Winter winds blow

With heavy fast moving rain forecast and winds lashing the trees back and forth it seemed a 'good time' to go for a walk .... said Moss...... and we (strangely) agreed.

Wrapped up well - to the point on waddling not walking and finding it almost impossible to bend, we set off. Down the main road through the village, past the fairy light encrusted Christmas tree outside of the community centre, turning right up dead duck hill (double quick puff) then right again up a small track towards a cluster of houses. Although we know it is a bit early in the season - we are on the watch out for lambs. We know that they have started to appear.

Round the goose-field to the rec. Moss races the wind as she chases her frizbee, hurtling along the grass at breakneck speed. Following the far edge, we stepped back out of the grounds, across puddle lane and into the sheep filled souterills. Moss threw herself into the winter 'lake' and steamed herself cool again, willing us to let her off her lead, but with hugely pregnant ewes watching warily - her request was refused.

We walk through the upper souterill field making a slight detour past the Highland coo field - checking for calves, they appear soon after Christmas, large fluffy teddy bear beasties hunkering down in the moorland grasses while their mothers watch carefully through thick and wind tousled fringes.

Then down the lane to the nature reserve, still one eye out for lambs and now hares. I can hear the tinkling of the windchimes as we pass chicken accident quarry. Then we leave the lane and turn left up the Ferndene, skipping puddles and dodging flooded paths, past Sagar's Lake, the meadow, the picnic grounds, play park and then back on to the road. A sneaky turn right onto David's walk then home following the main road into the village.

Our walks are are memory maps, with names from village history or from our own stories. Some from when the boys were little and found it difficult to describe where they were, some are anecdotal tales from friends and others associated with events that occurred. All very personal to us yet instantly recognisable to others.

Home now, we managed to avoid the rain but we feel wind battered. So with lunch consumed and mugs of tea being cradled in fingers, we can hear the wind howling around the house and calling down the chimney - but we don't mind. It is all part of the season, the place we live and our lives.

A Monday of many colours (not just blue!)

Today is supposed to be 'Blue Monday' - which was created by a travel company to boost sales during a rather dull January ... there is - apparently - nothing medically or scientifically proven yet it is still touted as an actual 'thing' and looking out the window now, I wouldn't mind a bit of a BLUE sky to admire as it is rather dreary and grey out there. Any hoo.

I have been wandering around inside my head deliberating a theme for today's post. There are a number of stories that are rumbling around and I've been rerunning them to evaluate their 'story-ness' worth.

I have toyed with the one where the postmistress and I laughed conspiratorially together behind the curtain of the photobooth, where the rather boring and essential task of having an image taken for a driver's license turned into a moment of shared silliness with a stranger. However, when I tried to write it - it was not as funny and the act of typing it lost the spontaneity and immediacy of the situation.

So I wondered about our most enjoyable walk - the  one we did yesterday with Youngest and his lovely GF. However, as beautiful the views were or how gently mild the weather - it was just a walk. Nothing outstanding. Nothing earthshattering. Just a gentle good humoured trundle around the hills, along the coastline and through a nature reserve with lovely people. One that leaves you with a happy heart but not necessarily a story.

On the baking front - I've tried something new, which I will share, just not right now.

The blanket is almost done, the border is the final push and then the last few ends to weave in.
So.
Lots goes on, life rolls forward, days lengthen and clouds fill the sky. 

Nothing really worth waffling on about.

And in the interest of 'eye candy' I took the blanket in the van yesterday as we drove up to the South Lakes and with the 'assistance' 😆(I use that word hesitantly!!) of Youngest - I took a photo of said blanket draped on a wall. 

So if you'll excuse me I have a date with a crochet hook, a mug of tea and a blanket on the settee - speak to you soon xx

Tea and Toast

 What is it about a mug of freshly brewed tea and a slice of hot buttered toast?

Is it the salty butter that melts and drips on to your fingers making them so tasty to lick?  

Or the warmed seeds in the bread that add such depth of flavour as you bite into the toast?

Oh, there is that crunch of the outer crispy layer then the inner warm soft bread washed down with a mouthful of smoky Assam tea - warm enough to fill your throat with a comforting glow without scalding yourself. You can feel yourself radiate warmth from within.

