Today started like yesterday - an early morning of work under a blanket on the little sofa. Unlike yesterday though, this was swiftly followed by a whole-day video call - which turned out to be far less painful than it sounds. By 4pm though I was thoroughly sick of sitting on my office chair, and well in need of a treat, so we made a last minute dash to our favourite cafe, which has recently opened for takeaways. Once inside we discovered tables! Actual tables! And while I am nowhere near inclined to go into a crowded pub any time soon, we were the only customers, so we sat inside for the first time in four months. We only had half an hour before they closed, but it was so very nice to hang out in there again.
More excitement when we came home - I decided to experiment with letting the new chickens out of their enclosure. Peter wasn't convinced, so they only came out for a few minutes of freedom. I think they got a taste for it though.
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Today started early. Not too early, but earlier than I would have liked. I had an unusual amount of work to do today (and yes, theoretically I could have done more of it last week, but that was a bit of a moot point this morning). Anyway, the one saving grace was that today's work didn't have to involve the laptop, and so 7.30am found me on the sofa in the study under a blanket, still in my dressing gown. I did a couple of hours, then had a break for a shower and some breakfast. Back on the sofa again, reading and writing, with a small break to visit the chickens, old and new. They still haven't forgiven us for shutting them all in together yesterday. Our friend Tiny Robin has joined the flock, and was there as usual when it was time for treats, blending in nicely with the ground. Speaking of Tiny Robin, I don't think I've posted this picture from the other day, when he landed on my back (actually I have no idea if Tiny Robin is a he, but since the one male in this household is wildly outnumbered let's assume he is). Back inside, more work. Yawn. Another chicken break later, after we realised Rusty had been wandering round in the rain and was soaking wet. The others are much better at taking shelter, but Rusty doesn't mind wandering round in all weathers. She did have a bit of a cough the other day though so I'd rather she didn't catch a chill. We sat in the chicken run with a cuppa as the ladies started to wind down towards bedtime. Chippy is currently our most affectionate chicken, and jumps up as soon as we sit down. I love the way they tuck their heads right under their wings. I noticed on the way back in that one of the raspberries is ripening. We're not going to have a huge raspberry crop - more enough for a couple of breakfasts than endless jars of jam, but I'm hopeful these will start producing more now I've stopped moving them around. Actually, looking at that picture I can see that something's started eating it already. Hmm. Anyway, back on the sofa, yawn. At least it was warm and comfy, and gave my back a nice change from sitting in the office chair. Like yesterday, if the chimney hadn't been full of twigs from the jackdaws' nest, I would definitely have lit the fire today. They've gone now, so I might get the chimney brushes out at the weekend. Finally I finished, or at least got to the end of what I could handle in one day - over twelve hours since I started. I know people regularly work twelve hour shifts, but I don't, and when I did it involved walking around and being with other people, not sitting in a room on my own staring at a screen. It was still raining, but I was very much in need of a walk, and when I got outside it wasn't as bad as it looked. I didn't go far, just half a mile out to the road and back again. But it felt SO nice to be walking, even in the drizzle.
