Groundhog Day

I feel like I'm stuck.

I managed to get another used cabinet,  and some compressor plates.   The filing is almost finished, but.... I'm stuck.   I've ended up moving some other bits around, I've generated piles of bits, and I'm just not able to clear it.  It feels like every time I try, something else pops up.

I'm struggling a little with the short days, and the interrupted sleep, and I've been a bit snarky (for which I have apologised, but that doesn't make it ok).

We make sure we go for a walk on non Pilates days,  and I make sure I spend time outside every day.

I'm beginning to believe there may be something in feng shui,   as I'm prett sure the mess is whats affecting my mood.

Enough of the self pity.  I'm going to try and make some headway

 

 

Flushing

I'm experiencing facial flushes.  

It's not fun. 

It starts with warm cheeks, and then suddenly I can feel it spread and intensify. Its like extreme blushing...but on steroids. Just when I think it must have reached peak intensity, it ramps up a gear.

I've learned that trying to control it just ends up making it worse, so I just pause and wait for the moment to pass.

The other, chilly, evening I had to take an arm out of my jumper to try and help the heat dissipate. I couldn't take the jumper off because the rest of me would have been too cold. 

Filing

I'm reorganising our filing cabinets.

Most things are scanned, but we have some things (like instruction booklets) which were not available in PDF format at the time.   They've been in wallets for years, refreshed from time to time as a wallet splits under the weight of the contents.

I bought some solid dividers for one o fthe cabinets, so I don't have to use drop files.  It has meant that it's much easier to file things, get things in and out, and see what's there.  I've also now been switchin gfrom cardboard wallets.

Eventually I discovered what is "trim" about the Vickers Trimline cabinet. 

It's only a tiny bit smaller than the other cabinet. So little difference.  But the difference in drawer height is the difference between lever arch files fitting in, or not.   So, I've been using 4-D- ring binders instead.  It works OK, but some of the files....well, they'd be a bit more robst with a lever arch.

I thought about getting another alternative brand cabinet.... but I'd already spent all that time and energy finding the plates.  And the alternative brand cabinet plates don't work in the same way.  Plus, I'm not up to my thighs in 4-d-ring binders.   And the cabinet has some sentimental value.

I looked...and decided to see what things looked like when I'd finally finished moving things.

And now I can't get the top drawer open at all.

There is a binder which has managed to pop up slightly and means I can't open the drawer.   I cant even push in a screwdriver to push it down oe over, because it happens to be in a row of binders that are tightly packed.

I'm a lttle cross with myself. I'm more cross with the bloody cabinet,  as I did try the drawer with the binder several times before committing myself.

I've come downstairs now, and I'll go back later when  I have summoned energy and tool of some description.

And I'm looking again at other cabinets.

111

We had an incident last night.   Resisted the impulse ro dial 999, I called 111 for advice.  I had to go through several recorded informations, each requiring a menu selection, each one about Covid and suggesting I go online.

I wasn't calling about Covid. Eventually the menu options fizzled out and I was in a queue waiting for an operator . The recorded message said there woukd be a long delay as they were exceptionally busy.

I waited ..... and then hung up.  I dialled 999 instead.

The call ended up with us going to a local out of hours centre.   I was happier about that than having an ambulance arrive unnecessarily. 

In the end, all was OK.  

Thank goodness.

Kitty Vandal

The kittens are fascinated by the money trees. 

 We had one, youngish, plant on our living room windowsill. It was quite bushy and full.  "had" and "was" are the operative terms here.

Lewis kept biting bits off.  We'd find them all over the floor.  Eventually the poor plant was a shadow of its former self.      

Once the kittens were able to go outside, the plant chewing reduced, and the money tree recovered somewhat.  It was still spindly, but it started to sprout and produce more leaves.

This morning, I found two lumps of it on the windowsill, one either side. There was also a solitary "leaf" on the floor. 

We haven't seen either kitten having a go at the plant, but Lewis is our main suspect.

Pests!

No mean feet

I was lucky to have birthday money to spend,  and I spend all of it (and a bit more!) on some accessories for my Coverstitch machine.    I've got a new Coverstitch coming in January,  but the "feet" I bought also work on my current one.   

