TEA ROOM # 54

Good morning all.
Dianne - The parents are a grey cock and yellowface blue hen. The cock is carrying a sex linked recessive gene for cinnamon markings. This will only be passed to his daughters in visual form so I know the cinnamon sky blue is a hen. It was a last minute thought to put them together and I am very happy with the result. I will try to get them to sit still for a family photo. The babies are going to big school today while the parents go into the aviary for a well earned rest.
Out into the yard this morning to install my wife's christmas present from me - a new compost bin. I am such a romantic!
Steve

Hello everybody. Another cool morning here but expected to rise to awful heat during the week again. I saw all the rain in the rest of the state here on the TV news and even a few miles from us there were thunderstorms and heavy rain.
I must have done something bad sometime for all my rain to be given out elsewhere. BooHoo....
Hello Dianne. Once long ago , I used to breed budgies too and like Steve, I enjoyed the genetic side. Pretty little birds. Steve I was always partial to the cinnamons and pieds. Do show us some of your feathered friends.
Anthony, Barry Manilow ????? Indeed.
I will have to go and put on some loud Credence to get him out of my head. Bad Moon Rising.....
Sue, I worked in shearing sheds for years and dags were definiely those dried bits of "stuff " hanging from the wool at the rear end like bunches of giant grapes.. I found that when my kids were growing up, a dag was also someone who was always saying or doing silly things..... A computer or tech person or even someone who was very good at math etc was a nerd .
Back to gardeners, we are all more sensible anyway.
Wayne, I am trying to get all my Angels to grow as standards like yours. So nice to look at that way . I see the green caterpillars that nibbled on some of mine are gone now. I only found the 7 or 8 that I squished and I still don't know where they came from. Never had them here before. Must have been something on a Christmas holiday.
I am watching our Blood plum tree now as the fruit are really big this year and already the birds have found them. We have a lot more apples than I have seen before. Just a pity that hubby never thought before planting as we never eat the sort he planted here. One is a seed grown tree and is not nice at all. The Granny Smith, he does like but I have yet to see him eat one. I make do with the nectarines and peaches. The grapes are looking good but the race will be on to see who gets more, us or the birds. It's not worth netting as the blackbirds find a way in and for the small amount we eat, I don't really mind sharing .
I have to go and do a bit of pulling out of old dead plants today. I like to let the seeds fall first but the plants have done that and now look awful. Wallflowers, honesty, californian poppies etc. I usually pull them out and throw way down the back where they rot away over the year.
Hello to everyone out there. I hope you are all over your celbrations now and getting back to normal.
Have a happy day. Try the Hummingbird Cake.
Jean.

G'Day,
Donut people check your tree. I thought mine had at least a week to go but see what I got today. Lousy crop because of lack of chill but pretty good size. I might have one with cream for dessert tonight.
I reckon Peaches & Cream would go pretty well with the genteel decor in our Tea Room so I've put a dozen in there with some cream. No slurping now that the room has been up graded. NO! you cannot lick your plate.
Brian

Forgot the fruit.

They look wonderful brian.
We have been having lovely stone fruit of many kind.
I make a kind ofMango ice cream that tastes like a weiss bar.
I just take about twelve nice ripe (I hate them by the way this is for others) mangoes and peel them (peg on the nose).
I mash them well and add about two or three cups of milk powder (you can use skim if you want to) and mash in very well ...I do all of this in a two litre ice cream container.
I then stir in a cup of lime or lemon cordial. Stir really well then almost fill up to the top with softened ice cream ...mash through very quickly then put the lid on and place in the freezer. Everyone loves this on a hot day.
Dag ...now that always mean't a lovable drip didn't it?
My poor brother Phillip ...we use to tease him by saying he was Pip the drip and Phil the dill, we love him to bits though. George always got georgey porgie puddin and pie. Jenny was jenny wren ...Dianne was always Dee dee, Brenda was always benny, lesley was always sissy, me? they called me tina???? nick names a very australian thing ...any of you have nick names?

