Idle chat - OLD

Last post 06-08-2010 3:28 PM by admin. 7645 replies.

• 13/03/2010 03:26 PM

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  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,498

  Locked Reply | Contact  Hi all. Hope you got on OK with the plumber Roundelder. I did some plumbing this morning, there was a dripping tap in the downstairs loo. I had to use  a domed washer as the flat one leaks, and it was OK after. Glad you managed streetview Lillyrose I think it is great to see so much detail-mind you it is easy if the council, for instance, wants to see any building  work that has sprung up unofficially. Like you, I have to resist growing too much as I only have a smallish space in the garden-tubs are good though. Your toms are looking OK Eva mine are looking around the same size. You have bought some nice tools and the cold frame will be useful to you. Have fun up at the allotment. I noticed that my dwarf sunflowers and dwarf beans have come through the soil in the propagator now. Glad you had a good night out Susiq. My grandmother used to live with us, mum dad and my 3 brothers when my mum and dad used to come home late very occasionally at 11.30pm! I remember her saying to them 'What time do you call this to be coming home!! and it was not her house! She got even worse when she got older-she lived till she was 96. OH and son are watching the Wales v Ireland rugby-it doesn't interest me. I have been making potato rosti's we are having them with the honey/marmalade gammon that I roasted the other day. In the paper it says that the flowers are three weeks behind. The temperatures should be up to 15°C at the end of next week -Richard

• 13/03/2010 03:54 PM

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  Susiq Location: Northumberland Joined on: 16 Feb 2008 Posts: 3,125

  Locked Reply | Contact Oh Richard, I do hope you're right about the temperatures. Hee hee what your grandmother used to say is exactly the kind of thing my mam says! Thats good re your beans and sunflowers, OH has been hunting out the heater for the greenhouse - the kitchen is now just too crammed with stuff, and I've loads more I want to start off, especially if the temperatures do as you've heard they will. I saw it on tv about the daffs being 3 weeks behind normal. Sounds like you are cooking another yummy dinner. I haven't done rosti for ages.

• 13/03/2010 04:04 PM

  In reply to

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,498

  Locked Reply | Contact  We haven't had rosti for quite a while Susiq and were thinking of having something different. I was looking on the internet to remind myself how to cook them and saw that some people put curry powder in with the mix. That would be good depending on what you were having with them. Our daughter made them in the end. OH and son are watching the Wales v Ireland match on the TV. I am not that bothered about it, and will be going out for an early jar soon with a friend. Hope you are well. It sounds as though you have plenty of seeds on the go. -Richard

• 14/03/2010 10:49 AM

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  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,758

  Locked Reply | Contact Ooh rosti, good idea Richard, will have to make some tonight to go with the pork meatballs (must remember to take them out of the freezer) and broccoli! Had a good day at the lotty yesterday, although it was a slight dissapointment that it hadn't been cleared as promised (some lame excuse that he was too busy working ). Luckily the owner sent over a 14 year old lad named Thijs (my new hero!): we cleared the plot of all the old stuff in under an hour! He then helped take out all the old leeks and the oversized strawberry patch. I did save some for myself and gave the rest to my mom to plant in the bit of parkland that comes up to her garden, they should do really well there! Off to the garden center to get some fleece and garlic and plant that out later. Still have to relay the garden tiles though and my back and legs are killing me already! As to the temperature, by the look of things (mainly the weather forecast ) double digits are here to stay!

• 14/03/2010 12:49 PM

  In reply to

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,498

  Locked Reply | Contact Morning all it is quite warmish here today. I planted up three more runner beans I am growing a few in succession this year as OH doesn't like them when they are frozen. I don't mind I like anything and everything! We are having some welsh spring lamb for dinner today and I have just done some roast potatoes. I saw a good way of doing the roast spuds about two months ago and always do them like that now, they end up crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. I will put the recipe up. Glad your allotment is taking shape Eva-your little helper sounds useful.We have a strawberry tower in the garden, the plants are not looking too good at the moment hope they will come OK as we should get a good crop-this is their second year. Hope everyone has a good day-especially the mothers . -Richard

• 14/03/2010 01:39 PM

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  lillyrose Location: kent Joined on: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 2,973

  Locked Reply | Contact Hello all and a happy mothers day to all mums im at my parents at the mo and we are sitting in the garden in beautiful sunshine lets hope its the start of the better weather. Sounds like you have been very busy Eva, you will have to take photos as you go so we can see as things grow. You are having my favorite sunday roast Richard, i love lamb and crunchy roast potatoes, my daughter is treating us to a take away today so i dont have to cook

• 14/03/2010 02:34 PM

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  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 9,474

  Locked Reply | Contact Hi all and a happy mother's day to all the other mums.  My son gave me some chocolate and we've just got back after being treated to a carvery lunch, I had the beef and turkey which was very nice   Hope you haven't got too much of a hangover Susiq after last night When I checked the greenhouse this morning, most of the toms have come up and so have a few Dahlias, sprouts and calabrese.  We were going to make a start on making OH's shed but it doesn't look too good weatherwise, but we have got the base laid out. sue1002

• 14/03/2010 05:14 PM

  In reply to

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,498

  Locked Reply | Contact Sounds like you have been well treated Sue and Lillyrose. It must be nice with you Lillyrose if you are able to sit in the garden. I have been in the garden preparing a trough ready for planting. I covered it in cloches to warm it up a bit. I also started off some more Bolivian Rainbow chillies and Californian Poppies.You have a few things springing up Sue hope this means it is the beginning of the end of the long winter. The head of the large formosa plant in the garden had come off completely and when I looked the top of the stalk had rotted away boo hoo:-( -Richard

