It's suddenly mid June. Oh dear.
What has happened...
I finally got my new specks, I bought two pairs because 'Suma might eat these, too. I'm not sure about frames, they might be too bulky, but I decided it's better that way, they might better chance to survive one more attack of 'Suma? But I can see clearly now.
Much hasn't happen on polytunnel, greenhouse or veg plot. I've been waiting 'til this mid June to plant tender plants (beans, corn, brassicas, pumpkins and zuccinis and cucumbers etc) outside, and until that they occupy polytunnel and prevent planting in there.
I was supposed to do some (most of it) planting today, but farmer decided today is fine day to do some spraying. So it's a no-go at the moment. But I do have plans, everything will be done.
Our another car got through MOT, it needed some serious welding, but it was rather cheap work, 300€. Kids got out of school and are enjoying summer holiday. D left high school and is accepted to nearest college, she needs a new laptop for school, but according to school they can be rented! She has a decent laptop at home, she needs it because she draws a lot (not only computer, mind you, she is excellent artist in paper, too), but it's too good (expensive) for school! If she has to drag that laptop to school every day, it must be something easily replaceable. She also realized that she might have some use for drivers license, which she didn't want last year. So I'll need to look that, too.
Money makes the world go round...
We went to a consert with hb, and in the end it was complete disaster. There was funfair and of course he went with his (younger) cousin. And got his back hurt, so we ended up on ER in the middle of the night ( and didn't see the band) and I was going to work trip the very next day. I know I'm not as young I used to be, it was really difficult to keep sharp after one hour sleep... But I made it and maybe hb understands now why I told him not to go to that sling or whatever it was. At least he didn't go bungee jumping...
And of course hb had that week off, he was supposed to cut wood for the winter. No such luck.
We took a short relaxation trip with my colleague, she is a mother to two teenagers and two toddlers and really can use some time to rest. So, we had dinner at nine o'clock and went to sleep at half past ten. We slept 'til 8 o'clock in the morning, we had a massive breakfast at hotel and took nice slow paced walk around town center. And then we came back home. It was wonderful.
And in the meantime 'Suma ate antoher pair of cheap crock imitations and a plate full of chicken wings. It's been several days and she seems to be ok, so I think no harm done. Wonder what happens when I go for a two day trip on July (working trip, no long summer holidays for me).
We have had some not so pleasant visitors at our yard/forest. We have racoon dogs, and not only they smell dreadfull, they make unpleasant noise (they scream like cats fighting). They are considered as invasive alien species and I could hunt (trap) them, but atm I'm not able to do that. I just can't hunt, not for food, not for fun and apparently not to protect my surroundings. Not yet.
I have tried to use up all rhubarb I have (from my plants and from our neighbours'). I have made (so far) pie, mead, cordial, cake, jam, pudding. Then I have dehydrated some, and there's quite a lot in the freezer. If I can catch up my tasks in the garden/veg plot/polytunnel etc, I might be able to pick some more.
I have foraged nettles and spruce tips (made seasoning salt) and I have a bunch of oregano drying at kitchen.
I have picked huge bunches of lupins (they are also invasive species) and some lilacs (because my cousin felled some huge lilac bushes and I decided to rescue some flowers).
I have bought two pairs of glasses, a pair of fake crocks and two black tank tops. I bought shirts and jeans for ys and sys and a summer dress for d. I bought new blender but haven't used it yet, old one makes horrible sounds but mixes berries and bananas, and smells of electricity, so it's better to have replacement on hand when needed. I lost my kettle, it doesn't boil water any more, but I haven't found a new one I like yet. I don't want any plastic in it.
Gave our sand toys to my nephew, repaired a zipper for his dad (actually I changed it, old one was plastic, I found a new metallic one from my stash). I'm worming cats and dog, I think I have enough pills for all of them for three days (they need to be given three days in a row).
So after all, it's been a pretty good few weeks.
Sounds like you've been incredibly busy. Even though I have been moving house I still feel like I've been slacking when I read all you've been up to. I feel rather guilty because I've been on a massive spending spree to buy new things for the house. I'm not used to spending much money, certainly not over and over again, and it feels very extravagant. It's not, if you think in terms of we must have beds to sleep on and chairs to sit on but still... old habits kick in.
ReplyDeleteI have always been very physically cautious - I won't even break out into a run unless it's really vital, like being chased by someone dangerous in case I fall. I've never understood why people want to fling themselves around, or jump out of planes, or even worse, bridges, so I can understand why hb's escapades at the funfair might have stretched your patience a bit thin! It just seems like good sense not to put my body in harms way if I can help it... I've only got the one and it's already creaky and achey just from everyday activities and time.
Some dogs are just natural scavengers. Our current woofer, a labrador/pointer cross, has a very keen nose and can smell a discarded food wrapper half a mile off. He regularly supplements his diets with half eaten burgers, slices of pizza, leftover sandwiches and other bits of rubbish. The food we give him is very pure and healthy so perhaps he just has a craving for fast food? We usually underfeed him a little to allow for the food he will inevitably find on his walks. Sometimes he even comes back trotting along with a bag or packet, as he wants to enjoy the contents at his leisure! He used to eat and chew up all sorts of things but now he restrains himself to cardboad boxes and socks. If he kept eating my glasses he's be very unpopular indeed in our household!
Are there any body creams or natural preparations you can make with the rhubarb. It's quite astringent so it might be good for some sort of facial products maybe? As a variant on the pie, try topping it with a mix of flour, fat, sugar and chopped nuts rubbed together like pastry to make a crumble, or make a scone mix and top with circles of that - doesn't matter if it bubbles up in the holes between. I know it's fundamentally rhubarb with a sweet biscuity/cake topping, but sometimes the textural variety helps. Our rhubarb at our old house was only just starting to come back after a couple of very dry summers killed off some of the crowns. So I only got a few stalks before we left, and here we haven't got any - much smaller garden. I will miss it, one of the few veg we grew that I actually liked to eat. I daresay when we've reworked this garden there might be room for a couple of crowns to go in a corner.
Right, back to unpacking and sorting out! Keep up the hard work!
Fifitr, I think I might not survive a house move. Last time I moved I had a bed, 6 mugs and 12 plates, a toaster, clothes and bedding. Oh, a piggy bank! It was empty, though.
DeleteNow... I have everything for six people.
I'm sorry you have to give up some things important to you, I know sometimes the most smallest thing becomes the most important.
We are expecting heavy rains in few days, so garden/veg plot needs to be done asap. So it's going to be a long day tomorrow...
Your dog has a really good nose, and he has put it in good use :-)