Only Stake but because I had a slightly younger brother, I was Big Stake he was Little Stake.
Brian

I must have been Miss Stake. I was called Colly and Colly-kid. My eldest son calls me Mumma and some of his mates call me that too. My other son calls me Ma. Colleen

'bop bop little weed' all my life[do you remember 'bill and ben''.]i laughed when i saw the shopping mall kids ride,'bill and ben,with''weed''..some people used to think they'd come up with a brand new'stir you up 'name..no 'sorry' you'll have to do better than that..it relates to my surname'weeding'..believe me,it was nowhere as bad as some of my mates names.

lol - well I got called tree, short for Treesa as they pronounced Teresa...
then the boys said I was too short for a tree so called me shrub!

Good morning all. A nice cool sunny morning here. A prelude to a couple of very uncomfortably hot days they say.
Nick names. Hmmm. Becauase I was a Mc I was always called Macca but there were a few bright sparks who tried to call me raincoat ( from surname mcintosh )
Maybe todays kids wouldn't know that one.
I made sure when I named all mine that nothing much could be done with their names.
I will get some water thrown around this morning and maybe a feed for the Angels.
There are all those dead plants to pull out now the seeds have fallen. I am watching the Angels closely and hoping the heat coming doesn't make them drop buds.
I'm glad you all seem to like the new Tea Room decor. I thought we are getting quite good at keeping the crumbs off the floor so an update was called for.
Brian, what peaches ? All I found this morning was a bowl on the table. There was a plate and spoon in the sink. I wonder who found the peaches.
Chrissy, you can try your recipe out on the masses but not for me either. I do like the odd mango but not that way.
How are the creeping sheds going ?
I hope everyone up that way is safe from any flooding. Isn't it such a diverse country here, when there are floods and bushfires all on the same side of the country ?
Someone upstairs needs to do a bit of coordination and proper allotment of rain etc. I'd like to know who got my quota. Could they please send it back.
Brian, why stake and not steak ? ha ha.
Colleen, how are those taddies going ? Are they frogs yet ?
All my little cacti are looking good here. You can see all the new growth on them.
Hello to everyone else.
Teresa, Dianne, Leisa, Sue, Steve, Kat., Elaine. We do have a good rollcall here don't we. So nice that everyone tidies uo too. Brian, you haven't noticed the new shelf above the wine bar yet. I thought some pretty glasses would sit there.
We do need a few flowers from the other thread to put on the tables too.
i'm off out into the sun before it decides to heat up. Have a happy day and enjoy some icecream with your fruit .
Jean.

Good morning everyone. Do you think there is a place in the beautiful tearoom for this Echinopsis flower? Lovely and cool again this morning. I got a few more cactus planted yesterday. The boys gave me a hand. They planted a few of the smaller ones. You should see them with their tongs handling the cactus. They will be experts by the time they grow up. I'd better get moving. I have to do a bit of shopping so will be back later. Colleen

Morning all! In a family of 5 kids there were always names being invented. Dad was a butcher so his brothers called him Ham Bone. When my brother Neil became a butcher we called him Meat Head. Mostly though he is called Smelly. (smelly nelly). Sharon is Shaz and Susan is Suzy Q, Paul is Ball. As for me it will depend on who you ask. Step Hen, Stephanie, Steff, Stiff and Spaz are just some of the repeatable ones.

Overcast here again. Got the compost bin in place yesterday. Now the rats will have to find something else to do as they can't chew holes in this one. Back later.
Cheers
Stiff

ha ha ha ...love ham bone and meat head it must be a riot around your Christmas get togethers, so funny.
grey and wet here.

Hello all, it's still raining here in Bris - lovely just like the days of old. The garden is absolutely loving it; the grass is so lush & green! Hubby's going to have a big job once the rain stops. I didn't get out in the garden much yesterday, but need to do a tidy up of my potting bench, as I seem to be accumulating too much junk (pots etc). I had hoped to get out & fertilize, but didn't get that far. Things all look ok anyway, so maybe no big deal.

