Definition of Madness

The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing while expecting different results. I should have known that I would have gone a little adrift. Still, I got some things done. I may not have got any studying done, but I'm just shy of three thousand words on my next writing project. I also rinsed out the recycling bin after it was emptied, did a little ironing, posted a couple of things on eBay and did some overdue life admin. 

I was also cold. I don't know if anyone remembers this, but it's supposed to be a shrug when it's finished. I have around ten more inches to go, and I dug it out because I really wanted something like this around me. As it was I was wrapped in a blanket over my sweater and top. 

I plan to settle down to a good knit while watching Sewing Bee tonight and hopefully get an inch or so knitted.

While I was in the garden I took this pic. 

Originally the yellow bin was on top of here, but the rats had dug under the paving stones to make a little tunnel for themselves. You can see the gap in the brick. This is incredibly useful. You see, many, many years ago, before bear was born, someone helped us in the garden but left that strip a compact and hardened strip that was useless, which is why we put the stones on top and parked bins there. Now we have moved the bins, I put in some sweet peas which I hope will do well, even though it's a little shaded. You see, when the rats dug through, they left a pile of the softest, well aired, well turned soil in the garden. I wish that they would attack some of the other beds. Though I suspect that they may have taken soil from the honeysuckle container. 

Tomorrow I'm going out as we'll need salad, so I'll take my knitting and have an hour knitting in the car. I also need to study and get some emails sorted out. I'm going to aim for 5k words again, though it's a big ask, and I want to do a very small amount of ironing. I also want to catch up on things like reading the blogs, which is always a good time for me. 

I feel that this month has somewhat slipped through my fingers. I'm determined to take hold of things and keep some sort of schedule. It's a work in progress, though, and we'll have to see how it goes. 

What Day Is It?

With bear having effectively finished school apart from a few exams, and after all the bank holidays, I'm having trouble keeping up with things. I only remembered to take the bin out at the last minute and I am worried that I'll lose any sense of time at all.

I'm not getting anywhere far with the garden. I've done a few bits here and there, and I'm keeping up with watering, but I'm not really achieving much. The fuchsia is, of course recovering.

Not only can you see the outrageous quantity of weeds, but there are also a few flower buds on the thing. It will be the size of my car before I know it. 

Bear continues working hard. Also, plenty of games. I'm leaving him to it. 

I've set some plans for tomorrow and I'm going to risk sharing them. I plan to write 5k words, do two lessons on the online course I've signed up to, sort through the mountain of clothes and misc textiles in the dining room and pot up the herbs that I bought. I'm not planning on leaving the house, so I should have time. To be honest, it's a fairly tall order, but I'd rather have a target to aim at and I'll see how it goes. 

I also want to see how my steps go. Yesterday I wandered around a lot of shops and was just under the 6k steps target. I wonder if I can get to target just by working around the house. I won't get the benefit of 30 minutes brisk walk, but it would have to be worth something. 

I'll report back on any success and failures. Whatever happens, it should be fun.

And for a success, the birds seem to be coming back to the feeder and I think the rats are giving up. The 'squirrel resistant' feeders may be 'rat resistant' as well. The suet block that attracted the rat yesterday wasn't in a resistant cage and is all gone, but the rest seem to have had normal eating from birds. Now that the suet block has all gone, I hope things will settle a little.

Hugs and good health to all.

Stocking Up

Today I nipped into Tesco to get the stuff for the week. I'm hoping to stay away for a little while and avoid temptation. I knocked £14.85 off my bill by using my Clubcard. Some of the reductions aren't all that. There are a lot of 'sale' prices that aren't, or the Clubcard price is the right price and the non-Clubcard price is inflated, but one good deal was the hot sauce that DH likes. It practically never goes on sale, but this week it was £1.65 instead of £2.20 - and the £2.20 is the price it has been for some time. I got half a dozen bottles. I also loaded up on the meatfree chicken-type southern fried strips that bear likes that were 5 for the price of 4 and £2 instead of £3. To be fair, they go on offer quite often, so it wasn't quite the same thrill, but that was £8 instead of £15, so I'm happy enough, and bear likes them. 