The lovely Jane White (from Jane White Tuition in Barton upon Humber,  who runs babylockshop.co.uk)  was kind enough to spend some time with me via Zoom, showing me some of the feet.  I also took part in a fab Foot Fetish Zoom she ran with Katy from Babylock demonstrating,  and those Zooms helped me decide what to get.

I tried out one of the "Downturn Feller" attachments almost as soon as my package arrived, and it was very easy to get working. .  I don't have any pictures.    I can do that in a straight line, but I need to practice to see if I can use it "in the round", which means where the seam I'm hemming forms a circle (like the hem of a skirt,  or a closed neck, or a closed armhole).    It's meant to be possible... but I need to practice.

I had to psyche myself up to try the more meaty purchases, and I finally did so today.  These ones all require strips of fabric.  I asked DH to make me some acrylic templates so I could easily cut strips of fabric the correct width (so I don't have to mark and measure),  and he has made 4 so far. 

The ones I've put yellow labels on are 2 different sized  "double fold binding" accessories.  

The ones with blue labels on are "Belt Loop Folders", which is a very unattractive name.   I don't think I'll ever make belt loops,  but these attachments make it super fast to make straps (for bags, or sundresses) or hanging loops, or pull cords for shorts, or whatever.    I'm going to use them to make ties for some gift bags. 

I tested the templates for the two "belt loopers" today. I just used some random bits of fabric,   and I used whatever thread my machine had on it.   The results are beautiful!

The "belt looper" takes a flat strip of fabric,  folds the two edges over, and then sews a twin row of stitching on the top side, and looper stitching on the "wrong" (i.e. back)  side.  The looper stitching covers the raw edges of the fabric, so it doesn't unravel.

Without the attachment, I'd have to: (a) press my strip of fabric in half (b) open it out, then press the two edges in to the middle, (c) stitch.     Trying to fold such a small amount and press it, is a real pain in the b*m.  It's usually a pain in the fingers, as well, as I invariably burn myself.   It is possible to do it withough an iron,  but it's a lot of effort. 

It's so easy!

I also tried out the Double Fold binder.  This is so that I can put a binding around an edge.  It's "double fold" because all raw edges are completely encapsulated.   It can make the bound area a bit thick (because there is the original edge fabric, and then there are 4 layers of binding (folded and folded again),  but it is so neat!

This isn't  a particularly great example - I just picked up a scrap of woven fabric, and cut a scrap of jersey for the binding.  Again, I didn't change the threads on my machine, and I didn't change the needle positions (I had left and righ needles in, , and if I was doing this for real I'd probably have used the centre needle instead of one of the outside needles). 

The right (top) side of the fabric is the darker blue, and you can see how beautiful and even the binding is.    On the wrong (back) side of the fabric, you can see the beautful looper stitching.

I've got a larger sized double fold binder to try,  and a single fold binder.    I'll wait until DH has done the templates for me before I give those a test run.

Who knows?  I might even get round to making something! :-)

  

 

Flocking

I was watching the flock from the upstairs window yesterday.     They really are "a flock" now. 

There are still moments of bad temper,    but mostly they get on well enough.  Although their coops all open at about 7.15,  we have been delaying opening access to the garden until 10, 10.15. 10.30.    Even with this, there aren't too  many issues - helped by the fact that we have a run in two parts, so there is plenty of space for the enemies/frenemies to keep out of each others way.

We're making them stay in later and later because a bird-flu-pandemic lockdown is imminent and,when it comes, they will have to stay in all the time.    We're working on netting some of the outside area so that we can continue to give them a bit of "outside time" when this happens,  but it's more complicated here in the garden than it was at the allotment.  We have shrubs, and sheds, and cats,  and it's not so easy to erect something.

They continue to sleep in 4 coops.   Nora,  our oldest girl,  now sleeps on her own in little Go Up.   I think she started doing this because Fleur (who has been such a bitch) decoded she wanted to sleep in "Nora's Cube" and started picking on Nora again at bedtime.      Fleur hasn't been in that cube for some nights now, but Nora has continued to sleep alone.

