General Chat

Afternoon to all,and Snap Les' it's lovely here too and i too have had a very busy week here too,being in the garden ,the greenhouse ,in the house doing chores and planning the weekend
Last evening we got four sausages and four burgers out of the freezer ,made a nice greek salad with sundried tomatoes celery ,chopped spring onions ,pared off greek goat's cheese with a home made mint sauce and Balsamic vinager .
We got four wholemeal buns out too ,for the burgers and sausages.
We sat outside and spent two hours having a nice laid back tea .
mine finished off with a can of lager.
Up with the larks today to get all the housework and gardening done ,determined to have a lazy weekend ,having sorted the missus's washing machine out as well yesterday.
The missus got a full gammon joint out of the freezer yesterday which she got for easter but never used.so i set to this morning before i started anything else ,and got it sorted into our biiiiig saucepan ,and simmered it for two hours before draining it and transferring it to the oven ,cooking for an hour in foil before scoring the skin and returning it to the oven ,minus foil for twenty minutes.
Result,one lovely yorkshire bred gammon joint ,cooked yorkshire style complete with clove studded skin cut into diamonds.
This evening i will use the bacon cutter to reduce the joint to meal size portions minus one meal for tonight and one slice ,for the taster.cooks perks he he.
The wife made a lovely dinner today which we ate outside on the patio table,a real international dish,New Zealand Hoki portions dippedinto egg wash ,breadcrumbs with garlic grass,tarragon ,chillies,sun dried tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese,mixed in and char grilled,with new potatoes[Jersey] and home grown broad beans ,the potatoes and beans drizzled with home grown ,chopped mint ,and Balsamic vinegar
To finish off we had a Home made Banana and Date loaf that the wife made.using light,brown sugar ,a little semi skimmed milk,honey ,lemon zest. and a few other bits and pieces ,using no fat of any sort only an egg ,one ,for binding.and plain wholemeal flour.
Suitable for diabetics and possibly colliacs,if the egg is okay for those people.
Tasted lovely ,and ive told the wife she can make it again any time she likes he he.
Tomorrow the grandson arrives again so ,i think we will be off on a picnic to the coast for the fist time this year,weather permitting .
Take care peeps ,and have a lovely weekend ,but remember ,that sun is getting fiercer ,earlier, each year, no burned noses please lol or whatever .Catch you all later Fred

Hi Everyone,
Spent yesterday with the rest of our committee planting over 300 trees at the entrance to the city. It was hot but thankfully a bit overcast so did not burn...well maybe my nose a little, but heaven knows it would be difficult to miss that!!LOL So now today I must finish off my garden planting and it is very hot and sunny and I am still exhausted...old bag that I am!!

Daughter was here for a couple of days. Has a great visit, lots of laughs etc. Nicky and I have this yearly competition to see who can grow the biggest garden. I swear she was measuring my little shoots!! another LOL

Norm is making buns today. This will be his first effort. I am going to make chicken noodle soup. I have some great chicken broth that Norm made so it will be yummy.
And that. my pretties, is all I know.
Love to all
Lesxx

Afternoon everyone,and please Edith don't mention laundry again this week pleeeeese,i am sitting here with a still smarting ear lol,ooooooo ,it did 'urt.
The washing machine that we ordered yesterday after the club let us down [again ], arrived at ten thirty,and i put my foot in it by saying to the wife ,you should have gone to comet in the first place then we wouldn't have been without a washer for two weeks waiting for your club to sort itself out ,
Hmmmmm ,i don't think that went down too well somehow.
I had to highten the bench by half an inch to get t he machine to slide back,against the wall and stopped for a drink ,and the cat was straight there having a look to see what was going on,the wife said look at the cat ,got it's nose in again ,and i slipped up when i replied well ,what do you expect ,she is a female he he,that went down like a lead balloon,and i got a smack round the ear for my troubles'
Oh well ,you can't win them all ,and i will be avenged when i dish her up a stone cold boiled egg for her tea.lol,then before she cracks it open i will slide off out into the garden.
I must go out front shortly and take a piccy of the Rhodedendren in full flower ,the first time it has bloomed since i put it in three years ago.
Hope everyone is having a good week so far.Fred.