When I got back, I noticed that our honeysuckle is coming out.

I'll try and get a better pic tomorrow. 

Bear continues being bear. He's sort of studying and sort of playing video games. He's a good lad, despite the whole issue with the coat hangers. I am also having issues prising his dirty washing from him. 

Birds have been coming back to the feeder, together with an enormous rat. It was in the middle of the afternoon and I saw it climbing on top and I leant out of the window and shouted at hit. The poor thing (that was roughly the size of a terrier) was so startled that it fell from the top of the pole and landed with such a thump that I thought it would crack the concrete under it.

I'm reluctant to lose the feeder, especially as the sparrows have really been feasting, but darn!

Writing stuff - this week's instalment is here. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Bear is Not Perfect

Before I go further I want to copy and paste the seriously helpful information from Ruth W about clothes shrunk in the dryer.

About that dryer....I've found that if you put the load into the dryer and let it run about 15 minutes as a delicate load and then TAKE it all Out and hang it up to finish drying that nothing shrinks and it dries out pretty quickly. (Except for jeans, they would take longer. But! If you take the damp jeans out of the washer and then iron them while stretching them on the ironing board, you can make them longer and dry them mostly out at the same time.) You can even take a shirt by the shoulders and shake it out vigorously and hang it up, and it won't need much of an ironing after the 15 minutes. I once heard someone explain why her little child's clothes looked like new - "Never put the clothes in the dryer."

This is amazingly helpful. Fortunately bear's clothes still fit. Mind you, I usually have the dryer on a low heat and set to dry until still slightly damp. It's partly to protect the clothes and partly to protect the electricity bill.

We've started feeding the birds again. I should say that it was perhaps not the best time to listen to 'The Judge's House' by Bram Stoker as an audio book on YouTube.  Rats featured heavily, even though it was just a short story. As it was, DH spotted a huge rat enjoying our suet block and we were deeply unimpressed. 

I have been asking bear to bring down any hangers for some time. I had even gone and bought extra as I was pretty desperate for the things. The pic above is the first delivery. I gave him a Look, but he helped out with a stuck battery and has been pretty helpful and pleasant over the last few days, so I'll save up any sarcasm until after the exams have finished.

Last Friday was his last day at school and he had a blast. There was an obstacle course, jokey awards, icecream, a barbecue and he came home with writing all over his arms (which he refused to show me!). Now it's exams and then he can try and relax until he gets the results on 24th August. 

Whatever happens next, bear's life is changing and so is mine. I suddenly have a different set of demands and I'm not sure where to start and what to do. I won't be calling into Tesco every morning, at least. It's sort of exciting. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Normal for Me

I've just pulled bear's new clothes out of the tumble dryer. I (reluctantly) used that because I haven't been able to pry these particular clothes from bear earlier and he wants to wear them tomorrow. They're the clothes he bought when he went with his friends shopping in Leeds (and at least one was a girl). The labels say 'do not tumble dry'. Darn it to heck. He's tried on the top and it still fits him, but I'm not sure about the cargo pants. I'm going to be on pins tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for bear apart from exams and it's a non-uniform day. The school are  planning a barbecue and other stuff. Bear wants to take a shirt in to get it signed by his classmates and friends and he wants to take a current size to compare to the shirt he still has from getting his shirt signed in primary school. If that shirt is taken out of circulation, that leaves one (1) white short sleeved shirt that fits him. 

The two exams he had today went well, apparently. They were physics and computer science, both of which are bear's favourites. He was explaining how much he enjoyed maths this evening. I can't fathom that. 

In the garden, I should have started deadheading the yellow rose.

Unfortunately it's overrun with aphids and ants. I've put in an order for neem oil and I've seen YouTube videos which spray afflicted plants with a mix of bicarb of soda, oil (preferrably neem), soap and water. It's worked okay in the past, and I think I shall have to make it a regular part of my routine.

