Oven ready

The Girls are moulting.

Sasha, the Appenzeller, has been moulting a little bit at a time, for some weeks.
Fay, the Fayoumi, started dropping the odd feather yesterday.
Gloria has given up being broody, and left a pile of feathers in the nestbox.  Poppy has clumps of missing feathers.

Poor Fleur, the Marans, is in a terrible state.  She's lost lots of feathers at once, and is very uncomfortable.

 

Poor baby, she looks like an oven ready bird.

Quince

We have a Quince tree, which produces fruit from time to time.  Last year, I seem to remember, we didn't have any quinces.  This year I wasn't expecting any either. We had had good blossom, but I hadn't seen any quinces on the tree.

Yesterday I went out to pick a couple of cooking apples. There were only two apples left on the tree, the rest (apart from some I had used last week in the Christmas Puddings) were on the ground in various stages of being eaten.

I needed the steps to reach the apples. While I was up there, I spotted a quince on the quince tree.   DH came out to watch, and spotted another one.  Andthen a thrid. The thrid one wasn't ready to be picled.  When I folded the steps up, I saw another Quince on the ground.

Regrettably, the fourth quince is damaged, so it's no good.  The other 2 will be put somewhere cool for 6 weeks to ripen, and I'll pick the one that's on the tree as soon as it's ready.

They always smell lovely when they are ripening.

Piccadilly Circus

I'm working from home.

10 minutes ago, DH popped out to get his hair cut.

I've had to get up three time since he went (the first time a second after he pulled out of the drive) to answer the door.

O! S. V F X

Fay, who is bottom chook, has been unable to lay in the normal nestbox, because of Gloria being broody. 
I've found 2 of her eggs elsewhere in the run - along with 2 from Fleur.

Eggs for breakfast tomorrow.

F U NE X

No eggs for breakfast today!
First time in...a long time.  This time last year, the babies were only just coming in to lay and laid all through the winter.

This year, all but one Girl seems to have stopped laying. Moulting has started.

And Gloria has decided that it's the ideal time to go broody. There are no eggs for her to sit on, but she can't help herself.

UPDATE:
I forgot to say. The title is from a clever Two Ronnies sketch.  Swedish made simple.For example:
C  T = City
L O = 'Ello

(You have to say it out loud really)

"F U N E X?".
"S, V F X"
"F U N E M?"
"V F N T  N E M"
"S V F M!"
"M N X"

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apdkigbtNwQ

Rats.

A little while ago I saw a Big Mouse in the chicken run.  

We investigated and found that they had a rat run under one of the Cubes, but weren't actually tunnelling into the run itself.  We moved the Cube, and DH embedded  honeycomb driveway stuff to make it impossible for the rats to tunnel into the run through the Cube.  It's been fantastic, and has had the added benefit that the Girls haven't been able to wear the flooring level down.

We also put down baited traps. Horrible, I know.

All was well for some time, and then suddenly there was earth at the edge of the walk in run.  We stopped using the euphemism of Big Mouse, and started calling them by their real name. The rats were tunnelling again, and had breached the edge of the walk in run.  There's a gap round the edge, and the rats were tunnelling.  More bait.  More earth. More bait.

It had been quiet for a few days, so we were hopeful that the bait had done its job.

.....

On Saturday I was working in the kitchen.  Poppy, as usual, had escaped the confines of the netted area.  I could see that she had found something interesting to eat.She was picking it up and dropping it.  I looked at it and felt sorry for the poor mouse or frog, or whatever it was.

And then I realised that it was quite large for a mouse.  And then I realised.

I rushed out, grabbing hardening gloves from the side as I went out of the door.  It was indeed a rat.

I normally try not to get too squeamish about the hens' omnivorous diet, but I couldn't let her eat this. I didn't know how it had died, but I doubted very much that she'd caught it herself.  It was possible that Wash had been out hunting, but I couldn't take the risk.

Poor chook. Poor rat.

More memory fun

I know my memory is a little erratic, so I've learned to IGNORE the false voice that tells me "you'll remember that". Instead, I bookmark webpages (my bookmarks are very organised), I make notes of things, I mark things on my calendar.

