General Chat

Good Morning Sue,
That was a wise move to go to the market early. I would pass on the oysters, but would enjoy the prawns. We have Spanish strawberries available here, but they aren't very nice, oversized, and rather tasteless. The tomatoes are the same - they look like tomatoes, but there it ends. The ones on the vine a little better.

Do you have sprouts?

Tec

Good morning Sue

Vegie prices in the West are high.

Tomatoes still at $5.00 a kilo

Bananas $5.00 a kilo

Potatoes $3.00 a kilo and very poor quality.

The latter is very irksome as we have a Potato Marketing Board and producers have to sell through the Board. The variety of potatoes is very limited. and Farmers can, and have been, prosecuted for selling direct to the public.

And I would add, at much lower prices and better quality!

That's my seasonal gripe for the time being :0))

All the very best to you and your family.

Allan

Hi all. A little later than usual. I came in earlier and no-one was here, so I slipped out to check my emails and found some beautiful photos of the snow - one sent a video of her back garden - all very lovely and picturesque - but cold!! Hard to imagine with our forecast for hitting 40 today!

Sue - good idea going early. You were lucky. I heard on the 6:30 news that the Sydney Fish Markets were in chaos then!

Good morning, Berona.

Are you ready for the big day?

Allan

I don't cook a big lunch so won't have sprouts Tec. I've tasted the Spanish strawberries and they are tasteless. When we visited the UK last year we gorged ourselves on berry fruits from various markets. Lovely:-))

Allan - I've just paid $1.80 a kilo for bananas and $2.00 a kilo for nice potatoes. I buy the red skinned ones for potato salad as I cooked them with the skin on. The tomatoes are expensive but luckily we are eating them from the garden. We've also been given some cucumbers - very fresh and sweet.

I'm going to try something different for an entree this year. I've bought some haloumi cheese which I will grill in slices. Then I'll serve that with oven roasted tomatoes and asparagus and a sprinkling of balsamic dressing. I had that the other night when we went out for dinner. Very simple but very tasty.

Sue xx

Sorry Berona - didn't see you there. Our market is much smaller but by lunchtime will be chaotic. I'd pre-ordered so just waited in line to pick up. Much easier and it comes in a box packed in ice.

Sue xx

Nice to see Susanwithnumbers and Barbra popping in to say Merry Christmas. Thank you ladies - and the same to you and yours!

Sue, that sounds delicious.

If you have any to spare, can you have it Couriered over, please?

Our own tomatoes are not yet ready and the cucumbers are still very small.

Unfortunately, our closest Fish Market is at Fremantle and even under ice a two hour drive in the heat we are currently experiencing would not be conducive to preserving freshness!

Allan

Better still, Allan - when you and your lady come over to the east you can come for dinner and I'll make it especially for you:-))

Sue xx

Sue - it's a long way to Allan's and things have a way of getting lost somewhere on the Nullabor - I'm still waiting for the flowers which he sent me - so I suggest you just send any leftovers up to me. I'm closer.

Good Morning Berona,
You look very smart in your Santa hat today............

Something for you to get your tongue around this morning......

Nadolig llawen - a Blwydden Newydd dda,

Tec

Tec - thank you very much. I'm sure that was nice - but all those 'd's?
How could I pronounce that? let alone translate it!

Tec, would that be a seasonal greeting in Welsh?

Sue, I'll take you up on that offer!

Meanwhile OH and myself have booked in for two nights at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle.

One of the nights is January 7th, and as OH remarked...that is the Ukrainian Christmas Day. So we will go and celebrate at a nice Seafood Restaurant.

I have mentioned in a previous post the the Esplanade is very nice, but very expensive.

I am a member of a site that deals with cheap accommodation at hotels around the world.

I received an email from the site advising that there were specials on for the Esplanade until the end of January.

Room prices down from $245.00 per night to $165.00 so we jumped at the offer.

Allan

Berona, are you saying that you STILL haven't received the flowers? :0))

Allan

Good morning/evening to all my friends:-))

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my dear friends here a wonderful Christmas and to wish you a healthy, happy New Year in 2010.
May all your dreams and wishes come true xxxxxxxxxx

Nadolig llawen a blwydden newwdd dda Tec and Mrs Tec xx
PS Tec: I hope Ive not just sworn at you and am wishing you a Merry Christmas and happy new year in Welsh!!

Carole xxx

This will be the fourth Christmas I have had living here. In the three previous years, we have had the entrance to our complex marred by broken furniture, unwanted mattresses, packaging, etc. left on the nature strip at night and decorating it over the Christmas period. I have a fair idea of who was responsible and those people have left - but we do have a few 'lazy' types here who leave their wheelie bins out after they are cleared on Friday mornings - sometimes up to two or three days! I have now realised that Christmas Day is a Friday and our Council clears bins regardless of public holidays - so I guess we will be having our nature strip decorated with wheelie bins this year! Glad I'm going out for the day! I only wish I could close my eyes as I drive back in - but that wouldn't be practical!

Good morning Carole.

Berona, how dare people treat wheelie bins like that! They have feelings too!! :0))

Allan

Good morning Allan

Good Morning Carole,

You're a star....and obviously bi-lingual,
Your translation was spot on........

Berona, this is how to pronounce it in English, as it were =

Nadolig as spelt
llawen thlouwen
a as a
Blwydden blue ithin
Newydd now ith
dda thar

rememember DD is pronounced as like th as in the or that

All together now - in Welsh

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

strictly speaking you are actually saying "Good New Year"

Tec

Wheelie bins have feeling too? Oh dear. I'm afraid Allan has a bigger problem than I thought he had! and no, Allan, I still haven't received the flowers because you only put a lousy one cent stamp on it remember???