The Ideas Genie Community Forum
General Category => Welcome, and introduce yourself => Topic started by: ideasguy on March 01, 2009, 11:30:25 AM
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Hello again, and welcome to the forum Eric.
I'm delighted you have joined us here.
By way of introduction, Eric is a Bank Genie user, and in our exchange of emails Eric tells me he only began using a computer when he retired in 1992. As you all well know, I'm full of admiration for our "champions" who have the bravery to tackle such a beast -having managed to get through their working days without them!
Eric and has been experiencing some problems with his computer, trying to reload software to XP.
If you wish to explain those problems here, Eric, perhaps someone can help. We have an active section on the forum for dealing with computer "issues" ;D
I hope you enjoy it here Eric. Please feel free to chat about anything and everything!
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Hello and welcome Eric.
I wholeheartedly echo what George has said.
Our Forum is a very friendly place and full of very knowledgeable people, who are always willing to help in whatever way they can.
Have fun.
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Just received another email from Eric.
Eric has a very nice garden!!
Mind you, he has a whole team of people to help him (tee hee)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichardyuk/180821535/in/set-72157594186256751/
I'm in stitches!
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Excellent piece of artwork there Eric. 8)
I see we have another budding graphics artist in our midst.
You'll be cloning your garden next to show it the size of a small continent. ;)
Good bit of fun Eric.
Laurie.
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Thank you all for your really warm welcome. I spend a lot of time on Flickr too, as you can see. Thanks! Now I will go a little bit quiet because I am busy getting to grips with the Bank Genie, but I will be back soon.
Eric
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:) Hi Eric. As I said in my email to you I am offering my help to resolve your problems with QUicken and XP and eventually to help you convert.
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You invite me to tell you a bit about myself.
I was born in 1926 in a small market town called Barnard Castle in Teesdale, which is in the North of England. I spent all my formative years there (my parents lived there all their lives). After three years in the army I went to the Bartlett School of Architecture in London where I met my future wife Anthea. After qualifying in 1951 we got married and have had over 57 years of very happy married life. I moved to south of England after our marriage and have stayed in our present home in the Chilterns, Buckinghamshire for the last 53 years. I retired from my architectural practice in 1992. We are both very keen on our garden but are finding increasingly difficult to keep under control.
We have three sons and seven grandchildren. Our middle son Mark married a Canadian girl (whom he met at Medical School in London). He lived in Ottawa from 1979 with his wife and three sons but has recently moved to Calgary. We visit them frequently.
Eric
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Oh, and a question. I would put a little picture in my profile but haven't worked out to do it. I tried an URL from my Flickr site but that didn't work. Any tips plese?
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Eric, you need to specify the image file extension - it should be a gif, so you should have filename.gif. (Obviously replace filename with your image name.)
I've checked your profile link and it is missing.
Laurie.
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Thanks Laurie, Unfortunately I haven't got round to Gif files, unfortunately. I seem to be stuck on jpegs like this one http://www.flickr.com/photos/erichardyuk/190301827/in/set-72157594186256751/
Eric
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It shouldn't be a problem for you Eric, considering what you've already accomplished in Photoshop. ;)
Get the image you want to use and open it in Photoshop.
Resize it to the required size for the Forum Profile photo - which is 65 pixels x 65 pixels.
Then Save As, and select the GIF format.
Give it a try and see how you get on.
Laurie.
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Great Laurie. I now have a picture icon. I seem to be using you as my mentor. As you can see I have taken in all you have taught me
Eric
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Yes, you are doing a great job there Laurie! Nice to see the happy couple in your user profile Eric, and looking forward to seeing your photos.
I'm delighted to see we now have an expert in Architecture in our midst.
I have to say I love to see the older building here in Belfast. As for modern designs - well... I for one am not impressed.
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Great Laurie. I now have a picture icon. I seem to be using you as my mentor. As you can see I have taken in all you have taught me
Eric
Glad to be of service Eric. ;D
Laurie.
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I thought I would like to show you the sort of gardening Anthea and I are interested in. We established this in a decaying orchard 53 years ago. One or two of the trees are quite old and others we have planted. You can see that we do not go in for neat gardening and leave wild areas to give shape to the garden. We like it to look natural but it is surprising how much work there is in leaving it "natural". It is just beginning to get a bit beyond us :(
We limit our veggies and they are out of sight. Runner beans, tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuce, rocket and herbs we usually don't have problems with. Greens and root crops are never very successful and we have lots of pests.
We have roses round the front but the bed is now very old so we have problems now. I will post some questions about this later when I get a moment.
Here are a few pictures to give you the feel of the back garden.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3327505763_d6d48fb4c2_o.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3367/3327505837_5bbc402490_o.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3327505925_9a2d415e66_o.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3556/3328339854_6d1cd0826f_o.jpg)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3593/3327505679_7946ca4292_o.jpg)
I think I am going to enjoy this forum
Eric H
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RE:
I think I am going to enjoy this forum
I certainly hope you do!
