General Chat

Hi everyone...Sorry havent been here for a few days..Life has been rather tiring..We have nice hot days but I hope they get some rain for the poor peeps in Victoria down south..The weather has been so mad lately..We have floods up in Queensland in the north and fires down south..Thank goodness we are in the middle..Just say a prayer the south get some rain...

Les Glad to see you are working hard..make lots of money and Normie will retire also..perhaps you could get anther sewing machine for him and make him your second in charge..

Sylvia We would be very sad if you stopped posting on here..You will have good days and bad days,,quite normal.. so take one day at a time and hope the grandies are on the mend and you can get out to see them again soon..big hugs...

Fred.. Glad I am not playing around with my puta..It would only be fit for the scrapheap if I did..I wish I was more puta literate but I learn as I go along..bits here and bits there..Glad your sugars are so good..You must be doing something right..hee hee..or is it the good looking after you get from Liz.....me thinks the latter...

Well I knew it was to good to think we would be going to New Zealand,,It is looking less likely each day. Glad I didn't get my hopes up..Even the Wattle meet in Bendigo is looking dicey..not sure about that yet..

Teresa Lovely to see you back..Hope you are all well.. I agree about selling a big house to downsize,,who wants all that extra housework..The kids will pop back top visit and perhaps stay a few days but once they are on their own they usually like to stay that way,,New Zealand is a lovely place to live but Angie might find it a bit quiet after Canada..Or did she go there on here last trip..can remember..a beautiful country with some magnificent scenery..and lovely people..

Edith..You still feeding that pesky fox...Bet it comes everyday for a feed..You are a real softy...Are the bears about yet...

Hope all are well

Love Mary xxxxx

Hi! again everyone. I'm glad to see you all again. I thought my posting had made something go wrong.
Mary, thank you for your kind words and I think I am doing quite well at the moment. The Grandchildren are still poorly so I probably won't see them this weekend, but I might visit my brother or sister, so I won't be on my own. I went to see a very good friend yesterday, she is in hospital and has just been diagnosed with Liver Cancer, and she looked terrible. She and her husband were our first neighbors and friends when we arrived in Australia 35 years ago, and her husband died a few years ago with Cancer.
Lesley, thank you for your messages to me too and don't worry, you won't get rid of me easily.
Fred, I'm glad you have got your Laptop working. I have missed your messages and the news about your garden and the cooking etc. I wish I had as much enthusiasm for cooking as you have. I don't feel much like making anything for myself at the moment so I have ordered some ready made meals to be delivered from Home Chef. I have had them before and they are quite nice.
Hi! Edith and thank you for the lovely Email you sent me today.
Teresa, Hi!. I don't know if it is just a coincidence, but my family come from Essex and, a long time ago, I don't quite know when, some members of it emigrated to Calgary. I don't know their names but our family names were Lambert, Hooper or Tydeman. Wouldn't it be strange if they were related to the family you are trying to trace. When the war started in 1939, we were asked if we wanted to go to Canada to stay with them for safety, but my parents wouldn't agree.

Well, I hope I haven't missed anyone out. This is about the longest message you have ever had from me, isn't it? I must be feeling more cheerful!!

Love to you all from Sylvia XX

hi this is dorothy in barrie ontario hope you all are well just caught up with all the news, sylvia I hope the grandchildren get well soon and then you can have a visit, for those in calgary I have a little problem I mailed my sister a birthday card on the 2nd of feb. and it has not arrived nor has it come back to me I did put a return address on it, and I made sure I had the right address on it I enclosed a gift card for chapters so not sure what has happened to it. I think that chris may have thought I am loosing my marbles , I was thinking about fred and his veg etc we still have lots of snow so doing veg is not on my mind at the moment I know one can do seeds but my two aged cats just go after them , but I hope to do more this spring on the balcony the tomatoes and green peppers did well last year. we are in for snow and rain to=-morrow but to-day the sun is shining and it will be about 2 degrees this afternoon bye for now dorothy

Hi Y'all,
Teresa would should have a chat I think...will call you soon.

Sylvia, good to get such a great letter. If you still like to cook why don't you just freeze half for another day. Normie and I do that all the time. There is a place here in town where you can get ready made meals. We popped in last week and got a shepherds pie....ugh!! it was so greasy....see we make ours with ground sirloin...not much fat that way.

Mary if I was there my lovely I would come and drive with you to Canberra and I would love to see New Zealnad also...only problem....I am thousands of miles away.

Dorothy don't feel bad about your card. Norm sent our Kitchen Aid back to the manufacturer as it broke (grrr!) and the post office lost it....imagine blurry great thing like that!!!

