General Chat

H M S Newcastle is leaving port in an hour ,calling at all shops and stores on the way to Wallsend where we will moor for two hours ,while the jolly boats collect parcels and other shopping before the return trip.
Anyone welcome ,but supply of your own wet gear and wellies is essential ,and no animals allowed owing to a shortage of survival suits.
Well ,you have to laugh about it don't you ?,the poor plants i put in yesterday could do with flotation collars ,all of them waving their leaves about and shouting heeeeeelp we is drowning ,lol.
The new water butt has only been in place a few days ,but i bet it is nearly full by now ,and still it lashes down .
It is supposed to fair up by tomorrow ,but by then it will have been raining for 36 hours ,none stop ,i should have gone out front yesterday evening and thrown liquid cleaner all over the car and got it washed for free ;-).
Only 3 days to go now ,and we are off to Oxford for the week for a break ,and having got the Frontline treatment for the cat ,we will be upsetting her before we go big style. :-(.
Seems after applying you need to keep the cat indoors for 24 hours until the stuff is absorbed by the skin.after which time it kills ,fleas ,ticks ,and ear mite ,and anything that drops off the cat dies too ,so you can see my cat loving it ,lol,instead of a hug before we go ,it will be a case of ,squirt ,keep awaay you smelly animal ,see you in a week ,and out the door ,he he ,we will be in disgrace for a month when we come home ,lol,that is ,if Hissy dosn't leave home for pastures new :-(.
Can't see any birds outside even ,they will be hiding in the bushes trying to keep their feathers dry until hungry chicks force them out on the hunt ,poor little perishers,havn't seen one on the bird station this morning which is normally full of sparrows ,tits ,And my little Wren not a nice day for bird watching :-(.
Have to go now an board the boat ,lol,have to get the supplies in ,no matter what .
Catch you all later ,take care all :-D <3

Hi everyone.. We have lovely warm weather at the moment but they say it is going to cool next week,,so you might get our warm then,, :-D
Fred are you off again.. You only just got back,,,That poor cat wont know if you are coming or going.. :-D :-D :-D :-D Have a nice time and hope the weather is good for you..
Les Nice to see your lovely garden.. It is so green and lush,,what have you done with that lovely van of yours,,are you planning any trips yet..
Edith.. How much sun do you get on your veranda for growing things,,

My Chinese greens are coming on and so are my spring onions and carrots,, will pull out the tomato dead remains soon and plant something else,,might try leeks..better go up to the nursery and see what is growing there..
Well got my daughter from Canberra arriving tomorrow for the weekend so better go and shop for a big family dinner on sat. night. Mothers day Sunday..but they have to get back to Canberra that day.

Have a lovely holiday Fred and Liz and a lovely weekend everyone else..

Lots love Mary <3 <3

And a very early good morning to all ,and at last i am starting to feel tired ,after a miserable day watching rain dry [simular to watching paint ,only it takes longer].
Hissy should be fine Mary ,the son will come by twice during the week to check to see that all is fine.
She has learned how to shove her paw into the food dispenser if it gets stuck ,and free the chute,and then sits there with a smug look on her face.
Have to go down ,and take the grandsons new computer ,all five boxes ,but i will be having words with him ,and saying ,no more lad,you want any more mate you order it to come to your address ,or wait until you come back home.
Getting a bit old now to keep shooting up and down the road to Oxford ,and all points south :-P.
If the weather today holds ,i will get my two rows of cabbage in ,and by the time we get back ,the winter ones should be about ready too.
The beetroot are nearly ready to go in ,and after that there is only the odds and sods left to go ,lol,a couple more rows carrot ,ditto Pak Choi ,and two rows of turnip,which should all keep us going until well into the winter.
Am i glad i signed back up with British Gas three months ago ,for another three years ,as i have just heard that the prices are going to go up another £60 a year,getting beyond a joke now ,i think this country needs to think about nationalising the utility industries and reopening our coal mines and producing gas in this country again ,and stuff the French ,and their ruddy greedy share holders :-|.
Hope at least your weather is getting better Edith and Les 'what a bu**er about your fruit industry ,wow ,that is going to bring tears to the eyes with the price of even the lowly apples going through the roof ,never mind the more exotic fruits.at the moment my trees seem to be hanging in there ,buds and all ,so i may get away with it yet ;-).
Well ,i am off to bed now ,hoping to get away to sleep.
Take care all :-D :-) <3 xxx

