General Chat

hi from a misty rainy day in barrie not much ski-ing will be done to-day I would think which will disappoint the grandchildren but the hills have had a good season this year for my part I hope that we don't have more snow but april can be tricky at times,I spoke to my friend in bury lancs this am as it was her birthday and it was sunny there, a friend of hers has offered to look after her doggie if she wants to come and see me so I am hoping that she will take her up on her offer she knows her dog well and would look after it very well, the doggie is 7yrs old and blotted her copy book she was left when anne came over and the people who looked after her don't want to do it again, she piddled all over the pl;ace she is a lovely dog but dare one say quite spoiled I enjoy her when I am over but thinks she is a person but as I spoil my cats I can't say too much anyway it will be great if she comes this summer bye for now dorothy

Weeeeell,hello all you people,nice to see you all again.
Sitting here at my usual station with the laptop on the go because the missus is on the mainframe giving it six nowt with her lotto's and games lol,she may be an old bird ,but her fingers are rattling over the keys there,he he ,i'm suprised there is no steam coming out of her ear'ole's[ouch].
Someone else is busy on the family research as well, i see,but i for one am doing okay with it at the moment.
We have headed back to winter again ,but at least we have escaped the snow [he says hopefully].
We had a couple of boiled eggs for tea last night ,and what a change it made,nice ,simple ,and very tasty,with a few slices of home made bread,it was even worth the indigestion afterwards ,he he.
Yeah Les ,you will have to admit,Ediths Bear is something to behold ,what a size ,i will def' stick to my cuddly ones thank you very much.
It would appear from investigating further,that the olives off the trees need curing before using so if it turns out to be a lengthly proccess i will opt for the lemon tree instead as we use quite a few in salad making and cooking anyway.
Off to do a little more research now ,but will probably look in later,Fred

Hi to everyone, apologies for being out of thread -thanks to everyone for keeping it going - a few distractions here - went to Adelaide, went to beach for a week (sighs -was a savoiur) new job and family things as we all have. Love the piccies Badger
How you going Sylvia?
VP, thinking of you, Edith, send me the bear piccies please
Mare will be in Bendigo now -could not get there but sure Wattlers will be wattling up a storm :)

Love to hear all news

JA

Hi Edith, I read the thread regularly and sometimes add my little bit, and I too have noticed that everyone seems to be really busy, Fred must be either cooking or gardening, Les must be sewing or sewing or sewing (ha ha). Maybe everyone is Spring Cleaning... I'm not... trying very hard at the moment with my family history, and getting nowhere fast. Think I'll call it a night.. Take care everyone have a good weekend....

Hellooooo Where are you all.????

let's hear from you please.!!!!!!!

Edith

Morning all Just lost an entire page to cyber space. So here goes again

Hope all the Oz friends have a great holiday . Lots of pics please Mary.

Happy to have you back Fred, waiting for your pics as well.

Recently went to a Greek restaraunt and had a lovely meal but the best

part was after the dessert, the owners did the Opah dance for us. Up and

down the aisles several times and got some of our group to join them.

What fun!!!!! This thing is acting up again so I will say bye for now.

Stau well . Edith xxxxxxxx

Thanks for the piccies of the bottlebrushes Mary ,they look lovely,so many varieties too,it must be great to see them in real life,in their natural habitat.
Passed that email on Edith ,i was tickled pink and had a good laugh lol.
ah ,well back home,sniff,but it ain't so bad ,it's a nice morning ,so when i have finished on the puter ,i will go out back and finish the back garden ,and get started on the chalet tomorrow morning.
Have a good time Mary,and don't take any prisoners he he.
Seems that vodaphone dosn't have a good coverage in blackpool,which is why i was having a little bother,but ,no matter,T mobile has a good coverage around the country so before i go back down i will buy a dongle from them and a lappy for an extra £10 a month,they have a nice h p with a 3 gig memory, vista premium ,and a 260 gig hard drive,and a few other refiinements,so that will do fine,my little lappy will come in as a standby,so ,when the old tower xp goes home ,i won't be replacing it,which will save a load of space ,more space for my bear family which is still.growing.
The dinner i did for my sister in law went down very well,and i was complimented on the stuffing,told it was the best so far,and that was without the sausage meat in,wonder what it would have been like if i had of had time to add the meat? oh well can't be perfect everytime lol.
Time to go make my greek salad now before i go out back,see ya' later all .Fred.

