Tales from The Shire

greent

Very busy over at yours at the mo, FS!

We have a 'normal' (cannister) weed wand - it's certainly not super effective, sadly Very handy for lighting the chimenea though!

Hope the hip gets better soon xx

Fortune_Smiles

greent wrote: »

Very busy over at yours at the mo, FS!

We have a 'normal' (cannister) weed wand - it's certainly not super effective, sadly Very handy for lighting the chimenea though!

Hope the hip gets better soon xx

I seem to be always busy greent but not very productive :rotfl:

The weed wands are a bit.... well, weedy aren't they :rotfl:

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

It's chilly here in The Shire tonight. Fortunately, Mr F has spent the day chopping up some of the wood and pallets left over from the barn refurb. They are burning very nicely I did more tidying and pruning in the garden. Also harvested 3 butternut squash and 4 courgettes. We had frost this morning so I didn't want to take any chances.

The plumber's quote has come in. It's a little over what I was hoping but I've had a look at average costs and they are in line with those. He can't easily fix the stop c0ck though. He'll have to dig down to where it is to replace it and that will be another day's work. I'll ask him to quote separately for that.

Pay day has been and gone and money has been shuffled. A little has gone to savings and a little to over paying. Mr F is away for work for the next two weeks so that should help the budget. Although I now have a guest for the weekend.

In one hand out the other :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Hope all is well in your world

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

It's fair to say that my focus has been a little fuzzy of late. I always find I drift a little when Mr F is away. Today we had a bit of a wake up call though and it's brought things back into perspective.

An old colleague of Mr F's was in the area and popped by for a visit. We were shocked at how changed he was. He has always been an active and social person but that all changed a few weeks ago. One day he was fine and the next he was in intensive care. His body just went into shut down. He's recovered to some extent but has been left with some serious and chronic health issues

It really made me think about how I take my health for granted and don't look after myself as well as I could. Things need to change. I want to make the best use of the time I have and be healthy enough to do so.

I've made a start by following the meal plan and cooking us some nutritious meals:

• Spring Greens and Lemon Soup. I made this recipe to use up some summer cabbage and we really enjoyed it. I was surprised how tasty it was for so few ingredients.
• One Pot Penne with Kale, Tomato & Lentil Sauce. Mr F really enjoyed this one but I found it a bit rich and will leave the cream out next time.
• Creamy Beetroot Risotto. An old favourite.

The recipes made good use of the organic produce that came in my last veg box.

In money news there isn't really much to report as we're still saving to get a new front gate.

My hand blender gave up the ghost. I've had it for a long time and use it a lot so am not surprised. Serendipitously some vouchers arrived the next day courtesy of our credit card reward scheme so I bought a new blender with them. There was even enough left to replace some makeup items I'd run out of

I have 22 items listed on the Bay and made 2 sales this evening

We've been putting the heating on this last week just for an hour or two to take the edge off. Mr F has chopped up some more pallets so we have lots of log burner food.

The local writing course I enrolled on is turning out to be excellent value for money. I've submitted two stories and received feedback on them. This week's homework is to get feedback from other sources to help with editing them. My story on East of the Web is now in the Top 20 overall and No 3 for Fiction I am so chuffed. I'd love to get some more comments though so, if you read it and liked it, do please leave a few words - link here. It's free to read and all comments are anonymous.

I also have an art commission :j I haven't been actively seeking commissions but was approached by someone wanting a pet portrait for a Christmas present. I'm really excited about doing it and it's made me think perhaps I should start taking commissions again.

It's an earlier night tonight for me. One of the 'taking better care of myself' decisions I've already made. When you have a canine alarm clock, the only way to get a full night's sleep is to go to bed earlier :rotfl:

Sleep tight all

Fortune x

beanielou

So sorry to hear about Mr F's friend

Life can change in an instant

the_cross_rabbit

Hi fortune read your story, another good one. I had a friend who went through domestic violence and we'd often imagine how he would meet his end. Couldn't find where to leave a comment.
You never know when life is going to bite you on the bum, so I hope your plans for a healthier and happier you are a success.
CRx

beanielou

I loved the story.
Sorry but I could not see where to leave a comment.

in_need_of_direction

I hope you're charging appropriately for the commission. I also loved the story

Fortune_Smiles

beanielou wrote: »

So sorry to hear about Mr F's friend

Life can change in an instant

I know Beanie :eek: How can I keep forgetting that

Fortune x

Fortune_Smiles

the_cross_rabbit wrote: »

Hi fortune read your story, another good one. I had a friend who went through domestic violence and we'd often imagine how he would meet his end. Couldn't find where to leave a comment.
You never know when life is going to bite you on the bum, so I hope your plans for a healthier and happier you are a success.
CRx

beanielou wrote: »

I loved the story.
Sorry but I could not see where to leave a comment.

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

I hope you're charging appropriately for the commission. I also loved the story

Thanks peeps. There is an options box on the right hand side underneath the title. If you select 'View Comments' it will take you to the star ratings and comments box. Careful with the stars - they take your first choice and you can't change it afterwards :eek: Mr F rated me 3 stars instead of 5 because of his fat fingers :rotfl: The comments won't show until they've been approved by admin.

I sometimes get wrapped up in 'stuff' and forget to make the days count. Every now and then a reminder comes along I'm off to a good start with healthy eating and an early night last night

Thanks again for your suport - it's very appreciated.

Fortune x