National Fishing Month

 

The next few weeks are National Fishing Week and there are free sessions all over the country.

One such event took place right at the end of our road!!

Perfect!

We did dabble in sea fishing last year, and it was a resounding failure!

We had no idea how to cast, or anything else that was required, with the help of a nearby fisherman we did manage to get the line out in the end but sadly it all got caught in the seaweed and we lost all our tackle!

 

 

Today we had excellent tuition from local volunteers and very soon caught one of several fish.

This sort of fishing ( don't expect me to be too technical!) was much easier than sea fishing, the casting was simple and no reeling involved.

Of course unlike sea fishing, these fish have to be replaced, but I was really pleased with how Teen Two enjoyed the session.

We arrived soon after 10am and after an hour I had a call from Teen One to say my late neighbour's son had called for me, and so I went back home to see what I could do for him and left Teen Two with his very friendly and knowledgeable helpers

 

 

I had left Teen One in charge of a Dorset Apple Cake I had made for my neighbour's son, intending to pop in after lunch.

Its as well he phoned as she totally forgot she was to take it out soon after I left!

Its a tad on the burnt golden brown side, but when we sampled the smaller one made for ourselves, it tasted ok.

There was a bit of confusion with the son, he is rather deaf so thought he was talking to me, and the message relayed from Teen One to me was a little vague, something about him going to hospital and could I call a friend.

I raced round to try and catch him, but he wasn't in, I later learned he had been admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties due to being put on the wrong medication three weeks ago!

I have since had some texts from him and he is hoping to only be in over night.

Such a shame as he was due to collect the keys to his new house tomorrow.

 

 

As Teen Two was still out fishing, I made up some sandwiches and flask of hot chocolate and made the short walk round to where he was, just in time to see him catch this tiddler!

I would be more than happy for Teen Two to get into angling, I quite like the idea of sitting by the waters edge, somewhere peaceful, with a picnic and knitting in tow!

 

 

I noticed this pretty art work on one of the memorial benches and thought what an interesting project it would be, until I saw all the tiny holes that would need to be drilled into every shell!

I will just admire this one I think!

 

 

With Teen Two happy with his rod and tub of squirmy bright maggots ( who I learnt today breath out of their bottoms!) I returned home to get on with a few chores.

On the way back I noticed the blackberries were starting to ripen...yum!

That's a little day out for us soon I reckon, we have hundreds of bushes all around us on wildlife reservations and nearby country lanes, but that's a job for a sunny day I reckon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Mystery Package

 

Today I wanted to tackle something that has been steadily growing out of control!

 

 

This is what our store room at church looked like today!

Quite a mammoth task and one largely of my own making.

But in my defence, for several years I have been single handedly doing the work that a whole team of youth workers did and some of the mess I inherited.

I have spent many hours over the years organising and decluttering, but in recent years its been as much as I can do to take stuff up at the end of each session with the thought

"I will put that away properly later"

Well later came today.

There were endless carriers of left overs from more projects than I even remembered doing!

The Teens were a great help and we were as ruthless as a "might come in handy" person can be.

 

 

To say it was a daunting task was an understatement, but it was just a case of grab a bag and make a decision on the contents.

After three hot hours we had four bin bags full up...

 

 

...and much more floor space than we had at the beginning.

I really wanted to get it more organised and there were a couple of areas we didn't get to touch, but eventually we were all too hot and tired to be productive any more.

We have at least broken the back of it and I hope that a half an hour here and there will finish it off.

One thing is for sure...we don't need any more lolly/craft sticks!

 

 

It was quite a trip down memory lane and one item I found was this little plaster cast spinner my late father in law made.

I reckon Wallace (and Gromit) was based on him.

He put a little motor together and attached it to a device to keep plaster cast moulds together whilst spinning to ensure the plaster is evenly distributed before setting.

I couldn't bear to throw it out and will get Hubby to test it...you never know, some budding inventor may just want it!

 

 

 

I also found a set of homemade wooden stilts from our youth club many moons ago.

Health and safety would probably frown on such fun these days, but I have put them on freecycle

in case they are of any interest.

 

 

 

When we left church the weather had changed dramatically and was absolutely boiling...so there was nothing for it but to head for the beach.

 

 

Whilst the Teens were cooling down in the sea, I whipped up a few rows of my knitting...

 

 

...but annoyingly I had to unpick some of last night's knitting, as I realised part way through, there was a mistake in the join.

They had attached orange instead of pink.

As this is the first sock I haven't yet seen what order the colours come in, so had to unwind a  lot of the wool to double check my suspicion was correct.

Finding a knot is irritating enough, especially for socks, but to discover the wrong colour had been attached was doubly annoying.

I left it in disgust last night as I just wasn't up to sorting it all out.

This is not the first time I have had this happen and will be complaining again...a different company this time, I hope they are as keen on customer satisfaction as the other company.

 

 

Another beach essential is a crossword book.

Both Teen One and I enjoy whiling away the time in this way.

 

 

Teen Two amused himself digging a hole and watching the tide come in and fill it up....