Hi everyone from a hot Sydney..

Edith Hope you are well and are you still feeding that pesky fox..It should be teaching its cubs where to find food by now,,at ,Edith's place...hee hee hee...

Les Have you bought that gadget yet...?????

Well I am about ready for my weeks holiday..off tomorrow and wont be back till next Tuesday night..I am so tired getting everything ready so that John wont have to do or go anywhere while I am away..and then get myself organised to go away..I wander if it is all worth it in the end..but I will be right once I get moving tomorrow..I hope....lol

Be good while I am away..

Love Mary xxxx

nudge

Hi all...from a hot and dry OZ

Les.. Come on girl,,ya got to make some money so Normie can retire...hee heehee..

Fred.. Yes..those bottlebrush are lovely and come in hundreds of different colours..We had a lovely one in the old house which was red with silver tips to the stamens..Another native is Grevilleas,,They are similar but the flowers are thicker and curly..They have a huge amount of nectar in them and if you suck on one you can have a taste of it,,very sweet..no wander the birds like it..They grow wild here and if you go to Melbourne on the motorway the center of the road is mile after mile of bottlebrush..when they are in bloom it is really lovely..

Well it is not long to when I leave for Bendigo..for our Wattle meet..going down on Thursday to get there for Friday..then leave there on Monday and home by Tuesday..am so looking forward to it..

Hope all are well and will try and get back before I leave..

Love Mary xx

Hi you lot,

Yes I am sewing again. I have three venues coming up between now and early May so need at least another 12 - 20 aprons to strat out with. Sure wish I could say I was making money at this....i think I did before xmas but now it seems all to be flowing in the opposite direction...LOL!!

We have had horrible weather here for the last week. snow and rain and rain and snow!!!Bella and I walked dyle this morning and came home soaked, me to the skin. Grrr! we want spring!!

Was at the doc's last week and my blood pressure has risen alarmingly. I got the usual story of excercise and salt but I am good at all of that anyway. So now my meds have been increased so a lot of the time my head feels like a pin cushion. Oh well, no doubt they will get it sorted!!

I have nothing else to tell....it is all thread and scissors here at the mo.
Take care
Lesxx

Morni' one and all,from a very misty Newcastle ,could we be so lucky i wonder to be seeing a heat haze he he[rubs on some sun tan cream and runs outside ,frightening the birds with the skinny white legs showing underneath the hems of my shorts ,lol.
I took the missus to Sunderland on paddies day,because it was nice.mild,and such a long time since the last visit.
The first place we went back to is the Winter Gardens ,a lovely little haven where eyou can go in the ddead of winter and see tropical plants and trees,complete with Bananas on two trees.
They have bamboo,giant ferns,exotic flowers like orchids and a plant that looks a little like tallish crocus ,but the colours ,wow ,talk about vibrant.
We even saw a plant that our Mary will be used to,an oz crimson bottle brush plant,in full bloom enough to hurt the eyes it is so vibrant a colour.so ,i have to ask,Mary old pal,do these plants grow singly or do loads of them grow together ,mixed with other flowers ,or only the bottles?.they must really be something to see in their natural habitat.
Yes Edith ,there is no reason why your cucumbers won't grow up a bit of trellis pinned to the wall once the first tendrills find the wood ,they will climb very quickly.i always give the cucumbers a bit of help by tying the fruits light ly to tjhe wood.
Have to get into the garden now to do a little more tidying up ,because the missus may want to bog off again later this morning lol.
atch everyone later,Fred.

Hi everyone I just cant believe it is a week since I was here.. Where have all the days gone..I have been busy lately with meeting in our village as I am the treasurer of the residents committee and we are in the middle of working out the levies for the next 12 months..Trying to keep them as low as possible as it cost enough to live without having big levies to pay as well...A few disputes by some peeps who don't agree with our figures but the accountant is agreeable to them so we now need another General Meeting to pass them..