(I've just scurried off to note on my calendar that I put the Creole Cake fruit in to soak on Saturday, and a reminder for 3 weeks time that it will be ready to use. I didn't think I'd forget that, butwriting the paragraph above made me do it  just in case... )

Tpday my Facebook feed showed me an interesting recipe for cheese crackers. It was remarkably simple, and I thought I'd definitely give it a go.   I know I wouldn't be able to find it easily again,  so I bookmarked it.

It was already there.

Middle Age memory lapses

It is getting chilly.  Yesterday I was a little cold.  It's too early in the year to have the heating on,  but it might, I reasoned, be time to consider lighting the fire some evenings.

I needed to get the log basket from the loft.   Eventually, in the afternoon, I finally got round to doing it.  I opened the loft up, and decided I'd put up some other stuff while I was at it. Stuff that's been sitting in a neat stack on the landing for some weeks now.

The items were shoved one by one, through the loft hatch, and then  I followed.

First item, a  travelling bag for Thermy, never used.  That can go down the end of the loft, where we keep all the appliance boxes.    A but of limboing (we have low beams), and it was neatly in place.  A box of lids for the ReallyUsefulBoxes.   Packed into a corner.  A crate of bottles and jars,  stacked with the others.   The runners for an Ikea drawer (which was put in the loft a while ago),  reunited.

Pleased with my efforts, I came down and packed the ladder away.

Later that evening, I felt chilly.  Maybe I'd light a fire?  I need the.......dammit.

Oops

I've been binge-watching season 4 of "Once Upon a Time" (OUAT).  I've had the DVDs for about a year, but haven't got round to watching them. Season 5 cane out (and was ordered and received) very recently, so I decided to really indulge.

The other evening  put some potatoes in to bake before going off to Air Rifles.  When I got back, the potatoes were not quite ready.  At this point, I put a bag of smaller potatoes in to bake, so the Allotmenteers could have some baked potato mixed with poultry spice as a bit of a treat.

When my potatoes were cooked, I got them out, filled them with grated cheese,  home made yoghurt, etc, and sat on the sofa to eat my dinner and to start that evening's sneaky OUAT viewing. 

At 11.30, I made the tough decision that I needed to go to bed.  I turned everything off, called the cats and gave them some late supper.  I turned off the lights.....

...and noticed a glow at one end of the kitchen.  The oven was still on.

The potatoes were still in there.

They were rock hard.  No potatoey goodness left.

oops.

Gate expectations!

DH was away.

I had to go out and do the chooks early as I was working that morning and had a conference call.  I needed to get to the chooks and back, and do some preparation.

I carefully packed up some overripe tomatoes (from the greenhouse) for the Allotmenteers,  and left the house to go to the Allotment.   After shutting the front door - and pausing to to through my "Have I...?" checklist - I locked the front door. Except the key wouldn't turn.

I looked at it for a moment, wondering if I'd used the back door key instead.  No. It was definitely the front door key.  But it wouldn't turn.

And then I realised what had happened.

Our front door has one of those "features" where, if there is a key on the one, it's not possible to lock it from the other.  I'm not sure why this is a good design feature, it seems pretty stupid to me.  


Hmm. I didn't want to go out an dleave the house unlocked. Besides, I'd have to find a solution when I got back in.  Luckily, a neighbour has a spare set of keys, so I walked over to her house and borrowed them, and a set of small stes so I could unlatch the gate.

I got back to the gate, stood on the steps, leaned over to unlatch the gate...and then I saw the padlock.

Bother, bother, bother.

My neighbour appeared, wondering if I needed a bigger ladder.   I realised there was nothing for it, I was going to have to climb over.  She went to fetch her ladder,  and I closed my eyes and thought through the process.  I'm fat, inflexible, in my fifties,  so I like to think these things through before I start.

I pulled up the wheelie bin, and stood it next to the steps. The neighbour appeared with an old fashioned stepladder, which required opening and latching in to place.  This meant it had to be opened and latched BEFORE I put it over the fence.

I climbed onto the wheely bin from the small steps, and attempted to lug the step ladder over.  There was limited space, and I had to partially drop the ladder in to place.  It teetered. It tottered.  I cursed, as I watched it lurch over and fall against the side of the house.

From the wheely bin, I leant over the gate to try and reach it to right it.  My lovely neighbour held on to my legs while I did so.  Luckily for me, the steps had a grab rail. I grabbed them, righted them, and stood them up.

