If I do not like the way one country behaves then I make my own protest by not purchasing goods that are imported from that country. That is why I will never buy anything that comes from Israel.
Back in the 90's when my partner was alive, we had a holiday in Cyprus and during the two weeks we were there we also had a three day mini cruise to Israel, where we went to see Jerusalem and the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The second part of the trip was to Egypt to see Cairo museum and the pyramids.
From the moment we got off the ship in Israel we had a guide called David who accompanied us first to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem. Throughout the whole of the time we spent on the coach this guide tried to brainwash us. He gave us a brief history of the country of Israel (which we all knew) and then proceeded to try to convince us that the Israelis were a 'super race' and that their numbers had gone from several thousands in 1948 to several millions in 1996. He also told us that the Palestinians were no better than 'filthy animals' and they should and would all be wiped out.
That was enough for me to stop buying anything from Israel and it has remained that way ever since. They have occupied land that was awarded to the Palestinian people and have tried to isolate them from the rest of the world and always take 'a sledgehammer to crack a walnut' approach when dealing with the Palestinians.
Today's outrageous attack on ships carrying humanitarian aid just says it all. What the Israeli people must try to get into their thick skulls is that firstly, they are not in any way a superior race and secondly, in 1948 they were given a piece of land for their use and the Palestinians were also given land and they should respect that. The problem is, they have no respect for anyone.
Although I am a Christian, I could never forgive them for what they have done and for that reason I will never buy oranges, bell peppers, wine, herbs or anything else grown on Israel's soil because I do not condone their actions.
I would rather go without.
Monday, 31 May 2010
Sunday, 30 May 2010
A 'bitsy' day
Today has been a day where I had nothing in particular planned except planting a few more flowers. I bought the plants on Friday and decided not to plant them because we were going to have rain yesterday and as the ground is still quite dry I had decided it was best watered naturally first.
When I had had breakfast I decided to sort out some of the freezer and then make a Victoria sandwich while I listened to the Archers on the radio. I also made some apple sauce because I will be cooking a pork steak for dinner tonight.
When the Archers had finished and the sponge was cooling, I walked over to the garden centre to get some slug pellets because they're on offer and I have a lot of very large snails which my little birds don't eat, and as the garden is enclosed there are no other predators to eat them. While I was over there, I spotted a couple of other plants which don't mind shade and I have one or two spots that need something in them.
I spent most of the afternoon pottering about, pruning bits that needed it, planting and watering and eventually, when I had finished I sat down outside and enjoyed a slice of cake with a welcome cup of tea.
Now the garden is planted for summer, all I have to do is carry on watering and wait for it to bloom.
When I had had breakfast I decided to sort out some of the freezer and then make a Victoria sandwich while I listened to the Archers on the radio. I also made some apple sauce because I will be cooking a pork steak for dinner tonight.
When the Archers had finished and the sponge was cooling, I walked over to the garden centre to get some slug pellets because they're on offer and I have a lot of very large snails which my little birds don't eat, and as the garden is enclosed there are no other predators to eat them. While I was over there, I spotted a couple of other plants which don't mind shade and I have one or two spots that need something in them.
I spent most of the afternoon pottering about, pruning bits that needed it, planting and watering and eventually, when I had finished I sat down outside and enjoyed a slice of cake with a welcome cup of tea.
Now the garden is planted for summer, all I have to do is carry on watering and wait for it to bloom.
Saturday, 29 May 2010
Memory test....passed with flying colours!!!
Now that I'm retired I only go to Tesco to do a big shop about once a month and so that I get everything I need I write things down on a list as I use them up or if I know that something is running low.
Most of my fruit, vegetables, fish and meat is bought at the farmer's market but now that I have a bit more time to do a price comparison between different stores, I have found that Wilkinson's are cheaper on more of the cleaning products and some of the toiletries. I only buy necessities in the Tesco Metro because their prices are quite a bit higher in the smaller city centre store than they are at the big store.
So as usual this morning, I got up very early and set off to the big Tesco. It was only as I was going into the store that I realised I had picked up my coupons but left my shopping list at home. It's not very often that I do this, and the list was a particularly long one so I took the task in hand and tried to do the shopping from memory. This wasn't going to be that easy because some of the items were put on the list a couple of weeks ago, some were things that I only rarely have to buy, but at least there were some items that I would normally buy every month anyway.
I went around the store and got everything that I thought I needed and as the shopping trolley was pretty full I felt quite pleased as I was sure I had succeeded.
When I got home I decided to check off everything from the shopping list and there were only three things that I had forgotten out of a list of thirty seven items and those three weren't that urgently required.
At least the brain cells are in good order!
Most of my fruit, vegetables, fish and meat is bought at the farmer's market but now that I have a bit more time to do a price comparison between different stores, I have found that Wilkinson's are cheaper on more of the cleaning products and some of the toiletries. I only buy necessities in the Tesco Metro because their prices are quite a bit higher in the smaller city centre store than they are at the big store.
So as usual this morning, I got up very early and set off to the big Tesco. It was only as I was going into the store that I realised I had picked up my coupons but left my shopping list at home. It's not very often that I do this, and the list was a particularly long one so I took the task in hand and tried to do the shopping from memory. This wasn't going to be that easy because some of the items were put on the list a couple of weeks ago, some were things that I only rarely have to buy, but at least there were some items that I would normally buy every month anyway.
I went around the store and got everything that I thought I needed and as the shopping trolley was pretty full I felt quite pleased as I was sure I had succeeded.
When I got home I decided to check off everything from the shopping list and there were only three things that I had forgotten out of a list of thirty seven items and those three weren't that urgently required.
At least the brain cells are in good order!
Friday, 28 May 2010
Homing spider!
Anyone who reads this regularly will know that not too long ago I mentioned that this year I have been overrun with spiders.
I haven't seen too many just lately but over the last four nights I have had a rather large one in the front room. We go through the same routine at roughly the same time every evening and I swear he/she must wear a watch!
About 8pm the spider, which is about an inch and a half across, marches in through the door and follows the same route across the carpet and under the chair opposite where I sit. Then it goes along in front of the fire and disappears under the cabinet that the television is on. I am certain I can hear it's footsteps as it marches around.
Anyway, while it is under the television cabinet, I go out into the kitchen and fetch a glass and a piece of stiff paper then wait for it to reappear. It always takes the same route back about ten minutes later so I catch it in front of the fire and take it outside.
The first two nights I released it outside the back door but somehow, it found it's way back and appeared at the same time the second and third night. On the third night I released it out the front door but again it was back at the same time last night.
In order to see how clever this creature is, last night I kept it in the glass and then put it in a jam jar. This morning I had to go to the garden centre which is about half a mile away but I took the long route and released it in the shrubs on the car park.
I will be very surprised if it marches in tonight! Perhaps I should have marked it with some paint.
I haven't seen too many just lately but over the last four nights I have had a rather large one in the front room. We go through the same routine at roughly the same time every evening and I swear he/she must wear a watch!
About 8pm the spider, which is about an inch and a half across, marches in through the door and follows the same route across the carpet and under the chair opposite where I sit. Then it goes along in front of the fire and disappears under the cabinet that the television is on. I am certain I can hear it's footsteps as it marches around.
Anyway, while it is under the television cabinet, I go out into the kitchen and fetch a glass and a piece of stiff paper then wait for it to reappear. It always takes the same route back about ten minutes later so I catch it in front of the fire and take it outside.
The first two nights I released it outside the back door but somehow, it found it's way back and appeared at the same time the second and third night. On the third night I released it out the front door but again it was back at the same time last night.
In order to see how clever this creature is, last night I kept it in the glass and then put it in a jam jar. This morning I had to go to the garden centre which is about half a mile away but I took the long route and released it in the shrubs on the car park.
I will be very surprised if it marches in tonight! Perhaps I should have marked it with some paint.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Beautiful rain.......
Yes! You'll probably think I've really lost my marbles now but yesterday evening and last night we had beautiful rain. Lots of it! Steady, warm and heavy. It lasted for several hours and must have been welcomed by every plant, tree, gardener and farmer....and me!
I watered all the herbs in pots yesterday teatime even though the sky was heavy with cloud and threatening to open up and soak us for all it was worth. We haven't had much rain to speak of for several weeks, so the promise of heavy showers had me almost holding my breath in anticipation.
It eventually started fairly slowly and steadily at about seven thirty. Then, as I stood at the back door watching and listening, it was almost as though the garden was drinking noisily as a child does with a straw when almost all the liquid has gone.
When I went to bed at about eleven, it was still raining fairly hard so I left the bedroom window open because it's one of those that pushes outwards from the bottom. As I lay there, I found it comforting and calming as I listened to the rain trickling down the drainpipe outside and then gently gurgling into the storm drain.
This morning when I got up the sun was shining and there was also a breeze. All the plants in the garden were still sparkling with the raindrops which looked like bright diamonds in the sunshine and everything looked very fresh as things do when they've had a good wash.
Despite the roses with their large blooms hanging their heads with the weight of the rain, and the verbascum leaning down almost touching the ground, I knew that everything in the garden felt much better. By this afternoon all the herbs and plants were standing upright once more and I swear they've all grown another inch.
Thanks to the beautiful rain.
I watered all the herbs in pots yesterday teatime even though the sky was heavy with cloud and threatening to open up and soak us for all it was worth. We haven't had much rain to speak of for several weeks, so the promise of heavy showers had me almost holding my breath in anticipation.
It eventually started fairly slowly and steadily at about seven thirty. Then, as I stood at the back door watching and listening, it was almost as though the garden was drinking noisily as a child does with a straw when almost all the liquid has gone.
