General Chat

Morning all ,wow ,what a downpour we had last night and i'm sure i heard a rumble of thunder in the distance too.
Hey what's up with the kids today ,lol.the son bought the van back last night after their trip down south ,and decided to stop off at their house for a meal BEFORE bringing the van back here.
Sooooo,by the time he arrived at the gate ,it was dark ,and it was tiddling down,anyone who has reversed a trailer into a narrow drive ,swinging round in a narrow road knows it is no easy task in broad daylight ,never mind in these conditions ,but after a few minutes ,he did manage. silly b***** ,he he.
The upshot of it is ,they have decided to get a newer van ,that is better laid out inside and is a good few feet shorter,which i wont argue with ,this one is 24 ft long ,and i only have just enough room to get my car in and shut the gate,a four ft saving would make a lot of difference,including my being able to get my mower onto the front lawn without having to lift it
Shopping today starting at Aldi who are offering three tins of Tuna for £1-30p so three lots for us while it's there ,and dinner today will be ,Tuna In Pasta shells ,nice andeasy.
Have to go tothe docs too ,having been naughty with the diet ,i got a rocket off him because my sugar levels were a little high,although the cholesterol level is still right down.
gonna take the missus her tea up now ,so that she can get her bum in gear .lol,shops hair appointment ,bits for the garden ,oooooo ,i do love Mondays he he,catrch you all later,Fred

Hugs for Liz badger and you too, hard time

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~All take care

JA

Just a quick one fromFred today who is still nursing a sore hand ,but it is slowly getting easier ,and there are no infections from claws ,or teeth,the perpetrator of this dastardly crime is lying under my chair purring her head off bless her ,having just polished off her treat ,lol.
Having the day off today no garden ,just the puter and the chair outside to soak up a little sun.
I will be keeping my eye on Liz closely today after her cousin ,passed away on Friday morning ,she is rather upset because this was her favourite of four daughters ,one of the others passing away last year.
Must admit ,she was a lovely lady i didn't get to meet often enough,and now ,of course it's too late.
One of the surviving sisters,Is coming over from Canada for the funeral and wake ,well the Larners are an old irish family after all ,so ,Fred will be on hand to ferry people from the church to hall for the life celebration,which this family will do in great style .as always,having photo's of their lives ,families, and good times .
You watch what you are doing Edith ,with those bears ,just in case one decides to come towards you ,not away from you lol.can't have our balcony gardener in hospital ,instead of enjoying the sun now it has arrived .
Got to go now and wash up after dinner ,a lovely madras curry with home made Pilau rice ,nice and tasty.
Tea i think a small salad with a little hard greek cheese and sun dried tomatoes .
Have to go anyway ,the peace will be shattered shortly when the son and trailer arrive home but we have had a quiet weekend for once.Fred

Morning From a lovely warm morning, blue sky, no clouds and temps going up where they should be. At last, I do believe summer has arrived.I spent yesterday getting all the plants etc. on the balcony then had to reposition all the furniture hee hee.
Hope you are "rolling in dough" Les after a sucessful sale. They are a lot of work but the rewards can be great.
Hi to Diane, J.A. Mary, Veronica, Teresa, Ian, and any others looking in.Hope you are all well. hAD A "BEAR"sighting Mary but he was too fast to get a pic. Only saw his rump going into the heavy bush. Will keep the camera ready tho' .
Must get some porridge into me so bye for now. Edith XXXX

Well its a lovely evening here in Durham, its warm and sunny and I have just finished pottering about in the garden. Grabbing a quick minute on here to catch up. Fred as always you sound busy and Lesley you certainly are always on the go, good luck with your yard sale, thats something we don't do here, we have car boot sales but I do like the idea of a yard sale. Mary hope your hubbys pains ease a little, and Edith hope your weather soon warms up. Hello to evberyone else and hope you all have a nice weekend.....

Quickie from me today. We are having our yard sale this weekend. We have so much stuff....you cannot imagine. I bet if I was stricter I could go back thru the house and find as much again. Norm and I are pack rats!!
So busy pricing all this stuff, getting the tables ready. Sure hope to make a little money....no a lot of money!!!

