We coped perfectly alright with the change in the hour - normally on a Sunday this wouldn't matter, but with David having to catch his train back to London, we did need to be on top of it today.
Everything was going swimmingly, till we came to lock the house up and head for the station...
"Darling, have you got the front door key?"
"No!"
Oops!
Actually, that should probably read:
Aaaarrgghhh!
Ordinarily, not a problem: lose the house keys, one of us would go to B&Q/Homebase, buy some more locks, change the locks, voila!
Once my head had calmed down - I had a spare key in the car, so we could lock the house before leaving it, and luckily, I have three spare locks [with one key that operates them all] in the house - it was OK, but a few heart-stopping moments before logic reignited!
Needless to say, in this part of the world, NOTHING opens on Sunday apart from bakers and restaurants, so no chance of buying new locks.
Lucky I'd only just replaced them then, and kept the old set!
We're hoping that the key was dropped in the bakery, or that someone hands it to Stephanie in the Mairie, but at least I'm sitting here knowing that with different locks on all the doors if someone picked up the key with bad intent, at least they can't get into the house.
Now all I'm trying to do is NOT remember how much I spent on lovely new pick-proof locks with matching padlock and in a colour that matched the door furniture, and admiring my "new" contrasting brass locks & quite frankly weedy-looking padlock [and also trying to forget how much I've just spent on eBay purchasing a complete set of Agatha Christie books; ouch]!
An expensive day - but I've had those before [and no doubt will have them again!], and given just a little time it will not even be a distant memory...
I am very good at forgetting!
Oh, in case you're wondering, we got to the station just as the train was pulling onto the platform; we we're both very glad that it was the near platform (you cross the tracks to get to the other one, so once the train has arrived there is no way to get to the far platform), and that there were no obstacles like turnstiles to get through before David ran onto the train.
And once I'd got home and changed the locks I started to calm down!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
First frost
Yesterday was cold enough that I put the heating on again (high of 10ºC and low of 4ºC - just like the last time), and left it on overnight...
Was I glad I did that?
When I looked out at my drooping 'flower meadow' and saw the frost on the grass in the field, it felt like the right call!
At 8.30am the temperature in the sun was 2ºC, but in the shade it had only risen to -1ºC (it had been -2ºC overnight).
Which prompted a lot of rummaging around upstairs looking for hats/scarves/gloves and big thick socks...
Success on the big-thick-socks front, but less so with the rest.
I've found two hats (one was one of my dad's old work hats - designed to keep dust off his head, but not long enough to cover the ears [not his winter work hat] - and a skiing hat whose elastic is too tight!), so I'm OK for now, if not comfortable...
Every time my ears have got totally "frozen", that's when I've gone down with the 'flu (real influenza, not "man-flu") - coincidence? Almost certainly, BUT I don't want to risk it!
Found a couple of mohair scarves (nice, but scratchy!), and a lightweight one (OK, but not big enough), but no gloves or mittens.
Hmmm, go for the "Royal" look - wander round with hands in pockets?
It's a glorious day, so I shall go for a walk looking like a bag lady & keep my hands tucked in the warm!
Ooh, it is nice, being able to type without worrying my fingers will drop off!!
Was I glad I did that?
When I looked out at my drooping 'flower meadow' and saw the frost on the grass in the field, it felt like the right call!
At 8.30am the temperature in the sun was 2ºC, but in the shade it had only risen to -1ºC (it had been -2ºC overnight).
Which prompted a lot of rummaging around upstairs looking for hats/scarves/gloves and big thick socks...
Success on the big-thick-socks front, but less so with the rest.
I've found two hats (one was one of my dad's old work hats - designed to keep dust off his head, but not long enough to cover the ears [not his winter work hat] - and a skiing hat whose elastic is too tight!), so I'm OK for now, if not comfortable...
Every time my ears have got totally "frozen", that's when I've gone down with the 'flu (real influenza, not "man-flu") - coincidence? Almost certainly, BUT I don't want to risk it!
Found a couple of mohair scarves (nice, but scratchy!), and a lightweight one (OK, but not big enough), but no gloves or mittens.
Hmmm, go for the "Royal" look - wander round with hands in pockets?
It's a glorious day, so I shall go for a walk looking like a bag lady & keep my hands tucked in the warm!
Ooh, it is nice, being able to type without worrying my fingers will drop off!!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
David's on his way!