Dianne I gave Sylvia a call -she is one strong sensible person, acutely aware of where she is in her grief but out there with lots of friends too when she does not have a cold:) As usual she was concerned that we were concerned :)
VP so sorry to hear of the loss of your beautiful girl - the hearth will be emptyy without her
Big hugs
~~~~~~~~~~~to everyone

JA

Sorry JA think I posted my message to you instead of to the board. Just saying so pleased you have heard from Sylvia, hope everyone is keeping well.. Have a good day....

Sylvia sends her love and thanks for all the care and concern. It would have been 60 years married to Norm on 4 June so would love our thoughts then. She has a cold and is sorting Norm's clothes not an easy time/ Mare your email and other from Canucks are so appreciated -she knows we are thinking of her so keep them coming A gracious and courageous person
Take care all

JA

Good Morning, Hi Mary, I am well. Happy to be able to finally use my balcony. It has been on the chilly side but now is warming up.
Have started getting all the old paint off the chairs for charity, will strip
them, then sand and paint the designs on.
Am waiting until this next week-end to plant the pots up outside. We had frost on Sat. night so don't want to push it.
Still feeding the fox,I think the little ones have left home as I haven't seen them in over week now.
Hi to everyone glad to see Les is still with us and J.A thought you had
left town hee hee. Good to hear from you. Hi to Fred, Teresa , Diane,
Kathleen,Ian, and anyone else I have missed.
This is my laundry day so must get busy,
Bye for now, Love Edith

Hi everyone.. Well at last we have had some rain..and about time to..The poor garden was so dry it was starting to turn brown..The poor people up north of NSW and south Queensland have had to much rain and bad floods have resulted..It wasnt long ago they had floods so 2 in a matter of months must be disheartening..what a cleanup..at least the ones in Queensland are not getting to cold a winter so it wont be as hard as it is for those that are going into winter a bit further south..We cry when we see all that water flowing into the sea..where are our polititians when you want them to do something costructive..and conserve it ...dont get me started................

Looks like you lot ooop north are starting to get into the swing of some summer weather..I must say I am not sorry ours had started to go as it was a hot one and I am now getting to enjoy the winters more than the summers..

Been doing some Fanily History and didnt realise all the brick walls that I have..I am STUCK on 3 or 4 and it is making me annoyed..Just wish I lived in the UK so that I could go visit some places and search personally..I need to win lotto so that I can go to Kew and stay a week or more..I emailed Kew and asked them if they gave air tickets to the old colonials so that they could get there and search but they said no,,not as yet..lol..they were lovely,,did it in a moment of frustrarion...hee hee hee hee...

Am getting worried about our Sylvia Will have to email her and check up that all is ok and she is just enjoying life and her grandis..

Les How are the aprons going..

Edith Are you keeping well...

JA Is still running around in circles working to hard..

Diane Its great when you connect to new rellies and get to know them..New ones turn up in amazing places sometimes..

Fred I can see you are working full steam in the garden getting it ready for summer and its lovely colour and fragrence..and your veg garden is so organised...keep it up

Well its back to the grind..Hope all who are not well are on the improve...

Love Mary xxxx

Been busy working in the garden. Very hot here, up to 40 on the patio yesterday. Have the garden planted, the toms and stuff all set up in the greenhouse and today it is time for hanging baskets etc.
Never a dull moment.
Sure hope that Sylvia is OK.
Love to all
Les

Hello everyone, well its a lovely day here and I've been enjoying "pottering" . Hope everyone is well and enjoying the weekend. I've had a number of message from my Canadian Rellies and it is nice getting to know them. Has anyone heard from Sylvia, as she hasn't been on here for quite a while now?? Thats it for now... Take Care

Hi Canucks Int. apologies for being absent -been maega busy with work and guding and sermons and family. Have looked in when I could to check you are all OK. Teresa hope things go OK with OH. Edith eyes sound a bit troubleseome VP, piccies please of aprons

Love to all

JA

Hi Edith and Mary ,not a bad day for me,got a few aster ,and dianthus out of the greenhouse between showers and put them in the back garden,did all the carpets throughout the house and emptied both hoovers ,apart from that i have had a really lazy day waiting for the new washer to arrive ,hmmmmm ,still waiting lol.
