A Better View 🌄

Fortune_Smiles

savingholmes said:

Glad the weather is kind. The fabled golden orb finally came to town and lingered.

Yes - it wasn't a myth after all 😂

Seasidegal58 said:

Finally caught up with your lovely, lively descriptive diary Fortune!😀
im staying with my DD in the Highlands at the mo and she was quite excited when a linnet deigned to use the bird table the other day. She's also waiting on the swallows who nest in the eaves - they usually appear towards the end of the month. 

Talking of Mynah birds reminded me of a story my mum told when she was visiting her brother during the 60s. Mynah birds had just become rather the fashion then for their talking prowess She was sharing a bedroom with a good friend who was also my uncle's SIL when a largish black bird flew into the room and careered around wildly flying into the mirror before they managed to shoo it out. My mum said 'I think that's a Mynah bird - they are supposed to be really good talkers'. Her friend ( who had just been pooped on by said bird) replied rather sarcastically''Well, I didn't hear it say 'Ouch my bleeding beak when it crashed into that mirror!' (Cockney accent to be imagined here). ......🤭

Hi there Seasidegal 👋 The linnet hasn't visited our bird table but we did have a siskin in the winter.  Our Boiler Guys may have scared off the swallows with all their comings and going and noise.  They are scaring me off too 😂

So funny about the Mynah bird.  We had an escaped parrot in our market town recently.  It reminded me of journeys into London in my previous life when I sometimes spotted parrakeets - there are tens of thousands of them now.

LadyWithAPlan said:

Loving your top! 

You reworking the pattern is beyond my current dressmaking skills but I will get there after a few more dozen courses 

so annoying re the birds and your fruit trees! 

Thank you LaPlan 😘  It's all trial and error with the pattern reworking.  I don't have the skills for it either but I'm using remnants that I got very cheaply so I figure it's not a disaster if I get things wrong.  Anyhoo, it's either rework it or be left with an unwearable garment.  I'm planning to finish the dress at the weekend so keep your fingers crossed for me 🤞

badmemory said:

A lot of animals imported around that time were done quite without conscience.  They spent weeks aboard ships without proper food, then the pet shops.  Back 70 years ago my life savings along with those of my sister went to buy a marmoset from the local pet shop which we had seen whilst out shopping we did not like what we saw.  Checking on its food requires had all the neighbourhood kids turning up with matchboxes full of spiders & the like.  The thing was it didn't live that long.  The reason according to the vet when it got sick was the time spent before us when it wasn't getting its required diet.

Poor thing BM. Such a kind thing to do to rescue it and do your best for it.

Fortune x

badmemory

I still get angry about it.  But at least then you could see who the "villains" were.  Now it is more difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.

greenbee

badmemory said:

A lot of animals imported around that time were done quite without conscience.  They spent weeks aboard ships without proper food, then the pet shops.  Back 70 years ago my life savings along with those of my sister went to buy a marmoset from the local pet shop which we had seen whilst out shopping we did not like what we saw.  Checking on its food requires had all the neighbourhood kids turning up with matchboxes full of spiders & the like.  The thing was it didn't live that long.  The reason according to the vet when it got sick was the time spent before us when it wasn't getting its required diet.

*wonders whether she can ethically source a marmoset to deal with the spider population* 

I've never been a fan of pet shops, and am hugely thankful that the rules on importing/selling animals have changed. The rescue I got my cats from had rehomed over 100 kittens between May and November - and that's just one small rescue. 

Fortune_Smiles

🎵 Come on Feel the Noize 🎵

Knocking, banging, drilling and setting off the fire alarm continues this morning 🙄  But the new boiler is in situ and connected so things should be quieter this afternoon.  We did have cold water reconnected last night at least and should be fully operational by close of play today 🤞

I escaped the disruption this morning by taking myself off to the veg patch and planting some potatoes.  We have 5 more veg beds to prepare but Mr F is back to full strength and intending to get on with those this weekend.  A neighbour's gardener should be dropping by too and I'll probably ask him to help out for a few hours as we've still got a lot to do and it will take the pressure off enormously.  More compost is required so I'll order some today.

We had left over Thai Curry Noodle Soup for lunch with a tall glass of rhubarb cordial with sparkling water 😋  The Boiler Guys had some too and pronounced it 'delicious' and suggested it would be 'perfect with gin and tonic'.  Hmmm - maybe after the work's complete gentlemen 😂

I'm off upstairs to change sheets and get some ironing done.  Hopefully it will be quieter up there 😆

Hope you've got some peace and quiet wherever you are 🤫

Fortune x

Seasidegal58

I hope you don't get the Boiler Guys too squiffy when they've finished their banging and crashing Fortune!🤪

It's a lovely day here today where I am - hope it's the same for you in Shireland.  

Fortune_Smiles

Seasidegal58 said:

I hope you don't get the Boiler Guys too squiffy when they've finished their banging and crashing Fortune!🤪

It's a lovely day here today where I am - hope it's the same for you in Shireland.  

They didn't have time for gin in the end Seasidegal but they did polish off all the rhubarb cordial before they left.

Yes, it's a fabulous day in the Shire again today.  Long may it last.

Fortune x

badmemory

Sounds like they were enjoying the rhubarb cordial too much to get around to the gin.

Fortune_Smiles

Peace at Last 🤫

Boiler guys left at close of play yesterday having polished off all of the rhubarb cordial and biscuits and fixing a last minute leak 😲  The new boiler is much smaller than the old one and quieter and more efficient - we hardly know it's there.  We celebrated with a takeaway curry and a bottle of red before I tested the hot water provision with a bubble bath 🛀  There are a couple of snagging issues to be resolved but, so far, I'm happy with the work.

The house is full of dust now of course and the newly-purposed boot room needs a thorough clean.  I gave everywhere a good vacuum today as a starter for ten.

I made sure I got out in the garden this morning before it got too hot.  I had a couple of spare rows in the big veg bed so planted a row of fennel seeds (leftover from last year) and a row of beetroot (I got a free packet of seeds with a recent garden order).  I've not tried growing beetroot before so that will be interesting.  Root veg doesn't usually do well in our soil because it's quite stony.  I also started weeding the herb bed and planted some flower seeds in an empty pot.  Mr F mowed the lawn, orchard and meadow access track (he loves mowing 🚜❤) and started to dig another potato bed.

We had beans on cheese on toast for lunch and leftover takeaway curry for supper 😋  I also made some more rhubarb cordial (for us to enjoy this time 😆).

I've decided to recut the neck band for my dress.  It's not sitting right and I know I won't be happy if I leave it as it is.  So the option of maxi is back on the table 😆  I did the unpicking this afternoon so I can start fresh tomorrow.

Mr F and I stood in the orchard in our pyjamas in the dark last night to see the aurora.  Neither of us had ever seen it before so we were very excited.  Hope you got to see the spectacle too.

Fortune x

SandyShores

So disappointed to have missed the aurora (although I was sound asleep), so thanks for the great pics Fortune

Fortune_Smiles

SandyShores said:

So disappointed to have missed the aurora (although I was sound asleep), so thanks for the great pics Fortune

It looks better in photographs than in real life Sandy - the camera picks up the colours more.

Fortune x