Real time communication

[Seren]

I am taking this inspiration from another forum - a space just to 'chat' whenever we are online without it being focussed on any topic in particular. Obviously time differences will make an impact, but lets see.....

Today it has been raining hard here, which is nice in some ways but I was helping my wife who had organised a summer fete for the nursing home she works at. I think we did reasonably considering but there were a lot less people than last year.

Glenys is the homes 'activity organiser' so she wrks hard at making sure that all the people living there do something or have some sort of interaction (some can't move or talk) that gives them a bit more quality in their lives.

[Seren]

Get a silicone gel for the seat too....

[Tamar Shoshana]

Wow, what conversations going on here! Grilling, organizing, essay-ing....
I will give you props, John, for watching America's Next Top Model...most men wont watch shows like that. I really enjoy the pointless reality shows, well, some of them...my favorite show of all time is 'House'!! Its soo interesting, and oh, i really think older, brilliant men are attractive. heh. dont ask!!!
Has anyone seen The Spirit??? I LOVE Sin City, thats one of my favorite movies! Wasnt it a comic book too???

[Seren]

House is a good series, was such a change from the usual characters Hugh Laurie played. Dark, macho and damaged.....

[Tamar Shoshana]

Yes, agreed.
Do you know if the new season is coming this fall??? I cant wait!



By the way..whats with all this rain?! My garden loves it, but I dont! Hehe.
I just picked lots and lots of green beans out of my garden today, a bunch of cherry tomatoes, a HUGE zucchini (the ones that grow in our garden are probably 5x (or more) the size of normal zucchini, lol, and one eggplant. I made eggplant parm today and steamed green beans, and plan on using the tomatoes for salad and a zucchini bread with onions and parm cheese :) soo glad i went to culinary school!!

[Seren]

Due to Glenys's course we have been watching House on DVD, so tend to see it later than first showing on TV.

It's been raining a lot here too - gardens grown all sorts of things, none edible apart from the wild strawberries. The zuchinis sound nice - I tend to fry some ginger and finger chilli for a little bit before adding them, then some fresh coriander just before finishing.

[Tamar Shoshana]

Oh yummmm! I will try that! Thank you! :)

Im hoping theres no more zucchinis growing, i have 4 still that are SOOO big! I cant wait for the pumpkins to grow, I want to make pumpkin pie SO bad :) Im growing strawberries, blackberries, concord grapes, I have 2 cherry trees, basil, red peppers, onions,tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, radishes, and shallots, green beans, and eggplants.
I love having a garden, its fun, you feel like you are in control of at least SOME of the fresh produce you are eating, and it saves $$!!! :)

[Seren]

Takes a lot of time?

Thats quite a range of things you've got growing there. I did have a large allotment many years ago when I worked in a forest, but the effort it took to keep everything as it should be was too much for me on my own, if I wanted to do other things.

I like the idea of no digging or pruning gardening, but unless I ever get a garden in which I could go for it'll stay just an idea.

My favourite meal is to get a lot of mushrooms, closed cup ones, break them by hand, fry them with oil and some soya sauce with the lid on so that the juices come out. Then add a load of different vegetables and cook them in the juices before adding a good dollop of cream before serving.....

[Tamar Shoshana]

So, Seren, I was thinking about what you said...you like the idea of not having to weed, dig, etc...
Why dont you pick some fruits or vegetables that you like, say...tomatoes or herbs, maybe even green beans or something, and put them in huge pots??? Im sure you would have to put a tomato cage as well as some bamboo (if its a vine plant, such as cucumbers or green beans), but that would eliminate the digging and weeding part. As far as pruning, you will have to do some, but not very much, i assure you. For my garden, i spend about 30 minutes per day, in the beginning its ALOT of work, but its very much worth the labor. I ate some cucumber (by the way, 90% of my garden is organic), and let me tell you, thats the best cucumber ive ever tasted! normally, if you buy them from the store, they dont have much taste, but the cucumber i ate was very sweet. It was amazing!! the best part about being able to grow fruits and vegetables, is that you can choose when you want to pick them, for instance, I picked an eggplant when it was on the small/medium side, and there were barely any seeds! (more seeds means its more bitter)
Anyways, i hope ive inspired you to start your own garden next year!! like I said, its very much worth it! Especially if you are into organic like I am, I have saved SO much money!!! Also, its good to do a compost, I have started one and cant wait to use the final product in my garden next year! Especially if you are one to eat alot of fruits and vegetables, you can use the leftovers (as well as leaves, grass clippings, smaller sticks) and make a compost for your garden!! It really helps your plants grow and produce!! :)

[Seren]

Hmmm, gardening is not a priority for me at the moment, I've always preferred the forests and wildlands as places to be. I have grown stuff in the past, and kept chickens, but I would need to spend time to work out the best way to do things. We have a south facing heat trap for a garden, that cracks pots (even in 'sunny' wales) and the growing season is quite short - our friends flowers are often only just starting when ours are turning to seed. (not to mention it is sort of terraced due to sloping down to a river, tha bank of which is very steep and full of trees.)

There is a whole approach to gardening based on not disturbing the ground by continuous digging and that fruit trees actually fruit more if never pruned - but it is a long term process as you have to start from scratch, and we currently rent our home.