Chitchat thread #24

[lottie dolly]

afternoon all,them smiles arrived in good form,son is here doing outside jobs,sun is shinning ,got strawberries in the pots,and made a start on them baskets,had to come in for a rest,it is nice having a body about the place,
Has anyone grown them supposed to be,climbing strawberries,i have 6 plants to try,no instructions with them,but have looked on line for advice ext,apparently they can grow up to 6ft,I am thinking about trying a hanging basket they should hang down,seeing as you have to tie the long runner onto a support when in the ground,just hope they do grow enough to be worth it,they supposed to be a perennial,we will see,have a good afternoon and Bgood2yourselfes
happy birthday to your son,

[Bren In Pots]

Afternoon

Now you mention it GF our Aldi has been missing tissues time to time. Only other shortage was chopped Tom's they did have some with herbs but they're not to my taste reminded me of those tinned cook in sauces. Their whole tin toms are good though.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Looks like another sunny day ahead for us.
Today I will mostly be painting walls but I do intend to escape at some point to have a play in the garden!

Lottie - I’ve never seen climbing strawberries! Do please take photos and share your experiences with us.

Interestingly , our new chooks are settling in but no thanks to number 3 chook from the original flock. She too has started crowing….and jumping on top of the newbies pinning them to the ground. Very much not acceptable behaviour so she’s now into her 3rd day in the ‘sin bin’ ( double rabbit hutch) so she loses her place in the pecking order.
The original bully bossed them the first day and has been fine since.
Number 3 was my favourite chook too and she was laying until the newbies arrived . Baffling or what!

Dippy eggs and toast anyone? Kettle’s on!

[mothhawk]

Morning all.

I've never heard of climbing strawbs either LD. must look them up.
You have some strange hens Nicos! I always kept a rooster when I had mine, so none of your problems. I still miss the morning sound of a rooster crowing, which to me is a real country sound. I hate it when townies move to a village and immediately complain about crowing birds.

I'll have a cuppa with you, but pass on the toast. Bread is my downfall, weight seems to leap on me as soon as I sniff a slice of buttered and marmaladed toast!

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

I love the early morning sounds, there's some donkeys almost a mile away from us but sometimes its sounds like they're just over our garden wall.

[greenishfing]

Good morning all. A frigid 6°C here. It feels really bitter. I'm not sure if there was a frost last night or not. It doesn't look encouraging for the rest of the day though. Cold and cloudy.

Nicos, watching your chickens must be far more entertaining than a soap on TV.

Lottie, the climbing strawberries sound novel. It will be interesting to hear how successful they are. Maybe the slugs and blackbirds will leave them alone.

Still only two lonely crimson crush appeared. I'm really not amused. The brassicas I planted the other day are appearing though. We're due to have a low of 2°C again tonight so everything will be mollycoddled for a while longer.

Bren, I agree about the tomatoes with herbs, not my cup of tea either. I'd rather add my own. Basic, bog standard tomatoes, chopped or whole are my choice. I think I'll go and tidy the kitchen now Mr GF has finished and set the slow cooker and the bread machine off.

Don't work too hard!

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Sorry to gloat - the low here was a balmy 9.5 ºC last night. All the plants stayed out overnight. What a relief. Anyway, the forecast for the next few days is for drizzly rain and similar temps overnight. So, that's about perfect. Am thinking of taking a week off soon to get the veg patch fully in fettle.

Felt really rough yesterday and not quite myself this morning either. But even so yesterday was a brilliant day. Capped by being told of a source of hay. One bale due to arrive soon and I've asked Mr Snoop to enquire whether I could have another two. Really want some to cover the irrigation lines we'll be putting down this year, some for chickens, which will be arriving at some point this year and some for making compost. I never have enough browns, probably 98% greens.

The smiles went off all gleeful ages ago. And I'd better get a move on too. Have a great day, everyone.

[bramble]

Good morning all.
It was a beautiful sunny morning earlier but now totally overcast.
Think I will go walking and grocery shopping while its dull.
Domestics and gardening later.
Have a good day all,

[JanieB]

Sorry, I’ve only popped in occasionally recently. I’ve tried to catch up but haven’t managed it so sympathy to those who need it . Can I ask what the smiles are? I’m assuming birds.