Well Fred, our plum tree had masses of blossoms that set nicely so perhaps another good year. Have a man coming on Monday to rototil my little patch and then I will be able to plant.
It was about 24 degrees yesterday and up to 26 today. They are calling for 30 tomorrow. Sure hope this isn't our only summer. Meanwhile it has been nice to just sit in the sun and read a book. I have a bit of a farmer's tan and a few bites.
On Thursday nite we had the annual "Walk with the Doc". My doctor organizes this and this year he went the whole 9 yards even bringing in a rock and rioll band to play as we walked around the track. There were hundres of folks there...a real good evening. Norm took some pics so at some point I may be able to send them along.
Today we went to the annual book sale that supports our local art gallery. I always say I will buy only or two and always come home with a bag full. These books are all by donation and show amazing community involvement where in other areas we fail miserably.
OK I am off to sift soil for the toms that are coming in tomorrow.
Enjoy the weekend.
Lesxx

Back later Les' and all ,when the engineer has been and put in the Virgin Broadband and i can get off the dongle [funny story there] ,when i DO get back to you all.
Wish i had towed my greenhouse down here ,he he ,the tomatoes would have loved the warmth down here :-) they ,of course are still shivering up north where it is still snowing :-(.
Catch you later peoples :-D <3 xxx

Morning all, Sorry for the delay in posting, but the days don't seem to have enough time to get to it all.
Our weather has been changing and is warm then chilly and back again.
Have decided to wait until June 1st to do any planting as the danger of frost is gone then. All is ready just have to bung it all in :-)
We have a bear alert in town as well, they are roaming about like old friends returning for a visit. Our government in it's wisdom has decided to not hire a "bear person" this year, the O. P.P. (police) will not do anything unless they are in the kitchen. So if you are in any danger you call 911.
This gets the police, fire dept. ambulance out all at once. Don't know if they will put the critter in the ambulance, police car , or maybe give it a ride on the fire truck :-D Where do we get so many stupid people in government positions?
If you shoot the animal on your property you are then responsible and have to dispose of the body too. Just how do you move a 300 pound bear????and where do you take it for burial???
Hope the berries and bushes come out soon so they can eat and head back where they belong.
Enough of my rant. Time to get my day started, will try and get back soon.
Edith <3

Yes Edith, our bears are up and at 'em as well and first one shot yesterday. As a community we are supposed to have moved to a no kill policy...ha!!!

Have some of my garden planted but still waiting for the useless man with his rototiller. I was tempted yesterday to try digging it myself but sense prevailed as I know that would make me bent over with a bad back for the rest of the summer.

Kids are coming this weekend so I am making a gypsy dress for Rhian. As always the material has cost an arm and a leg....that's what you get for living in a small town. Anyway I will take pic of her in it hopefully and send it along.

Made the mistake of letting Ollie have a stroll in the garden a couple of days ago. Now he howls constantly at the door and it is driving me crazy. He has no outdoor sense at all and cannot go out alone, a house cat. All he does once he is out there is eat grass and vomit. Yesterday I took him out twice just to shut him up and he did that very thing twice....what's with that??

Oh well off to the sewing machine. Not so hot today, may get the toms in their big pots.
Lesxx

Well it was so nice having both daughters here weekend apart.. Best weekends I have had for ages..
Left home yesterday at 11am to take John to the MND clinic run by the professor we see and got home at 4.30pm.. A long day but he managed it well..Got a lot of info and some more people going to see what help I can get..have had nothing so far,,but that is probably my own fault as I have been to busy to bother to look into it..I get very tired and just find one more thing is just one more thing to many..Anyway we will see what happens..it was a good day..
Had to get my glasses upgraded and it is a lot better now ,,I can see again.. :-D :-D :-D
Well better get back to it...take care all and don't frighten the bears... :-D :-D

Love Mary xx <3

Just a quickie before we go out to Oxford for the day ,leaving the car at home and going on the bus so that i can relax ,take care you lot ,no dramas here ,lol,a nice house and garden,the only thing i noticed different ,was it was faaaaar warmer down here :-D.
Catch you later guys ;-) <3 xxx