I swung one leg over the gate and put my foot on the step.  And paused.  I should have ut the steps sideways, to make it easier for me to put all my weight on the leading foot. Instead I was stranded across gate,  wishbone style, with one leg on the wheelie bin and one leg on the steps.

My neighbour asked what the problem was, and I explained.  She uggested I moved my step-leg back, and I explained that I didn't think that was going to be possible. .I tilted gently first one way, then the other, to see which way felt the least insecure. 

I realised that if I sprung back from the steps,  the force would probably push them over, this time away from the gate and out of reach. So, I took a deep breath, and pushed off from the bin.  The steps stood firm(ish). And I was over! Yay!

My stupidity didn't quite end there.

My neighbour, pleased that I'd got in.  Took the small steps away and went home.   I unlocked the back door, marched to the front foor, and removed the key. Back through the house, I picked up the house keys which had the padkock key on, and opened the gate.  I took the ladder out, put the bin away.
I put the house keys back in the house,  set the alarm, locked the door, and went to go out of the gate.

Then I realised I wouldn't be able to lock the gate behind me.  We always lock the gate because of the Girls.

So.  I opened the back door again,  picked up the house keys, locked the gate. Back in the house. Locked the back door. Unlocked the front door. Set the alarm. Went out. Locked the front door.   I picked up the ladder and returned it and the keys to my neighbour,

I went to see the chickens.

The next day, I got several padlock keys cut including one for my neighbour's set of keys.   I took the key round and asked her to add it to our keys.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.  The neighbour held up the key.  I looked at her, wondering what was wrong.   "There's a key the same as this on the ring already" she explained.   I was really surprised at this.  "I was surprised too, after yesteray, so I went through my papers and dug out the emergency note you left me, and it says that the small key is for the padlock".

That really tickled me.  I am  one of life's Planners. I think thhrough possible outcomes, and plan for as many of them as I can accommodate.

I should have known that I would have planned for just such a situation.

Scramble!

The Girls love scrambled eggs.   They rarely get them. but at this time of year it can be a good idea to give them a bit of a protein boost.    

I don't give them raw egg. Anyone who has accidentally broken an egg in a chicken coop will know the frenzy this causes, as the chooks fight to gobble it up.   We don't want our Girls to ever associate the inside of the egg with a whole egg - egg eating ensues, and that's a nightmare to stop.

We had a few oldish eggs, and plenty of new ones so the old ones weren't going to get used up.  I made some scrambled eggs (nothing else added, nothing at all),  let it cool, and then gave it to the garden girls. They loved it, so I made a bit more and took it down to the allotmenteers as a treat for them. . 

 let Henry have first dibs. Normally he has a close look at any  offering, then calls his Ladies to come and eat.  He had a bit of egg himself today,  and then a bit more, and then a bit more.  Then he remembered his manners, and called the Ladies. They also got some overripe tomatoes from the greenhouse,  so they've had a good day.

The Dinner Chicks also had some scrambled egg, but weren't too sure about it.  They also ignored the lettuce I'd harvested specially for them.

They are approaching 18 weeks now, 18 weeks on Monday, in fact. The Boys are crowing properly now.  They aren't really at an ideal weight yet, but they are getting to an age when sex is likely to be a problem soon.   I spent some time considering options this morning. We have the room to divide their pen,  and we have an ancient rickety coop that the Boys could inhabit.   Problem is, the boys will most likely just keep pacing up and down (anxious to get to the Girls) and so won't really put on weight.

One of the two Girls is a mottled brown chook,  daughter of either Norah or Batty.  I'm getting a bit attached, which isn't good.  We've only got 4 Dinners in total this year, 2 for us and 2 for Other Chap, keeping 2 of them (you can't introduce a lone bird, it's very cruel as they will be picked on incessantly by everyone else) doesn't make much sense.

Grey

How very British, a post that starts with the weather.

Today is a bit November.  It's grey and dull outside, and it's a grey and dull inside.  The heavens have opened, and November is pouring.  Cold, hard, relentless rain.  Not the sort that spoils summer, it's the sort that really means business.   Winter coat weather.  Hibernation weather.

I don't mind cold weather too much, I actually like bright cold days.  I don't mind wet summer weather. I don't mind being out in the rain on a summers day.

Not so keen on this wet and cold weather though. 