I leave on next Thursday for the trip south for our meet in Bendigo..We will stay overnight somewhere and get there on Friday..It is around 900km so a bit far for one day travel..Cant wait as I intend to slum it and do nothing I don't have to...

Enjoy you holiday Fred.. Hope the weather stays nice for you..

Edith Glad you did well why you were away..nice when you can get all that is on your list of things to do..and get...Can you send some nice cool weather over please..We are still having hot weather and I find that trying to walk in this weather is to much..I come home dripping and with a very red face,,It seems to do that when I get hot..hee hee hee..

Les Are you sewing...or swinging...

Hope everyone else is well and not working to hard..Should be warming up for you lot oop there on the top of the world...

Love Mary xxx

Hello everyone. Back home again with a full suitcase and an empty wallet.

Had a great trip, great shopping and a great theatre play "Chicago".

The weather even co-operated.On Tues and Wed. last week we had a very

fast blizzard rip through our area. Lots of snow and wind so the roads

were a mess. Cleared up by Thurs and is +10 to-day. About time me

thinks.

Managed to get most of the shopping done. I had quite a long list

and was happy to find some real bargains. !!!!

Where are all the regulars again??? How are you J.A, Mary, Teresa

Les, still sewing ?? Hope you are all well and no flu bugs.!!

See Fred is still having fun with Hissy, keeps you on your toes hmmm.

Can't wait to get the plants going for my balcony, I had lots of toms last

year so here's hoping they grow as well this year. Going to try and train

the cucumbers to climb up the side wall and maybe the egg plant

as well.

Stay well all. Bye for now Edith XXXXX

Afternoon all,at last,time to sit down with a coffee,Fred is now off duty 'till tomorrow.
I got woken at 6-30 by Hissy wanting her breakfast so having seen to her and seeing as it was so nice outside i decided to put the feeder onto the lawns,with the view of thisafternoons rain expected to wash it in.
I Then took one of the cabbages out for dinner along with a sweede,took some tatties out of the bin ready to peel and decided then to sit out back with a cuppa and play with the cat,,she loves her tummy rubbed while laying in the sun [spoilt moggy lol]
We took out a loin of pork for todays dinner,a treat for chris,him missing his Sunday dinner of course next week,us being in Blackpool.
Did the cabbage ,sweede,carrots and parsnips along with home made stuffing with wild garlic sausage meat,sage parsley,mace and nutmeg in,and pulled some apple sauce i made last september with spare apples from our tree.
Topped it all off by doing some roast tatties ,sweet peppers ,and and roast parsnip,and new potatoes.
It went down very well,and now i am sat heref or the afternoon ,washing up done ,emails done,bingo done,and now looking at an hour on my family history after finishing here lol.
Hope our Mary is enjoying her visit to Bendingo ,and the meet,there should be some interesting scuttle butt when she gets back he he.
Hope everfyone is enjoying their weekend,see ya all later.Fred.

Good Morning All, I've been struggling the last couple of days with my computer, it was poorly!!! Caught a virus ... it's taken me ages to get it sorted out, even though I've got security firewalls and pc protection, it still managed to get me. Never mind sorted now.
It feels like a lovely Spring morning here this morning, the blackbirds are singing and making nests the bulbs are just beginning to flower and really it feels quite nice... We had a fox at the back of the house last night, great excitement for us as we are one of the few people in our village that disagree with fox hunting and our allotment (chicken keepers) certainly don't like them. It was a beauty. So tempted to feed it, but really I don't want to encourage it into trouble...
I have been watching the series with Billy Connolly going around Canada, it finished last night, its been really good. Some of the scenery was spectacular. He visited one lady she was 75 years old, lived on her 420acre of land alone, she was an inspiration, chopping wood, hunting, fishing, made me feel ancient... Anyway thats all for now.. Hope everyone has a good weekend....

Hiya you two ,think i had better add a few lines before we go down for the third time ,glug glug lol.
I finally managed to get my last cup of coffee of the day ,sat out back among my crocus and daffs which are just showing through.
I notice that the wild garlic is doing well,this will be a welcome addition to the salads,and liven up the jaded winter pallet he he.
It'sfinally time to go to the local hospital for my eye examination,so i will see if i can get my glasses done through them as i need auto' tint ones for driving in the summer ,and cyprus.especially.
Looks likea decent morning so i am going to slip out front and sweep the paths before i go out.Fred.

