all of my bairns stay ,and i love them all to bits,but, having lost my dad when i was two years old ,and never had a dad i couldremember ,i know all too well the feeling of being fatherless and having no one male wise to look up to ,and it isn't the same being stuck with a grandad all the time.
Well ,it had started to clear up ,and i thought hah,B B Q for tea,but i thought too soon ,it has now clouded over again and it looks like more rain in the offing [mutters foul words under breath ,in case the missus hears, he he]
I managed to get the puters coupled together for networking ,but still can't run the printer from my laptop,because it isn't wi fi,so it looks like i will have to buy a new H P for Christmas ,oh well ,back to the drawing board.,[bother in best piglet voice].
Hope all are enjoying their weekend despite the weather ,poor younger son and family ,in Blackpool for the next week ,hope he took the macks and brolly with him lol.
See ya later peeps,Fred.

Morning all. How great to see so many replies.!!! Sometimes begging

does work, heehee. A big hello to Christine, Dianne, Mary and Les,

Nothing too much happening in our town but the big Blueberry Festival

starts at the end of the month, so we will be jumoing for sure. There are

120 events over 10 days so busy it will be.The chairs are just about

finished and ready for auction. Hoping for mega bucks this year just hope

they like the colors etc. Must get some breakfast so bye for now and come back soon.

Love to all. Edith XXXX

Morning all you happy campers he he,well ,i was up at the crack of dawn ,fed the jungle outside [and jungle it is] the carrot and parsnip growing like trees at the moment and if the stems are anything to go by ,we are in for a bumper crop.
We still have water gushing out of the ground along at the end of the block ,but our hole has been filled in and the turf put back,so the water should be right to drink by Sunday morning.
I did have to complain to the people doing the job after some sillyB****r slipped with a still saw on the drive ,cut through the tarmac to a depth of two inches leaving a hole for the rain and frost to get into ,and enabling said frost to lift and damage the drive,still ,that's their problem ,if they don't do it ,i will bring the counci lin ,and send the water board the bill.. Must go now ,the grandson has arrived .Fred,

Hi everyone Cant believe it is so long since I was here..Have been busy trading in cars and buying a new one.. In the end my brother said he would buy one and daughter said she would buy the other one so didnt have to have worried..Grandies are growing up and the chance to get a well looked after car was to much for daughter..so we have ordered the new one which we get in 2 to 3 weeks..will be so good to only have one car to clean..and not have to rent a second garage to put the other car in..We are buying a Hyundai i30 hatchback..good headroom for John and lots of room for him to stretch out his legs so that he dosent get cramp in them on long trips..whooohoo we might get a holiday ..one day...

Some good news at the moment is Johns legs seem to be improving..He has started walking more and the pain so far is from muscles that havent been used for ages..so he is making himself walk everyday, and each day is improving..The doc seems to have got the drugs he has to take sorted and they seem to be doing good at the moment..Just hope it isnt another letdown in a few weeks time,,He has had so many letdowns that we dont get to excited until it is long term.. but we are ever hopeful..

Lovely to see Christine back..Do hope you are ok..Nothing worse than a neighbour from hell..We had 2 dogs from hell next door to us before we moved and I threatened to go to the council to have them removed if they didnt sort them out and stop them barking all day so they at last did something..gave away one that didnt bark when he was on his own and did something to the other one but he stopped barking thank goodness..Lovely dogs and very friendly but suffered from seperation anxiety..I feel the stress of the barking was one of the causes of Johns stroke..

Well hope all are having a nice wekend..

Les great pics..Lady Les..hee heehee..

Lotsa love
Mary xxxxxx

Hi Guys,
Yes Fred I too have been to Beamish. Normie and I were there in about 1992 and it was great. Bet it is even better now.
Big weekend....about 100 garage sales dotted around the city. Yours truly did all of the lists and spent the last two days dropping them around town. Norm and I will be in the Walmart parking lot. Hope to sell off the rest of our junk (all 16 boxes left over from the last time!!) and my aprons. I am going to take Emily. Don't how she will like being in the parking lot all day...oh well at least she wont sun burn...LOL!!
Have a great weekend.
Lesxx

Hi Dianne,travel UP to your area ,i live in Newcastle petal ,he he ,so it's more a case of going DOWN to your area ,lol.
I had noticed the miners Gala and Stockton ,and Darlington's as well .must be something in the air up here ,our local area kicks off this next weekend with south and north river fetes and whatever .
Our next day out will be to Beamish museum where us oldies can get a yearly ticket for £13 each ,not at all bad seeing as you need to go more than once to see everything that's on there.
I am now going to take time out to enable my laptops to couple with the tower computer ,to hopefully share the printer,with the missus without having to use her computer.
See ya later all ,Fred.

Hello everyone, nice to hear you have travelled up to my area Fred, you are right it certainly has improved over the last few years. I'm looking forward to tomorrow hoping the rain stays away as it is big family favourite for us. Durham Big Meeting (Miners Gala). Its has been a big day here for years and years celebrating the miners lives and its lovely to go into Durham to watch all the Colliery Banners being paraded. Usually we meet up with people we haven't seen all year, it brings back the days when everyone got on with everyone else... Had to take it easy the last few days to make sure I can cope!!!
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend... Take Care ........