Will let ya know come monday. Have a good weekend.
Lesxx

Morning all ,and Mary hi old buddy ,yes The leg you are talking about is known as gammon ,which is the bacon pigs back legs,have a nice marinade for that for you when you buy your Christmas one,this is the full monty version,cooked in water gently for two hours ,then transferred to the oven ,and cooked another two hours in total.
The last hour you remove the rind only ,score the fat and add loads of cloves ,stuck in the score lines ,a few bay leaves ,and put back in the oven after basting with the marinade repeating the marinade every fifteen minutes until cooking is finished ,tastes really yummy [if you know what i mean..
If you get the flu tell John,i will send our Hissy over to give him a bat with her claws out lol,glad to hear that he is getting better nevertheless,and at least it's only man flu ,not the other one.
The weather here is finally starting to get better,the sun actually got out this morning and seems to be warming things up nicely and, wahey,Freds strawberries are flowering [slurps in anticipation].
Looks like the first of the brassica will be going out into the buckets over the weekend ,and the last of the maincrop seeds are now in their pots [the beetroot] .
I have heard of using tyres for potatoes and it is a good idea ,BUT,where do i store them over the winter in a small garden? and the butts i use are green and even when empty blend in .
I did use three tyres to make a cover at my mums bungalow in Huttoft because she had a ruddy great manhole cover in the middle of her front lawn.
I put the first tyre in place then placed a huge urn in the centre followed by two more tyres and built a top out of wood ,and using an old tractor starting handle ,made her a smashing well complete with trailing plants which part covered said tyres .
Mum and Ron went out for a run to Skegness one day to do a little shopping ,and while they were away the water board turned up to do some maintainence,the air must have been blue when they couldn't find the inspection hatch ,and wrote her a nasty letter ,which I replied to ,saying ,if they did what they were supposed to do ,and give written notice ,i would have moved the well for them ,and any way ,they should have had a plan of the covers position,and to enter private property was a no no,in any case.
With us getting the weekend off [no grandson] if the weather stays this nice ,we may well be having a little B B Q,so anyone coming for a warm away from the cold and snow,you had better get your orders in now ,lol.
Must go now peeps ,have a good weekend all,catch you later ,Fred.

Hi everyone.. Well life is now back to normal..I hope..John has been sick with man flu but is a lot better now as he has started eating again..He coughs all over me at night so am just waiting to get his germs..not happy ..
Les Have a great time away and we want pics..so dont forget the camera..you should have a great time in that lovely motor home...
Edith.. Looking forward to the bear pics..Do they come into town or do you have to go searching in the bush for one...I prefer our kangaroos..more dosile...lol..
Fred Glad to see it is getting close to caravaning time..I saw a chap on tv who was growing spuds in a tyer ring,,as the plant got higher he added another tyer and more soil, and did this untill he had about 4 tyers on top of each other..I thought of you when I saw this and thought what a good idea..got any spare tyers around...good way to use them..Is your gammon the same as our ham..At Christmas we buy a larg leg of ham that has been cooked and packed,,You then have to either recook it with spices on the fat or just heat it and have it as hot meat with the hot turkey..but it is a lovely fat leg and lasts for ages as we carve pieces off it and put it in sandwiches .salads. hot with other meat, and the bone eventually into pea and ham soup.take a pic of it for me...

Afraid Johns pain is not artharitis..google...post stroke pain syndrome...or central pain syndrome..that is what he has..no cure..so the poor thing is stuck with it..no relief..he has good days and bad days..today was a good day thank goodness as we had to go out to the docs, but he has not been to good recently..now have a disable parking sticker for the car so that he dosent have to walk to far. Have a Tens maching I am going to try on him..to see if it does any good..fingers crossed..

Hope all are ok and we dont have any sick ones ..Big hugs for them not the best..

