General Chat

Hi Everyone,

Welcome Tassie, I have read the wattlers thread so do recognise your name.

Christine, you are like me when it comes to purses. These days I don't even use one that often. I can't take my purse in to work so most of the time it is in the trunk of my car so that I at least have some identification and a bit of money with me. I only use it on my days off. I usually only buy new purses when we go down to the States, last time came home with three so they should last me for a while!

I am having a lazy day today, with both lunch and dinner out as it is my birthday. Lunch with mum and dinner with hubby, sister and brother in law.

It looks like we are in for some rain later today, yuck. Our weather is so variable at the moment with one day cool and the next well into the twenties.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Happy birthday for sunday Mary!

Teresa

Hello everyone

Thanks for the email Les, yes I do finally get around to looking in on this new thread, and have just spend about the last hour reading all the posts.

Mary yes I have "Bookmarked" this thread so I will find it easy next time :-)

I see a few names that I recognise, Mary, Fred, Les, Edith, um oh our footy follower form the West Ian ....and also a lot of names I have not met.

Suppose I should tell you a bit about myself, Im very quiet on the board, as I lead a very quiet life and never have a lot to say but I do love reading all of everyones exploits etc, that is unless you get me started on a couple of my loves in Football (AFL of course) and V8 car racing.

I live in a lovely place called Tasmania, which is also an island and we have our icon the Tassie Devil, (which is where I got my site name from) which is going through a rough trot at the moment and is battling to survive extinction, they are such a lovely animal, but can be a bit nasty if upset lol. I have been married had 3 kids and divorced and no have been happily unmarried to David for just over 6 years :-)

Have a nice day :-) Sue

Howdy,

Great to see everyone...lots of interesting stuff to read. This is becoming the BEST thread!!

Chrisitine I loved the story of the handbag (here we call them a purse!!) Its funny how when you are young a handbag is such a "thing"!!! I remember I had one made from imitation leopard skin and I had brown 4 inch stillettoes to match!! LOL that must have been when I was about 18.....how time flies.

Hey Dorothy, Teresa is in Calgary also. Last year Norm and I spent about a week in Canmore, we used it as our base as it was so much cheaper than trying to stay in Banff.

Fred, tell me about the veggie suet, what is its brand name??? Don't think I can find it here but ya never know. I rather fancy that leek pie.

Edith we took off all of our ripe toms yesterday and froze them. I am not much of a canner. Last nite we had beets and carrots from the garden. I grew round carrots this year. They grow to about 2 inch diameter, bit of a gourmet thing. Well what I found out is that you cannot cut them in half to cook as they go to pulp!!! Yuk!! Won't be growing them again.

I have only one Scottish relation that I know of. She was my aunt Bella (Duncan). I remember as a child she sent me a wee kilt, my cousin remembers getting one also. We just don't know how she was related to us nor have I been able to find a link.

Welcome CMD, good to see ya, Ian. Hello to everyone else that I didn't mention.

Today is grouting day and hopefully my help will not be requested!!!
Later Lesxx

Morning everyone. Grey, cloudy day here,tho' it is warm.
Joyce,the Ross was married to a Martin whom I am researching. I have not gone down that branch yet as I am still finding direct descendants in the Martin and Biddiscombe line.
I hope to make a disc for each family member but I never seem to come to an end. Must make up my mind to cut it off soon!!!!!
Fred if you need any tomato sauce this winter just holler and I will try and get it over to you heehee.
My small storage cupboard now has 2 shelves filled with jars. I froze some of it for soup and for pasta dishes. There are about 8 toms on the plant and if they ripen I will pig out on sandwiches(sarnie)(sammie) Must remember it in all 3 dialects heehee.
Big hello to all the others,if I try and name them I'm sure to forget someone.
Stay well and bye for now. Edith XXXXX

Good Evening All,
Hi Edith I'll be interested to hear about your Ross's - definitely none in my mum's side of the family.
JP - I worked in Helensburgh telephone exchange for 2-3 years in the late sixties/early seventies occasionally covering for absences in Dumbarton & the Vale. My favourite pastime at the moment is trying to find my Essex ancestors (Rumbles, Chaplins, Clarks & Hills)
Well I need to go to the kitchen to check how the soup is doing - left it simmering a short while ago.