In the Green Cube (which was Nora's Cube) in the fruitbed part of the run,  we have Big Bird, either Violet or Bott, I can't tell without being able to see the leg ring,  and a changing selection of one or two others.

In the Orange Cube (which was the Leghorn cube), we usually have 3 birds.  It's not always the same 3.

In the Purple Cube, is everyone else.  This might be 8 birds.  One night it was 10 birds.

I'm happy that the birds are mixing where they are sleeping, as it means it's likely to be less cliquey overall. Of course,m I'd like them to get down to just 2 Cubes, as this would be easier to manage, and would free up the other 2 for emergencies (or future chicks,  I hear myself whispering). 

They've got a good amount of garden space at the moment, as they have been given DH's raised beds to explore.  Looking at them, in lines and groups spread around the garden, I found myself thinking "15 isn't such a lot"

But I do remember that it's only "not such a lot" because they are all getting on.  And I remember how miserable it was when they weren't.

I need to update the notes to my brother.   During Covid, I had written instructions for him on what to do with the Girls (each one),  in the event that something happened to both me and DH.    I'd updated the instructions once (twice? can't remember) during the intervening months, as the girls started to settle down.  

Hotting Up

I'm struggling to regulate my temperature at the moment.

It's cold, so I'm wearing a jumper.  The soles of my feet ache a bit (a combination of cold and plantar fasciitis) so I've also been wearing slipper sock things to try and help them. .

I'm finding that I'm fine one minute, and then suddenly I feel a burst of heat explode in my arms and then rise through my shoulders, neck and face.  I feel quite unwell while it's happening.  Once that's retreated, my feet start roasting.   It's most likely hot flushes.    I had hoped that I had gone through the menopause while I still used my Mirena, but I'm assuming now that was not the case.

 

Seizing up

We're not moving as much as normal (whatever "normal" was.  Seems a long time ago).  

It's a lovely November day.   I stood on the doorstep for the two minutes silence,  along with just a couple of neighbours (surprised there weren't more actually, as we have plenty who are in the older age group that tend to feel the importance of this).     Of course there was nothing to mark the end of two minutes and, when I eventually felt able to fish my phone out of my pocket and check,  it had actually been a 3 and a half minute silence.

We're doing Pilates three times a week now,  and it's helpful - but it's not enough on its own.    Early this afternoon I dragged a very reluctant DH out to do a walk around our local recreation ground.     Just a short walk, just under a mile,  but it was good to get the air in my lungs and my legs stretched.

The Pilates teacher is also running a 30 day challenge, which DH is quite keen for us to do. 

I bought a Shakti mat to try.  I can't lay on it without a cover on,  but it's quite comfortable with it.  I can only manage short sessions though and I've not been doing it regularly.    I'm going to find a way to make it part of my daily routine.  Let's be honest, it's not as if I don't have time for it.

A recent blood test indicated that one of my medications needed upping. I started on the higher dose on Friday, so  it will be interesting to see if I notice any improvements.    I've also been increasing the dose of my 2 tinctures.  I'm now at 18 drops (0.6ml) of each, which is still less than a third of the recommended amount at the bottom of the range.   I'll be increasing to 24 drops (0.8ml shortly). 

My rosacea had improved noticeably, for the briefest of times.  I looked in the mirror and was amazed to see a difference.  I took photos and compared with previous photos to make sure I wasn't imagining it.  A few days later, the Rosacea was back,  and I'm not sure why.   I imagine the stuff in my gut (that I'm trying to get rid of) started fighting back a little harder.

Isobelle, our elderly cat,  is seizing up a bit.  The November and December weather does this to her every year. Each year, we keep a careful eye on her in case she's suffering.  So far, she's been OK,  just a bit slow and stiff ("I know that feeling").

We've started giving her some stuff to help her movement.  She's sleeping a lot.    She had her monthly check up at the Vet on Friday - I'm so happy that they are able to carry on seeing patients -   and she'd put on a litttle bit of weight. I guess that's really because she hasn't been running around so much. 

