Things I do like

[Tdci-Peter]

5 hours ago, GMX said:

Upon returning, I do like, in between more showers and failed attempts to mow the lawn, to have finally planted out the broccoli

Ghana, you are, in the very nicest way, completely bonkers!

The variations of interest on this site are one of its charms, though. Many car sites are just all about making cars sound, or look, like they are going very, very fast, but here we deal with anything from customising Focus STs, through road safety, to how to plant Broccoli.

I could do with some advice there though. Earlier this year, I dug up some buttercups, prepared the soil, and sowed some Brussels sprouts seeds, that I had been given. Among the weeds, I do have some vegetables popping up, but they look more like potatoes to me. Ah well, still go with the Sunday roast.

Also, today I learnt (Wrong topic, I know but I am here now), that if you get a lawnmower working (meths down the carb worked a treat), then your reward is to get to mow about 2 acres of long, wet grass. Took me all afternoon.

[GMX]

35 minutes ago, Tdci-Peter said:

Among the weeds, I do have some vegetables popping up, but they look more like potatoes to me

You don't have a photo of them? 

Did you add any home-made compost, often a rogue potato will spout from a piece of peel, or a discarded eye that has not composted fully. 

The nightshades are in the potato family, or alternatively the potato is in the nightshade family.

[Tdci-Peter]

11 hours ago, GMX said:

You don't have a photo of them?

the potato is in the nightshade family.

Just taken a photo of my supposed Brussels.  There have been pots in that bed, and I find they keep popping up, difficult to get rid of them. Each side of the tiny veg patch, you may notice rampant buttercups. I do rather like the flowers, just they like growing in my garden a bit too much. Behind the pots, you may see signs of a creeping tide of raspberries and mint. I must do something about that before they take over the entire garden, then invade the house. I do not want to be made homeless by badly behaved plants.

But some of my weeds are doing quite well (3rd pic). The aquilegia & campion (a mix now of white campion seeded by me years ago, and pink campion from the wild), is doing really well just now. And the self sown hollyhocks (mostly in annoying places like joints in the paths, though I did transplant some), are coming up.

I have another plant, pretty purple & yellow flowers (pic 4), and red fruit, just like little tomatoes. I had a nibble of one once (Who did I say was bonkers?), it was very bitter so I desisted. I think that is a nightshade of some sort, but I survived. Yes, Toms, Pots & nightshade are all Soilinacea, I think, or has someone changed the name lately?

 

 

[GMX]

Those are definitely potatoes.

Feed them with a high potash fertiliser weekly and you should get a few kilos of spuds per plant.

I practice a 4-cycle crop rotation on my vegetable beds. First potatoes, then legumes, then brassicas and then everything else.

I still get rogue potatoes and for that matter melons and courgettes, popping up 2 years after they had primary use of the bed.

 

11 minutes ago, Tdci-Peter said:

I have another plant, pretty purple & yellow flowers (pic 4), and red fruit, just like little tomatoes. I had a nibble of one once (Who did I say was bonkers?), it was very bitter so I desisted. I think that is a nightshade of some sort, but I survived. Yes, Toms, Pots & nightshade are all Soilinacea, I think, or has someone changed the name lately?

That's a woody nightshade ( Solanum dulcamara) also known as bittersweet, bittersweet nightshade, bitter nightshade, blue bindweed, Amara Dulcis, climbing nightshade, fellenwort, felonwood, poisonberry, poisonflower, scarlet berry, snakeberry, trailing bittersweet, trailing nightshade and violet bloom.

 

[Tdci-Peter]

50 minutes ago, GMX said:

That's a woody nightshade ( Solanum dulcamara) also known as bittersweet

Thanks for that.

It certainly was bitter, I can vouch for that, not so sure about the sweet bit though! (I do not advise anyone else to try it)

The soil the pots are in already has quite a lot of wood ash in it, every thing in that bed seems to grow quite vigorously, but especially the weeds. Turn my back for five minutes (or a few days, more literally), due to work, weather or fixing the car, and it has gone mad! But I have plenty more ash to give them, if they would like it.

But I am just not disciplined enough to do proper, planned garden work. I admire people who can. But sometimes nature, with a bit of careful persuasion, does a good job. Sometimes I get a lovely, colourful display of red poppies & Marigolds (or Calendula) later in the year. And usually a good crop of delicious raspberries.

 

[Philf1]

It's getting like gardeners world on here

See my parts for sale on thread "philf1s Spirit Blue Fiesta ST180 parts for sale"

[Tdci-Peter]

Yes, I know, and it's not even as if I was a dead keen gardener, but I like talking to people with different interests.

I am also not dead keen on the new Top Gear, but did you see the article on the new Focus RS that you are showing? It beat the Honda hands down, and beat the Mercedes in all important respects, at least according to the rather dodgy Top Gear viewpoint. Best hot hatch ever, and best practical fast car ever? That is what was claimed.

I am afraid I will not be splashing out 30k on one anytime soon, I paid £2700 for my 1.8, and it has served me well so far. But it is nice to see the RS well regarded, I think it shows that if you start off with what was a pretty good basic design, and soup it up quite a lot, you can end up with something pretty special.

There, the thread is back to performance cars, but not for too long, I hope before it goes off in another direction again.

