Flu
The last time that I got flu was several years ago when I’d actually paid for a flu jab! In that instance I had flu twice – each session lasting a week with one happy ‘well day’ in between. Since then I haven’t bothered with the jab. I’ve been laid up with flu this weekend. It was so bad that I began to get a bit panicky on Saturday night, sharp stabbing pains that didn’t let up. Everything hurt from inside my ears to between my toes. Rocketing temperature and deep chills. I was taking Beechams Powders and used up the...
read moreBack to the snow again
I met our neighbour John at our gate this afternoon with his new dog, Greg. John and Frieda give homes to potential ‘hearing dog’ puppies. After a year they are sent off for assessment and training if they make the grade. Greg is a beautiful and energetic Working Springer Spaniel. This was John’s second walk of the day and Greg still seemed very bouncy. “I’ve been checking your car every time that I pass and so I know that you finally went out yesterday!” “We’d run out of essentials, so I had to go. It took me an hour to clear...
read moreWho is responsible for clearing the snow from the pavements in the UK??
The walk to John’s shop – the post office and general store in our village – was quite arduous today. Usually it’s a five minute stroll. But the snow made it heavy going. Even in my trusty Bearpaw sheepskin boots. Walking in snow that’s over 10 cm is quite tiring as you have to lift your feet as high as a badly operated puppet. At some points in the journey it was easier to walk in the road. Just a handful of houses had cleared the pavement in front of their houses. The rest, like me, had left the snow. In the old days everyone...
read moreTracing some of my ancestors has taken me on a long journey
Do you remember these words? “Fred Jesson: You’ve been a long way away. Laura Jesson: Yes. Fred Jesson: Thank you for coming back to me.” Brief Encounter 1945 Yes, I’ve been a long way away. Not in the arms of Trevor Howard. And Danny was actually quite happy about my circuitous journey. I’ve been researching some of my family history. Particularly my Scots grandmother, Jean Fletcher Taylor. I know very little about her except that she was beautiful in her prime and managed to hook a rich husband and marry him at the age...
read moreWhy we are going to use labels and a planting plan in the kitchen garden this year
I’ve just written this post: “When cauliflowers start to go to seed all is not lost” There is nothing better than a home grown cauliflower. The flavour is sweeter and curds snap away from the main stem with a satisfying crunch. If you grow your own the entire plant can be used too – the large outer leaves and stem make a very good soup. Growing decent sized caulis can be a bit of a challenge as the have one major need – water. Lots of it. A good mulch around the plants can help but if you have a light soil they need to be...
read moreFences
This was the subject matter of the email that Anne Mary sent Danny yesterday morning. He forwarded it to me. The combination of FWD and fences made my heart sink. The high winds that we had last week had clearly taken their toll. Most of our fences are over 30 years old. John and I replaced 7 fencing panels about 4 years ago. It was such a palaver that it put me off replacing the rest of the panels, even though the other stretch looked dodgy back then. The lengths that bordered the *human graves had not stood up to the weight of the earth...
read moreHappy New Year: may 2012 be a good one for all!
I love Christmas but New Year is the buffed up golden holiday for me. A fresh start and the days are getting longer. There was a marvellous sunset at 4.30 pm today rather than the dreary 4 pm blackout of mid December. The years seem to be flashing by at an alarming rate but we have lots of exciting plans and projects for 2012. I feel that this is going to be a very interesting time. Over the past week or so, Danny and I have been bent over the bonnet of our server extracting email addresses. It’s that time of year again – sending out New...
read moreThe Money Tree
Last year we made a terrible blunder. We left our prized giant money tree out in the garden at the end of the summer. I kept on spotting it during autumn forays in the garden and always was too busy to bring it inside. Those ‘tomorrow’ moments happen a lot with me and are almost always guaranteed to end in disaster. The weather turned cold and frosty and I hardly ventured outside. One day I discovered that the money tree had collapsed and died. “Oh crikey,” I thought, “What’s going to happen now?” You see, when I was given this...
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