General Chat

Hello everyone. I feel a little blessed to be living where I am. We have
had a few cold nights but not all the snow. All of North America seems to be under the spell of Mother Nature and her bad side except us.
Can't imagine snow in Las Vegas !!!!! Cousins in Arizona not too happy either.!!
Been busy getting organized for the big day, not as well as Fred however so still have a few things to finish up. Loved the Christmas e-mail Fred
also the e-cards from the others.
Here's wishing you a happy and joyous holiday. Do make the very best of the days ahead. See you again soon. Edith

Hiya Mary ,and all the rest of you peeps.
Hey ,mary,i still like the idea of a laptop for when i go on holidays ,so i will be off to pc world boxing day morning while the boss holds the fort.
If i cant find one at a reasonable price ,i may go for a Blackberrry phone instead ,which has a proper minature keyboard on the facia ,for internet work and emails,there is a deal on here for £0 a month with 600 minutes internet access and email facilities per monthon an 18 month contract.not too bad ,anyway i will see .
I managed to get the missus a proper cam corder case for her new toy,so there's another pressie for me to wrap up,what with those two,and her new phone ,she should be set .
We have christmas day off this year,he he ,we go to the daughters for lunch,ans Stehens for tea.
Boxing day ,we have the son Stephen for tea ,and the other son and kids [plus partner] for dinner.And new years day we have the daughter and family all day,so ,no-one is left out.
We Fly on the 7th Mary,and the wedding is on the tenth,so the wife will have the opertunity to try the new camera,Me? ,i will stick to my trusty digital.
The new camera works via digital dvd disc ,so there are no tapes at all,handy for putting in the dvd player to see if it's okay before putting it on disc via the dvd player recorder ,or the puter.
At the minute i still have a bit of this cold to shift before the festive season starts ,but we will be taking special care this christmas with hand spray and anti bacterial sprays for the benches and work surfaces in the kitchen,i don't fancy catching this winter bug that is rife at the moment.
Time to gp all ,off to Asda in an hour to get the kast of the stuff in before the hoards get the same idea lol.
Catch you all later ,and oh,in case some peeps didn't get the card,Merry Christmas ,from Fred,Liz and hissy [claus]

Hi everyone.. We have lovely WARM weather at the moment..ranging between 23c and 30c. hee hee hee,,Sorry Canucks...and of course the UKers..You all should come down here and try out a WARM Christmas,,not really turkey weather but what the heck,, we love our old English customs..hee hee...

Off to Orange on Sunday but I will have my lappy with me so should be able to keep in touch..I hope..otherwise it will mean fighting the grandies for the puta up there...lol,

I dont have to worry about the crowded shops as I dont start the Christmas food shop till monday when I get to Orange,, The kids mostly want money for Christmas as they are getting to old for anything else...and if we pick something it is usually the wrong size or colour so let them do it themselves..They enjoy that..

Keep warm all and dont go driving in the ruddy snow Les.. Its not safe,,or dinny ya know...get the skis out..safer..

Chat to you all from Orange..

Love Mary xxxxx

Christine, they were Norm's photo's printed on canvas...they are called giclee's. Many of them were taken with his Widelux camera that has a rotating lense...that was how he could skip in and be in the pic.

Well Gang, it's minus 12 again today and wow!! did we get snow yesterday. Norm and I went into Nanaimo and a storm settled in. We drove back in near white out conditions, roads unploughed, and the windshield wipers mostly stuck onto the windshield...it was pretty scary. Anyway once home I had a fortyfying glass of red (well maybe 2!!) to steady my nerves....LOL Now we don't know what we will do about xmas because they are calling for more snow....it would be OK except that we have that wee range of mountains to drive over and a windy, twisty trip around Cameron Lake ....the bottomless lake!! Anyway I won't panic until I have to.

Had to take the car this am. to get the master cylinders replaced. Bella and I walked home, about 5 kms. I think. Talk about slogging thru the drifts, I could have used a pair of cross country skis. The ice got between Bella's pads and so I had to thaw them out with a little warm water when we got home. She was appreciative and gave me kisses...bless her.