It is a guilty and go to pleasure - when I want something to eat quickly - it fills that need. 

Some days I can fill the kettle and the toaster and patiently wait as both heat up. I can stir the tea and allow the vapour fill my nostrils and swirl around my head as the toaster emits a warm mouth-watering fragrance. I can then spread the butter and savour the taste and enjoy the moment .... then...... there are days that I slam the kettle on with barely enough water to give it the quickest boil time, I throw bread into the toaster - usually one slice in the false hope that is all I need, then fling open the fridge and retrieve the butter and milk.

The tea bag is hurled into the mug as the kettle clicks off and the water follows soon after. A teaspoon twirls the steaming hot liquid, fishes out the soggy bag and stirs the milk. Heaven help the toaster if, at this point it is still gently warming the bread - often I pop it up, give the bread a hard glare and quickly press back down.

Often the toast is barely tanned, more dried out when 'fridge-hard butter is forcibly smushed along the top and stuffed into my mouth ... as I put in a second slice, ignoring the voice in my head which in a  disappointing tone reminds me that I was not going to have that additional piece. However, I am usually so busy chomping that the voice is drowned out and then soothed by a glurping of tea.

The second slice is usually a little more genteelly quaffed  as the first slightly warm and dried out bread has taken the edge off..... but not always!

I was going to share a photo of an artfully arranged slice of toast and gently steaming mug of tea - but as you can see, the toast did not make it to the photo shoot and the tea ... well, the tea is all but finished.... oops.... it has been one of those days!

Narrow squeak

image from pixabay

Ten days ago or so,  I received an email saying .... congrats your car is insured for another 12 months blah blah blah... don't worry we have only put it up a little blah blah blah ..... etc.

Yes, it had gone up but not a huge amount however, not enough to make me bother to do a bit of 'checking the market dot com' so I filed the email away and got on with my life.

Tonight, whilst checking my emails I saw this ....  bad luck your insurance has been cancelled ...blah blah blah and was cancelled eight days ago blah blah blah (yes - eight days, so two days AFTER the email saying all ok?!?!?)

Cue panic mode! 

After some swift checking the market (Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert is brilliant for this) I found a company that would insure me for less than my initial insurance company AND with extra benefits, Yes please!

Which made Himself and I chat about the 'Road Traffic Cop' programmes you see on TV - when the officers stop a car and pronounce to the driver that they have no insurance, to which the driver will protest vehemently that they do and Himself and I would go 'tut tut, course you don't!'

If I'd been stopped - that would have been me..... 'onest guv - I do 'ave insurance, promise!' and in reality I didn't - eek.

It turns out that since last year's payment, both our bank cards had expired and replaced so we now had new numbers and details and rather than an email saying .... excuse me but we have not been paid coz your details have changed blah blah blah' which would have triggered a quick updating of details - they just cut us off - nice one (not). 

And breathe!

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments - I do appreciate them greatly and I promise tomorrow I will write something a little more recherche rather than a 'panic-induced-due-to-uninsured-car-issue' post!! I am working tomorrow, another wreath making workshop, I will share some photos of the gorgeous wreaths in a day of two. However until then - here is one I'd made as a demonstration to keep you going 😊

Have a lovely weekend xxxxx

#moreblogvember

Time travel

 A day or two ago, whilst doing some valuable research (erm perusing Pinterest) I stumbled across a link (like you do) and followed it's enticing invitation which lead from one thing to another then suddenly I discovered I could time travel and had been missing in action for hours and hours and days and days (well - that last bit was a slight exaggeration) However, I did come across 'Simple Matters' by Erin Boyle.

I did a bit more research and found a second hand copy from a smaller independent book seller and promptly bought it. Which, as I was reminded, was a bit of a contradiction - purchasing a book on how to declutter - hmmm - may have to think on that conundrum. Any hoo, it landed today and I decided that I would curl up with a brew, the book and some knitting and quietly read away. The weather outside was doing it's best to be dreary and I really wanted to get on and knit.

So that is exactly what I did. Sort of.....

