Dozy Bird

As I went to let the chickens out yesterday morning, the big run was covered in white feathers - to say I had a panic would be an understatement,  out came the 4 chickens bustling and rushing for their morning feed, in fact perfectly normal.  

Then a proper look at Stella - the white and black hen and overnight it seems she looks like an ex battery chicken.  A thorough run and house inspection followed, checking for holes to see if anything had got in with the chicks - nothing to be found.   No option then but to catch the now very tatty looking chicken and inspect her for damage.   Stella does not like being picked up - she nevers has and she is a big bird too,  after pinning her in a corner I managed an inspection. 

Fortunately she has not been attacked in anyway and has just decided to have a moult - she is completely covered in little pin feathers poking out all over - a sure sign that she is about to replace her feathers. BUT the dozy bird just doesn't realise that the coldest time of the year is rapidly approaching and she is going to be cold!   Chickens are supposed to moult at the end of the summer/early Autumn,  but not this one - she has decided now is the time.  

Tatty Stella

Poor Stella has lost her lovely tail feathers



 She has always been contrary this one and will go broody at the drop of a hat - she really would like to be  a mum! We often have to kick her out of the nest box when we notice she has been in there all day,  she will gather up everyones eggs and sit on them, they are really hot when we taken them out!!  The noise and bok-boking she makes in protest is hysterical - at least for the first 5 minutes or so,  when she is still at it 30 minutes later - it is not quite so funny!  

We will have to keep a close a eye on her if the temperature drops before she feathers up again.  Tonight when I have closed the hen house for the night,  Stella is in her usual spot in the nest box with Nando cuddled up tightly next to her.  Usually Nando sleeps on the high perch with the other two - these 2 chicks are friends and I am hoping she is in the nest box to keep Stella warm. 

The posh girls enjoying fruit loaf soaked in hot water for breakfast.

The advent calender is finished!   A joint effort this project - the Portuguese Housekeeper did all the cutting and sewing,  a rapidly tutorial on the sewing machine  for her and she did a great job at sewing all the pockets, and sewing it all together.   I finished off the little bits of glueing and then filled the pockets.   It is ready now for My Girl and the Portuguese Housekeeper to open the pockets for the next 25 days!!!! 

Lastly a health update - I think me and Mr Milly are now finally  and slowly on the mend after this horrid flu/virus thing we have had.  It has knocked us completely sideways  for almost a week, today we are both just starting to feel a little better - thank goodness!

One of those weeks

The week started with the bread maker not working,  then my laptop died a death,  next it was my mobile phone which has now decided it will not switch on and lastly it's me - I'm poorly! :(

The bread machine is now sorted  as you know - operator error!  The laptop is now working after finding a new charger  and Amazon swiftly dispatching it,  fortunately that was all that was wrong with the laptop.  The mobile phone is still not working which is very very annoying as I have only had it for 5 months,  so that one is stil to be sorted.

As for me - I'm dosed up on strong pain killers to tackle the blinding headache and ease the aches and pains and for the last three days have either sat on the sofa or been sleeping. - which is completely unheard of for me. And to top it all,  Mr Milly has now come out in sympathy and we are BOTH unwell.    Not a brilliant combination when we are both poorly at the same time, we are muddling through - taking it in turns to fetch the medication and make the occassional drink and keeping our fingers crossed that it will soon pass.

Crossing off the list

The list of Christmas to-do or to finish is still there.  Fortunately it is not growing at this time and I have managed to cross a couple of things off the list;-

Rag Wreath - this is now finished..BUT my sister in law has seen it and now wants one too!  That came off the list and the 2nd one is now on it!

Two make-up bags finished,  10 more to go....

Hat and matching wrist warmers - finished!

Two dishcloths - done!

 Note to self - don't add any further projects to the list!

Laptop

My laptop is broken......... complete nightmare!  I have all sorts of patterns, photographs, recipes, blogs, favorite links...  the list is pretty endless really of all the things on my PC and I am missing it.