A quick chat with my mum, a hot chocolate, and I'm not far off bed now. Tomorrow is a whole day video call - a frightening prospect but one which can't be avoided. I think there's definitely going to be a need for a walk in the evening again. Wonder if they'll notice if I call in from under a blanket on the sofa?? Today has been a good day. This is the second vase of roses from the bunch our friends gave us last week, and I'm very much having them on my desk. I worked part of the day sitting here, then moved to the sofa, where I tucked myself under a blanket to read some stuff for work, and it was so cold and rainy I would have definitely lit a fire if the chimney wasn't full of twigs from the jackdaw nest. Much excitement this evening, when we visited some friends for the first time since lockdown. Since the guidance changed a couple of weeks ago we've had a few visitors here, but not been to anyone else's home. This was doubly daunting/exciting as it meant a trip to the city, where we've not been for nearly four months. It was a welcome bit of novelty sitting in someone else's garden, although strange at first. So nice to see faces in real life, rather than through a screen. Of course, us being out for several hours meant the chickens had to cope with being shut in the run together - we don't leave them roaming free if there's the remotest chance we'll be back near or after dusk, just in case. None of them were impressed - the older ladies at first refused to go into the run and had to be carried, and then all three of them set about chasing the new ladies and looking menacingly at them. We did what we could, creating all kinds of perches and through routes and places to hide for the new ones, and lots of different food and water bowls, and plenty of treats. Eventually we had to just trust that they'd work it out between themselves. We got back around 9pm - two of the older ladies were fast asleep in the hen house. Rusty and the three new ladies were out - I suspect Rusty had been in bed, but heard the car (and the new chickens) and came back out - she has form for doing that. All four of them immediately ran outside and started scratching around and behaving like it was first thing in the morning. We sat inside the run, and within five minutes all four of them had come back in, and the three new ladies went straight to bed. Rusty then arrived, and we picked her up and put her in the other end of the hen house with the two snoozy older ladies - no point letting her go in straight after the new ones and be stuck by the door, or wake everyone up with her jostling. After a few minutes, all was quiet.
I suspect they'll all be glad to be out of the way of each other again tomorrow though. After yesterday's complaining, I made a conscious effort to drag myself back to cheerfulness, starting (of course) with a nice cup of tea. Far too windy to drink it outside, but it was very nice to feel the sunshine through the living room window, and I've enjoyed having these roses which some friends gave us last weekend. I spent quite a lot of the day outside, with no particular plan, and the rest of it inside letting my face recover from being buffeted by the wind. I realised I'd missed National Meadows Day on Saturday. For the last couple of years I've been to open days at local meadows, but that wasn't possible this year, so I wandered into the middle of ours to see what was growing. Lots of things, as it turned out, but it was so windy it was difficult to take a photo of them. I'll write a separate post about managing our meadow I think - each year I learn more and I'm getting a better idea of what needs doing and when. The gooseberries were starting to ripen - not the red ones I planted, but the green ones on the edge of the field, which I've missed for the last two years because the birds spotted them before I did. I've harvested a few (they're now in the freezer) and will keep checking. The blackcurrants are nearly ready too. While I was out pottering round the garden, I turned the compost (and oddly enough later had a conversation with my sister about compost bins for her garden). The first bay wasn't full, but it was becoming a bit of a tower and has had a lot of hay and chicken bedding added lately, so I shifted it to the second bay and mixed it up a bit. Some of the middle was quite dry, so hopefully the rain will give it a bit of a soak today. I also spent quite a bit of time with the chickens, old and new. Peter's built a temporary outdoor run attached to the main run so the new ladies can get used to the fresh air without roaming completely free yet. It also means there's plenty of space for a bit of 'enforced mingling', although at the minute the two factions prefer to stay quite far apart from each other. The new ladies are making themselves at home and seem quite comfortable with us, and when they're on their own, but are very wary of the older ladies. The older ladies are also fine when on their own, but are quite put out about having imposters living in their space. Bessie seems to be on the mend now she has her implant, but Rusty has been acting a bit too quiet for the last couple of days, although she did lay this soft-shelled egg yesterday which might explain a few things. We had a bit of a downpour in the afternoon so I came inside to tidy up a bit, and found one of these tiny fairy eggs that I'd collected a few weeks ago and shoved on a shelf near the back door and forgotten about. I love these - we've only ever had four in nearly two years of chicken keeping. They're shaped just like a normal egg but tiny. I've added it to the collection I keep on the windowsill. More rain, so I sorted out some clothes, and cleared up the kilo of dried mealworms that had vibrated itself down the side of the freezer when the washing machine was on earlier in the day (I'd also left my watch in the pocket of my jeans so that was not a successful wash overall!) Eventually it stopped raining, so back out to do a bit of tidying in the greenhouse, which I'd neglected for so long that the thistles had started growing through the handle of my watering can. We caught a mouse near the back door (probably harvesting the rest of the mealworms from under the freezer) and drove a couple of miles to release it in the Mouse Layby up on the moors (where we release all our mice into the wilds). Once the chickens were all shut in, I made a start on digging my experimental french drain. There's a really soggy area in the field next to our edible windbreak, which gets even more soggy when trampled by the cows, and drains across the gateway, making even more mud. I'm hoping I can drain some of it off into a space in the garden which can stay damp most of the year, and soggy for some of it, and which will hopefully stop the field (or at least the gateway) getting too wet. Bit of a project, at least when you're being stubborn and doing it on your own with a pickaxe. But I thought I might as well take advantage of the wall having fallen down to lay a bit of pipe underneath it.