Because by page 20 I was up and in the bathroom going through the cabinet and sorting out the shelf of shampoos of doom (we have more than we need - I may have mentioned it before - there are spares of all shapes and sizes kept by both boys and their girls). I had not realised how many were half bottles of the same varieties, so they were all upended to reduce the quantity. Nearly finished tins of hair wax, old sponges and nearly empty shaving gel and deodorants (all the lads I hasten to add!) were sorted and thrown away, the shelves wiped and the few survivors returned trembling to stay another day.

While I was up there I changed the towels, chucked them in the wash and gave all the plants their weekly sauna (they all jump into the bath, have a shower then drain before being returned to their usual places). 

I came down to take out the now washed towels and decided on a quick brew and another glance at the book - I devoured several more chapters and found myself taking all the 'stuff' off the dresser and dumping it on the dining room table. The dresser was given a good clean and each..and..every..item was given a good looking at before being moved either back to the dresser or into the paper skip (why on earth do I still have a catalogue from a company I don't use?) or in the recycling, charity shop box or bin. It felt rather cathartic.

I noticed that the carpet where'd I'd been sorting things out needed vacuuming as snippety bits of paper and fluff had been produced by my over enthusiastic tidying up. 

By mid afternoon - I'd decided that I was ready to stop, it seems that I once again I had been time travelling! 

So I put on the kettle and rewarded myself with a few rows of knitting and a chunk of the softest fluffiest chocolate vegan cake. It is scrumptious and I shall share the recipe with you tomorrow - until then you can feast your eyes on this ....

And know that each mouthful of chocolate cake is laced with the sharpest drizzle of lemon icing and the contrast is mouth watering!

I shall now go and walk off the calories with Moss - until tomorrow!

#blogmorevember

'Ello 'ello 'ello wot's going on 'ere?!?

On the way home from work, tootling along the motorway at a rather sedate pace of 60 mph, I was over taken by a small black rocket .... well it was a small black car - however it was going so fast that I felt my car pull towards it in the rush of air filling the 'vacuum' behind the rocket car. 

Within moments there was 'beamer' (an undercover police car) screaming down behind it and although probably going as fast, it did not have the same wooshing effect however it certainly made my almost daydream driving wake up with a bit of a zing! Another minute or two when a second police car, this time a dog unit - flew by, but not quite as fast.

I still had about ten minutes of motorway driving until I arrived at the end of the road, went around the roundabout and turned off into the town. I was (as was the car both in front and behind me) almost hurled on to the side of the road as yet another police car screamed by. By now I was on super alert - watching both forward and back having been en route of something rather exciting and not really wanting to be any more 'involved' than I had already been.

I arrived at the next roundabout, turned off at the first exit where I could see a policeman rushing around with something in his arms - the traffic slowed down as there was obviously something happening - his car was abandoned up on the pavement with all it's lights flashing like Blackpool promenade. As I approached I realised what he was doing - he was about to set up a stinger - a trap to puncture tires of a moving car used to slow down a car trying to evade capture. It was at this point I realised that 'something big was going down'!

The line of cars going into town was quite slow, obviously everyone was being cautious as first a riot van then armed police flew by towards the stinger operation. I was glad to get home!

Then I heard the helicopter - I went outside and looked up and there was a police heat seeker helicopter hovering above my house - oh.

I went back inside and locked the door! Shot upstairs to the attic and opened the window and watched a full scale police search and capture unfolding in the fields in front of me! How exciting!

There were T-pac police cars (the cars used to trap escaping cars by boxing them in and pressing them into the side of the road), sniffer dogs and police running all over the hill side - and I had a ringside view from the attic window with a helicopter keeping me company as it circled and hovered above the village.

Once it had all quietened down, I checked our village fb page and found out that it had been a trio of drug dealers who'd stolen a car and tried to evade capture by bolting into the country side and into MY village - how very dare they!! But it was all in vain - they had their collar's felt and were banged up! woop woop!

After all that excitement - I had to sit down and have a mug of tea - aaaah that's better.

And today's photo? Three little 'Scandi-style' festive fir trees - part of our creative workshop today.