Tomorrow I am going to try and get into a repair shop and see if there is anything that can be done.  So tonight I am using Mr Milly's PC, this will be a quick Blog post tonight with a better post tomorrow, hopefully!  And it looks like a milestone is about to happen,  Blog stats tonight are showing 1999 views of my little Blog since I started it way back in May!  That really is quite amazing!

We have had a minor saga this weekend.   Mr Milly baked bread on Saturday morning and to say it was a disaster would be an understatement.  A little flat pancake of a loaf was the result - and straight into the food waste bin that went.  Mr Milly then tried again and we waited the allotted time with bated breath.....  the result, a little flat pancake of a loaf - that food waste bin is now full of inedible loaves of bread.

We examined the recipe and did a double check - did everything go in?  Was the right flour used?  Was the right amount of water used?  Were the settings right on the machine?  On and on the checklist went - We really checked and double checked everything - the verdict -  The machine was broken.    

This morning I decided to try once more and set the machine underway. With very little hope that the machine would be OK, into the local shops we went looking for a new machine.  We looked in 3 shops at all of their  bread makers,  checked the boxes, made sure the control panels was in the right place for Mr Milly to see it and then took out the loaf pans to see what size and shape they were, eventually (about 2 hours later!) we decided on one and as the shop had a discount weekend it was reduced by 10% - back home we trudged with the shiny new machine.

The new machine is still packed in its box and will not be unpacked by us!  The reason - my loaf in the 'broken' bread maker was perfect!  Me, My Girl and Mr Milly stood looking at the perfect loaf in complete disbelief......  so back to the dissecting of Mr Milly's 2 failed attempts......  finally we found the culprit.....  When I said to Mr Milly use hot water for the yeast,  I meant hot and not the boiling, straight out of the kettle water Mr Milly had used for BOTH loaves....  the poor yeast never stood a chance and was killed off before it even reached the bread maker!   Oh well - back to the shops we shall go...................................

My Girl

Is home - woo hoo!  She is home now until the beginning of January and I am really excited to have her at home with us - I have really missed her!

I'm not sure that I have missed her untidyness - but I suppose that goes hand in hand with teenagers!  And she went away with very dark  brown hair and has returned with very blond hair!  It does look good - but I think it will take a bit of getting used to  LOL!

Anyway - just a quick post today as I have just returned from my two days away and am now really looking forward to mum - daughter catch-up time x

Panic.....

I thought I was really well prepared for Christmas and had started all the makes early enough.....  now I am starting to panic!!

We had a weekend away to Wales this weekend with some friends and family visiting time, which was lovely the weather was warm and sunny for the whole weekend which was a real treat in Wales and in the middle of November.

This has meant now that I am behind with what is still left to be done.   The house is filled with UFO's (UnFinished Objects!),  the Lottie and the raspberry beds is still unfinished and time is rapidly marching on..  I was in the East of the country for 2 days last week and 2 days again this week and with the weekend in Wales I feel like I haven't much time at home!

The current list of makes to be completed is;-

2 blankets - crochet
1 hat - crochet
1 snood - crochet
1 rag wreath - cutting, tying, crochet
12 make-up bags - sewing
pair of lounge trousers - sewing

And if that isn't enough, I am baking cupcakes tonight with an apron to be finished, all  for a charity day and fund raising at work tomorrow!!

No photos today - no time to take any or upload to Blogger............  photos to follow!

Bins

Courtesy of our local council we now have 4 bins in the kitchen.  You did read that right 4 bins!   One for recycling, one for compostables,  one for food waste and one for anything else that is left over.   We also have an egg shell bin. (The shells are baked in the oven and ground up and occasionally given to the chickens as calcium supplement - this helps with making great eggs and more egg shells!)

What a mission it is now everytime something is to be thrown away - what goes in which bin, is this compostable,  if not is it food waste?  Is this bottle recycling or general waste and that is for everything that is to be disposed off!

