Chitchat thread #24

[Snoop Puss]

^That's a good-sized cep, Nicos. (I think it's a cep, anyway). Definitely do not like the look of the other one.

[mothhawk]

Afternoon all.

Brixworth is darn sarf to me Nick

Nicos, I get the boiler serviced every November, but it means I have to remember to book it at the beginning of September, after that they are usually fully booked till the new year

I'm going to be a bit smug and say the top leaves of my poinsettias from last year are beginning to turn red. One is actually a cutting of a massive one I sadly had to get rid of as it outgrew the space and the biggest house pot I had. They can be tricky things to care for as the leaves droop if they are too dry, but also droop if they are too wet, too cold, too hot. Oh and they don't like to be moved.

One of last year's amaryllises has a bud, but I think the other three may not have had enough of a bake in the sun. Time will tell.

[Nicos]

Cor MH…. I’m really impressed about your poinsettia. I have come to accept any I buy will at least outlive a bunch of flowers of the same price

Arm jabbed , and the guy was amazingly gentle . Phew.
Snoop - yep , it’s a cep. The pharmacist nearly had kittens with excitement!
We picked a few very similar ones which are edible if trimmed and prepared carefully. Nah - that single one was enough to make a decent risotto for two. No point in messing around with things I don’t understand so we left those.

[Bren In Pots]

Evening it’s wet and windy out so the curtains have been closed since 4pm just to shut out the weather.

Bren, you must be so organised.....starting your Xmas cards now. All my early "preparations" seem to revolve around food.

GF I’m not really organised only I’d made a couple of birthday cards the other day so thought while card and dies were still on my desk I’d start with Christmas cards.
An impressive looking mushroom Nicos

[nick the grief]

I absolutely love the "totem pole". I think you should have a go at your own. I want one now...... I do not however trust Mr GF with any saw or hammer and chisel these days. He was completely banished from going near the circular saw ever since he spent a Summer in the plastic surgery and physiotherapy department at the local hospital after attempting to amputate his index finger a few years ago.

good grief GF ... I worked with a guy who managed to cut off two fingers with a circular saw and he was in a right state for about a year. He lost those unfortunaely.

THe totem pole was about 12ft tall and maybe 15" diameter and there was a walk there with Dwarves that stood about 2ft high all the way round I think it was done to encourage the Kids (and older kids like me)

If ever you are in the area of Brixworth its well worth a vist and during the summer you can hire bikes ( normal and e-bikes) and cycle around it

ntg

[nick the grief]

Afternoon all.

Brixworth is darn sarf to me Nick

I think its due east from me MH ...been there in the past birdwatching

ntg

[greenishfing]

Good morning. Another grey, miserable and blustery morning but not too cold at 15 °C already.

Unbelievably it is now nigh on impossible to tell that Mr GF ever had surgery and skin grafts on his hand. He did it on a Bank Holiday. Evidently our local hospital always expects lots of patients for emergency hand surgery at Bank holidays.....the "DIY clinic" as one of the nurses called it. There were about a dozen patients waiting......all male.

Today one of Mr GFs ex-sailing buddies is calling round for a chat. The last time they went sailing together they ended up spending the night on a sand bank. A lifeboat helped pull them off the next morning at high tide. Typically they had decided that the depth sounder must be faulty as the water couldn't possibly be that shallow....it was!

Looking back I sometimes wonder how he has survived more or less intact into his nineties.

There is something about totem poles that I find really intriguing. A teenager I once knew once made a kind of ceramic one. He made lots of heads with holes through the middle and they stacked onto a metal pole. It was far more impressive than the wonky plates and mugs that we were expecting from his pottery class. If I am ever near Brixworth I must rent an e-bike and have a look around the dwarves and totem. It really sounds like it would be a great place for Santa's grotto.

Nicos I had heard that the pharmacies in France would check out your mushrooms. I know one of my grandmas used to go out at dawn picking them but she never passed on her knowledge.

Off to make more coffee now..

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Dull, slightly breezy start to the Bank Holiday weekend here.
Got a last minute call , so both gites are full. Ahhhhhhhh….more ironing!
Then we’re closing until Spring ….so I can concentrate on more of the things I want to do and pop out more in the camper.
So many lovely people this year - I think we’ve all needed a touch of preCovid normality.