The photos are great Eric, and you have lovely gardens there.
In the first photo, with the house in background:-
What is the pink foliage tree/shrub, dead centre, left of garden and overhanging the lawn.
Is it a Tamarisk by any chance?
Thats it again in the second photo, I think, looking in opposite direction, this time on the right side of the lawn
What are the tall white flowering trees in the last photo?
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Excellent photos Eric, and you have a beautiful garden.
I agree that it has that 'natural' look about it. Areas where you can just wander around as if you're out in the wilds and you don't know what's just around the corner, as you can't see all your garden at the same time.
This is the sort of garden Kathy and I like too. Our gardens are quite small in comparison, so we're not able to get that meandering through nature experience. :(
I also see that George has set you a challenge to identify some of your plants. He's like that - but you'll get used to it. :D
Although you've joined the Forum as a Bank Genie user, we hope you get actively involved on the 'gardening' side as well. Much as you have done already. Your input and photos are most welcome, and our members will appreciate your good garden fortunes.
Laurie.
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Thank you George. You are quite right that the pink tree you see is a tamarisk. The white blossom on the last photo is on two very old Bramley Apple trees. The blossom starts out beautifully pink and white but as it ages the pink fades.
Thank you Laurie for your kind remarks.
I should have mentioned that we have quite a bit of soft fruit; blackcurrents, redcurrents, raspberries and gooseberries which hog a lot of space in the freezer but are nice to have. I have never been good with strawberries. Too much like hard work.
Where is a good place to ask a question about our failing rose bed?
Isn't it funny that all this started because I couldn't reload my Quicken to my computer :)
Eric H
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Where is a good place to ask a question about our failing rose bed?
Eric H
Eric, if you navigate to the following Board - Plants/Help, (or just click on this link - http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/board,64.0.html (http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/board,64.0.html) ), then start a new topic there with an appropriate heading, and post your problem.
Isn't it funny that all this started because I couldn't reload my Quicken to my computer :)
Eric H
Well, if you hadn't Eric you'd probably never have found such a great bunch of people. :D
I was interested to read your bio and discover your roots are in Barnard Castle. That's not very far away from us (Middlesbrough) and it's such a beautiful area around there.
Nice to speak with a past 'local'.
Laurie.
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I have a Tamarisk in my garden, but it is incredibly slow to grow. Mind you it was in a bed with conifers, and obviously didnt like it. I cut some of the conifers down last year and hauled the 1in "trunk" upright and tied it to the trunk of one of the conifers. (I kept about six ft of the conifer trunk to grow Clematis up it!)
The Tamarisk started to produce growth. I'm hoping for a show this year.
Thats a fine looking specimen you have. How do you rate that plant?
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Eric, if you navigate to the following Board - Plants/Help, (or just click on this link - http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/board,64.0.html (http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/board,64.0.html) ), then start a new topic there with an appropriate heading, and post your problem.
Thanks Laurie for that, I will follow that through when I have a moment. I am just trying to get to grips with this "quote" business. It seems to be working.
I was interested to read your bio and discover your roots are in Barnard Castle. That's not very far away from us (Middlesbrough) and it's such a beautiful area around there.
Nice to speak with a past 'local'.
I wonder, do you still refer to "Barney"? We still visited regularly until my mother died at the age of 97 in 1996. I still miss Teesdale even though I left it so long ago.
Eric H
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I have a Tamarisk in my garden, but it is incredibly slow to grow. ................Thats a fine looking specimen you have. How do you rate that plant?
Ours is about 35 years old or more. It is very pretty when on bloom but I have to keep cutting it back. It soon makes new growth. One of the problems. and it looks as though you are experiencing it too, it really needs some support. I had to give it a very sturdy stake early on and it still needs some sort of prop. Our neighbour has a very old one and, if I remember correctly, Anthea propagated it from a cutting.
Eric H
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I see you've conquered the
quote
thing Eric!
You are making this techy stuff look like a breeze :)
Yes, my Tam was leaning on neighbouring plants about this time last year, and needed support. To be honest, I'd given up on it and had forgotten it was there, as it never did anything. I think it has now come of age, and as you have said, a bit of pruning (I cut the whole bent top of it!) seems to have given it a lease of life. I didn't prune until after it had bloomed of course (for its first ever time of significance)
Little side shoots began to appear all up the stem, as you have said, so I'm looking forward to seeing it this summer.
Good to have two greenfingers (or should that be 20 counting the thumbs, or should that be 20 x n with a bit of touching up in Photoshop ;) ) to carry the burden of gardening. Good for Anthea!
Are you both keen on gardening and plants?
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I wonder, do you still refer to "Barney"?
