Dentist for a checkup (all fine), then Tesco and Sainsbug shopping expeditions. Not the most interesting of days...

Labels: nowt really

Note to self: leave Feather at least 24 hours after feeding before trying to handle her in any way.

She bit me - twice very fast.

Right hand index finger, knuckle closest to the hand.

Ow.

All I did was stroke her while changing her water. Took fifteen minutes to stop bleeding, even with honey and a plaster. An' it dun' 'alf sting. Going to have a bruise there tomorrow.

Eh well. I think the only pets I've ever had that haven't bitten me were my fish. Oh, and Rosa, but that's because she's never had the chance...

Labels: Feather, ouch

Too-much-shopping Sunday.

Did I mention Feather has shed again? Third time since we got her and it hasn't even been a year yet! I must be doing something right. Though I am beginning to wonder if she is, in fact, only a Madagascan ground boa with a max length of three foot. Be just my luck to find she's been misidentified and is actually going to grow to 30 foot long with an appetite like a horse - or for a horse...

Labels: Feather, shopping

Pics 'cause tired.

And our fox visited before it even started to get dark today. I was locking up the back and I think the noise alarmed him, as he jumped up from where he was snaffling the sultanas I'd put down for the blackbirds and collared doves and slunk off towards the hole under the fence. Too fast for me to get a photo, alas. Gorgeous ruddy red fur and long bushy tail - a fine looking beast.

The garden looks particularly good in the sun.

Labels: garden, wildlife

So, what happened today?

Um, well, I forgot to take photos of garden and greenhouse that I was going to post (so many things coming up! I have beans and marrows now too!) Will try to do that tomorrow instead.

Watched the end of Beast Wars. [sigh] Wish there was another season or two...

... and that's about it. But it was relaxing.

Labels: gardening, nowt really, Transformers: Beast Wars

[rolls eyes] Ever had one of those days when all things seem to conspire against you? When automatic doors refuse to recognise you as a living being and stubbornly stay shut (until another human approaches them)? When those stupid motion operated toilet flushes deluge water as soon as you enter the cubicle? (I swear, if this is a new adjunct to my peculiar electrical less-than-super powers I shall NOT be happy.)

However, everything else went well. I bused into town, picked up 4 metres of blue voile from Fabricland (I need to make more inner curtains for hall, landing and Kai's room - the old ones are a disgrace and keep tearing more holes), a Transformers DVD with the last episodes of G1 on it (YAY!), and the usual stuff from Wild Oats and Better Foods. And ran a couple of errands for Ken as well. Took most of the day but it was pretty successful.

We'd planned to finish watching the Beast Wars but Kai had a rather large coursework project he needed to finish, so will try again tomorrow. Going to miss it when it's finished - it's bloody good!

Taking the evening off. [meanders off in search of Rattrap/Dinobot porn...]

Labels: shopping, Town, Transformers: Beast Wars

Well, I got all the outstanding client stuff done, and some spring cleaning. In the greenhouse I have kale, the first Red Alert tomato, all the mange tout and a pumpkin seedling breaking through. And that's about it for today...

Labels: nowt really

[sigh] Why don't kettles like me? I was descaling the one we bought in January yesterday, and on swirling the lemon juice around inside I heard something rattling. Second later a tiny screw dropped out - obviously an integral part as afterwards the on/off switch wouldn't stay on...

Ken couldn't find the receipt, but I took it back anyway (everyone knows me at our local Sainsbug, been shopping there for twenty-odd years). They offered an exchange or refund: I'd have liked an exchange but the only one they had left had a dodgy lid, so I got a refund (full one too - £12.50, even though I'm sure it was only £7.99 in the sale...) and went on a bit further to The Range, where I found a Swan one for £11.99. Not quite as nice as the Sainsbug one but it's an old established make...

Got it home and found the base wasn't in the box.

My legs were killing me again by this time (I do now have a physio appointment soon so hopefully I can sort out what to do about the blasted sciatica) so Ken went back with it.

Only to have the assistant point out that the base was actually inside the kettle...

Why, we don't know. Presumably to save space. Anyway, it works, although it's a coil rather than the plate element we've got used to. It'll do for now.

Why me?

Labels: domestic disasters, hardware

Still here. Sunday was the usual Sunday, today I've had trouble getting started... Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Labels: nowt really

OK, so, maybe time for a little catch-up...

