The Cybergarden - Midwinter Edition

[shodatin]

Hope this is Post No. 1001 equivalent, having just used up the thousandth space and feel I shouldn't ask Madmouse to organise the next one again.

Have just looked into summerhouse to check fire is burning gently, tray of [brew} organised by upward to turn into one's favourite hot drink of the moment is standing ready for visitors, along with a few pounds of chocolates from huge box sent by DSis. (Before DB eats any more today)

It's usually tianc, upward and hob who remember to be hospitable and also remember to send good wishes to previous visitors, including said madmouse and mouselet, kizzie and family, NanaNina, Butterpie and another name which eludes me just now, but am hoping you'll find your way to this new part of the Cybergarden
and continue visiting in the New Year, along with hob's time-travelling cat Her Felinity and her welcome associate ndt (next-door's-tom), who visit us quite often, bringing gifts of when they remember, instead of the usual dead rodents which they know are unwelcome in the cybergarden.

Have just had lovely large lunch, plus Skype visit from rest of relatives, so will have a little potter round RL garden, hoping all is well and welcoming now in cybergarden's summerhouse.

Thanks for link, Nilgiri, and did indeed see this planet or moon, I forget, also interview with one of the discoverers. Shame the programmes are over for another year.

Agree about the greenfly, and am feeling pleased that I've no slug damage at present, probably also due to frost. I took hob's advice and planted out Pak Choi in a container, Autumn just before frost, and all are growing well and immaculate (I did use a copper wire wreath support which fitted snugly around container top, believing slugs won't cross copper, also added some holly leaves as belt-and-braces. Thai friend lost all but one of hers to slugs (or maybe birds, she said), so will really have to share mine. Another new anti-slug idea was to throw old coffee-grounds around pots on patio corner, and have only found one slug since, and not in good nick, so lots of points to humans and slugs nil at present.

Another beautiful, sunny morning here, and met friend in village. Still no email from DB, and he's still insisting there's no problem with googlemail, but maybe he'll manage to skype tomorrow as usual and catch up.

Thank you for lovely post shodatin full of a sense of the outdoors . Glad you met friend this morningand hope DB is OK ...I know I've not answered a really important email from SIL as have tken days to word it properly so perhaps DB is like that too over relatively simple messages ?

What joyously inspiring garden news .You must have done something right with the pak choi , wwhich I hope you won't find too tough - it goes to seed very quickly - and I must begin shoring up against slugs. Am really excited about starting off tomato seeds , and FIL asked us to take over his veg patch < hmmm , lovelyand thus have free organic vegis looking after our broad bean patch from the foxes
Oh I sat down to post this morning and fell into nestbox again- have slept till almost twilight due to Having a touch of DH's latest lurgy . HF delighted with bright sunshine and displeased at sudden rain -through-sunshlight

We're all sending you good wishes ,Upward, for this hard time before the medication hopefully starts to really help . Wish we could come and sit with you now and then < upward breathes sigh of relief >

< Next door's tomcat bounds along cheerily to visit instead >

Did ndt hiss , Nilgiri ? He only does that if woken , so I'm sure you didn't take it personally . He can apparently spit very fiercely, too , if very threatened , but is a butterball of gentleness

Planethunting is one of the best ideas for the internet I've ever heard of thank you Nilgiri oand DH will love it can do some planet -spotting , I'd like to try can try too when I've learnt a bit more - do I sense a new hobby for us all in our cybergarden ?
comforting s all round

sorry , was sure had eradicated typos

Thanks for your post about email delays from DB hob, problem is I can't always find the ones he sends me, and gmail inform me that delivery to him has failed - he says it's not, but I've now given up until I get another address to use, just too unreliable. Agree with you that sometimes one needs a long time to get written words exactly right, and am wishing you visit from inspiration fairy.
It's good news that you can use FiL's veg plot this year, are you planning anything new/exotic with extra land?
Hope it's also good news about MiL, and they're managing well with the extra help.

Good to see you again, Nilgiri, seems a long time since your computer problems, and hope all is now well.

Would tumbling a warm sleeping cat onto a cold floor merit a hiss? Or at least a very baleful look.

What encouraging news about your pak choi, shodatin. How clever. The eryngiums are still in their slug-collars, but the SoD have scaled at least one - not fatally yet, but I'm watchful. Trying wood ash here instead of coffee grounds, but it's rained in already.

I do hope you manage to Skype with DB tomorrow - we all seem to have been plagued with technical problems, haven't we?

My computer now seems OK after mysterious clock/date failure. Even more mysteriously, when I went to switch off the internet router in the study, the hands of the wall clock were whizzing round of their own accord - till they stopped at 12:00. OK it's a fancy radio-time-signal clock, but still, what? [spooky music]

hob good luck with email to SIL. I still haven't dealt with my (very different I'm sure) difficult email from before Xmas, so am very admiring that you have spent mere days on yours. And warm, strengthening thoughts to you and DH for all family matters, as ever.

Upward hope you're managing enough sleep in difficult conditions - tho perhaps more than you'd like till the drugs stabilise.