The kittens were most interested in Izzy being put in a bag. I'm not sure she appreciated them sitting on top, and biffing her from all sides!

Shelby has been busy chasing squirrels.    She's also tried chasing Fay, one of our few really loopy hens.  Unfortunately, Fay reacts by shrieking and running away, which really encourages Shelby to chase her.      Shelby has no intention of actually catching her though; I watched several interactions over the last few days and can see from the way Shelby behaves that this is the case.

I'm getting the stirrings of an Itch to Stitch (An Urge to Serge, ha ha, I must tell my brother that one).  I tested out one of the sets of accessories, the 5/8" downturn feller, for my coverstitch and it worked quite well.  That is to say it worked well on a straight bit of fabric,  I've got to work out how to use it "in the round".     I've got to have a go at one of the double fold binders,  but these require a different method of garment contruction to the one I usually use,  and I've not had success with that method when I've tried it before. 

I need to do something though.  How many times have I said that?   I don't know!

Hand Made

My little cousin (actually my first cousin once removed), Miss T,   made me some things for my birthday.

First, she made me a superb lemon drizzle cake.  It was divine.  She achieved a brilliant combination of sugar and lemon in the drizzle,  it was like eating sugar and lemon pancakes when I was a kid (when pancakes were once a year only,  and only came with sugar and lemon.  Lots of sugar. Lots of Jif Lemon).

It was divine.

 

She also made me a clever little tag, which was a cat on one side and a chick (complete with an on-offable light for the wattles) on the other.

The light is actually red, the camera adjusted it to white for some reason.

Absolutely lovely!

Lockdown, again

I'm going to try and do a few specific things during this new 4 week lockdown.

I've got some new feet arriving today, courtesy of my birthday.  They are meant to go with my new coverstitch machine, which won't be arriving until January now,  but I should be able ot get them to work on the current model.    I'm going to try them all out, and possibly try and use some of them properly before lockdown is finished.

Next, we're going to decorate some butter dishes. Our local pottery place is opening on Thursdays and Saturdays  during Lockdown for people to drop off pieces for firing and to collect them.   I'm hoping to get ours done in the next week. Maybe.

Also on the  ArtyCrafty front,  my DexDIL and DGDs got me something crafty for my birthday.  It's kinda like a Cross Stitch/Paint by Numbers, but instead of cross stitch or painting, it involves sticking specifically coloured plastic pieces on a canvas.  It's a chicken related picture, and I think it's going to look fab when it's done.

We're going to finish degaraging.

I'm not making christmas cakes this year, for the first time in 32? years.   I am making Christmas puddings though.   This year, of course, we don't know who is going to be where at Christmas,  so I'm making a number of of small puddings;  if we can get together, people can bring their puddings with them.     I made the pudding on Tuesday,  steamed them all yesterday, and I've cleaned and rewrapped the cooked puddings today.   This one can actually have a small tick against it already.  It's not a big tick because I still have to sort out the labels and instructions, and arrange to send them out

.

 

Divisions

Not my post, but I found it interesting

No win situation

I wish the Media would just stop for a while.

Whatever decision the Governmnet took, the Press would just go on about the harm that particular decision was doing. 

It's a shitty situation.  There is no right answer.

Let's just stop complaining, and try and get on with it

De garaging

We rent a garage, and for the past year it's been a waste of money.   The rent was increased by 50% in one hit,  but we have been reluctant to give it up as we might not be able to get one again if we need it in the future.    I've been doing next year's budget, and it's just such a waste of money that we are going to have to let it go

A few days ago we went to see what was in it, to see what would have to be done to clear it by the end of the year.

I immediately started de-garaging.     The easy bits first.  The two bikes, used by various grandchildren and now outgrown,  have been found new homes.    I'm pleased for them,  as they will get to be ridden a lotmrather than spending most of their time in the garage.

There are a few other bits that will be relocated in one of the sheds,  and I'll aim to move those when we next have a dry day. Our shed space is lacking since we had to bring everything back from the allotment, we've already had to dispose of a lot of "come in handy" stuff anyway.