My garden is a mess. I’ve cried over it. 2 years ago during the first lockdown I laid a lawn, put up a poly tunnel, planted fruit trees, erected an arch, prepared and planted a flower bed and set up the garden shed for the tools etc. Last year I had the builders in to finish the bathroom whilst I was on holiday. My reasoning being that I can’t live in a house without a loo. I asked them to put any debris on the tarpaulin I had provided. They decided to dump everything on the garden and put the tarpaulin over the top. I think you can imagine.

Anyway, it’s my birthday on Tuesday and I’ve bought myself a present. A Wurlitzer. It takes 100 records. It was sold without them but the seller has decided to give them to me anyway. My reasoning; my daughter tells me I can’t do Glastonbury because I won’t make it from the carpark to the stages. (I take her point, chemo zaps my energy). I wouldn’t be able to get out of a Morgan so I’ve gone for the next thing on my list and bought a jukebox.

[JanieB]

There was a thread on FB a few months ago asking people what their one word description of their mother was. Most people said things like loving, beautiful, etc. One of my best mates said “bitch” , my daughter said “barmy” . Hmmmh.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

Grory hop first just finishing my list then I'm off.

Enjoy your day.

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

The smiles are a bit of a long story, JanieB. rary, who is famed for distributing smiles, left a bag of them at the Gardeners' Rest last year and I brought them home. So every day, they go on a long fly-about to visit people on the forum. There's a special delivery on its way to you. And yes, I live in a house without the kind of loo most people are used to. So I fully understand the need. Terrible about the garden, though. And shame about the Morgan and Glastonbury. But I hope the Wurlitzer brings you lots of pleasure.

So, today here is drizzly. Nothing doing outside I fear. Same tomorrow, then only light drizzle over the weekend, then another downpour for a couple of days. We'll soon be up to a year's rainfall in just a few weeks. The smiles think this is great news in the long run and set off in their usual jolly mood.

Mr Snoop is thinking of going shopping and I have a ton of work I can get through. Plus a flour order to place. And I think that'll be it for the day.

Have a great day, everyone.

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Really lovely to see you Janie….I’ll leave it to Snoop to explain about the smiles.
A Wurlitzer eh?….good for you!…and how kind that the original owner has given you all the records! I imagine you’ve already been through them and decided which are your favourites

Enjoy your grory hop Bren. I was going to do one this evening but we have to go to the mega DIY store again tomorrow and there are good supermarkets near there ( including IKEA!)

Second coat of paint due on the bedroom walls and skirting boards today if anyone is wondering what I’ll be up to. It’s amazing how much brighter it’s looking in there already

Update on the chook soap opera …..the second bully is still in the sin bin but didn’t crow this morning. Plus she laid an egg so it looks like her hormones are resetting. The first bully just isn’t bothering with any of the others now. The newbies are laying an egg a day. One is using the laying box but the other three are laying absolutely anywhere so they are being locked up for the day - until they have laid - in the area with the laying boxes. We’ll probably continue to do this again for a few days.

Still waiting to spot the smiles as they whizz overhead….there does seem to be a bit of a glitter/ shimmer in the distant sky so I guess they are on their way!…

[Nicos]

Cross posted there Snoop!

I shall whisper this only once as they say on ‘Allo ‘Allo ….we could actually do with a bit of your rain here Snoop…

[greenishfing]

Good morning all. Good to see you again Janie. I hope you enjoy the wurlitzer.

I've just been checking on all my seedlings. As they're getting potted up the amount of trays is growing and have expanded into the bathroom which looks like a plantation from Day of the Triffids now. I've just been wandering round encouraging the weaklings while Mr GF has watched with an amused expression on his face. Amazingly none of the cucumbers have committed suicide ..... yet! Still only two Crimson Crush however. The temperature is still low, evidently a max of 10°C today, no sun and dropping to 3°C again tonight. Hardly welcoming for baby plants yet.

Bye for now, off to do some dreaded housework.

Nicos, we actually watched an 'Allo, 'Allo last night and officer Crabtree made me laugh out loud. I'd forgotten how funny it was.