It has taken Sharon adding a comment to an old post for me to realise how long it has been since I last posted!
When I get over this cold/chest infection, I promise I will try to do better!
Sunday 20 September 2009
Thursday 29 January 2009
The battle of the squirrel
I’m too mean to pay out for insecticides on my allotment, and would rather encourage the wildlife to do their job properly, so every day I put out fresh food for the birds to get them used to coming to my plot.
Now I was aware that after I left the plot a squirrel would take the fat balls I put out for the birds, which is why I always put them out when I first arrive, to give the birds a chance to eat before I leave.
But the day before yesterday I was collecting some manure the council delivers, and as I walked back to my plot, there was a squirrel running towards me carrying a fat ball in its mouth!
I was incensed that the little thief hadn’t even had the courtesy to wait until I had finished for the day! So I dropped the wheelbarrow and gave chase, shouting at the top of my lungs “You drop that you little Bug**r!”.
Picture it, a fifty plus little old woman, chasing a small squirrel with a fat ball in its mouth that was bigger than its head!
I didn’t give up though, and eventually the squirrel dropped the ball, and I returned in time to meet my Husband as he arrived, proudly holding the ball up high, unable to contain the grin of victory! Hubby of course thought I was being silly, but then he hadn't seen the whole thing had he?
Now you would think the Squirrel would have learned its lesson, ‘wait until the old Witch has gone’, but did it like!
Yesterday I was working in the greenhouse, looked out, and there was the same Squirrel, at the top of the up ended sycamore tree I use as a feeding station, just about to climb down in to the hanging basket I put the bird balls in.
Well I wasn’t having that! So I charged out of the greenhouse, yelling at the top of my lungs again, and the Squirrel took flight, but only six feet away from the feeding station, it stopped and looked at me as if to say, “Now go back to the greenhouse, Woman.”
No way! I chased it completely off the plot before I went back to the greenhouse.
Not five minutes later I looked up, and guess what! The little blighter was back AGAIN!
So the chase was on again, but I do have to give the little critter full marks for tenacity.
Thankfully I think it got the message after that, because it didn’t come back until after I had locked the gates to leave. It must have been waiting in the holly tree watching, because it appeared as I snapped the padlock shut. But I don’t mind that, because the Squirrel has to eat too, I just want him to give the birds a chance as well.
Now I was aware that after I left the plot a squirrel would take the fat balls I put out for the birds, which is why I always put them out when I first arrive, to give the birds a chance to eat before I leave.
But the day before yesterday I was collecting some manure the council delivers, and as I walked back to my plot, there was a squirrel running towards me carrying a fat ball in its mouth!
I was incensed that the little thief hadn’t even had the courtesy to wait until I had finished for the day! So I dropped the wheelbarrow and gave chase, shouting at the top of my lungs “You drop that you little Bug**r!”.
Picture it, a fifty plus little old woman, chasing a small squirrel with a fat ball in its mouth that was bigger than its head!
I didn’t give up though, and eventually the squirrel dropped the ball, and I returned in time to meet my Husband as he arrived, proudly holding the ball up high, unable to contain the grin of victory! Hubby of course thought I was being silly, but then he hadn't seen the whole thing had he?
Now you would think the Squirrel would have learned its lesson, ‘wait until the old Witch has gone’, but did it like!
Yesterday I was working in the greenhouse, looked out, and there was the same Squirrel, at the top of the up ended sycamore tree I use as a feeding station, just about to climb down in to the hanging basket I put the bird balls in.
Well I wasn’t having that! So I charged out of the greenhouse, yelling at the top of my lungs again, and the Squirrel took flight, but only six feet away from the feeding station, it stopped and looked at me as if to say, “Now go back to the greenhouse, Woman.”
No way! I chased it completely off the plot before I went back to the greenhouse.
Not five minutes later I looked up, and guess what! The little blighter was back AGAIN!
So the chase was on again, but I do have to give the little critter full marks for tenacity.
Thankfully I think it got the message after that, because it didn’t come back until after I had locked the gates to leave. It must have been waiting in the holly tree watching, because it appeared as I snapped the padlock shut. But I don’t mind that, because the Squirrel has to eat too, I just want him to give the birds a chance as well.
Things have gotten a little busy around here!
After my Father in Laws death, there was a sudden calm in things that could be done to fill our time around here.
The freezing weather meant that there was little or no work that could be done on the allotment, and once the Christmas rush was out of the way I took a breather from crafting presents (though I have started on next Christmas’s lot now!). I didn’t feel inspired to make anything special for me, and as for writing… well the best I can say is that I kinda dried up for a while there.
