What's Grandad got to talk about?

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Grandad
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Grandad »

Wow! Thank you MD, and Horus if I show your words to my daughter she will cry her eyes out. Thankfully she arrived in Javea Spain on holiday this morning so I shall save it for their return. But I know your words will give her some comfort. She addored Millie and called her 'My little mate' because she followed her everywhere.


:gg:
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

I always refer to Annie as 'My little mate' for the same reason, I share your daughters sadness at losing her faithful little friend :(
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

I think sometimes the passing of a pet is the hardest as they're so faithful and loyal it is very hard when that goes. Your idea re: cremation and sprinkling her ashes where she was free to run is PERFECT!
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by FABlux »

So sorry to hear of Millie's passing. I think the cremation is a lovely idea and every year when you visit the woods you will know she has helped to support the flowers that she loved to visit.
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Grandad »

Sunday again, not a lot to say. Our daughter and husband are away on holiday so we do not have our willing taxi available, My next eye injection is in 7 days and surgery in 20 days. I must confess to getting fed up with such reduced vision, I can't imagine how blind people cope. Respect to them.... My wife has detected my mood putting a downer on life at hiome. :(
I have been reading some of the posts with a large magnifier and there are a few I will comment on here.
Reading the Over or Under toilet roll thread I was tempted to add, 'We tear the newspaper into squares, punch a hole in the corner, and hang the sheets on a nail' Ring any bells folks??? :lol: :lol:
Talking dentistry, when in the RAF the dentist took the view, if it is giving you trouble get rid of it. In civvy street my dentist took the same view. So by my forties I already had top and bottom part dentures. My remaing front teeth took the brunt of the work and as they were well worn I had them removed in my fifties and have had full dentures ever since. The plus side of course, no toothache and no gum problems. :up
I am not using the scooter but did take it to Herne Bay on Wednesday with my wife, son and Louis. With care that was OK. They won't thank me for posting yjis but Louis is 9 and I have told him he has GOT to be a basket ball player, he is so tall.He is into all sport and is a very competent swimmer.
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MD I notice that you may get a smaller scooter similar to mine. Mine disassembles in seconds to put in a car boot but there are downsides that I will mention to you. My wheels are 8" front and 9" rear which with no suspension can ve bumpy on uneven surfaces. The ground clearance is very small so it cannot cope with much more than an inch drop. I have had to check around the city to find the best routes with the best dropped curbs' I opyrd for three wheels because it takes less space in a car boot and I can turn in the length of the scooter, which has been very useful when I have got stuck down narrowing pavements.
Genetic testing I don't see a lot of value in. DNA is more precise for specific relationships. Some years ago I was contacted by a lady via Ancestry who believed sh is a near cousin from an illigitimate relationship around 1912. I think she is probably correct, she has had a DNA test and I know she would like me to do the same. Nothing to hide so maybe I will. Ancestry do all the comparisons.
Funally tomatoes! I am still waiting for some to ripen.
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They have reached the green/yellow stage so not too long now. The banana plant is goung great.
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I have taken another plant from the base. The first two did not survive.
Talk again soon....
:gg:
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

Glad you were able to comment Grandad, I know it must be an effort on your part, but hopefully it will be some better news very soon. Your tomatoes and the Banana plant are looking good, you will find once one starts to turn then the rest will follow quite quickly. :up

I have been keeping quite busy despite the heat, I had noticed a neighbour of mine had ‘skipped’ a load of good 100 x 35 timber, plus a load of 120 x 35 decking, so being cheeky I asked if I could have it, “waste not want not”. ;)
The end result is that I have made myself a very large planter box to replant my dwarf Buddleia bush as the original half barrel had rotted away. Then as an after thought I added a self supporting bench seat all around the four sides and it has worked out very well and with the weight of the soil in the pot (I estimate it all weighs about 1/3 of a tonne) it is very stable and it could sit at least 8 people all around it without fear of it tipping over.
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I also made my daughter a Pergola for her home and that is almost finished now, it is all in kit form sitting in my drive ready for my grandson to collect in his big van. That got me thinking and I am tempted to buy myself an hexagonal metal pergola with a fabric canopy to go over my new planter/seat.
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Grandad »

I Like your planter H, no chance of that tipping over. But I do wish you would stop telling all about what you have been up to, I can't even see to change a bl**dfy fuse ;) :lol:
The only butterflies we seem to have are the common whites. I did say to my wife that I think we should have a buddliea or two and your planter has set my mind thinking.
:gg:
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

Grandad regards the Butterflies, as you know I keep a fairly close watch on the natural world in my neck of the woods and this year they have been very noticeable by their absence. The white variety seem to be doing OK with lots of Large Whites, Cabbage Whites and other variants, but to date I have not seen a single Comma Butterfly, only a single Red Admiral, a couple of Peacocks and I think just two Small Tortoiseshells. Now to me that is a very bad sign and it doesn’t bode very well for next year, so get your Budliea planted and you will have hundreds visiting your garden, if there are any left that is. :(
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

@Grandad - hopefully time won't drag too much between now and your eye surgery. I've often kinda wondered what blind people do. What hobbies do they have as most are dependent on being able to see. At least the hobbies I mostly do are dependent on seeing and IMO you can only listen to so much music but 20 days will pass soon. Not sure what the recovery time will be am thinking in no time at all you'll be back to good.

