General Chat

Hello All, not too bad a morning here, but rain expected later. Do the gardens good.... Hope everyone is keeping well.
It is a shame about the hall Lesley, and your trip sounds great, lucky you!!!I'm like you Mary sick of spending money on plants that no mater what I do don't seem to like living in my garden. I would love a Maple or Acer tree, but they are quite expensive to buy established and the area I live in is always windy, so I don't want to take the chance...
I too noticed no word from Sylvia, hope she is well...
No doubt Fred is enjoying his gardening.
Everyone have a good weekend and take care.....

Hi everyone We have lovely weather at the moment.. sunny and mild...

Les That trip sounds great,, We saw a tv programme of Billy Connolly doing the inside passage across the top of Alaska and he got a lift with a Truckee doing a long highway down from Alaska.. is that the one you want to do...Looks spectacular..not a bad road either..Butter about the hall..perhaps you could hold it in your basement in future...hee hee hee..

Fred. Tell Liz she is a sweetie.. I hope one day we will all meet,, I have been busy planting snippets that I have cut off other plants in the garden and hope they will grow,, It is getting expensive buying new plants just to see them die no matter what I do,, I think the soil is past its used by date.. and full of chemicals from spraying the roses every year for black spot..Just cant get rid of it..

Haven't heard from Sylvia for a while.Hope she is ok..

Hope all those not well get good test results and return to good health..

Edith .. How many foxes are you feeding now.. hee hee hee..Have you seen any bears yet....

Well must away and get some dinner..

Love to all
Mary xxx

I worked the Provincial election yesterday as a poll clerk.......14 hours in a freezing hall. Spent much of the day wrapped in a blanket, smiling thru my chattering teeth....the money will be nice tho.

The hall where I had my aprons on display burnt down this morning. Bella and I walk past there often and today it was just a black, smoldering mess. Now I wonder where they will have all the artisn fairs??? Oh well....something will come up.

Still have done very little in my garden....just cant seem to get the energy or enthusiasm. Norm and I are planning to drive the Alaska highway in Aug/Sept and I guess whatever I grow will need a "gardener" while we are away....any offers???

I am trying to find one of those old cast iron dutch ovens, the kind with three little legs and an indented lid. I can just see me in the wilds with my dutch "cauldron" bubbling away....hmm! and likely a bear looking over my shoulder..LOL Anyway we are pretty excited about this, a truly adventurous trip that will take us about 4 to 6 weeks.

I am off....stuff to do.
Lesxx

Yooooo Hooooo Edith lol,at least two of us are still around and keeping busy.
I got round to pulling out the old washing machine yesterday ,and it's now out front awaiting the scrap man,and the new hoover is ordered.
It did very well ,we bought it over 12 tears ago while still at Birchvale ,it never got serviced in all those years ,and never broke down,sorry to see it go really ,after all this time it was part of the scenery in the kitchen,ho ,hum ,i only hope the new one is half as good .
I raced around the garden chores yesterday morning ,cutting the front hedge for the first time this year,cut the front lawn cleaned out the chalet [just in case ] and by the way Mary ,liz says ,any time you win the lottery ,you [and the tram ] are welcome any time.
I got the garden finished at 11 am ,got on with the housework ,did the dinner ,and then ,i had a lovely lazy afternoon in the garden ,can of beer by my side,enjoying a lovely sunny afternoon.
Hope everyone is having a good week ,catch you all later,Fred.

Hi everyone. We have a touch of autumn at last.. but no rain..the weather man keeps saying showers but he forgets to look out the window and see that there are no clouds..and ya need clouds for rain to fall..hee hee ee..

Had a lovely lunch with my 2 brothers and sister in law.. I did enjoy the drive and it was so good to get out on the highway again and drive...had to much to eat as she did a lovely curry and sate which are some of my favourite foods..I am trying to lose some weight but I think I overdid it a bit that day,,Never mind I can start again..Luckily I didn't put any weight on after the lunch but didn't lose any either...hee heehee..Funny I don't get very excited over a lettuce leaf...lol..

