h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I love that groovy smiley thing you've got.

It's very clever isn't it? Can you leave your garden for a few hours and come and sort my dull page out?! I'm a bit pants at groovy things like that, but I can type at 80wpm. Like the picture of your garden - looks very tropical (took bloody ages to download though!)

You can find some help with HTML at
http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/htmlindex.html

To include piccies they have to be on the web already.

Also, you'll find it helpful to write what you want in something like notepad, save it there and then cut and paste into the text box on h2g2. H2G2 has had a habbit of loosing people's text and/ or editting so it's safer that way.

Welcome to my back yard! The climate here in the southern U.S. makes for some fun backyard gardening.I do appreciate the comments on my user page, but I must admit I had a lot of help. Watch out with the HTML here at h2g2, it doesn't always work as expected!(what else is new?)To get the lowdown on "how to", check outRandy Bohn's FAQ page at http://www.h2g2.com/P84764. For more info (if you like to dig) check the message boards in the http://www.clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/h2g2 chat club.(It's a great clearing house of informtion among the researchers, set up by Zachsmind)For free graphics, (animated and still), I got mine at http://andyart.com. And yes, to use images from your files, they must be on the web somewhere. Best way to do that is to open your own web page. Most internet providers include a small website area as a free service. If not, check into Yahoo Geocities. No, you don't have to be a computer genius to do it. They give you step by step instructions, and best of all, it's free.(and a whole lot of fun!) Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tips! I haven't got a webpage although we do subscribe to freeserve and are allocated some space. Having a full-time job, toddler in the house and doing a college course part-time doesn't leave much leisure time I'm afraid. Most leisure time I get is at work when I can come on line and chat to people like you. Not that I'm complaining (I know us Brits always say "musnt' grumble") - life is rather good if a little busy! I even find a little time to sit in our garden, it is obviously not as exotic as yours but very nice with lavender, lots of herbs and raspberry canes.

You are quite welcome! Just glad I could help.

I know the time problems! Afraid my garden isn't as nice as usual, this year. About all I've had time to do in it this year is watch. But that's nice , too.

It doesn't matter how small or grand or imaculate or overgrown your garden may be; it's your little corner of paradise. A wonderful sanctuary in which to meditate and reflect on your world. I would go crazy without mine(some would argue that it didn't help).

Everyone should have one even if it's no more than a windowbox. If everything in the world goes crazy, it's the one thing you can claim to have control over.....you can claim it, but you really don't!

Oh, and go ahead and claim your "freespace" on the web. You don't have to build it all at once, and it's quite fun! I have a "semi" page at AOL, and one I'm building at Yahoo/Geocities. The geocities is by far the better(and no, you don't have to be a techno-dweeb to build one there)They have step by step instructions for novices.

I think I best go now, my "useless drivel meter" is about to overload! Gardens get me that way, ya' know!

We moved into our house just before Christmas last year and this summer has been great just finding out about what was already there. We've had a wonderful display of two different types of poppy and some gorgeous Irises.

Having children means a simple garden but there are lots of things you can do to get them involved. Our Callum has his own carrot patch!

Ahh, that's really sweet - kids love mud don't they?! (Shame Niall isn't as keen on carrots as he is on mud!)

Callum likes mud too but he's got a real problem with grass. He hates the stuff. Won't sit on it, screams if he has to contemplate crawling on it! It's weird as he's usually such an adventurous chap.

My sister found with her girls that getting them to grow some vegetables made them more likely to eat them when they went through that fussy eating toddler thing. Beans and carrots are the easiest things but I think if you've got a greenhouse tomatoes give the quickest results (very important for kids). I think herbs like chives also get going pretty quick and they have lovely flowers if you let them get that far. Daffodils can also be quick growers if they get plenty of sun. And of course it's great to see how tall your sunflower will grow.

That's a good idea. I can't complain really, he is pasta mad and we make tomato sauce with onions, garlic and peppers in it and he'll wolf that down. The child is garlic mad! He will eat cous-cous as well. I think I'll get him to pick the tomatoes when they ripen, that might induce him to eat one raw. He'll eat a bit of veg with a roast dinner (I do eat chicken and fish) and last night I found that he like pistacio nuts (old enough to eat them now). He gets what we eat usually which is alot of pasta, Thai and spicy stuff!