Love Mary xxx

Morning everyone,hey ,things look a little better here this morning ,there is a watery looking thing hanging there in the sky ,he he ,a funny yellow looking colour ,could this be ,maybe,blimey it is ,the sun is coming out ,lol.
I managed to get my other black growing box from the sons ,and it now has extra parsnip in it,i decided against turnip at the last minute because we don't use enough of them to make it worth while growing.
We seem to be the latest area in the world to be getting weird weather,and unusual happenings ,a quake in Wales yesterday that shook a town a bit ,but without any damage,a cyclone ,torrential rain in the south east,hail storms ,and one place even getting snow ,tell you peeps ,we are all dooooomed ,doooooomed [best scot's accent from dads army] he he.
Looks like some of my brassica are about ready to go into the buckets ,but what with the weather ,i am well behind this year ,but i expect the stuff will catch up okay ,nature has a way of compensating after all.
No way would i come over there on loan Edith,fighting a cold start to the year is one thing ,being spied on by sneaky bears is another,and i ain't planting veggies for the Racoons to dig up ,you is on your own Lass he he.,we over here have enough on our plates with Pigeons and squirrels.
Some rotten person has also imported a false widow spider to our fair land as well ,not as bad as the real one ,no ,but able to give a nasty bite that could kill an old person or a toddler.
At the moment they are down south and in the west country but with the land becoming warmer ,we will land up with them in the north.
Off to the surgery for a blood test this morning for a diabeties test ,but i do't reckon on any trouble,and i feel fine.
Have to go now ,but will be back later ,Fred.

Morning all. This comes from a wet, cold, rainy day. Our weather has
headed down the tubes again. Even the earth is too cold to put plants
in the ground. Put a few pansies and marigold out but they are quite sad looking. Soon it will be too late as they won't have time to grow at all.
O.K rant over. I have started the painted chairs again. This year I am doing a wooden rocking chair, kitchen chair and a childs chair.
Haven't decided on the patterns yet but that will come.
Fred I think we will have to import you to get things moving around here.
Good to hear from you J.A and Les, thanks for the pic you should be comfy
and warm for your trip. The scenery on that route is breathtaking in many spots so enjoy.
Take care Mary and I am on the hunt for a bear to take a pic of for you,
Hee hee. Must get some food in me so I can get on with painting.
Bye for now all. See you soon. Edith XXXXX

Morning J A long time no see,hope things are looking up for you about now,are you still ultra busy? tis time you slowed down a bit .
Hey ,i had the whole day off yesterday ,no cooking ,no washing up or cleaning lol ,i didn't know myself ,and ,it's only one day off ,but i feel so much better for it.
Think my better half saw how tired i was ,and being a good day for her ,she just took over and got on with it while i lazed about doing little to nothing.
Liz made some genuine french onion soup with french stick cut into rounds with baked cheddar cheese on ,two dropped on top of the bowl of soup ,another one for Freds list. Having got my photo's sorted ,i will now get them out and sent to the peeps who want them ,nothing special mind ,we don't lead a very exiting life he he,but we still get around a little.
Had the eldest son here last night getting ready to work on his Pergeot diesel this afternoon as he needs to tow the van down to the midlands this coming weekend to a race meet and the rear end trailing arms need replacing.
They have far too much play on ,and if he tows anything ,the back end will be very unstable ,and having done the job before ,i will give him a hand on the understanding that he pulls me out from underneath when i am done lol.
The weather here is terrible for the time of year ,about the same as over in oz quite cold ,wet and dingy ,roll on the summer ,or did we have that last week.?
I read about that yank tourist on the Gan train ,stuck in the well between two cars ,i wonder ,having a camera sooooo handy ,was it a stunt to make money off the media? or was it that some yanks will do anything to avoid paying fares Hmmmmm.trust an american every time he he.still ,i hope it was worth it ,freezing his dangley bits off in sub zero temperatures lol.
Well ,i must away and get these carrots done so that the wife can get on with this 'ere carrot cake,so ,catch you later all ,Fred.