Mr Milly is fab at the composting thing and we have frequent debates about whether something is compost able or why I put something in the general waste...... I'm still learning this whole sorting the rubbish out malarkey!  Good job I have Mr Milly though as the Lottie does need a lot of compost!

As you know I am trying to save money a bit here and a bit there - driven by the change of lifestyle that I strive for.   Mr Milly is still learning this particular and new way of  thinking.  At times he looks at me like I have completely lost the plot LOL!

Some examples of this;-

• The kitchen basil is growing up across the window and blocking out the light - chop a load of it off and whizz in the food processor with a few other store cupboard bits and pieces - Pesto made.  Frozen in ice cube trays then popped out into a tub and frozen until needed.  (Recipe on my recipe page)
• Tomato puree - after opening a new tube, the remainder goes into ice cube trays and same as for the pesto frozen until needed.  This is good too as a single cube is about a tablespoon measure - perfect for popping into whatever it needs to go into.  I know it doesn't cost much to buy - but we always have to buy a new tube every time we want to use it.  More than 1/2 of it every time is thrown away as it can't be kept.  Not any more in this house - all of it is used and we always have some on hand when we want it.   Empty tube into the recycling bin.
• Stale bread - sometimes it becomes a bread pudding for the weekends or a bread and butter pudding for tea.  This is a good thing with homemade bread - it doesn't go mouldy as quickly as store bought bread and can be kept for a while before using.   Egg shells into the egg shell bin or compost bin, crusts into food waste bin.
• Custard powder - some of the very well know supermarkets have custard powder for 6p per packet - a true bargain and perfectly acceptable custard.  Empty packet in recycling bin.
• Dish cloths.  We used to use J cloths or supermarket equivalent.  Mr Milly really did think I had lost it with this brainwave.  I rummaged in my stash of yarn and found some cotton yard,  crochet hook to the ready and now we have crochet dish cloths with matching scrubbies.  No more buying cloths and enough in the kitchen for one in use, one in the wash and one in the drawer.  AND - Mr Milly is now converted and thinks they are great,  actually I really like them too!  Scraps of left over wool into the compost bin.

Bread and Butter Pudding and Frozen Pesto cubes



Crochet dish cloth and matching scrubbie!



Breakthrough

Finally yesterday  I cleared one side of the Lottie,  right down to the front of the plot.  This was a biggie for me as I know it has to be done and the front 1/3 of the plot is still to be sorted.  This has really been getting me down for a while as it such a big job to doing on your own.   Yesterday I put my back into it and with my trusty Azada managed to clear a section of it.



Newly cleared section - to the right of the picture is the neighbouring plot

5 huge wheelbarrow loads of brambles, nettles, dock leaves, couch grass and other weeds were taken away.  I think my plot must have every type of unwanteds possible!   It is not all good though - it is still to be dug over.  The original plan was to make this into a raspberry bed with a long line of raspberry canes at one side of the plot.   I have been worrying about whether this is the right place to put them though.    This section is right next to the adjoining plot where the plot owner has not cleared this section and it has a lot of brambles growing.  In reality with the very best will in the world I do know that the brambles will spread and continue to grow on my plot along this side.

A monster bramble root - my flask in the picture to give an indication of how big this thing is!

So the dilemma - if permanent raspberry beds are put in here, the brambles would grow through and as this area won't be dug over twice annually I can just see a mess of brambles and raspberries within a very short space of time.   This area needs to have regular digging to at least try and tame the brambles.

As I was standing with my cup of tea looking at this patch contemplating what to do with it, one of the other plot holders wandered by - "You want to put potatoes in there" he said.  We then discussed this and my dilemma for a while.   Potatoes in newly dug ground for the first year helps to break the soil up apparently.  He also thought it would be a mistake to put the raspberry bed in this place.   So the decision was made.  I'm going to dig this bit over, cover with manure and compost and leave it until the spring - the new potato bed sorted!  (Well that sounded easy didn't it LOL!)