#moreblogvember

Knit knit knot not sleep!

Knitting.

Knitting to sooth the savage beast - well - my over-thinking brain. It is whirling around, writing lists and ticking items off and adding more. 

I sometimes think that my brain and I are independent beings which share the same body - me!

Let me explain. Last night I went to bed very tired, so fell asleep really easily and very deeply.  Until I was woken by a persistent chatter..... a little busy bee voice was cheerfully listing all the jobs I had to do for today. I tried to ignore it and go back to my nice warm snuggly sleep when .....

Have you remembered the pot of paint? the white paint? have you have you?

What about the guillotine - bet you will forget that one ha!

The black fabric?

The radio?

your paintbrushes?

and what about the festive CDs????

At this point, I was fully awake and wondering what on earth was happening - then I realised ... my brain was cheerfully prepping for today's workshop and making sure that everything was shipshape ..... at 2.30am in the morning. Eventually I got up and made a mug of tea and let the my brain prattle on until it ran out of steam and I fell back into bed absolutely knackered!

So, today, at work, I felt a little brittle, a little tired with scratchy sandpaper eyes, but don't worry, my brain was fast asleep.🙄

However I did remember to pick up the paint, the black fabric, the radio and paintbrushes. The CDs I chose to leave behind and what about the guillotine??

Yes dear brain you were correct I did forget ......

So, I am knitting - and aaaahhh it is definitely soothing my soul (as is the mug of tea and the fire) bliss.

No brains were harmed in the making of this episode of my blog, although I did think rather evil thoughts about it last night😄😄

#moreblogvember (is that a thing? haha it seems so now!)

Blogtober day 29 (only just)

I am working tomorrow

Eldest and GF are here for the weekend

It is late and I am tired.

What did I do today? Started building Santa's grotto ..... yup you read that right.

Sant's grotto

image from pixabay

IT...IS...STILL ... OCTOBER!!! (only just) but still!!!

g'night.

Blogtober day 22 - summat's fishy

For my Northern readers of my blog, you will know what 'summat' means, for those who don't summat literally translates to 'something'. I have noticed over the years that my accent has slid more and more 'southern' with a slight (bordering on New Zealandish) twang despite me being born in Africa and living in the north of a soggy island.

It is only when I listen to recordings of my voice I can hear my own accent - which I don't normally notice day to day - it is then I realise how I sound.

There are some accents I can mimic with a modicum of success however the minute I attempt a Northern accent - it comes out wrong... so very wrong (and not necessarily in a humorous way - more in a 'what on earth is she saying' sort of way!)

So now when I use a northern term I go to great pains to say it either in a  'VERRRRY' northerly way or excessively southernly fashion - almost to accentuate the fact it is not a word that naturally comes from me.

An example of this is the northern delicacy - the chip butty. Which again for those who don't know - it is a large white bread roll or bun with slightly rancid butter slapped on it and filled with greasy chips. This delicacy is usually raised to culinary delights by adding salt and vinegar. Don't get me wrong - I am not dissing this particular 'dish' for it is absolutely delicious and I for one am salivating at the thought of it.... I am using it as an example of how Himself and I differ in describing it.

In my terms a chip butty is as I described it above, a bread roll, butter and chips. Himself (and thousands and thousands of other northerners) would say it is pronounced - a chip buh-tey or boeteh, which is a white bap with chips. If - should you wish - want to have a bright green (some would say an artificially green) side of 'mushy peas' you would need to ask for 'moosh-ay peas'.

This little dish of bright green goop is made up of marrow fat peas cooked to a sloppy pulp and kept green by adding bicarb (or food colouring....) and is in my opinion as disgusting as it sounds!

The fish photographs were going to be the theme of todays waffle but I was carried away by the idea of chips - hey ho - welcome to my world of random tangent and often incomprehensible thoughts.

#Blogtober2021

Blogtober day 20 - Singing in the rain (not!)