Well ,back again after a so so day out yesterday in Oxford,but i wasn't at all impressedtoo much litter laying around :-( virtually no signposts in the city centre to help tourists find their way around :-S,and expensive ,wow £3-80 for a pasty,and that's a cold one :-S enough to make a Scotsmans Sporran have a heart attack.
Shame on you Oxford ,3 out of 10,give me Bath any time ,different as chalk and cheese. :-D.
No wonder you are tired Mary,you are doing far too much ,you need to sit down ,get on the phone and get some help sorted out before you make yourself really ill :-0 you arn't doing yourself ,or John any favours you know ,knock yourself up ,and who is going to look after you both?
Your daughters visit sounded good ,someone around to have a good natter with ,we like that sort of thing ourselves ,but we never get it unless we go out ourselves ,seems we are still running around after our lot instead of the other way around at our time of life ,he he ,nothing changes :-).
Very pleased to hear that your fruit blossoms survived the sudden changes in weather Les ' it's going to save you a lot of pennies this year ,as the fruit prices go through the roof,even the imports are going to cost more ,as it seems that many other countries have been hit hard too ,from coffee to rice ,and wheat to maize ,Lord help the poor people in the third world who are suffering so badly again ,the weather world wide has truly gone crazy. :-(.
We have winds here swirling around in a circle up home like a giant airborne whirlpool the son told us on the phone yesterday that we are still getting frosts up there ,and just north of Newcastle ,there is still snow on the high ground ,not nice at all ,lol
Ollie ,bless him ,being a housecat ,can't eat a lot of natural things for a pussy cat ,and is stuck with an indoor diet which ,no matter how good he is fed ,gets indigestion at times ,and grass is medicine to dogs and cats ,Ollie is eating it to clear his tummy out is all ,messy but healthy,our Hissy gets out and about ,but once in a while despite eating cat things as well as her biscuit and meat ,needs to do just the same ,and does :-) wouldn't have it any different ,if a cat goes off it's food ,and won't make itself sick ,it dosn't bode well.
Yeah ,know how you feel about the late frosts Edith ,we are nearly as badly off this year ,can't believe hoe we were out in the back last year early march ,plants in ,shorts on ,and B B Q fired up what a difference 12 months later ,but at least we don't have 'coons and bears to worry about the worst we get is the odd fox and squirrel.
Starting to fret about my pusser cat now ,so ,having nearly got this house habitable ,we are heading of home on Wednesday of next week,i can wait until then because the sone has been to the house twice to check thatthings are okay ,and will be going again tomorrow ,and Monday.
Change of plan now as regards the grandson ,he is now an instructor for the incoming erks ,and will not now be going back to you know where unless there is an emergency.
He is now stationed here for at least 3 years so i can come down every so often ,stay a couple of days ,and head over to westbury to visit Ray ,and pay my respects ,so the vase will now be going there ,and not Wycombeso at least the poor man has something to say he is thought of ,and missed.
Managed to find his old Cycle shop ,now a computer shop ,and the flat gate next to said shop still has the name Barnes on it so i have taken photo's of them for my files.
Have to go to the council tip in the next town over this morning to dispose of all the foam packing that has come off all the boxes ,no one will take it in normal rubbish or recycling ,which is crazy with all the service people coming onto ,and leaving this camp ,which is ,in itself a small town,so Edith ,you arn't the only one with a loony town council ,lol.
Stay safe everyone ,and take great care ,Fred :-D <3 xxx

Morning, Am up very early due to all the noise in my neighborhood.
Yesterday went to Dryden(1 hr away) for a major shopping trip, arrived home to find water bombers and helicopters flying about our part of town.
Apparently we had a forest fire very close and homes and people were in danger.They took about 2 hrs. to get it under control, so must have been quite big. Then overnite the fire trucks(at the end of the block) were in and out 3 times so there was no way to get back to sleep.Think I will go and get a tent and head out into the bush for a quiet night. Don't have to worry about the bears as they are all in town, looking like visiting royalty :-)
Saw some moose on the way out of town so they may be the next vistors.
Everthing is so dry I guess all the wildlife are in a fix. The berries were scant in the fall and with very little snow they don't seem to be hard to find now.
Did manage to get some bargains on the food I needed so that was a bonus. The price of butter doubles when it gets here from 45 miles away so I stock up on it and other staples that are priced way too high here.
Was tempted to get some bedding plants but decided not to, as sure as I sit here they will be hit by frost the first night I put them out :-( Will wait till after the new moon.
Guess I will get some breakfast, can't sleep now :-| Bye for now. Edith <3