There's a pile of  roof tiles which we will probably argue about (argue about wheter to keep them,  and then where to keep them ).    And then we have to deal with some of the more emotional/memorabilia things, where there won't be arguments, just decisions to be made.

I'd like to get it wrapped up in the next couple of weeks,  rather than the next couple of months, but the weather - and Covid -  will have a part to play in whether that can happen.

 

Logging

The log delivery arrived this morning.  They'd given us a "7.30 to 12.30" window, so I was up, showered,dressed and ready at 7 (been caught out before!).    They arrived at about 9, which was fine.

Our usual log supplier, a big local estate,  no longer does logs.  They've sold the timber part of their business to some national chain,  and the logs part is no more.     It's a shame, as they delivered large loads (3 cubic metres) unbagged, and were (comparitively speaking) good value.

I tried the log chap before that (who used to deliver in cubic metre bags, so not  quite so many per cubic metre), but no more.  The chap who, last year, got lots of local recommendations?; he and his facebook page are no more. 

I wonder if its the new Stove regulations that are coming in to force?  Or Covid?  I've no idea. 

I looked more widely.  There were a few national companies, selling kiln dried logs.    These were selling closely stacked pallets, where 1.8m cubed was apparently the same as 3 cubic metre bags.   They had pictures to prove it.     That seemed like an OK idea, but when I looked at ordering, I saw that they were all coming from a long way "up North". (Yorkshire and Aberdeen);  this would mean a lorry coming hundreds of miles, and that seemed stupid.      

Some local chaps were advertising,  but I doubted that the logs genuinely were seasoned.  Some were advertising by weight, so I definitely gave them  wide berth!

In the end,  I picked someone about 20 miles away, and I was expecting an unbagged delivery.  It was a bit weird because the lorry came with cubic metre bags on,  and they emptied 3 cubic metre bags by our gate (and took the bags away).   So, from that point of view,  it wasn't quite as big a delivery as I had expected.   On the plus side,  I remembered that, according to their website,  their logs are barn stored to season them,   so I guess that bagging them makes sense.

It's nearly all Ash, which is great.  I've no idea how well seasoned it really is, I'll find out when we start using it in a week or so (my log basket is full of the last of last year's logs at the moment). 

Log deliveries usually cause arguments between us.   This time, we agreed on a compromise , and it was the best of both approaches rather than the worst of both.

We still had some old cubic metre bags from a few years ago, so DH laid 2 of them out in the greenhouse (which he'd cleared in preparation).    I started filling the two wheelbarrows while he did this.  He came and got a full wheelbarrow to empty into the big bag,  and I started filling the "carry into house" bags.  (Thank you Ikea for the perfect sized bags!).

Each time he brought back an empty barrow (and went off with a full one), I filled the empty one, then continued with the grab bags.

It's difficult to tell that the pile is diminishing,  so to help keep me motivated, I cleared the centre of the pile making 2 smaller piles.   Then I worked from the edge of one to the middle.    That way I can see how one pile relates to another, and I can see it diminishing.

I had a different type of bag for the tiny bits which we use for kindling,  and another bag for the small "logs".  In previous years, these bits got kicked to the side and then picked up at the end. This time, I dealt with them as I came across them, so they weren't handled twice.

We ended up with two cubic metre bags of loose logs,  and a cubic metre's worth of grab bags.  DH's preparation meant that everything was tidy.

It took a while, and I had to stop to do some Pilates stretches a few times,  but then it was done.  And it didn't take too long.

I wish I'd taken some before, during, and after photos.  I'll have to remember next year. 

Rabbit Hole

I disappeared down a rabbit hole on Thursday.

It started.....I'm not sure I can remember how it started.

I think I was putting something in the wardrobe, and I had  realised some other stuff in the drawer could be  chucked.     No, that's not right.

It occurred to me that I might be able to use my little handycam as a webcam.  I tried it with the USB and it didn't work.  I could play back to the laptop, I could upload to the laptop, but I couldn't live stream.   My handycam has an HDMI port, and I wondered if that might work (I now know the answer is no, but I didn't know that at the time).