I don't really know what I'm doing, of course, but other people have laid french drains before so it can't be impossible, right? I'll figure it out. So, altogether not a bad day, and it did lift me out of the funk I'd dipped into. The sunshine played a big part in that, of course, but so did doing something, reading, growing, digging, pottering. I must remember all this next time. I was forty yesterday, and I confess that in all that time my baking skills haven't improved much. Or perhaps it's my decorating skills that aren't quite up to scratch - the cake itself (a whole orange cake I spotted on the Down to Earth blog) was extremely tasty. Basically you whizz a whole orange in the blender and add it to a sponge mix for a deliciously orangey, slightly squishy cake. It doesn't really need icing - the muffin-sized versions I made the night before were fine on their own - but a combination of a silicone loaf tin with no structural integrity and our tiny and slightly inadequate temporary oven led to a cake that definitely needed covering up with something. It might not win any competitions, but it went down very well with a nice cup of tea. Speaking of the Down to Earth blog, you might notice Rhonda's Down to Earth book in the background in that picture. This was my birthday present to myself, and I've spent the last couple of days happily flicking through it and wishing I was retired so I could spend all of my days making cakes and sewing and pottering in the garden. Today it's been raining, so I've ignored the dry stone wall that has been taking up quite a lot of my energy for days, and stayed inside. I had a vague feeling of time just drifting away, without me actually achieving anything, so in the spirit of following the book's advice, I decided to tackle a household job I'd been putting off for a while - sorting out the utility room. This is the entrance to our home, and acquires the usual household detritus that is either on its way in or out of the house. Wellies, recycling, dishes that have been used for chicken treats, rubbish bags, tools, all congregate here, and if we don't keep on top of it, getting into the house becomes a perilous navigational exercise. Yesterday Peter put all the shoes away and took the rubbish bags outside, and today I've spent a happy few hours washing dishes, cleaning walls, decanting slightly damp powdered cleaning stuff (borax substitute, laundry bleach) into airtight containers, and giving the place a good hoover. It felt good. In the course of all this sorting, I discovered a bag of soap I'd made - I never got the texture right, and after goodness knows how long sitting in a bag under the sink, it feels slightly oily. I've left it on the newly cleared side to dry out, and if it doesn't work as hand soap, I'll grate it to mix with the washing powder. I also discovered this candle-making kit that I had as a present some years ago and which got lost in the house move. Again I made use of my newly cleared surface to play with the beeswax. I like this picture on the box. It looks achievable - nothing fancy, nothing requiring endless patience, just a bit of rolling and cutting. I can't say mine look exactly like the pictures, but they're not far off. The instructions said the beeswax sheets would be pliable at room temperature but I had to hold them up against the radiator for several minutes to get them to bend without snapping - not sure what that says about the temperature of my house...