Morning all ,a lot nicer here today with a better week forcast as regards temperatures,so i hope it will follow me back up north so that i can get stuck into my garden on Thursday morning :-).
Found some nice Charlotte potatoes here yesterday ,so they will be going home to go into the barrels for Chistmas fare .
Got a slipper thrown at me yesterday :-( after reminding the missus that it was 6 months to my birthday ,lol,and 7 until the Christmas week ,he he ,don't know if the slipper was for the birthday reminder ,Christmas ,or both ,oh well ,i tried :-P.
Hope your weather is going to stay as is for you Les ,then maybe your fella will get the rotovating done for you ,to make it easy to get the planting done,a big help to you until your back recovers,and a gentle soak in warm suns rays will do a lot of good as well.
Found a new plant for my patio herb urns Edith ,what they call a Mint/Ginger plant ,and i think i may well take one home with me ,in case i can't get hold of one up home.
I managed to rub my thumb and finger across a leaf under the watchful eye of the stall holder ,so i didn't dare go for a taste :-( but there was a hint of ginger in with the mint smell ,so i am hoping,it could be nice on a salad.
Looks like the grand son has listened to me regarding going for further exams leading to promotion :-) as he is now starting training of erks ,as well as doing his normal duties ,most important if he decides to opt for lateral movement to the Canadian forces where he will have a far better future,he is well into training on the new Voyager air lifter & personnel carrier now ,and already has the globe master and hercules certificates under his belt,as well as his nco exams for movements on the airfields up to and including flight master pay.
I knew i should have stuck with it myself ,instead of leving after the 10 years ,lol,too late now ,was the cry :-).
Off to town now ,but i will be back later,take care all ,got my eye on you our Mary :-| so ,i hope you are getting at least some rest ,preferrably in a deckchair on the patio. :-) :-D <3

Long weekend here this weekend...Victoria Day. Kids were over but went back yesterday to miss the rush today, a two sailing wait for the ferry is no fun.

So my man Jim called on Wednesday and told me that he would be over late on thursday afternoon with a rototiller...great!!
Thursday morning Norm and I went out to do errands and when we got back the garden was rototilled...super!!
Then at about 5 in the afternoon Jim called to say that all the rototillers were rented out and that he couldn't get one unitl Friday morning...huh??? I said to him but you came and you did it already...nope, he says, wasn't me.
Well Norm and I were very confused and then Norm thought that our next door neighbour must have come over and done it as a favour, so he went over to say thank you.
Nope, says the guy next door, I didn't do it.
So the plot is rototilled and we have no idea who came and did it...maybe the faeries!! What a laugh!!

We took the kids to the farmer's market on saturday and also out to the Paper Mill Damn were Rhian and I had the best time throwing rocks into the river. Very fast current there, lots of fishermen on the other side and lots of seagulls. Pretty nice sunny day but then yesterday turned cold and rainy and is still the same this morning.

Simon showed us David Williams amazing swim down the river Thames. I was impressed when he swam the Channel but now I think he is amazing. Am always surprised, Fred, that Matt Lucas doesn't show up to cheer him on?? Wonderful to see all that english countryside also...made me a bit homesick.

So too wet to put in the garden but maybe tomorrow or the next day....not to worry. Off to do a few chores. Lesxx

Morning all.. We have lovely sunny weather and nice and cool..

Hope you are enjoying down south Fred and that plant you found sound fascinating,,Never heard of a herb like that before..G/son sound like he has his head screwed on the right way and the more things he can get under his belt the better for future advancement..Good for him...

Les.. Do you have fairies at the bottom of your garden... :-D :-D who come in when you are not there,,do you have any Irish blood in you.. :-D :-D do tell when you find out who did the garden.. :-D :-D

Edith.. Do the Moose raid the garbage bins to..

Well it was another meeting of MND people yesterday but it was very informative,,must see if I can organise a holiday with John as the Gov. will give me $1000 towards it,,its finding some place that caters for wheelchairs that I am finding hard.. and he don't like winter so might have to wait till next summer..

Have a nice week all.. might go and see what is offing at the plant nursery today and fill in the empty spaces I have..

Love Mary xxx <3

Afternoon to all ,from a lovely,very warm Oxfordshire,where fred has just put the tea in for the grandson,the last one this time round ,because we are away back up north first thing in the morning. :-(.
Don't mind the going home bit ,it's leaving all this loooooverly sunshine behind ,lol,
.Wow Les' can you get that fairy to pay me a visit tonight ,t'would be lovely to get home to find my front borders de weeded :-D,but i ain't that lucky. :-).
At least ,when you get the dry weather now ,you will be able to get the matt out ,and do a little gentle planting.as long as you take it veeeery easy.
Going to sign off now ,and pack my puter away ready for travelling.
See you on thursday all being well ,take care all, :-D <3 xx

Hello, Well, a story no one wants to hear. A large black bear grabbed a 55 yr old man by the shoulder as he sat in the outhouse at a fishing camp.
The bear had the mans head in his mouth untill friends made a lot of noise. Then they shot the bear, the fellow went to hospital after a boat trip
and was quite a mess with all the cuts etc. He is alive and after a stay in hospital he is at home with his son. The problem now will be if the animal was rabid.God forbid, as the treatment is not nice.
These were 2 men visiting here from Manitoba and were at a remote cabin.
The son of the injured man lives here in our town. The bears this year are very hungry so this could also be a reason for the attack.
Not so joyful living in the woods this year :-(
The weather is warming up and I have this week-end coming put aside for the big planting job. If we get frost after that then so be it. I will replant :-
bye for now, Edith <3