There's something about it. It gets right inside me.  It's too me.

Roccbox continued

So the next day, we fired it up on a low heat, to season it.

Later in the day I made pizza dough,  I used the recipe in the Roccbox user manual, which was going to produce far too much dough and was very wet.  Still, I believe in starting with the manufactures recommendations,  so if anything goes wrong I know it wasn't something I'd introduced.

I usually make enough dough for 4 pizzas. It has one rise, then is divided in to two and rises again. One piece goes in the freezer, and the other half makes one ENORMOUS rectangular pizza, and we teach take half and top it how we like.   The Roccbox oven bed is fairly small, so we were going to have to go for 2 individual pizzas.  It would still be quicker: our oven takes about 45 minutes to heat up and t thoroughly heat the pizza stone,  and then it takes 7 minutes to cook the pizza.   Roccbox should take 20 minutes to heat up, and then about 90 seconds each for 2 pizzas.

Having said that, I couldn't quite bring myself to follow their instructions.  They only allowed one rise, but had used dried active yeast (not fast yeast) so it really needed two.   I gave it two rises.

Roccbox was fired up, and got to temperature - 300 degrees - in about 20 minutes.  Big Tick.

There were no instructions on the technicalities of moving dough around.  I know from previous experience that sometimes the dough sticks, and we usually put the rolled out dough on to the paddle before topping it.
However, they didn't seem to do that in the pics, so we did the pizza toppings before attempting to move the dough.   I deliberately used only a small amount of passata and a little cheese, as I could see the superthin dough was going to be a challenge to move.

It didn't end well for the first one, despite flouring the worktop and putting cornmeal on the peel.

By now, it was dark outside.  Doesn't it get dark early and quickly now?.  Roccbox was on the table in front of the summerhouse, so we had all the lights on so we could see the oven.

For the second one, I went mad with the flour on the worktop, and we managed to get the whole thing on to the peel and then in to the oven.   It only takes 90 seconds to cook, and I completely forgot that I needed to turn it in that time.

It came out charred on one side, and not properly cooked on the other - but that was totally my fault.

It was, however,  rather tasty.   I wish I'd taken some pictures.

I've watched some (non Roccbox) videos on handling pizza dough, and I was pleased to see that I'd actually got it right - including where I was patching holes rather than trying to squeeze them together.
Next time I'll use a similar recipe to the Roccbox supplied one,  but (a) I'll halve the quantity,  and (b) I'll follow my normal method of proving - all the dough together for the first rise, then cut it into individual pizza sizes, and let the pieces rise again.  Any that I'm not using immediately can go in the freezer.

We had to wait for Roccbox to cool down a bit to put it away - it can't be left outside.   We're going to put it on a heavy duty trolley to enable us to move it in and out easily.  We'll need that because we have pizza at least once a week. We also use (or used to use) our oven and pizza stone to make naan bread, pita bread,  flat breads, and garlic breads... and I'm going to try using Roccbox for that.



At the moment we have to carry it outside to use it. It's doable, but I'll be really glad when the trolley arrives.

I was lucky that I saw it when an earlybird backer price was available, and this coincided with me having the funds to pay for it.  Now that I've used it, I have to say that I'd buy it at the full price (assuming I had the money available)

I'll try and take some pics next time.

Roccbox arrival

A long time ago now, I decided to back something called "Roccbox".  

At the time we were eating a lot of home made pizza. My attempts to make authentic pizza improved.  I made a proper dough (both with and wothout semolina flour); I used a large pizza stone in my domestic oven, with the oven turned up as high as it would go (about 250 degrees fan, for about 45 minutes to heat the stone thoroughly) to get as close as possible to creating a "wood fired" pizza taste and texture. We invested in pizza peels so we could get thepizza in and out of the raging hot oven.   It worked reasonably well, and was much better than pizza cooked on a baking tray.

I realised that the next step was to get a better pizza oven.  We toyed with the idea of building a pizza oven in our garden.   We just didn't really want to give over that much space to it (nd I wasn't sure that I'd really have the inclination to light it each time).     Then "portable" pizza ovens came on the market.  They were OK, but they were horrendously expensive (for what they were).

And then one day I found Roccbox, which was looking for backing.   I signed up for it,  and then I committed to buying one.   Early backers got a bargain price,  and it really did seem like a good idea.

