A bit of this and that

I've been a complete butterfly over the last couple of weeks.

I was desperate to not have the pressure of a trouser leg against my bad leg.  Things came to a head when had to get them off, and I spent half a day at home, trouserless.  

I made a new skirt (Heartlight from Pattern Emporium). I've made htis before, and it's a lovely pattern, very easy to sew.  Last time I used a heavy scuba,  and it makes the skirt a bit heavy on my hips.      This time I got out two different, lightweight, stretch fabrics from my stash.

And then, once again, I ended up using too-heavy scuba, because I didn't have fabric wide enough to do the fullness without doing a hack.   The fabric is gorgeous, and it's wasted on a skirt.  I should have made leggings, or statement trousers or something.

DH isn't too keen, he thinks maxi skirts look...too long.   Trouble is, the bottom of my leg is a mess and I can't have it on display with a higher hemline. 

I then looked through my patterns to see if I had a template for a narrower skirt.  I found one and started it, and then got distrcted.  Then the sewing table, with partially completed skirt, becane a dumping ground for various other activities,  and I couldn't summon the energy to excavate.  I will try and get this completed though, because it doesn't take too much fabric, it's suitable for wovens as well, and it might be suitable for those times when my leg needs to be free.

Actually, writing that has spurred me on.  I've been working through clearing the table today, and I will try and finish it so I can sew tomorrow.

....

Cheese scones ready for the oven

Lemon Curd

I've made a few things in my yet-to-be-named  CookExpert.  DH steamed some salmon; I made some cheese scones,  and then some lemon curd.  I made aligot mash using the mouli thing for the processor.  We diced some potatoes and made parmentier potatoes.    Nothing earth shattering yet.


 I've also been using the dehydrator.  I started by drying some lovely sage leaves. Then I dried a load of catnip for the cats.    It's currently on  with some water melon in,  something which is marked as "poor" for dehydrating in my instruction book. 

Dried watermelon is bizarre. I tried some when it had been drying for about 18 hours,  and it tasted like water melon flavoured jellied sweets.    It was surprisingly tasty.  I tried a bit more. And a bit more.    The problem with dehydrating things is that its easy to what would be eat a huuuuge anount of *un-dehydrated)  stuff in a very short space of time. I've given myself a sugar headache.

Thermy went to his new home.  I realised a few days later that I could have kept him to make cocktails.   Still,  his new owner is very pleased to have him, and the money I got went towards a walk-in run for the chicks.

DH put the run up, and it's been fantastic.  A leg saver.   I've been able to play and interact with the  chicks in a way which was no longer possible with a ground run.  The chicks benefit because we've been able to put stuff in to make it more fun for them, like some wooden garden chairs.   It's fantastic because we can go out now, shut the chicks away, and not feel guilty that they are closed in.

More  about the chicks another time

Cook Expert

My Magimix CookExper t(CE)  arrived last week!

It's replacing my Thermy and, probably, my much loved but not-so-much used Ankarsrum mixer.  It may well replace a couple of other appliances too, but we'll see.

It is a massive indulgence, but one I've been saving for since I first saw it in 2016.  It was launched  before then in several Euro countries and Australia.  It was going to be launched here, too, but wasn't.     I've been following some Australian Facebook groups and one blogger in particular (The Flo Show) as she charted her journey with the machine, and did an excellent comparison of the then-CE to the then-Thermy. The CE has been updated (free updates) a number of times since the article was written,  and Thermy has released a new model since then.

And now the CE's being released in the UK in August;  some UK people (not me) have been testing it on pre-release for about 6 months,  and some people (including me) were on the 'early release' list.  I 'know' one of the testers, another Thermy owner (he has a TM31 and a TM5), and I was really interested in seeing what he thought.

I love Thermy TM31.  I think I'm going to love the CookExpert even more.

It includes a Magimix 5200XL processor system which, for me,  is a mixed blessing.   All the Magimix accessories which fit the 5200XL work with this system.     It makes the machine even more versatile than it would be without the processor (and without the processor it would still be a phenomenal machine!).  The downside is that I have to find space for the processor top and any accessories (including discs).


I sold my previous processor, a fab Sage one (they know how to do double bowls properly), some time after getting Thermy.  I found I was only using it for slicing stuff, when I had a lot of slicing to do.  And for making Hollandaise.  It wasn't really earning its space on the worktop, but if I put it in a cupboard, it would never see the light of day.   So, I bought a really good quality, safe, mandolin to do the slicing and found a good  home for Sage where he would be appreciated.  I didn't miss him. Mostly.