That's me for now.
Lesxx

Hey Diane, pretty crazy here too....walmart is open 24 hours a day until the 24th. I ask you??? I told Norm that we would set the alarm for 3 am and go over there in our jammies and see who was shopping. We are a city of 18000 only, I doubt that they will be rushed off their feet....LOL

The slow cooker beef yesterday was amazing. We had it with peas and asparagas, You could tell that the soups had been in their except for the taste. Yummy will make it again, thought next time I might try chicken breasts.

Sent out all my ecards yesterday, took most of the afternoon. If anyone isn't on my email list and wants to be included in pics etc. then send me you email addy by PM. Don't worry you wont get inundated with jokes, I send out very few and only the really good ones.

Snowing here again and Norm and I are off to Nanaimo to finish up our shopping. Will take the dog in case we get stuck....brrrrr!!!!
Lesxx

Morning all, hope everyone is well and warm!!! It is a lovely bright morning here in County Durham. Real walking weather, if I was well I could just see myself, wrapped up well and having a lovely long walk in the woods... Oh well maybe next year... All these lovely recipes on here its great I will definitely have a go at your latest one Lesley, sounds lovely... It's all go in our area at the moment, the amount of sales in the shops is unbelievable, all encouraging people to spend, spend, spend. It's strange as my mam said it took her ages to work out how to pay for something using a card, she couldn't get used to not SAVING and then getting what she wanted, rather than just getting because you could!!!. Anyway I'm off to do a little (very little!!) tidying up...Take Care....

Thanks for the pics JA and Mary...what a nice looking bunch you are. Now Mary I don't believe about the red wine and JA....I thought it was just me??? LOL Maybe that's why we are such good friends eh??

Teresa it snowed heavily for about 3 days and now is bloody cold, didn't get above minus 10 yesterday even tho the sun was shining. We are not used to this at all, this is palm tree country right???

Talked to my 94 year old Dad in Yorkshire this morning. He was telling me that a storm broke off his TV antenna (Had the same one since the earth was flat...he's a Yorkshire man right!!) anyway this nice man came and fixed him up with a new antenna and a scrambler box so he is ready for digital BUT the cool thing is that he now gets full cable, about 80 channels. I think he spends his days surfing thru all of them. I told him that at 94 he could become a couch potato...it would be OK. bless him.

Dorothy, wish I could help you with the turnip recipe but have never heard of it. I like to mash my carrots and turnips together...thats pretty yummy.

Now for all of you that have a slow cooker...I have this new (to me) recipe. You need a small roast, I used sirloin tip, about 3 lbs., a can of low fat cream of mushroom soup, a packet of onion soup mix, 3/4 smallish spuds cut into thick wedges and about 4 carrots cut into chunks. Chuck it all in the slow cooker stir it around so that everything is coated (I stirred the two soups together first) and cook on low for 8/9 hours. I put that on early this morning and it smells amazing. Stole the recipe out of a magazine while getting my winter tires put on yesterday...naughty Les!!!

That's me for today. I am off to get real warm in the shower. Luv to all.
Lesxx

Hi Everyone,

JA thanks so much for the pictures. It looks as though you all had a fabulous time.

Mary, please, please send so warm weather this way!! It has finally warmed up to minus 11 today but we will be back in the low minus 20's the rest of the week. This cold weather has come much earlier than we are used to.

Fred, every time I see your name on the boards I can't wait to see what you have made for dinner, my you must be one heck of a cook. Did you do commercial cooking at one time or just pick it up along the way?

How are you Les, I saw that Vancouver Island had snow yesterday too. Did you have to dig yourself out?

We are going to have our smallest Christmas ever this year with only 18 around the table instead of the usual 29 or 30. Son Michael and girlfriend Stephanie are off to Palm Springs to take a break from Law school (Stephanie is doing that course) and others are off to their inlaws. Still, at least we have Angie home this year instead of her being in OZ. She says she is going to work in NZ for a while next year, we call her the drifter these days.lol.

I have only 7 days of work left before being layed off until gardening starts up again in April. I am looking forward to the break.

Stay warm all you Canadians (Brits too who are having cold weather).

Teresa

Hi everyone.. We have had such a lovely warm day..sorry Canucks and Brits..hee hee hee..