It was a mini pizza oven that could run on wood firing or gas!  Was it going to be the bext of both wrolds, or the worst of both worlds? 

Time passed. As is often the case with these things, the delivery time slipped.  Fortunaely, we've backed a few things and are well used to the types of delays that occur.  We've learned to add 3, 6, 12 months on to the original ETA when looking at whether we want to back something.

Eventually, it was imminent.

Then the container landed.

Then it was despatched.

And then it was here!

Mine is lime green, this is a stock photo

The big box arrived, we unpacked it,  and sat and looked at it on our kitchen worktop.   SH went to get a bottle of gas for it (we decided we'd start with the gas and see how that went).   We had other commitments that evening, so couldn't do anything. 

Sad week

It's been a sad week.

My friend's mum died, and one of my Uncles died.

I used one of Designs by Juju's  Mehndi Butterflies,  changed the colouring to black and silver (with a tiny splash of colour on the body), to make Sympathy cards.

3rd time lucky

I've not been in the mood for for making things at all for a while.

I eventually managed to get myself off my b*m, and made a bumbag  for one of my granddaughters.   I took care to read the instructions very carefully. I measured twice, cut once. Spent a lot of time (and not-cheap) fabrics,  only to find that the darned instructions were wrong. They had the height and width of the fabric pieces the wrong way round.

It wouldn't have mattered if I'd been using plain fabric, or random patterned fabric.  But I was using sheep, inside and outside.  My sheep ended up sideways.

It wasn't too bad on the outside, but the inside sheep just didn't look right.  DH said it didn't matter, and it didn't really.  But it bugged me.

So I made a second one.



It started well.  I cut the pieces correctly,  I starched the lining pieces.  And  I also embroidered her name on the inside!

I took care centreing up the front fabric.  The inside piece, with the name on, looked lovely.    All was going well, until  I made the mistake of leaving the machine unattended while it sewed the back pocket on.


Somehow the back pocket went squiffy, meaning not only did it go up at ana angle, but the bottom wasn't sewn on correctly.

So, I cut out the pieces for a 3rd one.  Once again, I pressed and starched.  I embroidered the name on.  This time I did not leave the machine.  Sadly I'd run out of shocking pink zips, so we had to go for a boring pink instead.

 The sheep on the inside were the correct way up

 And I'd even managed to find a sheep charm for the zip.

Hope she likes it.

A sad Goodbye to NotNorman

NotNorman, one of our two remaining oldest hens, died.

She was one of 4 offspring from our vicious cockerel (Captain Flint) and his two wives (Willow and Buffy).

NotNorman

I went down to the allotment to see to them today.  I did a headcount as I let them out to graze, and I noticed immediately that Siouxsie was there but not her sister.

Siouxsie and NotNorman  are (were) 7 years old, so in some respects I wasn't surprised.  I looked in all the coops so I could say goodbye and take the body away.   She wasn't in any of the coops.

I then started looking round the allotment,  and then I looked around again more carefully. Under things, behind things.  I couldn't find her body anywhere.  I checked outside, where they graze.  Nothing.

I finished my tasks, locked up, and decided to walk round the edge of the allotment, along the electric fenceline, to see if I could find her, or signs od her   Eventually, I came upon a small, neat, pile of feathers.

Hers. 

A pile of feathers

A few steps on, another pile.

She must have escaped somehow - or a single-kill predator had got in somehow. It wasn't a fox, they'd all be dead if that had happened.   It could be an owl, or a hawk, or maybe even a mink.  I guess an owl or a hawk is more likely, as that would explain how they got over the electric fence.

I waslked along a different path, and then I found the remains of her carcass.

At least I know for certain that she'd dead.   And at least it wasn't an indiscriminate fox attack.

Poor girl, I hope she didn't suffer.

Proud grandma

My granddaughter completed the dress!

He rmum sent me a pic of G, working at their kitchen table doing the hem.   And later, a pic of G wearing the completed dress.

It's lovely.  I'm so happy that I was able to give her the help and guidance she needed,  and the tools,  to do it.  I hope she goes on to make her second dress (fabric already provided) so she can cement her knowledge.

Animal training

It never ceases to amaze me how well our animals train us.