[GMX]

I do like Tesco have reduced the price of Watermelons and Piel de Sapo melons, both are only £2 now

 

 

 

[Ianb]

I like the garden talk.... It's beyond me but I can appreciate a sense of care and green fingeredness

[Preecematt]

37 minutes ago, Ianb said:

I like the garden talk.... It's beyond me but I can appreciate a sense of care and green fingeredness

I like the garden talk as well especially as I'm not exactly Alan titchmarsh, it's something new to learn.  I've only got 3 flowers, the vegetables we tried to grow we forgot about and they died.  And besides I'm interested in gardening to the extent I'm trying to achieve the best front and back gardens on our row/cul de sac, I'm a long way off back garden as 2 doors down, they are a similar age but their back garden is awesome.  But they have the help of a few chickens & 2 dogs.  I have a dog & 2 kids lol.  But front garden I can easily win at the moment, well when I've actually removed 3 bushes

[Preecematt]

I like going female spotting.  I mean taking Amelia to school, I also like that my manager has sorted his honey out & left me 4 jars of honey.  Tastes so so so much better than any shop brought tosh

Edited June 14, 2016 by alexp999
inappropriate language

[jmurray01]

I do like experimenting with red wine to cure my cold...  Some people say it works, and even if it doesn't - at least I won't care as much!

[GMX]

I do like returning from the vets with a much happier and treated Brandy.

She did indeed have a UTI, but rather than the fully developed stage she had before, it was in the early stages.  The vet gave her an antibiotic injection and a 14 day course of tablets.  Or from Brandy's viewpoint, that's 4 extra separate sardines every day, for the next 14 days.

She (vet) also checked everything else whilst Brandy was on the examination table, and commented Brandy "has not got the expected body and vitality of a 15 almost 16 year old dog - she's got the body and vitality of a 7-8 year old!" 

She was very impressed by Brandy's teeth, and photographed them, as good example of what dog teeth should look like, for the students she teaches at Surrey Veterinary School.  That the third time, one the vets has photographed one of Brandy's body parts, for their respective students.  Brandy is becoming an accidental medical dog model

 

 

 

[Tdci-Peter]

2 hours ago, GMX said:

I do like returning from the vets with a much happier and treated Brandy.

So do we like you returning from the vet (or at least I do, and I hope some other regulars do!).

We certainly want Brandy to get back to important jobs like peeing against the wheels of Vauxhalls, and of course hearing about the exploits.

From Pity the poor Vauxhall:

( I parked behind, and Brandy peed next to (pre-shopping ablutions) , what was clearly someone who was embarrassed/ashamed to be driving a brown Vauxhall )!

[GMX]

I do like finding my empty butts have completely refilled with last night's and yesterday's afternoon rain

I also like finding £16.47 in loose change, scattered on the pavement between the local takeaways and the taxi rank, during Brandy's morning stroll.  That's quite a lot for weekday coinage droppage, usually weekdays only yield around a fiver.  Sunday mornings are the most lucrative Meanwhile, Brandy found, but was denied the opportunity to eat, several discarded partially eaten meals.

 

 

[Ianb]

Haha pret is a hog like that, although last time she snaffled something discarded she got v unwell.... Left a lot of puddles...and they weren't wee either (from the same end though!!!!) had to go to the vets to get sorted!

[iantt]

First drive of ford edge, nice ride quality and very quiet. 2.0 diesel, plenty of power from 200+ ps.Sport version

not sure its about £40k worth though

[Ianb]

First drive of ford edge, nice ride quality and very quiet. 2.0 diesel, plenty of power from 200+ ps.Sport version

not sure its about £40k worth though

You can get a 10k mile ST estate (st3) for half that on autotrader!!!!

[jmurray01]

I do like feeling a bit better today (I.E. no pounding headache and impaired vision), however still not well enough to attend work.  I could force myself in (unlike Tuesday), and in the past always have, but I know if I do that I'll end up back to square one by the end of the day and possibly calling in sick again tomorrow because my symptoms have returned with a vengeance. 

And that said, even though I feel "better", the body always feels better at home where you are relaxed and under little stress as opposed to work, where you are under pressure.  Even without illness I could feel great at home, and then step inside work and immediately feel ill for no apparent reason.  Just shows the power that the mind (and your environment) has over how you feel physically. 

[Ianb]

Missed a chance Jamie, should have gone in for a couple hours, sneezed on the manager while partially collapsing, then they'd send you home..

[jmurray01]

1 hour ago, Ianb said:

Missed a chance Jamie, should have gone in for a couple hours, sneezed on the manager while partially collapsing, then they'd send you home..

Haha, yeah - not sure that would have been the best idea...  Plus I would have used £10 of diesel!

[chrisroberson99]

Hope you're back to normal soon Jamie.

I do like the fact that it's my birthday in less than two days...can't wait to have a drive in the Focus.

Will drive to school on Sunday too before saying goodbye to it for a week. 

[jmurray01]

4 hours ago, chrisroberson99 said:

Hope you're back to normal soon Jamie.

I do like the fact that it's my birthday in less than two days...can't wait to have a drive in the Focus.

Will drive to school on Sunday too before saying goodbye to it for a week. 

Thanks Chris. 

Good luck with driving the Focus - once you start you'll never look back.  No wait - please do look back, frequently!

[GMX]

I do like managing to weed all the drive (again) before the rain came back, it seems to be frequent heavy showers but with completely dry interludes.  Brandy's morning stroll was conveniently during a dry period too

I also like how fast the officer from "Happening Now" team was deployed from Environmental Health, when i called in to report trade waste fire, it was literally a couple of minutes after I spoke to them

@jmurray01 Hope you feel better soon

[GMX]

I do like partially following the course of the Stour with Brandy, on her long weekend morning stroll

 In certain places, it was hard to discern what was river and what was path, after this week's rain they'd merged into a body of water, often requiring us to walk in the adjacent field. Brandy is tide-marked at mid-thigh/lower chest level with a combination of river mud and bits of vegetation

The Met Office's forecast for today looks promising for all those outside tasks too