Totem poles?
Are you aware of this 12,000 year old wooden carving found in Russia?
It was apparently carved using beaver front teeth as the cutting edge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigir_Idol
Can’t believe the lower 2metres were just thrown away

I’ve watched quite a few YouTube videos on chainsaw art. Some people are so skilful!
You can tell if some of the older guys around here are retired farmers….most have at least one finger missing. Including the ‘old boy’ at the sawmill
I had a chuckle at the ‘DIY clinic ‘ gf.
When my OH bought his first chainsaw in the uk , he watched loads of videos on how to use it safely- and bought all the safety gear, plus was given a compulsory safety lesson on his to use it safely too.
Accidents do happen , so when we moved here - ( pretty rural as far as emergencies are concerned) as good measure I also bought him a large sachet of emergency granules to pour into a major wound to stop any loss of blood. Military grade, openable with one hand and teeth. Fortunately he’s never needed it!
Over here I’ve seen guys chainsawing in flip flops and shorts and backward facing baseball caps Bonkers.

And speaking of military…it’s Armistice Day so I’ll stop and give my respects at 11am (12.00 here)
We’re part of the Falaise Pocket here , so it’s still very poignant .

Right….so, time for a quick brew anyone?

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

Been reading a lot about Ypres/Passchendaele recently. Unbelievable. Really brings home the Ukrainian situation. It's going to be terrible winter for the troops on both sides.

Fascinating sculpture, Nicos.

We've been busy preparing for rain. Apparently heavy rains are due to the east and south of us but are expected to pass us by. The forecast for us is a whole centimetre, maybe... Better than nothing, but the ground is absolutely desperate for more. And in hope of the forecasts being wrong, we've got ourselves as ready as we can be. The ideal thing would be lots of days of constant drizzle, but it's all or nothing here. The smiles left without their sou'westers, so they obviously aren't expecting much.

The rest of the day looks like being paid work. Could be worse. Need to earn something to pay for all the transport-strike goodies I've just bought.

I shan't mention the chainsaw accidents. Don't want any famous last words here...

Have a great day, everyone.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Many thanks to all who Replied/Thumbed up to my last post, my problem is not posting enough so I suppose I'll have to make that a New Years resolution. Anyway 11:57a.m. as I type so I can get away with bidding you all good morning but by the time I finish it will be afternoon so I'll bid you all Good Afternoon ....

Went to the dentists yesterday a check up to see how my earlier extractions were healing and they are are just fine and surprising to me apart from the odd odd feeling pronouncing some words beacus of the missing two teeth I have decided no need to replace with falsies.

Yesterday afternoon spent the dreaded garage reorganisation after finally getting the daughter carpet disposed of. Only a couple of months old from her old flat just not big enough for any of the rooms in the new house. It's amazing it was literally spotless still in it original polythene and could we sell it NOOOOOOOO!!!!

In the end a young girl came over with her Mum for her own 1st time flat, so in the end a good cause Couldn't believe they bent the carpet when the estate they rolled up in was clearly not big enough, I even advised they need a van before collection but hey it was up to them I don't know how they will get the crease they put in it out?

This afternoon back to the grind of the garage and getting it ready for cupboards and the like for all the gardening tools and other as you do but as soon as the space is cleared just measuring up and material to get to install the cupboards that I already have can't wait can finally have a place to do odd jobs in no more make do and bodge, most of all though a wine rack...

Once all that done back to tidying the garden for next season plenty of soil improvement to be mixed, bulbs to plant both flower and Onions/Shallots etc.etc. etc. you lot know the drill except this time I'll have a place with a work bench todo a proper job Yaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!...

Being it's remembrance day do you think those who had their lives taken in the last two major conflicts let alone since, would believe they're sacrifice was worth it given the current stat of the woke world we now find ourselves living in?

God Bless! all Human/Military/Civilian/Animal from all conflicts.

Geoff.

[Nicos]

Talking of bulbs….can you still get bags of daffodil bulbs or have they been sold and replaced by Xmas decorations?
I’m hoping to buy some next week for gifts. So if they are hard to find then I need a Plan B
Yup - quick preXmas trip to the uk again next week.

[greenishfing]

Nicos, just had a quick look online at the garden centres near me.(Yorkshire) Some still have them. Wilko also have them on click and collect or delivery. B & Q sold out near here.

[Snoop Puss]

Talking of bulbs….can you still get bags of daffodil bulbs or have they been sold and replaced by Xmas decorations?
I’m hoping to buy some next week for gifts. So if they are hard to find then I need a Plan B
Yup - quick preXmas trip to the uk again next week.

Have you had a look at Farmer Gracy online? Maybe have them delivered to an address in the UK where you can pick them up? Big discounts at the moment...

https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/

[Nicos]

^^^ OK - thanks

[Bren In Pots]

It’s been a good day today no wind or rain, some sunshine and not cold enough to need a jacket.
No gardening though apart from apple picking, we’re trying to clear the last tree.