Best wellyboot forward. Pips frugal edible garden adventures.

cazmanian_minx

At least it's a dog you're retrieving - I had to go and collect a very smug yellow horse from next door this afternoon after he climbed over the fence!! His headcollar was two fields down the hill, so he came back in one with 'Cob' written on it, clipped to a dog lead, which he thought was most embarrassing. On the plus side, he let me walk up to him and catch him straight away, which I'm not sure I'd have done if I was a horse who'd just escaped into three acres of decent grass

My garlic is not only unplanted but unbought as of yet - last year's stubbornly refused to grow so I don't have any saved cloves to plant.

Greying_Pilgrim

Dearest Pippi - I was so thinking of you yesterday. We were up to our armpits in the DIY malarkey, and as it was a bit nippy out, DP insisted I wear more layers than the mitchlin man - one of which was (at his insistence) a pair of his old coveralls. Well, my DP is not a huge chap - but he's bigger than me..... So I had to roll up the legs of said coveralls, in order that I didn't trip over my own feet in the presence of power tools....... How impoverished I felt - knowing that you are in possession of your very own designer boilersuit........ Fast forward to making dinner in the kitchen later, listening to 'words and music' on R3 and the TS Eliot poem 'Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock' was read out. Imagine how much I laughed (picturing myself earlier in the day) at the lines;

'I grow old.....I grow old.
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.'

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Are you sure that the chickens haven't *egged* the dawgy on with these *escape-a-pades*? Have we not had a conversation about the trampoline qualities of that Lloyd loom chair? :rotfl:

Great to *see* ya

Greying x

rtandon27

Great to have you back Pipster! - I can loan you a list gene if you'd like - plenty to go round - it's all I've done at work all day!

OH is wondering if you can appeal the tax band rebanding in Mr :money: style?

cazmanian_minx

rtandon27 wrote: »

Great to have you back Pipster! - I can loan you a list gene if you'd like - plenty to go round - it's all I've done at work all day!

OH is wondering if you can appeal the tax band rebanding in Mr :money: style?

I don't think you can - every time a property changes hands in Scotland, the local council tax assessor comes round and reassesses it for any changes/ improvements/demolitions by the previous owner, so they'll be pretty certain it's correct.

Pippilongstocking

Aye lasses there's the ruse the new kitchen has added a band on to our council tax as per Caz and her escaping hosses mentioned.

Pesky jumpy things is it the lighter nights I wonder.

Thanks for that Caz, to be fair we only went up one band but it was a 'sare one' as they only told us in December and backdated it to the sale, so that's an epic surprise (they expected it all in January, erm no) took me nearly an hour of negotiating an epic automated system to speak to a human the day before they broke off for xmas.

Pesky pesky pesky. I guess we should have researched it better as its also happenned to friends last year.

RT list gene much appreciated. Lob it over lass. Thanks to your lovely honey for the suggestion though. If it had gone higher than one band (its gone to D) we'd have appealled its an old house and whilst nice its not that humungous.

Greying thai soup here with lemongrass (5p reduced) well 2.5p only used one. One old carcass from chrimbo for the stock and the leftover chicken from xmas dinner and some store cupboard noodles. So not too spensive. And himself and I are on soup for a meal a day til Feb.

As to bespoke boiler suits, well lovely, I was running round the village with my 'imposter overall' (the fake one he erm, borrowed from the visitors changing room at work for a while, cough) and its long enough to use as a scarf. So I shall be using your poem.

A lot.........:D got my bloods back today everything super dooper normal and so that was at least something positive. Seemingly I'm really as healthy as a hoss after all. So my self MOT went well.

But, i'm not right. Although am I ever. Melted brain syndrome I think she said.

As for the pesky chooks, well, let me tell you now they're all glammed up with new feathers, I'm sure I saw some team formation work and an object lobbed over the fence. Was it the dog, who can be sure.

CAZ I'm buying more from a place in the highlands, they worked fabulously in Orkney so they'll do great with you and me. Linkie here garlic and all alliums are preprogrammed by inner clocks that work with the light where they're grown (true story) so if you got some from 'sooth' they'd likely sulk in our northern climes.

Just sayin' - other companies are available.

KC - yup I start all my onions/shallots and garlic off in trays or egg boxes or plugs they can get a head start now when its cold and there's not much to do in the garden and then when you plant them they've had a good head start and it stops those pesky blackbirds pulling them up.

Also gives you something productive to do when there's not much happenning and you can start them in last years old compost from the boxes/baskets/mud whatever as they'll be planted into properly prepared loved up rich beds when they're ready. So its a good way to use up stuff and get a bit of a head start.

you can also use the stems of onions new growth (frugally, one or two) from each of the new shoots if you're careful and canny as an early 'spring' onion but don't go crazy or you'll stress them.

As they're up before chives they're a great stop gap and a wee teaser of things to come.



Day at least wasn't wasted. Some work, some gardening, more dog chasing than I'd desire normally, so I guess free exercise.

The changing light is obvious is subtle, makes my heart sing and my rolled up troosers seem happier somehow.

Pippilongstocking

Wow who knew my words were back.

Karmacat

Thanks Pippi! I've noticed a little bit of a change in the light levels, which made me very happy I'm also growing on some shop-bought spring onions indoors - I started it just before I got ill, and they look/taste lovely

Be careful on the "not feeling right" biz ... that has a familiar ring to me, I'm afraid, and I've got worse and worse. I've just written out a load of things for me to do each morning, have to take it seriously - echinacea, vitamins, the reiki prayer, glass of water, stretching, and some deep breathing, and repeat a couple of those throughout the day.

beanielou

Keep plodding

cazmanian_minx

Thanks for the link - we only need one bulb though, so that's 80p and £2.90 postage (Blooming Royal Mail small packet rate!) We went up a band here too, since the previous owner built a small one-bedroom annexe for his teenager, so I sympathise!

Pippilongstocking

Caz they're out of the ones I think I'd prefer anyway. There's a guy in Orkney who grew it too, might send him an email, they'd be cheaper and likely even better for you. He's a market gardener so they'll be good quality and my job share is heading this way next week. Might see if I can get some, if I can you're welcome to a bulb.

Ouch re your house, they added a conservatory here (non permanent so no extra charge) but the kitchen is stone extension so that's hefted us up. Pesky things. Hope that hoss is behaving today.



KC - I've a wee routine starting, tea, no internet for while, a quick village walk (like less than 2 minutes) and then a wee something light and vitamins/cold liver oil. I'm stretching my toes but I'm seriously unfit so I'm going to get that walking back up everyday I tell myself. I promise to heed things.



Morning larks.