Hugs and good health to all. 

It's Going to be a Long Time to September

Bear felt that he had a bad exam today. It was English Lit and he didn't feel it went well. It was always going to be his worst exam. He's like to pass, in his opinion, but not well. At least tomorrow it's Physics and Computer Science which he likes.

And now he's reconsidering going to the fancy maths college and that will mean two more years of the school run, which I will do with a smile, but darn. It's to do with him wanting to do physics at A level which he couldn't at the fancy maths college but could at sixth form. I don't blame him. 

It's going to be a long summer until it's sorted out. 

Hello Monday

If bear asks, of course I don't mind carrying on the school run if required. If he doesn't get into the college he wants, of course I'll be happy to carry on driving him to and fro, or at least to. In reality, I cannot wait for the school run to end. Please let bear get a college place that means that he can get the bus in and out by himself, a bus that will take fifteen minutes instead of an hour and some. 

There were two accidents on the M62 near us this morning, which meant that by the time I had dropped bear off, there was a lot of gridlock going on. I picked up some bits from Tesco and then hung out in their car park until the worst had subsided, then ran into M&S. They had some gluten free coffee cake reduced, but I didn't fancy it so just grabbed the fruit that DH likes. There were no decent bargains today.

This meant that I started my day late and I've been off balance throughout. Then I got a chance to meet up with my brother in IKEA, and it was lovely to see him, and getting in and out of the restaurant there meant that I reached my steps target. And I only bought a chopping board, so that was a win.

Bear continues fine. 

I feel worn out. I managed to water the garden, but that's all. Well, obviously everyone was fed, and I got a few bits done here and there, but it's been a very limp sort of day. The first white rose is out. It's always later than the yellow rose.

The bush is full of blackspot and teeming with aphids and ants. Last year the sparrows who were fighting in the fuchsia did a good job of culling the aphids. Now that the fuchsia isn't quite so rampant, I think that I'm going to have to go out regularly with a soap and water spray. 

Writing stuff - I managed a little bit of writing here. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

This May be Boring

I feel that I need to talk, and this is the best place for it, but it may be a little dull hearing me go on about things, especially as it's mostly stuff that I've said before. I really need to get things in order. However, knowing that I need to get sorted and actually getting sorted are two entirely different things. Over the last few days I've done a few little bits that are getting me unexpectedly nearer getting organised. This has taken me by surprise. I'll be sharing odd bits and bobs and I may make it a separate paragraph or two near the end like the writing stuff. It's not very interesting, but I need to talk, and this is where my friends are.

Bear is doing well and currently wearing the ORANGE hoodie which I'm sure will become the bane of my existence. He's feeling okay about his exams, but he said that in his exam yesterday he heard the kid behind him crying. I checked and he said that he felt he could come to either me or DH if he felt bad, but I am worrying like crazy. 

Looking for the bright side, there is a lot more blossom this year, I'm sure of it. I took this pic yesterday.

That is a hawthorn, and doesn't it look spectacular? The lilac is also the best I ever remember seeing.

And the fuchsia is showing sings of a decent recovery. I doubt that it will manage its usual trick of getting to the size of our bathroom without me noticing, but it's looking hopeful.

The clematis that I planted only a few days ago is flowering. The buds were there when I bought it, but the fact that it's flowered is hopeful.

And I've bought a small acer to go in the centre square.

The label says that it will grow to 1.5 metres. I have reservations as nothing we plant seems to go as planned, but I'll keep posting. 

And as it's a lovely day, I've even got some clothes out on an airer, which is a positive for me.

Knitting is happening. I was looking unenthusiastically at the Lent sweater and a YouTube video for one row chevron stitch came up here. I couldn't resist it, so pulled out some yarn from my stash and had a go. It's very straightforward, even for me, as it's all garter stitch with a 'knit two together' and a 'knit into front and back of stitch' and that's it.

