In Brief

I had a quick dip in here to look for something, and thought I'd make a brief post to say that it's all as usual while I'm here. 

Bear has Covid. Poor kid is really poorly with it, but better to have it now than when he is away at university. He's been huddled down with throat sweets and painkillers and generally suffering. DH and I have also been affected but not nearly as badly as we have had vaccines in the past and bear, being young and healthy, hasn't. 

By the way, if you drink most of a bottle of water, crumple up the bottle, add some soluble painkiller and put the lid back on, the gas escaping from the tablets as they dissolve will expand and push the bottle back into its original shape - with sound effects. The men have been suffering but they are still curious about the world and love gimmicky tricks. 

And I managed to scrape my elbow falling downstairs. This is an improvement on past falls as I have a shocking track record of dislocations and torn ligaments, but this time I found it kind of funny. I was carrying an armful of flimsy carrier bags to return to the Morrison delivery driver (10p back for each one) and they flew up and sort of drifted down like dingy, ragged snowflakes. Poor bear came rushing and then just sighed as he saw that I was not only unhurt but surrounded by chaos. 

Here are two of the replacement chilli plants.

And a recent score

But the battle of the bugs continues. They have sticky traps, they have been sprayed with fancy soapy stuff and they have been left out when it finally rained. Efforts ineffectively continue.

I have been entertaining myself by watching the extremely stout woodpigeons swaying and flapping wildly as they perch on thin elder branches as they try and feast on the berries. I'm sure that they're using more calories than they're getting, but they look like ruffled, old fashioned, elderly bank managers that have slipped on a wet floor and are losing their dignity. However undignified, the woodpigeons obviously think that the elderberries are worth it.

I've also been watching those 'build a cabin in the woods' type videos on YouTube as in theory they couldn't possibly tempt me to try something new and shop for another hobby. I am thousands of miles away from the wilds of Canada and the jungles of Vietnam and I cannot be trusted with something so technical as a saw or a hammer. All I need to do is watch. I have some doubts about the constructions, though. After a few sessions, I feel that Alaska must be almost knee deep in hastily built log cabins, all with immaculately black stoves and a lack of bathroom facilities. There is also no disclosure about where the builders are sleeping in between long days of chainsaw wielding and I find myself wondering if some of them are actually in a luxury motorhome, just a little off camera.

I've been watching the videos while knitting this.

I'm knitting the jacket, and while it's an easy knit, it's not an easy knit. I'm a larger lady with an over ample bosom, and the body is knitting in one piece until it splits for the arm holes. I have over 220 stitches in chunky and the piece is currently around 18 inches or 45cm long. It's heavy, bulky and evil to manoeuvre and I had to get an extra long circular needle to manage the number of stitches. I'm looking forward to wearing it. I'm not looking forward to the last few rows on the body when I'll be holding a lot of weight on just a few stitches. Still, there's not too much making up to do and that is a bonus for me. 

We have a leaking pipe and the most likely source is behind a pile of junk so I'll be sorting that out tomorrow. What with one thing and another, we haven't really been paying attention and now we have damp patches on three floors. 

Another thing that I spotted on YouTube is that you can make soapy water from ivy. I am currently refusing to try it on the ivy running rampant in a corner of the garden, and I'm fairly safe from a random attempt at bushcraft in my garden because I think that it's the wrong sort of ivy. I know a few easily accessible stands of suitable ivy, though, and if I give in and try something, I'll share.

I'm doing a little better in myself, and I'll probably be back in a few weeks. 

Hugs and good health to all.