I'm really looking forward to seeing him again, but why must he send the "English weather" (as it's known here) along ahead of him?!
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
I might have worked out why my back sometimes goes 'wrong'
Occasionally, I think I might have a 'faulty' chromosome - I wonder whether one of the "legs" is missing from one of my 'exes'...
Why else [when I have a shedload of legitimate jobs to do!] would I go and spend a couple of hours digging up the drive?
Mindless physical activity as therapy?
Next I'll be going and hiding in a "cave". [A martian one, naturally!]
Oh, well, at least I don't play golf!!
Sadly, wonky wheel & flat tyre stopped play. [Our sack barrow was another thing the workmen used, broke & didn't replace or say sorry!!]
Having turned the heating on...
...The first thing I had to do yesterday was turn it off again...
NOT complaining: '20°C & balmy' beats '11°C & shivering' any day of the week!
If only I could have lasted; my self-image wouldn't have taken the massive 'ding'; oh, well.
And obviously: '27°C in the shade' trumps all!
Oooh, I'm so happy.
In case you haven't guessed: I'm in a t-shirt, thanking my lucky stars and the weather gods.
NOT complaining: '20°C & balmy' beats '11°C & shivering' any day of the week!
If only I could have lasted; my self-image wouldn't have taken the massive 'ding'; oh, well.
And obviously: '27°C in the shade' trumps all!
Oooh, I'm so happy.
In case you haven't guessed: I'm in a t-shirt, thanking my lucky stars and the weather gods.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
David buys me the nicest presents...
A chainsaw...
AND a sawhorse!!
I'm delighted - I spent over an hour sawing up my beautiful [in my eyes, anyway] old floorboards, creating enough firewood for about two evenings, I suspect.
Now I'll be able to do a week's worth in that time!
He is really kind, and I'm so glad he buys the sort of presents I would like to buy for myself (just think: he could be the type of bloke to buy perfume!).
AND a sawhorse!!
I'm delighted - I spent over an hour sawing up my beautiful [in my eyes, anyway] old floorboards, creating enough firewood for about two evenings, I suspect.
Now I'll be able to do a week's worth in that time!
He is really kind, and I'm so glad he buys the sort of presents I would like to buy for myself (just think: he could be the type of bloke to buy perfume!).
Monday, October 05, 2009
I caved...
Awww! "Hard" image shattered; boo
After a couple of nights when it went down to 4ºC outside (11ºC inside; in the room with the fire) I was contemplating turning on the central heating...
Pros:
After a couple of nights when it went down to 4ºC outside (11ºC inside; in the room with the fire) I was contemplating turning on the central heating...
Pros:
- It would be warm! Ordinarily, I wouldn't care, I've got lots of warm-making activities to be getting on with, but I'm feeling a bit below par, and have allowed myself to be persuaded to take another day off;
- I would have to close the doors & windows (so wouldn't be sitting in an increasingly cold draught);
- It wouldn't be cold;
- Did I mention it would be warm?!
- I would feel like a wuss for not waiting till the temperature was in single figures!
- I haven't read the instruction manual (despite David chasing Schwartz many, many times after they promised to supply one in English). Which wouldn't matter, except for:
- I haven't a clue what the buttons on the control panel mean!
- I would have to keep the doors & windows closed (so wouldn't be having fresh air circulating to dry the insulation out)
Well, having woken up for the second day feeling quite ropey and not up to doing much (with the exception of going to saw some more fire-wood; I'm going to combat the weakness in my limbs for that worthwhile venture!), I let David talk me into turning the heating on.
His rationale was that I may have picked up a bug (I think it might be a chill from sitting in a cold draught!) - normally I don't get ill just from sitting in a cold house, otherwise I'd have been quite poorly 2 years ago!
But I think I'm still winding down after all our property-related "excitement"...
And if one kind friend is to be believed, these things can take ages to get over: he said his sister took a couple of years to fully recover from her house building experience!
I'm hoping it will wear off faster than that, but am also plotting an afternoon in front of the fire with an Agatha Christie (always solace in times of 'wobbliness')...
Just as soon as I've sawn some more fire-wood!
Ahhh! 15º, no "wind chill" - I'm feeling better already!
Perhaps I'm up to hefting the axe...
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Sloe Gin 2
You may have guessed that I overcame my reluctance to go back to the supermarket & buy more gin!Yup, I felt pretty bad standing there at the checkout with my four litres of gin & 2 kilos of sugar...