Good morning Christine,blimey ,i thought i had a busy time in the garden but i seem a slouch next to you ,but i can't understand why you only lost a pound ,cor ,i would ask for a refund and start again [ducks to avoid the brick that's coming my way ] he he.
We have been having a time of it this week too ,the water was off all day yesterday while new mains pipes were laid so we decided to go out down south for the day,leaving the house by 8 am.
we got ourselves onto the metro ,intending to go as far south as we could get ,only to find that there had been a lineside fire ,and the metro system was out of service at Heworth to Jarrow, sooo ,onto the buses,to find that all of the express services have been withdrawn,so it was community buses only.
We went between Durham ,Darlington ,Stockton ,and finally Middlesbrough,staying for an hour or so in each place ,and noticed one heck of a change in each city ,no longer northern scruffy cities that they were ,but bright clean and colourful places that were a pleasure to visit.
Darlington had changed a lot ,with a new set of steps outside the closed in market which has a built in water feature,a new look clock tower which has been restored recenty and my old favourite, the market itself full of goodies,meats ,fish and veggies from all over the world,clothing , and everything else you can think of ,a real mish mash,of produce ,it took me an hour to get the missus out of there ,before we went back to the steps and seating to have our dinner time salad,
We went on to Stockton from there for a look around,and i found my wireless usb adapter at Argos before wee went to get a coffee in the middle of the high street,pity that we had picked the wrong day for the market ,which used to be huuuuge lol,and do round things off ,we decided to sit by the river side to eat our tea time sarnies.
We found a nice seat ,in a little nook where we could see the water and a fantastic mobile that was moving all the time ,powered by hydralics of some sort.
Walking down to the waters edge ,we found it so clear ,we could see the bottom of the river ,something not seen for well over a hundred years ,so ,well done tees side ,it must have taken a lot of doing ,but so worth it to see ducks ,swans and even a few geese ,who are very fussy about their water.
Our crusts didn't last two minutes when we threw them in lol,and i noticed that the ducks didn't let the geese push them around,lots of pecking and in fighting going on.
Coming home we noticed that the express buses from middlebrough to Newcastle still run,so ,in future we will go down there by the express buses and radiate to the other towns from there.
I noticed the repairs to the water pipes were so good that the hole next door was full of water,come back lads all is NOT forgiven he he..
Must be off now ,things to do and all that, take care all ,and enjoy your weekend,Fred.

We had a nice weekend away with friends in Nanaimo....ate lots, drank lots and laughed lots!
On Saturday we took the ferry over to Gabriola Island. We lived there back in the 90's and I hated to move. Now going back I realize again what drew me to that little island. It is so peaceful, and calm.....great windy beaches, and a few calm sandy coves. We went by our old house....such a lovely place...made me quite sad. I would love to go back and live over there but Norm says no! We took Bella out on the rocks and she wave surfed....silly girl, she had so much fun, well we all did, even had a picnic.
Now home again and it is back to the sewing machine as the sale weekend is almost here - July 11/12. Best get cracking.
Where are Veronica, Teresa, Sylvia etc.etc.??? Hope all are well.
Lesxx

Afternoon everyone ,wow ,i have been looking out over the moors for the last hour watching the lightning flashing from the ground ,up into the clouds,clearly visible because it is so dull with the storm clouds.
Years it is since i have seen a storm last this long,and now it is clearing i feel quite let down he he.
It must have effected quite an area because i tried to get in touch with the son but both mobiles on different providers were off the air.
We bought home the old camera from the sons which i gave him last Christmas gone ,to check the tapes before he goes on holiday this weekend ,before he uses them and wipes all the old footage off.
Just as well we did too ,there is footage of a past Christmas a few years ago with the whole family of young' uns together that we had never seen so that is now all on disc.
We also found at least ten minutes of Missy as a kitten before she went missing,and a further five minutes with both hissy and missy playing together so ,that's also on a disc which ,i haveto admit ,made me a bit tearful ,because i can't help but wonder if i could have done anything to prevent her getting lost and i still miss the little mite.and wonder every day how she is,and who took her in,still .i now at least can look at this disc whenever i like ,which will be often.
Hope things go well with your new motor Mary when you get it,,ours goes back to be changed in under a year to be changed ,so i will be interested to hear what you think of yours ,who knows ,maybe?.
We are having a beef curry for tea Mary ,so ,if you are coming ,yoiu had better get your skates on ,lol
I will be using a basic Madras powder adding my own little amounts of ginger,cardemum,tumeric,chillie flakes and ground almonds ,together with a few raisens ,to take the place of sugar which i never use in cooking,and have made some indian chupatties to round the curry off ,apart from some egg fried rice of course,for dessert it will be an ice cream for her highness [lol] while i have two nice necterines ,with nothing he he.
The weather here is still well and truly screwed up ,cor ,if i had but known ,i would def have' emigrated years ago ,new zealand perhaps, where i'm told ,parts of the south island are like Scotland ,but with a lot fewer people around ,hmmmmm ,that does sound good lol,which is why i like my little corner of the world so much ,close the curtains of an evening ,and apart from the odd car ,it's lovely and peaceful.[now that the bairns have all gone back home lol.
Well ,i am off for now ,i take this curry lark pretty seriously,when i get started it can take me over an hour to get a meal ready for the table.
Take care all,see you later.Fred.