I was aiming for a scarf, but I thought that this wouldn't be wide enough. You need a multiple of twelve, plus thirteen, plus two. Besides, I used the size needle recommended on the ball band of the yarn and it felt far too small, so I tried again.

And it was coming out lovely, but the yarn was telling me that it was a blanket. I could feel it calling to me. So once again I unravelled and tried again. I wasn't trying the chevron stitch, which I think needs a clean yarn and this was sort of fuzzy, and went with three rows garter stitch, one row purl, three rows garter stitch, one row twisted drop stitch (which is easier than it sounds) and as it's a self striping yarn, I found myself with this.

It looks a lot fancier than I expected, and I can knit it while thinking about something else. 

Something that I need to think about is my yarn stash. I have two packs of 400g each, and I'll need both for a decent blanket, and I couldn't find the second pack. While I was burrowing through the stash, I realised just how many unfinished projects I had and how much I needed to do to catch up. It was an incredibly depressing experience. I think that I'm going to have to block out some time to knit and practice mindfulness. That will be incredibly healthy for me and reduce the vast quantity of bags holding things. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Rats Continue

This evening there must have been three or four of them - some of them really cute! I've moved some stuff around and tomorrow I plan to plant mint. Apparently rats dislike the stuff, so I'm taking a risk and planting it directly into an isolated border.

Mind you, where the rats have been is a lovely soft, well dug soil. Perhaps they are just taking their due as the laborer is worthy of their hire. I cleared some stuff away and pruned stuff back.

There's not much change, but I've got rid of a lot of the cover between the rats usual run and the bird feeder. I'm leaving it empty at the moment. I'm sticking to a few minutes a day, but once I get the mint in, I'll have to start being diligent about watering. 

Bear is okay and still enjoying the new glasses. He had two exams today and has two more tomorrow. 

For those interested, the 'Fill your freezer - five items for the price of four' is back in Tesco. I picked up some packs of casserole beef. It's okay quality, and I suppose it becomes what I consider reasonable with offers like that, but the most wonderful thing about it is that it cooks from frozen. With some value/reduced veg that has been frozen, some stock cubes and a bit of time, it's a great meal that I don't need to remember to get out the night before and that I can forget once it's been bunged in. Last time it served three with enough for me to have lunch the day after. The offer expires on 29th May.

Speaking of offers, I picked up some reduced turkey thigh mince. I should have checked things better. According to Tesco website, turkey thigh mince should be £3.65 for 500g. The yellow sticker said marked down from £4.50 but the reciept showed £3.28. This is still a lot of money for me in an absolute sense and I need to be more careful and not have a knee jerk reaction to a yellow sticker. However I added it to some softened onions (from the reduced onions that I froze) and mushrooms (from the reduced mushrooms that I froze), browned it and then added a tin of tomato soup and had some with pasta and peas. I bunged what was left in the fridge and I think that there are two more meals there at least - hearty lunches for me for tomorrow and Saturday. I may even stretch it to four with some extra veg.

It's a real warning to me to check and check again the prices before buying (and I still haven't sorted the price book). Mind you, I've also picked up some reduced grapes as well. Tesco reduce their fruit, veg and fresh in the morning, though they don't reduce hugely. I'm focusing on improving my diet rather than losing weight at the moment, so more fruit and veg and better quality food. It may be worth me getting into the habit of checking what's reduced Monday morning and making a batch of food for me for the next few days. We'll see how it goes, especially as my routine will change after next week. Bear will be only going in for exams after 26th May. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Rats

There are a lot of rats around the garden. I've been so tired that I haven't done much. I'll post a pic tomorrow with updates, but today I moved the bins out to the pavement (which everyone else does) and got rid of a planter. And I remembered to water the clematis. I'm going to have to move to full watering soon. This afternoon it was cute baby rats climbing the bird feeder, but last night they were massive. I'm considering my options. Also, while the really sweet looking baby rats were all over the birdfeeder and rampaging across my garden, next door but two's feral cat was having a snooze in the centre of the street.