[If I knew the French for "after 2 ½ years of being teetotal, yes I celebrated both the ridding of our house from builders, and the sale of our home in Brixton (and had a few glasses in between!), but I'm back on the wagon now. And it's for making liqueurs" - sounds like protesting too much, doesn't it? Better that I just brazen it out...]
If I make up my mind about the damson schnapps (or still contemplating some prunelle eau-de-vie), I'm going to shop in another town!
It was very satisfying to make so many different jars of liqueur-in-waiting, and I now have [what I privately think of as] my "secret gin cupboard".
Oh, that looks so much worse than it sounds!!
[And in my head it does sound pretty bad]
The reason it's secret is that I want the results to be a surprise, and unless anyone reads this & rats on me to David, there's no way he will notice that I'm building up stocks of "goodies"...
Well, if I die, in a couple years time he might wonder what's in that cupboard.
But I reckon it's pretty safe till then!
So why is a teetotaller making litres of flavoured digestifs?
Well, I guess it's a combination of an instinct to put stuff by in times of plenty for when times are hard (country background), liking to make things to please other people (that's surely the reason we cook for friends?), and liking the magic of the process...
The fascination with alchemy is still as strong in the 21st century, otherwise why would people spend so much money on "cures" for everything from weight loss to stopping smoking (to making yourself irresistible to women!)?
And quoting from Fiona Neville's friend Gilbert:
“Remember that the combination of gin, sloes and sugar is always better than the separate ingredients, no matter what you do.”
Oh, and I'd always heard that sloe gin makes a great alternative to cassis in a kir royale!
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Sloe Gin...
...Only it isn't!
I was doing fine - just getting over the hectic last six weeks [mum & Dot came to stay at the gîte round the corner for a week, then we hurtled back to England to move house - if you're remotely interested, I shall post about this on my other blog - fitting in a van trip to dump a load of stuff here in the process, not to mention the dozen or so calls to BT ("what, when you asked us a fortnight before you moved, to move your broadband with your phone , you actually wanted to take your broadband with you to your new home? Oh, that will take another five days...". Internet finally connected: "Oh, you wanted to take your 'Broadband Talk' as well?" Guess what, yup, the usual efficiency! And another five days). Did I mention the dentist visit - tooth extraction(s?) to take both halves of my fractured tooth out?]...
So, I went to look for the blackthorn bushes to see if I was in time for sloe gin.
The plants I'd been eyeing up two years ago (when I didn't have time to harvest the magnificent crop), had been hacked back, and all the other ones I found only had a few sloes in the upper branches; too few to be worth taking the step ladder out in the car!
And then I came a different way home & found the perfect bush - covered in the little blue-black beauties, almost all at grabbing height.
So, no problem there then...
Till I started Googling to check the recipe!
Having gone out yesterday to buy a litre of gin & a kilo of sugar, I knew I'd be fine, till I came across at least one different recipe on each site I looked at.
No problem, just pick one, and do it!
But then I got caught up in the comments on whether freezing the sloes was better/necessary on the Cottage Smallholder page...
The short of it was: 'if you make different recipes, you can compare which you like the best' [make notes on the bottle at the time of making], and 'keeping the gin improves the flavour - compare different vintages' [someone was the lucky possessor of a bottle of 30 year old sloe gin].
So, guess what?
Instead of enough berries to fill one bottle, I went out yesterday evening and picked a decent sized bag, and not being sure whether we'd had a frost, cleaned them and froze them. About 4 pounds of them - enough for four bottles...
Still "so far, so good", but the page I'd clicked on the get to the "sloe gin challenge" page had a recipe for wild damson gin...
Having walked past the damson sapling in the hedgerow earlier in the week, and noticing that the damsons I couldn't reach last visit were still there, I was now thinking "hmm, sloes will be ok in the freezer, let's harvest those damsons & make a bottle of damson gin".
The "few" damsons turned into more than two pounds, and thus two jars of damson-gin-in-waiting (thankfully a small bottle of gin was nestling in the cellar in case of "emergencies" - sorry, David!).
So, now I'm off to town to buy more gin (and sugar), and hopefully avoid being branded as one of those alcohol-fuelled Brits who go abroad to make trouble...
Or an alcoholic!