OK I am off....going out for coffee this morning. Don't do that too often so it is a treat.
Take care
Lesxx

Hi all

Glad to see everyone is surviving either the winter snow or heat and floods.

Keith just had his stress test and the cardiologist is pleased with him. All his wounds from the quad bypass surgery are healing well and he is just rarin to go!!!

I had an email from a friend in Calgary today - (tis the year of the babies for several of my friends who are expecting first grandchildren.) Well Cathy is catching up in a hurry - her son Joel and his wife are expecting naturally conceived triplets . . . for sure 2 boys and they couldn't tell with #3 as he/she was hidden behind the boys. What a shock and the poor couple only have a 700 sq ft condo and a Mini - no room for 3 baby seats in that.

Keep on posting Sylvia, my Mum hasn't cooked much for herself since my Dad died she gets meals from a company called Wiltshire Farms - Fred might have heard of them. I set up an account with them also and every now and then I send her some special treats.

I haven't been rushing around this last couple of weeks as I had surgery - waiting for the biopsy results still but the surgeon was very positive and gave me the results of the preliminary results of the other testing just before putting me to sleep!!! went under feeling very positive.

I am glued to the TV this week watching the Scott Tournament of Hearts from Victoria. I am not a curler but I love to watch it.

My youngest daughter who went into real estate at the end of last year has just made her first sale, she called us as 11 o'clock last night sooo excited.

Its cold and sunny in Dundas today, the end is in sight. Keith and I are off to the UK for March Break with our grandson and he is so excited.

Got to go - time to watch the next round of the curling on TV

all the best

Hugs for those who need one

Veronica

Hi Everyone,

I need some help from Fred and all you other chefs. I want to make real English rice pudding for my mum and when she was in the hospital a couple of years ago I asked someone on here for a recipe. It was delicious but I have gone and lost the recipe. Has anyone ever made it in a rice cooker?

Teresa

Same as made in a saucepan on a cooker,2 ozs of rice,2 of sugar to a pint and a half of milk.
Simmer until it reduces to a thickish creamy consistancy,stirring frequently.
Ask me another,lol.
Last few minutes add a sprinkling of mace ,or nutmeg ..
Some people even transfer to a dish and finish in the oven,but i can't see the point,you get the creamy taste ONLY from a saucepan on the top of the cooker.Fred.
Try a few raisens or sultanas thrown in too,the kids here call it ,darkies in the snow ,oooooops. he he.

Fred

You only get that crunchy skin from doing it in the oven . . . perhaps I will make a rice pudding for Keith and I tonight, its a horrible wet and cold day in dundas.

V

Sad day here today, had to take my kitty and have her put to sleep....lots of tears.

Veronica, you need pearl rice. I always baked mine in the oven so cannot say if it would be creamier or not....but Fred, your recipe made me fancy it too.

Yesterday I got a lovely piece of haddock and today I am going to make chish and fips....all baked in the oven. Ove baked fish is very yummy, virtually fat free and great with a splash of malt vineger. So for those who have never.....wash the fish, roll in flour, then dip in beaten egg, then coat with bread crumbs and bake at 425 until yummy....not very long 10/15??? depending on the thickness of the fish. I use panko crumbs with s and p and a touch of corn meal....very yummy. Now we also oven "fry" yams as well as regular spuds....oh add some mushy peas and wow!!!

Thanks Mary for those slides. I have cousins who live in Melbourne...they are part of my Sessions ancestors so I passed the slides along to all of the Sessions I have contacted so far.

Had a phone call from a lady in Qualicum inviting me to "do" the bridal show....220 women!!! Boy there will be steam coming out of that machine!!

