Another
assortment of odd thoughts as I ramble in my chair. It began life as Toddling on Tuesday twenty four hours ago but I git side-tracked by real life...
Hugo
Welcome to
the world Hugo – nephew to Son-in-law-and-friend-who-loves-otters. He arrived
on Saturday to the delight of parents Dewi and Gary. It remains to be seen how delighted his big
sister Leona will be. In my experience siblings
often don’t fully appreciate each other until they are about twenty (if then). I
hope Leona and Hugo prove to be the exception and are firm friends from day one.
Home
I’m just
about settled in again at home and celebrated the fact by having a massive
migraine on Monday. Fortunately it only
lasted twelve hours but it was fun awful while it lasted.
When I
emerged from bed feeling like a washed out flannel it was to find that the
drains were blocked. The drains in
England are the responsibility of the householder where they only serve his
property but the responsibility of United Utilities where they serve more than
one property. Fortunately my tracing the
route of the blockage eventually led to where the drain is joined by one from
the doctor’s surgery next door. Hooray – not my problem. At least once they’ve fixed it and we can
flush the loo again it’s not my problem.
(Twenty four hours later they had cleared the blockage and all was back
to normal. It was wet-wipes from the
surgery that had blocked it. Wet wipes are allegedly bio-degradable but the water board folk said they don't - it's a fallacy. They just block the drains.)
Witches Beware !
I have mentioned Rougemont Castle Gatehouse,
Exeter, before.
But I didn’t mention that it was here that the last women to be convicted of witchcraft were tried in the 1680s and hanged at nearby Heavitree.
But I didn’t mention that it was here that the last women to be convicted of witchcraft were tried in the 1680s and hanged at nearby Heavitree.
Mailcrossing
The idea behind mailcrossing is that you
create an envelope and send it to four (or nine) other people who in turn send
you one that they have created. Inside the envelope you can put whatever you like
but it is meant to be original and not expensive. This was one I received from Traci in Texas
(addresses deleted).
I like the way she’s told me so much about
herself.
Inside there was a lovely notecard and a
hair clip / brooch she had made.
Because I was a man (the only one in the group) and she knew from my website that I enjoyed cooking she also enclosed a pan scraper for stoneware pans etc. It will be ideal for cleaning the cooker top which is always a bind to scrape clean.
Because I was a man (the only one in the group) and she knew from my website that I enjoyed cooking she also enclosed a pan scraper for stoneware pans etc. It will be ideal for cleaning the cooker top which is always a bind to scrape clean.
I shall show the other envelope I have
received so far when I have time to scan it in.
The postcards still keep arriving, of course. This is a wonderful one from Russdia.
And just look at its stamps.
And it's great to see that somewhere still hand-franks its post. I know the volume of post in most places makes it prohobitive but it is such a prettier result when a human can see that the sender has made an effort with the stamps.
The postcards still keep arriving, of course. This is a wonderful one from Russdia.
And just look at its stamps.
And it's great to see that somewhere still hand-franks its post. I know the volume of post in most places makes it prohobitive but it is such a prettier result when a human can see that the sender has made an effort with the stamps.
The Garden
It has been was a glorious day (yesterday) and I have spent
nearly all of it in the garden.
Gardening - not just lazing about. Though Partner-who-loves-tea and I did take time off for a crossword on the
patio at lunchtime. I'll show some of the flowers in a future post -perhaps tomorrow.
I’ve been planting more pots and weeding and
generally tidying up. Some Nasturtium
seedlings have gone in and the Sweet Peas are now in their final location,
among the canes next to the conservatory window. More petunias are potted up and the first of
the hanging bags is now in position.
I have had a bracket on this corner for a few years but every time I hung a basket on it I walked into it and hurt myself. Hanging baskets are heavy when you collide with them at face height. But a hanging bag is ideal. It stays closer in to the wall and I haven’t come anywhere near hitting it. This first one is full of Petunias. The next one will be by the kitchen window and will have a mixture of trailing plants.
Misty
Misty has by now settled back in to her
routine of being fed by Daughter-who-takes-photos but this was the night before
I left Exeter – she obviously slept in my suitcase because she wanted to come home with me.
Great rambles. I love hearing about the mail crossing and envelopes, etc. I'm surprised to hear that the baby wipes clogged the toilet. Glad you got it unplugged.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favourite sorts of posts - a little of this and a little of that. Very cosy.
ReplyDeleteWe all love your rambling, meandering posts, I guess, and I am no exception.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to read about the last women being tried and executed for witchcraft in the 1680s. I always thought this terrible way of dealing with women that were either just different or "in the way" of someone went on well into the 1700s.
The hanging bag really seems to have found the ideal place, and it does not look as plasticky as I feared!
Pukky used to do sleep in my suitcase, too, every time I was getting ready for going away.
I couldn't have said it better than Pondside.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Pondside. My favourie kind of post, too.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry about the migraine though -- hope that as time goes by, they will abate and beocme less and less frequent. xoxo Carol
I'm NOT surprised to hear that wet wipes clogged the drains. We're always told here never to throw anything like that in the toilet, only the common toilet paper. Well I'm glad the problem was not on your property - and that it's fixed. (We had problems a couple of times at The House, and it is no fun at all.)
ReplyDeleteGlad you got a good day in the garden. I hope you'll let us follow the progress of the hanging bags! I've never seen those here (which does not necessarily mean they can't be found).
Nice read.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to learn of your migraine headache. My brother Big Mike gets them, but he's found a cocktail of drugs that, if taken at the right time, prevents the migraine. My great-great grandmother used to get migraines and referred to them as a 'sick headache'. She would be confined to her bedroom for two or three days until the migraine abated.
Yes, my baby brother has arrived :) I do like him very much. I am always trying to give him a stroke :D When he hiccups I always laugh a lot! Thanks for your blog entry about Hugo :)
ReplyDeleteI recently left a comment for you saying that I had posted a closeup of the Fortnight Lily which you asked for, but honestly I can't remember if I clicked on the publish button. I do that all the time, write a comment and then forget to publish. I wonder does anyone else do that? Our nasturtiums, which I didn't photograph, are actually the neighbors'. They have grown under the fence and give us a nice showy patch by the deck! Sorry about the migraine I used to get them when I was younger but haven't had one in a long while now. I also have neuropathy, I wonder if it's the same kind as yours. I think yours sounds more debilitating than mine. Too bad you had to leave Misty. My Scruffy makes every day a good day for me - and actually for my husband who dotes on him and didn't want another cat at first.
ReplyDeleteLibrarian, I suspect women were persecuted for being diofferent right up to Victorian times (the late 19th century) but just not hanged any more.
ReplyDeleteDawn Treader I shall be delighted to show the progress of the hanging bags which, as you may know, were sent from the States as I've never seen them here either.
Hello Leona - glad to know you like your baby brother and that all is well.
Chris - I think we all manage to forget to press the publish button at times. At least, I hope it's not just you and me. The Fortnight Lilies are lovely and it's a real shame they won't grow in our climate. I didn't know you jad a neuropathy - I'll e-mail you sometime and we can compare!!