Eric H
That could be a name used just by the locals, as I can't say I have ever heard it referred to as "Barney" elsewhere at any time.
It's been a while since we last passed through there, so I don't know if it's still in use.
Laurie.
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Are you both keen on gardening and plants?
Yes we are, George, but we find it quite difficult now do do what is necessary. We are not too much into Latin names these days either, our memories aren't as good as they were. We have 240 feet of holly hedge and an eight foot high yew hedge right along the north boundary which shelters us from the north wind but is hard to reach. I now get help to cut these twice a year and every now and again a chap called Paul does a bit of the heavy stuff, perhaps two or three times a year. Cutting the grass and strimming are not too much of a problem yet but I can't bend down for long now. A kneeler helps at the edges but you can't use that in the middle of a bed.
Anthea is in charge of all the propagating and nursing of seedlings in the greenhouse. She is a great one for getting cuttings from friends and doing swaps. We keep the seed from the annuals and she keeps tomato seeds , runner beans and squashes to sow again and it works. It goes against the grain to pay a fortune for half a dozen seeds in a pretty paper packet! She is just recovering from a replacement hip operation so at the moment she can't bend at all.
I think this year the garden will probably look a bit wilder still!
Eric H
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Hi Eric
I'm pleased to read you have people who come in and help with the garden from time to time. Keeping the shrubs in place is a must if you are to keep things in balance out there.That Holly hedge sounds like a hard job to tackle!
RE: We are not too much into Latin names these days either, our memories aren't as good as they were
We cheat a bit here. If we can remember it once, and manage to get it into Ideas Genie Pro, its there permanently and easily accessed.
We can put the plants into Garden Areas. By using a pop-up to select the garden area, up comes a list of plants in that area. Beats racking your brain ;)
And of course, we link the plants to photos. More fun :)
I hope Anthea is recovering well. Its a real lease of life giver. My wife had both here hips replaces 2 years ago (6 months between ops). Before she was in absolute agony. Now shes getting about very well, no pain. Shes very cautious of them. As you know they advise not to bend down and pick things up of the ground. Best wishes to you both!
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A belated welcome to eric hardy ;)
Phil
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Thank you for the welcome, Phil. I feel this is a very nice friendly forum!
Eric
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was looking through your flikr pics eric, fantastic many hands make light work, loved the one with the cow in the garden
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/74/190301827_ce231297f9.jpg?v=0)
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Yes, it brings back memories of last October.
However on that occasion, there was only one guy,and a herd of the cows AND I didnt need to clone them using Photoshop ;D
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was looking through your flikr pics eric, fantastic many hands make light work, loved the one with the cow in the garden
I am glad you enjoyed them, Phil. I had fun doing them and I did them single handed, just me, my camera, my tripod and a computer.
Eric H
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Heres the little incident I was joking about in my previous reply, Eric
http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/topic,818.0.html
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Goodness! The real thing and lots of them. I am glad you could see the funny side, I think I would have found it rather disheartening after lots of hard work.
Eric H
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The compensation (the farmer was insured) was received a few weeks ago. Now I have to go out and block a few hoof holes. I didnt need any extra work in spring! Hoping my sons will help ;)
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One more thing by way of introducing myself. We have a grandson with Down's Syndrome, called Benji. He came to live with us at 5 weeks old straight from hospital. He lived with us full time until he was 19 and last August went to a small, very nice Home in Basingstoke. He goes to Newbury College three days a week and is very happy there. He comes to stay with us about every second or third weekend. This is really just a little preamble to introduce him mowing our lawn. ;)
(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/123/317411567_a098e7fd12.jpg)
Eric H ;D
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That's my boy! Working for three. He's welcome in my garden the first and fourth weekend ;)
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An announcement. I have to amend my personal details I gave you. Anthea and I are now proud great grandparents ;D ;D
The wonders of modern technology. Here is Zac, photgraphed by his grandmother and emailed by our son Tom, his grandfather, "hot off the press" as it were. I am amazed at the quality of the photo. Our eldest son said "much like any other baby but quite a good example" :)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3331/3535673623_7e14b4f4f8.jpg)
Better than any old plants!!!
;D Eric H ;D
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Congratulations Anthea and Eric - you must be very pleased and proud.
Better than any old plants!!!
But with one vital similarity - both requiring much love and attention. ;D
Laurie.
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But with one vital similarity - both requiring much love and attention. ;D
Very true, Laurie :)
Eric H
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Awwwww!
Congratulations to you all, and welcome to the forumZak ;D
What a lovely child, and what a head of hair! Reminds of my daughter Tara. Out of our three, she had the best start with a full head of lovely black hair.
Is that your first great-grandchild?
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Thanks George, Zac is the first.
We have just been up to London to see them bearing gifts and to do a bit of "awwwwwwwing" ourselves :D
A lovely chap but much smaller than I got the impression from the picture.
Eric H