Fred So glad my chalet is clean again..You just never know..we might win lotto and I would be off like a Bondi Tram.(aussie saying) and fly to the UK..to surprise you and Liz..Poor Liz I wouldn't do that to her..
When are you getting the caravan out and ready for the road again..must be getting near to holiday time again...

Hope all the Mothers had a nice Mothers Day..

Edith So glad the fox is still around.. Seems like she has adopted you and you are now going to look after her family..She will be getting lazy and not bother looking for food for them,,just bring them around to Auntie Edith for dinner each night,,You are a softy..but nice..xxx any bears about yet..

Hope all are well and those that are ill big hugs and may good things happen..

Lots love Mary xxxxx

Helloooo Where are you all.? I see Fred posted 3 days ago.

The weather in middle Canada is still half in winter mode.

half in summer.

We get a nice warm day, then snow flurries, then rain. I

really don't remember such odd weather before.

Will have our first B.B.Q. to-day. Eldest son will do ribs

for our Mother's day dinner. He has a great recipe for the sauce

so am looking forward to it.

The fox are still coming to visit and the little ones are growing quickly,

Mom makes sure they both eat and then pushes them out of the way so

she can have a bite. Will save a few of the ribs so she can have a treat

for Mother's day too.!!!

Can't wait to start gardening in all the pots I have on the balcony as soon

as it warms up.Fred is way ahead of us here in the "cold" .

Time to get some breakfast so Happy Mother's day to all the Mom's

out there. Hope you all enjoy the day.

See you. Edith XXXX

Good after noon all ,from a very windy but sunny Newcastle,where old Fred has now finished for the day having put the last of the bedding pants out into the front borders and potted on the last of the veggie plants.
The chalet is looking good Mary ,all the tomato's are well away,the cucumber plants areall showing ,the three pumpkin plants are well away,and i am now awaiting only the pepper seeds to show through ,so ,i am well chuffed.
Liz bought a lovely meaty ham shank home from the market yesterday morning ,and set to and made six tubs of pease pudding for the freezer,and today she has made a huge pan of soup using the stock off the shank,a little of the meat cooked up with a mixture of parsnip ,carrot, onion ,leek, lentils split peas,small chopped swede and potato.
The rest of the meat has gone into five ham and egg pies ,luuuuuuverly lol,not bad seeing as the shank cost but £1-60.and most of the veggies came from the garden.
Please note Mary ,the floor of the chalet has been swept and washed down,just in case of unexpected visitors lol
Hope you are all looking forward to the weekend ,catch you all later ,Fred.

Good morning everyone, hope all is well.
Hows your aches and pains Fred? Better I hope!!
Tereasa my best wishes to your husband, hope all goes well!
Lesley, busy girl enjoy yourself!!
Just wondered how Sylvia was, anyone heard, as I haven't seen her on here for a while...
Mary hope you enjoy your day out visiting your brother. It will be lovely for you I'm sure.
Hello to everyone else.
I haven't been too well the last few days (good days and bad as I'm sure everyone has) but today I'm feeling fighting fit, well fit, so I might do a few things in the garden, there again I might be tired out just thinking about it!!
Isn't this Swine Flu thing getting a little out of hand?? I don't know... what next...
Anyway take care and enjoy your day.....

Hi everyone We have beautiful weather at the moment,,Sunny and mild,Around 23c and dry..

Teresa Big hugs for you and Bob.. Will remember him in my prayers and I am sure that he will be fine, He has done so well that I can see him continuing,,Sell the blooming house,, Will keep his mind off things at the hospital..and give him something to look forward to,,Make sure the kids are not to far away to help..

Les.. What a shamozzle ,,Bet you have it all sorted and hope you are selling lots of aprons..Bet Kathy was good value for a few days..

We are actually having a day out visiting on Friday,,We are going up to Tumbi Umbi to my brothers for lunch,,Its about a hours drive north and am looking forward to it..We never get out other than just to the shops and doctor so this is a first for ages...am really looking forward to being on the road again,,am beginning to get a touch of cabin fever. hee hee hee..

Well better go and sort out something for dinner..Keep well and mind the back Fred..