In the greenhouse: new seedlings - two Swiss chard, three pak choi, two courgettes, seven peas. And today I moved my bell and chilli pepper plants back out (the ones I overwintered on the hall windowsill to get a head start on the season). They survived and have flowerbuds forming...

In the garden: Kai and I went up to the Allotment shop today to renew my membership and picked up three Desiree and three organic Sarpo Mira seed potatoes for chitting at home (that's all my planters will take). Then we spent some time in the garden in the sun and prepared the planters as I don't think the seed spuds will take very long, and Kai weeded some of the strawberry bed for me. It's all looking really good out there!

We had a Garden Warbler in the garden a few days ago! We also have two pairs of blackbirds fighting over who gets to claim the garden, and a couple of male blackcaps were squabbling on the bird table last week.

On TV: Kai and I are still watching Revolution, although it's beginning to wear a little - unrelieved violence and doom and gloom. We may stop. We caught the pilot of Defiance last night, and rather enjoyed it. The aliens aren't really sufficiently alien for my liking, but it was nicely done. We'll carry on watching for a while. The second season of Touch has started and is trundling along well, and apparently there's a new season of Warehouse 13 starting in a couple of weeks - that should be fun.

And as for Beast Wars, I'm loving it, Kai is really enjoying it, and Ken is still watching it, so that's all good. We're half way through season 2 now (watched Transmutate and the ep where Dinobot sacrifices himself to save the protohumans [sniffle] tonight).

Possible early night tonight...

Labels: birds, gardening, greenhouse, Transformers: Beast Wars, Warehouse 13

Seventh part of New World 2 - Proposals - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!

This is funny. Some of it's obviously photoshopped, but even so it's pretty good.

Labels: The Poppy Tales, Transformers

It was supposed to rain today.

It didn't. It was glorious sunshine all day (though the wind was bitter). I bused up to Broadwalk for bird seed from Wilkinson's, and found a Cyberverse Barricade! Very pleased about that, have been kicking myself for not picking him up when I first saw him, even though he's white and blue instead of black and white, and really too small and intricate for me to paint. Eh, we'll manage.

I also found a cheapcheap copy of 50 Shades of Grey (£1.39) in a charity shop. No, I don't really want to read it after all I've heard about it, but having decided we really need to check out the opposition... I'll critique it (if I can bear to) on the serious blog when I've read it.

In other news... Ken is now in the second week of the new meds, and so far so good. It's still horrible - constant headache and mild queasiness, and his sleep patterns are really disturbed, and unlike me he needs his sleep - but a lot better than we were anticipating. So far. Mind you, I have researched the necessary nutrition really thoroughly this time, and am making the meals needed for optimal efficiency for both the meds and general health. Heh. Becoming quite a nutritionist, on the quiet. Learned how to cook vegan when Broom became allergic to animal products, and now high iron/C vit diet which is simultaneously low in fat, because the main med has to be taken with a high fat snack (and we're talking four chocolate digestive biscuits or a large Mars bar high fat here) exactly every eight hours to work at all. (Rather frighteningly, if he misses one dose it negates everything and we have to start from scratch. Say the drug company, and who are we to argue?)

It's going to be a long year...

Labels: medical matters, shopping

APAG meeting tonight. Minutes tomorrow. Too tired now. It was cold again today as well...

Poppy two pages in. Hopefully finish it tomorrow.

Labels: APAG, busyness, meetings, tired

Glorious day today - finally spring. Even managed to dry a wash outside!

Not a lot else though. Haddock is doing strange mental things at the moment...

Labels: nowt really, tired

Up early (not quite as early as the last few days) and put in a couple of hours in the greenhouse. Seedlings now potted on to their final pots (and they'll stay in the greenhouse from now on), peas moved into larger pots - they aren't quite ready to go into the bed yet - and I've started:
Red Alert and Black Russian tomatoes, mange tout Golden Sweet (which grows up to 6 foot high - remind me to read the back of the packet before buying next time!), Tendergreen Dwarf beans, Swiss chard, kale, marrows and the first pumpkin.

Also planned out the veg bed and got the first onions in the ground. As long as we don't have the appalling rain we had last year everything stands a good chance of succeeding, so keeping fingers crossed.