Then last week the weather warmed up and I ordered a whole heap of wildlife plants for the pond I am creating on the allotment, and they started arriving this week, so every day a new plant arrives and I’m down the allotment with my hands in freezing water!
My Father in Laws probate has finally gone through, so now we are clearing out his house, sorting through his belongings and deciding where they are all to go, which means my work is cut out for me to keep my Husband cheerful and not dwelling on darker things. Not a pleasant job. My Husband wasn’t in the Will so he gets the job as executor and he is taking the job very seriously indeed.
My lovely kitty, KitKat wasn’t well for a while, so didn’t want anything to do with anything, but now she is back and demanding to play every time she see’s me move a muscle, making up for lost time I think!
And last but not least, Forest from FrugalZeitGeist has asked me to write some more articles for him, which I am really looking forward to!
And now for the embarrassing bit of my week; we have a very large chest freezer, and I am not a tall woman, so the edge of the freezer comes up above my waist. Well I was reaching in to get some meat out for dinner, my feet slipped and in I went, head first!
Now the funny image that comes to mind is me falling in completely and the lid closing, cartoon style, but that didn’t quite happen, thank heavens. Instead I banged the top of my head on the back edge of the freezer, hard enough to see a flash of light, but no stars. Though thinking about it, I could have hit the light in the freezer, making the light flicker, I don’t know.
Anyways, since then, (coming up for a week now) I have had a real hum-dinger of a headache, but sadly it didn’t knock any sense in to me, as I was back in there yesterday looking for dinner again!
The freezing weather meant that there was little or no work that could be done on the allotment, and once the Christmas rush was out of the way I took a breather from crafting presents (though I have started on next Christmas’s lot now!). I didn’t feel inspired to make anything special for me, and as for writing… well the best I can say is that I kinda dried up for a while there.
Then last week the weather warmed up and I ordered a whole heap of wildlife plants for the pond I am creating on the allotment, and they started arriving this week, so every day a new plant arrives and I’m down the allotment with my hands in freezing water!
My Father in Laws probate has finally gone through, so now we are clearing out his house, sorting through his belongings and deciding where they are all to go, which means my work is cut out for me to keep my Husband cheerful and not dwelling on darker things. Not a pleasant job. My Husband wasn’t in the Will so he gets the job as executor and he is taking the job very seriously indeed.
My lovely kitty, KitKat wasn’t well for a while, so didn’t want anything to do with anything, but now she is back and demanding to play every time she see’s me move a muscle, making up for lost time I think!
And last but not least, Forest from FrugalZeitGeist has asked me to write some more articles for him, which I am really looking forward to!
And now for the embarrassing bit of my week; we have a very large chest freezer, and I am not a tall woman, so the edge of the freezer comes up above my waist. Well I was reaching in to get some meat out for dinner, my feet slipped and in I went, head first!
Now the funny image that comes to mind is me falling in completely and the lid closing, cartoon style, but that didn’t quite happen, thank heavens. Instead I banged the top of my head on the back edge of the freezer, hard enough to see a flash of light, but no stars. Though thinking about it, I could have hit the light in the freezer, making the light flicker, I don’t know.
Anyways, since then, (coming up for a week now) I have had a real hum-dinger of a headache, but sadly it didn’t knock any sense in to me, as I was back in there yesterday looking for dinner again!
Removing tea/coffee stains the easy way
Now my Husband is a tea-o-holic, and I am equally as bad with both tea and coffee.
For years the stains that were left on the cups and tea pot used to drive me crazy and I’d spend many an hour scrubbing away only to see them re-appear within a matter of days.
Then one day I got a tip, it was so long ago I can’t now remember if I read it online or if someone actually told me about it, but once tried, I have never looked back!
The reason I hadn’t thought of this trick before is because I don’t have, and never have had a dishwasher, so it just didn’t occur to me to try it. This tip isn't a money saver, as it costs a few pennies more than just plain scrubbing, but what it costs is, in my mind, counter balanced by the time it saves me!
Anyway on with the tip;
• Put the dirty crockery that you need cleaned into a large bowl, or the sink, making sure the receptacle is big enough to cover all the crockery with water.
• Place one cheap dishwasher tablet in the bottom of the bowl, and fill the bowl with very hot water.
• Go away for half an hour and put your feet up.
• Rinse crockery thoroughly and dry in your usual manner.
Even the hardest flakiest stains come off with this method, and it has been a real boon to my hands and nails, not to mention my poor over used teapot!
Enjoy!
For years the stains that were left on the cups and tea pot used to drive me crazy and I’d spend many an hour scrubbing away only to see them re-appear within a matter of days.