 

 

...whilst I was relieved to gain some ground on yesterday's colour problems.

 

 

 

We called in at the Sorting Office to collect the mystery package that was underpaid...and the mystery continues.

It is a keyring, something I haven't ordered.

Only 41p postage was paid, which is bizzare as there is no such rate with Royal Mail.

I have emailed the company and asked for a reimbursement.

I have no idea who ordered the keyring, but do have a missionary friend in Africa who often sends me little gifts with an African theme, so maybe its from her, but regardless of who paid for it, the company should have put on the full postage price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Am I Losing My Mind?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning I had an email from the builder, to say he was coming on Wednesday to remove the roof strips and lay down new ones, in the hopes this solves the problem.

He is mystified by the fact we can have heavy rain and no leak, then a little later the incessant dripping.

I am not sure I am surprised...if anything is ever going to be out of the ordinary, it will be us that gets it for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to visit my Monday Recycled Teenager as usual, did the usual supermarket trip, then back home to pack up some socks I have been knitting for family in Australia.

I remembered the other day I had a "Handmade by" stamp, which I think was a Christmas present from FQ2FF many years ago!

Looking at the labels now, I wish I had added an extra layer of card or something, it looks a little bare I think, or maybe I should have looked for smaller tags, anyhow, I was pleased to find the stamper right where I thought I had stored it...that doesn't happen very often!

 

 

After lunch the Teens and I popped into town, not for anything specific, other than a bank trip, but as one does we wandered round and came home with a few bits and bobs ( amazing how those bits and bobs mount up though!)

Asda had a sale on and we saw this T shirt going for a song, perfect for dad we thought!

However if we could have personalised the sections, we would have left out "bad jokes/dancing" and replaced those portions with knowledge!

He seems to know something about everything!

Asda also had bath towels for 20p!!

Yes 20p!!

What's even more incredible is....

 

....I didn't bring them home!!!

I did...I so nearly did...infact I had them in my hand...

....so why did I put them back?

Because they were a dark grey colour and no matter how much I thought about it I just knew dark grey was never going to be theme in my bathroom.

Am I starting to lose my mind hoarding tendencies?

Who knows!

 

 

When we returned home the postie had left me a card saying I had a letter with insufficient postage and had to pay £1.50 to get it back.

I have no idea what it could be...so will have to go and view it tomorrow before passing over the money....well I hope they will let me see it first anyway!

I am way too nosey to not go!

 

 

In Morrisons I had bought some fresh Cajun chicken breasts reduced, never had them before, but they looked pretty good, so Teen One made some carrot and raisin salad to go with it, she added some pineapple this time....it was very yum!

 

 

Teen Two meanwhile played with the gerbils...he is delighted that one of them likes to run across his shoulders like the previous ones did...sorry if that makes you shudder!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Rhyme Nor Reason!

 

By the end of last night we had a working outside tap....although the picture is dodgy to say the least, but not as dodgy as the crumbling wall!

However Hubby glued a piece of oak to the wall and was then able to screw the tap in place.

The very wet weekend has meant I haven't had a chance to try it out, but I am looking forward to how much easier its going to make watering the garden and washing down the paths.

We do however have a small leak in the downstairs loo now ( to match the one in the conservatory!) but Hubby assures me its nothing some silicone won't solve.

 

This morning was church first thing, followed by the usual roast dinner.

Our Malaysian friend had to go back for studies after the service, and Teen One of course was away with her uncle, so it was a much smaller gathering than usual.

 

 

I must say, investing in a new tin for our weekly Yorkshires has meant that almost every Yorky has a hole in....which of course Teen Two loves to fill up!

Before it was hit and miss, although they rose well, he often had to make a hole.

I bought a muffin tin, which is much deeper than my old tin and that seems to give better results.

 

This afternoon was the usual games fest, then we had a call to say Teen One was on the ferry coming home, just in time for tea.

We were of course happy to have her home and hear how her weekend went.

 

Despite it being heavy rain most of the day, the conservatory roof hasn't leaked!

There is just no rhyme nor reason to why it leaks!

 

 

 

 

 

A Leaky Conundrum

 

This morning was one of those rare lie in mornings...and when we drew back the curtains and returned to bed with a cuppa, we were treated to this beautiful rainbow...although of course that also meant rain....

 

 

...which meant another leak in the conservatory!

There is rather a mystery as even when it rains hard for hours, like last night...there is no water to be seen, but several hours later a little tiny drip starts and then continues for ages.

The builder is coming back next week to flood the roof and see where the leak is...but he did that before and nothing came through, so I suspect the same will happen next week.

I will have to see if he can see where water might be stored up to then trickle through eventually.

Its a conundrum for sure.

 

 

I had a couple of goals today, one was to try and remove some old grout residue from the kitchen and attic bathroom tiles.

I wish I had known the existence of this stuff when I grouted the walls, I am sure it would have been much easier!

I was disappointed at how much elbow grease was needed to remove the grout, and I am not sure ( well I know!) I have removed all the residue, but I just ran out of energy!

The tiles do have a lot more sheen though, so at least I have something to show for my struggles.