Pic taken while standing next to my gate

I also finally feel comfortable planting things. It's been a cold spring, and I noticed that the almond blossom was late this year. However some plants seem further ahead and some seem to be just where they should. I called into Leeds centre to pay in a cheque and walking back from the bus stop on my way home (I will always get the bus as the centre of Leeds is not only fiendishly complicated but also mainly comprised of roadworks) I noticed there were still some forsythia flowers around, which normally flowers in February.

The hawthorn flower was a little early, I think, but very heavy.

And the wild garlic was pretty much about the same time as last year.

While I was waiting for bear, I noticed some privet had flower buds on, and I usually don't expect to see flowers on the privet until Wimbledon, which is the last week in June and the first week in July. 

Also while I waited for bear, I finished the shawl. The glow in the dark part is very limp indeed and it doesn't look good. 

It's also not really big enough. I think I will unravel it and make it into a narrow straight scarf like I should have the first time. Even drop stitch can only make 150g of yarn go so far.

Bear is doing pretty well He got some glasses to help with his colour blindness. He now can see purple! Until now, he was convinced that our car was blue. I don't know the science behind it, and I don't know if they work on everyone, but bear is thrilled. He can't get over the difference. He was astounded at how blue the label was on a tin of Heinz baked beans. He thinks today's exam (English Literature) went okay. He's more worried about the two exams tomorrow. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Ticking Over

 Bless asked about the bush in the corner, which I answered on the comment, but it's a lilac and it's really full of flowers.

The fragrance is beautiful. 

Bear had his first written exam today. As he put it - 23 to go. He has a biology exam tomorrow. He's doing okay.

I didn't have a walk this morning and I regret it. Apart from anything else, I'm nearly at my 6000 steps and I would definitely make it if I had had the walk. As it was, I called in to Aldi (chocolate biscuits and cheese), Tesco (salad) and Marks and Spencer (fruit). Bargains were thin on the ground. I picked up a marked down gluten free iced bun at M&S and it was grim. As I call in early, after the first mark down, I noticed that they had some yellow sticker reduced beefburgers. They looked very nice, and were chunky and no doubt full of flavour, but a pack were reduced to £3.25! Part of me can't help but remember when £2.50 for four very nice, decent, thick, fresh beefburgers was a good deal. I worry that I'm turning into my grandfather who's sense of how much stuff cost stuck in 1975. 

Bear had something of a reaction yesterday. He went into Leeds which can be quite expensive in the town centre. It's not quite as fancy as York or Harrogate, but it has a few designer shops, like Vivienne Westwood, in the town centre. I'm sure that there are others, but I can't remember them. Bear went in with a group that normally hang around places like Dewsbury or Huddersfield which are usually a lot less expensive. He also went in on a Sunday, which meant that he couldn't go on the market as it was shut. He came home stunned at how expensive Leeds is. Part of the problem is that there were girls in the group who went clothes shopping and even the charity shops in Leeds centre can be expensive. Bear is used to me hunting bargains from eBay and generally looking around for deals. With the recent inflation, bear was horrified at how much clothes cost and got the ORANGE hoodie (it's the brightest thing I've seen since the car next door but one was set on fire) from Primark. At some point I'll have to bring up 'cost per wear' but as he's still growing, he won't have to worry about things lasting long enough for him to grow out of for a bit. 

He was also proud of the multicoloured keyboard/mouse/mousemat/headset that he picked up for around £30. It has flashing lights on the base of the keyboard and on the mouse and is wonderfully bright. He got it from Sports Direct. He refused to get trainers from there as they were, in his words, over priced and too expensive, so I got a replacement pair from Amazon. He wanted a particular brand because it had lasted well in the past - a reasonable thing to consider - and Amazon are apparently good about watching for fake brands. It was still half the price of the trainers that he had seen in Leeds. 

Writing stuff - Invitation Accepted Chapter Thirteen here.

