Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

Don't remind me about the crazy road, wort   I do blame DH actually, he really didn't like some of the roads and I think he projected that onto me. When you're a passenger and know that the driver is worried that he might lose control of his senses on a precipitous road... I did a lot of driving on the trip and was mostly okay, but the panic attack incident was the day after we'd arrived on Harris and DH had been particularly nervy. I was driving to Huisinish (different spellings) beach and only got as far as the eagle observatory when I had to stop. We decided not to carry on to the beach and it was actually on the way back that I just suddenly froze - I literally couldn't move my hands from the steering wheel and just sat there shaking and crying   I have no idea how I eventually managed to calm down and drive back to the cottage, but I remember crying with relief that I'd made it back.

Anyway... I looked up that moth, Dusty (it came up even though I'd typed in square-root rustic moth) and I'm not sure it was that?? It wasn't really a stripey caterpillar, but it was bumpy. I thought it looked more like a courgette   
Ps sage is supposed to be good for niggly froats. Steep some fresh or dried in boiling water, sieve and drink the still warm water.

pink_poppy

Sorry, I was cut off in my prime as the washing machine had finished spinning. Hanging 14 pairs of unmentionables on the whirly in full view of a workman on next door's roof was a bit uncomfortable    

Farway, that toadstool pic is lovely. I had a faceache memory this morning of a spotty toadstool as big as my hand - I do love this time of year.

twopenny, it was a lot easier taking a pic of the moon in daylight than it was the previous evening   

OT, it's sunny (at the moment), but I wouldn't be surprised if it rains at some point - I could feel it in the air as I was hanging the washing out...

pink_poppy

One of the crab apple trees near us is absolutely laden with yellow fruit at the moment. I tried to take a pic, but it was actually really difficult, so here's a wee snippet...

alicef

Sorry Dusty - if the caterpillar isn't chewing my crops to strips then I wouldn't be able to recognise one from another!  

Just about  survived apple pressing day - had to go to bed early last night; I might be getting a bit old to be lugging crates of apples around.  Had a fantastic day though, weather held and brilliant craic.

Dustyevsky

pink_poppy said:

Anyway... I looked up that moth, Dusty (it came up even though I'd typed in square-root rustic moth) and I'm not sure it was that?? It wasn't really a stripey caterpillar, but it was bumpy. I thought it looked more like a courgette   
Ps sage is supposed to be good for niggly froats. Steep some fresh or dried in boiling water, sieve and drink the still warm water.

alicef said:

Sorry Dusty - if the caterpillar isn't chewing my crops to strips then I wouldn't be able to recognise one from another!  

Just about  survived apple pressing day - had to go to bed early last night; I might be getting a bit old to be lugging crates of apples around.  Had a fantastic day though, weather held and brilliant craic.

Oh dear, I thought I'd made a positive ID.   I'm not at my best at present. Even had to take a pharmacological product at lunchtime to dull the aches. Staying outdoors in the sunshine still seems the best treatment for this brand of lurgy.

Sage? In boiling water? Hmm, are you sure dunking it in lukewarm liquid, like that mentioned this morning, wouldn't do just as well?   In fact, I'm sure I've forgone the sage with that recipe and scarcely noticed its absence.

More mild chainsawing today. The couple who are moving wanted me to reduce all their unwanted trees and shrubs in large ceramic pots to zero, so they'd be easy to transport in the first removal lorry. They weren't the most choice specimens, but it still felt weird entering their garden alone, trashing these plants and dumpy bagging them! They'd taken a trip to say goodbye to their favourite beach while the weather was good. And no, they won't come banging on our door tomorrow, saying, "You cut down the wrong ones!" The plants they're holding onto are in our yard already. A truck's coming for them in a month or so.

Good to hear apple pressing went well, alice. You can come and do ours too if you like, but err, 'craic' suggests you might be some distance from here.....