When I went to bed at about eleven, it was still raining fairly hard so I left the bedroom window open because it's one of those that pushes outwards from the bottom. As I lay there, I found it comforting and calming as I listened to the rain trickling down the drainpipe outside and then gently gurgling into the storm drain.
This morning when I got up the sun was shining and there was also a breeze. All the plants in the garden were still sparkling with the raindrops which looked like bright diamonds in the sunshine and everything looked very fresh as things do when they've had a good wash.
Despite the roses with their large blooms hanging their heads with the weight of the rain, and the verbascum leaning down almost touching the ground, I knew that everything in the garden felt much better. By this afternoon all the herbs and plants were standing upright once more and I swear they've all grown another inch.
Thanks to the beautiful rain.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Chelsea flower show - the same old thing!
It's that time of year again, the Chelsea flower show. Once more we have too much repetitive television coverage with the same old presenters showing the same old garden designers and growers as they have done for the past goodness knows how many years. Some of the presenters probably know as much about gardening as my big toe and are only there for decoration, and aren't they patronising! They speak to the watching audience as if we're all numpties who know nothing.
Am I the only person who finds this tedious and boring. Why can't we see more of the plants and less of these 'personality presenters'? Every year the garden designers come up with what look like the same gardens as the previous year and when we are told the cost of them, it goes into thousands of pounds and well out of reach of ordinary individuals like you and me.
It is all so false too because we could never replicate a lot of these gardens as they have spring flowering plants blooming alongside those that flower in autumn. Nature made plants to flower at different times of the year and to flourish in different environments for a reason and Chelsea was not that reason.
Ah well! On Friday I will be taking out my wallflowers that have now finished flowering and putting in a perennial osteospermum, a few garden pinks, planting out the sunflowers and perhaps some californian poppy seeds.
It may not be a Chelsea show garden but it's all my own work and I enjoy it (so do the birds)!
Am I the only person who finds this tedious and boring. Why can't we see more of the plants and less of these 'personality presenters'? Every year the garden designers come up with what look like the same gardens as the previous year and when we are told the cost of them, it goes into thousands of pounds and well out of reach of ordinary individuals like you and me.
It is all so false too because we could never replicate a lot of these gardens as they have spring flowering plants blooming alongside those that flower in autumn. Nature made plants to flower at different times of the year and to flourish in different environments for a reason and Chelsea was not that reason.
Ah well! On Friday I will be taking out my wallflowers that have now finished flowering and putting in a perennial osteospermum, a few garden pinks, planting out the sunflowers and perhaps some californian poppy seeds.
It may not be a Chelsea show garden but it's all my own work and I enjoy it (so do the birds)!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
The pleasures of communal bathing
Several years ago Eden and I bought a miniature water lily in Tesco. It came with the aquatic compost and a shallow ceramic bowl so when we got home we planted it, filled the bowl with water and waited.
We had lots of leaves for the first two years, but no flower. On hot summer days when I came home from work I would go out to water my plants and I used to find mud splashed all over the patio and also the plants round the edge of the patio and there would be hardly any water left in the bowl. I knew it must be the sparrows so the following year I bought a large tub and re-planted the water lily with a couple of other pond plants and some oxygenating weed.
The sparrows have continued to use this to drink from and also for bathing even though I have a proper bird bath by the bird table. Squidge and his friends also use the tub to drink from when they come into the garden. The water lily has flowered too.
At the weekend I was a bit concerned when the sparrows, especially the young ones, were almost standing on their heads to drink because the water is about three inches below the top of the tub as that's where the inner liner starts and it's about twelve inches deep. Eden and I found a piece of wood and cut it to fit across the tub so that it was secure and safe and just above the water.
The sparrows usually sit all round the top of the tub where they get a shower when two or three take a bath by standing on the water lily leaves. As there are not that many leaves just yet, they were finding it quite hard to bathe so that's where the wood came in.
This afternoon was totally different. There they were after lunch, about eight around the top of the tub and another three on the piece of wood busily splashing about. They all take it in turns and the whole thing seems to be extremely well organised and all of them are very polite. Even a little blue tit turned up and waited patiently on a plant next to the tub until all the sparrows were finished. Then he too got on to the piece of wood and had his bath before sitting on the top of the fence to preen himself.
I now have very happy, clean birds in my garden!
We had lots of leaves for the first two years, but no flower. On hot summer days when I came home from work I would go out to water my plants and I used to find mud splashed all over the patio and also the plants round the edge of the patio and there would be hardly any water left in the bowl. I knew it must be the sparrows so the following year I bought a large tub and re-planted the water lily with a couple of other pond plants and some oxygenating weed.
The sparrows have continued to use this to drink from and also for bathing even though I have a proper bird bath by the bird table. Squidge and his friends also use the tub to drink from when they come into the garden. The water lily has flowered too.
At the weekend I was a bit concerned when the sparrows, especially the young ones, were almost standing on their heads to drink because the water is about three inches below the top of the tub as that's where the inner liner starts and it's about twelve inches deep. Eden and I found a piece of wood and cut it to fit across the tub so that it was secure and safe and just above the water.
The sparrows usually sit all round the top of the tub where they get a shower when two or three take a bath by standing on the water lily leaves. As there are not that many leaves just yet, they were finding it quite hard to bathe so that's where the wood came in.
This afternoon was totally different. There they were after lunch, about eight around the top of the tub and another three on the piece of wood busily splashing about. They all take it in turns and the whole thing seems to be extremely well organised and all of them are very polite. Even a little blue tit turned up and waited patiently on a plant next to the tub until all the sparrows were finished. Then he too got on to the piece of wood and had his bath before sitting on the top of the fence to preen himself.
I now have very happy, clean birds in my garden!
Monday, 24 May 2010
Blooming hot!
This weekend has been particularly hot for May and it is not supposed to get cooler in this part of the country until Wednesday. The heat has all but finished off the wallflowers and they are now looking very tired so when it does cool down, I will have to dig them out.
Along the fence and trellis on both sides of the garden I planted several climbing roses a few years ago. They haven't really been pruned properly for a couple of years because working full time and having a few health problems meant they didn't get done. Now that I am retired I am hoping to rectify this from the autumn but until then I am letting them 'do their own thing'.
Last week there were quite a few buds on some of them but over the weekend some of these buds have opened into full blown blooms with the heat and sunshine.
Going up the left hand side of the garden I have Gertude Jekyll, one of my absolute favourites. She is just beginning to open her sugar pink blooms and the perfume is exquisite. Next to her is Mme. Alfred Carriere, a 'rescue rose' from Focus garden centre who is still rather weakly and didn't flower at all last year but has one creamy white bloom opening and quite a few more to come. Then there is Ena Harkness who opened several of her beautiful crimson flowers yesterday and today. The last one on this side of the garden is Lilac Moon and she also has blooms opening and she too has more than last year. Facing the house across the top of the garden is a rose called Danse du Feu which has not done too well over the last couple of years but is now sporting a bright scarlet flower and a lot of fat buds.
Coming down the other side, Arthur Bell, a yellow rose that grows about ten feet straight up has actually got a flower lower down and joining him in a race to get as far over the top of the fence is William Morris who has heavy clusters of peachy flowers but is still in tight bud at the moment. Then there is Juliana, a salmon pink rose also in tight bud and trying to grow as tall as all the others on this side of the garden. Then we come to Compassion who has a pinky flesh coloured flower, but is not yet in flower although she has plenty of buds and finally there is Casino, another yellow rose who is also in bud.
It's strange how those on the right hand side of the garden seem to want to grow bolt upright as high as they can (or as high as I let them) and they all flower later. However, there are a couple of clematis flowering in amongst them and at least they all have buds so I can look forward to a display in a few weeks time.
Along the fence and trellis on both sides of the garden I planted several climbing roses a few years ago. They haven't really been pruned properly for a couple of years because working full time and having a few health problems meant they didn't get done. Now that I am retired I am hoping to rectify this from the autumn but until then I am letting them 'do their own thing'.
Last week there were quite a few buds on some of them but over the weekend some of these buds have opened into full blown blooms with the heat and sunshine.
Going up the left hand side of the garden I have Gertude Jekyll, one of my absolute favourites. She is just beginning to open her sugar pink blooms and the perfume is exquisite. Next to her is Mme. Alfred Carriere, a 'rescue rose' from Focus garden centre who is still rather weakly and didn't flower at all last year but has one creamy white bloom opening and quite a few more to come. Then there is Ena Harkness who opened several of her beautiful crimson flowers yesterday and today. The last one on this side of the garden is Lilac Moon and she also has blooms opening and she too has more than last year. Facing the house across the top of the garden is a rose called Danse du Feu which has not done too well over the last couple of years but is now sporting a bright scarlet flower and a lot of fat buds.
Coming down the other side, Arthur Bell, a yellow rose that grows about ten feet straight up has actually got a flower lower down and joining him in a race to get as far over the top of the fence is William Morris who has heavy clusters of peachy flowers but is still in tight bud at the moment. Then there is Juliana, a salmon pink rose also in tight bud and trying to grow as tall as all the others on this side of the garden. Then we come to Compassion who has a pinky flesh coloured flower, but is not yet in flower although she has plenty of buds and finally there is Casino, another yellow rose who is also in bud.