I have now decided that the raspberry bed will go in front of the water pump - no brambles have been seen in this area.  I don't think that this is  a particularly rich soil area as the turnips, suede and carrots in this bit currently haven't done to very well,  but this can all be enriched and it will be an easily managed area to cover to keep the birdies off my raspberries as they grow through.
 

The section with the sign will become the new raspberry bed.  
This is an old picture as swedes, carrots, spinach and turnips are currently growing here.


Just when I thought I was making progress - I have now given myself another job to do by the end of November  - sort out the new to be raspberry bed!   Oh well, I will just continue to plod along and tell myself it will all be done eventually!

Pumpkin Soup

I think we picked the wrong recipe - it was not good!  My Milly tackled the pumpkin and cooked the soup,   with lovely homemade bread to go with it.   We didn't like it!  I don't think it can be rescued or turned into anything else, so the remainder of the pot of soup will end up in the bin.   Oh well you win some and lose some I suppose.

It has been one of those days today  - this morning I was overcharged £7.00 in the Haberdashery shop,  I was mentally calculating what I had spent and really couldn't work out how I had spent £23.00, I checked the receipt and still couldn't work it out,  so I returned to the shop queried the bill and a refund promptly given.  On to the supermarket,  and now that I can make pastry - woo hoo!!  I wanted a loose bottom flan tin - the price on the shelf £6.50,  it went through the till at £7.25 - so I joined the queue at customer services and another refund given, this was double the difference so £1.50 was refunded.

Tonight the pumpkin soup was not good and to top the day off - I realised that one of the blankets I was making was no longer rectangular as it should be and was definitely narrowing at one end.  How very very annoying is that.   To be honest I had realised this 2 days ago and have spent the last couple of days trying to work out how I could rescue it - but here really was nothing to be done.  As the blanket has so many colours it would be impossible to unpick it,  so the only solution - work out where the narrowing had started and cut that bit off!!  I'm pretty gutted really as it has taken a couple of weeks to get to this point and I did think it would be finished this week - now it is about half the size it was and another couple of weeks work to be done.

I think I can salvage the cut piece and am working on a plan to use it in a different way - I'll let you know if that works out!.

Fortunately all was well at the Lottie today,  and I was delighted that the grass seed I had sown 2 weeks ago has sprouted and a previously muddy path now has a lovely spattering of green-ness on it.  It was a bit of a gamble sowing the seeds so late in the year and these particular seeds haven't given a good result when sown earlier in the year - but the gamble paid off and grass is growing, so that was a bit of a bonus today.



New grass being lovingly guarded by Lottie!


I picked up some Jerusalem Artichokes from Freecycle today - these will be planted in the spring.  I'm not sure yet what to do with them once they have grown - but if you don't try these things how do you know  what they will be like.   The only one little worry I have with them - they are nick- named Fartichokes!

Peculiar looking Jerusalem Artichokes

One for you, One for me

I have decided this is how things are to be!   After making the Christmas Apron on this post Sleep I decided that I wanted one too.   I have been hunting for a design and pattern that I liked and couldn't find one.  Eventually I found inspiration on Etsy for a christmas apron I liked - this one though had no pattern.  So from the ones I have at home I sort of made one up!

This apron is going to be a one off and NEVER to be repeated,  it was really fiddly to do and did take ages to complete.  However I am really pleased with it - it's different!

With Christmas looming I'm starting with some new Christmas presents.   The first one finished today - it is a Slouchy Make-up bag.  I have counted up and it looks like I am going to have to make 12 of these - I have enough various bits of material to make them, it is the zips I don't have.  Locally the zips are 89p each,  today I have found somewhere selling them for 40p each - what a massive difference!  That will be a short trip out on Saturday to get them and even taking into account the petrol for the drive I will still save quite a bit on these.

Until the zips are here I'm a bit stuck - looks like a couple of evenings of cutting out and ironing interfacing,  not particularly interesting to be doing, but at least when the zips arrive I will be able to make the bags up pretty quickly.