Had a bit of a 'start' to the day this morning. Am off drinking tea at the moment because it is upsetting my tummy, so I have hot Cranberry juice instead. The bottle is kept in the fridge. It sits beside the Baileys bottle. Somehow, and I know not how, my hand inadvertently engaged with the Baileys instead of the Cranberry Juice. Into my cup went a lovely dribble of Baileys. "Oops, that's a funny colour for Cranberry Juice", I thought. Upon further examination of the bottle I realised my error. Poured the Baileys back into the bottle reluctantly, deliberating whether or not to have a sinful moment and swig it down instead. Honestly and truthfully, all went back into the bottle. It is not my fault if some got stuck to the sides of the cup. And it is not my fault if I did not realise this as I poured some Cranberry juice into the cup, followed by some hot water. And it is not my fault that I did nothing to remedy the fact that the remainder of the Baileys had laced the Cranberry juice delightfully. I was, after all, still tired from a late night out at the choir rehearsal therefore could not be expected to empty the undrunk drink down the sink and start again with a cup of hot Cranberry juice unlaced by anything exciting at all.
The new choir. Man oh man, but phew! All very friendly. All very French. Felt myself dunked in a sea of French words. It will be good for me, this new choir, because I shall not be cacooned from the world of the French by being sat alongside my English friends with whom I have English spoken conversations, as happens in the Mabourguet choir. In the new choir at Riscle, I shall not have this cacoon. Crikey, but I shall struggle. Ah well. Not to worry. I start in January.
Drop of sunshine popped through the mists this afternoon. Made everyone go loopy, especially Elise. Did a romp up and down the road and over and about the nearby field of oil seed rape and then bouncy bouncy over the front garden then back on the road with a kick of her heels and a flip of her back. She was very naughty. She was reminding us that she does not have to be a docile little cow all the time. She was saying "Do not expect me come in from the field and then go to bed in the Tall Barn without having a romp around first", that is what she was saying. So no supper for her tonight or tomorrow night, this is what Hubs said. This edict lasted for all of half a minute. She turned full face to him, and he wilted. It's those eyes of hers. Wilts everybody who sees her. Hubs gave her a handful of Lucerne. I said not to. She laid her ears back when she heard my voice. Knows not to mess with me. Remembers the time she caused a ruckus with me and she got left out in the field for the night. This was when Hubs was away in Paris and I was the one in charge. She has respect for me. But her and Hubs, well she knows which buttons to push with him, and he does do a drool over her. I do too, but secretly.
No babies here yet, just one of the Sussex hens sitting on an empty nest. Not sure if she is broody or not, neither does she.
No rain today. Temperatures going down to zero, so electric blanket switched on to 2 for the night.
No washing up anywhere. I publicly do a drool over the dishwasher.
No soup in the freezer. It is stored in a huge pot in the kitchen, all cooked and ready to be bagged up. Off to do that now.
Thursday, 6 December 2012
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
I'm just saying.....
I'm just saying that doing this smallholding lark in the rain is not the bestest enjoyment I can have. I am not moaning. I am not whinging. I am just saying.....
Just one day of torrential rain, that's all, and more bucketfuls this morning. The goats wouldn't come out from the sheep barn at all. Elise (our heifer) did go out but was found almost climbing back over the fence to come back in again just before lunch. The pigs sloshed around then went back to bed for the day. The chickens flitted in and out of shelter as necessary. The sheep kept on munching their way from side to side of the Big Field, oblivious to all except the need to fill their tums.The geese. Ah. Puddles! So they have been dredging out the puddles so that they can make bigger holes in the ground which we can trip over when the wetness goes away.
We just got soaked.
Two double rainbows late this afternoon. Does this mean good luck? If it does, then sending the good luck on to you all.
And I would recommend home made knitted socks. (Photo in last post). In wellingtons that are too big the socks will turn over on themselves and come out an interesting shape, but wiggle them back into the correct position on the feet, and they soon go back into sock shape. But they are warm and have a cosy feeling. They feel friendly.
Off to a new choir this evening. Got fed up with the other choir. Too much chit chat. Couldn't hear myself think. Got stuck behind three divas, big ladies, tall ladies, chatty ladies. Voice kept rebounding off their backs when I was singing, so sat down and listened instead. No one saw me sit down apart from those sitting beside me. I was hidden from most by the largeness of those three round ladies who were chit chatting even when supposed to be singing.