Hope your weather dosn't slide backward as ours has Edith.only 14c today and ruddy cold at night ,i think that Mary has hijacked the sun he he.
Time to shoot off again and get on with the tea,anyone for a stir fry?,Fred.

Hi Everyone. Warming up slowly here,so am hoping the snow is gone

for good. Been busy getting stuff ready for summer, getting the "balcony"

cleaned and pots out to put the plants in. Our garden centre is open with

lots of choices for veg and flowers so will have to go and spend some

time choosing.

Fred,it seems you are about more than any of the others and you are the

busiest one of the group. Here's hoping more show up.

Must get to work, see you all soon. Hugs to Mary Edith XXXX

Hi everyone.. Cooler her in OZ but lovely weather.. We are going down to around 10c at night and 20c in the day..I know you lot up north will say that is your summer weather,,but that is cool for us..hee hee hee..

Thanks for the great read Christine..Sounds like a interesting project.. Good for you ...


Glenys Sound like you had a great holiday also..I think Canada is one of the most spectacular countries scenery wise ..but I love the quaint english countryside, with their lovely pubs and green fields..Probably cos we are so dry and brown her in OZ..

Les.. I thought you had bought a motor home..What did you buy..??? picture please,,,Your boot sale sounds fantastic..All you need is fine weather..Did you have on tv the trip over the top that Billy Connolly did..It was so interesting..Would love to do it...

Edith.. Hows your fox family... Hope you are keeping well...

Sylvia Where are you.....

Hope all is on the improve with Teresa and Veronica and families...

Better go and get dinner..HUgs for all...

Love Mary xxxx

Good morning to everyone ,wow what an interesting read i have just had on here ,makes Newcastle O T look very tame by comparison.
It was a lovely sight for a scot this morning ,looking out over the moors towards County Durham one way and Northumberland on the other,looking at the gorse and heather ,with the mist hanging over it all,it would bring a lump to the throat of any scot's ex pat anywhere.
Well,the weekend is here again ,andi have to find something to do indoors,or in the greenhouse because ,after the heavy rain yesterday ,and more promised ,work in the garden is out.
It looks as though my rain butt next to the greenhouse is full too ,which is good news,using rainwater in the greenhouse makes the stuff grow a lot faster,and i am thinking of putting another on the opposite side of the greenhouse door,getting ready for the drier times that are promised.
Thanks for the info on that looooong drive Les' sounds good to me ,and think i will try to find that programme on Billy Connoly too ,specially if he is using his bike part of the time ,lol ,what a machine that is.
sounds asthough you could do with an Oz caravan Les which i have seen at least one over here driven by a fella from Melborne over here on an extended holiday.
He had a vauxhall 2 litre diesel ,towing a van like ours [four berth] 16 ft and that towing a medium trailer with the extra luggage,he he ,he even had the kitchen sink with him lol,but he had everything he needed to travel in a very laid back fashion.
Our van is having a make over this spring,we are having a cassette toilet fitted which can be accessed from the outside to save all the hassle of taking it through the van to empty,far more hygenic too methinks..
we obtained a waste water container on wheels from a boot sale as well ,all mod cons now he he.
The fella doing the conversion is also injecting the whole van floor with resin to stop any possibility of the floor going soft in the future,and that is included in the price of £500,all in, complete with the new toilet, not bad we reckon.
Liz and i are getting on well with our family research now finding a few more links with canada america,and the biiiiiiiig land over the pond with it's two island neighbours ,sigh ,i need a pools win peeps,i have sooooo many places to see ,and peeps to meet,maybe one day yes?.
But for now ,i will have to be content with the 6 weeks jaunt to Cyprus in September ,woohoo ,not too long now .
Catch all you lovely people later,have a smashin' weekend [not literally though] Fred.

Hi Lesley, and thank you for the welcome. :-))

We stayed in Mississauga for a few nights, and whilst there we visited Toronto. Ooh, that CN Tower is something else! Even my 31-y-o nephew, who hates heights, went up there, even standing on the glass floor!
Then we went off to Niagara Falls for two days. Oh boy; that place really is something else, seeing nature in its raw fury. I won't tell you how many photos we took between us ..........
