Simple living in the country - back to basics

EssexHebridean

A power scythe sounds like awesome fun!   

Cheery_Daff

themadvix said:

It looks like plenty to me Cheery, but mostly nice stuff. The power scythe sounds like a brilliant idea to save your back and you some time.

What homesteading video do you watch for company when cooking? It sounds like a nice way to cook

I enjoy watching The Homesteading Family - they're in America and have 10 kids 😮 so a very different life to me! But they're so *nice* and practical, and their little 'pantry chats' where they just talk for half an hour about what they've been up to, and answer a few questions, I find utterly charming. Make me think I can grow and preserve and sew and make too! 😁

Not sure I've ever watched while cooking before, but thought it would be a nice companionable thing to do 😊

I've never even seen a power scythe in real life 😮 And they're about as rare as hen's teeth to hire it seems 🙄 I've rung about 8 hire shops today - only two actually have one, and both are an hour away. One is charging £232 for a day, including VAT and delivery - the other reckoned £108 also inc VAT and delivery, but the second said they'd email a quote and they haven't. If they do, I'll be going with them.

It's basically like an industrial size mower, but instead of a blade that goes round, it's a couple of blades that slide over each other, so it's more like a scissor motion (but doesn't look like a giant pair of scissors on the front 😂). Excellent for cutting long, tangled, damp grass so I'm told - which is exactly what I have 🙄

Anyway, fingers crossed. I'd want to do it in the next couple of weeks before everything starts properly growing. That would remove all of last year's stuff. And it might mean that I could manage all of it by hand in the autumn, because it would all be new growth (which is easier) rather than old, thatched stuff.

Just an experiment, but worth it if it works - and if there's enough time I can always do a path round the tree fields too 😊 although that's downhill, so I might never get it back up again 😂

The first place reckoned I might get it in the car, so that would make them a lot cheaper - they were charging over £100 deluvery!

Cheery_Daff

Cheery_Daff said:

3-3.30:Tea and admin
* cup of tea 😁
* ring round to see if I can rent a power scythe
* set up computer in kitchen to prepare for later

3.30-4.30: DIY
* final coat of oil on the skirting boards
* get DIY debris (old paint cloths etc) out of new bedroom

4.30-5.45: Flylady home blessing
* put the podcast on and crack on! 
* pick up surfaces, hoover, dust, mop, wipe windows, whatever else I can fit in while she's waffling

5.45-6: bedtime treats for chickens

6-7: Batch cooking!
* homesteading video on for company and encouragement 😁
* big pot of brown rice for the freezer
* big pot of quinoa for the freezer
* curry?
* lasagne?
* something else using up some beans?

7pm onwards: freestyle
* depends how I'm feeling by this point - maybe flute practice, maybe a bath (although not if stuff is still on the stove/oven of course), maybe a bit of decluttering of clothes

Doesn't feel like very much time when you break it down like that - best get on!

Ok, so I'm a little while behind myself But I did just nip to the village shop for loo roll and milk (somehow spent £7.20 as I noticed they had veggie burgers back in stock, and I do like to encourage them to stock them!) Also bumped into a neighbour on the way walking his dogs - it's his 76th birthday so we stopped for a little chat Mostly about various people's ailments  

Just having a cuppa, and then I'll get on, I think with the flylady podcast. Always feel better after I've had a tidy round, and I don't seem to be able to do it without someone giving me instructions...  Then I WILL get on with some batch cooking, even if it's just rice!

Cheery_Daff

Oh, and my Prolific things all got approved so I've cashed out £14.77, which is already in the bank, hooray! 

Baileys_Babe

I've just come back from investigating power scythes before today I didn't know they existed and I have no need of one but I researched because I had a complete knowledge void 😁 thanks @Cheery_Daff for filling a void

Cheery_Daff

Ha, glad to be of assistance BB! 😂😂If I do end up managing to hire one I'll take a picture of me with it 😂

Right, had half an hour with a cuppa and reading the grocery challenge thread and various recipes. Now going to do the Crisis Cleaning podcast (45 mins of running round pretending you have visitors arriving soon 😂) and then on to some cooking!

Cheery_Daff

Phew! 

Living room, kitchen/dining room, and bathroom cleaned - and everything else ignored 😂

Then I've cooked a GIANT pan of brown rice, another of quinoa, and a pan of extremely tasty red lentil Dahl. 

Chopped up mushrooms and onion for something else, but the pans were so massive I couldn't get them all on the cooker 😂😂 So another bit of cooking due tomorrow I think.

No time to really do anything else now, but I'm pretty grubby so might have a shower.

Pleased with that, feel like I've had quite a productive, satisfying day today!

beanielou

Go girl.  You are on fire!

Karmacat

Oh my word!  I'm seriously impressed at the batch cooking, well done you!

Cheery_Daff

Thank you 😁 Didn't feel that exciting 😂 but it was good to have my homesteading videos burbling away, and now the freezer has 8 portions of rice, 6 of quinoa, and 4 of dhal so that should help with easy food next week. Going to make something else tomorrow too 😁

Stored it all laying nice and flat in plastic bags - I LOVE doing this, can fit loads in the freezer and it defrost really quickly (and it feels completely bizarre and efficient at the same time) 😂