Hello all, although not been on here ofteh look in quickly just to check all is well

Love the van VP - can you email your number again please and Edith also - address book disappeared and email crashed

Badger, hope you are feeling somewhat better
Edith I so like you emails, they usually bring a smile to my face Been a bit short on them recently)
Take care all

JA

Morning everyone,Fred reporting in from a veeeery cool ,wet ,and dingy Newcastle O T where the wind is getting a bit frisky if you know what i mean lol,sounds as though our member in the beutiful town of Durham where my grandad came into the world is getting the same lol.
Les,heard it was getting a tad warm over there in your neck of the woods,could you send some sun over here please? i isss desperate for some on my tomatoes [got the first truss on some plants now ,but the bairns pumpkin are looking very wobegone in the wet out on the patio ,they are def'' not happy plants.
Tried the marinade the son gave me last night on two gammon rounds to see what it was like ,wow put on a proper gammon leg joint done with bay leaves and cloves it will be something else.
Havn't tried the baste for the pineapple yet ,but come B B q weather [whenever] i will give that a go too,if it's half as good as tother it will be a welcome addition.
I have just realised thjat when the old puter crashed and burned i lost all my recipies, sniffle,so ,it,s back to the drawing board and start again,luckly my younger son ,eveen now ,when he is working as maqnager in a call centre ,still loves his cooking and so he will give me a load again to add to the list.
I took him down his basil ,parsley, and tomatoes yesterday with the promise that he would get the other herbs and peppers as soon as they are big enough to travel.
My tattie butts are well away Les' one i have now filled with a mix ofpotting compost and soil ,plus a generous helping of horse muck ,[dried] and growmore,the other butt which i started a lot later is now half full,so things are looking good out back.
I have three additions this year in troughs and big black rubbish boxesw ,all parsnip ,two troughs having stump root type,and the box having the long root variety ,whoo hoo,plenty of parsnips for roasting and mashing into the tatties once in a while ,make a lovely change to the taste of the mash, yum yum.
The cucumbers are doing well too,four in the greenhouse for us and the bairns who will happily sit in Marys chalet and have their tea ,a slice of bread and butter ,a tomato or two and a lump of cucumber he he,mind you ,i will be putting a guard on the strawberries or they will go straight away.
Must admit i was dubious when i was told they would grow very happily around the edges of the huge tubs i have the fruit trees in ,but they are going like the clappers ,and have flowers already[salad outside for tea everyone ,and strawberries and cream for afters]?
I am amazed at how much i can grow in such a small place,lol,who needs an allotment for two we do well as it is he he.
Even my new asparigus is doing well ,and i am partial he he ,but ,i will have to wait another two seasons before i can cut any of it,i will have to be content with the old plants over by the compost bin for now.
Off to netto shortly for their offer on tuna in brine [and one in oil for Hissy ,the oil is good for her coat],we use it in salads once in a while .for jackets ,and for Lizz's famous tuna and potato pasties ,the bairns all love them,even when i make them instead.
Cor ,i'm being spoilt rotten this weekend ,she [the boss] is making me another banana loaf AND a carrot cake mmmmmmm. where's the custard mix.
time to be off ,shopping to do ,and the grandson will be here by ten so i had better get my A** in gear ,see ya later peeps ,have a nice weekend wether you are wet or getting your nose burned lol.
The bumble bees are very docile and people friendly Les ,so long as you don't attack the nest. ,a lot different to honey bees and hornets so you should be safe enough just learn to run fast ,just in case he he.Fred

Hi Guys,
In the garden we are finally fully planted and all of the veggies are up. It is stinkingly hot here. Up to 30 most days and mostly 40 on the patio. So we seem to work a little in the morning, hibernate all afternoon and venture out in the evening. Norm built me a small greenhouse (poly) from a kit and we have some tomatoes in there coming nicely and bunch of other trial stuff including five kinds of peppers which are sooooo slow!! For veggies we have broad beans, runner beans, turnip, carrots, beets, spinach, onions and two kinds of squash. I also have 4 tubs of spuds and 2 tubs of brussel sprouts….got that idea from our Fred. Now all we need is a waterer while we are away and we are good to go.