 Firstly thank you EvErYoNe 💕for your lovely comments for my last post - it seems that it either struck a chord (you also hate decorating) or made you laugh (that is a win in my books!) at my soggy foot and sock! Glad to be of service 😄

Any hoo - I've got to day 20 with something to say most days. I am a bit short of a story today so I thought I would share just a segment of my day at work - and yes it does have soggy socks (both this time) included....... sigh. Today started rather grey - the sky was a thin pathetic shade of nothing with rain forecast, so my colleague and I got started almost immediately on outside jobs and saved seed sowing, pricking and potting up, striking cuttings and a few other indoor tasks to do in the glasshouse when the volunteers landed. And as the first lady arrived it was almost as if on cue the rain started so we (armed with mugs of tea) galloped off to the glasshouse, stripped off dripping jackets and started working through the the list.

Time past really pleasantly, things were done while the rain continued to hammer down and in a way it felt rather nice being outside but inside - in the weather but out of it too.

At one point I noticed that it was getting a bit dark, so I switched on the strip lights we have along the back of the wall and we returned to work and discussed how dull it become..... when the heavens just opened and the already heavy rain became torrential. We stopped what we were doing and looked up and all I could see were the hundreds leaves being ripped off the trees and landing on the glasshouse roof. Hmmm....

Any hoo, back to work .... I went off to collect a brush to sweep up where I'd been working when I was hit on the shoulder by a gush of icy cold water! I knew exactly what it was - the gutters could not cope with the amount of rain and the water was coming IN to the glasshouse. 

I yelled to my colleague, grabbed my waterproof and dashed out still clutching the broom. I could see the problem immediately ... all those leaves gracefully sliding down the roof had accumulated in the gutters and they were overflowing! I shoved the broom head into the gutter and pushed .....

This immediately produced the biggest 'bow wave' of rainwater and sodden leaves - a most beautiful arc of icy water which flew up and over landing on me ...... my first thought was - I've filled my boots with water and I have soggy socks for the second time! It took ten minutes of sweeping and climbing up and pulling the leaves out before the water was able to go down through the gutters.  We only cleaned them last week in anticipation (and prevention) of exactly this!

The wire 'sieves' at the ends of the gutters, preventing leaves jamming the down pipes, worked so well that the leaves just filled up the entire gutter in moments of the heavy rain.  So ... for the next hour, after I stripped off my socks and wrung them out, turned my boots over and poured water out,  I walked around bare foot (I can do that) in very wet trousers - I shall definitely take myself a spare pair or wear my waterproof trousers next time (please don't let there be a next time!!)

Now as I type my boots are now sitting on the woodburner (it has a double top so never gets super hot) and they are quietly steaming away - hope they are dry enough for me tomorrow!

Well - you gotta laugh!

#blogtober2021

Blogtober day 19 - Splish Splash I'm (not) taking a bath😁🛁☔🎵

Rain☔ stopped play - well, outdoor play. Watching the weather report last night, I decided that it looked like I would be stuck at home so I might as well use the opportunity to paint 🎨the bathroom🛁

By 9am (when I should be already in the throes of working) the weather was throwing a temper tantrum with rain lashing against the windows and leaves being ripped off and hurled around. Curling my fingers around my second brew, I knew I'd made the correct decision and with an air of determination I started to carry all the painting paraphernalia upstairs. 

As I did so, I wondered why I'd left it so long since the room was last decorated..... hmmm.

Any hoo, I started to remove all the plants and pictures, revealing grubby places where spiders had lived and left and dust had moved in. Then all the bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath salts were placed in boxes - we have more than necessary as Youngest and GF leave a stash here for when they stay.

Shells and bottles filled with pebbles - holiday memories, a china 'beach hut', pictures and a vintage glass owl lamp were taken down and boxed. Then the towel rail and towels were stored in the spare room.

With the bathroom virtually empty bar the curtain, a chair, the bath mat and dustbin, I started removing the shelves. Ah - no screwdriver .... I looked outside at the monsoon weather and decided against dashing out to the garage. So I rummaged around in my work rucksack and found a multitool. Despite it's apparent ability to magically transform to anything I wanted it to be - it was not a very good assistant and I found myself going downstairs to stick the kettle on for a bit of encouragement. Armed with a mug of steaming tea I tried again and by the powerful magic of swearing - the screws relinquished their tight hold and I finally removed three lots of shelving.