I pulled the box of cables out of the cupboard in th living room.  I'm very organised.  Every cabke is labelled.  Cables that go together, are bagged together and the bag is labelled.   The problem is the stupid Ikea boxes are spatially inefficient.       As I looked at the mountain of neat bags, I decided there had to be a better storage box.

I had a big plastic box in one of the cupboards upstairs.  It was fulk if vacuum cleaner attachments.  I emptied that on to the sofa, and put the cables in the box.  I could get so many more in, and it was a better use of space. 

It looked stupid on the shelf next to the other Ikea baskets.  I was sure I had more of these plastic things somewhere.  And that is when I slipped down the rabbit hole.

I ended up all the cupboard turned out, all over the living room floor.    In the search for replacement receptacles for the Brannas (sp?) baskets that had been in there, I had also ended up turning out one wardroobe upstairs, all over the bedroom floor),  and one shelf in another wardrobe which had things like odd socks in the tubs that I needed.

In the end I managed to reclaim  2 large Variera rtubs and 5 small ones.    I also found various other shaped containers that might(but didn't) work, and their previous contents were deposited wherever they happened to be.

Not only that, but I decided to remove a cubby hole shelf from the cupboard, so I had to relocate the contents,   put two extra (glass) shelves in the cupboard,  and so on.

In normal times I would just have bitten the bullet, driven to Ikea, and bought what I needed. 

Instead, I had a trail of destruction all over the house.  

I couldn't stop myself. I had to carry on until the cupboard was sorted.  Once that was done, I'd be able to fix up everyrhing else.

Well, I managed to get the original, glass fronted, cupboard  sorted eventually.   I even managed to move photos off the windowsill in to it, which was a bonus.  Teh kittens keep knocking them off the windowsill.  

I managed to box the "Camera Accessories" from the original cupboard along with my old camera, which had been stuffed in another cupboard. I use my phone to take pics now, so I decided to pack the camera and bits away in the loft, and think about selling it.    This led me to rearrange that other cupboard as well, as I had some unexpected space in it.

The wardrobe contents were sorted.  I binned stuff, I put stuff in the Charity pile, I rearranged stuff, and that's now less clogged up.  The odd socks went into the bin. I do have a craft book with suggestions on uses for odd socks,   but I wasn't in the mood.    DH went through the binned socks retrieved 5 to reunite with the orphans that he had been keeping in his sock drawer (having forgotten that we have had  an orphan sock box in my wardrobe).

It took hours.  It took all day, all evening,  and part of the next day to get under control.  

It's neat and tidy now.  The plastic boxes are less aesthetically pleasing than the baskets they replace,  but they work better.  The cupboard looks less cluttered, even though it actually has more stuff in it.

The wardrobes look better.

Some of the other cupboard.....well, I need to find suitable replacements for the plastic boxes.  

But I'll worry about that another day.

 

Wins and fails

Lots of clutter clearing: Done
Boxes and packaging, for a friend who is downsizing: Done
Quick trip to Waitrose to get puectin/Certo/Jam sugar to make Quince Jelly in Jam Maker: Done
Quince Jelly in the electric jam maker: Done
Sewalaong on Zoom, run by the lovely Jane from Jane White Tuition: Done

Actually, I've an almost endless list of little achievements, all done.

I'm hyper hormonal, which is a bit surprising and very annoying for both me and my husband.   It's horrendous.  

It's so bad that I'm starting to wish I hadn't had the Mirena removed.  I wish I could help you appreciate  what a monumental statement that is.   I can't articulate just how bad that makes it.   

I hope to god this is only temporary, I don't know what the eff I am going to do otherwise.

I don't really understand how and why this should be.    The Mirena was 8 years old and all the stuff I'd read suggested that it would long since have run out of Progesterone. The doctor confirmed this at the time I had it removed.    Effectively it was just a piece of plastic (or whatever it is), so it wasn't doing anything.  