It's strange how those on the right hand side of the garden seem to want to grow bolt upright as high as they can (or as high as I let them) and they all flower later. However, there are a couple of clematis flowering in amongst them and at least they all have buds so I can look forward to a display in a few weeks time.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
A new alarm clock
As it was so hot last night, I slept (or tried to) with the window wide open in my bedroom. It's quite safe as no-one would be able to get in without making a lot of noise and would also be noticed as I look out onto the street. Besides, one look at me would scare off any burglar! Poor Eden cannot have her window open because it is a sash window and there is access over the flat roof of the kitchen. People have tried to break in this way some years ago before I put a 6 foot trellis along the length of the wall making it too difficult to get over easily. Anyway, Eden's room is much cooler and she doesn't suffer from heat as much as I do.
After being woken a couple of times in the very early hours by people coming home from a night out and talking very loudly as they do, I dropped back off to sleep hoping that I would stay that way until the alarm went off.
How wrong can you be? I was woken very rudely just after 6am by a magpie 'clacking' loudly. In my half conscious state I listened for a few minutes and realised it was probably giving a flying lesson to one of it's young. They tend to get them out of the nest early in the morning, especially if the weather is very warm.
Then I heard next door's front door open and close. That's when the magpie went beserk! The 'clacking' went up by at least fifty decibels and became almost continuous which brought me abruptly out of my somnolent state. I got out of bed and went to the window to see next door's cat sitting on the path washing itself and the magpie just a couple of feet away 'clacking' and jumping around as if it had a damaged wing.
The cat watched it with a look of boredom and carried on with it's early morning ablutions.The magpie got closer and the tried to get the cat to follow it. The cat couldn't be bothered but that did not stop the magpie trying it's darnedest to get the cat's attention so that it wouldn't see the young magpie. The youngster, by the way, was sitting on the roof of the row of houses opposite shouting support for it's parent and still the cat took no notice but carried on washing itself.
With all the racket I was well and truly awake so decided to make a cup of tea. As I came downstairs I did wonder if the cat was deaf because these are the neighbours that play the 'head banging' music so loud that everything in my house shakes!
After being woken a couple of times in the very early hours by people coming home from a night out and talking very loudly as they do, I dropped back off to sleep hoping that I would stay that way until the alarm went off.
How wrong can you be? I was woken very rudely just after 6am by a magpie 'clacking' loudly. In my half conscious state I listened for a few minutes and realised it was probably giving a flying lesson to one of it's young. They tend to get them out of the nest early in the morning, especially if the weather is very warm.
Then I heard next door's front door open and close. That's when the magpie went beserk! The 'clacking' went up by at least fifty decibels and became almost continuous which brought me abruptly out of my somnolent state. I got out of bed and went to the window to see next door's cat sitting on the path washing itself and the magpie just a couple of feet away 'clacking' and jumping around as if it had a damaged wing.
The cat watched it with a look of boredom and carried on with it's early morning ablutions.The magpie got closer and the tried to get the cat to follow it. The cat couldn't be bothered but that did not stop the magpie trying it's darnedest to get the cat's attention so that it wouldn't see the young magpie. The youngster, by the way, was sitting on the roof of the row of houses opposite shouting support for it's parent and still the cat took no notice but carried on washing itself.
With all the racket I was well and truly awake so decided to make a cup of tea. As I came downstairs I did wonder if the cat was deaf because these are the neighbours that play the 'head banging' music so loud that everything in my house shakes!
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Who likes coconut cake?
Yesterday morning I thought I would make Eden a little treat for this weekend as I had some dessicated coconut that was nearing it's 'best before date'. When she was about five years old I made a coconut slab cake and covered it with coconut icing then decorated it with glace cherries.
Of course, like most children she loved it and I have made this from time to time over the years she has been coming to stay. Just lately though, we have both put on some weight so I have tended to do less of the really yummy cakes and aimed at the more healthy options, but it doesn't hurt to have a treat every now and then.
We have both had some of this cake and it's just as good as the last time so this afternoon, because it was so hot, we sat outside in the shade watching the little sparrows and great tits and at teatime we had a cup of tea and some cake. Then I decided to crumble up a small piece and put it on the bird table to see what would happen.
The first little sparrow tried some and came back within a minute for some more. This one was followed shortly after by some other sparrows who also decided to tuck in and they too returned very quickly. Then the great tit came and as usual announced his presence very loudly on the approach to the bird table. Well, he really liked the cake and in fact, it must have been so good, with each piece he took, he got all of four feet to the fence, ate the cake and returned for more!
I think I have discovered a great tit's favourite cake too.
Of course, like most children she loved it and I have made this from time to time over the years she has been coming to stay. Just lately though, we have both put on some weight so I have tended to do less of the really yummy cakes and aimed at the more healthy options, but it doesn't hurt to have a treat every now and then.
We have both had some of this cake and it's just as good as the last time so this afternoon, because it was so hot, we sat outside in the shade watching the little sparrows and great tits and at teatime we had a cup of tea and some cake. Then I decided to crumble up a small piece and put it on the bird table to see what would happen.
The first little sparrow tried some and came back within a minute for some more. This one was followed shortly after by some other sparrows who also decided to tuck in and they too returned very quickly. Then the great tit came and as usual announced his presence very loudly on the approach to the bird table. Well, he really liked the cake and in fact, it must have been so good, with each piece he took, he got all of four feet to the fence, ate the cake and returned for more!
I think I have discovered a great tit's favourite cake too.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Perfumes of summer
My journey over to collect Eden this afternoon has confirmed without a doubt that 'summer is a comin' in'. No, I didn't hear a cuckoo but I did hear plenty of blackbirds, hedge sparrows, great tits and wrens on my twenty five mile drive.
It's always fascinated me that I am able to pick out the birdsong as I drive along but it is well known in ornithological circles that the birds have surprisingly loud song in order to compete with us and our traffic noises etc.
The most outstanding part of the journey was the smell of summer. There is one part of the road that has hawthorn trees on both sides for about fifty yards and these are covered in flower. This is commonly known as May (obviously because of the time of the year that it flowers) and it has a particularly pungent perfume which always reminds me that it will soon be summer. Eden isn't quite so impressed with the smell and I suppose it is a strange one to get used to.
A bit farther on there are fields of rapeseed which are in full flower and these really do smell heavenly especially as today has been very warm so the perfume travels more and is very sensuous. The bright flourescent yellow colour of the fields is also a spectatcle.
Finally, as I got a few miles from Eden's home, a farmer had been muck spreading, not a nice smell but at least he's putting that back on the land instead of using chemicals!
It's always fascinated me that I am able to pick out the birdsong as I drive along but it is well known in ornithological circles that the birds have surprisingly loud song in order to compete with us and our traffic noises etc.
The most outstanding part of the journey was the smell of summer. There is one part of the road that has hawthorn trees on both sides for about fifty yards and these are covered in flower. This is commonly known as May (obviously because of the time of the year that it flowers) and it has a particularly pungent perfume which always reminds me that it will soon be summer. Eden isn't quite so impressed with the smell and I suppose it is a strange one to get used to.
A bit farther on there are fields of rapeseed which are in full flower and these really do smell heavenly especially as today has been very warm so the perfume travels more and is very sensuous. The bright flourescent yellow colour of the fields is also a spectatcle.
Finally, as I got a few miles from Eden's home, a farmer had been muck spreading, not a nice smell but at least he's putting that back on the land instead of using chemicals!
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Does it pay to be honest?
Since my retirement I'm beginning to think the answer to that question is a big fat NO. When I worked in the jobcentre with the long term unemployed, we often grew suspicious about some of our customers, especially if someone who was looking for painting and decorating work came in with paint on their clothes and hands. It's a bit of a giveaway and they would always give the same answer when challenged 'I'm decorating the living room'! This is when we filled out referrals to the fraud department and they would follow it up, but not everyone was successfully prosecuted.
I have always been honest and truthful, it's how I was brought up and also the way I taught my daughters to be. I have never even had a speeding fine or parking ticket and have always declared every penny I've earned. I have paid my taxes all through my working life and even worked on nearly two years past my retirement date when I had to give in due to health and mobility problems. I would have happily gone on for a lot longer.
This week, I discovered my income tax for this year will be £80 per month from my £166 monthly occupational pension. The only other money I receive is a full state pension and a few pounds of housing benefit but everything else is paid by me. When I have paid all my bills I am left with very little money to live on.
Someone who has never worked, lived their life on benefits and fiddled the system gets all their rent and council tax paid and receives more money in pension credit without ever contributing anything. This is also true for the huge numbers of immigrants who have come to this country but never worked here because they won't learn to speak English (and they're not all refugees from countries at war).
Apart from all these who get everything paid, the only others who can spend a comfortable retirement are the ones who have been fortunate enough to inherit proprty from parents or who have been able to earn enough money to buy their own house. The rest of us have to go without and still pay income tax (which enables those who have never paid anything to receive more than we do).
I have always been honest and truthful, it's how I was brought up and also the way I taught my daughters to be. I have never even had a speeding fine or parking ticket and have always declared every penny I've earned. I have paid my taxes all through my working life and even worked on nearly two years past my retirement date when I had to give in due to health and mobility problems. I would have happily gone on for a lot longer.
This week, I discovered my income tax for this year will be £80 per month from my £166 monthly occupational pension. The only other money I receive is a full state pension and a few pounds of housing benefit but everything else is paid by me. When I have paid all my bills I am left with very little money to live on.
Someone who has never worked, lived their life on benefits and fiddled the system gets all their rent and council tax paid and receives more money in pension credit without ever contributing anything. This is also true for the huge numbers of immigrants who have come to this country but never worked here because they won't learn to speak English (and they're not all refugees from countries at war).
