Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2024

Hello all. I must admit to yearning for one of those afghans you mention @Tui34, until I stood next to my friend who had one and the smell quickly put me off the idea. Thank you @Busy-Lizzie for the info about @Obelix-Vendée. You must have a lot to complete before next Thursday.

 

Morning everyone, a cold bright start here. More bulb planting today I think. I must chase the garage too, I had the gas struts that help lift up the hatchback replaced as the old were weak and not holding up in cold weather. They replied them n June but as soon as the weather cooled I was back to the same problem.

Sorry for my confusion re the signing out. I think it must be the phone, but if I come away from the site and go back I find that I'm logged out, sometimes it even logs me out mid post!!

 

Yesterday was spent doing a massive washup "pre no hot water tap" and bottling pickled onions. That required an amount of detective work to find jars, get production line of clean jars and lids, onions, sprigs of rosemary, bay leaves and small chillies, jug of vinegar lined up. I was part way through when I poured some vinegar into one of the jars and saw the vinegar spreading all over the work surface. I thought I had missed the top of the jar so tried again, more vinegar all over the work top. I checked the jar and found a hole in the bottom! Not happy. (Much later I remembered finding a sliver of glass in the sink after washing up and wondering where it had come from. Now I know) Managed to find another whole jar to finish the job. I now have 4 jars of pickled onions ready for Christmas.
I did a big Tesco online grocery shop in the morning which was due to be delivered between 10.00pm and 11.00pm but I had a phone call at 9.00pm asking if I would like it delivered in 5 mins. Yes please! Sadly my Christmas treat of a bottle of Warnincks Advocast was not available but I have time to hunt one down. Other brands available but not as nice, in my opinion.
Unbelievably I managed to get some dog towels and blankets dry outside, I just had to finish them off in the airing cupboard overnight.
Rob is a bit fed up not having his daily walk but everywhere is sodden around here where we usually walk and with short stumpy legs he gets so muddy.
It is a glorious sunny morning ideal for gardening except the water level is so high the ground is like a bog so no gardening again.

 

Good morning!

I wish I had your energy, @Busy-Lizzie . My Christmas cards won't be started for another week or so, and we have yet to write our "round robin" letter. I guess your imminent departure for France must concentrate the mind a bit, particularly with having two gardens to care for... mine was partly under water yesterday, and is now frozen, so pruning the droopy branches on the beech trees (which annoy OH when he's mowing) will have to wait a bit. But at least the sun is shining!

At the moment I don't know what to prepare for Christmas visitors. The plan was for our son & family to come over from England, just after Christmas; but DIL's father is unwell, so they may not make it. We'll no doubt be entertaining the Irish-based granddaughters and their parents, but our daughter is on a very restricted diet (FODMAP) to try to get to the bottom of her severe reflux, and I'm not sure what she'll be able to eat by then...

The sun is shining through the living room window onto the back of my head. It's quite warm! Still white on the ground, though - very beautiful.

 

As an impoverished newly qualified teacher I went to a railway Lost Property shop and bought myself a camel coloured duffel coat for next to nothing which served me well for years. My boyfriend at the time hated it. He said I looked like Paddington bear in it. I always fancied an Afghan coat and I was envious when I saw them being paraded on other people but they were too expensive for me and the smell was the final straw.