Love all the nic names. As a teen, I was known as 'Fish' for pulling a fish face alot. One of my friends, on meeting my Dad, called him Mr Fish, because she thought it was my surname. Halarious! Now its weed woman (hubby) but I'm sure there are others out there, probably not used to my face. he he
Leisa, how go the broms? Must go and check the thread. Its been a bit quiet. Mike might be calling in here on tuesday which would be nice.
Anyway, worked today, booooo! But home now, so going out to.........garden.
Sue

yahoo!back to work.short day,hardly any of the construction companies back until next week[they worked that out well]been in the garden ,scratching around,moving pots,hopefully to get the flower timing right for satday[i wont have sat'much' that day]the garage smells nice--very cool--hopefully holding blooms til satrday..cross fingers

I thought that I would share this with you all. My son gave me a plaque for the shadehouse and it says,
Heal the past.
Live the present.
Dream the future.
Colleen

A beautiful gift and a wonderful few words ...so very true too.

Mr fish ...ha ha ha, hey fish er sue that's very funny.

nice to hear some of you are getting rain, though some are getting a little too much. I hope everyone is ok.

treesa er shrub ...we are thinking of you. May I suggest you might find a little comfort in planting and tending to something that reminds you of your dad. It helps a lot.

Hello everyone. A beautiful morning here but it will end up being quite hot. I am off out to put some water on a few pots etc so they get through the heat alright.
Hello Anthony, what do you play with when the lilies are finished flowering ? Do you have other favorite plants ?
Sue, my broms are loving the warm and I have so many little froggies living in them. I wonder where they all go in the winter ?
Hello Chrissy. My angels are doing well and I have buds now on two Frostys. Elfin. white suavoleons. and of course GHA.
The bougainvillea is a lovely picture and does look great along the fence in the sun. Makes a change from the crispy toast in the rest of the garden. There are green oases as I water a particular plant here and there. Most by now are all survivors without water during summer.
I am going to plant a few more grasses as they do well. Pity one can't find some of the lovely native grasses in nurseries here . All they seem to have are the common smaller ones and cordylines which don't like it much outside down here. I had a book on grasses from the library and there are some very lovely ones.
Colleen, that verse is lovely. Your son is very good to you.
Leisa, did you stop work on the the channel down to here. I need that rain. It marvellous how selective the weather can be. Just a few miles from here they had some nice heavy rain last week. We could stand out on our hill and watch it move across.
Hello Steve. I had to laugh at all the nick names. Your step hen did bring back memeories of my Steven at kindie. The teacher wrote all the names on the paintings and Steven was upset that he couldn't find his. The teacher pointed out his one but Steven was adamant that he was not Step hen.
Better move myself as the sun is getting higher. It's not the heat so much that annoys me outside as the B*** flies. I have never seen them as bad for years. They seem to love aerogard so maybe I'll try something different.
Hello all out there looking in. Come in and chat, relax and have a cuppa.
I leave you with something yummy, Plum Cake. Brian , look at the cream.
Happy gardening .
Jean

Good morning everyone. Jean I have some flowers for you to put on the table. Beautiful cool morning but is supposed to warm up by the end of the week. Not too hot I hope. John will be back this afternoon, will stay for a day then take us back to his place for a bit of a break. The lovely lady from across the road will be looking after everything here while we're gone. The dog , Ben, is going for a holiday too. I hope he behaves himself. I hope everyone is well.Will be back later. Colleen

G'Day, Bit funny all the cream & icing must be diet food either that or my belt & watch band have stretched. See you can't believe these dieticians and health food nuts all you need is "The Tea Room".
Brian

I'm just waving from the window on my way to work :-( but at least it's cool there & the day passes pretty quickly!
Still gray here, but not any more rain in the past 24 hours or so. The ground is still moist though.
Jean, once I'm done at work, I'll get back to working on the channel to divert some run off to you. Although we've had lots of rain here in Bris, it's been smaller more constant falls for a change - different tothe short sudden deluges of the past couple of years. But maybe some will run along to all who need it.
Colleen I love you saying, I'd just change it to:
Learn from the past.
Live the present.
Dream the future.
:-) Leisa.