Then one day I got a tip, it was so long ago I can’t now remember if I read it online or if someone actually told me about it, but once tried, I have never looked back!
The reason I hadn’t thought of this trick before is because I don’t have, and never have had a dishwasher, so it just didn’t occur to me to try it. This tip isn't a money saver, as it costs a few pennies more than just plain scrubbing, but what it costs is, in my mind, counter balanced by the time it saves me!
Anyway on with the tip;
• Put the dirty crockery that you need cleaned into a large bowl, or the sink, making sure the receptacle is big enough to cover all the crockery with water.
• Place one cheap dishwasher tablet in the bottom of the bowl, and fill the bowl with very hot water.
• Go away for half an hour and put your feet up.
• Rinse crockery thoroughly and dry in your usual manner.
Even the hardest flakiest stains come off with this method, and it has been a real boon to my hands and nails, not to mention my poor over used teapot!
Enjoy!
I’ve won an award!
Yep, this blog has won a creative award! Can you believe it?
Now it really surprised me, as I don’t think of this blog as creative at all. All I do is write about the things I know. I don’t design anything, I don’t share the pictures I draw, I don’t even show the things I have made from other people’s patterns, but Angela, in her wisdom, has decided to bestow this award on me despite all of that, and who am I to argue?
But it has set me thinking. Perhaps I should start working a little harder to make this blog a little more, er you know, creative!
Now for me that is going to be a bit of a challenge, as I don’t think of myself as being very creative except when it comes to my story writing, which I don’t share here, (I think it would confuse things, mixing fact and fiction). In fact I don’t share my writing on anything more than a one to one basis, people ask to see what I write and I send them a whole story, which can be a bit of a whammy as my story’s are normally in the form of a whole book as I witter on too much to write that many short stories! Lol
Now here comes the sticky bit, I think I am supposed to pass on this award to other blogs, but I really don’t know how to do this, so I’m hoping Angela will take pity on me and send me a detailed list of instructions! (Hint hint!)
And in the mean time I think I’ll write a post about getting tea stains off crockery, the easy way!
Sunday 25 January 2009
Life goes on
The death of my Father in Law has hit my Husband a lot harder than he is willing to admit, and home life is not very rosy at the moment, which has impacted on my willingness to write, as I prefer to write positively here.
But on the bright side, it means I have been escaping to the allotment a lot recently, and have virtually finished setting up the wildlife pond! Only two lilies have to go in and it is ready for the frog spawn to be introduced next month!
All my onions and garlic sets are in, the potatoes are chitting, all the seeds are bought, and a diary of when they have to be planted has been made up! As you can see, I have not been idle in my absence.
I am sorry to have to report that my poor dragon fruit plant died on the day of the funeral, which was the coldest day this winter, and was when the heater in the greenhouse decided to run out of paraffin. But I have discovered that the plant is easily propagated from the seeds of shop bought fruit, so there is hope for future dragon fruit!
On the crafting side of things, I have finished a shawl for a friend of a friend who has been suffering with the cold weather, a Doctor Who scarf has been knitted (and that really was a labour of love!) as a late Christmas present for my friends son, and I am now spoilt for choice as to what to make next as I have saved a lot of patterns for things I want to make while I have been away…
Right I am going to love you and leave you, and go and load a CD of Hot Chocolate on to my mp3, so I can listen to some romance while I’m digging the Brussels bed tomorrow.
Take care everyone!
But on the bright side, it means I have been escaping to the allotment a lot recently, and have virtually finished setting up the wildlife pond! Only two lilies have to go in and it is ready for the frog spawn to be introduced next month!
All my onions and garlic sets are in, the potatoes are chitting, all the seeds are bought, and a diary of when they have to be planted has been made up! As you can see, I have not been idle in my absence.
I am sorry to have to report that my poor dragon fruit plant died on the day of the funeral, which was the coldest day this winter, and was when the heater in the greenhouse decided to run out of paraffin. But I have discovered that the plant is easily propagated from the seeds of shop bought fruit, so there is hope for future dragon fruit!
On the crafting side of things, I have finished a shawl for a friend of a friend who has been suffering with the cold weather, a Doctor Who scarf has been knitted (and that really was a labour of love!) as a late Christmas present for my friends son, and I am now spoilt for choice as to what to make next as I have saved a lot of patterns for things I want to make while I have been away…
Right I am going to love you and leave you, and go and load a CD of Hot Chocolate on to my mp3, so I can listen to some romance while I’m digging the Brussels bed tomorrow.
Take care everyone!
Sunday 4 January 2009
Sorry for not being around recently...
My Father in Law died just before Christmas, the funeral is on Tuesday, hopefully I'll be able to get back in to the swing of things after that.
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