Urgh - two of the shelves are above head height and their upper layers were rather grimy - shame on me😕.  A quick slug of tea for courage for the next stage, I started draping sheets over the basin, radiator and and floor, I felt like I was back in control and actually looked like I knew what I was doing (erhmm..... the jury is out on that decision) My inner self suggested I mask off the wooden panelling with tape but I soon brushed (ha) that silly idea away - it would mean having to go back downstairs again. pah.

A quick wrestle with the roller - it was a bit loose and the handle was rattling a little (my slightly more sensible inner me had suggested I use the new roller but the confident nay brash outer me said no). Paint was poured into the pan and I ceremonially dunked the roller into the paint, rolled it around a bit, still looking like I knew what I was doing when .... uh oh - I need to 'cut in' (that is when you paint around the edges with a slender paintbrush). So I carefully lowered the laden roller, scrabbled around for the new paintbrush and tore off it's cover. Dipped that in the paint and with a flourish promptly flicked paint down my shirt and jeans, across the floor (where there was no dust sheet - why??) and on the wooden skirting board. 

After clearing that up, I tried again. The paintbrush both new and rather enthusiastic (or was that me) meant that I kept having to wipe off surplus splodges from the wooden panelling. My enthusiasm waning, after I wiped for the forth or fifth time despite my now careful strokes, made me stop and think. So I went off to look for a piece of cardboard I could rest on the panelling and would stop me accidently splodging paint on it. This only succeeded in making a cardboardy mess and I was getting rather annoyed with it all.

My slightly more grown up inside self said in a rather smug way - go and get the masking tape and tape off the bits that dont need painting .... like you were told to do earlier..... 

Several minutes later, a drained tea mug, a grumble or two - I'd masked off the side I was about to paint. I picked up the paintbrush, reloaded it and started to work around the edges again. When (that dratted inner nuisance said ... you bought a mini roller to do the edges last night, had you forgotten?)

Gritting my teeth and mentally ignoring the smug voice replaced the paintbrush back in the tray and went to find my new mini roller I had specially bought for this very thing...... ripping it's cover off was more like trying to tear a telephone directory in half but I succeeded eventually. A quick rolling in the paint and then applying said paint in the corners and along the edges suddenly made me feel very happy. It made such a lovely slooshing-slapping-sticky-paint-going-on-to-the-wall noise that I didn't mind all the pfaff leading up to this point.

Then for a little while, things were going well although I did have to resort to changing the old roller for the new one - my inner voice never said a word but I knew it was feeling rather pleased with itself ... again..     I began to congratulate myself, omitting the gaffs and rookie errors I had made.  THEN I stepped into the bowl of water for the cat. It is a large bowl... For the cat... On the floor... It was full... of water.

Argh!

I stepped out of my soggy slipper, pulled off a dripping sock, hopped out of the bathroom, dried my foot and stomped downstairs.  The kettle went back on. This time I.was.going.to.have.a.chocolate.digestive.to.go.with.it.and.NO.ONE.WAS.GOING.TO.STOP.ME ... there, I said it!

I stomped back upstairs, digestive crumbs tumbling down my chin and tea being swilled as if I was as parched as a pharaoh's flipflop... grrr. I used the bath mat to mop up the water, picked up the bowl and put it in the bath and dried the floor. Deep breath. I reached for the masking tape and taped off the rest of the room, using this as a distraction from the paint pot which was staring at me disapprovingly - you can just image it thinking - what sort of painting and decorating debacle have I come home to??

I sat on the steps into the room with the rest of my tea and texted Himself ... remind me why I wanted to paint the bathroom? I could mentally hear him chuckling - he knows and I'd forgotten how much I dislike painting walls.

Strangely enough the next stage of painting (apart from the difficulty in removing the curtain and the rail) went smoothly until I turned around to admire my work and saw that where the paint was now drying - it was patchy and the previous (cream-ish) colour was showing through. So..... I left the new wall drying, returned to the first half and gave another coat.