Apart from all these who get everything paid, the only others who can spend a comfortable retirement are the ones who have been fortunate enough to inherit proprty from parents or who have been able to earn enough money to buy their own house. The rest of us have to go without and still pay income tax (which enables those who have never paid anything to receive more than we do).
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Wannabee
When Eden came down two weeks ago we went into the centre to get a few things in the shops and that's when we bought the little barbecue.
While we were out we also did a bit of window shopping, something I don't do very often because I can never find anything I really like so I don't like shopping and I don't have the money to spend anyway.
However, the window of a shop that sells accessories caught my eye with it's bright offerings. Right in the cente of the window was a big, brightly coloured cloth bag made with materials of every bright colour you could imagine. Above it was a straw trilby style hat which was decorated with pretty little coloured ornaments rather like a charm bracelet.
I asked Eden if we could go in so that I could try the hat on but she refused point blank and told me it was awful. I told her that I thought I ought to buy the big, bright bag and the hat together with a few of the oversized bangles in the window and then we could go and look for one of those tiered cotton gypsy skirts in bright colours and a white cheesecloth gypsy top. I would also get a pair of 'hippy' sandals, you know the ones with thick leather straps which have velcro fastenings and soles like tractor tyres!
I also said that when I had the whole ensemble, I could wear all of the necklaces in my jewellery box and be a real hippy especially as I wasn't one the first time round as I was too busy working for a living. Eden didn't think this was a good idea at my age but I told her I do have a straw hat and a crinkle skirt so she'd better watch out!
While we were out we also did a bit of window shopping, something I don't do very often because I can never find anything I really like so I don't like shopping and I don't have the money to spend anyway.
However, the window of a shop that sells accessories caught my eye with it's bright offerings. Right in the cente of the window was a big, brightly coloured cloth bag made with materials of every bright colour you could imagine. Above it was a straw trilby style hat which was decorated with pretty little coloured ornaments rather like a charm bracelet.
I asked Eden if we could go in so that I could try the hat on but she refused point blank and told me it was awful. I told her that I thought I ought to buy the big, bright bag and the hat together with a few of the oversized bangles in the window and then we could go and look for one of those tiered cotton gypsy skirts in bright colours and a white cheesecloth gypsy top. I would also get a pair of 'hippy' sandals, you know the ones with thick leather straps which have velcro fastenings and soles like tractor tyres!
I also said that when I had the whole ensemble, I could wear all of the necklaces in my jewellery box and be a real hippy especially as I wasn't one the first time round as I was too busy working for a living. Eden didn't think this was a good idea at my age but I told her I do have a straw hat and a crinkle skirt so she'd better watch out!
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Ready for a tiny barbecue!
Today I spent the morning out in the garden tidying up the honeysuckle which sends out any number of long suckers at this time of the year. The weather was beautiful, not too hot and not too cold and at times, I had an audience of birds who I am convinced were keeping an eye on me just to make sure I left some honeysuckle for them to hide in.
The wallflowers are almost over but I have decided to leave them in until next week because the weather forecast for this weekend is supposed to be HOT and Eden will be here for the weekend. When she was down a fortnight ago, we bought a little barbecue and some charcoal so I think we will put this together on Saturday and when her Mum comes to pick her up on Sunday, we will be able to use it for the first time and the remaining wallflowers will provide some colour.
My garden is tiny, about 20 feet by 15 feet, but there is enough room on the patio for a tiny wooden table and two chairs and the tiny barbecue will just fit too.
The sunflowers are about an inch high and Squidge only stopped two from growing so he won't be put on the barbecue, a lot of people have started to eat grey squirrels but I'll stick to pork, lamb and beef!
We'll make the most of the weather this weekend because we don't know if or when the next warm, dry spell will come along.
The wallflowers are almost over but I have decided to leave them in until next week because the weather forecast for this weekend is supposed to be HOT and Eden will be here for the weekend. When she was down a fortnight ago, we bought a little barbecue and some charcoal so I think we will put this together on Saturday and when her Mum comes to pick her up on Sunday, we will be able to use it for the first time and the remaining wallflowers will provide some colour.
My garden is tiny, about 20 feet by 15 feet, but there is enough room on the patio for a tiny wooden table and two chairs and the tiny barbecue will just fit too.
The sunflowers are about an inch high and Squidge only stopped two from growing so he won't be put on the barbecue, a lot of people have started to eat grey squirrels but I'll stick to pork, lamb and beef!
We'll make the most of the weather this weekend because we don't know if or when the next warm, dry spell will come along.
Monday, 17 May 2010
Eat one - bury one for later
The squirrel's nut box was almost empty this morning by the time Squidge had eaten his breakfast. While he popped in and out of the nut box and then sat on the top of it eating the nuts, the little woodmouse was scurrying about underneath eating the bits that Squidge had dropped.
After Squidge had finished he sat on the wall just the other side of the fence so I went out and emptied the box and cleaned it out. I was very aware that he was watching me carefully from the other side of the fence. I suppose he was wondering just what I was up to so I carried on cleaning the box out and then washed off the perspex front. When I had finished, I filled it back up with fresh nuts.
This evening I have been stood in the kitchen for quite some time just watching him. He knows the nuts are really fresh and every time I refill the box he goes through the same routine. First he'll eat a peanut then he pops into the box again then gets down onto the ground and searches for a 'safe' place to bury one for later. When he buries them, he really does it in earnest, he digs like crazy, puts the nut into the hole then covers it up and pats the ground flat!
After a while, I think he realised that I was watching him because he began to stare at the window where I was standing. I pulled back the net curtain and asked him why he had dirt all over his face. He looked at me as if to say 'it's none of your b****y business' then carried on eating one and burying one.
The problem is, he will probably dig some of them up tomorrow and he won't remember where he put the rest but they'll reappear when I'm putting in plants. Some of them even germinate but I don't think our climate is suitable for growing peanuts but I'll leave the odd one or two again, just to see.
After Squidge had finished he sat on the wall just the other side of the fence so I went out and emptied the box and cleaned it out. I was very aware that he was watching me carefully from the other side of the fence. I suppose he was wondering just what I was up to so I carried on cleaning the box out and then washed off the perspex front. When I had finished, I filled it back up with fresh nuts.
This evening I have been stood in the kitchen for quite some time just watching him. He knows the nuts are really fresh and every time I refill the box he goes through the same routine. First he'll eat a peanut then he pops into the box again then gets down onto the ground and searches for a 'safe' place to bury one for later. When he buries them, he really does it in earnest, he digs like crazy, puts the nut into the hole then covers it up and pats the ground flat!
After a while, I think he realised that I was watching him because he began to stare at the window where I was standing. I pulled back the net curtain and asked him why he had dirt all over his face. He looked at me as if to say 'it's none of your b****y business' then carried on eating one and burying one.
The problem is, he will probably dig some of them up tomorrow and he won't remember where he put the rest but they'll reappear when I'm putting in plants. Some of them even germinate but I don't think our climate is suitable for growing peanuts but I'll leave the odd one or two again, just to see.
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Baby boom!
Over the last few day the garden has been alive with birds all very busy feeding and bathing so I think that they must all be tending chicks.
The sparrows are all coming down in ever increasing numbers and I'm thrilled to say there are at least six pairs and maybe more. As they come down at certain times to feed and bathe, then disappear, I think they are then looking for food for thier chicks. I know that there are a couple of pairs nesting under the tiles in the houses round the corner and I believe there are more further over because at the back of those houses there is a long, tall privet hedge that divides the gardens from those in the next street.
There is also a pair of magpies who come down every day to check out the facilities, they have a drink and check out the bird table for any left over seed or maybe bits of peanut that the squirrels or great tits have dropped.
I always know when the great tits are coming because they make a lot of noise on the approach to the bird feeder hanging below the bird table. Yesterday I was amused when one spotted the peanuts in the squirrel's box and was trying to get them through the clear perspex front. He was very frustrated and shouted a lot before giving up on those and going onto the feeder.
The most industrious bird is the female blackbird. She has been turning over the bark under the bird table and has actually made hollows about four or five inches across and about the same depth. I think she knows that this is the most moist part of the garden and there are a lot of worms and other morsels there.
It's taken six months for them to return but I'm so happy they're back. Hopefully they will bring their young over when they are old enough.
The sparrows are all coming down in ever increasing numbers and I'm thrilled to say there are at least six pairs and maybe more. As they come down at certain times to feed and bathe, then disappear, I think they are then looking for food for thier chicks. I know that there are a couple of pairs nesting under the tiles in the houses round the corner and I believe there are more further over because at the back of those houses there is a long, tall privet hedge that divides the gardens from those in the next street.
There is also a pair of magpies who come down every day to check out the facilities, they have a drink and check out the bird table for any left over seed or maybe bits of peanut that the squirrels or great tits have dropped.
I always know when the great tits are coming because they make a lot of noise on the approach to the bird feeder hanging below the bird table. Yesterday I was amused when one spotted the peanuts in the squirrel's box and was trying to get them through the clear perspex front. He was very frustrated and shouted a lot before giving up on those and going onto the feeder.
The most industrious bird is the female blackbird. She has been turning over the bark under the bird table and has actually made hollows about four or five inches across and about the same depth. I think she knows that this is the most moist part of the garden and there are a lot of worms and other morsels there.
It's taken six months for them to return but I'm so happy they're back. Hopefully they will bring their young over when they are old enough.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Accident!
When I got up this morning at 6:45am I went into Eden's room to pull back the curtains and heard something falling from the wall outside where it juts out a good five feet from the house. At the same time, out of the corner of my eye I saw something waving about.
