Tales from The Shire

More ups and downs :rotfl:

I managed to find reasonably priced house insurance through the C0-0p. Their policy allows you to have up to 2 lodgers/paying guests as standard It did mean I had to telephone them rather then go through the website. Meant I lost out on the on-line discount but I am a C0-0p member so got a larger discount on that basis They also have a special incentive on at the moment and I'll get £50 in C0-0p vouchers in a month's time :T

Took FDawg to see the kennels and he coped far better with a first visit than I expected

Got home to find that Mr F had hurt his back mid fruit cage assembly He managed to get in the bath only to find that there is still a leak It looks as though the waste seal has failed so that's another job to add to the list.

We did manage to have our day out today though Mr F took a walking stick and we still have some of his prescription left from when he last hurt his back so that took the edge of enough for him to manage. We had a shorter but very enjoyable day but Mr F spotted some garden furniture he "really, really liked" at a "very, very good price". I found myself talked into it I'm cross with myself as there are other more pressing things we need to sort out but it's done now. It'll mean less of an overpayment on the mortgage this month but he's the one who'll have to work for longer as a result so his call. We are beyond hope And I have to admit it was a very, very good price. Other than that we only spent a little on lunch and refreshments and it was a lovely, lovely outing. For those of you with an eye for detail, yes - we have a lot of garden furniture now

FDawg coped reasonably well with his kennel stay. They put him into the run when he first arrived and he was a little reluctant to come to them when it was time to go in. He did come in the end and was relaxed enough to eat his beef hide chew in the kennel. That's a very good sign because, if he is feeling anxious or scared, he won't eat it. He had a walk and a bath. I'd asked them to bath him if they felt he'd be ok with it. He's used to baths at home and quite enjoys them. I thought it would mean a little more time out and interaction for him plus he needed one He smells fabulous now

Whilst we were letting FDawg run around the field this evening, we discovered that our gate post is completely rotted away at the base - which explains why our gate has been dragging on the ground for the last week And, there is a wasp nest under the eaves of the attic Plus, we have the quote from the electrician and it is not quite as inexpensive as we'd imagined

Never mind, at least I'll be able to sit in the garden on fabulous furniture whilst pondering where the money for all this is coming from :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Despite all of this, I have made an OP of £506.11 for the month

Fortune x

Mr F and I spent all day putting the fruit cage up yesterday. His back was still a bit sore so he directed and I did most of the grunt work. And it definitely was grunt work - with all my huffing and puffing and groaning it must have sounded just like centre court at Wimbledon in our veg patch. It didn't help that we chose to drive steel pools into the ground after it had been baked for days and days by the hot sun. Nor that the fruit trees and bushes are in full foliage and, almost, full fruit. I was scratched and stung and dirty from head to foot by the time we'd finished. However, it is done now and looks great. We may even get some fruit for ourselves this year Although I'm not sure whether the cage is designed to keep the birds in or out. When we took FDawg for his walk this morning, there were three little birds flitting around inside. We think they were Chiffchaffs. We let them out and are hoping that they sneaked in when we left the door open yesterday evening and we trapped them inside when we closed up. We'll have to see whether they are in there again tomorrow. Mr and Mrs Blackbird were the main fruit thieves and they definitely can't get in. They have been flying up and down the veg patch complaining that we've deprived them of the raspberries :rotfl:

Meals have been a little neglected of late - we've just been going for what's quickest and most convenient. Although I did manage to rustle up a Warm New Potato Salad with Bacon & Blue Cheese last night.

Today I plan to get a few small chores out of the way and then spend the day painting. I need to concentrate on getting the WI painting finished otherwise I'm going to run out of time to get it framed.

Tonight we are going back to the music festival for an evening concert. Should be a great night.

It's Friday peeps :T Enjoy your weekend.

Fortune x

rtandon27 wrote: »

Happy Friday!!!:j

Well done on completing the hard graft job - hope you had a long soak with some bath salts to ease the aches afterwards.

Fortune that recipe is what dreams are made of! Mushrooms, bacon, blue cheese all in one dish - OH will be trailing this chez nous very soon!:D

A long soak would have been lovely RT, if only our bath wasn't leaking :rotfl: A nice hot shower had to suffice.

I've been trying out a lot of salad recipes this week. The Salmon & Brown Rice one got a thumbs down from Mr F because he's not a fan of cucumber and it needed about three times the dressing in the recipe. Halloumi with Lentil Salad was a hit.

beanielou wrote: »

500 is still an awesome awesome repayment.

You're right Beanie and we have had to pay out for house insurance this month too along with quite a few social events We will have to up our game though if Mr F is to retire any time this century :rotfl:

Fortune x