Tuesday 15 July 2014
Monday 25 November 2013
The C word
Commitment that is. And it is what I don't have at the moment! Hang my head in shame. Especially after (if I may be so bold) my BRILLIANTLY ON FIRE performance with blog number one.
But - I have had a wake up call, not one, not two but three, yes THREE calls hinting for more. I am feeling the love - or at the very least a mild interest.
So here it is - my renewed commitment to my new blog. No more off with a bang starts only to stall on the Christmas Puddings, which by the way are behaving themselves, nice and quietly in my cupboard. Or are they?
Mum has checked and re-wrapped hers. I couldn't be bothered, so for all I know they could be slowly festering into a decomposing mess. Maybe I'll gift one to Tim (I'm safe writing this because I know he doesn't read my blogs, not that I'm harbouring any ill-feeling about that at all, in fact I can barely remember that he read it less than 2 times).
ps - And you - young Jesse Pinkman - I'm on to you. I would normally insert an in-context swearword here but Mum might be reading and anyone not familiar with Breaking Bad would just think I was being rude. And speaking of Breaking Bad I was utterly hooked. Ironic that a show about the addictive powers of meth amphetamine could itself be so addictive.
Gotta dash - got a post to write.
But - I have had a wake up call, not one, not two but three, yes THREE calls hinting for more. I am feeling the love - or at the very least a mild interest.
So here it is - my renewed commitment to my new blog. No more off with a bang starts only to stall on the Christmas Puddings, which by the way are behaving themselves, nice and quietly in my cupboard. Or are they?
Mum has checked and re-wrapped hers. I couldn't be bothered, so for all I know they could be slowly festering into a decomposing mess. Maybe I'll gift one to Tim (I'm safe writing this because I know he doesn't read my blogs, not that I'm harbouring any ill-feeling about that at all, in fact I can barely remember that he read it less than 2 times).
ps - And you - young Jesse Pinkman - I'm on to you. I would normally insert an in-context swearword here but Mum might be reading and anyone not familiar with Breaking Bad would just think I was being rude. And speaking of Breaking Bad I was utterly hooked. Ironic that a show about the addictive powers of meth amphetamine could itself be so addictive.
Gotta dash - got a post to write.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Fixing up the garden
Our tenants were pretty good. They left the house in good condition and the gardens looked better than expected (although this is probably due more to Dad's hard work than anything the tenants did - thanks for all the long hours you put in Dad)
As I said, the garden looked good, except perhaps for the weeds. The buggers were popping up everywhere. Some big, some small, some with long tap roots that were near impossible to dig up, some that irritatingly snapped in half at the slightest tug, some with prickles - you name it, we had it.
After laboriously digging out each and every undesirable bit of green in sight we relaxed. Rule number 1 in the art of weed removal - don't relax, don't turn your back, the buggers will return, bigger and stronger, especially if it rains - which it did. Round 1 to the weeds.
Not to be defeated - we moved on to round 2, which started a lot like round 1. Rip, yank, pull, scrape, dig, tug, scratch and 3 hours later the beds moved from vermin-ridden (top picture) to barren (middle). But then came the piece de resistance. Bring in the big guns, or more accurately the big pile of mulch. Enough to knock off any weedy weeds thinking of attempting a third comeback (bottom).
But there is more to this story. I have a new best friend and her name is Sabrina. Now - Sabrina is a school Mum and also an angel. I happened to mention (as you do in casual school pick-up conversation) that after weeding in the garden for 5 hours that day I has just ordered 6 cubic metres of mulch to be delivered tomorrow. I'm not sure why I thought Sabrina might like to hear all of this, perhaps deep down I was just showing off about what a whiz in the garden I was.
Anyway - can you believe this? Sabrina sent me a text, not just any text, but a text to say she had nothing on tomorrow and would I like a hand spreading the mulch. Like I said, these were not the words of a school mum, these were the words of an angel sent from above.
So - here's how our day went…..
It was dirty and it was dusty, but we had fun. 3 hours later the pile had gone, we were filthy and poor little Lucy was exhausted from watching.
I just wish that pile had been a bit bigger - 2 cubic metres bigger to be precise and the top right photo shows why…grrrrr…(not a good mistake at $50 a pop for delivery)….