• 14/03/2010 05:25 PM

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  BB Location: Hereford Joined on: 12 May 2009 Posts: 729

  Locked Reply | Contact  Hi All and Happy Mothers Day to all us Mum's! Your carvery sounds nice Sue - and you have had a rest from cooking. Our son has just made me a roast (beef) dinner and a strawberry meringue dessert! Yum - I also had a box of belgian chocolates so I have been spoiled too! Richard, I have seen loads of those Formosa plants all bent over and looking very sad around here too. I think the combination of snow and frost has done for them!  The shed has been removed from the allotment - but the greenhouse was still there yesterday. I will have to wait and see if that disappears too! OH and me are going up there tomorrow to get cracking on the clearing up and digging. This lovely warm(ish) sunshine makes me feel like spring has sprung! BB

• 14/03/2010 05:42 PM

  In reply to

  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,758

  Locked Reply | Contact A belated Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there! <-- please think of this as a happy flower not a wilted one (ironic that, on the RHS website!). Mother's Day is on a different date here in NL, so totally forgot! Hope you all are being spoilt rotten with gifts, food and loads of well deserved attention and pampering! Sounds like you've had some lovely weather today, would've welcomed some sun too, but I was working so hard I didn't notice. The whole plot is now dug up, added some fertilizer in the beds that will need it later on. Then got the heck out of there and warmed up at the garden center where I bought some herbs, rhubarb and holyhocks (black and a vibrant pink). Noticed that you could take away as many big plant trays as you like, so scarpered with 6 of 'em. I definately will take pics over the course of the year Lilyrose, hope you do too BB, can't wait to compare notes! Shame about the shed though, I would've thought they would get in touch with you to see if you wanted to buy it off them for a good price. Here's hoping they at least leave the greenhouse! All your dinners sound lovely, especially your lamb roast Richard, LOL even after gushing all week at how sweet the lambs were on Lambing Live. Off to make some dinner myself, hopefully that'll warm me up! 't Was well cold today... brrrr

• 14/03/2010 07:46 PM	In reply to
  lillyrose Location: kent Joined on: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 2,973	Locked Reply | Contact Hi all im back, its raining here now, revenge for the sun earlier no doubt well ive had a lovely day today and been spoilt rotten, i wasn't allowed to do a thing, got chocolate, flowers and Baileys from children plus a take away and OH bought me a beautiful white Azalea when is mothers day in NL Eva?

• 14/03/2010 07:53 PM	In reply to
  lillyrose Location: kent Joined on: 02 Mar 2010 Posts: 2,973	Locked Reply | Contact Sorry meant to ask, ive never had an indoor Azalea before, are they easy to look after? no instructions with it. Ive put it on sideboard which is in the bay window of lounge, only heating in there is an open fire, im better with garden plants than indoor plants and want to look after this one as it is really beautiful and a mass of flowers, plus was gift from OH

• 14/03/2010 08:07 PM	In reply to
  BB Location: Hereford Joined on: 12 May 2009 Posts: 729	Locked Reply | Contact That is a link to a pic of my indoor azalea which my Sister-in-law bought for me a couple of weeks ago. I have it on the kitchen windowsill where it is not too hot. They need frequent watering lillyrose otherwise they suddenly collapse! Good luck with it - they are beautiful flowers! I will definitely take pics of the allotment Eva and we can all compare notes!  BB

• 14/03/2010 09:18 PM

  In reply to

  richardpeeej Location: Leicestershire Joined on: 22 May 2009 Posts: 3,498

  Locked Reply | Contact I'm glad all the mothers had a nice day-three cheers for all the mums out there . There were so many cars around here at lunch time today with families visiting mums it was like a car park. I have never seen so many cars in the twenty five years that we have been living here. I took a pic and will put it on photobucket later. It seems like I am not the only one then BB who has lost the formosa it was coming on lovely too. A frond came up from it in the summer with a load of seeds on, which I saved-perhaps it knew it was on its last legs then. I put a glug of Baileys in my coffee Lillyrose-can't beat it I had one today. All I know about azaleas is that they need an acid soil-but if it is already in a pot then it is already sorted. You are really getting stuck into the allotment Eva sounds like a good fitness regime digging yopur plot. This is something I should be doing. Glad you have your greenhouse BB hope you can keep it now. -Richard

• 15/03/2010 09:14 AM

  In reply to

  EvaInNL Location: Holland Joined on: 25 Sep 2009 Posts: 1,758

  Locked Reply | Contact In NL Mother's Day falls on the 2nd Sunday in May, Father's Day on the 2nd Sunday in June, so I still have some time to get the sorted out! I'm growing a couple of tomato plants for M and rhubarb for D.. Sorry to hear about the formosa's, they are quite tender aren't they. I hope my Mom's survived, I put some straw and fleece overt hem to keep from getting damaged by the cold, But then we didn't have as bad a winter here as you did in GB. It certainly was the mother of all work-outs this weekend Richard! Luckily I have a really strong back but the backs of my legs are killing me and all tensed up. Wouldn't have thought it to be this bad because I play a lot of squash, but I won't be winning any 'Get Off the Couch Gracefully' contests any time soon! But I've gotten through the worst of things now and I am really satsified with how much I got done. Will take some pics next weekend when the first plants go in... BB, was just thinking, you might want to stick a notice on the greenhouse with your phone number asking that if they are planning to sell it they contact you first..