P.S. Sometimes a snippet is better than the whole thing, pp. The other day I tried to do the whole of this Abelia, but 'twas no good. It's still not up with Farway's fantastical fungi photograph!

pink_poppy

Sorry you're feeling carp, Dusty. I agree being outside in the sunshine and fresh air is the best medicine. I saw the sage thing mentioned on another thread, so not actually tried it myself. You could always try gargling with whisky   
I'll have another look at the caterpillar id - I was on my phone and I do better looking at things on a big screen.
Lovely Abelia pic, it reminds me of another plant that I can't remember the name of, but a different pussycat we had used to eat the flowers   

Off topic, but does anyone on here have a smart meter?? We've been getting letters from our energy supplier saying our meter is old, the certificate is out of date etc. This coincides with a local news report putting the frighteners on people suggesting that some meters might not work after something is turned off and on again (I can't remember what it was) and folk could be without electricity/heating. I do feel like we're being manipulated into getting a smart meter whether we want one or not

OT, it's looking a bit grey and cloudy out there this morning.

greenbee

I have a smart meter. It sits in the meter box just like the non-smart one at the old house, and I read it occasionally to check the bill is correct. It’s come in handy with solar, getting the odd hour of free electricity, getting cheap rate at night etc. I’m about to move myself onto octopus agile for the winter as I’m not exporting much solar so can save money by load shifting to cheap periods when there is lots of wind.

YoungBlueEyes

I love your pics pp, I didn't spot that that was where they filmed Whiskey Galore. Worth the journey then but not a return visit, what with them roads and all Just reading about you with your hands stuck to the steering wheel was making my heart race! Did you scrump those crab apples?

My flag isn't as ...prideful... now thanks wort, can't even feel it really. Still looks a bit ugly mind. Sounds like we had the same weather on Sunday, it pished it down in the morning but cheered right up the aft  

I wonder how lop is offensive then Farway? The only two uses for lop I know of are lopping down trees and fit as a lop, which I thought meant a hare..? Woohoo for your canna flowering again

I've no wine in the house 2p for I can't drink it - it makes me itch. I drink the hard stuff or I don't drink. Tea and a book in the garden is a regular occurrence for me though Oh and a cider shandy when the weather is nice, with soda not lemonade. Very refreshing, can recommend  

Apple pressing day sounds like good fun alice, even if it is tiring Do you just do your own or is there a bunch of you? 

That makes me want an Abelia even more Dusty, I think that's lovely. And it'd give me something myrtle-y to look at while my myrtle is in "Oliver!" mode - reviewing the situation (Love that film.)  How's the soar frote and lurgy in general? Your friends saying goodbye to their favourite beach made me gulp... why is that so poignant 

OT well it's a bit brighter now, it was properly misty and murky earlier. Mild and still and calm, and not much change in that today. That'll do. The geese went over here yesterday aft, there must have been hundreds of them up there! The V formation thing only works up to a certain number of geese evidently, they were all in wraggedy W's and fighting for a go at the front/s. Somebody ring Stephen Hawking and tell him physics needs updating  

wort

Trip to town was an appointment, I was dressed for rain and cold and it was sunny, only nipped in a couple of shops. Will be going again today to return one of the items bought, and go with DGS for his orthodontist appointment.

Dusty I can see my Abelia from here,through the front window it does very well with neglect and is in an old half whiskey barrell so poor soil for years. I have the variegated version at the back. Agree it’s so pretty up close.

I have a smart meter but doesn’t seem any different from a normal meter, except octopus sometimes send emails saying if you use less on this day and time it’s cheaper.

Pp I couldn’t be drinking sage tea, as for some reason I don’t like sage. Weird but true. It did well in my garden but I gave it away in the end.

Bin day so green should get emptied, it was quite heavy. They’ve been already for the black bin.
Grey and overcast so far, will check before I go out later.

YoungBlueEyes

I forgot to refresh before posting :rolleyes:

I don't have a smart meter pp, but from what I remember when I used to read the energy board on here - old meters do have a safe life span and have to be replaced after so many years. You can say you don't want a smart meter but if they don't have a refurbished one to replace yours with you won't get one. It could be that yours is beyond itself now or it could be a forced take-up, I wouldn't like to guess. I remember reading they've got quotas to fill...  

Read through some thread over there, it's possibly already been asked. Put your thick skin on before you go - they can be kinda harsh over there.