At first I thought it was a magpie in distress and then heard a sickening thud on the ground. It all happened within a split second and as I looked down. I saw a squirrel climbing up the wall below.
I dashed downstairs and looked out of the window but he had gone. There was another one feeding on the nut box. When I had finished making a cup of tea the other one had gone too so I went upstairs and had my tea then quickly pulled on some clothes, dragged a brush through my hair, put on some large sunglasses and went out ad checked around the area but I couldn't see any sign of a squirrel (luckily no-one saw me looking like a scarecrow!).
When I got back home, I went out and had a look at where the poor little chap had fallen and it appears that he landed half on a large pot with a hosta whose leaves are just beginning to unfurl and half on a low wall which is covered in a low growing campanula.
There was no sign of any blood so thankfully he doesn't have any open wounds, but I feel quite sick wondering how badly he has injured hmself even though he climbed up the garden wall afterwards.
It's all that landlady's fault because the wall that was repaired on the end of the house was left covered in a cheap, smooth surface and not rendered with the rough surface that covers the rest of the house. The poor little chap couldn't get any grip and was obviously surprised when I pulled back the curtains.
I will be thinking and praying for that poor little squirrel all day.
At first I thought it was a magpie in distress and then heard a sickening thud on the ground. It all happened within a split second and as I looked down. I saw a squirrel climbing up the wall below.
I dashed downstairs and looked out of the window but he had gone. There was another one feeding on the nut box. When I had finished making a cup of tea the other one had gone too so I went upstairs and had my tea then quickly pulled on some clothes, dragged a brush through my hair, put on some large sunglasses and went out ad checked around the area but I couldn't see any sign of a squirrel (luckily no-one saw me looking like a scarecrow!).
When I got back home, I went out and had a look at where the poor little chap had fallen and it appears that he landed half on a large pot with a hosta whose leaves are just beginning to unfurl and half on a low wall which is covered in a low growing campanula.
There was no sign of any blood so thankfully he doesn't have any open wounds, but I feel quite sick wondering how badly he has injured hmself even though he climbed up the garden wall afterwards.
It's all that landlady's fault because the wall that was repaired on the end of the house was left covered in a cheap, smooth surface and not rendered with the rough surface that covers the rest of the house. The poor little chap couldn't get any grip and was obviously surprised when I pulled back the curtains.
I will be thinking and praying for that poor little squirrel all day.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Grumpy-grandma ?? Superstar!
Let me tell you how today's adventure brightened my morning. I had just finished my shopping and was rather loaded, the shopping trolley was full and I had bought a few extra bargains including a large pineapple from Tesco for 50p. As there wasn't enough room in the trolley for the pineapple I had it in one of their carriers and I put the handles over the handle of the trolley with the pineapple balanced on the top.
I carefully made my way into the shopping mall because I needed to go to Boots the chemist and their medicines counter is more easily accessed from the mall entrance. As I got around the corner into the main body of the mall there was a stand there for the RAC and several people stood around it. One very pleasant young lady asked me if I was a car driver and I replied that I was. She asked me a few more questions especially about the RAC and had I ever had need to use their services.
I have been a member for thirty years, I joined when I first started driving and have always been very impressed and pleased with them. Then I was asked if I would mind if they made a short recording of me recounting a time when I had a need to call them out and would I be prepared to recommend their services to others. Of course I didn't mind. I think it's for their website or something.
Anyway, it didn't really take very long and all the people there were very pleasant too. I had asked them to keep an eye on my shopping trolley and my bargain pineapple which they were happy to do.
After I had finished I did tell them that I was also available for television for a fee and was rather surprised when they said they would make a note of it! Then they gave me my shopping and also a 'goody bag' which I balanced on top of the pineapple and headed for Boots.
I now have a rather smart stainless steel thermos flask with RAC on the side!
I carefully made my way into the shopping mall because I needed to go to Boots the chemist and their medicines counter is more easily accessed from the mall entrance. As I got around the corner into the main body of the mall there was a stand there for the RAC and several people stood around it. One very pleasant young lady asked me if I was a car driver and I replied that I was. She asked me a few more questions especially about the RAC and had I ever had need to use their services.
I have been a member for thirty years, I joined when I first started driving and have always been very impressed and pleased with them. Then I was asked if I would mind if they made a short recording of me recounting a time when I had a need to call them out and would I be prepared to recommend their services to others. Of course I didn't mind. I think it's for their website or something.
Anyway, it didn't really take very long and all the people there were very pleasant too. I had asked them to keep an eye on my shopping trolley and my bargain pineapple which they were happy to do.
After I had finished I did tell them that I was also available for television for a fee and was rather surprised when they said they would make a note of it! Then they gave me my shopping and also a 'goody bag' which I balanced on top of the pineapple and headed for Boots.
I now have a rather smart stainless steel thermos flask with RAC on the side!
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Spider city
Over the last month or so I seem to have had an unusually large number of spiders both in the house and outside. They have ranged from the teeniest, weeniest ones right up to the great,great grand-daddy of all spiders that I emptied from a tub in the garden. He WAS big. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing one as big as he was apart from the tarantulas at the zoo!
I'm not that keen on spiders, but I won't kill them. If I come across one inside, I just scoop it up in a glass or other container if I can and release it outside. This is something I have done quite a lot over the last few weeks.
I am not sure how many species of spider we have in the British Isles but I'm sure they have all marched through my house or garden recently.
Some of the spiders at the top of the garden seem to jump rather than run and as there are quite a lot of the same type in one place, I have a suspicion that they came from the bark chippings. Then there are quite a lot of the fat bodied garden spiders and some of them have very pretty markings when you look closely.
Perhaps all of these spiders have been hibernating through the cold winter and have recently woken up with the warmer weather. Whatever the reason for this sudden increase in numbers, I will probably be removing them for a few more weeks yet.
I'm not that keen on spiders, but I won't kill them. If I come across one inside, I just scoop it up in a glass or other container if I can and release it outside. This is something I have done quite a lot over the last few weeks.
I am not sure how many species of spider we have in the British Isles but I'm sure they have all marched through my house or garden recently.
Some of the spiders at the top of the garden seem to jump rather than run and as there are quite a lot of the same type in one place, I have a suspicion that they came from the bark chippings. Then there are quite a lot of the fat bodied garden spiders and some of them have very pretty markings when you look closely.
Perhaps all of these spiders have been hibernating through the cold winter and have recently woken up with the warmer weather. Whatever the reason for this sudden increase in numbers, I will probably be removing them for a few more weeks yet.
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Waste not - want not
I was bought up to be thrifty and not to waste anything that had any 'life, use or wear' left in it and my Mum and Dad also taught me how to 'make do and mend'. Because I had two brothers and two sisters, money was tight in our household and we all accepted that we couldn't have the material things that other kids had. This didn't bother any of us as we had the most important gifts of all, we were loved and we all had each other. Perhaps this sounds corny to today's youngsters but that was how it was and I don't think any of us would have changed a thing.
My Dad used to grow most of the vegetables that we ate and Mum kept hens for eggs. All the vegetable peelings were cooked up and mixed with mash for the chickens (it had quite a pong but they loved it) and they also had the cabbage stalks hung up in their run so that they could pick over those too. If there was anything that could not be cooked up for the birds it was put on the compost heap and recycled. Dad used to garden organically and that was more that fifty years ago so I do the same now.
No food was wasted in our house and Mum was a good cook so every meal time we all sat at the table and cleared our plates. We rarely had 'leftovers' and if we did, she was very good at stretching them and making them into a totally different dish for the next meal. Mum would have been horrified at the food that is wasted today and in many ways, the lessons I learned from her have stood me in good stead.
That is why I have a lot of strange things in small bags in my freezer, a luxury my Mum never had as we didn't even own a fridge in those days. Because I live alone the freezer is my best friend. I cannot bear to throw away things like the odd chillie, or two inch piece of ginger or even the half bunch of chopped herbs so I freeze them in little containers or bags and use them up another day. When I make soups and casseroles I have always got a 'little something' in the freezer that I can use up so I saved the bottom of the asparagus spears that we had last week and I never, ever strain vegetables out of soup as some chefs do, everything gets blitzed in the blender and eaten. I don't do clear consommes or thin soups!
My Dad used to grow most of the vegetables that we ate and Mum kept hens for eggs. All the vegetable peelings were cooked up and mixed with mash for the chickens (it had quite a pong but they loved it) and they also had the cabbage stalks hung up in their run so that they could pick over those too. If there was anything that could not be cooked up for the birds it was put on the compost heap and recycled. Dad used to garden organically and that was more that fifty years ago so I do the same now.
No food was wasted in our house and Mum was a good cook so every meal time we all sat at the table and cleared our plates. We rarely had 'leftovers' and if we did, she was very good at stretching them and making them into a totally different dish for the next meal. Mum would have been horrified at the food that is wasted today and in many ways, the lessons I learned from her have stood me in good stead.
That is why I have a lot of strange things in small bags in my freezer, a luxury my Mum never had as we didn't even own a fridge in those days. Because I live alone the freezer is my best friend. I cannot bear to throw away things like the odd chillie, or two inch piece of ginger or even the half bunch of chopped herbs so I freeze them in little containers or bags and use them up another day. When I make soups and casseroles I have always got a 'little something' in the freezer that I can use up so I saved the bottom of the asparagus spears that we had last week and I never, ever strain vegetables out of soup as some chefs do, everything gets blitzed in the blender and eaten. I don't do clear consommes or thin soups!
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Keeping my fingers crossed
I have mentioned before that I have been visited by the occasional sparrow and I think that he has been away and told his friends. This morning there were about four in the garden on the seed feeder.
