General Chat

Well' we seem to be in monsoon season again. A storn blew thru a couple of nights ago. The wind was so firece that the curtains in the bedroom had blown them selves up and on to the top of the bedside lamps....scary. Meanwhile Ollie goes crazy and is fine tuning his window screen antics. I shall murder the little b....r if he is not careful. Yesterday we had a wee break in the weather and Norm and I rushed around like mad things with the weed eater and the lawn mower. Thank goodness as it was raining again by mid afternoon.

This is our May long weekend and the town is pretty much quiet altho it doesn't matter where everyone has gone to 'cos this weather is all over BC. Now I hear today in Quebec it was 30 degrees...grr!! that should be us. And I still haven't got my garden planted altho my toms and peppers are doing great in the greenhouse. I did also plant parsley and cilantro and it is pretty perky as well. I keep promising you pics...I will get on it...I promise!!

Wonder what Veronica and Theresa are up to also that Joan??

Also wonder if we should not amalgamate with friends international or whatever it is called and start a new thread that suits us all??? Then Fred wouldn't have to post twice and we would have more folks to chat with...what do you think?? There is only about 3 people on that thread so if we all got together...wow!! we could party!! just a thought.

Keep well and safe
Lesxx

Morning troops he he .hey oooop.Les & Edith .What a great weekend i have had ,tons of sun ,starting to turn my legs a shade of brown [and no ,i havn't been kneeling on the borders] a great B B q after my daughter and family turned up to help us eat all the grub ,that the wife paid for this time [we take it in turns]
The weather is a lot cooler again with rain a possibility by this P M.but no matter ,i watered my veggies and flowers just in case ,and the morning is made already ,lol,my Parsnips are showing through [yippee] one of my most important veggies of the lot.
Got my runners in yesterday ,and the dwarf beans will be ready in a few days ,along with the broan beans ,and then it's a full veggie patch.
The wife is doing well in the greenhouse [no room for Mary at the moment ,but we have two spare bedrooms,just in case any of you colonials turn up he he.
The tomatoes are now well away ,along with the cucumbers ,courgettes ,and the herbs are coming on fine ,even our new Rhubarb is coming on fine ,which is really to cut into small pieces and put down the holes before planting brassica [it keeps wireworm ,and clubroot out of the soil] we have to do somethings the old way here because the E U is removing all the insect killers, and disease controls from the market ,forcing many veggie growers to give up and buy from shops ,so that the french and europeans can shove all their products over here and take the p***.
Strange that these products can still be purchaced and used in all countries but Britain ,while we are a part of the e u as well,think it's time Britain pulled out ,it would solve our cash crisis in a year too ,a bonus.
I Am ,this afternoon doing a round of the cheap shops ,to pick up what i can of derris dust ,and and insect powder ,and roseclear ,while they are still on the shelves ,production over here has already stopped ,and i want a stock piloe to keep us safe in the garden for 10 years ,after which ,i ain't [bovvered] ,lol .
This volcano has apparently stopped it's antics,maybe just for a while ,maybe for a couple of years ,but hopefully the airspace will now be okay for aircraft,but i am still going to the continent by coach ,much more relaxing to my mind and the package holidays are worked so that you still get the full two weeks to relax ,there being two full days for the travelling.
Hissy enjoyed the weather too ,lying under my chair in the shade ,sprawled right out ,getting her little bits off the B B Q, bits of fish ,and chicken and a tad of beef .he he ,this cat is spoilt rotten.
If you think that the idea of shutting this thread down is the way to go Les,then go for it ,it may as you say bulk up tother thread he he,maybe it will even wake up a few of the others who seem to be on holiday a lot of the time ,i leave it to you lass ,can't see any harm ,as long as the others know we are moving .lol.
Need tro go now ,and get ready for the off ,catch you later peeps .Fred.

Hi everyone.. Winter is coming..yyyaaaayyyy we have lovely cool days and nights ..such good walking and sleeping weather..

My brother John is now fit and well again.. A great relief..Hubby john is just the same,,dont think the new pills are doing much, but he is persevering with them..