Still horribly flattened here - I do hope it's just the lurgy the rest of MN were complaining about that takes weeks to clear up. Maybe what you and DH have, too, hob. Hope shodatin & Upward stay free of it.

Oh no shodatin ,I wonder what might help in your situation . Am sure DB is OK , but very annoying for you . How is DN thhese days ? Pretty busy , last you said .

FIl was having to give up veg plot due to tiredness & caring responsibilities but I doubt I can manage much there . We're just planning this weekend so any suggestions very welcome! I like trying things which are expensive in the supermarket like purple sprouting brocolli &baby corn cobs - any mediterranean type veg I could do? I will try your planting salads at a height again
< ready for battle with the SoD >

Thanks for asking -have not dared take my germs to MIL this week but DH found them doing OK , thugh I think FIL can't manage without much greater support.
Been thinking of you all day as ever , upward and hope you don't feel isolated in an overly busy place , if you know what I mean

Hope Nilgiri has had a decent day and DH says thank you for planethunting link- aha , just missed your incredibly lovely post nilgiri but so sorry to hear you're as poorly as that . Perhaps further investigations are in order < impossibly exhaausting prospect >

Fingers crossed for your PC -how stressful .I am totally agago at your spinning clock- off to look up all the theories on this type of occurence

< ndt's purrs permeate all cybergardeners'sleep >

Sorry not covered everything I'd like to Wishing us all a peaceful night ... we send you positive thoughts if we wake at night too, you know, Upward

Glad the eryngiums are surviving Nilgiri, with any luck the leaves will soon be too tough to be attractive to the SoD, as I don't recall any problems with previous ones which friend gave me as small plant.
Skype is always a bit odd, and I prefer email, but seems to have become a habit for DB on Saturdays - sorry, I lost a day earlier, so doubt he'll call tomorrow.

Sorry you're still feeling under-the-weather Nilgiri, I thought you'd just been a bit too busy, but this does seem to be long-term, and such a shame as you were so much improved before Christmas, as I remember.

Really weird to see clock hands whizzing round, almost like a film. Or like occasion DH told me about, being in church as a child and sitting with brother in upstairs part just behind the clock - which he discovered could be manipulated by his feet during sermon... Does your DP have any ideas about the cause? Hope all is well with the equipment, have been told not to switch mine off at the wall, or it will need to be started from scratch again.

Nest boxes sound so tempting, so am off now for a sleep, and hope everyone has a good night.

Hope precious eryngiums do indeed develop those strong leaves , Nilgiri

Good morning , Upward - we're all rooting for you and wish this time could be easier for you . Looking forward to seeing you feel better .

Is it cloudy again round your way , shodatin? Certainly is here . I love the thought of your DH & his brother whiling away the service harmlessly puzzling the congregation

Oh poor Nilgiri- did this relapse seem to start with an infection? Have you had a slightly raised temperature ? ( rhetorical qs , obviously ) Hopefully it's a post viral thing but I'd ask for the routine blood tests for anaemia , thyroid etc . You've maybe had / have vestibulitis ? Have you ever been offered physio for your lightheadedness/ vertigo ?
Obviously females are fairly prone to autoimmune things like thyroid, lupus , joy joy . I worry about people with your health condtion having or developing undiagnosed cardiomyopathy or heart failure< cheery as ever > ...well , all the other suggestions are short term or treatable , and the re are treatments for the scary things toos indeed you'd hope the scary ones are < dr hob off to do her rounds >

I was reminiscing yesterday about the first week we moved here , a doing the washing up when I spotted HF dozing in back garden . She was so sleepy she didnt realise resident squirrel was passing by as it mounted its raid on next door's bird feeders . Squirrel decided to tease HF by doing a little thrashy -tailed dance in front of her...still no reaction . So squirrel creeps right up and brushes HF's nose with fluffy tail .. poor HF blinked and I wish I could have photographed her expression as she ttried to wake up quickly enough to chase after its departing form .

I see the fairies have cleaned the fire and aired our rugs , making the summerhouse welcoming to those too weary to chat < Lights small new fire > .

where do these typos hide? < pleads for a kind typing fairy >

Morning all, yes indeed it's misty here this morning, but I don't have to go far so not bothered.
Typos don't bother me either hob, just part of typing, unless sentence is short of sense I don't really notice.
Love the story of HF and the squirrel, proving animals do have sense of humour, and bet HF never forgot it.

I've been wondering about upward too, and hoping we'll hear something good soon, but it must be so difficult just remembering to get phone charged when not feeling well and/or sleep deprived.

Thanks for making sure fire is going hob, here are some s and s, the healthy kind, not my choc-laded pudding-replacements avoided by slimmers.

Oooh , thank you for lovely [biscuits]s ,shodatin, and for comforting me about the typos - will concentrate on the "short of sense" bit . Hope you're not having to do too many boring chores today, and that Upward has been finding staff helpful and maybe one or two of the fellow guests up to being sociable .
Apologies if you're hating every single second , upward , and the medication increase is causing you sideeffects & you're feeling no impovement yet . We all admire you massively for going into a stressful situation to try to improve things , and trust that there will soon be a treatment that helps you .