Hugs and good health to all. 

Poor Sparrows

 

That is where the fuchsia used to be. Bear has cut it right back. I'll keep an eye on things, but I think the sparrows are not very happy at all. As the squirrel destroyed the fatball holder, and the seed holder is unfamiliar, I think that they have enough on their plate! 

Today bear went into Leeds and bought the brightest, most vivid, orange hoodie that I have ever seen! He normally wears black and black only. I think the stress may be getting to him as he has his first exam tomorrow. 

Today's tiny bit of gardening was watering the clematis and pouring boiling water on the weeds in the cracks of the paving stones. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Tired in a Good Way

I was up late last night as bear, DH and I were talking and joking around. We had an absolute blast, but it meant a late night and I was shattered this morning. One of the themes last night was rats in the garden. We saw quite a few of them and so went out and tried banging on the ground and the bins. They are juvenile rats, I think, and look so sweet, but I don't really want them getting too comfortable. One of the issues is that the water company removed rubble from the sewer in the middle of the street which must have disturbed them, and it's that time of year. This meant that I needed to do something about my incredibly neglected and small garden. I took some 'before' pics. I am ashamed.

This morning I picked up two climbers (Clematis) from Tesco. They were quite expensive so I hope that they keep going. I was worried driving them home. 

I kept everything crossed that I wouldn't be stopped for driving with a triffid in the passenger seat. I actually had quite a good field of vision, but I'm picky and was twitchy all the way home. Still at least I got them planted.

I'm going to be moving a lot of stuff around, and hopefully that will cause enough rat discomfort to keep them mostly away. As it is, I've been moving, digging and generally clearing a small corner and that wore me out as well. 

I wish that the squirrels were that easy to deter. We are on the fourth seed feeder for the bird feeder as the previous three have been destroyed over the last month. Yesterday I was driving up to our house when I saw a squirrel dash across the road with a fat ball in its mouth - another feeder gone. I've ordered a new fatball container and it's described as 'Squirrel Resistant' but I'm not expecting great things. I'll take pics tomorrow. I'm not planning a great clear out of the garden. Instead I'm committing to ten minutes every day. That should get things moving. I'm not planning on putting in anything edible this year. The squirrels and rats are likely to get to anything before us. However, I'm planning on filling the pots with mint and parsley, possible coriander and basil as well. I picked up a couple of live herbs reduced in Tesco, and I'll see how they go. 

Bear was late out of school tonight. He has his first exam on Monday but he still has homework. He's doing okay. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Drama

Bear has been late from school again due to drama. I don't have the full story, but it seems that a significant section of his drama course was missed and he was stuck after school trying to sort it out before the main exams begin next week (I think - soon anyway!).

I've been a bit low, but I'm picking up. I failed at temptation, and three balls of glow in the dark yarn arrived today.

They are 50g each and like that cheap cotton string that you buy in supermarkets. My experiments so far haven't given much glow. I started knitting a scarf while I was waiting for bear and got this far.

But something triangular was calling to me so I unravelled that and started a shawl that will hopefully stand out in dark mornings or evenings. So far I'm just about at the end of the first 50g ball.

As far as I can tell, it's not supposed to be machine washed and should be dried flat in the shade. I'm having too much fun to be stressed about it. If you are interested, I'm using twisted drop stitch (as it makes yarn go further), increasing on the first stitch only of each row. 

Hugs and good health to all.

Temptation

Did you know that you can buy rotating solar powered car aromatherapy thingies? There's one here. I can't think of anything more distracting in a car - and I've had cats! On the other hand, I think it would be kind of fun. And there's the glow in the dark yarn (which is desperately tempting) and, well, all sorts. I keep seeing little thumbnails when I click on Facebook, and I click on them to see what they are, and thats why the algorithm keeps giving me information on wrench sets, because I thought it was a set of candles until I clicked. 

There are some very strange things out there, I'm shattered, and I'm low on resolve. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

I managed a very short walk this morning. I took this pic because I thought it looked nice.