Good morning to everyone, I am back at work yuk!!!
It will take me a while to catch up on everything that has happened since I have been away.
I hope everyone had a truly wonderfull Christmas and Santa was kind to you all, I hope New years went relatively hangover free, I slept right through it, I needed the sleep more than I needed to party lol. Apart from that I just don't go out New years any more I havn't for years.
I got a White and a Black Bat plant and a Jade vine for Christmas, I love those gifts, I got other stuff as well but they are my favourites, my daughter is a good girl and knows her mum well lol.
I unfortunately broke my toe 3 days into my leave, so I did not get as much done as I had hoped, but pottered and managed to get a fair bit of gardening and cleaning finished, so not a completely wasted 11 days lol.
Jean this is a mighty flash tea room, I feel I am underdressed to visit lol, I will have to fish out my heels :-)
Shelly or Shell is my nick name, as for my real name I will never tell lol. (and no it is not Michelle I would actually not mind that lol) My mum has called me Shell since the day I was born and I just can not get used to anything else.
I have to go I come back to a huge mess so I had best go and start cleaning up, have a wonderful day all
Smile and stay safe
Shell

Rain did someone say Rain, we have had lovely steady constant raind since Christmas, it is wonderful, I can't mow but who cares it has been RAINING Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeee. It is pouring down right now. Jean I to will try and send it down we have had enough to share.
Leisa, they are good words to live by.

Oh it's almost lunch time!
I got busy and the time got away.
Well it's nice and damp around here but that sun has now come back ...so it's a hot sauna for us this way.
I hope you got enough rain.
I like a saying that Dr Phil has
"Don't drive your life looking in the rearview mirror"
I reckon as we get older we tend to dwell in the past ...tomorrow is the future but it's today that I am living.
When we were young all we looked for was tomorrow remember?
I agree with leisa though we learn from the past.
Enjoy your day everyone.

If we guess Shelly will you tell us? Rumplestiltskin. Colleen

G'Day Shelly,
I reckon your proper name is Budgierigar and your friends used the alternative Shell Parrot which was often shortened to Shelly. The 61 would be a fair few in a cage but a very small mob of the wild green Shellys they can number hundreds.
Brian

If you guess yes I will tell the truth lol.
I do love Brian's version, I am still laughing lol. by the way Brian 61 is the year I was born :-).

I will however tell the sad tale of my name I was born with, when I was born, my biological sperm donar (sorry if I have offended the men, he was never a father) wanted the name I have and my Mum wanted Shelly, she was very sick when she had me so he filled out the paperwork, and my mum being the stubborn, wonderful person she has always been called me shell anyway lol, you just gotta love your mum !!!!

I don't completely hate my real name, I just have never been called it by anyone, on my Wedding day sorry days, I have had 2 after all, my friends and family thought the minister got my name wrong, it was quite amusing.

gosh shell you are just a baby!
good on your mum!

No Stake. We can't have two Budgies on this site. I am going to guess Rochelle, Janelle, Seychelle, Ding Dong Dell and Sea Shell. Let me know if I'm close Shell? Last time I broke my toe it was from trying to kick the feral cat that was causing havoc with the birds. It spotted me at the last minute and on the follow through I kicked the aviary. I can hear all you cat lovers laughing but it was feral, I swear!
Cheers Budgie (the original one)

Steve that is an impressive array of names, I will give you a hint it starts with S, at least when ever I have to sign my name it is legal lol.
I am currently cracking up at you kicking a feral and breaking your toe, I am a major cat lover, but I like most cat lovers dislike feral cats.