Callum is also a garlic fan and that too is quite easy to grow. And the home grown stuff has a much stronger flavour so you don't need to use as much making it even more economical. Have you tried making pasta with your son? It's very messy so he's bound to love it! Not too difficult either.

Also, I think raw tomatoes take some getting used to. There are some varieties which are a bit sweeter than the stuff most people buy or grow. My partners aunt is an expert tomato grower and grows around 15 varieties regularly. If you are growing them, you may find a bit of experimenting is called for.

Also, in a book I was given as a kid (although I was a bit older than your son) it showed you how you could grow square tomatoes. As I recall it involves putting a clear box around each tomato as they start to grow and this constricts them a bit and they grow to fill the space.

Square toms - cool! Haven't tried making pasta with Nially yet. When we get "cooking" together I usually give him a huge bowl with some water in and we add flour, food colouring, hundreds and thousands, that sort of thing. I might make some bread this weekend and get him to join in - good idea! I think you kind of forget how quickly they grow and can do more things - it's too fast!

They do grow up too fast. I remember fondly teaching my son the garden, the kitchen, his first guitar. Getting greasy with him under an old '55 Ford. Now I've got four grandkids, and while I don't spend the time doing those things with them,I hope he will. Those memories are the best a person can have, and there is so little time to create them. Don't waste it!

I agree. My best memories of childhood revolve around the kitchen. My mum loved baking and she always found little jobs for us to do so we could "help". As the youngest, it was my task to grease the baking trays and I loved it as you were able to get really messy and mum didn't mind! Cutting out funny biscuit shapes is another good job for a little kid. Another trick from my mum was to use the shaped biscuit cutters on sandwiches. The first time she tried it was for her goddaughters second birthday party and you've never seen sandiches disappear so fast!

Oh that's really sweet. I used to love ironing tea towels when I was a kiddie - used to think it was terribly grown up to hold a hot object (no smutty puns please). Hope to god Niall likes ironing because I can't bloody stand it now! Usually go for things that are non-iron or even better dry clean only so they can iron it for me!

Must say, my learning to cook was never for entertainment.. though it has come in handy through the years. My mother was one who believed a man should not be dependent on a woman, so she taught my brother and me the finer points of housekeeping. Big brother did not take to it well, but I reveled in it. To this day nothing is as relaxing or as pleasant as preparing an unusual meal(anything new and different) or puttering in the yard (that's the same as garden to you Brits), Whether it be for veggies or blossoms,both are just as important to the human condition.
Must say, though, I've never properly thanked her for that. Hopefully my obvious appreciation for such things makes her realise I do. My family's never been much for vocal emotions. Such things were just "understood".

What sort of things do you cook then? And do you wear a pinny?!!

An American man who cooks, cleans, and gardens? I still don't believe it. Hehe, what planet are you from?! I've never heard of such a preposterous idea!

My favorite days in the kitchen are spent baking fresh bread. It's a simple thing , but very relaxing. My traditional "family meal" is a big pot of authentic Mexican chilie (emphasis on authentic....my parents got the recepie from the locals while we were living in New Mexico...which, incedentally is where I was born) with a large side of sopapillias. Of course, once in a while I get brave and pull out my Jeff Smith cookbooks and play in the Euopean and Asian cuisines.....but only when I'm feeling very confident!
Must admit , I don't care for the household as much as I once did. Monshari is much more concerned about how her house looks than my first wife did ( actually, I don't think she trusts me with the cleaning supplies...and I'll not argue with her. It never was one of my favorite jobs!)
As far as gardening, I sometimes think it's the Cherokee in me which brings out my love for the land and growing things. It gives me a great feeling of connection to the earth, and keeps me reminded that , in spite of all this technology, I am a part of it.

Actually there are a great many men in this country who enjoy these things, it's just difficult to get them to admit it! I suppose it must have something to do with their egos. You know, the wild wild west mentality. I think most men in this part of the world are so intent on being the stereotypical American Male, they miss out on knowing themselves. It's a sad thing, but not much anyone can do for them. They can only help themselves.