We have a colony of bumble bees in our garage wall. We had a beekeeper come and look and he gave us advice on keeping them. We don’t want them killed as there was a virus here in the valley a couple of years ago and there are very few bees around. Our neighbourhood will be super pollinated. While it is so hot, you can hear the hum as they flap their wings to cool the nest…pretty cool really…unless they sting me….then it will be off to Emergency to get a shot!!

And my chickies is that. I am weary from the heat and so live in the basement with Norm and my computer. Only going up to 29 today...ha! Mary and JA we are already at extreme forest fire danger.....maybe we going to get a taste of your summer....oh! dear!
Take care everyone.
Lesxx

Morning all from a damp County Durham. The weather doesn't know what to do today, it looks like its going to pour down, then just drizzles and my lawn does need a drink!!! Hope everyone is well, sorry to hear of your aches Fred!! I'm doing quite well with my family research and met up with a cousin I hadn't seen for 25 years, it was great to see him and it was as if it was just yesterday, strange we were practically brought up together and drifted apart... Been watching all this carry on with the MPs and their expense claims, its disgusting and I too like you Fred have voted BNP (no I am not racist, I have coloured friends) its just time to look after what our fathers and grandfathers fought for...there thats my political debate for the day... Anyway, take care all Mary, Edith, Les (still busy) and everyone else...

morning peeps ,had a lousy night with the legs ,that old pal arthur itus coming back to stay i reckon but what the heck ,if that's all i get from many years pleasure in my gardens ,then so be it i just work out there during the morning till the pain eases ,and then carry on as normal lol,the evenings are a bit of a bummer as i stiffen up a little ,but i manage usually to get a good night,and a couple of codeine phosphate can work wonders once in a while.
Hah Mary ,beaten you for once with the meat nah naaaa na naaaah nah,we have gammon and you don't ,makes up for the corned beef don't it? he he.
Yep ,gammon comes from a bacon pig ,same as rashers and bacon chops.
If you have ever bought gammon steaks to fry in a pan to eat with pineapple rings,it's a joint off the back legs.
We sometimes have a top leg gammon joint and sometimes the bottom joint,as a full gammon is the whole leg ,far too big for a pan or an oven unless it's a catering one.
The top joint which was the one we had ,only has the one bone in so i take the bone out normally before cooking and string it to stop it falling to pieces.
The basting sauce the son made for me was the best i have ever tasted so i will be asking him for the recipe when i see him tomorrow.
I think this afternoons visit to the hospital for my hand will be the last one,[hooray] the fingers are nice and supple again and have straightened on their own ,and the pain and tingling have gone,looks as though i have been lucky for once.
Sorry to hear about John being worse Mary,still reckon it may be some sort of arthritis and most of them are so debilitating ,but i feel for him,i get half crippled with it sometimes ,like the last couple of days .and mine is only mild ,had to chuckle with it yesterday though while shopping lol,usually i am miles ahead of the missus ,even pushing the trolley i am back at the car all the shopping in the back and boot shut waiting for her.
Yesterday it was her turn to smirk, she was waiting a full three minutes for me to hobble back to the car while she having a good day had done my usual ,all the shopping in the boot and waiting for me.
not to worry though ,another week or so ,keeping at it and it will start to ease off again and i will be okay till next spring again when it will start all over again after the winters inactivity.
come the day when i get nearly as bad as John,i think i will be having a virtual garden to do on the computer.
Well ,the election ios about here and Fred has had a gut full of our government and crooked mps,and have voted BNP,not that i am racist mind ,more inclined to be as trhe ozzie labour party ,all illegals to be deported ,all failed asylum seekers ditto ,and the foreign workers without jobs denied entry.,hey ,we are only a small country and cannot afford to keep our own out of work ,never mind spongers coming in and swelling the totals.
no wonder british pensioners are the worst paid in europe ,the money is being wasted on mp's expenses claims and layabouts,sorry peeps ,after a lifetime of working hard to support other people who can't /wont work ,i am so annoyed at being hammered on taxes to pay for them and now finding i am on a pittance of a pension .ooooooo,i get so boiling mad .
Getting out of th europian market wound save us billions too,but the politicians won't wear it because they are on such a gravy train massive crooked expenses blown up pensions after only two years as an m e p ,all right for some ain't it.
Off the soap box now lol ,you watch ,after this tirade ,i will have men in black coats lurking outside he he ,more labour nonsense with their spying on our emails and online activities .getting to be a communist state here these days .
Well folks ,it has stopped drizzling so i will off into thhe garden while i have the chance ,before it really goes downhill and i am stuck in the house for the weekend,
Have a good week everyone ,and ,take care ,Fred.