'S' hey? Shanelle?
I have decided I dislike the person who came up with New Year resolutions! I usually don't bother but this year we have decided to 'de-clutter'. As a result I have been to the top of the wardrobe and found my stamp and coin collections from teen years (10 yr ago....oh alright 20.....oh dang it 30). As a result I have decided to sell some things so I registered the domain name: www.budgieman.com.au. Now all I have to do is build the site and list the things for sale. Will also work on streaming 'Budgieman Music' which will be a 24hr internet radio station. Taking all requests now. (note: some requests will be rejected). This is an ongoing project so don't be impatient with me!
As if I did not have enough to do!
Cheers
Steve
ps Colleen - does the Sticky Geranium have a flower? They are ready for the garden.

How about Shirley, or Sandra, Shelly. Yes Steve, just a small pinkish-white Pelargonium flower. They grow well dont they? Colleen

This message was edited Jan 5, 2010 4:39 PM

Thanks Colleen. They are Sussex bound this weekend.
All of the cuttings took. I will put them in the new shade house until gardens are dug.
Thank you.
Steve

sharelle,sorell,scharpelle[no],shantelle,spanicapitza,scherezade[a beautiful lily,i wish i had].shalli,sherry baby,can you come out tonight?shiny,do you have hair?gotta be close...littl input from me this week ,til satttrday,my evening of rest and riotous rejoice [hopefully]..the best made plans usually test you out..dot thie i's and cross the t's,guarenteed a result to please

Shangri-la, Shell be right, Shiraz, Rochelle?
Good night all
Budgie

Good morning all.
Its been a foggy morning here and quite chilly. Weird weather. We are still supposed to get very hot again then another change. Gone are the days when one packed up the winter woolies and enjoyed a long warm spell. Even in the middle of a summer heat wave now, we can get a freezing day. The ornamental grape I can see from the window here , is turning a lovely red already. The willow is showing yellow and the leaves are peeping from a couple of autumn bulbs. Very confused plants, poor things.
Shelly, you have us all thinking about your name. I suppose I might as well pop in a few guesses too. Sabrina, Sofia, Sage, Samantha, Selina, Samara, Sara, Sasha, Savannah, Seraphina, Sheridan, Sondra, Sheldon.
Whatever it is, Shelly is a lovely name.
Hello Brian, I see all the cream has gone. Dianne, if you need cream for your peaches, try the small frig in the corner of the kitchen, I keep extra in there .
Colleen, thanks for the lovely flowers. They do brighten the tables. Enjoy your holiday with your son.
Steve, how's the outside shower coming ? Just right for coming up from the beach. I remember a friend once did that to stop her hubby and sons walking sand through the house.
Hello Chrissy. Did you see the gorgeous pic of Alphonse from Alistair on the other thread ?
Yes, Shelly is just a baby isn't she ? I have a son her age. Oh my , now I'm feeling old... . Of course I was a very young mum. ha ha.
The sun has come through the fog now so I'm going outside to warm up like a lizard.
Hello to everyone, Leisa, Sue, Kat. Louise where are you. I hope you are not caught in any awful weather.
Enjoy your day everyone and try the Blackberry Coffee cake.
Jean.
I have a nice seat out ther that catches the morning sun.

Just a quick cuppa this morning jean
I am off to take someone for blood tests.
A quick slurp and I am off.
what fun with the names ^_^
Have a lovely day everyone ...the sun is back big time!
oops yes jean Alphonse Mucha is a great brug ...don't forget that above Y cuttings make a bushier type growth while log cuttings make a good tall canopy at the top if you remove the little side shoots as they pop up.
Some of the hybrids seem more inclined to a bushier style (like the ones that bloom at 3/4 ft for the first time.) Also Frosty Pink.
Bye for now.

Good morning Jean.
Outside shower is measured, the spot is picked out and materials being gathered.
Was going to be using old hardwood palings for a screen but I don't have enough. I am thinking of asking a local fencer to call me next time a fence is removed. The shower will be handy for us. I got into trouble last week after crawling around under the house running speaker wire. Covered in dirt and not allowed into the house. So I had to disrobe and hose myself down! Good thing it's summer!
Steve