A couple of before and after mulch shots, plus the obligatory bee photo. What is it about bees and me - I am not even that huge a fan of honey? And I replanted the pots on the verandah. Overall a job well done :)
As I said, the garden looked good, except perhaps for the weeds. The buggers were popping up everywhere. Some big, some small, some with long tap roots that were near impossible to dig up, some that irritatingly snapped in half at the slightest tug, some with prickles - you name it, we had it.
After laboriously digging out each and every undesirable bit of green in sight we relaxed. Rule number 1 in the art of weed removal - don't relax, don't turn your back, the buggers will return, bigger and stronger, especially if it rains - which it did. Round 1 to the weeds.
Not to be defeated - we moved on to round 2, which started a lot like round 1. Rip, yank, pull, scrape, dig, tug, scratch and 3 hours later the beds moved from vermin-ridden (top picture) to barren (middle). But then came the piece de resistance. Bring in the big guns, or more accurately the big pile of mulch. Enough to knock off any weedy weeds thinking of attempting a third comeback (bottom).
But there is more to this story. I have a new best friend and her name is Sabrina. Now - Sabrina is a school Mum and also an angel. I happened to mention (as you do in casual school pick-up conversation) that after weeding in the garden for 5 hours that day I has just ordered 6 cubic metres of mulch to be delivered tomorrow. I'm not sure why I thought Sabrina might like to hear all of this, perhaps deep down I was just showing off about what a whiz in the garden I was.
Anyway - can you believe this? Sabrina sent me a text, not just any text, but a text to say she had nothing on tomorrow and would I like a hand spreading the mulch. Like I said, these were not the words of a school mum, these were the words of an angel sent from above.
So - here's how our day went…..
It was dirty and it was dusty, but we had fun. 3 hours later the pile had gone, we were filthy and poor little Lucy was exhausted from watching.
I just wish that pile had been a bit bigger - 2 cubic metres bigger to be precise and the top right photo shows why…grrrrr…(not a good mistake at $50 a pop for delivery)….
A couple of before and after mulch shots, plus the obligatory bee photo. What is it about bees and me - I am not even that huge a fan of honey? And I replanted the pots on the verandah. Overall a job well done :)
Tuesday 15 October 2013
A new beginning
After agonising over a new title and then fiddling and farting around for hours (and I mean hours!) doing the header - ta da - here it is....My new blog!
It was sad to let go of "Going Places", but that blog was all about our UK adventure and that is well and truly over (sigh). Still, the urge to keep taking pictures and recording what we get up to remains. There may not be the exciting weekend visits to castles, or school holiday jaunts to Spain, but I think I'll still manage to find stuff to post about.
Like this for example - making Christmas puddings with Mum...
First
And then it was weighing, a bit more weighing, mixing, pinching, grating, whisking and then an emergency bike dash to the shops for more suet and finally - wha la - Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt - 4 lovely Christmas puddings completo!
Now just pop my two on the stove to boil for 7 (YES 7!!) hours. Will let you know how these little beauties taste on Christmas day (laced with more Brandy of course J)
It was sad to let go of "Going Places", but that blog was all about our UK adventure and that is well and truly over (sigh). Still, the urge to keep taking pictures and recording what we get up to remains. There may not be the exciting weekend visits to castles, or school holiday jaunts to Spain, but I think I'll still manage to find stuff to post about.
Like this for example - making Christmas puddings with Mum...
First
- you grab an antique recipe (pounds and ounces, what the?!?), then
- you gather all of your supplies (noting not one but TWO bottles of brandy), next
- you rope in some willing helpers, and lastly
- you take a bunch of pictures of everyone suitably attired in their aprons :)
 |
| Mum made the aprons J |
And then it was weighing, a bit more weighing, mixing, pinching, grating, whisking and then an emergency bike dash to the shops for more suet and finally - wha la - Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt - 4 lovely Christmas puddings completo!
Now just pop my two on the stove to boil for 7 (YES 7!!) hours. Will let you know how these little beauties taste on Christmas day (laced with more Brandy of course J)
 |
| Note - The local shops didn't have suet, so used butter instead. |
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