Are you still with me? If you think this is quite a slog to get to this point - imagine what it was like in real time!😂

Any hoo - I stopped for lunch - thought that Moss and I needed a breath of fresh air and seeing there was a break in the weather we nipped into the garden. Both feeling refreshed, I made a quick sandwich and then we (Moss goes up to bed and 'listens' to the radio in the bedroom!) returned upstairs. At this point I threw the curtain into the washing machine - might as well get the whole room looking clean and fresh.

This break had given the walls a bit of time to dry and I could see where I need to give second and in some cases a third coat - the paint is lovely and thick but I wonder if I'd rolled it a little to lightly initially. I applied the next layer a whole lot thicker to make up for that mwhahahaha

Suddenly I'd got all the way round and where it was drying was looking a whole lot brighter and cleaner. I decided that I'd had enough and I would clear up and let it dry fully. Plants were wiped and their pots washed (they are still waiting in the bedrooms until the paint has completely dried), shelves were washed and dried and are waiting in the spare room. The tiled part of the wall around the shower/bath area was washed and the floor wiped. The paintbrushes and rollers were cleaned and all the dust sheets rolled up and removed. 

When I left the bathroom - it was like a mike drop - boom! 🎤

I am knackered! And as part of my 'recovery' I had yet another brew and sat with the cat and dog downstairs and caught up with some blogs.

It is raining again/still outside and I think it is time to light the fire - I can feel the temperature has dropped.  Himself will be home soon and I want to see if the bathroom has dried enough to put back a few things but I suspect not - that might be a job for future me!😁☔

Blogtober 12 - leaden skies

This morning seemed rather dark when we got up. Such a stark contrast to our last few days we'd enjoyed up in the lakes. Waking to sunshine and warmth every morning.

We do live in a particularly damp area - one specifically chosen by the woollen and cotton mill industry all those years ago. The damp air helped prevent static build up in the textile mills reducing splitting threads in the weaving looms. 

Being situated in the lea of the Pennines, a more or less continuous hilly and mountainous range which runs up the centre of northern England, splitting it into two halves, does mean we do 'benefit' from a goodly dose of rain and cloud on a regular basis. The collective name - Pennines - used to describe this range is considered to be fairly 'modern' from the 18th century as is thought to have been influenced by the 'Apennine' range which runs north to south in Italy. However, locally 'Pen' means hill or head and as most of our place names have Norse or Anglo-Saxon origins -  who knows?

However, it does make you appreciate the good days🌞 and definitely makes you get out and do something nice when you get them!🐾

And the photo?  Taken about a week ago from our back door looking over the fields. Today's sky has no definition, no discerning edge or beginning. It is more of a dull grey duvet which has slumped over our valley today. 

Any hoo, enough waffling, I have to get ready for work - have a lovely Tuesday 😊🍁🐾

#blogtober2021

Blogtober2021 day 8 - You're such a fun-guy

 

Early this morning, we both peered closely at the small orangey red lump in the woodchip below the tayberry vines. From a little distance away I'd thought it was a berry or a ladybird, my colleague said she thought it was a bead.

As we got down on to our hands and knees - I perched my glasses on my nose then focused my eyes on the teeniest tiniest mushroom I..have..seen!! It was not much bigger than a ladybird. 

I used the back of a pen to tease away the woodchip the mushroom was bravely pushing through so I could get a photo. In the same area (apart from the dozens of ladybirds) was another mushroom - the head of it smaller than a five pence piece. 

I know these are only the fruiting bodies with the main portion of the mycelium spreads far and wide beneath our feet and I am humbled at their quiet determination to grow and spawn before the gentle warmth of autumn vanishes so we carefully returned the woodchip, tucking the mushrooms back into the warm and safe mulch.

#blogtober2021

Blogtober day 4 - the prickly edition

Day 4

When the boys were little, to get them interested in gardening and wild things and plants and caring for 'something' I introduced them to succulents and cacti. As you would expect they were enthusiastic at first but like all 'slow' things, the boys stopped being quite as hands on. However the succulents quietly continued to grow while the boys basically did the same thing but with a lot more maintenance required!