 

 

 

Next up was to paint four of the seven thresholds.

I primed them yesterday and very carefully painted them....in fear and dread of getting the black paint everywhere.

The doors from the living room to the conservatory had to be blocked off to prevent the cats from putting their pesky paws on the wet paint.

Upstairs was easier as I was able to shut our more adventurous cat in our bedroom, with the sure knowledge Milly would spend the day asleep on the sofa.

Next week I will do the remaining three, I couldn't do them all in one day as it would have meant blocking off all access around the house, way too much of a risk that a paw or foot would walk on wet paint.

 

 

Last night I finished the pair of rainbow socks for Teen One...

 

 

...and during the afternoon, when in need of a sit down, I cast one this Heart and Sole yarn for my cousin's daughter in Australia.

 

 

 

We have a little library of vintage Ladybird books, hidden away on a bookshelf, never looked at.

So I thought I would bring out a small selection every so often for anyone to have a peek through...

 

 

...and have added them to the conservatory table.

I had to stop myself from sitting down there and then and looking through them...well maybe not the cricket one, but I did have to think of the boys when I was choosing them!

 

 

The postie came with my recent ebay purchase!

I thought I would invest in another Find It, but with a less girly colour!

Bargain at £3!

That too is on the conservatory table ( good job it has two layers, its quickly getting full up!)

 

 

Hubby's task today was to fit a garden tap, plumbing in to the downstairs loo for the water supply.

Its way too much hard work and hassle to keep fitting up the hose to the indoor tap, not to mention the mess it makes, to have a tap where the hose is permanently attached will make watering the garden so much easier.

Like everything there is planning, youtube watching and purchasing to be made.

So the real work only started around 4pm and of course a new tool had to be bought!

Then an extra visit to B&Q was needed for some cement as our old brick walls crumbled like cookies when the drill went through!

I think this little luxury has tipped the three figure price tag!

 

 

But we know have some plumbing outside...

 

 

...and plumbing inside!

In a few hours when the cement has dried I think the rest of the fittings can go on.

As its been raining all day there won't be any rush to use the hose tonight though.

 

 

I had soaked some dried fruit in cold tea earlier, ready for a tea bread, now all ready to go in the oven.

It really should have been made earlier in the week as its the sort of bake that gets moister as the days go by, and I really want it for tea tomorrow.

 I guess its been a productive day all in all and Teen Two even did the vacuuming for me, so that's one less chore!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Blogging To Vlogging!

 

Going back to last night, whilst I finished Hubby's dinner, he set to and sorted our dodgy

flat pack failures!

 

 

 

This morning I was able to experiment with how to fill the space.

I expect there will be a few changes before I settle on what to keep there, and even then it may change, but for the moment I am keeping it simple.

 

 

A few books for folk to browse through and a crochet blanket I inherited from next door for if it turns chilly...well more for decoration really! I have wanted it to be on show somewhere, but the black background hasn't suited any of my rooms, up until now!!

 

 

 

It's going to be a lovely spot to sit and relax in...even if it will often be to the song of the washing machine and the usual view will be the washing on the line!

 

 

The wall space is still a blank canvas and I will have to think carefully about what goes up, as I don't want to ruin the freshly plastered walls with unwanted holes.

I prefer to decorate the house with things that have been handmade (by myself/family) or have a memory of one sort or the other.

I am not really interested in buying things just for the perfect match.

Shops are full of this that and the other matching and whilst its nice to get the odd thing, I do prefer an eclectic mix of memories.

So, not quite sure what is going to fill this space yet, I keep looking around the house and am sure some inspiration will hit me.

I need to order some small quilt hangers for the little quilts I bought at the hospital the other week, I have a place for one of them at least and maybe the second one will go here with something else.

 

 

A few weeks ago  we had a delivery of something and this was part of the packaging.

Hubby explained to Teen Two how much stronger the simple cardboard was because of the concertina middle.

He said it would take some considerable weight to break the cardboard...

...well this set Teen Two thinking and since then he has wanted to conduct an experiment, to see how strong the cardboard actually was, and film it for his new Vlog channel!

 

 

So the scene was set...

 

 

...and some last minute reading of the script took place...

 

 

 

...before it was "lights, cameras...action!"

 

 

There was some debate before hand, about how far apart to have the lower bricks, obviously the closer they were the more weight could be taken, but they decided to go end to end.

It was a lot of fun, and hopefully they will think of more experiments to video during the summer.

With dinner in the oven of Mac 'n' cheese  with bacon, I dropped Teen One off at the ferry port ready for her weekend on the Isle of Wight.

Her cousin is doing work experience over there with Hubby's brother, so our sister in law invited Jenny over to keep her cousin company for the weekend.

The house will be quiet without her.

 

With no Friday Club tonight, Hubby has been able to tackle a few chores for me, my old washing line is back up (yayyyy!) some thresholds have been primed ready for re-painting ( first time since have we lived here I think!) and a porcelain garden wall lampshade we bought on our honeymoon has finally been put up!!!

Complete with a solar light behind it!

Everything comes to those who wait!