Chat soon.
Lesxx

Sorry to hear about Kitty Les'i know how i would feel if that happened to Hissy ,i would be bereft to say the least,you need to find a rescue Kitty to take her place.
Sure your pet had a lovely life and she had a beutiful home with you.
The fish sounded lovely ,but ,i must admit ,we have a couple of very good chippies here ,and though i do sometimes cook my own,i do cheat and get it delivered most of the time.
Sometimes ,when i do do my own ,i put a little dried parsley in the flour,or a little mace ,and it has been known with a really nice looking piece of fish like haddock or coley to put some lemon and lime into the egg before coating it with the breadcrumbs,or putting it in the batter if i feel really decadent and using my fryer instead of the oven.
If using the fryer i par cook the chips first in veggie oil.let them cool right off and cook the fish in the meantime ,adding the chips again for the last five minutes along with the fish,this usually gives them a crispish finish [a trick learned from my sister bless her] ,who used to run a chain of chip shops as manager in high wycombe buckswonder if there are any of those fish and chippies left in the town[dukes ,they were called],yummy ,i can still taste them to this day,sis even taught me to add a little baking powder to the batter mix to give it a crunchy texture[ oh happy days.]
The mushy peas i make myself ,as i do the peas pudding.
Think i may have a go for Chris this evening ,i have some nice pollock in the freezer [ice;landic] ansd could do chips to go with it ,some mushies ,and the treat of the week,some home made wholemeal bread,to make a chip butty,cor ,that's tea sorted.
Back off to bed now to see if i can get back to sleep after being so rudely woken by the boys in blue ,or rather a boy ,and girl in blue,who by the way will be a little bluer having to explain how someone put a brick through their van window and getting away with out being seen ,lol.
I ask you peeps ,if THEY didn't see them ,how were WE supposed to ,us being snug in our pits at the time?
The Glass popping woke me up,but hell i am a sloth slow pensioner not used to flying to the window at 1 -30 am to see what's going on ,lol,by the time i got downstairs after he knocked ,he had time to cook a bacon buttie and make a cuppa to go with it.
So,all in all ,if you hear a load of banging at ten this morning ,take no heed, it will be me ,sleepless,and bad tempered taking it out on the bread dough ,lol.Fred.
Oh ,nearly forgot ,opening the door ,the cat got out ,grrrrr ,looking round the garden for the little baggage at that time of the morning in jammie bottoms and slippers ,did NOT do much to improve relations between me and our police force,and the cat is not flavour of the month either lol.

hi fred I already sent you a message on the other site but I misunderstood I thought it was your van that had the window broken not the police fancy waking you up to see who did it a bit daft I would think, as I said on the other site I am off to the library but all this talk about fish I am going to make a detour and pick up some fish for my supper and try the suggestions also perhaps a nice rice pud to follow thanks to all of you for the ideas it is so cold I need something like that to warm me up bye for now dorothy

Sorry about Kitty Les. I had to take the decision 5 years ago when we moved to put our little cat to sleep - she was about 18 years old and had seizures regularly but they never could find out why.

Anyway we where moving out of our house and into temporary accommodation while we waited for our new build to be complete and had no idea how long it would be and pets where not allowed. She had been failing for a while and regularly had accidents so it was a hard decision but I think the correct one given the circumstances.

All that talk of fish and chips has given me hunger pangs.

I did the rice in the oven and it was lovely and creamy, rice, milk, butter & sugar mmmmm with a crunchy brown top.

all for now

V

G'Day Cousin Edith,
I hope that you are keeping well.
Sylvia & Teresa - my gran was an Essex girl and I'm still doing research into some of the parish records there - if you give me any details I'll see if I can be of any help.
Best wishes to all including those "cousins" on this site who don't contribute to the boards.

Ian

Morning all We are having lovely weather at the moment but spare a thought for the poor peeps down south who are again going to have high temps and strong winds..good bushfire weather..they still have about 5 big fires burning and this might just start them up again,,,

Sorry haven't been here for a while but things have been very busy..

Sylvia You did well with that big post..good for you..and glad to see you out and about again visiting..wont be long before you can get to see your grandies...

Les How many aprons do you have to make for that crowd...are they only going to wear aprons..whooo hoo..what a site..inform the media and you should make a heap more from the news item...sorry about kitty..its hard when we have had a pet for a long time..big hugs..

Fred It looks like you are getting us all keen on having fish and chips again...not good for the waistline,,,hee hee...that rice pudding sounds great,,just might try it as we have a rice cooker..and I love rice pudding...