That's the mini polytunnel GoodTwin picked up for me in the background - working very well, I have carrots coming up already. The orange 'bag' is the potato planter: needs to be emptied so I can start afresh this year. Will pick up some seed potatoes from the Talbot Allotments on Sunday - need to pay my sub anyway.

I had the windows open while I was working and the most gorgeous scent came drifting in. On checking I found it was a combination of my flowering daphne and magnolia stellata. Fabulous fragrance!

Of course my back and legs are now aching, but it's good exercise...

More Beast Wars tonight!

Poppy advancing slowly.

Labels: gardening, greenhouse, The Poppy Tales, Transformers: Beast Wars

Ridiculously busy Sunday. Usual shop, then I seemed to spend most of the day in the kitchen, cooking and prep stuff for the freezer. Legs aching...

So sitting with three eps of Beast Wars was fun!

Possible early night tonight. Lots to do to tomorrow, including finishing next!Poppy.

Labels: busyness, cooking, The Poppy Tales, Transformers: Beast Wars

YAY! Lie in!!

And hairdresser for both Kai and I. Mine's a little shorter than normal now, in the hopes it'll last a little longer before I need it done again. Jeff has done his usual fantastic job, and I really must try to get that photo for our agent.

Then dinner and Doctor Who (bit tedious this week), then three eps of Beast Wars. I'm liking Dinobot more and more...

Labels: hair, Transformers: Beast Wars

Visit from Wendy!

Great day chatting and catching up. Too short as always, but I think we made good use of the time.

Many thanks!

Labels: friends, visits

So how much longer can I continue getting up at 6.30, I ask myself. zzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz I answer...

New Tf comic over at JAT. Silliness.

And Armada Jetfire and Starscream. Such a lovely couple.

Labels: Transformers

Aaaaaaand another stupidly early start...

Great day! Almondsbury Garden Centre (and we got lost again, but in doing so discovered two new garden centres to explore next time), picked up compost, rats and crickets, so Rosa and Feather can eat, and I have supplies for my seeds. And we talked non-stop - all good stuff.

Knackered again though. Probably be another early night.

Labels: Almondsbury Garden Centre, days out, sheeeeeep

[sigh] Up at 6.30 this morning...

Shopping, client stuff, tidying up (it's nearly spring-cleaning time) and then the first three eps of Beast Wars! I loved it, Ken seems to have liked it, Kai's not sure yet but will give it a another chance.

Off out with Kim tomorrow morning (Almondsbury Garden Centre, most likely. I need crickets and it would be useful to stock up on rats for Feather, she's eating every fortnight. And I forgot to say she shed again. We must be doing something right!)

Early night again. Knackered.

Labels: busyness, Transformers: Beast Wars

[sigh] So I had an early night - well, 1.30 am is early for me - and woke up at 6.38 am. Tried to doze for a bit - unsuccessfully - and was thoroughly woken up by the phone at 7.44: Kai ringing from the bus stop to ask if he'd missed the bus or if school was out today...

Ken checked and it is indeed an inset day, so Kai has a surprise free day's holiday! Since he is bang up to date with all his home and course work he's taking the day off: playing Minecraft upstairs I think.

But there are benefits to early rising: the sun looked like a golden pearl today.

Ken's photos.

And I put a wash through, started the chicken stock, made two day's worth of tomato, red pepper and cannelloni bean soup for lunches, popped the seedlings into the greenhouse and checked the pots (there are two pea plants coming up, which is great news), and did a little client stuff. All before 11 am.

I'm going to be tired tonight.

Beast Wars season 1 arrived, so we shall start watching that tonight!

Edit: So Thatcher's died. Am I supposed to feel sorry? She was an evil old hag who wrecked the country. Horrible woman. I certainly won't miss her.

Labels: busyness, Transformers: Beast Wars

Still tired. Then again, there was a Sainsbury shop, and a Tesco shop, and general cleaning up, and Ken enlarging the main veg bed, and roast chicken for dinner, and lunches for tomorrow. All very busy.

[g] But Beast Wars seasons 2 and 3 have arrived. Can't watch them until season 1 get here though, and that's coming from the States, so don't know how long that will take...

Labels: gardening, shopping, Transformers: Beast Wars

Quickie because knackered...

Glorious weather today, rain forecast for tomorrow and rest of the week pretty much, and as it's the end of Kai's Eostre break we bused off to Clevedon...

