NST April 2023: April adventurising

Thrifty_Taylor

@Starlight_at_Sea bagging the bruck is litter picking. In Orcadian (the dialect of people born in Orkney) bruck means rubbish. There is an annual bag the brick week, where people do beach cleans, collect rubbish from the grass verges at the side of roads, etc.

Very tired in wakening this morning, had had a bad dream in the very early hours that DS2 had died! Managed to nod off again eventually, but still having the same dream, so don't feel rested.

Went to town, picked mum up to go shopping & dropped off 8 bags of completed sewing. Home by lunchtime, put the shopping away & went back to bed. Lots of noise with folk moving about, etc, so didn't sleep.

After lunch, I went & weeded the border under the fruit bushes, had to fight with lots of nettle roots to get them out, think I'll be aching tomorrow.

Went for a walk with DH after tea, then we watched a film.

Grateful for spotting 3 pheasants & an owl on our walk, a neater border & time to do more of my rug

grandmanerd

A  quiet day yesterday. I strapped my ankle up early on (needed too rest for a long time) but took it off because I thought it was too tight. I  can wiggle my toes and do a few ankle turns - my ankle hurts but only as if it's still creaky not doing further damage. Went downstairs early in the afternoon (had left DS3 doing parcel watch - it came early in the allotted period) then asked if he was going to go to bed - I explained I wanted to be downstairs for a while (needed food and drink top ups) but I need to have the whole of the couch to rest on).

Mainly read and watched another series but I did go in the kitchen,  filled some of the mushroom boxes with compost and added seeds (labelled and given lids). I moved them on a 'trug' (actually part of a tool box which I used fro my decorating stuff but it held 6 small boxes and a handle so I could hold it in one hand and use my other arm for balancing and holding onto things and I rested before doing the next batch. Using up old seeds to see what happens but the next batch will  be things I really want to get going.

During the early part off the pandemic it was difficult to get seeds (garden departments were stripped bare in the lead up and some of the smaller, very reputable companies had problems with social distancing .  I ended up  buying a number of collections - good  variety and small quantities of things you wouldn't want a lot of. However there were some double ups and I found a couple of ancient packs and some I didn't desperately need.  Now I'm trying them but if nothing germinates I've not lost anything and will gain space  in my seed tin. 

I've filled the front room window sill and have 2 larger trays on the kitchen window sill. I've still got my window sill and the bathroom (unless DS3 sends them flying) and am hoping to get the glass topped garden table set up as a mini greenhouse in the next couple of weeks if I can move these trees into place to make space for the next stage. I gathered more drinks and salad bits (leftovers of the things already mentioned but have added sugar snap peas, beetroot, a large yellow pepper, grapes, spring onions and baby leeks. I have one plum left and an orange (but don't know where that is) and have plans for apples, celery and nuts.

Going too stay in my room for now. I have a large bucket and my grabber so will  collect things and bag them.  Have a small embroidery project to tackle and lots of books, games, a puzzle book and things to watch, I messaged DS3  and he's  brought me the can crusher and filled a 2 l bottle with tap water for me.

Grateful for seeds (very late starting this year), entertainment and resting,

Starlight_at_Sea

Ah, that sounds like a great community endeavour Thrifty, thanks for explaining. Am glad you got use of the coach when you needed it GrandmaNerd, hope today brings more healing! 

5 loads of washing done since 7pm last night, got all the big heavy stuff out on the line to hopefully dry. Was up early to carpet wash mum's room, it's drying nicely now and pleased with how it came up. Still got to clean the carpet cleaner, but that's not so urgent - might even find enough floor to do my room too! So the ship is stabilised I think... 

Have been mainly waiting for my painkillers and hayfever meds to kick in today, am back in bed with a hot water bottle. I have a horrible frog of an annual admin task to do that will take several hours, just going to log on and begin. It usually takes several days of too-ing and fro-ing with various do documents, so if I can fully scope it today I'll know if it's worth dragging personal laptop away with me for a work trip this week in order to continue it!  Will report back later, that I have at least thoroughly examined the frog! 

