Named and Shamed

I love my kids to bits but jeez they're messy buggers (kindle just changed that to messy nuggets.  Sigh. )

This evening I had to serve dinner to six people.  There were the sum total of two plates in the cupboard.  Two!!

A reconnaissance mission beyond the enemy lines of their bedroom doors, armed with a chair held aloft in a lion tamer styley and wearing a welders mask, gauntlets and a boiler suit, revealed two tea plates, a bowl and a dinner plate in DD's room and the grand total of seven dinner plates in KTT's room.   Neither of them were in and so in view of the fact that I actually needed to use the crockery I had liberated from their rooms, I also had to use a flame thrower to chip away at the congealed ketchup and other highly suspect materials in order to make them sanitary enough to eat from.  I was bloody fuming. Ordinarily I'd have dumped the whole lot in the middle of their beds and pulled the covers over them for them to discover later but that wasn't an option.

So I named and shamed them on Facebook along with a picture of the crime scene.

As anticipated, DD went ballistic and and sent me a text (imagine a screamer missive in Harry Potter) asking me if I "really needed to put that on Facebook and make her look stupid?"  Well yes, actually, I did!   KTT just promptly detagged himself and left a one word observation: "gas"

Tee hee.

I think I've found an Achilles heel.

Next on the agenda will be updates on how they manage to stand up from the loo to retrieve a new toilet roll yet can't quite manage to replace the empty one, which requires a hugely krypton factor-ish conundrum to be solved involving fearlessly sliding off the empty tube and replacing it with a full one.  Nope. It's easier just to leave the new roll on the side of the bath. Who knew?

Or will it be the story of the dumping of teetering laundry baskets in the kitchen, never quite making the extra half inch into the machine.   DD might occasionally put a load of washing on, but may not return to the machine for a month or so by which time the laundry fairies have visited.

In an amazing feat of not-switched-on-at-all-ness yesterday, KTT took out the bathroom bin, emptied it into the wheelie, came back into the house, set the bin on the stairs then walked past it to go back up to his room.

I love em. I love the bones of em.  But they drive me sodding batty!

Lay Lady Lay

Actually ladies, could you have a rest cos we have an egg mountain!  Tiny bantam eggs, rich dark brown huge ones and large paler ones.  We haven't tracked down who's laying what yet but I sincerely hope the big ones are from the maran and not the bantams!!

Our new flock we took on as 10 week old chicks have now blossomed into sweet young ladies. Well. Apart from one. Our beautiful lavender pekin bantam turned out to be a cockerel so sadly we had to give him away. Our neighbours wouldn't have tolerated his lusty crow every morning and several times each day so needs must.  such a shame. He was a beauty. Here he is in the foreground just before we let him go, looking like the king of his castle.  

We had a mixed brood of two chocolate pekins (Titch and  Myrtle) a black maran (Chickneequa) (don't ask), a gorgeous little flitty-about mille-fiore (Millie, natch) and a huge Light Sussex  called Big Bird)

I was surprised when they all started laying before Xmas. I thought they'd have been waiting until around Feb for some reason but they're all merrily popping out eggs all over the place with no sign of slowing down at present! 

This morning Ktt 

and I breakfasted like kings (and Queens!) with boilies and soldiers for him 

And poached for me. Cept I forgot to take a pic until I was being mugged by the hooligan for a toast crust.  This dog would forego prime steak for toast

I use poaching pods cos I'm hopeless at perfectly poached eggs!

Well that's four used up.  Now for the other 19!!

Of dreich days, argumentative kindles and cabbages.

How do?!

Welcome to new followers Briony and Janina. Many thanks for your company.

How are we all then?  Another "dreich" (thanks Aril!!) day here in the Black Country.  I love that word.  DREICH. It says it perfectly doesn't it?  A Scottish word for dreary and bleak. It even sounds like a mixture of those two very words.  The Kindle insisted that it was changing the word to "French"  and I had to retype it about three times. My life revolves around arguing with my Kindle!  It does my swede in.  (Not Sweden.  Sigh)

Lovely fella had his manky tooth (Kindle converted that to manly tooth. Teehee) removed today so he's feeling a bit sore around the gills. At least it's out though. He had a nasty infection in his gum just before Xmas so it needed to be taken out.

Another slow news day here at the pod, so I'll share some old news instead. Long standing readers might remember me posting about my brother's attempts at growing monster cabbages last year. Unfortunately they peaked a little early for the Malvern show and he was just down to one to exhibit; a mighty legume he christened Colin. Unfortunately Colin didn't win any prizes but he certainly stood up well amongst his peers. Bro has already sown his new batch for this year and has them growing under a very intricate hydroponics system to be in with a chance for this year's shows

Colin in his hey day

Bro won first prize with his pot leeks

Mum, on the other hand, was thrilled to receive second prize at a local allotment show for her two cabbages which were in fact runts of the litter she had inherited from Bro which she had grown for fun. Just look at her little face!!

