"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

I want her to spend her time cleaning, not tidying  

greenbee

I tidied enough for the cleaner to clean. There's a lot less dust, cat hair and dog hair. I never regret a penny I spend on her - the impact on my quality of life is significant.

There are a few slots of low-priced electricity tonight, so the DW (which would have had to go off anyway) is set, and the bedcover from the front bedroom is on a cold wash (plaster dust, cat hair, cat footprints I expect) so it can go in the TD on cheap rate, while a hot white wash goes in the WM and can then dry on the airer by the hall radiator. Daytime prices tomorrow aren't great, but they do drop early afternoon (when we also have sun) so I'm hoping to get some more laundry done then. I don't have a huge backlog, but didn't get any done while the electricians were here and have been putting it off while the house has been so filthy. 

One garden waste bin has been filled, and the other is waiting to be done (they go out on Monday night). My gardener is due tomorrow - he thinks he'll probably be coming, so I've given him the list of what needs doing (several days' work, but there are some things that are non-urgent that are kept for slow days/bad weather), and he can decide in the morning. If it's safe for him to travel, it would be good to get a few things off the list. I'm hoping to get some gardening done myself over the weekend. If the gardener can't do the planting, then I'll need to do it, as the bare root stuff will start to dry out. 

I've found some new slow-feeding bowls for the dog that slow him down to about 10 minutes per meal (as opposed to under 10 seconds), as they have rotating sections - we've tried one this week and I've just ordered a couple of others with different patterns as they're on offer. Between that, frozen kongs, and frozen lick mats he's being kept fairly busy and hopefully stimulated. 

I think the drain work (paid for yesterday) may have solved the problem of the smell from the septic tank, but it may also be too early to tell. No update from the electricians as to when they'll be back to a. do the last couple of data sockets and b. do the next lot of solar panels. No quote/update from the plumber either. I need dates from both before I can book the plasterer. 

Nothing done about food growing yet, which I need to get on with. Nothing done about sorting out finances, which I also need to get on with. 

greenbee

Gardener is here - hedge almost done, so trees should be planted today too and maybe some other stuff done. 

Solar is generating, so once the battery is full I'll do some more laundry (I got two loads done last night, and the fleece that didn't dry completely in the TD is on the heated towel rail airing, while the sheets and pillowcases are on the airer in front of the radiator. A wool wash and a mixed wash should see me pretty much caught up (apart from bedcovers with cat paw prints on, some visitors towels (not urgent) and my duvet cover (can wait until the ironing basket is empty again!). Cat and dog bedding/towels etc need doing at some point too.

Hoping for a fairly peaceful weekend catching up on things, but first need to do some catching up on work. 

Alchemilla

It is always soothing to hear of your doings. Your home sounds so well run and productive.

greenbee

Alchemilla said:

It is always soothing to hear of your doings. Your home sounds so well run and productive.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

It's total chaos and not at all productive (I should be working right now).

Hedge is planted, trees are planted, back of fence is cleared, neighbour is coming round tomorrow to look at the fence and gardener has offered me Monday as most of his clients don't want him at this time of year. Had said I'd wait and see whether the neighbour can do the fence, but actually there is so much to do here he might as well come and get on with some of the rest of it. 

Hoping for some reasonable electricity pricing this weekend too so I can shift some laundry (always makes me feel virtuous) and baking (need healthy snacks and to avoid the petrol station). 

First snowdrops spotted in the garden. I might start pulling up the plastic daffs this year as they come. Particularly the straight rows under the hedges. I can always bung them in the wood at the bottom of the fence once the new posts are in. 

redofromstart

When we moved here I pulled the bright yellow plastic daffs out once they had died back and re-planted around the veg plot which did kitchen bunches for a few years.  

greenbee

Can't do laundry tonight as I'm out of white vinegar for the rinse cycle. And daytime pricing tomorrow isn't fabulous so no baking (but weather should be good, so hopefully I can get lots done in the garden). 

Now trying to decide what the next batch of trees to order is... possibly another cherry (spring flowering, I now have two winter-flowering and one spring), and a couple of crab apples (Harry Baker is on my list). Plus fruit trees - I have and east-facing fence which doesn't get early light as there's a wood to the east, and a west-facing fence which is heavily shaded by the wood, and a patch of grass on the west side that is the start of my 'orchard' as it has my Norfolk Beefing apple in it.

I definitely want to put in a black mulberry and a fig, I have a thornless blackberry and three rhubarbs to plant, and need a dessert apple, possibly a pear, a plum (or maybe two) and possibly a quince. And to not spend too much time agonising over varieties. 

As well as clearing the remainder of the veg beds tomorrow i want to get some stuff sown outside. The greenhouse is sadly in no state to start sowing in, and I still haven't got the heated propagator out, or ordered the seeds I need! So definitely not organised or productive at the moment. 

I'm hoping that the fence can start being fixed this weekend, and that I can get an extra day out of my gardener next week given how much needs doing. 

themadvix

Stop panicking about heated propagator and seeds - I ordered mine last weekend and they have arrived - it didn’t take long. And the propagator doesn’t need to be out until mid-Feb at the earliest, surely? Don’t let all the keen beans make you feel behind- in my experience they don’t know what they’re doing and end up with beans 3ft high in March that will have to be sown again! Every year, they’re always ‘look at this’, ‘I’ve sown 200 tomatoes in January’ - I don’t think there’s any benefit and it just stresses other(busy) people out! (Sorry, bit of a rant there, but I’ve noticed how the internet encourages this one-upmanship!). You’ve got plenty of time. 

greenbee

Thanks TMV. I need to go through my seeds (again) and make a list and put an order in. But not today - it’s sunny, so I plan to spend as much of the day as possible in the garden getting stuff done. There’s still a lot of clearing up to do. 

No laundry until the white vinegar arrives, so no excuses! 

Watty1

Wise words @themadvix