Went the funeral of our aquaerobics instructor who died of cancer..so sad.. only 50yo..and such a lovely lady..While getting ready to go I realised that my winter wardrobe was sadly lacking so nipped out yesterday and got some new slacks and tops and a lovely jacket..Now all set for winter..

Fred. Glad you are not climbing ladders any more.. and that goes for the rest of you.. leave it to the young ones..

Been helping people with their trees as I am having trouble with mine,,Think I have found a grandfather who I have been looking for for 4 years but he is not in the same place he said he should be.. but everything else fits.. I think he has been telling porkies and I just go to prove it..

Hope all are well

Love Mary xx

More rain here....it will be a late garden this year!!

Fred I got this low fat baking cook book and it is british. Lots of recipes call for "mixed spice" now what would that be?? We don't get that here in the colonies. All the various spices come on their own unless of course you buy an Italian mix etc. Norm and I always blend our own except for herbs provencal. So tell me, what will I blend to get this mixed spice??
Only you will know!! lol

Mary I have been helping someone else with their tree as well...another decendant of a british home child. It is always interesting to me how so many of these families just fell apart and totally lost contact, sad really.


Oh I see this board is jumping all over the place again. I am off. Maybe back later.
Lesxx

Mornin' all ,cor Les ihad to make a hurried trip to my secret recipies for the answer to that one ,he he ,[ only joking] The usual British mixed spice is ,Cinnamon, Cloves,Ginger, Nutmeg,Corriander ,and Carraway seed ,but there are a few variations from area to area,so don't take the recipe as gospel.
I buy mine ready mixed so i can't give out any idea as to how much of each spice is used ,lol, a case of [suck it and see i,m afraid]
I looked at the fat content of pitta breads funnily enough ,and found it to be ultra low,so i am inclined to use them instead of buns at my B B Q 's now,only wish i could find a brand of flour without added sugar ,and i would be a very happy chappy.
We wewre without the internet and tele for 8 hours yesterday after
the virgin system went into meltdown,caused i'm told by a fault in the street distribution board so i was off air until late last evening.,but i don't have your problem as i don't use internet explorer as my browser ,using google chrome instead,much more stable,and i'm told firefox is very good too.
Glad to hear that your bro' is fighting fit again Mary,But it's a b***r about John,there must be SOMETHING out there ,but ,as you said a while ago ,it's finding it.
The problem with your grandpappys records may be a transcription error too Mary ,i have a Barnes relative that was supposeldy born in High Wycombe ,according to Ancestry . com , but i have the birth certificate proving she was born in Kent ,but christened in Wycombe three weeks later,so ,i hope you get your grandad sorted and it turns out to be the right one.so that you can clear one problem up ,once and for all.
Got to go now ,i promised to take my youngest son out this morning to get his flooring for the dining room ,he he ,he reckons he will have it laaid it two hours ,yeah ,but properly ,lol ,i think not ,be back later ,Fred,

Morning all, Big announcement to-day!!! I had some new onions with my sandwich yesterday and now have 2 toms on my patio plant!!!!
We are having a hot summer so far,but I know we are lucky as last year all we had was cold and rain. Hope your weather gets better soon over there Fred. Les, my mixed spice has no corriander in it but the others are all the same as Fred gave you.
Sent a note along to G.R as to the bouncing page and they say it isn't happening so I will repeat the problem to them step by step and see what happens!
Have some flower plants to get in to-day so will get some breakfast and then downstairs to the small flower garden at the side of our building.
Makes a bright spot to the entrance.
Bye for now. Edith

Hello all Just moving us up. You may be right Les.
Time to move the thread??? Edith

Edith. what brand is your mixed spice....sure isn't any on the shelves here in BC???

Guess the weather in Quebec is awful, s-i-l says it was 34 yesterday and 40 on the humidex....they couldn't breath!! They live just outside of Hull. And here?? well it is still raining of course. Norm and I went yard sale-ing the morning and it was bitterly cold....there were folks out with toques and winter gloves....and it is June 1 on Tuesday. AND I still haven't got my garden in....just too damn wet!!