I was doing fine - just getting over the hectic last six weeks [mum & Dot came to stay at the gîte round the corner for a week, then we hurtled back to England to move house - if you're remotely interested, I shall post about this on my other blog - fitting in a van trip to dump a load of stuff here in the process, not to mention the dozen or so calls to BT ("what, when you asked us a fortnight before you moved, to move your broadband with your phone , you actually wanted to take your broadband with you to your new home? Oh, that will take another five days...". Internet finally connected: "Oh, you wanted to take your 'Broadband Talk' as well?" Guess what, yup, the usual efficiency! And another five days). Did I mention the dentist visit - tooth extraction(s?) to take both halves of my fractured tooth out?]...
So, I went to look for the blackthorn bushes to see if I was in time for sloe gin.
The plants I'd been eyeing up two years ago (when I didn't have time to harvest the magnificent crop), had been hacked back, and all the other ones I found only had a few sloes in the upper branches; too few to be worth taking the step ladder out in the car!
And then I came a different way home & found the perfect bush - covered in the little blue-black beauties, almost all at grabbing height.
So, no problem there then...
Till I started Googling to check the recipe!
Having gone out yesterday to buy a litre of gin & a kilo of sugar, I knew I'd be fine, till I came across at least one different recipe on each site I looked at.
No problem, just pick one, and do it!
But then I got caught up in the comments on whether freezing the sloes was better/necessary on the Cottage Smallholder page...
The short of it was: 'if you make different recipes, you can compare which you like the best' [make notes on the bottle at the time of making], and 'keeping the gin improves the flavour - compare different vintages' [someone was the lucky possessor of a bottle of 30 year old sloe gin].
So, guess what?
Instead of enough berries to fill one bottle, I went out yesterday evening and picked a decent sized bag, and not being sure whether we'd had a frost, cleaned them and froze them. About 4 pounds of them - enough for four bottles...
Still "so far, so good", but the page I'd clicked on the get to the "sloe gin challenge" page had a recipe for wild damson gin...
Having walked past the damson sapling in the hedgerow earlier in the week, and noticing that the damsons I couldn't reach last visit were still there, I was now thinking "hmm, sloes will be ok in the freezer, let's harvest those damsons & make a bottle of damson gin".
The "few" damsons turned into more than two pounds, and thus two jars of damson-gin-in-waiting (thankfully a small bottle of gin was nestling in the cellar in case of "emergencies" - sorry, David!).
So, now I'm off to town to buy more gin (and sugar), and hopefully avoid being branded as one of those alcohol-fuelled Brits who go abroad to make trouble...
Or an alcoholic!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Red hot little yellow plums
Yum!
It's 38°C outside the front door, so my windfall mirabelles are warm...
If you're old enough, you will remember the kind of warm that British Rail [as was] used to achieve with the lettuce on their sandwiches; not quite cooking, but not so far off it...
Well, these little beauties are a bit hotter than that, but for some reason it's much more acceptable to eat hot plums (that have been heated by the sun under the tree from which they've fallen) than nearly-cooked lettuce on a sarnie from a train "refrigerator"!
Did I mention it's a beautiful day where I'm sitting?
Enjoy the summer!
It's 38°C outside the front door, so my windfall mirabelles are warm...
If you're old enough, you will remember the kind of warm that British Rail [as was] used to achieve with the lettuce on their sandwiches; not quite cooking, but not so far off it...
Well, these little beauties are a bit hotter than that, but for some reason it's much more acceptable to eat hot plums (that have been heated by the sun under the tree from which they've fallen) than nearly-cooked lettuce on a sarnie from a train "refrigerator"!
Did I mention it's a beautiful day where I'm sitting?
Enjoy the summer!
Sunday, August 02, 2009
As Promised! Part 1...
Is it swine 'flu when some swine brings a germ from his office?
I'm not feeling 100%, so I am not doing the delicate thumbnail sized photos that I was planning to do!
I may come back later & edit this post, it depends how much it irritates me knowing I didn't make every effort to make it look OK.
So, just a load of BIG photos:
Of course, it doesn't look like that now.
Will post the "furniture pics" when the furniture is against walls!
I'm not feeling 100%, so I am not doing the delicate thumbnail sized photos that I was planning to do!
I may come back later & edit this post, it depends how much it irritates me knowing I didn't make every effort to make it look OK.
So, just a load of BIG photos:
Of course, it doesn't look like that now.