Edith the bears are the clubs mascot..The little yellow one is our clubs one and the other two are one that were sent out from the uk and a hospital is wanting to know where they go and what they do so that the children in the hospital can read all about their adventures..Rather lovely I think..So they will be sent round to other members of the Wattlers to tell a story about his adventures..The yellow one is Wattie the Wattlers mascot..

We had a great meet and you should have seen that JA putting that red wine away...core she half cant drink...pmsl..he he he he ..I was good and stuck to orange juice...(only cos I was driving)

Fred glad the meat is coming along..You shoould go into business doing it for others..Get them to put in their orders and make some money with it..

I hit the brick wall with my little toe and I think I have broken it,,probably for the third time ..poor ;ittle toe gets a beating as I dont like wearing shoes in the house..grew up inthe East where nobody wore shoes unles they were going out,,to hot..

WEll I better go and get some dinner,,Hope all are well..

Di sends her lovel to everyone..they have just become ggrandparents and John is now fighting fit again..

Love to all Mary xxx

hi do any of you (canadians) remember the reciepes that used to be in the telegram newspaper years ago for make ahead mashed potatoes and turnips (swede) the turnip had applesauce in it I have made it for years but have lost the folder that had the reciepes in I did go on line and found some good make ahead mashed with cream cheese etc but would love to find the swede on any helpers out there thanks in advance dorothy in barrie

Morning all, Thanks to J.A. and Mary for the pics. What's the tale behind all the bears Mary has????
Looks like a great sunny summer day !! Thanks for passing on the hug.
J.A.
Our weather is far from summery, we have been down to -40 already and now a fast snow storm went through. May warm up a bit before Christmas
Here's hoping.
My eye is really coming along, I can read a bit but am being patient as told
by the grumpy Doc.
Fred, the soup you put together sounds good, I find the best ones are
the ones with leftover bits of food. Sadly all my indoor herbs are finished but I have a lot that I dried this fall. They really are just as good.Time for breakfast so will see you soon. Edith XXXXXX

badger I paid 19 dollars something for 12 months the other day -sometimes it is best to ignore what people say:))
Thought Mary would send pickles, sent mine too - to you Teresa thanks for addy and to you Badger but not sure I got the right addy -send me the latest

Cheers

JA

Well.hello all ,i have just finished doing the windows ,as in removing the condensation ,which seems to lurk in the top of the patio door ,no doubt due to the frame being white ,brushed alluminum instead of wood.
I'm afraid that if the yearly membership premium is going up to £20 ,then old Fred is def' out of here,what a ruddy cheek expecting this site to pay for the other one[ the school reunion one] they should be paying their own way,and i have emailed genes to tell them it's not on.,maybe it's time to go to a new site?
Anyway ,i have uploaded my family tree onto disc as well as having a copy in the verbatim external drive [just in case.]
There has been a hard frost here overnight,the poor plants outside are looking very sad ,leaves drooping ,with a white coating ,still ,the brussel should taste far better now they have been frosted,and a lot of the nasties in the soil will now be dead lol.
We are lucky where we are ,somthing in this area seems to protect us from the worst of the flooding ,snow ,and very low freezing temperaturres,although at the same time ,we get lowere temperaturres in the summer too,swings and roundabouts ,he he.
I made a nice batch of soup yesterday using a lonely leekman onion and potato,changing my mind at the last minute after blitzing it,adding tomato purree,spaghetti and a few herbs and turning it in to ministronie [sort of] ,however ,a taste confirmed it wasn't half bad ,so dinner today will be a largish bowl with a dumpling apiece ,just the job for a winters day.
Dinner went well yesterday,my hand was okay after the blister started to harden,so i managed to do the vegies for the missus,and prepared the chicken we took out of the freezer.
I stuffed two small oranges up it's bum,after putting some salt in first.and followed the oranges with two shallots ,[oinion with oranges would have been too strong} oiled and salted the breast and put a little streaky bacon over the top and thighs [the birds ,no mine ,] you funny bunch od so and so's ,he he.
We had some stuffing ready made ,so that saved me making fresh.
I prepared some fluffy roast potatoes and parsnip for the head cook,along with white cabbage ,brussels ,and a little calabrese,which went into the the steamer,along with the potatos for the mash
All the boss had to do was turn it all on at the right time,and she did well .everything came together at midday.
My new meat is doing well Mary,anotherday should see it reverting to it's pink colour .and ready in time to cook Christmas eve [i hope ].
Did i get the Piccies of the meet ? yeah,they are already in the pictures section on the hard drives for safe keeping .
Looks like my blackbird is wanting his bread ,so i will leave you all now .see ya later.Fred.