The cats sit by the french window in the kitchen and, without thinking about it,  we get up to let them out.  They sit by the food bowls, and we stop what we are doing to feed them.   Izzy jumps on the bed in the middle of the night and meows for a stroke, she gets it.   Wash comes in to the living room and stands by my chair, I obediently put out my legs so he can jump up.

And so it goes on.

And then there is being not quite fully asleep, so that we are (usually) woken if Izzy is having a fit, or if Wash is involved in a fight, or if the chooks are disturbed.

Izzy  had one in the night. Unusually, it was upstairs.  Thank goodness we'd put down solid flooring recently.  The floor needed cleaning anyway, and cleaning it at stupid-o'clock during the night meant it didn't have to be done during the day.

Highs and Lows

Sometimes I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday,  and trying to look back over a week is often impossible. Let me see what I can remember....

I went on a 2 day Workshop to make a dress form of myself.   It was an interesting process, involving cling film, wettable brown tape, PVA glue, and lots of standing around.   Plenty of people would pay a lot of money for the experience without the end result, I'm sure.

The second day was learning a bit of draping skills and making a skin-tight cover for her.    

It was quite effective, and the end result was technically very good.   At the moment, she's in the bedroom with a dressing gown on.   I wish I'd done it in the winter, when I am less prone to water rentention.  Still, it's done now, and Nellie tje Elephant will be a real asset to my dress making, I'm sure.

I had a bit of a fright.  I walked in to the bedroom to see a person in a dressing gown, collapsed on the floor.  It took me a second to realise that Raymondo (the iRobot vaccuum cleaner) had knocked Nellie off her stand.

........

On Saturday, my granddaughter arrved for a day's sewing.  Her sister, Mum and Dad, went off to do something else for the afternoon, while we spent some time leaning about pattern envelopes and,  stretch v woven fabric. Then we tried the mountain of fabrics that I had bought, and got the list down to 6. 

At that point, we (well, she) tried on the pre-made toile, and we draped the 6 fabrics so she could choose the one she wanted.   I had to be strict, so we went from 6 down to 1 very quickly. As soon as a fabrci was not top choice, it was removed from the options.

Next was learning why we trace patterns rather than cut them,   doing the tracings,  and learning to use a rotary cutter,    Then on to laying out fabric, selvages,  pattern placement, cutting the fabric.   Then out came the sewing machine, the news that it was hers to take home,  some sewing practice,  and a spot of lunch.

After lunch,  we (she) started to make the dress.  She did everything herself, I just explained what she needed to do.    She managed to sew on the interfacing (had to unpick it and re-do it).

We didn't get it finished before dinner, so we left it until Sunday and then completed some more bits - the armholes,  deciding on the hem.  She's got a couple of bits to do at home to finish it,  but it looks really lovely.  She did a fab job.

Her sister, meanwhile,  got a very special set of treats on Saturday- she is big enough to have a go on Segway,   and then they did a Duck tour (plus had sushi for lunch). 
......
On Sunday, after they'd gone,  I did the allotment chickens, and spent the afternoon clearing up and lolling about.   I cut out the fabric for my next skirt. Sunday, frankly, is a bit of a blur.  DH popped home for the evening and night, which was lovely.
.....
Monday was a whirl of making the skirt, clearing up, doing washing,  and battling with escapee chickens.  I've had to top up the fencing (2 girls are flying over, despite the fencing being extra tall and the girls having a wing each clipped).    Now it looks like Stalag 15, with random very tall bamboo poles stuck along the fenceline and bunting in X shapes in between.   OK, no Stalag had bamboo, much less bunting, but it is a bit of a mess.

The 3 youngsters, who are now well over a year old, have given up trying to sleep with Poppy and Gloria,  and have decamped as a mini-flock to the other Cube.

I also watched an old black and white film, Hell is Sold Out, starring Herbert Lom and Richard Attenborough.    They really don't make many films anymore where someone does the morally decent thing and doesn't end up with the girl.  A happy ending for 2 of the 3 leads.

.......

Oh, and I've remembered why the rest of the time was a bit of a blur.  My lovely neighbours' equally lovely son  was involved in an accident on his bike on Friday.     He came out of hospital yesterday, and is incredbly lucky he wasn't even more badly hurt.  It's his birthday this week.

......

It's really hot again, so I need to check on the chooks.

Catch up soon.