Will post the "furniture pics" when the furniture is against walls!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Xylophèning
Not even sure if that's a word [well, actually pretty sure it isn't!], but let's pretend it is.
Apart from handling neurotoxins (that's what biocides are), the main downside to my activities seems to be the, ahem, reactivation of some dormant odours...
Someone in the past has had a kitty that sprayed the furniture!
I've met people who can live with that kind of smell (visit their homes and you KNOW), but it drives me potty - first I keep sniffing, in case I can pretend the stink is fictitious, and if I think it's fresh [more than once I've had cats come into the flat & spray - ooh yuck!], I'm there with my biological washing powder (I used to keep a box specially!) , and...
And I've forgotten the other thing to use!
I'm sure the enzymes in the bio washing powder break down something-or-other, and I can't remember why I needed the second (now forgotten) ingredient, so I'm resorting to searching the web for answers (very amusing, but not always helpful!) as I'd only had to clean paintwork before, and don't want to start scrubbing antique furniture.
Also hoping that as the solvent in the Xylophène seems to have "re-awoken" the smell it will go away again and the furniture cleaner that David just bought will deal with any lingering traces...
One time when I almost wish for the good old days before all noxious products became "low odour".
Oh and how I missed the good old-fashioned gloss that smelled and covered so much better when I was painting the flat!
To be fair, I'd probably use leaded paint if I could find it - the doors in the bedroom date back to 1850 (and it seems to be the original paint) - it's taken a year of builders in the house to damage the finish!
OK, OK, health & safety, but that stuff must have been GOOD!
Apart from handling neurotoxins (that's what biocides are), the main downside to my activities seems to be the, ahem, reactivation of some dormant odours...
Someone in the past has had a kitty that sprayed the furniture!
I've met people who can live with that kind of smell (visit their homes and you KNOW), but it drives me potty - first I keep sniffing, in case I can pretend the stink is fictitious, and if I think it's fresh [more than once I've had cats come into the flat & spray - ooh yuck!], I'm there with my biological washing powder (I used to keep a box specially!) , and...
And I've forgotten the other thing to use!
I'm sure the enzymes in the bio washing powder break down something-or-other, and I can't remember why I needed the second (now forgotten) ingredient, so I'm resorting to searching the web for answers (very amusing, but not always helpful!) as I'd only had to clean paintwork before, and don't want to start scrubbing antique furniture.
Also hoping that as the solvent in the Xylophène seems to have "re-awoken" the smell it will go away again and the furniture cleaner that David just bought will deal with any lingering traces...
One time when I almost wish for the good old days before all noxious products became "low odour".
Oh and how I missed the good old-fashioned gloss that smelled and covered so much better when I was painting the flat!
To be fair, I'd probably use leaded paint if I could find it - the doors in the bedroom date back to 1850 (and it seems to be the original paint) - it's taken a year of builders in the house to damage the finish!
OK, OK, health & safety, but that stuff must have been GOOD!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
30 in the Shade
It's just gone 7pm, and the temperature in the house has dropped to 28°C [I knew I should never have opened the windows/doors; glad I left all the shutters closed!], but outside it's still 30°C in the shade.
And that's "proper" shade, not like mum does and waits till the sun has moved off the thermometer!
Still, opening up the house brought the humidity down to under 50% (it was 80% in the bedroom when I got up); I will be glad when the hemp-lime insulation has dried out and I can just concentrate on keeping the house cool!
I want to go for a walk, but I don't want to risk overheating - there's still power in the sun, even now.
Hmmm!
Might have dinner then decide...
And that's "proper" shade, not like mum does and waits till the sun has moved off the thermometer!
Still, opening up the house brought the humidity down to under 50% (it was 80% in the bedroom when I got up); I will be glad when the hemp-lime insulation has dried out and I can just concentrate on keeping the house cool!
I want to go for a walk, but I don't want to risk overheating - there's still power in the sun, even now.
Hmmm!
Might have dinner then decide...
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Wildlife
It's good to be back in the countryside; I know I can see squirrels & foxes in Brixton much more easily than if we lived in the country, but somehow that doesn't equate to the exhilaration of nearly treading on a hare!!
On my walks I have spotted so many hares I've lost count, and plenty of deer and buzzards.
I'm getting pretty blasé [surely that should be "blasée"?!] about the wonderful wildlife I am seeing; I can now even drive past orchids without stopping to take photos.