It has been almost six months since the landlady had the side garden cleared out with a digger and now it just looks like a barren mess, devoid of all life.
However, I am hopeful that this sparrow gang will bring their families into the garden to feed too. This is very important as we have lost huge numbers of house sparrow due to the use of pesticides, herbicides and modern building practices. The farmers use the chemicals on crops which not only destroy the seed which the birds eat but also the insects that the birds feed to their young. Modern buildings are made from a lot of concrete and don't have crevices or gaps where the birds can nest.
Before the side garden was destroyed I used to have a flock of thirty or so house sparrows which came to feed every day all through the year. Strangely, the ones that came this morning were all males so perhaps their hens are sitting on nests, but they should have reared their first clutch so I will have to wait and see if they bring the young over to feed and bathe. They did investigate the bird bath and the tub with the water lily, so they are obviously checking the facilities and catering arrangements.
There were also a couple of great tits on the bird peanut feeder but they only come throughout the spring and summer and the magpie pops over from time to time to see what he can steal. Perhaps I will be able to watch a garden full of birds again quite soon.
It has been almost six months since the landlady had the side garden cleared out with a digger and now it just looks like a barren mess, devoid of all life.
However, I am hopeful that this sparrow gang will bring their families into the garden to feed too. This is very important as we have lost huge numbers of house sparrow due to the use of pesticides, herbicides and modern building practices. The farmers use the chemicals on crops which not only destroy the seed which the birds eat but also the insects that the birds feed to their young. Modern buildings are made from a lot of concrete and don't have crevices or gaps where the birds can nest.
Before the side garden was destroyed I used to have a flock of thirty or so house sparrows which came to feed every day all through the year. Strangely, the ones that came this morning were all males so perhaps their hens are sitting on nests, but they should have reared their first clutch so I will have to wait and see if they bring the young over to feed and bathe. They did investigate the bird bath and the tub with the water lily, so they are obviously checking the facilities and catering arrangements.
There were also a couple of great tits on the bird peanut feeder but they only come throughout the spring and summer and the magpie pops over from time to time to see what he can steal. Perhaps I will be able to watch a garden full of birds again quite soon.
Monday, 10 May 2010
Another one bites the dust!
It's not too long ago that the brand new, very expensive shopping centre opened and within a few months a couple of prestigious stores had gone into liquidation.
The older shopping area has also succumbed to the same fate. Over a period of time quite a lot of shops have been left empty all around the original shopping area, some of their windows just have enormous posters telling everyone that they have moved to the new shopping centre and others have disappeared completely.
This disease doesn't affect small independent businesses as they were all priced out by the multiples many years ago, these are large well known stores which are part of huge national chains.
The latest victim to be covered in 'closing down' posters is the 'Faith' shoe shop. However, I can't say I'm really that surprised as I have never been able to fathom how anyone could walk in their shoes. In my younger days I could walk fairly elegantly in three inch stilletos with a pencil skirt and I could also stand up very straight too, but I have seen quite a lot of youngsters wearing the type of shoes sold in this (and other) shoe shops but they wobble along with their bottoms sticking out behind because they are unable to stand upright. Perhaps they have been too used to slopping around in those awful 'Ugh' boots for too long.
I shall wait to see what (if any) shop will open after this one has gone. What we need is a shop that sells good quality, comfortable shoes that don't cost the earth and that ladies of a certain age, like myself, can walk in. We don't do high fashion - we've got more taste than that!
The older shopping area has also succumbed to the same fate. Over a period of time quite a lot of shops have been left empty all around the original shopping area, some of their windows just have enormous posters telling everyone that they have moved to the new shopping centre and others have disappeared completely.
This disease doesn't affect small independent businesses as they were all priced out by the multiples many years ago, these are large well known stores which are part of huge national chains.
The latest victim to be covered in 'closing down' posters is the 'Faith' shoe shop. However, I can't say I'm really that surprised as I have never been able to fathom how anyone could walk in their shoes. In my younger days I could walk fairly elegantly in three inch stilletos with a pencil skirt and I could also stand up very straight too, but I have seen quite a lot of youngsters wearing the type of shoes sold in this (and other) shoe shops but they wobble along with their bottoms sticking out behind because they are unable to stand upright. Perhaps they have been too used to slopping around in those awful 'Ugh' boots for too long.
I shall wait to see what (if any) shop will open after this one has gone. What we need is a shop that sells good quality, comfortable shoes that don't cost the earth and that ladies of a certain age, like myself, can walk in. We don't do high fashion - we've got more taste than that!
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Squirrels 3 - Grumpy-grandma 4
Almost two weeks ago I planted some sunflower seeds in the little seed trays with six cells in each one. I managed to plant up three trays and left them on the gravel path just under the wall of the raised bed. I didn't think that Squidge would bother to try to bury his peanuts in them, but how wrong can you be?
Just as the first signs of green seedling leaves were showing in one or two of the cells, he decided to empty a couple of them out to bury his peanuts. I went out and replaced the compost with fingers crossed that none of the seedlings would suffer and placed some strips of wood over the trays to stop him doing any further damage. Wrong again! Within twenty four hours he had removed the wooden strips and emptied out another couple of cells.
Now I love to watch the squirrels when they visit the garden and they don't really do too much damage so I don't mind them burying their nuts in with my plants, but I was really looking forward to the sunflowers because I have never grown them here. Again, I replaced the compost and disturbed seedlings and this time I put the trays inside a large plastic bag which I pulled up into a tent shape and weighted down the side with a couple of lumps of brick. That would stop him!
Well it did to a certain extent but he kept on jumping on the tent yesterday and I said to Eden I would have to find a way to stop him from spoiling the sunflowers now that they are growing. She just found the whole thing hilarious especially when I went out there today and carefully propped a couple of kitchen towel tubes in between the trays inside the plastic bag. Eden is convinced tat this won't stop him but he never made any attempt to go near them this evening. Or was that because I was watching him?
Squidge will have to learn that he can't outwit an old bird like me!
Just as the first signs of green seedling leaves were showing in one or two of the cells, he decided to empty a couple of them out to bury his peanuts. I went out and replaced the compost with fingers crossed that none of the seedlings would suffer and placed some strips of wood over the trays to stop him doing any further damage. Wrong again! Within twenty four hours he had removed the wooden strips and emptied out another couple of cells.
Now I love to watch the squirrels when they visit the garden and they don't really do too much damage so I don't mind them burying their nuts in with my plants, but I was really looking forward to the sunflowers because I have never grown them here. Again, I replaced the compost and disturbed seedlings and this time I put the trays inside a large plastic bag which I pulled up into a tent shape and weighted down the side with a couple of lumps of brick. That would stop him!
Well it did to a certain extent but he kept on jumping on the tent yesterday and I said to Eden I would have to find a way to stop him from spoiling the sunflowers now that they are growing. She just found the whole thing hilarious especially when I went out there today and carefully propped a couple of kitchen towel tubes in between the trays inside the plastic bag. Eden is convinced tat this won't stop him but he never made any attempt to go near them this evening. Or was that because I was watching him?
Squidge will have to learn that he can't outwit an old bird like me!
Saturday, 8 May 2010
Mediterranean style bread - Grumpy-grandma's recipe
Try this for a change, it's easy to make and great for mopping up juices from any Mediterranean dish or just on it's own.
18 ounces of strong white bread flour 1 small red onion chopped
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt 10 pitted black olives - halved
sachet (7g) dried yeast 3 sun dried tomatoes in oil - chopped
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 4 0z feta cheese - cut into small cubes
10 fluid ounces of hand hot water 1 red & 1 green medium chilli finely chopped
Fry the chopped onion in a small amount of olive oil until soft then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, halve the olives, cut the sun dried tomatoes into fairly small pieces and cube the feta cheese. Remove the seeds from the chillies and chop them finely.
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix in the sachet of yeast. Add the onion, olives, cheese, tomatoes and chillies then mix to a soft dough with the olive oil and water.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly for about five minutes. Divide into two and shape into two oval oblong loaves. Slash the tops diagonally and put on a baking tray in a warm place covered with a clean tea towel for an hour and a half until doubled in size. While loaves are rising heat the oven to 230 degrees centigrade then bake the loaves for 35 - 40 minutes until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool (if you can!).
The loaves freeze well too.
Enjoy!
18 ounces of strong white bread flour 1 small red onion chopped
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt 10 pitted black olives - halved
sachet (7g) dried yeast 3 sun dried tomatoes in oil - chopped
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 4 0z feta cheese - cut into small cubes
10 fluid ounces of hand hot water 1 red & 1 green medium chilli finely chopped
Fry the chopped onion in a small amount of olive oil until soft then set aside to cool. Meanwhile, halve the olives, cut the sun dried tomatoes into fairly small pieces and cube the feta cheese. Remove the seeds from the chillies and chop them finely.
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and mix in the sachet of yeast. Add the onion, olives, cheese, tomatoes and chillies then mix to a soft dough with the olive oil and water.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly for about five minutes. Divide into two and shape into two oval oblong loaves. Slash the tops diagonally and put on a baking tray in a warm place covered with a clean tea towel for an hour and a half until doubled in size. While loaves are rising heat the oven to 230 degrees centigrade then bake the loaves for 35 - 40 minutes until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool (if you can!).
The loaves freeze well too.
Enjoy!
Friday, 7 May 2010
Oh! For goodness sake!
Well the election is over at last but the media, especially radio and television, cannot shut up about it.