Anyway, I didn't come in here to waffle on about all that, I came in to waffle on about turning forty, but as I'm not sure how I feel about that, perhaps it's best that I don't. Tis only a number, after all - and after hearing of the death of a friend's daughter this week I'm grateful I've lived to see it. I will be sitting down to make some plans for the next decade soon though... I'm enjoying tracking my days, although I'm not sure it makes interesting reading for anyone else. This last week has mostly been a washout - I started sniffling on Monday morning and things went rapidly downhill from there, so other than dragging myself to work, not much has been done. Monday 27th Left for work at 6am. Tired and unenthusiastic, and by the end of the day I'd properly come down with a cold. Met Peter at the cafe on the way home, but the kitchen had closed by the time we got there, so we came home in a slight grump instead. A quiet evening of not-very-much-at-all. Tuesday 28th The first proper snow of the year! Just an inch or two. The new car slid around a bit getting out of the lane, but the main roads were gritted and we made it to the city without incident (there was no snow there at all, of course). A long and very tedious day. I felt like a zombie and was having a complete sense of humour failure all day. Peter had a band rehearsal in the evening, so I had arranged to meet a friend for tea, but at the last minute his plans were cancelled. We still saw our friend though, and didn't get home til after 10pm anyway. Peter slept on the sofa so I could cough and sneeze my way through the night. Wednesday 29th I probably could have done with staying off work, but with six meetings to rearrange and the car due in the garage, it seemed like less effort to just get on with it. I stumbled my way ineffectively through another day (all the meetings got ticked off though), picked the car up, got home about 6 and dozed my way through the evening. Thursday 30th Worked at home, and for all the good I did I might as well have stayed in bed. We met our friend for lunch in the local cafe though which was nice, and had a very quick wander round the charity shops. I tried to work again in the evening but it just wasn't happening. Another lazy evening, and I forgot all about putting the bins out. Friday 31st Left for work at 6am, and after a couple of hours in the office, sneaked off to meet a friend for breakfast in a new-to-me cafe. I was feeling slightly more human, but an hour of walking to the cafe and back didn't really do me much good, and I had a rather unpleasant day of trying to catch up on all the things I'd not quite done for the rest of the week. Didn't get home til 7pm, and after an uninspiring tea of porridge, put my dressing gown on and stared mindlessly at the computer for a couple of hours before having an early night. Saturday 1st Had a rough second half of the night on the sofa. Normally I sleep well anywhere, and for most of the week I've been starting the night in bed, then several hours later when Peter is ready for bed, I've been getting up and sleeping on the sofa. This works well, but on Friday night there was clearly a mouse having an exciting adventure behind one of the cupboards which woke me up every hour or so. I was awake early, and sneaked in a couple of hours of work, trying to catch up with what I'd missed throughout the week ready for a deadline on Monday. We had a lazy breakfast in the cafe, a wander round the charity shops, and then in the afternoon I cleaned out the chicken run, which was as much energy as I could muster. A friend came to stay in the evening so we stayed up til 2am. Sunday 2nd I was awake before everyone else, and sneaked in a bit of work, trying to catch up before Monday's deadline. After a quick breakfast, Peter and our friend left, and I planned to work until lunchtime then have the rest of the day to myself. Sadly Peter's plans were cancelled, so by the time I finished work at 2pm I had fifteen minutes to myself before he came back. Still, I did manage to hang the washing outside for the first time this year, and spent some time outside sorting out a pile of wood to build a new compost bin and cleaning out the chickens. The evening was spent pottering round getting ready for the week ahead, doing an endless mountain of washing up, and other not-very-interesting household tasks. So, the end of the second week of tracking my days, and still no DIY. No sewing or running this week either, and no wall-building or flute playing. One visit from a friend though, and lunch with another friend, and a teensy bit of gardening. Progress.