OK back to my job for today, clearing out the linen cupboard...pretty amazing some of the junk in there...LOL
Have a great weekend.
Lesxx

Sounds about normal this year Les' we are in the same boat ,i am sat here in the front room ,bringing my puter up to date ,and have had to turn the heating back on to keep warm.
at least i have managed to get a good start in the garden in general ,but the main peppers in the greenhouse have failed yet again because it is too cold out back still.
If i can't get any started this next week ,i can see my self having to buy them this year and just pot them on.
Have to go and get the dinner seen to now ,with both grand children wanting fed ,i need to be on my toes today.Fred.

It didn't rain from yesterday noon on and was fine early this morning so I did put my garden in. Now the soil is wettish and hopefully the seeds wont rot. Meanwhile it started to rain about 5 minutes after I was finished and they are calling for rain all next week. This may be our summer....yuk!!

So now I am off to take my grubby self to the shower and get warm and then it is time for Come Dine with Me......such a life..LOL
Lesxx

Morning all, After a day of rain yesterday we are looking at a sunny one to-day. We are in the middle of the country here and seem to be missing the cold and rain in the west and the intense heat in the east. Weird weather patterns all over the world !!!
Les, the brand is McCormacks Gourmet in the small bottle. They have packets as well but I have never seen mixed in them. They really have a great selection of herbs and spices, a lot more than any of the other companies.
My plants on the balcony are coming along really well, the basil is coming along and I will soon be able to pick some for pesto. Look forward to some pasta and pesto mmmm. Time for breakfast so will see you soon.
Edith XXXX

Morning again, Can any one come out to play please????

Lovely day ahead for me so hope you all are just as lucky.

Bye. Edith XXXXX

Hi Edith ,just time for a quick game of Tiddlywinks before i put the tea on he he.
We went for a little shopping this morning ,up to Cramlington because the market was on ,but didn't find anything of interest,so we came back to Newcastle and Morrisons.
We did find some smoked back bacon [for the chicken breasts stuffed with cheese] and ditto unsmokedback for a couple of breakfasts.
We came away with three punnets of fruit to make a change ,one of Peaches ,one of ,Nectarines and on of blush pears,and my usual bag of apples ,sigh ,i do love my fruit..
I Found a nice climbing plant to go between the two Clemantis ,but should have brought two because that wall now looks a little lopsided ,lol.
looks like i will get my B B Q tomorrow seeing as the weather is at last improving [about time too ] and i have managed to get ten minutes sat in my patio chair ,knees exposed to the sun ,bliss.
I also found a nice looking Rosemary plant in Morrisons ,which i put in a big bucket and placed where the old plant was up near the Rhubarb,by the gate,so i have a fullcomplement of herbs again.
A load of the patio peppers have decided to show through at last ,and it looks as though things are at last on track.
Time to put the tea on now ,and then take another cuppa into the garden for another spell in the sun,catch you all later,Fred.

Hi everyone.. We have rain and loving it..Usually doesn't last long but is nice to see..

Whats this about the colonies not having mixed spice.. Cause we do and in OZ it is used a lot..Must say I haven't but its on the shelves of all the shops.. Come on you lot..get with it..LOL...
We really haven't had any cold weather yet.. still getting up to the high teens or low twenties,, and not going down below 10c,,still only have 2 blankets on the bed..It will be cold when I get the doona out..hee hee hee..

I find that when you post a message that reaches the bottom of the message box it doesn't show what you are typing,,you have to keep going and lifting it up to see where you are.a right pain in the neck..

Nothing much happening her,,leading a quiet life and doing some FH to keep my sanity..lol.

Got the death cert. for that elusive grandfather and he died of a infected knee.. That is another clue that he might be the right man as he is supposed to have died soon after having his leg amputated..I am thinking more and more that he is my man but still cant work out why his son my gggrandfaterh said he was born in Worcestershire and yet is Christened in London where all the other members of the family are christened..he married in Staffs near to where he says he was born and had a child before he married,, His occupation was shown as boatman so I am thinking he used to work on the canals that came from London and must have met his future wife on one of those trips..still a puzzle..