As for all those people who were turned away from the polling stations when they closed at 10pm, just what are they whining about? The polling stations were open for a full fifteen hours and no-one can tell me that there were queues from 7am until 10pm, so if they couldn't manage to get there, what the hell were they doing all day. Nobody had to travel for miles and miles to get to vote because this is not a third world country (I may be wrong there!). Most people that work are only in the work place for about 9 hours a day and for those not working, they had all day. Anyone who knew that they might not be able to get to a polling station because they would be working too far from home could have applied for a postal vote. So stop complaining!
The result shows that the politicians have not bothered to LISTEN to what the majority of people want and now all parties are trying to cosy up to each other to do 'deals' in order that they can form part of a government.
That is not what the majority of the electorate want. We want the politicians to stop fighting like children because nobody is right all the time and we want them to get on with getting this country back on it's feet.
The starting point should be education. I know from the last job I did before retiring that a very large number of young people are leaving school unable to read, write or do any maths or arithmetic. They also have no social skills or etiquette and nothing that would endear them to an employer and they all seem to be under the impression that they can be singers or DJ's without any talent whatsoever.
The benefits system needs to be completely dismantled too because we have encouraged at least two generations to sit back and expect the country to provide them with housing, benefits and pensions without them ever lifting a finger and putting anything in the pot in return. We should also put a stop on immigration because a lot of those coming here from other countries are economical migrants and trust me, some of the immigrants know their way around the benefits system much better than any civil servant. They also know all their 'entitlements' from day 1 and will be straight off to get legal aid if they don't get what they want and all this too at the taxpayers expense. Some of them have no intention of learning to speak English or ever finding work so again, become an enormous drain on our benefits and pensions.
That's just for starters and I really could go on and on. Perhaps they should make me Prime Minister because I'm sure that with the support of some more straight talking grumpy grandmas like me, we could soon get this country out of this mess.
As for all those people who were turned away from the polling stations when they closed at 10pm, just what are they whining about? The polling stations were open for a full fifteen hours and no-one can tell me that there were queues from 7am until 10pm, so if they couldn't manage to get there, what the hell were they doing all day. Nobody had to travel for miles and miles to get to vote because this is not a third world country (I may be wrong there!). Most people that work are only in the work place for about 9 hours a day and for those not working, they had all day. Anyone who knew that they might not be able to get to a polling station because they would be working too far from home could have applied for a postal vote. So stop complaining!
The result shows that the politicians have not bothered to LISTEN to what the majority of people want and now all parties are trying to cosy up to each other to do 'deals' in order that they can form part of a government.
That is not what the majority of the electorate want. We want the politicians to stop fighting like children because nobody is right all the time and we want them to get on with getting this country back on it's feet.
The starting point should be education. I know from the last job I did before retiring that a very large number of young people are leaving school unable to read, write or do any maths or arithmetic. They also have no social skills or etiquette and nothing that would endear them to an employer and they all seem to be under the impression that they can be singers or DJ's without any talent whatsoever.
The benefits system needs to be completely dismantled too because we have encouraged at least two generations to sit back and expect the country to provide them with housing, benefits and pensions without them ever lifting a finger and putting anything in the pot in return. We should also put a stop on immigration because a lot of those coming here from other countries are economical migrants and trust me, some of the immigrants know their way around the benefits system much better than any civil servant. They also know all their 'entitlements' from day 1 and will be straight off to get legal aid if they don't get what they want and all this too at the taxpayers expense. Some of them have no intention of learning to speak English or ever finding work so again, become an enormous drain on our benefits and pensions.
That's just for starters and I really could go on and on. Perhaps they should make me Prime Minister because I'm sure that with the support of some more straight talking grumpy grandmas like me, we could soon get this country out of this mess.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Growing pains
There are one or two places in the garden that needed something just to fill them up so I went over to the garden centre this afternoon to investigate the plants. Those that I bought a week or so ago are growing furiously now and hopefully will start flowering soon.
I bought two English lavenders which are very small but will grow quite quickly, a kniphofia (red hot poker) which is also still a baby, a gaura and some dianthus. When I bought the other plants and filled the patio pots a couple of weeks ago, I also put two geraniums and a pelargonium in separate plain pots. I keep these so that I can use them in the height of summer to fill up empty spaces as other plants go over.
As for the sunflowers seeds, they are beginning to sprout quite well but unfortunately Squidge decided to bury a peanut in one of the cells so I have now had to protect them by placing a couple of pieces of wood over the top. I saw the woodmouse shoot across the garden yesterday evening with a peanut in his mouth (it was almost as big as him) and this was one Squidge had hidden under the bird table. It serves Squidge right for messing with my seeds and I'm sure that mouse was smiling!
All I will need to get now is a couple of osteospermums, I think they may have some perennial ones in the garden centre, and a basil plant which I can get in Tesco. I have found that buying a basil plant from the supermarket and putting it in some good compost and then into a nice hot, sunny spot on the patio is better than getting this particular herb from the garden centre. This was a tip I heard on the radio some time ago from a top Italian chef and it works.
I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit because the roses, clematis and honeysuckle are already in bud just waiting for some warm sunshine like the rest of us.
I bought two English lavenders which are very small but will grow quite quickly, a kniphofia (red hot poker) which is also still a baby, a gaura and some dianthus. When I bought the other plants and filled the patio pots a couple of weeks ago, I also put two geraniums and a pelargonium in separate plain pots. I keep these so that I can use them in the height of summer to fill up empty spaces as other plants go over.
As for the sunflowers seeds, they are beginning to sprout quite well but unfortunately Squidge decided to bury a peanut in one of the cells so I have now had to protect them by placing a couple of pieces of wood over the top. I saw the woodmouse shoot across the garden yesterday evening with a peanut in his mouth (it was almost as big as him) and this was one Squidge had hidden under the bird table. It serves Squidge right for messing with my seeds and I'm sure that mouse was smiling!
All I will need to get now is a couple of osteospermums, I think they may have some perennial ones in the garden centre, and a basil plant which I can get in Tesco. I have found that buying a basil plant from the supermarket and putting it in some good compost and then into a nice hot, sunny spot on the patio is better than getting this particular herb from the garden centre. This was a tip I heard on the radio some time ago from a top Italian chef and it works.
I can't wait for the weather to warm up a bit because the roses, clematis and honeysuckle are already in bud just waiting for some warm sunshine like the rest of us.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Like a child in a sweet shop
Despite my fingers, kness and buttocks still being very stiff after doing the chairs yesterday I headed off as usual for the farmer's market with my shopping trolley today.
It's easy to tell the seasons when you go there because of the wealth of produce even though the market has no more than about eighteen stalls which include a couple selling fresh fish from the south coast, several local farmers who deal in poultry, game, home grown pork, beef and lamb, local vegetable growers and so on.
I usually walk down to the far end scanning the stalls on the way down and by the time I get to the last stall I have a good idea of what I will be buying. Everyone working there is very friendly and I try to buy something from most of them although not every week. There are several that I use weekly for my vegetables, eggs and meats and the others I use occasionally.
Today was really special because the new season's salads and vegetables were all on sale. The farm shop where I normally get my fruit and some vegetables had wonderful bright red rhubarb, huge crimson radishes and some splendid spring onions. I got some of each and some eggs then looked at the fish stall where they had some wolf fish. This is line caught and is a white fleshed fish similar to cod but has an excellent flavour that is not too strong but it goes really well with ratatouille if it is simply dusted in seasoned flour and pan fried....yum!
Opposite was a stall selling freshly picked asparagus which I love and so does Eden who is coming at the weekend. I know that this vegetable is best cooked as soon after picking as possible, so I wasn't sure whether it would be alright until Friday. The man selling it said it should be alright if instead of putting it in the fridge, I put it in water as you would with flowers, so I bought some of that too.
I also got some meat, cheese, ham, home-cooked beef and chestnut mushrooms on the way to another vegetable stall where they had some new baby carrots and lovely slender purple sprouting broccoli. By this time, my shopping trolley was almost full but I had saved room in the top for some fresh Cheddar strawberries which I will soon be enjoying after my evening meal.
All of this and I'm still sticking to the diet!
It's easy to tell the seasons when you go there because of the wealth of produce even though the market has no more than about eighteen stalls which include a couple selling fresh fish from the south coast, several local farmers who deal in poultry, game, home grown pork, beef and lamb, local vegetable growers and so on.
I usually walk down to the far end scanning the stalls on the way down and by the time I get to the last stall I have a good idea of what I will be buying. Everyone working there is very friendly and I try to buy something from most of them although not every week. There are several that I use weekly for my vegetables, eggs and meats and the others I use occasionally.
Today was really special because the new season's salads and vegetables were all on sale. The farm shop where I normally get my fruit and some vegetables had wonderful bright red rhubarb, huge crimson radishes and some splendid spring onions. I got some of each and some eggs then looked at the fish stall where they had some wolf fish. This is line caught and is a white fleshed fish similar to cod but has an excellent flavour that is not too strong but it goes really well with ratatouille if it is simply dusted in seasoned flour and pan fried....yum!
Opposite was a stall selling freshly picked asparagus which I love and so does Eden who is coming at the weekend. I know that this vegetable is best cooked as soon after picking as possible, so I wasn't sure whether it would be alright until Friday. The man selling it said it should be alright if instead of putting it in the fridge, I put it in water as you would with flowers, so I bought some of that too.
I also got some meat, cheese, ham, home-cooked beef and chestnut mushrooms on the way to another vegetable stall where they had some new baby carrots and lovely slender purple sprouting broccoli. By this time, my shopping trolley was almost full but I had saved room in the top for some fresh Cheddar strawberries which I will soon be enjoying after my evening meal.