Jean Pierre has been carrying on with the ceiling in the back room. Says that there will be a 5cm slope to the ceiling over the front room. Means that anyone walking across the floor upstairs in that room could feel like they were on board a slightly sloping deck of a boat. Not to worry. Lester has issued instructions to Jean Pierre to make sure the ceiling / floor is flat, and to put a ramp where it meets anything else which is not of the same height. I am sure it will turn out alright in the end. It is, after all, an old house, and therefore is entitled to have oddnesses.
Off to dry my DIY socks off so I can wear them to choir tonight. They got wet when I was splashing about making little streams in the mud of the Sheep Paddock so the water could drain away. Lester says that I should also have a shower. I said "Why, do I smell?" And he said, "No, you've got mud all over your face and in your hair". Not to worry. A quick wipe round with a flannel will sort that out. I do not uncover myself to the air unless it is to make a quick dive into the deliciously heated environment of the electric blanketed bed, or to get out of the warmness of that bed in the morning to make a quick dash into the shower, this being done when I am still half asleep. In between such events, my skin stays snugly warm inside at least five layers of clothes. It is the way. It is winter.
Am off to find the flannel. x
Just one day of torrential rain, that's all, and more bucketfuls this morning. The goats wouldn't come out from the sheep barn at all. Elise (our heifer) did go out but was found almost climbing back over the fence to come back in again just before lunch. The pigs sloshed around then went back to bed for the day. The chickens flitted in and out of shelter as necessary. The sheep kept on munching their way from side to side of the Big Field, oblivious to all except the need to fill their tums.The geese. Ah. Puddles! So they have been dredging out the puddles so that they can make bigger holes in the ground which we can trip over when the wetness goes away.
We just got soaked.
Two double rainbows late this afternoon. Does this mean good luck? If it does, then sending the good luck on to you all.
And I would recommend home made knitted socks. (Photo in last post). In wellingtons that are too big the socks will turn over on themselves and come out an interesting shape, but wiggle them back into the correct position on the feet, and they soon go back into sock shape. But they are warm and have a cosy feeling. They feel friendly.
Off to a new choir this evening. Got fed up with the other choir. Too much chit chat. Couldn't hear myself think. Got stuck behind three divas, big ladies, tall ladies, chatty ladies. Voice kept rebounding off their backs when I was singing, so sat down and listened instead. No one saw me sit down apart from those sitting beside me. I was hidden from most by the largeness of those three round ladies who were chit chatting even when supposed to be singing.
Jean Pierre has been carrying on with the ceiling in the back room. Says that there will be a 5cm slope to the ceiling over the front room. Means that anyone walking across the floor upstairs in that room could feel like they were on board a slightly sloping deck of a boat. Not to worry. Lester has issued instructions to Jean Pierre to make sure the ceiling / floor is flat, and to put a ramp where it meets anything else which is not of the same height. I am sure it will turn out alright in the end. It is, after all, an old house, and therefore is entitled to have oddnesses.
Off to dry my DIY socks off so I can wear them to choir tonight. They got wet when I was splashing about making little streams in the mud of the Sheep Paddock so the water could drain away. Lester says that I should also have a shower. I said "Why, do I smell?" And he said, "No, you've got mud all over your face and in your hair". Not to worry. A quick wipe round with a flannel will sort that out. I do not uncover myself to the air unless it is to make a quick dive into the deliciously heated environment of the electric blanketed bed, or to get out of the warmness of that bed in the morning to make a quick dash into the shower, this being done when I am still half asleep. In between such events, my skin stays snugly warm inside at least five layers of clothes. It is the way. It is winter.
Am off to find the flannel. x
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
The reasons.....
The reason why we have not got a compost heap:
(We try to make one but the chickens keep scratching, eating, and demolishing it)
The reason why my kitchen is now looking a hell of a lot tidier:
(Dishwasher now plumbed in and in full operational order)
The reason why we have enough meat, and some veg, for most of next year:
The reason why I so love being here:
(well, one of them)
The reason why my feet were warm today:
(I made myself some knitted socks!)
The reason why I shall never be stick thin:
(Love messing about with food, love eating the end products )
The reason why we are going to be warmer next winter:
(The doors are to go up half way along the hallway, beside the stairs when they are built soon)
The reason why we are warmer this winter:
(The boiler to the left, and the bathroom that it feeds hot water to, resulting in hot showers which are so much better than standing in a large room with a bowl of water and a flannel)
The reason why we have a full freezer:
(With joy Max now has his two girls back in with him and I have the learning curve of making hams, bacon, etc, from the youngsters that Max and one of the girls produced last January)
The reason why we don't have a hedge:
(It used to come over the top of the poles)
(.....and you can see Elise, our young heifer, looking to see what is going on)
These are just a few of the reasons why I smile a lot.
I hope you have lots of reasons as to why you smile too.
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