Unless it's one that is new to me, of course!
But I still got a thrill out of seeing a vixen with her two cubs playing in the verge one evening, and seeing a nearly-mature cub scooting across the road another evening.
Somehow, the sight of truly wild foxes (rather than urban ones) was much more exciting than even the close-ups I get of the fox that visits our garden.
David tells local people that we have seen hares; but it's like telling Londoners that you have seen pigeons - they can't quite see what the fuss is about, and can't imagine never having seen one till you get into your forties.
I've even had the local fauna dropping in on me! One afternoon I heard 'cheeping' sounds coming from the flue in the kitchen, and thought the sound was carrying from the roof or chimney pot; but it was awfully loud. I went upstairs, but it was much quieter there, so assumed that the flue was acting like a "speaking tube", and just hoped that whatever was on the chimney hadn't nested there.
Luckily it was a warm dry day, so I had all the doors and windows open...
Which saved a LOT of bother when a fledgling redstart dropped through the opening! He didn't seem fazed by this at all; I admit to being a bit startled.
A few moments to gather his wits sitting on my furniture, then he hopped to the window sill and before I could grab my camera he was off!
Have had to chase plenty of butterflies out of the house (and one out of the car; that was a bit distracting as I was driving!), but we came too late for the swallows to act as squatters!
[They come in looking for a place to nest; last year I could tell from the way they went quiet that they had flown into the house, & spent many minutes "herding" them out - I love birds, but they keep different hours than I do, and unlike Irish jaunting car horses, I can't put nappies on them!]
I also saw a linnet (a name that had dropped from my memory till I was trying to identify this tiny little bird we'd seen); it reminded me of the ornamental finches that people keep in cages, and obviously it's the same family!
Now I shall be humming My Old Man Said Follow the Van for the rest of the day!!
On my walks I have spotted so many hares I've lost count, and plenty of deer and buzzards.
I'm getting pretty blasé [surely that should be "blasée"?!] about the wonderful wildlife I am seeing; I can now even drive past orchids without stopping to take photos.
Unless it's one that is new to me, of course!
But I still got a thrill out of seeing a vixen with her two cubs playing in the verge one evening, and seeing a nearly-mature cub scooting across the road another evening.
Somehow, the sight of truly wild foxes (rather than urban ones) was much more exciting than even the close-ups I get of the fox that visits our garden.
David tells local people that we have seen hares; but it's like telling Londoners that you have seen pigeons - they can't quite see what the fuss is about, and can't imagine never having seen one till you get into your forties.
I've even had the local fauna dropping in on me! One afternoon I heard 'cheeping' sounds coming from the flue in the kitchen, and thought the sound was carrying from the roof or chimney pot; but it was awfully loud. I went upstairs, but it was much quieter there, so assumed that the flue was acting like a "speaking tube", and just hoped that whatever was on the chimney hadn't nested there.
Luckily it was a warm dry day, so I had all the doors and windows open...
Which saved a LOT of bother when a fledgling redstart dropped through the opening! He didn't seem fazed by this at all; I admit to being a bit startled.
A few moments to gather his wits sitting on my furniture, then he hopped to the window sill and before I could grab my camera he was off!
Have had to chase plenty of butterflies out of the house (and one out of the car; that was a bit distracting as I was driving!), but we came too late for the swallows to act as squatters!
[They come in looking for a place to nest; last year I could tell from the way they went quiet that they had flown into the house, & spent many minutes "herding" them out - I love birds, but they keep different hours than I do, and unlike Irish jaunting car horses, I can't put nappies on them!]
I also saw a linnet (a name that had dropped from my memory till I was trying to identify this tiny little bird we'd seen); it reminded me of the ornamental finches that people keep in cages, and obviously it's the same family!
Now I shall be humming My Old Man Said Follow the Van for the rest of the day!!
Friday, July 17, 2009
2 answers for the price of one!
Yes, I can do 140 characters of post! Now, do I want to...?
The hare in question was one of the six I saw last night when I went for my walk.
I like to go for a walk along the farm tracks, go under one bridge, walk along by the side of the motorway, over the next bridge and back home: it's about 1½ to 1¾ hours with plenty of ups & downs and there's a wood one field away from the track by the motorway, so an ideal opportunity to startle deer and hares!
I was strolling along and happened to look down at the verge, and there was a hare crouched down 3' to 4' away from me.