Best Wishes to All

Ian

Morning all,and a special one to you Ian,i thought after all this time your rivals,the Douglass clan had kidnapped you [or worse] lol.
Liz and i had a call to shoot off back up the van yesterday after the security bods called us.
Getting up therer we found that the gale had bought the awning down.
The fabric is fine ,no damage ,but the curtains had landed in mud ,so we bought them home yesterday and washed them.
Two of the bars were well and trully mutilated ,so we stopped off at an Awning clinic on the way back to buy two new ones.
Where the v an was ,nice pitch in normal weather ,well and trully up to the knees in water and mud,so we moved it to a much drier pitch,and we will go up Friday to re erect the awning.
Part of the trouble was a lack of the heavy webbing strap a lot of people use for heavy weather,so we are looking for one to go over the front end .
The strap stops the awning lifting in a gale and letting the wind underneath.
Despite that bad gale and torrential rain though ,the van is still snug and dry,seems the son got a good'un again.
I decided to make a small leek pudding for tea yesterday,so i mixed up four ounces of suet pasrty[veggie suet],to line a one pound basin,and leave enough for the top as well.
Using the wok,i put a quarter pound of streaky bacon[chopped] in a little olive oil,and fryed it until it was nice and soft,then added 1 and a half pounds of sliced leek,and one diced potato,and sweated the lot down,adding black pepper,a dash of salt,,a touch of mace,and corriander.
Lastly a touch of chinese mixed spice from my mill
The basen was gresed lightly with flora ,the basin lined with the pastry,the mix put in ,and then the top put on
I used a piece of greasproof paper to cover the pastry to keep the steam off remembering to grerase the paper to prevent it sticking to the pastry.
One and a half hopurs later ,we had a very niceleek pudding for tea,tasty ,economical[serves four] and preperation time fifteen minutes.
The other half of said pud' is now residing in the freezer for another meal in a few weeks .
Today,i think,a nice Fritata ,i have some very nice free range eggs frm my farmer buddy up the road,a peice of chicken breast,to chop into it,a little onion,.a dash of garlic,and whats left of the mashed potato and cabbage left from last night,done as a small panhaggilty ,nice ,easy to do,and SOFT ,lol,just in case the dentist finds a filling [or worse ] lol.
Seems to be a pretty stiff breeze here this morning,so it's no good trying to liquid feed the brassica,but i may get the greenhouse done,with any luck..
I did send your piccies Mary ,so ,if you didn't get them ,let me know and i will do them again .
There are too many peeps to mention on here now ,but,by 'eck ,it's lookin' real good Les'.
Oh ,and we have at last got red toms on the vines yeeeeeees,a few salads coming off now i reckon,.with a nice french stick ,sliced part way through ,and garlic butter pushed in yum yum.
then heated gently for a few seconds in the microwave,
Off now to have a mooch round the boards ,be back later ,maybe with a sore jaw he he.
Fred.
.

Morning all.. We have a boootiful day today.. going up to around 19c..

Ian.. Great to see you back again.. Sorry you have been without a puta for so long..Did you have withdrawels..lol..

Well I have given in to this bug and am off to the doc tomorrow ,,bet he says you are nearly over it and go home and it will go by itself..lol,,

Coal Miners Daughter.. WElcome to the thread but can you sign your messages as it is rather a long name to call you,,lol..Just a christian name would be fine, or we could shorten your name to CMD..hee hee hee..I have ancestors in Staffs,,Around Brierley Hill way..Mainly Woodalls,,or Woodhalls..all depends if you had a cold when you told the man your name..lol..My main brick wall comes from Lye /HAy Green just over the border....

Joyce My father was born in Hamilton near Glasgow..I used to love his scottish accent..He would be 108 if still alive..bless him..still have family there, and around Motherwell..

Well am off to the shops as OH wants to go shop..

HAve a lovely day..