So how come I'm now getting all PMT?

he only saving grace, if there is such a thing, is that I am aware of it.  I can't bear not being in cotrol of my emotions, and I am trying to keep a lid on the boiling mass of rage,  anxiety, tearfulness that I am experiencing.  

I'm failing at that somewhat, but I'm aware enough of what's going on to try and apologise for it, at the time.

I'm taking paracetomol for the discomfort.  It's not extremely painfull, it's just low grade dull sensation, but it is very wearing. It's adding to my snappiness.

Honestly, with all its potential faults, having a Mirena was better than having this.

 

 

Cat Beds

Since the kittens arrived,  their 'stuff' has proliferated to the point of ridiculousness.  The worst offending item is the cat bed.

It's my fault. 

It started innocently enough.  I had an Ikea dolls bed in the loft, which I'd bought for our cats to use having seen some cute pics on Facebook. Izzy and Wash had other ideas though, so the bed was relegated to the loft. 

The kittens, especially Shelby,  love it.

While I was up there, I found a couple of old soft beds. I think I'd bought them for the other cats when they were kittens, bbut they were difficult to get the fur off and weren't particularly washable.  I also found a cat mat type thing, covered in VetBed.  I had a use for the VetBed, and I decided to defur the other 2 beds and ive them to a cat charity.

As soon as they touched the ground,  Lewis found one, and decided it was his.   That now sits next to Shelby's bed.   The second bed from the loft was put under the kitchen table, was discovered by all of them,  and is now a shared bed in the kitchen.

I put bedding on the sofa cushions, to keep the sofa cat hair free (ha ha ha).     One is a donut type bed, the other is a piece of VetBed  that covered the cat mat I found in the loft. Now that its cold,  the VetBed actually has a little electric blanket, set on a timer,  underneath,  as this helps ease Izzy's arthritis.   The mat that had been inside it which was put on the floor by the doors to the garden andhas now been adopted as a bed by anyone who wants some alone time.

I bought an cat activity mat to help keep them amused.  Shelby uses it a lot, and I was surprised to find that she likes to doze there as well.  

During the heat wave, we bought a cat pod where you can set the temperature to cool or heat.  That was a flop.   It's still sitting in the living room, and I will be moving it to the loft at some poing.

The cat trees (did I tell you about my mega cat tree?) provide a bed in the crows nest,  a hanging bed frame, and two caves, plus fluffy covered shelves. 

The 3 cats have 10 beds downstairs.  That's not counting the cat tree beds,and the seats that DH and I occupy each evening, and the rug in front of the fire

The old laundry basket,  made of  palm leaves, or water hyachinth, or whatever it is,  lies on its side in another part of the kitchen.  It wasn't an old laundry basket.  It was my actual laundry basket.  But the kittens played in it, rolled it round the kitchen, used it as a bed, chewed it to pieces,  so now it's theirs.

I've tried to remove one or other bed from time to time,  but the cats end up searching for it and sitting around looking lost.

I will rationalise them.

Eventually.

 

Quince

DH has mentioned quince a few times.

This year, for the first time, we've had lots of them on the tree, and DH picked them and put them in his workshop to finish ripening.  He's been mentioning that they are getting very ripe, as what I'm sure he really wants to say is "for god's sake woman, you wanted this bloody tree,   why don't you do something with the damned fruit"

So, yesterday,  I set about doing something.

Firstly,  I started on Quince Jelly.   I ran out of home ade Quince Jelly some time ago.  I bought some Tiptree Quince Jelly,  and it wasn't anything special.  The Quince Lady, who used to produce loads of stuff over in Henley, doesn't any more,  so the only option pen to me was to make my own.   So, I cleaned and chopped some, and put them on to simmer, then put them in a jelly bag to strain overnight.

Secondly, I had decided to try making Memnrillo, which I was sure I'd read someone had made using Thermy or CookEpert.     I found a CookExpert recipe for Membrillo, on a spanish cook expert site, pasted it into Google Translate,  and had a go at making some of that.   It's currently sitting in trays, drying out, in my kitchen.     It will be there for a few days.  There's no point taking a picture yet as the trays are covered in parchment. One of the trays was a collapsible thing, specially designed for moulding of hot sticky confections, which  I bought about 10 years ago to try making Turnkish Delight.  Needless to say (but I'm going to), this is its first time being used.