One positive bit of news to end on - am totally delighted with my £20 stretchy jeans from @sda. Bought without trying on during the unplanned long distance hospital admission last week. Not only are they 14-16 and fit confortably (have been a 18 in almost everything since early  pandemic, but lost weight through combo of shock and stress this last 9 months, and going to the gym as a switch off from caring duties fairly regularly since late sep, though this health kick was interrupted by my recovery from my own surgery late Jan until recently. Havent been weighing myself but had noticed I could fit into more of the older sized 16s and a too-tight 18 that was in the loft). Anyway, these look good enough for work (with a long top) and are comfy, and don't make my knock knees look weird, so I've downloaded the app and will order a second pair, and then should get the five pound reward We don't have this supermarket near us, but it's next to the specialist hospital that I think we will be going back to sometimes.

Right, enough prevaricating! Face that frog!

f0xh0les

Sadly my laptop has decided that today it identifies as a trout, so until DH comes back home and tells it off, I only have my phone. First world problems!
Things cleaned, lunch and supper made, diet stuck to, 2 cakes baked for lunch boxes, no money spent, have bathed and moisturised, 🧺 laundry done. Currently losing the football in the most horrendous manner. Oh dear! 

apple_muncher

grandmanerd said:

I have one plum left and an orange (but don't know where that is) and have plans for apples, celery and nuts.

Uh oh! That sounds ominous... Apple scurries away to hide...

Toni'sfriend

Since it was Sunday I've had a bit of a quiet day. Planted some fuchsias. Little "garden" is coming along nicely. 

I suspect the Boy might be thinking of moving in with the GF permanently. I think he's "sounding me out" as she lives 30 miles away and he's just a wee bitty concerned about me. Personally I think it's the best thing that could happen to him and I'd be more than happy.

How did the emergency alarm go on your phones?  Mine lasted about 5 seconds and Himself's didn't go off at all. His is old though but the Boy said his went off and the GF's didn't. I don't think it was entirely successful. 

Got a lovely piece of roast beef (YS) in the oven. Looking forward to that with some roasties. xxx

Starlight_at_Sea

Ah, that sounds nice Toni'sfriend - lovely to see them moving onto a new stage, and that he cares about implications for you and your opinion (even if not yet voiced!). 

Phone alert worked ok here - but not on 🇺🇦D's which is a bit weird as it is a UK SIM card and far more modern than my smartphone. 

Have made cheats b&b pudding (using tinned custard) with oli0 leftovers - 1 from ring doughnuts, and 2 from baguette, one with the last of last year's mincemeat, and one with some shop bought marmalade that I am struggling through cos it's nowhere near as nice as the relatives marmalade I have since been gifted. Had only a few sultanas left and so improvised....we'll see! Its the sort of puddings my dad enjoys so am sure he will devour them. 

Have made marginal progress with the big frog. 2 of the websites/portals I needed were both down today, so I gave up about 3pm, did some bed-making and caring tasks, and while I had the oven on for the puddings, am baking a load of slightly on the edge potatoes that I picked up for 20p a bag in coop. If I mash, mix with cheese and restuff them they will freeze nicely for workday meals & feed my folks whilst I am off gallivanting for work this week.

Back to the frog-taming now! 

f0xh0les

How lovely that The Boy might be matched!  Congratulations. He sounds lovely anyway. Didn't you do well 😁

lcc86

@Toni'sfriend mine and OH's both went off. Have heard various things about some networks getting the message late or not at all - great stuff in a genuine emergency 

Today was a NSD, up early as it was meant to rain all day and I needed to get out with my share horse so off I went. Timed it pretty well, we stayed under the shelter of the trees for most of it and it only really started raining heavily as we got back to the yard, so we dodged the worst of it.

Not much else done today, couple of small jobs including stripping the bedsheets but still need to put the new ones on. About to put a spinach and ricotta lasagne in the oven for dinner. Haven't used the oven for months (thanks air fryer!) So could be interesting to see how long it takes, it's terrible at the best of times.

f0xh0les

apple_muncher said:

grandmanerd said:

I have one plum left and an orange (but don't know where that is) and have plans for apples, celery and nuts.

Uh oh! That sounds ominous... Apple scurries away to hide...

Hide behind the missing orange 🍊, apple 🍎.
I have just found one lonely stick of rhubarb in the fridge. The other lot was used up over a week ago, and I have been in that drawer 3x daily ever since!  How??
Did not find your missing 🍊 though.