There you go then. How about that for a heap of randomness?!  Aren't you lucky?!

See you soon
Xx

Bubbleicious

So it's back to work time and the first Monday of the new year.  Commuting returns to its usual nightmare state. Over subscribed trains rammed with sullen faced young men and overly perfumed women all glued to their phones. Blimey you can tell there has been much giving of scent for Christmas. Our carriage this morning smelt like a migraine inducing tart's boudoir. I adore perfume but was actually glad to breathe in some Birmingham smog when I got off the train.

The new job is going. Um. Ok I guess.  I still don't know whether I've done the right thing but I haven't broken anything yet and haven't been yelled at. I'm nearing the end of my probation period so I shall know shortly whether I have to look elsewhere.

Man is off for a few days as he has to have a nasty dental appointment tomorrow to remove a shattered tooth. He's currently raising the rafters by snoring his head off. I'm not used to company on a school night as he's usually at work. He best quieten down as he may not need the dentist to remove his tooth tomorrow!!  It's a good job I love him!

I have discovered bubble tea. Have you guys heard of it?  Goodness it's soooo good.  I had a lychee one today. I may have found a new obsession. You can get milky type ones but I go for the fruit ones. It's made with a base syrup, topped up with ice and Jasmine tea then poured over these little ball things which you suck up the straw and pop in your gob releasing tiny bursts of flavour.  The balls are actually made of tapioca but so far removed from anything resembling school puddings!  It's So different. It originated in Taiwan and got very popular in americky before landing here.  As if I need any new obsessions!

See you soon x

Stuff. and nonsense. ( probably)

Hellair!

The house has been de-christmased, everything is back in its rightful place. And you will have noticed, there is a new addition to the "stuff" table.  I love stuff. I couldnt be minimalist if I tried

No hooligan hound, Studhead Sally is waaaay too cool for you!

This is Studhead Sally.  A head customised by my very clever sis in law.  she was a Xmas pressie. Studhead Sally.  Not my sis in law.  Very 'me' don't you think?

Above the stuff table resides our memories of Glastonbury purchase.  At the bottom of the High Street is a shop called Happy Glastonbury which sells the usual Glasto loveliness, crystals, jewellery, charms etc. But we fell in love with these images which were available in a variety of media. Mugs, cards, canvases... each one showing the Tor in the background.    Being limited for space due to travelling by coach, we settled for some cards which I framed in a multi aperture mount and frame when we got home. It makes me happy every time I look at it.

Slow news New Year.

Happy New Year bloglies. I hope all is well in your collective worlds.

I had to go to work on New Years Eve. Boo to that, but unusually I saw a glimpse of sunshine, albeit a brief one, catching the brickwork of the council building which gave it a somewhat honeyed glow. Odd to think that just a couple of weeks ago the German market with all its kitsch rubbish and sausagey scents was in full swing on this very spot.

I rarely take a lunch break, but I decided to take myself over to the new Grand Central shopping arena and dragged myself, kicking and screaming in protest I might add, into Cath Kidston's store whereupon a very pretty orphan handbag leapt into my arms and nestled there, looking lost and forlorn until I promised to adopt it.  This is why I don't take lunch breaks very often.  In my defence I spent Christmas money so there.

I couldn't wait to get home.  The crowds at 5pm were almost as bad as they were on Christmas eve carrying arms full of carrier bags and bemoaning the fact that the shops were having the audacity to close at 5pm.  How much "stuff" do people actually need?

I scurried for the train at home time. Well scurrying was perhaps a bit over ambitious.  For scurrying read limping painfully dragging my gammy leg behind me.  Once home I collapsed into the bath, anointed myself with posh new lotions and potions,  donned new jamas and shared a Chinese takeaway with me lovely fella. Snuggled on the sofa we saw in the New Year with Bryan Adams who put on a surprisingly good sing along.

Yesterday was spent in hibernation. I adore being at home at this time of year and really do feel a physical wrench if I have to go out. The vile weather we are having doesn't help. I just want to be here in my chair; snoozing, resting, crocheting and the occasional web browsing and blog reading makes me a happy bunny.  I feel very weak, tired and bone achey after a really heavy cold just before Xmas so I don't feel guilty at all.

We popped out for a beautiful Indian meal with the family for a couple of hours last night which was just long enough to be out.

It's rained for most of the day today too. Double yuk. Shopping for essentials only was done  quick smart today before home again at top speed.

Gawd what a load of bloody uninteresting drivel that post was!  Must try harder methinks!

Wishing you all good spaces and health for 2016.

May the force be strong in you.  

Blessings x