And I took this pic because it shows how close cars get to the wall in a sort of tide mark.

The edge is so clear that most drivers must agree where to stop (me included). 

I called into Tesco where I picked up some seaweed fertiliser (thank you, Wherethejourneytakesme) which I shall apply after the weekend when the rain should have passed. 

I haven't been able to keep my eyes open today, and I completely forgot about the prescription. I'll have to deal with that tomorrow. 

Bear is now growing out of the jacket that we got him in February for the interview. It still buttons but the sleeves look far too short. It makes me chuckle - he didn't want it, then he loved it and now he's upset that it's too small. I'm biased, but I think that he looks pretty good. 

And for further temptation, I really, really wanted to start a new project, but I didn't and cast on the ribbing for the front of the sweater, so I feel a little boost from that. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Achievements

A few months ago, I decided to knit a sweater to donate over Lent. Easter is a distant memory, and so far I've done the back.

This rather unlovely lump is that back. The sweater is supposed to fit a 138cm chest (54 inches) and 70cm long (27.5 inches). The yarn is quite nice to knit, but very springy and the dratted thing is just stocking stitch and so has rolled up all over. It's a nice easy shape so far, though. It's from the Aldi sweater kit and when I saw a couple left in the shop, I nearly picked them up. Even if I didn't knit the sweater (the men in my house don't wear sweaters), the yarn is nice and £9.99 for 800g is a great price. Hopefully I'll make good progress on the front while watching the coronation. I know that there's a lot of hanging around coming up with bear's exams, so I'll be able to knit quite a bit then as well. 

The other achievement today is that I got 3 kilos of onions, reducted to 42p per kilo. They were only Redmere red onions, but they will be great in the usual mince/stew/curry/soup stuff that I use onions for. I was almost out of onion, so I was glad to see them. I left some packs for others, of course, but it's still a good score. I now have 28 very small ziplock bags of chopped onion in the freezer. I'll keep my eye out for mushrooms next, as I'm getting a little low on those as well. 

Now all I need to do is work out how to stop the squirrels chewing through the hook on the birdseed holder and I will have a triumph!

Hugs and good health to all. 

Somewhat Better

I'm feeling a lot better, though right at this moment my stomach is complaining and my joints are aching. I feel that I'm on the upswing though.

I was supposed to get a steroid cream. However when I got to Tesco, they said that they hadn't had that particular thing in for months and weren't expecting any. The cream was on a prescription for the antibiotics, so I got the antibiotics and rang the surgery to see what the doctor suggested. When I spoke to the receptionist there, she suggested asking the pharmacist what they had in. When I asked them, they looked at me blankly for a moment, then told me that they had stuff in that really isn't suitable. So I finally rang back to the doctors to get their opinion and I'm picking up another script and I can go around all the pharmacies. I'm better in myself, but I think that I need this cream.

I've been looking closely at the fuchsia. Fortunately all the neighbours already think that I'm insane. I found a few leaves near the base.

This is in a very sheltered part, right against the wall and near the corner, so I suspect that the frost may have been hard on it - it got down to silly temperatures here, much further than normal. I wonder if that is affecting the plant. I remember reading that some plants are triggered to sprout by temperature and some by daylight length. So some plants will send out their leaves and blossom in the Spring when the daylight reaches a certain length and others when the temperature gets to a certain level. I remember seeing that seeds sent from the USA during WWII caused problems because they were varieties best suited to areas far to the south of the US and not suited for the reduced seasons here. Anyway, I'll give it a good prune and see how it goes. 

Writing stuff - the latest instalment of Invitation Accepted is here - Chapter Twelve I've also posted it on a site called Royal Road, where authors post stories chapter by chapter, like I have been doing, so I thought I would post on there. I'm getting the hang of whatever is going on, but it looks like a good place to browse for reading and it's free. 

I'm all over the place still with the whole writing thing, so all sorts of stuff could end up anywhere. 

Hugs and good health to all.