All of this and I'm still sticking to the diet!
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Not so nimble fingers
Today I decided that while the washing machine was doing it's thing I would re-cover the dining room chairs. The original covering was a cream fabric which has become a bit tired looking and I had used an upholstery cleaner on them several times because when the grand-children were small, sticky fingerprints could not be avoided.
As I don't want to spend my retirement doing unnecessary jobs, I bought some dark cream faux leather covering a few weeks ago becuase it can be wiped off with a damp cloth. This had been left on the side in the dining room, out of the bag so that it could breathe. Being made of polyurethane or similar chemical based fabric it did pong quite a bit and I don't really want to start glue sniffing at my age!
I gathered the tools I needed such as scissors, screwdriver and staple gun and knelt on the sitting room floor where I cut the covers out. The table and chairs had been self assembly when I bought them and I had put them together myself. However, some nine years on, I found that my fingers weren't quite as flexible as they had been when I assembled everything but eventually I got the seats off and started to put the new covers on.
As I like to do things properly, I took my time but the job took me a lot longer than I thought it would. Now the chairs look very smart and even a blind man on a galloping horse wouldn't be able to tell that they had been re-covered.
As for my fingers (and knees), they're feeling quite stiff so I think I'll spend some time massaging in some handcream later.
As I don't want to spend my retirement doing unnecessary jobs, I bought some dark cream faux leather covering a few weeks ago becuase it can be wiped off with a damp cloth. This had been left on the side in the dining room, out of the bag so that it could breathe. Being made of polyurethane or similar chemical based fabric it did pong quite a bit and I don't really want to start glue sniffing at my age!
I gathered the tools I needed such as scissors, screwdriver and staple gun and knelt on the sitting room floor where I cut the covers out. The table and chairs had been self assembly when I bought them and I had put them together myself. However, some nine years on, I found that my fingers weren't quite as flexible as they had been when I assembled everything but eventually I got the seats off and started to put the new covers on.
As I like to do things properly, I took my time but the job took me a lot longer than I thought it would. Now the chairs look very smart and even a blind man on a galloping horse wouldn't be able to tell that they had been re-covered.
As for my fingers (and knees), they're feeling quite stiff so I think I'll spend some time massaging in some handcream later.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Oooooooooooooh!
For the last two days I have had a migraine so as there's still another day to go with it I have been taking it easy. There hasn't been that much that needs doing anyway because I haven't had Eden this weekend, so this morning I thought I would lie in for an extra half hour to give the painkillers time to work.
After years of having to get up very early I find I still wake up around the same time and this morning was no different. I went downstairs as usual and made a cup of tea which I took back up to bed and took the painkillers. The sun was already up and when I finished my tea, I lay back to doze but I dropped off and didn't wake up until eight o'clock. The painkillers were doing their job but I still felt half asleep so I got into the shower as that usually does the trick.
After I had finished I got dressed, put on my make-up and dried my hair. Then I went to put in my contact lenses and I usually do this in front of the window. I looked out through the venetian blinds which I have tilted so that no-one can see me, just to see if anyone was about.
Opposite, there is a row of newish three storey houses (Barratt hutches), most of which are rented out on six monthly lets and their kitchens are on the first floor which are just slightly lower than my bedroom.
In the one almost opposite there was a very fit young man wearing nothing but a pair of yellow marigold gloves, doing the washing up! There are venetian blinds in all the windows opposite but his were open and the sun was shining right on his bare, tanned chest so I couldn't help but notice. When I finally got my contact lenses in I took another peek and I was right, he was only wearing his yellow marigolds.
Perhaps if I was thirty years younger, I might have gone over to borrow a cup of sugar!!!!!!!!
After years of having to get up very early I find I still wake up around the same time and this morning was no different. I went downstairs as usual and made a cup of tea which I took back up to bed and took the painkillers. The sun was already up and when I finished my tea, I lay back to doze but I dropped off and didn't wake up until eight o'clock. The painkillers were doing their job but I still felt half asleep so I got into the shower as that usually does the trick.
After I had finished I got dressed, put on my make-up and dried my hair. Then I went to put in my contact lenses and I usually do this in front of the window. I looked out through the venetian blinds which I have tilted so that no-one can see me, just to see if anyone was about.
Opposite, there is a row of newish three storey houses (Barratt hutches), most of which are rented out on six monthly lets and their kitchens are on the first floor which are just slightly lower than my bedroom.
In the one almost opposite there was a very fit young man wearing nothing but a pair of yellow marigold gloves, doing the washing up! There are venetian blinds in all the windows opposite but his were open and the sun was shining right on his bare, tanned chest so I couldn't help but notice. When I finally got my contact lenses in I took another peek and I was right, he was only wearing his yellow marigolds.
Perhaps if I was thirty years younger, I might have gone over to borrow a cup of sugar!!!!!!!!
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Sad and soggy
It's quite easy to tell that this is a bank holiday weekend because of the weather. We had been blessed with a couple of weeks of warm, sunny weather but now we seem to have returned to winter.
I have no objection to it raining because the garden really needs it especially as April lacked the showers that we usually get. What annoys me though is the cold wind that we have at the moment. It's always the way, just as soon as the garden is sporting a particularly good display of flowers, such as my wallflowers at the moment, the wind and rain flatten them down completely. They look a particularly sad and sorry sight today.
With any luck, they may pick themselves up again. I can only live in hopes.
In the past, the same fate has overcome other flowers in my garden. I used to plant tulips and daffodils, then in the spring and just as they were at their best, we would get strong wind and rain which would break them off so I don't plant them anymore. My garden seems to be afflicted with this problem more than others and I think it's probably because there is a wall all around it and also the situation in relation to the other houses. The wind comes racing down the street which acts as a wind tunnel, then over the wall into the garden where it becomes a mini whirlwind and can't get out again.
The forecast says the sun will be out tomorrow but although rain is not forecast, we will still have the cold wind for most of this week so I won't put away my thick woollies just yet.
I have no objection to it raining because the garden really needs it especially as April lacked the showers that we usually get. What annoys me though is the cold wind that we have at the moment. It's always the way, just as soon as the garden is sporting a particularly good display of flowers, such as my wallflowers at the moment, the wind and rain flatten them down completely. They look a particularly sad and sorry sight today.
With any luck, they may pick themselves up again. I can only live in hopes.
In the past, the same fate has overcome other flowers in my garden. I used to plant tulips and daffodils, then in the spring and just as they were at their best, we would get strong wind and rain which would break them off so I don't plant them anymore. My garden seems to be afflicted with this problem more than others and I think it's probably because there is a wall all around it and also the situation in relation to the other houses. The wind comes racing down the street which acts as a wind tunnel, then over the wall into the garden where it becomes a mini whirlwind and can't get out again.
The forecast says the sun will be out tomorrow but although rain is not forecast, we will still have the cold wind for most of this week so I won't put away my thick woollies just yet.
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Marathon woman
This morning on the radio I heard about a sixty two year old woman who had run a marathon every day for the last couple of weeks, or was it twenty six days? She reckoned that anyone could start to run marathons at any age.
Well not me! First of all, I don't know how she finds the time because she obviously doesn't break any speed records and I reckon that each one must take about four hours out of her day.
My day today has been fairly hectic. I got up early and went to Tesco to do my monthly shop then came home to have breakfast followed by an hour or so of pottering, tidying and sorting out the freezer drawers.
After that, I read the newspaper because Saturday is the only time I get the chance to do that. This was followed by a light lunch and then out into the garden where I spent some time spraying the greenfly on my roses with washing up liquid because they are now in bud and I don't want these critters spoiling them.
After hearing the weather forecast at lunchtime that said we would get some rain later today which would last all day tomorrow, I decided that I would go over to the garden centre with my shopping trolley to get a bag of compost for the large tub that I had taken for the elderly man round the corner. I had told him that I would get the plants and fill the tub this weekend so I thought I had better get moving if I wanted to beat the weather.
After returning and taking the compost round, there wasn't enough to fill the tub to the top, so off I went to the garden centre again, posting a couple of letters for him on the way. When I got back with more compost and the other plants he wanted, I planted up the tub and watered everything in.
Luckily, I beat the rain but it was past four o'clock by the time I got in and sat down for a cup of tea. I wouldn't have time to run a marathon even if I wanted to!
Well not me! First of all, I don't know how she finds the time because she obviously doesn't break any speed records and I reckon that each one must take about four hours out of her day.
My day today has been fairly hectic. I got up early and went to Tesco to do my monthly shop then came home to have breakfast followed by an hour or so of pottering, tidying and sorting out the freezer drawers.
After that, I read the newspaper because Saturday is the only time I get the chance to do that. This was followed by a light lunch and then out into the garden where I spent some time spraying the greenfly on my roses with washing up liquid because they are now in bud and I don't want these critters spoiling them.
After hearing the weather forecast at lunchtime that said we would get some rain later today which would last all day tomorrow, I decided that I would go over to the garden centre with my shopping trolley to get a bag of compost for the large tub that I had taken for the elderly man round the corner. I had told him that I would get the plants and fill the tub this weekend so I thought I had better get moving if I wanted to beat the weather.
After returning and taking the compost round, there wasn't enough to fill the tub to the top, so off I went to the garden centre again, posting a couple of letters for him on the way. When I got back with more compost and the other plants he wanted, I planted up the tub and watered everything in.
Luckily, I beat the rain but it was past four o'clock by the time I got in and sat down for a cup of tea. I wouldn't have time to run a marathon even if I wanted to!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)