Love Mary xxx

Hi ! everyone..
Its me from Cannock Chase in Staffordshire..Britains smallest area of outstanding natural beauty...complete with Canadian, German, and other war cemetaries....(should anyone want a 'look-up doing)

what a lovely friendly thread....
I know I have some Canadian connections, and have been in contact,but I am still researching..
My hubby also has some.. so look forward to finding out about those too...
I recently found out that when my Moms Dad died..she was 14.....her mother thought about taking her over to Canada to live with those rellies...so I nearly was Canadian....ha ha ha
Good night all....off to manchester tommorrow to take daughter to airport...she's off to Eygpt...its ok for some....
x

hi thanks for the welcome from so many of you I have kust had a good read what a great group of people from all over the place, I will be in calgary from the 15h of oct to the 28th at my sisters it will be my first visit west after living here so long. they also have a place in canmore. my granddaughter flipped off her bike yesterday and is now on crutches I was called at 8-30 am to come and rescue her her parents being at work one teaching and one in the city at meetings so we had a good day to-gether after we had her fixed up. bye for now dorothy

Good evening again folks and thanks for all your mentions, nice x
Christine hi...correct me if I am wrong but I believe you post on one of our health threads from time to time!... and yes journies to London are horrendous, my granddaughter travels up there five days a week on business and the yearly costs amount to roughly £3000...a lot of pennies...
Hi Edith..am wondering if you are researching the Ross clan from Scotland because I know a few of them by marriage, interesting to say the least.
My days of cooking large meals is a thing of the past due to my living alone but I certainly enjoyed reading the recipes which some of you posted, mouth watering.
Mary .... where abouts in Scotland did your dad live? I lived in Alexandria, Dunbartonshire for roughly thirty four years and only moved down to Essex eight years ago, I do miss the beauty and peace found in the glens and around the lochs.
Time for tea now so will love and leave you all.
Take good care,

Joyce

Hello to all

Welcome back cousin Ian. Hope you like the new site for Canada and all.
Have made some headway with Colin Ross, as soon
as I get the cert I will fill you in. Hope you are well.
Come back often we are now a busy place to visit.
Bye for now Edith XXXX

Good Morning All,
It's the wee small hours here so I've just popped in before I go to bed.
The computer was down for a month then I spent a lot of time catching up on FH so it's nearly 3 months since I was on the boards.
Hope eveyone is well.

Ian

Hi Everyone,

Wow, what a lot of new faces to welcome! Les, you did a great thing starting this thread over again. Welcome to all of you.

For the newcomers, here is a little bit about me. I was born in Winchester, Hampshire ( 56 years ago this coming friday-yikes!!!) but lived in the Eastleigh, Chandlers Ford area where most of my family still lives. I moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada with my family in 1966. I am married to my lovely hubby Bob and have three children Angie 25, David 26 and Michael 29. I work at a local garden center and love it!

I think I have seen the Northern lights three times since we came to Calgary, a rare sight but very spectacular.

Still with the bear stories, a friend told me how a friend of hers shot a bear in her kitchen quite a few years ago. She lives on an acreage south of here. The bear had come to her home several times and got braver each time. The woman heard noises in the kitchen and grabbed her husbands shot gun thinking it was an intruder, it was but of the animal kind. She was very lucky not to have been hurt herself.

Mary, I will send you a private message with my recipe for cabbage salad.

I am off to watch a bit of tv before going to bed.

Teresa

Morning all.. We have a lovely day today.. Going up to around 19c..A beautiful spring day...Friday it will be 24c..so it is warming up..

Thanks for the phone call Les..You are a gem..How was the spag.bog..(aussie for spaghetti bolognese)hee hee hee...send me over a Chinese cabbage.. We used to have a fantastic recipe for a salad made with it and those crispy Chinese noodles and lots of other lovely things..Every time we made it it always got eaten.Never had any leftovers when that is served up..Just wish I could find the recipe..Must google and see if I can find it..

Hi Dorothy..Lovely to see you on this thread..Tell Brenda to come and visit also....