Back to the CE.  I was very fortunate to be able to pick up a bag of accessories at a bargain price (at such a bargain price I gave the lady more than twice what she was asking).  We've already tried a couple of them and, they're not half bad.   I'm not sure about the hassle of washing the processor parts.  I know they can go in the dishwasher, but I seem to remember that the plastic will cloud after a while if we do that.

I've been too under the weather to experiment as much as I should with the CE  but I've done enough to confirm that Thermy should go to a new home.

Recently a new UK Facebook group for  the CE was set up.  I made my first full meal from a recipe posted there yesterday,  Risotto Bolognese.   It went well.

I'm happy.

And Thermy is going to a new home, where he will be very much loved and appreciated,  this week.

Rain stops play

And on the sixth day, it rained.

We had put thin covers on the walk in run (WIR) last night, to try and keep some of the rain out.
This morning it rained,  and we put additional covers over the run and put the electric hen (EH) in and on , but it wasn't enough.

If the chicks were a week older, it would have been OK.  As it is, they still have some fluff.   The temperature isn't an issue, but the wet is.

We had no choice but to catch them and put them back in the shed.

I had been going to dismantle the stuff in the shed yesterday, bit  I washed my hair in the morning and couldn't face getting all that dust in it.    Lucky really.

On the plus side, being chickless has meant I could rake out the run.  It's not really moveable with the GoUp attached, so it really needs it.

Hope the rain doesn't stay too long.

An easier life

After one particularly painful day,   before we let them stay out overnight,  I decided that I had to so something. We had a day where, apart from putting them out in the morning, I hadn't been able to get down to pick them up at all.

So, I started looking for a walk in run (WIR). I wanted one that could be easily dismantled and stored when the chicks have, well, flown the coop; one that would be easy to put up again next year.   I tried all the usual places. A couple had already sold by the time I saw them,  a couple on Ebay went for significantly more than I wanted to pay (given the travelling distance).   Eventually,  I found one, we collected it the next day and put it up.

I sold the GoUp extensions immediately, to someone who had been advertising for a set.    I sorted out all the other run extensions we had, putting them together in bundles,  trying to find the instructions to make sure that all the bits were there.   I then started advertising to sell them.  .I had a busy few days fielding questions  of all sorts. 3 of the 4 bundles sold and were collected over a few more days. 


The WIR works really, really well.  The GoUp is currently on the outside still, connected.  I can't get to the chicks when they are in that part. There are doors to the run, but it's just too painful. So I lure them in to the WIR section with some food,  shut the connecting doorm and then I can catch them from an upright position.  There's room for me to kneel down and play, if my leg allows,.

We also put an old garden seat in there, which provides them with some additional shade,  plenty of perching opportunity, and something to jump on and off. They use it all the time.  I can sit in that too if necessary.

Later I hung the swing in there.  The 3 Barnevelder girls will sit on the swing and eat from my hand. The Barny biys won't, and the Leghorns won't.  Yet.


I wish we'd bought a WIR weeks ago.  When I checked on ebay, we'd missed several real bargains!

A whole new world...

 After some time of spending their days in the sunshine in the Go run,  it was time to think about letting them sleep outside.

The chicks loved the freedom,. Because the weather was so good, we got them out in the morning, as soon as the grass was dry (they weren't fully feathered so we can't let them get wet),  and they stayed out until about 7pm (unless the weather changed and we had to bring them in earlier).  The Hen was on all the time they were out there, just in case they needed it. (They didn't).

 We added a swing and a dustbath.

 

Every morning we ferried them, two by two, from the shed to the run.  Right from the start we have been carrying them properly, so they get used to being picked up that way.       Every evening we ferried them, two by two, back into the shed.  If we went out during the day,  we repeated the process.

Most of them quickly got used to being carried this  way and were calm. A couple, not so much.   But it was OK.

We spent a lot of time catching them and feeding them while we were holding them  special food,  or stroking them while they were eating the special food.   A lot of time was spent kneeling alongside the run, leaning in to catch/release them.


A week ago, I decided to let the chicks stay out overnight in the coop.  The small electric hen (EH) was already in there (although it hadn't been turned on). 

It had been a hot day, and overnight was forecast to be fairly warm.  12 chicks in the back of a GoUp - I didn't need to turn on the EH.

We had to catch them and put them in the coop.  Before bed I checked on them, and saw that the top of the EH was crammed with chicks, with those that hadn't been able to force themselves on stuck underneath.  I shooshed them off and put the large EH in.

Day 2, all but 2 put themselves to bed.

Day 3, all put themselves to bed.

It was all going well.

Except.   I was struggling to catch them.  I can get down OK and I can get up OK.  What is difficult -  at the moment -  is leaning into the run to catch them.    We have doors everywhere on the run, even inside so we can shut them in the front end to make it easier to catch them, but it was still taking its toll on my poor leg.