This morning I woke up with a sugar headache, a result of testing the lscrapings of Membrillo from various stages yeaterday.  The last thing I wanted to do was to make jelly.   But I did. 

I'm not sure my Jelly is going to set.   It's a shame, because it looks amazing. It tastes heavenly.   I remembered why I stopped making Jam as I cleared everything up.  I even had to put the hob thingummies in the dishwasher.

There was a lot  of juice still in the pulp, and I resisted the urge to squeeze the bag.   Clear jellies only come from unsqueezed pulp.   It seemed a shame to dispose of the pulp, so I blitzed it in the CookExpert,  and decided to try drying it like fruit leather.  It might not taste great, but I could probably turn it to powder and it would be a fab addition to apple pies.

I do have an electric jam maker, bought as a bargain from Lakeland some years ago and never used. I had previously had a Tefal electric jam maker, which I sold as I hadn't used it for a long time.   I think I was suffering from sellers remorse when I was shopping in Lakeland the day I saw the Ball one at a much reduced price.    I'm going to try using that to make a second batch.  I'll use the same recipe (as the Ball website denies the existence of anything called Quince) as I do when I make it myself, but hopefully the jam maker will get  me a good set.  I hope so.   

I looked in my old UK preserving book (from some food Council or other), and that explained how to test for pectin content BEFORE getting to the add sugar stage of the process.  Getting an accurate guage of the pectin content impacts on how much sugar needs to be added,  so it might be quite interesting to do.   It involves methylated spirits, and I think I might try it tomorrow, before I attempt to use the electric thing.

Meanwhile,  DH is thinking about bottling his off the cuff cider.  When we juiced the final lot of apples, he decided to turn it in to cider.  Hw used to make cider regularly, and had got good at it,  but we'd got out of the habit.

The only ...what's the word?  Teh thing that you put your stuff in and leave it to .... fermenter we had available at the time was a huuuuge one,  and that's now been  sitting on the breakfast bar for a while.   We eat breakfast round it, and don't really noticce it when we're sitting down.

The kitchen is chaotic - even by our standards.   We've got two other fermenters which have home made apple wine in (it's a bit strong!) on another worktop.    We've got bags of kindling on the floor (the kindling box is a bit full),   we've got the harvesting baskets piled up in 2 places on the side,   a two tier shelf thing with membrillo on,    the jars from the quince,  the box with the unused quince in, and the last of the tomatoes to process. ....and that's without the mess that I've got on the kitchen table. 

Once the tomatoes are done,  Preston (our enormous pressure canner) can go back in the utility room, and that will make a difference to how junky the kitchen is.

Despite the chaos, I am plased I've at least tried to do something.   It'll likely be tomorrow now before I prep the quince for juicing, so it'll be Monday before I make the next batch.

Overlocker 'Oliday

A couple of weeks ago I brought my overlocker downstairs.  I mentioned my plan to my DH who said "Is it having a holiday?" (By which he meant, "Please tell me this is only temporary")

I was attending a babylockalong (with the lovely Jane White at Jane White Tuition), and I thought that having my overlocker on the kitchen table might encourage me to sew a bit more. 

I did the Babylockalong. Wwe used the overlocker to create some tissue pouches very quickly.  The picture - the only one I took - is of my first and worst attempt. It doesn't do justice to Jane's easy design and excellent teaching.

I also ade one with piping round the opening and I wish I'd taken a picture of that.

Over the next few days I had a go at mask making, and then found I needed to press things so that all stalled a bit while I re-covered my tabe top ironing board.

Since then, I've had a play at making some reusable cleansing wipes, and that's been about it.   The table has been a bit congested, which doesn't help - but that's just a convenient excuse.

I've got another babylockalong on Monday,  so I'll keep the machine down until Tuesday, and then I'll move it back to the guest bedroom.

I've no idea why I can't motivate myself... I have a pile of things I'd like to make, but just no appetite for it.  Maybe the list is too long?