Hi All ,Marie from Aus,I havent had the time to chat ,good to hear from you Badger you are really excited about your garden I guess its because you have had such a bad winter.We are in to our autmn in Bathurst nights are getting very cool ,days still warm wont be long before we have a frost.
It appears that the fires in Victoria are all out ,but some people are still not allowed back into the area where they resided. The coroner has released some of the Bodies for burial. We now have a cyclone off the coast of QLD at the moment it is travelling down the coast between Rockhampton
and Bundaberg losts of wind and Rain.
back to the subject of gardens, my son-in -law has been working very had doing retaining walls, so i should soon be able to plant my English garden, My native garden is looking great I just hope it survives the Heavy frosts we get here in Bathurst.
Badger it sounds as if your daughter is going to have a lovely time in the U.S. I bet you make the most out of having your grand children I love seeing mine but boy I am tired when they go, Emily is 3 and Abegail is 19 mths both very active.

Edith it is nice to hear from you also you must be pleased to see Spring, my preference is Autumn its a really lovely time here in Aust the days are still long enough to garden and cool enough not to be sweating we usually dont say perspiring, sweat seems to describe it better.
Badger have you had some trouble with security? as i said i havent looked in for awhile.I wonder do you give your Better half a hard time, she must be a good mate to put up with it LOL
Well i hope you have a nice time in Blackpool Badger &I hope you have great weather Kindest Regards to you all .
Marie from OZ.

Hello everyone, I see you are all busy at something.
Dog rescue for Les, gardening etc. for Fred, looking for ancestors for
others. I have been putting in all the certs I have for the people who I
have in the Family Tree Site. I sent to England for the Family Historian
and it is fabulous. All the pics and certs for each person literally pop in to where they belong. !!!
Sure it takes time but is worth all the effort I think.
Will be away for about a week, I go to Thunder Bay on Tues. have to get a bit of nip and tuck to my eyes(no I won't look 10 yrs younger) just able to see a lot better without a curtain above the eye. Lord, this growing old
is getting tiring to say the least. Always something to get sorted. ugghh
Once that is over I'm off to see the stage play of "Chicago".
I love the music from the show and am looking forward to hearing it again.
Of course a major shopping spree as well. Time for new duds for spring and summer plus other bits and pieces.
Hope you had a great time with the kids Sylvia, great therapy isn't it???
Off to son's for birthday cake so will see you when I get back home.
Take care all. Edith

Back again ,lol,sorry peeps ,seems i got the dates wrong for the Blackpool foray ,it's a fortnight before we go not next weekend .
The talex is working fine ,so ,hopefully ,no speeding tickets for me ,it shopuld be hard now ,with her ,in the talex screaming at me [reduce speed,you are going too fast he he.].
I commited myself to having the soffits ,facia boards caps and guttering replaced on the house come Monday ,this means i will never have to paint the house ever again ,on the outside that is,he he ,all i need to use a brush for outside is the gates ,the fence and the shed,oh,nearly forgot ,the window sills.
That will leave me lots more time for the garden and decorating inside,i can see the missus ,getting jobs ready now.
The son has the camera up and running so the drive is on 24 hour survailance,and he is coming back to put one security light out front which will come on at dusk through to dawn if someone comes over the wall ,or in through the gate,so i should bwe well covered.
I am putting the other light up ,on the greenhouse ,facing the house,so if someone comes over the back fence they are goin' to get one heck of a shock he he.
It's a lovely morning here ,so i am going to get my coffee drunk ,and then go out into the front garden and rip up all the dead Dahlia stems and get them in the rubbish bin before that gets emptied on Tuesday.
Spare a thought for the poor beggars in Melbourne who have just been hit by a quake ,not a bad one ,but there has been a little building damage.
The point is ,they have suffered enough with the bushfires in Victoria.
Further over ,after the flooding ,one area is having a plague of disease carrying mosquitoes,poor old oz is really going through the wars again,God bless all of them ,they need all the help they can get.
Hope all of you have had a good weekend ,see ya later.Fred.