Love to all Mary xxxx

Good morning all from one veeeery sore Fred,who bought it all on himself by refusing to admit that he is no longer a spring chicken and spent three days solid in the garden and greenhouse before having to admit defeat ,and has awarded himself the day off,[ouch].
Sound advice from Lesley,Teresa ,my mum beat kidney cancer for 20 plus years before it finally claimed her,and that was nearly 15 years ago now,things have come a long way since then ,so the prognosis is getting better all the time.all the best to the pair of you anyway for a good few years together yet.
I have sent out an email to a few people this morning ,my wife included,and have incurred her wrath he he,the email needs power point to open it ,and i forgot to install office 2007 onto her xp puter [oooooops] ,she is NOT impressed ,so i will have to put things right before the stick comes out.
The weather is a little iffy and i am waiting for a clear patch so that i can get the weed killer down next door before her son puts the mix of top soil and sand in place to take the turf,didn't want him putting weed killer down because he is not green fingered and i don't want him to do himself damage.
He has done a fantastic job of her patio though ,so i will just be there to watch him lay the turf to make sure all goes well
Hope everyone is having a nice holiday ,and hope that once the venue was sorted Les' ,that the show went well.
Nah,I had no intention of doing a naked chef impression Les' frightning all the neighbours with grizzled dangly bits on show ,lol,so i will pass on that offer thanks he he.
I think that the last of this years seed has been planted now ,so the next stage is potting everything on,before putting it out into the garden.
Must go now and get the dinner started,a steak and kidney pie today with a few trimmings for the grand bairn Chris ,who is a growing lad,he he ,you had better believe it lol,made a chicken curry last evening and within the hour he was asking what was for supper.
Catch you all later ,Fred.
.

Hi Guys,
Well day two at the Spring Fair and 10 down...get it??? The hall was filthy when we all arrived, the toilets closed and the stoves/ovens not working for our volunteers...how life likes curve balls.
Teresa, you and hubby are in my thoughts. I know they can do fantastic stuff....have a friend who was diagnosed some weird form of lukemia about 5/6 years ago and he is living life to the full each day. Your are in my thoughts!!
After a week of sunshine it is raining on and off today....sure hope that wasn't summer!!
Take care you lot and be happy.
Lesxx

hi teresa I hope that all goes well with your husbands tests results and the treatment that may follow how things have improved in the treatment of this illness over the years, hope to see you back on line when you can I don't contribute much to this site but enjoy keeping up with everyone, just had a one on one birthday dinner with my 10yr old grandson and it was a fun evening I like to treat them all to a special dinner out with me when it is their birthdays and theyget to choose the resturant. I have a birthday at the end of the month it is the 37th anniverary of my 30th birthday it sounds better that way!!! I see it is a bank holiday in england this week-end bye for now dorothy ( barrie ont)

Hi Teresa Best wishes to you both. My thoughts will be with you.

Just try and make the best of each day ahead. Love Edith.

Hi Guys,

As usual I can't find the time to come on here regularly. Too much going on in my house right now. I think I had told you all that we were thinking of putting our house up for sale and looking for something smaller now that the children have all flown the nest. Well, we have been doing some renovations and now have had to put a halt to them for a bit. Bob's last Leukemia tests were not good and he is going to start Chemo on the 13th. He has had a ct scan and bone marrow aspiration and will get those results on the 12th. They have already booked the Chemo as they are quite sure he will have to have it. We don't know how many sessions or even the type of treatment other than the first one will be an IV. Before these last tests were done the doctor said that he still considers this to be a management phase and not life threatening, hopefully he will still feel the same way when we get the results of the test. Bob says he feels no different although has lost quite a bit of weight (some of it on purpose-arghhh).
Bob still wants to go ahead with selling the house, I am wanting to wait to see what happens, stay tuned!

I am also back at work so having to juggle my shifts so that I can go with him to the appointments. So, If i don't come back for a while it's because I simply don't have the time. I try to read the threads when I come home for lunch but don't always have time to reply.

Teresa

nudge

Hi Guys,
This is my second attempt to post....the last one vanished into cyber space and, more to the point, I have no idea what I said!!

Fred, many of the ladies who look at my pinnies say that they could imagine running naked around their kitchens wearing only my apron....now if that is something that is appealing to you I will gladly send you an apron....LOL!!