This blurry page is a pain as it is dropping down all the time I type.. and when I look up it is halfway back up the message..ggggrrrrr..

Have a lovely weekend all

Love Mary xxx

Hi everyone..we have lovely RAIN and its been pouring most of the day..yyyyaaaayyy..

For those of you who have been having trouble with your post disappearing in the message box so that you cant see what you are typing I have fixed it by going into TOOLS up on the right hand side of the page and click on COMPATIBILITY and that is it..
A nice person contacted me after reading my post and also had that problem put a thread on the General Board ..Aunty Sherlock.. and got the info on how to solve the problem..I hope it doesn't go back to the way it was as it was so irritating when you couldn't see what you had written..

Fred That poor kitten.. bet she has learnt her lesson..hee hee... when you plant tatties do you have to top up the soil as the plant grows as that is what I saw on the tv the other night..supposed to give you more tatties..

Yay I can see what I am typing now and it is so much better..

Hope all are well and hugs for all my lovely Canuck friends,, Hope its not to hot for you..hee hee..

Love Mary xx

Morning all,nice andbright here this morning ,watering done ,and i am now sat on the patio with the lappy and cuppa enjoying the fresh air and early sun.
I reckon you found the answer to all the jumping okay Mary ,,i had many problems with vista and xp ,but as soon as i put windows 7 on the puter i had no bother ,so i reckoned it was a compatability problem,but couldn't work out how to sort it .
Yep to with the tatties ,i just put them in the bottom of the barrels ,cover them [just] with the medium,wait for them to start growing ,and just cover the leaves again and so on,i land up with the soil right at the top of the barrels,with the haulms coming out of the top..loaaaaaads of tatties lol.
Hissy now sticks her head out of the door first and looks around as if to say ,where's that ruddy bird this time ,and no bird and out she slides ,but if the bird is around she sort of chunters to herself and waits till the coast is clear.
The blackbirds here are having Magpie problems and tend to gang up on them ,i reckon it makes the blackies protective of their eggs and chicks,and have become somewhat aggresive to anything that nears their nests,gonna get my hat out for when i am in the garden ,just in case lol.
Time to get the shorts on again ,he he ,this is getting to be a habit ,but my legs are starting to get nice and brown,i am trying my best to get a nice tan in case i get visitors from over the pond on their way to visit kin in Scotland.
Found a new way to marinade my chicken breasts after watching the box a few nights ago,and will be giving it a try over the weekend ,and i think it could work well for pork and beef too.
You just crumble any stock cube into a tad of olive oil,mix it to a thin paste and rub it into the meat ,and i see no reason why you jouldn't do the same with spices either hmmmmmmm,this could work well on the B B Q as well as in an oven.
Time for a look around the boards now ,catch you later ,Fred.

A quickie......... sun is shining and there is much to be done outside. I put my back out yesterday so that may slow me down a little.
Fred do you have a good baked rice recipe using pearl rice. I used to make it all the time...lovely and juicy with a nice brown skin. Not so yesterday....lumpy and chewy. Maybe the rice is diffferent??? Any suggestions, oh! and no egg please. Thanks Fred.
I have just recovered the canopy from the patio swing....what a royal pain and ya know you cannot buy one anywhere just a whole new swing. So now I am going to attempt the seat cushion....and by then I shall wish we had bouight a new swing set!!!!
Off to the mine!!!
Lesxx