Yes shodatin , I'm sure HF still nurses some squirrel - injured pride and you are so right about animals having a sense of humour - so many , including birds, seem to take pleasure in amusing or mildly annoying us

Oh dear , what was that you said the other day about 2 mobiles unused because you can't get the hang of the things ? If I can , you can < rolls up sleeves >

Hope Nilgiri finds cheering things in her day , or at least comforting distractions till things look up . Forgot to thank you for extra moss for nestboxes

s all round with remnants of festive glitter

I am still reading, hope all well.

Hope you're not too unhappy just now upward, and that the increased dosage is being effective. Am having problems staying awake, but otherwise OK and hope everyone else is.

Forgot to thank hob for providing the , complete with glitter, which I'd also completely forgotten about (not seen glitter since house was cleaned after Christmas decorations down) and really hope this is the last of it, despite being an edible novelty.

So good to see you 're here Upward, we knew you would be if you could
Have a and a stargaze with us .

Am well , thanks , and hope you're that bit closer to good things happening

< HF purrs and settles down to sleep >
< hob nips back to the defrosting shopping >

< waves to shodatin > Hope you 're not feeling too woozy with the sleepiness.. for tormenting you with more of the festive glitter

Wish we could have a stargaze, but it's black nothingness outside here - we were lucky to have stars to view while the programmes were going out. Does anyone know the verse "If the stars should appear just once in a thousand years"? I think it's American, but not sure, and always makes me feel grateful we see them so often.

Oh I love that line , shodatin , and it 's totally new to me < off to look up > . I know just what you mean about the feeling of gratitude for seeing the wonders of nature ... I also love the fact that throughout human history , everyone able to physically see has gazed upon the moon - as though it's absorbed some of their emotions .

< fairies giggle at soppy human as they start to tidy >

Spent too long dormousing this evening, so will close now, wishing all goodnight (especially upward).

Morning everyone -s , including espressos
Hope you're OK ,shodatin < frets > , that Nilgiri isn't suffering too much < HF hops up to nuzzleN > and that upward can feel the all good wishes reaching her .

I've seen a pretty dove coming to my little garden ! I'm always very taken by doves though I know nothing about them

The snowdrops are out in our cybergarden , and it will soon be time for the foxes who live at the wilder edges of the garden to make preparations for a new generation of cubs

Thank you so much for espresso hob, which is so necessary these days, and will join with you in sending good wishes to upward, who really does deserve to feel better by now. Same to Nilgiri actually, who seems to be suffering longer than usual - hope it's just a tiny virus-thing going around which is almost over now.

Best wishes to all of us for a good, stress-free weekend.
Nothing much planned here, but at last I believe I'll be able to clear combined desk/craft table which has been disappearing under junk since end of Christmas. New Year Resolution No. 2 was to attempt to do only one thing at a time, so want to start with a clear space (behind as usual).

Hope the power-cut was not too uncomfortable Nilgiri, but must have been a nuisance if occuring about mealtime, and lucky not because of extreme weather.
Hope all is well once again, and you can have a wider choice of occupations this evening. Also hope you're feeling less exhausted now.

DB managed usual Sat lunchtime skype call thanks hob, while finishing mug of soup and planning to go back to bed with the something nasty which is going around and causing wild temperature changes. Warned him to take bucket and towels and bottle of water, plus warn friends not planning to answer phone - such a problem being ill and in bed while alone, and I'd need transport to travel that distance, so am hoping it's a short-term virus.

Sorry you've the worry of your DB having the lurgy , shodatinand very wise advice in case it gets worse before it gets better . ( v good sign I think that . Upset to think of you in difficulty if ill in bed and on own and I do have similar but less seriousr worries if were to get severe vertigo / balance problems during DH's work time ... am sure we can all advise each other on our backup plans for this type of emergency when we feel like thinking about it

Sorry for long gap , huge number of choreslargely undoneand taking age to write a post , revivings .

Sorry for powercut , Nilgiri - ah , happy memories of childhood (not industrial action where I was , supply problems I think). How amazing to lose the light pollution for one night - how many more sparkly lights would you estimate were visible than usual where you live? Hope the flatteness shows signs of easing soon.

Wish there could be things to make time pass more comfortably for you , Upward ...wishing you improvement very soon in both symptoms & sideeffects so you can take in pleasant distractions

Squeezed in a lovely little walk featurin (commonplace) wildlife , which I'll bore you with later

Good idea to fit in a walk, hob, and would enjoy hearing details of wildlife when you get time - no hurry as I know you've lots of chores at present, and seem to spend a lot of time ensuring that home looks good and tidy - I do too of course, only not very often..

Was remembering the mess I made when I had the sickness flu, so advised bucket and towels before the worst could happen - it was days before I managed to wash all the stuff I'd been sick on, moving it into spare room at one point until I could face it. Of course, people said I should have phoned them, but it's not something I wanted to ask. I believe bed is best in these circumstances, forgetting the mess until up and eating again. Sorry about subject, hope no-one's eating.