Mary our new van is very much like a VW Westphalia/Eurovan, do you have those in Oz?? It is certainly not as luxurious as the Roadtrek but it does have a comfy bed and a fridge and stove so I think we will be OK. Plus it is not overheight on the ferry and has really good gas mileage. We shall see....we are thinking Alaska.

Kathy was here for a few days. We had lots of laughs as usual. She and her Norm fell in love with our Bella and tried to steal her away when they left today...can you imagine that!!!!

I am off to sew, hopefully can get another 4/5 aprons made by friday when the show starts. After that I will settle down to gardening and genealogy for awhile.

Edith glad you are home safe and sound.

Love to all.
Lesxx

Morning all ,back again ,too wet to work outside ,but ,not to worry ,the bedding plants are safe enough to leave until the weather improves,couldn't get them in last evening because company arrived ,and i couldn't go in to the garden while they were here ,bad manners and all that.
As soon as i get a wireless usb connecter Mary ,i will be able to get onto the printer from anywhere in the house ,or garden,by plugging in the connector to the mainframe,but there is no hurry
Liz is as happy as larry[whos'e he?].this morning ,running amok on the mainframe puter ,putting on her photos ,her own yahoo messenger ,msn messenger and what have you ,sigh ,looks like there is a new pilot in the drivers seat he he.
Well she has TWO puters now ,so i think i will put a lock on my laptop and vista tower so she can't commandeer those as well.
Seems like our Les is doing so well with her aprons that i reckon many famous chefs would be proud to wear one,lol,We have two very well known ones operating in Newcastle that look real clips that they should jump at the chance,and ,hell ,if it comes down to it ,i would pay for one ,and be proud to wear it too seeing as i'm the major cook and bottle washer.
Off to make my salad for tea ,Fred.

HI everyone.. Our weather is slightly cooling down but a long way to go yet...

Les.. Our Celeb.. hee hee... Keep at it girl and we will see you in a posh magazine...Have a go at the Genie class,, It might be interesting,,When you get time send me a pic of the mobile...sounds interesting..But Alaska..a bit on the cold side if you ask me...hee hee hee..

Fred. I have never seen a lawn as green as yours.. and so lush,, Makes me realise how dry this continent is as to get a lawn like that you would have to have a sprinkler on all day every day and break every water restriction rule in the book..hee hee hee..and get fined a motza...hee hee...Hope your sinus is on the improve..nasty and not nice..I have the one cord that I can connect both of my putas to the printer..I just unplug it from a port on one puta and plug it into a port in my lappy..I didnt have to register my lappy either,,it works fine..

Edith So good to have you home safe and sound again..Butter about the doc but keep at them and you will get sorted soon..In the meantime you can plant your herbs and keep out of mischief..Do you still feed the fox.. Or had he got enough to eat now you probably have thawed out...

Diane How great to find family in Canada.. And to be in touch with them..I see a trip to Canada soon unless you live there already..Cant quite remember..but another branch in the tree to add..

Christine Yes my flu is about gone just a little cough and sniffle left thank you ..Was getting so sick of it..

Hope everyone is well..Sylvia Teresa Veronica and JA who is working to hard..and Ian,
Love Mary xxxx

Hiya Edith ,glad to see you back at home lol,no doubt you will be sorting out your verandah ready to start on your herbs and tomatoes.
Just thought i would come on for a few seconds and bring the thread to the fore ,off into the garden now to finish putting the fifty bedding plants into place,be back this afternoon,Fred.

Hello all, Arrived home from Thunder Bay with the same face I went with.

Was supposed to get the eyes tightened up so I can see better, but the

Doc decided it was "too involved" ???? Sent me off to another one,who

is overbooked so have to again wait for an appt. D---mn. If I wasn't in

danger of losing my drivers license I would say stuff it. Have no periferal

vision on the left side so will have to be careful.

Other than that all is well. Started my herbs in pots to-day so I can keep

them in until no more cold.

Les, happy to hear your sewing is going well, will look for you on Forbes

500 soon hee hee.

Fred as usual you are busy, good luck with all your plantings.

Hi to all who are missing , stay well. Edith XXXX