Hi Ian..Tony has a lot of rellies is Essex,,you might be related to him also..hee hee...how goes it over there in the west....

~~~~~~~~~~to Teresa,Veronica. and Dorothy,,and Edith, Hope you are all keeping warm,, wont be long now to summer..We are into our Autumn but you wouldn't know it,,it is going to be hot again this week,,roll on winter..

Veronica.. Glad Kieth is on the mend but not happy to hear that you are having tests,,,do keep us informed of your progress.. We want you well and happy...big hugs..

Love Mary xxxxx

Hello Everyone, This will only be a short one as I am going to see the Grandchildren this afternoon. Debbie says they are better, so I am taking her word for it. It has been a few weeks now since I saw them.
Ian, I don't have any details about my relations who emigrated to Canada, except that their surnames would be either Lambert ,Hooper or Tydeman and I know they went to Calgary. I still have a new 10 shilling Canadian note they sent me when I was a child. I wonder if it is worth anything now?
I must start getting ready to go now so see you all later,
Love from Sylvia XX

Morning all, Can't sleep for some unknown reason so I will chat to you folks for a bit.
Good to hear from you at last Ian, wondered if you were lost !!!!!!

Mary, thank you for the pictures of the garden. That is so sad to think all the

work that man did is gone forever.On the original site there was an

address for a book. I wish now I had ordered it.

The fox still visits nightly,and is getting less leery of me. Last nite I

fed him bits of salmon and as I tossed it off the balcony he would come

and get it. He is a beautiful creature,his coat a deep red with a very large

bushy tail.

Sylvia ,hurray ,for you a visit with the grandkids will do you good. Enjoy them

now as they do grow up far too fast.!!!

Big hug for you Les, I still miss my Frisky. They are like our kids aren't

they? Your apron business is going well hhmmm. Would love to

see what you do for a wedding!!!!!

Veronica Good to hear Keith is doing well. Enjoy your visit, the daffs,etc

should be out now. Just a little jealous as I love all the spring flowers .

Have a safe trip and let us know how it went.

Fred,I tried your rice recipe and it was great. Still haven't had my leek and

potato soup but have had others instead. Too early to think about

starting plants here. we have at least another month of winter uggh.

Teresa How was your rice pudding??

Time for me to get some breakfast so bye for now. Stay well.

Edith XXXX

Hi All

Goodness its cold here today. I just got back from a couple of hours at a locel elementary school. I am covering for the girl for a week when I get back from UK, so went to get they lay of the land so to speak. I am looking forward to it, it will make a change from the rush and tumble of Transportation. only 189 students in the school ages 5 to 10.

I am so excited as I discovered some time ago that my Grandad Macdougall on my mothers side had a brother who was a well respected wood carver, etcher, illustrater and artist who showed his works in Paris & London. He has works in some museums.

My cousin Gwyneth and I have started trying to acquire some of his work and this week I took delivery of two 1st edition books illustrated by him.

I have included a link for one of them if any of you want to take a look at his work. She has a couple of 1st editions and also an oil painting and I have two charcoal sketches.

http://www.archive.org/details/fieldsoffrancewi00ducl

This book has 20 beautifull full colour plates the originals of which where painted by him. Its neat because this website allows you to actually read the book and turn the pages. I have several links to books with his illustrations which is neat because I can look at them even if I cannot purchase a copy.

Keiths making us a cup of tea so time to sign off.

V

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for the rice pudding recipe Fred and the hints from everyone else. I made it yesterday and it was delicious. Mum loved it, she says she misses the simple food we used to have. I am having to use my slow cooker a lot for meals right now as our kitchen is torn apart to replace the backsplash tiles and countertops. What a mess!

Veronica, what a wonderful find for you, I took a look at the link for the book and the illustrations are fabulous.

I was talking to my mums sister in the UK yesterday to get some family tree info from her and she told me that she is giving me my grandfather's photo albums. He was a photographer for the ship Aquitania before the second world war and travelled back and forth across the Atlantic to the US and South America. I remember as a child that I loved to look through all his pictures, there were many that had the old movie stars and lots of the sights of South America and the West Indies. One of my favourite was a photo of Christ on top of Sugar Loaf mountain in Brazil. I am so excited that this album will come to me one day. She said that I can have it as soon as we can manage a trip to the UK.

The snow is melting rapidly now and lots of slushy streets in the neighbourhood. Hopefully spring will be here soon.

Teresa

Well, life is never dull!!! Bella and I went for our walk yesterday on the hydro clear cut. Raining heavily, both soaked to the skin, we trotted off onto the road and suddenly there was a small brown dog jogging along with us. He followed me for blocks, then I back tracked to see if he would find his home, but no! well and truly lost. So he followed me home. He is a yorkshire terrier, probably not that old. Bella likes him most of the time and the rest of the time she harrasses him. Nobody has called the SPCA, nobody has answered my ad on the radio...so for the moment we have a "boarder". I guess if no-one claims him we will keep him. Norm says that Ziggy sent him to us...he really believes in that stuff. BTW in lieu of his real name we are calling him Basil!! He likes to cock his leg on the corners...so that will have to be corrected pretty quick. I am thinking maybe someone just dumped him?? He was not in the best of shape and I had to wash his bum and his face.
So, didn't get much sewing done yesterday....bit of a dog day!!!
Good to hear from everyone....you all seem to be OK. Haven't heard from JA in awhile hope she is OK....will maybe give her a call.
Be good you lot.
Lesxx

Morning everyone, well its not a bad morning here. Been reading everyone's news.. I would love to have old photographs of my ancestors, I have only 1 of my father and thats all I have on his side, desperately seeking anything with a connection to him or them, I'll keep searching. Les I'm with your husband on little dog subject!!! I'm a big believer that things happen for a reason or are simply meant to be, so maybe this "new found friend" simply meant to be!!.
Hope everyone is keeping well, pleased Sylvia managed to visit grandchildren, I'm sure they kept you entertained!!! Well I'll sign off now - take care all....