Just a quick one for now ,had a horror trip home with the missus collapsing due to breathing problems as we got into Gateshead,so i took her straight to emergency admissions at the RVI in Newcastle where she was treated last time.
She was kept in overnight after the staff found out that she has a bad chest infection,and her heart rate well up.
Silly woman hid the infection from me until she HAD to tell me,where on ,i cut the holiday short .
The Tablets she was on are no longer doing their job ,and after bringing things under control ,the hospital upped the dosage and said she was fit to be at home,but they want to see her at outpatients in 6 weeks for a review.
Afraid i am too tired to stay on this evening after a full day of washing ,hoovering ,gardening ,potting on and watering ,plus two visits to the hospital ,Me and Mary is tired out now ,lol.
Going to bring the washing in now ,shut the greenhouse ,make a drink ,and i'm off to bed ,see yer the morrer ,lol,stay safe people.
Looked up the mint ,ginger plant on line and i can get one for £2-50,so i am going to get one of those ,and a Basil ,mint to go with it both for the same tub ,and both being very hardy ,some nice salads and other dishes with those two . :-D :-) <3

Quick post, the gardens calls and the suin is shining...finally again.

Fred, give Liz a huig from me. Sorry to hear she is not well. You both take good care OK!!!

Back later. Lesxx

Afternnoon again ,and a better day it is too ,lol,as i have the missus on a tight leash ,any trouble and i phone the hospital ,and they will pull her back in ,he he ,working a treat ,so it is ;-).
I was ambling around out there early this morning cuppa balanced on top of the butt lid,while i put the dwarf runners in ,giving them a good puffer of anti pest dust as i went along to keep the flea beetle away.
Took the wife her morning cuppa up at 7 ,took my second cup out to the patio table and sat and surveyed my domain ,before putting the trellis back up,and doing a little gentle watering of the fruit trees.
By 9 am it was getting too warm to do owt out there so i have quit until later this evening ,when i will fill in the gaps in the broad beans ,before i squirt them all with the same dust as i used this morning ,and finish by putting the trellis back up ,as i finish putting the slug pellets down.
The son ,came by to see his mam early this afternoon ,so i asked him if he could do the big hedge for me ,until i could catch up on the rest of the front and back gardens ,so ,that having been done for me ,i can now split my time between the missus ,the house ,and the puddy tat ,lol
The new Steroids are working well already ,the muck coming up off the wifes chest is amazing ,no wonder she couldn't breathe properly poor old soul another few days and she should be fine,and back to her usual self.
Glad there are no bears here Edith ,foxes.Badgers ,and deer are enough for me any day bears are okay as young cubs ,but they don't stay cuddly for very long.
Well ,the planting in my garden is nearly done ,just a row of beetroot to go in ,a row of late season cabbage [Marner] and the row of Turnip seeds to go in.
apart from that it's troughs to do ,another carrot to do ,another Pak Choi.two Short stump Parsnip and one last trough of lettuce [cos] ,and that's the lot.
It's then just lawns to cut and weeding to do ,apart from the greenhouse and the two new mint plants to put in once they arrive oh ,and the tattie barrels to fill up ,as and when :-D.
Looks like you are doing better than me with the fruit trees Les' i can't see any signs of my apples yet ,or my Rhubarb :-( ,but at least my plum tree in the corner is looking good and looks like a good crop ,and when all said and done ,i think with what i have in ,we will do okay this year barring a disaster :-).
Off now to find something for the tea ,something cool ,probably salad.
Catch you later peoples ,take care Oz with all the water ,and Canada with the lack of ,and the threat of more forest fires,stay safe everyone :-D <3.xx

Morning all.. we have cool and nice.. :-D

Fred So glad to hear that Liz is on the mend.. keep her in bed and dont let her do anything till she is really well again..
I am with you about the bears Fred.. I am glad we dont have any ,,they are lovely to watch on the tv and in the movies but I dont want to get near one,,I am happy with our Roos and wombats and koalas.. not happy about the spiders and snakes but then they usually keep to themselves unless you disturb them,,,accidentally of course... :-D :-D
Had a lovely lunch yesterday with my siblings, so a quiet day today..planted more carrot seeds and Chinese greens seeds yesterday and still have one more tub to sort out,,might get to the nursery today and see what they have going..some bok choy might do the trick. Or some more silver beet,,

Have a nice weekend all and enjoy the hot weather.. :-D

Love Mary xx <3 <3