[g] And look, Stronghold's had an upgrade!

Labels: Clevedon, days out, Defenders, The Poppy Tales

So, 8.22 a.m. and I'm woken from a four hour sleep by a knocking on the door. Grab dressing gown and stumble downstairs, to find it's the water board to install our water meter...

I'm sure the neighbours were delighted by the pneumatic drill and the sledgehammer, but at least they only took half an hour. (Normally the tools wouldn't be needed but they had to physically move the piping as it was too close to our neighbour's for them to fit the meter.) Now we'll see how we go.

Since I was up I got some client stuff done, and a little tidying. When Kai got up he helped in the garden (putting the copper slug tape around the potting table legs and collecting up pots that had been blown under the fake currant bush). The weather is lovely again - hot in the sun.

And now I'm going for a nap, otherwise I'll be useless tonight...

Labels: busyness, domestic disasters, sheeeeeep

It started off sunny, so out the seedlings went to the greenhouse.

Then it snowed.

Then the sun came out, then it snowed again. Eventually it clouded over so I brought them in. [sigh] But I have the first of the salad leaves sprouting, and I do believe there are a couple of pea plants on the way.

Shopped at Tesco.

Got shot of a load of client stuff.

After dinner we watched the Cowboy Bebop film. I'd seen it before a long time ago but couldn't remember much of it. It's wonderful, and the animation is superb, even better than the series. Great fun!

And the first page of next!Poppy is written. Hopefully have it done and posted at the weekend.

Labels: client sites, Cowboy Bebop, gardening, shopping, The Poppy Tales, weather

Right. First, the lurgy is a lot better. Not quite gone yet, but definitely on its way out.

I emailed the US seller of the Beast Wars season 2 & 3 set as he hadn't listed the price: turns out it'll cost more than the actual DVDs, so I've gone for the next cheapest (free postage, UK seller) instead. It'll probably get here before season 1!

We all spent a couple of hours in the garden in the sun this afternoon. Ken weeded the veg bed, Kai and I weeded the bean/pea/mange tout bed, then Kai carried on cutting down ivy while I pruned the brambles around the woodland pool. All looks great now but my legs and back are killing me.

And after dinner we watched the last five eps of Cowboy Bebop. Wow...

Poppy is nagging...

Labels: busyness, Cowboy Bebop, gardening, The Poppy Tales, Transformers: Beast Wars

[bluergh] I would like this to go away please. Kai's now got it too...

Didn't do much today - tired anyway after four hours sleep and a head full of cotton wool. Ken went to a writers' circle meeting tonight so Kai and I curled up under wolf and lion respectively and watched Tron Legacy. It still doesn't make complete sense but the music sounds better than ever.

Labels: ill, musekicks

Later edit (11.11 pm): And lo, a cheaper Beast Wars complete season 1, and seasons 2 & 3 in one boxed set, appears on ebay. Season 1 ordered on a 'buy now': season 2 & 3 added to watch list - auction ends in 6 days. Fingers crossed.

Yes, I know, I was supposed to be having an early night, but I had to watch the last four eps of Beast Wars season 2 (which ended on a most magnificent cliffhanger. I'll watch the start of season 3 tomorrow - really too tired and ill tonight...)

[sigh] In 39 eps I've gone from watching the first half of the first ep and running away screaming, to resignedly watching it because I've watched everything else in the Transformers fandom (except G2) and thought I may as well to complete my 'education', to thinking, well, it's OK, wouldn't mind getting it if I can find it cheap somewhere to I HAVE GOT TO HAVE THIS!!!!.

I never expected to like it, but the earlier eps are very very funny, and although it gets much much darker in season 2 there are still humorous moments (done with a very light touch): there are innumerable homages to other Tf continuities and (non-Tf) films (and if you're a regular reader you'll know I love those!): there are some quite extraordinarily strong characters (Dinobot, Rattrap, Tigertron, and the absolutely tragic, heart-breaking Transmutate): and a truly huge overarching plot.

I am impressed.

Now have to check the budget to see if we can squeeze it in. The whole thing is available on ebay at various prices, one of them almost within reach.

We'll see.

And now I should drag my sick self off to berth. Whether I can actually sleep (and/or let Ken get any sleep) is a bit of a moot point...

Labels: Transformers: Beast Wars