Hi Janey...When we went to Europe people would ask us where we were from and when we said Australia,,they would say,,,AH AUSTRIA...lol so we had to repeat ourselves and say no that big country in the southern hemisphere..In Greece they would ask us if we were German.. don't ask me why...but when we said we were Aussies they just about embraced us and couldn't do enough for us..I think Melbourne is the second largest Greek town in the world,,and I would say every Greek in Greece has a relative in Aussie..lol

Fred.. Say thanks to Liz and looking forward to the pictures of Lewis,,He cant be 5 yet..surely..do they start school early in the Uk..it only seemed like yesterday he turned 1yo..He must be quite a little man,,big hug for him from auntie Mary...

Joyce.. Great to have you here..Gosh all the new peeps ..Its hard to keep up..But it is lovely to have you here..We have a mix of people from Canada, UK and Aussie,,so we have a lot to share..If you need any advice on growing anything Fred is your man..Also he has a recipe for just about everything,,,and is a fab cook...and he is happy to share..


Deb..Nice to have you join us,,I have seen the northern lights from Scotland..After the war we went to Scotland where my dad comes from and it was so spectacular,,I also couldn't get over the fact that at 10 at night it was still daylight..quite different..

Christine,,Another welcome.. Its great to see you back again.. Keep it up..

EDith..Are the tomats ripe yet.. You have got me interested so might give it a go..I have a back patio but I am wandering if it gets enough sun to grow them,,will have to give it some thought..

Well sorry I haven't been posting much lately but I have a touch of a flu bug and it is tiring me out..By the time I do everything around here I am right buttered,,never mind it will pass and I will get back to normal,,I hope,,lol...

Have a nice day all..

Love Mary xxxx

Hi Y'all,

Welcome Joyce, you come and visit often...we don't mind that you live in Essex....LOL!! Do you live anywhere near Jamie Oliver??? I have a rellie in Essex, Steve, he lives in Harlow.

Deb because we are in a valley we get a lot of cloud cover at nite time.Guess it floats up the inlet from the Pacific. Anyway this Fall on a clear nite I will surely look harder and let you know. When I lived in northern Alberta I used to see them all the time.

A new bear story with a sad ending. In town these folks went to bed and left their back door open so that the cat could get back in. Well in the middle of the nite there was some crashing and banging and the guy goes to look only to find a large black bear sitting in his kitchen eating the left over Chinese food that he had wrenched form the fridge. I chuckled as I read that bit but then was horrified to read that they destroyed the bear as he had "invaded" the home.... duh!! they left the door open!!!

Giving away chinese cabbages today, come on over if you want one. If they don't get eaten they will go to seed and be wasted. I offered one to my neighbour she said...what shall I cook with it???? I said er! stir fry? So she said bring me a recipe...OK!! Actually Norm made pancakes with one of them. Mashed spuds, finely chopped cabbage, finely chopped green onions, an egg and s and p. Roll into balls and then squash flat to 1/4 inch and fry in a small amount of oil (or Pam) so that they don't get too greasy. Yummy!!

More later
Lesxx

Good evening to you all (or morning/afternoon).

After reading the last couple of pages, I'm surprised that you can't see the aurora borealis from PA Les! Are you looking the right way ....lol.
I can't count the number of times that I've seen the northern lights.

My aunt from England was with us on a camping holiday through BC a few years back. We had called in at "the lake" (Shuswap Lake of the deer incident) on our way back home. I was surprised that she had never seen a shooting star or the northern lights. That night she got to see both :)

We live in the next city to where the famous Terry Fox hailed from and we have seen them here loads of times.

My aunt and uncle were over from Australia a few years back. We had ordered pizza. When the delivery boy came he asked my husband what "thing" in the sky was. I was so glad that my "down under" relatives got to see them. These are just a couple of examples.
My dad claims to have seen them from Newsham Park in Liverpool!

We are having good weather here on the lower mainland. Good for taking a cuppa and the crossword from the paper outside to the backyard in the morning.

For the Australians looking in, I have several connections.
I have an aunt (who has seen the northern lights!) who lives outside of Sydney at Mt.Colah.
An aunt who recently moved from Perth to Port Douglas (Queensland I think). And a daughter who will be home in 38 days after being away for nearly a year who is living in Perth.
That reminds me it's her 21st in November and I should be making plans for her "key to the door" celebration.