HI everyone..Sorry have been away but have had lots of people here and not much time on puta..Was lovely to have daughter and family from Canberra here for the weekend..As we dont see them very often it was great to catch up and my grandaughters are now so grown up and are young adults..how time flies..seems only yesterday they used to be in a kindergarten just down the road from where we now live..everytime I drive past it I think of them..they were 4 and 5 then..now 18 and 20...makes me feel old..hee hee hee..

Got a house full again this weekend..Tomorrow have brother Ian from up north and wife coming for lunch ,,friday I have brother from down south and wife coming for the weekend. plus daughter from Orange emailed that they would be down for the weekend also, they are staying with son in laws mother as his father died recently and she needs a bit of company ,It is a long weekend here this weekend,,Queens Birthday weekend..bet she dosent even know that we celebrate her birthday this weekend as she never says anything..lol...not even thanks for the birthday wishes..hee hee hee hee.

John has not been to good recently..Took him shopping yesterday and he was bushed when we got home..thank goodness we have a disable sticker now for the car so he dosent have to walk to far at the shopping center..

Big hugs for Sylvia..a hard time I know but lots of love coming your way..xx

Hope all are fit and well.. so many of my friends are ill, it is becoming a big worry ..so take care and keep well...

Fred.. Is that gammon thingy like a big leg of pork..We dont have gammon here..We buy a leg of pork at Christmas that has been cooked and turned into ham, that we slice and eat cold or hot ..or we can buy a leg of pork raw and roast it and roast pork..or is gammon like bacon...?????

~~~~to Edith and Les and Ian and Edith and Diane and all the others ,,Hope you are all well..

Love Mary xxxxx

Hello Fred and Ian. Yes Fred everyone seems to be busy lately.

Haven't heard from Mary in a while. See a short note froms J.A.

Our weather is still not warming up. Yesterday we had "snow" showers.

My nephew and friends were golfing in parkas and gloves as the wind

was so cold. Stated they had met for several years at the same time

and this is the first time for gloves etc. Took pics for posterity.!!!!

Hope all the others are well and will look in soon.

Must get busy and get some shopping done so will be back soon.

Edith XXXXX

Nice to see you B R ,everyone else seems to be on walkabout ,or hiding because i have been out with the new camera.
Was up really early this morning because my old mate arthur itus is back and i had a bad night but heck ,i can soon sort him out by finishing the strimming next door this morning ,and raking all the grass up.that will teach the git to keep me awake all night.
Hey ,i is doin' all right with the knobbly knees contest folks ,nicked the wife's suntan lotion and have put some on the legs for the past two days before working in the garden ,and before going to the coast yesterday,so they should be nicely suntanned before long.
Have to go to the post office too ,for one of the members ,to complain about a missing bubble envelope posted over two weeks ago,our postal service is going from bad to worse ,knew i should have sent it via international freight.
Hope everyone is having a good day no matter where they are ,and what they are doing ,Fred.

G'Day All,
Holiday monday here in WA - Foundation Day.
Not a lot happening here - chance of a thunderstorm according to the forecast but no sign of it yet although we did have some lightning last night.
I've just had a late lunch and I'm having a relaxing cuppa before I get changed to go out to the club.
Best wishes to Edith, Mary, J.A and all the others too countless to remember - I must go and check if little sister is up in the UK and if she's on Skype.

Ian