I so much like tracking my days. Looking back at the small everyday happenings is one of my favourite things about blogging, and now I've been doing it for eleven years I do like to marvel at how much life has changed. Earlier this week I said I was going to track my days for a couple of weeks, to see whether I really was running around fitting an extraordinary amount of stuff in or whether, as I suspect, I'm pretty idle and just talk a lot about the occasional interesting things I do. So here goes... Monday 20th Woke up early so curled up on the sofa with a cup of tea and watched an episode of Call the Midwife while the sun rose before I let the chickens out. Started work at 9.30, and had some disappointing work-related news in an email, so we consoled ourselves (well, me) with a cafe trip (with cake, despite it still being before 10.30). Worked at home for the rest of the day, hoovered for the second time in a day (very unusual, but the floor was filthy again), did a mountain of washing up and prepared lunch and clothes for Tuesday, then some financial jiggery-pokery in the evening (checking the budget, switching savings accounts, that type of thing) before another episode of Call the Midwife. Bed about 11pm. Tuesday 21st Alarm went off at 5.30, and I went straight outside in my dressing gown to open the chicken house. The stars were bright and there was a thin crescent moon and I stood for a while just looking at the sky. Got engrossed in writing a blog post, and ended up leaving late for work, meaning I didn't get a parking space, and after driving round for ages had to park further away and walk back. It took me almost two hours to get from house to office (it normally takes one) and I arrived flustered and grumpy. Nipped outside at lunchtime and it almost felt like spring in the sheltered sunshine. Home by 5.30 but tired, so had a lazy evening, half a pizza for tea, then a nice long bath with a book. Wednesday 22nd Worked at home. Breakfast in the cafe, then a sneaky nip into town for a quick wander around the charity shops. Finished work at 7pm, then had a most exciting evening as Peter had fixed up the new induction hob so we were able to use a pan for the first time since September! I had a celebratory stir fry. Spent an hour or so playing with the overlocker, putting quick seams on some old pieces of cotton and towel for use as cleaning cloths. Went out to shut the chicken house door and found Rusty huddled in the dark at the back of the run on her own - she'd laid a lash egg and had obviously felt unwell, and their eyesight is notoriously bad in the dark. I helped her into the hen house and when I checked half an hour later she was snuggled up with the others. Thursday 23rd Another day of working at home. I nipped out to let the chickens out at 8am and was met with the most glorious view of the sun rising over a mist filled valley. I quickly got dressed and ran down the field, and spent a little while taking photos as the mist slowly lifted to reveal ghostly trees and fields. Spotted the snowdrops starting to peek through the leaves. The rest of the day was filled with a tedious work task that just went on and on (and on). Finished working about 7 again and spent the rest of the evening pottering around putting things away and packing for the weekend. Friday 24th Left for work at 6am, and had a farcical day of sorting things out which ended up with someone (not me) getting stuck in a lift. Arrived home at 5.20, and left again at 5.30 to drive to Birmingham to stay with friends. A lovely evening at a charity quiz event they'd organised, then drinking and nattering until 2am. Saturday 25th As is usual when staying at other people's houses, I was up several hours before everyone else. I made tea and sat at the kitchen table writing a letter to an old school friend until the others appeared at 11am. We went for an amble around the local park to their favourite cafe. I do so love being introduced to other people's favourite cafes, and I think if I lived where they live, this would quickly become my favourite cafe too. After a gentle game of scrabble we had a long and tedious drive home through roadworks and past accidents and I cursed myself for not checking the route before I set the satnav. By the time we got home the fog was so thick I missed the turning to our own road. A quick check on the chickens and one episode of Call the Midwife was all I was fit for, and it was swiftly followed by a much-needed early night. Sunday 26th Up before the alarm again at 7am, and again I curled up with tea and Call the Midwife while the sun rose (or tried to) before letting the chickens out. I'm almost at the end of series 8 now and I don't know what I'll do when it runs out. We went to our second favourite cafe for breakfast. A friend popped by, and we arranged to meet for lunch next week. After a quick (and soggy) pop round the charity shops in a local market town, I've spent the last couple of hours wrangling with chickens, writing this blog post, and doing the Big Garden Birdwatch (tally so far - two blackbirds, one dunnock, and a robin). In half an hour I'm off to a wind orchestra rehearsal, the first since before Christmas (and the first time I've picked up my flute since then too). After that, tea, sorting out clothes, lunch and bag for work tomorrow, and a bath, and that might be the end of the weekend. So there we have it - an ordinary week in an ordinary life. Five days of work, three of those at home. A bit of sewing, a tiny bit of flute playing, one letter written and a trip to see friends at the weekend, but no plastering, no gardening, no running, no knitting, no visitors, no wall-building, no DIY.
I wonder what next week will bring? |
Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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