I have only seen one bear this year. He was a couple of houses away from us. I'm sure that those in BC saw the report of the bear attack on Westwood Plateau where the woman was mauled. Lets just say we share the same postal code, thats how close we are.

Have a good day,

Deb

Welcome to you too Joyce.
How nice to hear from somone who enjoys what goes on in our lives as well. You have 3 birthdays more on me, some days I rejoice others I want to stay under the covers all day.But can't complain as life is good and busy.
Please come back often as we all love the company. I'm off to bed soon too. Byeeee Edith

A very good morning to all you lads and lassies out there who live in varied parts of this great big world of ours.....
Your thread title caught my eye so I decided to have a short read of some postings, that was like over half a hour ago and I have just reached the end of page 4...wow what an interesting read, thanks.
I am a retired finance bod who is approching her 77th birthday, I live in Essex which is just a short train ride from London, UK, hobbies are few these days but I used to sail/race a 27ft yacht around the Scottish lochs.
The only countries I have visited have been Ireland and South Africa where my daughter lived..sadly she has passed on..but I still have two g/d's and four g/g children out there. It is a beautiful country and I have visited many times.. I also have a son and family living in Brisbane, Australia but have never visited there.
I felt quite at home reading through the postings because I also have been growing tomatoes which have yet to ripen..have brought them indoors now because the weather is turning and with too much rain it will kill them off, the pots are sitting in my shower tray which makes easy watering..and promise to remove them whilst showering but there again I am thinking...if I shower them with my foam gel suds then maybe I can market a new tasting variety...how about a honeysuckle flavour type..lol.
I have six granddaughters in all, of the two in the UK one is an embalmer, lives in Coventry and owns five horses, the other is a beauty therapist who works for Harvey Nichols in London..she flew out to Dubai yesterday for a nine day holiday, lucky her.
Then there are two who live on the outskirts of Johannesburg SA and are happily married with five children between them, my other two are at school in Brisbane.
My daughter lives just a few roads down from me and works as an IT specialist, guess who taught me the finer arts of computing...she also owns seven horses, what beautiful animals they are and so regal...am quite happy to face up to a prancing arab but to come face to face with a bear, no way.
Well folks reckon it's time for bed, not that I sleep deeply these days...must be my age..lol.
I would like to continue reading your thread which brought a breathe of fresh air into my tired mind tonight/now morning..that's if it is okay by you..
Take care all and bye for now

JoyceP

Welcome Christine and Dorothy. Les, we must put our heads together more often. This site is sure busy now!!!!! Fred, the toms are ripening so fast I can't keep up to them. The Roma ones are long globe like with fewer seeds and a thicker skin and are GREAT
for sauces etc.I put in only 4 plants and have had over 30 fruit so far. I am making salsa tomorrow as the herbs are not going to last much longer in the chilly nights. I will dry them but fresh really is better.
Going down to 2 or 3 tonight ggrrrrrr.Will bring the toms in but the herbs are in a very large planter pot
much too big to bring in.
Dug out your soup recipes so am ready for the cold days ahead.
For the "newbies" I have been on the site since Di in Tis Was was it's leader. Sadly she had to give it up and Michael took over. So it started on the west coast ,came to Ontario and back to the coast again.
Am a retired nurse, widowed for several years now
have family in town , Thunder Bay and Fort Frances.
Volunteer on several boards, community radio and of course genealogy.
Have 5 years of history on Family Tree Maker which I will spend the winter putting on disc and sending to the extended family.
Time to jump off the box so will say bye for now.
Edith XXXX

I forgot to mention that not only did I see bear scat on the dyke today...there were huge paw prints as well!! I walk everywhere now with my bear bell. People laugh (why is it that people always laugh at me!!!!LOL) and I tell them to think of christmas!!
Fred we are over cabbaged. We have given so many away and still they grow!! My cauli's produced nothing but my zuchini and patty pans are flourishing. Hopefully it will stay warm so that our plums get ripe enough to make jam.
Hi Edith, Mary, JA and the rest of the gang.
Lesxx