Its days are numbered ...

unhappy_shopper

DawnW wrote: »

Also succumbed to a(nother) lavender plant, some seed potatoes which are supposed to be planted now and be ready at Christmas, and a couple of reduced bits in the farm shop section. I was intrigued by the potatoes. Has anyone ever tried this? Not sure where I am going to put them

Hope this link helps

http://www.allotment.org.uk/grow-your-own/vegetables/potatoes/second-crop-autumn-christmas

DawnW

Thanks for the link Unhappy_Shopper

I will put them to chit somewhere out of direct sunlight (on the dresser probably - a talking point for visitors :rotfl:) and will plant them towards the end of August as the article suggests. I should even have a space for them by then

DawnW

Up early as the dog was barking to go out, and it is raining AGAIN

Back to work tomorrow, so I had better finish off the jobs I had earmarked for while I was off. That means more cleaning, make a cake (I have a sourdough thing going atm), and meal plan for the week ahead. And try to motivate myself of course

OH is due back tomorrow early evening, but will be heading off to visit his mother on Tuesday I think. She lives a distance away, with his sister, and visiting really requires an overnight stay, maybe more to make it worthwhile. Still, he hasn't seen her for a while, and she is very elderly, and has been ill recently

At least he will take the dog with him this time (as his Mum loves her, and would be disappointed if he didn't) so I won't have to leave her for long days while I am at work.

His phone has broken while he has been away, so hopes of no extra spending on his part this month seem to be dashed :mad: It has also made it quite difficult for me to get in touch with him, as he has been getting back late in the evening and I have only managed to stay up to ring him on the landline at the cottage he is staying in a couple of times Men!! Knowing him he probably dropped it in a lake or something :rotfl:

I have noticed that there are far too many 's in this post! Better get on and do something positive - like go back to bed for an hour :rotfl:

DawnW

Well, the weather got better - for a while, and I was able to take the dog for a route march, and then drag out some cushions and sit on the bench in the garden and read for an hour

Came in to start on the jobs I have given myself for today, and shortly after it started to rain. The dog had helpfully climbed up onto my pile of cushions on the bench and gone to sleep by then, so had to be evicted so that I could get them in to avoid them getting soaked (the cushions, not the dog - she can please herself :rotfl:)

It has rained really hard for most of the time since then, and thundered as well, so the dog has been sitting either on my feet or under my chair shaking and panting like a nervous wreck :eek:

The thunder has stopped now, thank goodness, so she has made herself scarce. I saw on the news that there has been bad flooding in some parts of the country, and I must say, I am not surprised given how hard it was raining :eek: It has eased off a bit now, but the road out the front was under a couple of inches of water when I last looked, and we are almost on top of a hill :eek:

I have made up a cake from the sourdough starter thing that has been bubbling away menacingly in my kitchen for over a week. I have made one quarter into a cake (a big one!) put another quarter back in the bowl to start off again - so what do I do with the other 2 portions?? I don't have the kind of local friends who would be bothered with it - and to be honest I only have it because DD2 got fed up with it and 'didn't want to kill it' :rotfl:Freecycle perhaps?? It does smell nice, I must say.

I have cleaned the bedroom and done the washing up. I still need to wipe the stairs down and polish the dining table, but they are only little jobs. What with the smell of the cake baking, and the lavender furniture polish, you'd think I was trying to sell the place :rotfl:

shala_moo

You have a Herman the German cake! I had one a while back.. i also had the problem of who to give it to, in the end i just made a couple of cakes and took them to work and threw away the rest.

What flavour did you make?

DawnW

shala_moo wrote: »

You have a Herman the German cake! I had one a while back.. i also had the problem of who to give it to, in the end i just made a couple of cakes and took them to work and threw away the rest.

What flavour did you make?

It had raisins and apple in it, also cinnamon, and the recipe said vanilla extract, but I put almond in by mistake. It didn't matter though - it tastes lovely. It smelled gorgeous when it was cooking, and so easy, just a matter of chucking it in a bowl and stirring it - and quite a short cooking time too, so not much gas used

I am going to start off one portion of it again, and experiment to see if I can make some sourdough bread with some of the extra goo.

DawnW

Morning all,
It isn't actually raining at the moment - what happened?