Hello to all, sounds cold in most people's neck of the woods, but then again it is winter - taken some more winter clothes into the dry cleaners here as may need them in the UK when I have to go as my father's health deteriorates.

We had 24 hours of gentle rain here last Friday - first time for over 7 years - so the world looks clean and fresh

VP and Edith I gave Mary that big hug at the Wattler BBQ yesterday you asked to give her. She sends big hugs back

Will send pickles tonight. And to you Badger - or maybe you ahve them already you lot lol

Anyone else who would like them send me your email addy via GR and I will send to you

Take care all

JA

goodmorning it is quite warm to-day in barrie it is 8 degree's!!!!!! my sister called yesterday from calgary to up date me on the bad weather there oh for some sunshine, we had out christmas dinner in the building I live in last evening and it was very good turkey dinner with all the trimmings and we had a good turnout, and a good mixture of young and old fun was had by all, this is not a seniors building so I enjoy the mixture plus we can have pets so you have a mixture of dogs and cats the people across from me have just bought a new puppy all paws and legs my two old cats look at him in horror if they are having a sedate walk in the hall and he comes pouding by he is so happy to see them but they are not so keen, my cats were used tobeing on a lead as before I sold the house they would go for walks with me I kept them on a lead so they did not go dashing into the road etc. bye for now dorothy

Hi Everyone,

Mary, please send us some warm air!! It is freezing here in Calgary, with a high of minus 24 today and a wind chill of minus 36. It was very cold at work too. Bob dropped me off so I wouldn't have to go out and start the car mid day. I hope it warms up soon. We had another good dump of snow on Friday too, must be about 8 inches so far in the last week.

Christine, the Calgary Stampede still takes place every July for 10 days. Lots of fun.

Edith, I am glad your eyes have improved. Keep up the good work.

I am off to watch the late news and then to bed early as I work again tomorrow.

Stay warm everyone!

Teresa

Hey Mary, I didn't get any info on the price increase. So what is it? 20 pound for the year. Still a bargain when you consider the amount of contacts you could have on here.

Say Kiddies, it is snowing here. Some flakes are as large as eggs...I kid you not. You would think that because it is very wey snow that it would not stick....but it is....butter!!!!

Send the sun Mary, we need it.

Off to make three more aprons for the three girls in my life. These are easier as I only have to decorate the basic white chef apron....might be a fun day.
Take care. Keep warm
Lesxx

Hi everyone.. We have had a lovely day of rain..But its back to hot tomorrow..34c..sunday will be a better day in the low 20c'snice for the BBQ JA and I will meet at.. It will be so nice to see her again as it is a long time since we have met up...

Been having a quiet time of it for a while but we had a nice dine in at the Club restaurant last night for our usual Christmas Dinner ..enjoyed by all..off to Orange sunday week for Christmas wit the daughter and family..will be nice to be there with them..

Dont like this new format,,To fiddly and hither and dither...The new membership price is a bit steep..only 6 months for the price we got 12 months for..its all about money isnt it..

Got my brother and SIL coming for the weekend so that will be nice..havent seen them for a while..

Have a nice weekend, and keep well..

Love Mary xxxxxx

Good morning, Well GR is testing our old brains again.
I have this theory----people in charge are like bored housewives
they just have to keep moving the furniture around. The local
supermarket here is doing the same thing.
Seems our "cold"spell is over for a few days and snow is
moving in. Still behind in the prep for Christmas however it
will work out. Always does !!!!!
Fred,I think you have our weather. You are welcome to keep it
for us. Although I like the snow this mush we are getting is a
pain.
On a cookie making spree to-day. Have some friends who need
some cheer for the holidays so will wrap them up and deliver
later.
Stay well everyone. Bye for now. Edith

Hi guys not sure where this post will go the new GR is a challenge
JA