Simple living in the country - back to basics

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, that's cheerful Fortune! Do you have a Spanish trip planned? And are your Ukrainian guests still with you (sorry, I can't remember if you've already said!)

So. We had a nice day yesterday for Mr Cheery's birthday 😊 and sat on the swing in the garden in the evening watching the shooting stars 😊😊

And I've had a lovely day today working on my 5 year plan for work 😂😂 Not in terms of nitty gritty stuff, but big goals - I like to  do this while I'm off occasionally, as I find I have a more balanced overview than I do if I try to do long term planning while I'm actually in work - I get bogged down in the little things far more than after I've had a few days off. It was an excellent afternoon, and I've made a giant spreadsheet, and even taught myself a few new things in excel too 😂😂

Then I did a bit more hay making - no scything today, just gathering the dry hay and lobbing it all into an out building. I tried to make a bale in a wheelie bin, but couldn't find the string, wool was a pathetic substitute, and I was out there on my own, and was getting far too hot and bothered clambering in and out of the wheelie bin to push the hay down 🙄😂😂 So it got dragged in tonne bags instead, and now is taking up far more room in the outbuilding 🙄



Hey ho. Then Mr Cheery and I went for an evening amble round the town park, and came back via a cheerful brewery beer garden - not been before and it had an excellent view but sadly the music was a bit overpowering...

Moon is glorious again tonight 😊

Cheery_Daff

Afternoon MSE chums. More hay making this morning - I swapped to my longer (and much sharper) scythe blade, and things were progressing nicely - until I misjudged the length and whacked the damn thing into the side of a water butt 🙄 It's been sat in the field for years since I moved the old greenhouse. 

Can't have water pouring unnecessarily over a hay field in a drought, so much faffing with watering cans - and no point watering plants at 9am in a heatwave, so I just topped up the main water butt instead.

So not much actual scything done - especially as then 3 walkers went passed and stopped for a chat - told me to make sure I didn't pierce the LPG tank, and had a good laugh when I told them about the water butt 🙄😂😂

Then we nipped to a car boot sale - a new jacket for Mr Cheery for £3, and some stationery for me 😁 then a cuppa in a supermarket cafe (£4 between us), and now home having leftovers for dinner and listening to a mouse chewing the insulation in my kitchen ceiling. 🙄 Pesky critter. We've had a trap down for a week since I spotted one in the bathroom, but it's been completely ignored. Maybe I should put some insulation in it as bait instead of food! 😂

Mr Cheery is busy attempting to buy some kind of musical equipment on fleabay - if he gets it we're going to combine collection with a day out (and possibly a night out!) at the seaside 😁 the holiday budget might finally get some action! 

KajiKita

@Cheery_Daff, patent go to mousetrap bait here is a tiny piece of left over bounty bar smothered with a blob of nearly dead hazelnut spread. The gloopiness of the spread means they can’t easily pull the food off the base before the trap is triggered (sorry mousee!).

KK 

Cheery_Daff

Ha, we've got some kind of peanut butter and raisin concoction which usually works wonders - I think I need to move the trap (and maybe add a bounty bar and some insulation!)

KajiKita

Cheery_Daff said:

Ha, we've got some kind of peanut butter and raisin concoction which usually works wonders - I think I need to move the trap (and maybe add a bounty bar and some insulation!)

Ooh, I had heard of the peanut butter option but not the raisin ....

By the time you've added all the bait the mouse will be able to make a nest in this trap! 

KK 

LadyWithAPlan

Cheery_Daff said:

Daily swimming is impressive LadyWithAPlan! Someone has indeed dropped out, so I'm in 😊 and yes, maybe they will play that 😊 

Must remember to epilate my legs before I get dressed 😂

Was 'Physical' played?? I must admit to watching a few Olivia N-J clips from Grease etc on y-t over last few days

missymoo81

Hey Cheery! Wow I have finally read all 162 pages! You were my holiday reading of choice! So sorry I’m a bit late to the party, but super well done on the promotion! I’m so very happy for you 🎉🎉. I’m glad you are over the covidness has gone and all the chickens are doing ok. I always find your diary full of ideas and it always inspires me to do things. As in I’ve just been on line and checked my pension age and how many more years of NI I need! Will try and keep up to date this time.

Cheery_Daff

Hey Missy, nice to see you 😊 Goodness me at you reading back that much of my waffle though!! 😱😂 

No, sadly LadyWithAPlan, they didn't play Physical, just a random medley of other things. No fun! 

Mouse still at large in the loft 🙄 As long as it stays up there I don't mind!

So. Another bout of scything done this morning, and I dropped the shorter blade off with a local geezer who has apparently sharpened it for the grand sum of £4 😁 I do need to go and collect it now thought. We'll see if that works any better - although I'm getting on pretty well with the longer blade now I'm getting used to it. 

What else? Had a friend round today and had tea in the garden which was nice. No promised rain here yet.

In financial news, just won £56 on the Happy Wheel, which is very up and down this month, but which is standing at £114 for August, quite respectable for mid month, as long as it continues to go up rather than down! 

Picked up the first of Mr Cheery's free prescriptions today 😁 He'd ordered 3 items so quite a saving. We're both on free prescriptions now as I have a medical exemption, so that's nice. 

Off to see Mr Cheery's dad tomorrow. To be honest I could do with a day off!! This holiday is turning into one thing after another! I had several days of trips to sort out birthday presents (my own fault for not sorting earlier...), a trip to the vets, several lots of visitors, this will be the second trip to Mr Cheery's dad. Wednesday we're off to Wales to pick up something Mr Cheery bought online, so we'll be staying over til Thursday, and I MUST remember to ring the garage to tell them we can't take the car on Thursday morning... Hoping we can still drop it in the afternoon rather than having to push it back a fortnight. 

Then Friday I'm meeting a friend for a walk, Saturday is some little local garden party thing we said we'd go to, and Sunday I might just declare NOTHING IS HAPPENING for the whole day so I can have a rest before going back to work! 

Been trying to get an hour or two of scything in most days too 😮 Going back to work will be a rest!!

missymoo81

Gosh Cheery you don’t sound like you’ve stopped! Going to work for a rest is never good! 

Elisheba

I seem to have a vague recollection of scything at some point long ago, and that it was pretty aerobic but played havoc with my back. Hope it's not leaving you too exhausted!