Fast forward to them going to uni and they both took their collections with them and suddenly I realised that although the plants belonged to the boys in the first place, it was me who for the most part kept an eye on them and now they were gone - I was missing them (the plants not the boys for heavens sake!!) So to fill that space - I may have added (one or two) to my remaining (ex)meagre succulent and cacti family.

Some of the family are a little spikier than others .....

However, with the right platitudes that particular prickly cat-cus can be got around (occasionally).

Most of my little family I have either purchased or been given as small plants and have grown them on.

However, (and I fully blame MrsL for this!) recently I was introduced to, then fell down the rabbit hole of a certain crafty website where you can purchase leaves and plantlets (also known as pups) to plant up and grow on .... so I may have accidently bought one or two (not one or two leaves - don't be silly - boxes!) One of which landed yesterday and I will be going into the glasshouse to settle the leaves and pups into the nicest lumpiest grittiest, well drained-est soil I can lovingly make them.

The second box is due any day now (fingers crossed today then I can get all my new pups planted up) squeee, I may be a little over excited!

Just some of the pups and leaflets I'll be working with later this morning, and in case you are a nerd (as it appears I am) from left to right they are : Titanopsis calcareum (in my hand), Sinocrassula yunnanensis (tiny black leaves),  Dischidia nummularia (little bright green top centre), Echeveria Diffractens (dark purply ones), Curio rowleyansus (top right) and finally Echeveria Setosa Doris Taylor.

I shall also tackle this large, grumpy and reclining Golden Barrel (Echinocactus grusonii) of Eldest's. It needs a bit of surgery (yup - going to chop off the top bit, let it callous over and then plant up, then remove the pup at the base and do the same and hope the main body will recover and grow on) - so a bit of careful TLC should help this fellow recover both his former glory and his mood.🌵

What tickles your fancy? (polite answers please!)

Do you have an obsession? (how ever slight or overboard)

Go on - share your guilty pleasures - here in the comments or over on your blog - sharing is caring🌵😄

**Edited to add - the second box of succulent leaves arrived so they have all been planted- fingers crossed and I have 'decapitated' the E. grusonii and that and the pup are drying off in the glasshouse where the bare cuts can callous over before I plant them. The main trunk has been planted upright in nicer soil - so hopefully all three parts of the original plant will settle and grow.

Snap-shots

 Random moments typed whilst listening to rain hammering down on the window.

A cranky cat, one who has just recently learnt that we humans are not as awful as she once thought. It has taken over seven long years for her to come to this point.  Her once sparse and wispy purr has grown into a deep fast rumble and it seems she has found her voice too - it has been a long wait and we still all delight in her sea-change.

The bumble bees seem to be working over time as the season rolls over - they hurtle from one late summer flowering plant to another with a sense of urgency. Last week I counted over 20 bumbles on a sedum while they slowly woke up as the early morning sunlight warmed them up. 

The cutting garden at work did us proud last week - we had an 'end of harvest' garden party with crafts and teas and we sold honey, vegetables, crafts and flowers - all from the kitchen garden. It was amazingly successful with everything selling out. There is a hunger out there for good honest produce at decent prices - something the charity I work for strives to achieve. 

The mesmerising Fibonacci arrangement of sunflower seeds never ceases to delight - the spiralling patterns can contain between 800 to 2000 seeds per head - mind blown! 

Borlotti beans come out of the pod in a luscious pink with a few sparse purply stripes then over the course of a few hours darken and the stripes increase.  

We were sitting in the park a week or so ago - myself, staff and volunteers - for our lunch when we could hear a bird sound that I could not identify. We listened for a while and various suggestions ranged from ... it is a child to .... may be a whining dog .... and could it be a car alarm? Not content with those ideas I went, with head tipped back, up to a tree where I traced the source - A juvenile crow quietly peeping to itself. I've not heard that sound emanating from them before so I wondered if this was it's first foray into the big wild scary world when it noticed me and gave the biggest most raucous caw which seemed to surprise itself as much as it did me. 

It is still raining although not as hard. I am very grateful that I am not working outdoors today - after several busy weeks and weekends - a quiet day pootling around at home, mug of tea in hand,  doing things that need doing sounds rather good!

Hope your Monday is being the day you want it to be 😊