I was mesmerised; he looked as though he was hypnotised, so I risked trying to get my camera out...
Oops!
I can see why "haring" ["hareing" looks better, but apparently is not] is used to describe extreme scarpering!
The hare in question was one of the six I saw last night when I went for my walk.
I like to go for a walk along the farm tracks, go under one bridge, walk along by the side of the motorway, over the next bridge and back home: it's about 1½ to 1¾ hours with plenty of ups & downs and there's a wood one field away from the track by the motorway, so an ideal opportunity to startle deer and hares!
I was strolling along and happened to look down at the verge, and there was a hare crouched down 3' to 4' away from me.
I was mesmerised; he looked as though he was hypnotised, so I risked trying to get my camera out...
Oops!
I can see why "haring" ["hareing" looks better, but apparently is not] is used to describe extreme scarpering!
What am I doing now?
Debating whether to sign up for Twitter…
And thinking about whether to post about my hare
Yes, that is the leporine kind not the hirsute sort!
And thinking about whether to post about my hare
Yes, that is the leporine kind not the hirsute sort!
Still here...
[Now why did I type the word "still" and have to fight a temptation to follow it with "crazy after all these years"? Too much retro listening, courtesy of Amazon and YouTube?]
I'm sitting here in the gloom reading Life on the C Train, the blog of a lady I'll never meet called Clare who writes beautifully, and generally helps me find a lighter way to look at things, and thinking "Hmmmm! Must do something on my blog... "
So here's a start!
Well, no photos yet [they're living in the camera; or are they just shy?] and as the place is a mess again, I might just wait till David comes back and take some more photos when we've moved all our furniture!
Yup! We went out & went a bit potty!
For the price of 2 dressers (i.e. prices that we have seen in England/a more expensive dépôt-vente), we bought:
Bought a boulangère stand!
My excuse is that at 20% off, it was worth it to buy it a day earlier - paid for the diesel we used and then some!
So, the long and the short of it is: lots of old furniture [either with woodworm, or that has been standing around for months next to furniture that has woodworm] artfully arranged around the kitchen so that I can get at almost all of it to give it three coats of woodworm treatment...
No photos here then!
I'm sitting here in the gloom reading Life on the C Train, the blog of a lady I'll never meet called Clare who writes beautifully, and generally helps me find a lighter way to look at things, and thinking "Hmmmm! Must do something on my blog... "
So here's a start!
Well, no photos yet [they're living in the camera; or are they just shy?] and as the place is a mess again, I might just wait till David comes back and take some more photos when we've moved all our furniture!
Yup! We went out & went a bit potty!
For the price of 2 dressers (i.e. prices that we have seen in England/a more expensive dépôt-vente), we bought:
- 4 dressers
- 2 tables (these were included with 2 of the dressers: a set called a salle à manger, but I suspect David thinks of it as a BOGOF!)
- 13 chairs (as above)
- 1 sideboard
- 2 wardrobes
- 1 bed frame (BOGOF, as before)
- 1 desk
- a trouser/jacket stand (think "Corby", but without the press bit)
- 1 bedside table
Bought a boulangère stand!
My excuse is that at 20% off, it was worth it to buy it a day earlier - paid for the diesel we used and then some!
So, the long and the short of it is: lots of old furniture [either with woodworm, or that has been standing around for months next to furniture that has woodworm] artfully arranged around the kitchen so that I can get at almost all of it to give it three coats of woodworm treatment...
No photos here then!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Photos...
I said I would post some pictures of the house now the builders have gone...
The problem is I don't want to, until I've got the place a bit [lot!] tidier.
My self-imposed deadline is Thursday evening; I want it to resemble a home by the time David gets back, so I should be able to take some shots on Friday...
The only delay is I'm getting fed up with cleaning things!
Yesterday I had a break to do "manly" things [saw up some timber/move our demolished floor so I can get the car in the barn again], which cheered me up no end; I like work that shows a result.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
The problem is I don't want to, until I've got the place a bit [lot!] tidier.
My self-imposed deadline is Thursday evening; I want it to resemble a home by the time David gets back, so I should be able to take some shots on Friday...
The only delay is I'm getting fed up with cleaning things!
Yesterday I had a break to do "manly" things [saw up some timber/move our demolished floor so I can get the car in the barn again], which cheered me up no end; I like work that shows a result.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
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