Your banana tree is looking good and tempting me to try one although what I've been sort of, kind of looking for is a fig tree. There is one variety called "Dessert King" or "Desert King" (have seen it spelled both ways) that seems to grow here quite ok and right now everybody is selling fresh figs. They're sold in used egg cartons by the dozen at $2/fig which is pricey but they're also delicious! I've got a spot in the backyard let that would fit one tree (soon as H gets here to build my chicken coop and not that he knows it I'm now adding a few planters too!) and am thinking it will be a fig. I planted one apple tree just on the other side of my fence on ground I think I own (but I'm not sure as it is just inside the line where everything must be "Eco." Just planted the tree last fall and it is growing and flowered out but no apples yet. Will see if it actually survives the summer first.

And "yes" the Grandson MUST be a basketball player. With those long legs he seems to be a built in natural for that sport and if he likes basketball he'll go far.

I got ONE tomato so far too that was quite ripe when I discovered it under the leaves.

I took a photo of the entire bush but managed to deleted it vs save it when I resized it to put on here and now I see that I did 'save' this one in portrait (but you'll get the idea)

9537

This is the tomato. Not a bad size and nothing on the bottom so will be having a tomato today for lunch.
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by LovelyLadyLux »

This is a photo from a week or so ago of one my tomato plants. It has now passed the top of the fence. I probably should be out there pruning it some more too.

9548

The carrots are doing well. Grandkids love them and particularly love pulling them. Guess pulling them is a bit like pulling treasure to see what you get but they definitely wolf 'em down.

I pulled up all my peas now too. They were finished. Was so wet they really didn't produce overly well but enough for a couple of feeds.
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Grandad thanks for the tip about ground clearance on the scooter - I think the one I want has 2.5 inches, but I'll believe it if I see it! I've been checking the lowered pavements for a couple of years, since they started putting a lot around here. We are very well served in the City too.

As a family we have a couple of genetic quirks. Mostly we are wondering what if anything Grandson has inherited. Both my daughters are being tested and it will be interesting to see how similar or different our profiles are. Regarding relatives I hadn't thought of that! I;ve been on Ancestry for about 15 years I think and only relatives that I know about have contacted me. Except for one woman who insisted that she knew the details of my paternal Great Grandfather - but as I pointed out to her according to her information he fathered a son at the age of 8 years. :urm:

Horus nice bench, I haven't come across a dwarf buddleia yet. You wouldn't want one as big as the one growing in my stone wall in my back garden. It's just passed 20 feet across I'm glad to say and is about 9 or 10 feet high. It makes a very nice barrier between me and "The Mews" behind my house. I got 6 sacks of prunings off it last year, it grows like a crazy thing and I love it. Unfortunately we also have very few butterflies this year and a lot less bees too. :(
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

LLL, you will almost certainly need another tree in close proximity to get cross pollination on your apple tree and preferably of a different variety, crab apple trees make good pollinators. Looks like I will have no time for sightseeing and wild nights out with you saying as you have all those jobs lined up for me when I visit. ;) :D

@MD well mine were purchased some years ago from a garden centre as being a dwarf variety and so far that has been the case. I have had Budliea in open ground and as you say they grow like wildfire, maybe it is the confinement of the pots that is keeping these in check, but after an Autumn pruning to tidy them up they stay about the same size the following year. Mind you I am hoping that the one in the big planter will grow a bit more as I want to prune the lower sections away so that it grows to give overhead shade to the seating areas.
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Ruby Slippers »

You all sound very busy in your respective gardens, but all I can report is that I am picking tomatoes every day and have been for a few weeks! We have a fridge full and are now at the 'sharing' stage! :up
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

Once they start they go on forever RS ;)
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by FABlux »

Horus the same thing happens with cucumbers and courgettes. :roll: At least I'm getting to try out new recipes, just started doing home made courgette spaghetti & noodles :)
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

Sounds good :eat
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Grandad »

Pleased to say I can see again, the downside is that none of my specs are of any use and I have to wait six weeks before I have an eye test and new glasses. Very pleased to say that the cataract op went very well and thank you for all your good wishes.
When my right eye, which is virtually blind, was done a year ago I reckoned it took only about 12 minutes. This time I wore a watch with a stop watch function. I had the same surgeon, Mr Raza, and I clocked the total time at 8 minutes 35 seconds, and I didn't feel a thing, brilliant.
For the next 4 weeks I have a strict regime of eye drops, pressure reducing pills, and the eye protector to wear at night for just a week. I signed a consent form that I couldn't read but if I could, many people would not even get on the table with risks from detached retina to blindness........WOW!
I shall try to get back to posting albeit with my face about 6 inches from the screen until I get new specs. At least the text is black on white again and not a blurred out pale grey.
This is a simulation of what I was seeing across the road at the front of my house before and after surgery.

95799580
:gg:
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Horus »

Fantastic Grandad :jig:
Now just take things easy and don't go straining your eyes trying to read or type, just chill and the time will soon pass. Don't forget to wear that eyepatch, I once woke myself up in the night scratching my itchy eye after the op, so after that I taped it into place at bedtime :o
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Mad Dilys »

Excellent! :jig: :wave: :wave: :d1:
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Re: What's Grandad got to talk about?

Post by Kiya »

Fantastic news Grandad, now just take it easy for a while :hug:
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