Good morning everyone, thanks for the invite Summer, is it bring a bottle (EL will just have to tuck one under his wing which will make flying a little difficult )

 

Such an interesting occurrence from that guy getting in touch on Facebook.   I have found the right family (his ancestor had a falling out and emigrated to Seattle [quite appropriate] several generations back).  The lady who I will be putting him in touch with has traced the family back to 1400 so that will be a lovely surprise for him.  Turns out he is a lovely guy, a Christian like me, about to go as a missionary to Taiwan.  Facebook can turn out to be a wonderful thing can't it?

 

Catch you later

Squiggle that's fantastic news! I'm thrilled to hear that story I hope he loves the info he discovers El, I'm pretty sure the penthouse roof can accommodate a helipad for you, I'll mention it to baz

Yogi thanks the have a in return

Glad it all worked out so well, Squiggle.

And thank you for the invitation to the BBQ - I love a good BBQ.

I'm firing up the coals at approx 6.30 but pop by anytime

Shall I bring along some homemade coleslaw and rice salad, Summer?

Summer, in case you don't spot it, I got some more information about the key strokes for the missing smileys from Rosemary and I have updated the thread. So apart from the pumpkin one where there seems to be a bit of a problem, the list is now complete. I've been told it's : pumpkin : but that can't re right and it comes out as umpkin: I've sent back a query and if I get the answer, I'll let you know. Thanks for all the work you put into it.

And I've just had an answer back from Rosemary. The missing one turns out to be

: jack : resulting in

My guess is that it comes from Jack Pumpkinhead, who was one of the characters in the original Oz books by Frank Baum (but not in the Wizard of Oz film). But was in Return to Oz made in 1985.

 

Is that where the term jack-o-lantern comes from? Thanks for working on the codes El, my posting is twice as fun now and I really enjoyed the challenge. I'm still planning on cleaning up the thread Yogi thank you that would be lovely, any contributions are happily accepted but not compulsory I'm looking forward to finishing work tomorrow already

Morning everyone Happy weekend Mr summer is off to do the Yorkshire 3 peaks; 26 miles, 3 mountains, hopefully within 12 hours so I'm up early and wide awake. Will pop in when I can from work, looking forward to a movie and a bit of eurovision after, tonight Hope you all feel good, happy and have a lively day El, I love doing this and this

*lovely day

Good morning everyone

 

Summer, Rosemary came back to me and said that jack did come from Jack O'Lantern, so you are correct

that's great El, I don't know WHY they're called that but I will look into it

Good morning everyone.Sunshine and showers here today.

El and Summer, great work on your Smilie Search.

Summer, I heard on BBC News that Jedward are 2nd favourites to win Eurovision.

Good luck to Mr Summer on his 26 mile hike.

Thanks yogi I should think he's well on his way to the 2nd peak by now, no text yet tho I hate to say it but I hope I get to see jedward perform, I'd love it if they won! I can't take them serious as artists but I think they're perfect for eurovision fun What are you up to today?

Good morning everyone, a nice bright morning here

 

Is it on IE that people have trouble seeing the smilies?  So the thread will now be decorated with lots of lovely smilies good work

 

Now I am totally confused, I have not been following Eurovision and I know that Blue are performing for us so where does Jedward come in

Hi squiggle Jedward are representing Ireland I'm on the iPhone app so don't get smiley options, it's fantastic to know the codes so I can brighten up my posts How are you today?

Good morning Squiggle. As Summer has mentioned, Jedward are representing Ireland. I must admit I'm looking forward to their performance (in a "point and laugh" sort of way). Let's face it, the Eurovision marking system is so that there's a good chance Jedward could win.

Summer, I hope Mr Summer is getting some decent weather for his trek.

Hi Summer I'm OK, how are you?  Its been an interesting morning first of all I had a lovely email from Jacob Smith (the guy from Facebook) who is like a dog with two tails about finding his family over here, and just now I was chatting on Facebook with a friend of my daughter from way back when who I haven't seen for about 30 years, the internet is a strange tool isn't it.  Thanks to both you and Yogi for telling me about Jedward, I wonder what their song is like

 

Ooh I meant to say Mr Summer on his trek in Yorkshire and down here in Devon the youngsters are doing Ten Tors where they spend the entire weekend climbing the ten highest places on Dartmoor and finding their way over the moor, they camp on the moor overnight and I think the distance covered is between about 40 and 50 miles,

Terrible lol I heard a snippet on radio 2 y'day! I think they're performers rather than talented singers i'm not sure what order they're all performing yet, I'm planning on timing my movie so I can watch eurovision after so hopefully I won't miss them

Squiggle, that's terrific about Facebook, it does have some good qualities will you be keeping in touch?

Here's the order, I think

 

If this is right, Jedward are 6th to perform and Blue 14th out of 25 participants.

Thanks El I'll definitely make sure I catch that performance then

Oh yes we definitely will, he sounds a lovely lovely guy and I am looking forward to hearing all about his adventures in Taiwan.  As a Christian you are all part of the same family anyway so you always feel right at home straight away, its one of the lovely things about it, and you get to meet lovely people.

jack-o'-lantern; Typically a carved pumpkin, named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called "ignis fatuus" or "jack-o'-lantern" There's quite an interesting old Irish folk tale about a farmer called jack who tricks the devil into promising he'll never take jack's soul, so he can never go to hell. He led too sinful of a life to get into heaven though, and after his death, with no where to go, he asked the devil how he would see his way when wandering.. The devil, mocking him, tossed him an ember from the flames of hell that would never burn out, he carved a turnip (his favourite vegetable) and placed the flame inside it, and from there after became know as "jack of the lantern" There are variations of the details of the story, but that's the jist!

Squiggle that's brilliant, it reminds me of the hawai'ian aloha spirit

Hi everyone, just a quick hello for now, hoping to get granddaughter settled early and catch up with you all 

Hi skylark Hope you're having a lovely time with your granddaughter

Evening all.

Skylark, I hope you can get the wee one settled down in time to watch Eurovision with us. Don't forget Summer has a BBQ going on in the Darnies thread tonight. My homemade coleslaw and rice salad is all prepared and ready to eat.

Off to get something to eat - back in time for Eurovision.

Evening yogi We're just setting up for the BBQ, I think your homemade coleslaw will go down a treat! See you in a bit

Okay Summer, I look forward to it.

Hi all x Thats her sleeping, a bit early for her, but since becoming 3, she seems more settled. Although she will be awake at the crack of dawn, no doubt  
Thank you for the BBQ invite, i love just the smell! Homemade coleslaw, lovely.
squiggle, thats so nice, FB has its good points xx 

Hi Skylark, glad you got the wee one settled for the night. You can join in the BBQing and Eurovisioning.

Aw skylark, 3 is a real sweet age I'm so excited to be a godmama later in the year- I dont desire children of my own, but I'm really looking forward to my bestie having a baby

It will be lovely, Summer. You'll get to do all the good stuff, without all the hard work.

Thanks El and everyone else xx

Yes helipad, boat dock.. Whatever you need, we can adjust So pleased your hayfever is easing, it's so uncomfortable isn't it!

Summer I agree with Yogi, you will have all the fun of playing and reading stories and then you can hand the baby back

 

I hope everyone enjoys Eurovision, I gave up on it some years ago, but I bet the thread will be a real hoot

 

Skylark it has been a lovely experience and its been quite nice to be 'piggy in the middle' both sides sound very excited to form the link.

Hi Yogi and Summer. Yes she is a sweety, but strong willed too, dont know where she gets it from  You will be a great Godmummy Summer x
Will watch bits and bobs of Euro, whilst munching my way thru the BBQ !