Good morning all, back to dull and damp after one lovely cold clear day-ah well. Sorry to hear about poorly peeps, have you tried echinacea ? I take the diluted tincture, seems to help. At Capel Manor yesterday the senior gardener was back from his trip to Japan (where did that month go ?) Anyway he seemed pleased with the work we had done in his absence and very kindly brought us both a couple of genuine Japanese weeding tools, so Christmas has come early. The little red handled one is really good for getting down to weeds that are close to other plants you want to keep. Very simple design doesn't look much but works really well. 😁
Hopefully your Brother is now on an improving track @Lizzie27
@AnnaB Your Daughter is obviously a very hard worker, and this reflects favourably on how good a job you did in raising her.
Glad to hear that your car started OK for you @didyw
The cold but bright weather is now over. It is raining with a strong onshore wind. It didn't get light enough for the street lights to go off until about 30 minutes ago. The good news is that with a forecast high of 9C it is now noticeably milder.
The photos below (which were taken in mid-October) are of a lough in the local mountains which is about 400 metres above sea level. There are, of course, higher loughs, bigger ones, and those which are more beautifully situated. However visiting any of them would involve a trudge through the mountains, whereas the one in the photos is beside the road through the mountains (which means I could take the photos without even getting out of the car).
Have a safe day everyone.
"If you have a garden in your library, we will want for nothing" Marcus Tullius Cicero (in a letter to Marcus Terentius Varro, 46 B.C.)
Just back from GP trip for Dad. After a “faff” getting an appointment, the GP today was excellent. Dad’s heart failure has become worse so not great news there (my interpretation anyway).
Can’t be bovvered to do any crimbo shopping today so I’ll have a coffee and croissant and look online.
Good afternoon, It’s been a very wet, cold and miserable day today. We did get out to the SM during a slight lull, but since then I’ve just pottered about indoors, doing a few cleaning jobs and measuring out the fruit for the Dundee cake, which I will bake tomorrow. At the moment the fruit is steeping in whisky and once it’s made, it will have a couple of whisky feeds before the big day. We prefer it to the heavier traditional Christmas cake.
Evening everybody, it's been a horrible day outside today so I've not ventured out at all, although OH did to fetch the paper. He says the walking helps with his hip/knee ache and it's good for him.
Seems Somerset has caught the worst of the stormy weather with any roads impassable.
We didn't have a good night's sleep last night and of course then overslept till 10 am. OH was in his PJ's in the kitchen doing the breakfast when the doorbell rang - it was the cleaners which was rather embarrassing, I'd got the weeks muddled up! We all laughed about it and they cleaned up around us.
Big brother is home at last pending his move to respite care in a nearby care home. Looked really happy, although tired, sitting on his sofa last night.
My daughter has been made redundant but is not too despondent about it, her company have been fairly generous and she gets 2 weeks off before Christmas. I'm trying not to worry about the situation.
I've got one of those Japanese mini scythes @Allotment Boy, apparently they are very useful to chop off clumps of grasses. I'm a bit wary of mine, it is exceedingly sharp and I'm a bit accident prone.
Sorry about your Dad @AuntyRach, it's never easy is it!
Dundee cake sounds fab @Red maple. I've just bought a jar of mincemeat ready to make mince pies soon.
Wasn't Shetland very tense last night, we were on the edge of our seats. We thought it funny that DIL was rather taken aback by the bad language!
Posts
Sorry to hear about poorly peeps, have you tried echinacea ? I take the diluted tincture, seems to help.
At Capel Manor yesterday the senior gardener was back from his trip to Japan (where did that month go ?)
Anyway he seemed pleased with the work we had done in his absence and very kindly brought us both a couple of genuine Japanese weeding tools, so Christmas has come early.
The little red handled one is really good for getting down to weeds that are close to other plants you want to keep. Very simple design doesn't look much but works really well. 😁
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Oh how very sad … RIP Benjamin Zephaniah … a dear and remarkable man and great poet.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/ ... es-aged-6
what a tragic loss … gone far too soon. 😭
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Lovely pics @Badly_Maintained.
So sad to hear about Benjamin Zephaniah. A true original. Loved him in Peaky Blinders.
Just back from a planning meeting for next year's festival - feel quite dizzy with it all now.
Just back from GP trip for Dad. After a “faff” getting an appointment, the GP today was excellent. Dad’s heart failure has become worse so not great news there (my interpretation anyway).
Been a house working sort of day.
We are going to dinner with friends this evening.
It’s been a very wet, cold and miserable day today. We did get out to the SM during a slight lull, but since then I’ve just pottered about indoors, doing a few cleaning jobs and measuring out the fruit for the Dundee cake, which I will bake tomorrow. At the moment the fruit is steeping in whisky and once it’s made, it will have a couple of whisky feeds before the big day. We prefer it to the heavier traditional Christmas cake.
Seems Somerset has caught the worst of the stormy weather with any roads impassable.
We didn't have a good night's sleep last night and of course then overslept till 10 am. OH was in his PJ's in the kitchen doing the breakfast when the doorbell rang - it was the cleaners which was rather embarrassing, I'd got the weeks muddled up! We all laughed about it and they cleaned up around us.
Big brother is home at last pending his move to respite care in a nearby care home. Looked really happy, although tired, sitting on his sofa last night.
My daughter has been made redundant but is not too despondent about it, her company have been fairly generous and she gets 2 weeks off before Christmas. I'm trying not to worry about the situation.
I've got one of those Japanese mini scythes @Allotment Boy, apparently they are very useful to chop off clumps of grasses. I'm a bit wary of mine, it is exceedingly sharp and I'm a bit accident prone.
Sorry about your Dad @AuntyRach, it's never easy is it!
Dundee cake sounds fab @Red maple. I've just bought a jar of mincemeat ready to make mince pies soon.
Wasn't Shetland very tense last night, we were on the edge of our seats. We thought it funny that DIL was rather taken aback by the bad language!
Have a good evening folks.