Managed to walk dog without getting wet

Lovely toast and marmalade for breakfast

Back to work today

Still, the staffing issue that has been getting me and everybody else down for months has gone :j, so just the restructuring and wondering how to cover the jobs of people who have left the organisation while it has all been going on to worry about now :eek:

OH is due back today but off to his mother's tomorrow I think. At least he will take the dog with him this time, and will probably only be away one night. DS wants to go with him, which is lovely, as they don't get to spend much time together

Must do a bit of shopping at lunchtime - bread flour, apples, potatoes

Right, better get on :eek:

misscousinitt

Phew, just caught up with your diary.

So, firstly, congratulations on your wedding anniversary... and secondly, well done on being completely mortgage neutral and over.:j

I had a Herman last year and it was fun for a while, but after 2 or 3 got bored with it and DH didn't like the smell, ho hum.

Glad the work problems are improving and I am glad that you got more housework done thank I did when I was off last week:rotfl:

I love courgettes - bl***y snails have had most of mine....

MCI

xxx

DawnW

misscousinitt wrote: »

Phew, just caught up with your diary.

So, firstly, congratulations on your wedding anniversary... and secondly, well done on being completely mortgage neutral and over.:j

I had a Herman last year and it was fun for a while, but after 2 or 3 got bored with it and DH didn't like the smell, ho hum.

Glad the work problems are improving and I am glad that you got more housework done thank I did when I was off last week:rotfl:

I love courgettes - bl***y snails have had most of mine....

MCI

xxx

Thanks MCI. I didn't know that Herman had a name, or that he is a boy - I might have guessed from the attention seeking behaviour though :rotfl:

I have just found a recipe for sourdough bread on the internet, and am trying it, to use up all the pots of culture that are lying around. It doesn't look promising at the moment - like a ball of lead, but I don't mind it hanging around for a bit in the hope it will rise. My OH doesn't mind the smell - he doesn't seem to have noticed it. Having worked in farming for 40 odd years his sense of smell has probably got very good defence mechanisms :rotfl:

Not much to report today - OH back from his fishing trip yesterday and now gone to see his Mum. Back tomorrow though, and at least no dog walk to do in the pouring rain for me tonight, as he has taken the dog with him Spent most of the day in London at a meeting, and was surprised how quiet it seems. I was in the Victoria area, and there seemed to be fewer people about than when it isn't the Olympics (if that makes sense). I even got a seat on the tube! I had to smile though, a nice Australian lady asked me for directions and remarked how busy it was :rotfl:I don't think she believed me when I said well, actually no, it is quieter than usual

Low spend day for me today, just bought a coffee, as my employers buy train tickets etc in advance for work travel, and I took my own lunch to eat on the train. I could buy food and claim the money back in theory but it is such a hassle to do that I generally just take my sandwiches as I do when in the office. I only really do expenses when I have to pay out serious money for things like taxis or hotels. There is food in the cupboard, so why charge it to the taxpayer (and I include myself in that category!) A sandwich and an apple from home costs pennies, but two or three pounds to buy :eek: My manager doesn't really 'get' it, and says I should claim as much as is allowed (which isn't that generous btw :rotfl:), but I can't really see the point unless there is significant expense.

Pretty tired, so a bath and early night for me I think!

irishjohn

DawnW wrote: »

I took my own lunch to eat on the train. I could buy food and claim the money back in theory but it is such a hassle to do that I generally just take my sandwiches as I do when in the office. I only really do expenses when I have to pay out serious money for things like taxis or hotels. There is food in the cupboard, so why charge it to the taxpayer (and I include myself in that category!) A sandwich and an apple from home costs pennies, but two or three pounds to buy :eek: My manager doesn't really 'get' it, and says I should claim as much as is allowed (which isn't that generous btw :rotfl:), but I can't really see the point unless there is significant expense.

Hi Dawn. This made me smile - I love the attitude and it's the lack of this attitude in many that saddens me where many seem to be out to grab as much as they can - when in reality having enough and a little to spare is a much more satisfying life. I once ran a training programme for my employer - which involved sending one of my staff to the training centre 50 miles away 3 days a month to run a training programme. He was able to stay locally in a 4 star hotel on the company - fair enough. Imagine my surprise when his expenses claim included his lunch bill for the three days, lunch bought in the company run and subsidised staff restaurant, where his meal cost exactly the same as it would cost in the HQ staff restaurant where he was based the rest of the time.