Morning all ,not too good 'ere this morning ,dull ,and threatening rain ,but ,not to worry ,it will save me watering today.
I gave up putting rice in the oven years ago Les' i found that grandad knew best [again ,and now do my rice on the oven ring in a saucepan ,just as quick ,using far less energy and it always comes out nice and creamy,but if you want the skin ,as my grandkids do ,i put it into a tin for the last half hour ,sprinkle some nutmeg dust on top and let it brown with the meat,and tatties.
Liz is doing the meal today giving me the day off ,so all i have done this morning is a bit of tidying up and re-potted my orange tree which was becoming root bound.
If it grows as big as the little tree i saw in a pot in Cyprus ,i may even get a few oranges off it so i am glad i chose to bring the pips back with me ,instead of a couple of olives ,they have to be processed before you can use them ,and the oranges just need peeling.lol.
Tomorrow ,we are going to Durham and the Beamish museum to get us an O a P pass so that we can go in as many times as we wish for twelve months,including the car,for £13 all in.
This is just the place to go for the day out ,nice places to sit for a little picnic,places to visit ,and see ,from an original village taken down stone by stone and rebuilt on the museum site,through to a complete tramway and railway that you can ride on,a farm [working ] complete with dairy ,farm shop ,and cheese making ,plant,and home made butter and cream to die for .
They even have a small bakery ,where you can buy bread and cakes ,and an original COOP store and cafe,so much to do ,and see including a walk round a drift coal mine,and working village .
With that to visit ,Sunderland park in Durham ,Durham city itself ,and Whitley Bay ,we are spoilt for choice,and all from our O a P passes ,it is a cheap day out all round.
We are even thinking of using our bus passes to travel Down to Whitby,spend a couple of nights in a hotel there to see the sights at our leisure and make it all worthwhile travelling the distance.
Time to go ,and have my coffee outside and sit with the boss [the furry one] who complains if i don't spend a few minutes out on the patio with her every day ,she is one spoilt kitty.
catch you later ,Fred.

A good morning to all, It is indeed after 2 days of rain. We are looking at 2 of sun now. Yaaa My balcony garden is really coming along this year, the onions ,toms and all the herbs are thriving, even used some parsley yesterday.I have an addiction to cheese and onion sandwiches so am a happy bunny the onions are growing quickly.
Have a friend with an indoor orange tree Fred and it is always loaded with fruit.She makes the best marmalade I have ever tasted. Would love to go to that farm with fresh cream etc.!!!! Nice to hear from Mary again. I tried your trick with the site and so far it seems to be working.
Hang tight Les, summer will get to your house too!!!Looking at the long range forecast you too have some good weather coming .
Have to give my garden some T.L.C to-day so had better get started. Bye for now . Edith XXXXX

Morning Edith ,yep the same here ,he he ,rain ,rain ,and more rain ,but at least ,all the rain water is making the veggies grow far better than tap water will do the job.
Hissy decided that after her first trip outside at 6am ,she was having none of it and commandeered the wifes chair and refuses to move,and i can't say that i blame her.
The heaters are on yet again ,the house only 18c at nine oclock ,and the missus shivering,so i had no option,i an starting to get a little worried though ,if it dosn't improve quickly ,the sea won't have time to warm up this year before the return of winter resulting in cold air from the sea at the time of year that the air coming off the sea usually keeping the winds a tad warmer than the land they flow over .
If this happens we will land up with an even colder winter than the last one
The new car arrives next Friday ,but i can't help thinking that i should have gone for a boat instead he he,or maybe one of these cars that can be used on water as well ,hmmmmmmm?
It Was so wet yesterday that Beamish was a waste of time even thinking about ,so we have decided to leave that until the weather gets better,if it ever does ,lol.
Yep ,we like our cheese and onion too Edith ,sometimes ,we even make some mash up ,mix in some onion and chive ,add some cheese and stick it in the oven for a treat,but that will have to wait a while until the new herbs are ready,which will be a couple of weeks yet in the conditions we have at the minute .As i can't get outside ,i am now going to sign off and rid my puters of some of the unused files to speed things up a little,and get the dinner of course which will be easy today ,lol,we got two 2cperson meal deals at Morrison's yesterday,onoffer at £6-50 for the pair ,one Dansac meal ,and one Khorma ,just the job for a coolish day ,he he ',tother meal is in the freezer for next week ,or the week after .
Catch you later Fred.