We stayed one night in Gananoque, and wish we could have stayed longer, but it was a sort of drive through on our way to Ottawa, where we stayed for two nights. In Ottawa, I found where my great-aunt Belinda would have lived, and her husbands army station. We even received an unexpected upgrade in our hotel accommodation, staying in their most luxurious suite (so we were told). Wow, is all I can say about that. My sis in law wants to move to Canada now, but is torn between Ottawa and Montreal.
Then we spent the last 5 days in Montreal, seeing where hubby's father was born in Verdun, also meeting hubby and SIL cousins, who live just outside the city.
We have over a thousand photos between us, not to mention video clips, so will have to do a bit of editing methinks!
Well, we're heading for bed now, for some more sleep! This time last night we were on the plane, but couldn't sleep. So night night folks, and give our love to Canada .....
xx

Hey Glenys, good to see you on the thread....where in Canada did you visit???

Got the veggie bed dug over yesterday and put a few garden "fripperies" out for their summer sojourn. I was going to start planting today but got side tracked!!

A group of us have organized a city wide garage sale for July and we are shooting for 1000 participants. So the rush is on. I have been making calls all day. Walmart is going to donate half their parking lot to artisans and folks who don't have a decent space anywhere else...just for a $10 donation all proceeds to charity. We are all pretty excited by this. Even the tourism office is onboard...wow!!

Fred there are some great sites but the best would be the Alaska Tourism Board and also the Yukon Tourism office. The Alaska Highway starts in BC, runs across the Yukon and then dips in and out of Alaska before ending in Fairbanks. We are already starting slowly amass the things that we will need. We don't have a lot of room in our new van so we need to be "clever"!! if you know what I mean.

Edith, a motor home would be a luxury. We did think of buying a small trailer but have decided against that as it just makes the journey more difficult.

So now I am off to get my new ram put in my 'puter and I will be so fast you wont see for dust....LOL!!!
Lesxx

Hi, just to say that today, hubby and I returned from two weeks in Canada, and it is a beautiful country.
My only gripe - jet lag!!
My parents, and hubby's sister and her son came too; we all have ancestry in Canada, and made a sort of pilgrimage if you like. Also, Hubby and his sister met some of their Canadian cousins for the first time, which was great!
What a lovely country you have.
x

Morning to all ,the rain has hit Newcastle o t at last ,and at least we were on our way home before the heavens opened,but i knew it was coming and reseeded parts of the lawn where i have killed off the ruddy moss courtesy of our weather which keeps coming up in the damp patches.
I only have the lawn side of the hedge to do now ,and i am up to date at last,with nothing left to do but the odd weeds to destroy and the chalet to see to.
I did buy four lonely little Fushia this morning in Aldi,and they will go very well in the back border among the roses.
My bluebell are nearly finished for this year ,so i will dig them all up and find a place to put them all in together ,and then let them spread as they will.
I my exposed spots ,which are many ,i have used Japanese bushes that are well used to the cold and biting winds,Japonica,and azaelia ,along with a Rhodedendron which has stood the test of time nearly everywhere.
The latter are easy to get to grow because they are lime haters and grow easily in poor soils ,never even needing feeding,which is ideal among fir trees.
That Alaska highway sounds really ace ,i will have to see what i can come up with on the net for a look see.
Gonna go and give the missus a hand with the dinner,nicking a titbit here and there till i end up getting my wrist slapped he he ,great fun lol,but today we are having some of her home made tuna fish cakes ,sometimes it's Salmon, but they are both yummy.
Enjoy your weekend all ,Fred.

Morning all, Yes, Fred still around and with our weather it's just too cold to

do anything outside. Would you believe light "snow" this a.m !!!!!!

The ice is gone from the lake and now it;s turned back to winter uuggghhh.

Hi,Les glad your keeping busy hee hee. The trip up the Alaska is great.

We did it in the Motor home a few years back, just fabulous. Some of the

best fishing we ever had. I think we had 5 rolls of film as we didn't want

to forget all we had seen.

.Hello to all the others, hugs for Teresa and family. Hi, J.A, Ian and

Veronica, Sylvia and any one looking in.

Stay well. Bye for now. Edith XXX