Swagger Inn 180 - Spring is here and we witter on...

[SisterHelenoftheEternalCatchUp]

New thread open for reports on local wildlife, the weather, gardening and domestic chores. Plus the never ending hunt for HBFs who stubbornly fail to materialise.
<wipes the bar down>
<re-covers the chaise>
<stocks up the cheeseboard>
<pours the drinks...>

Morning wenches.

We had not forecast at all thunderstorms overnight. I thought I was only dreaming about them but I got up for the bathroom, saw a flash of lightning, and then DH asked if I’d not heard the thunder and rain. So everything’s a bit soggy this morning but I’ve no doubt it’ll dry off soon.

Feel your pain Helen re buttercream in the hot. I tried to pipe green buttercream on to cakes to take to a friend’s party a few summers ago. It looked like I”d murdered Kermit.

Have super days wenches.

Morning, at the dentist at the moment, was going to work at home, but saw the forecast temperature and decided that the office air con was a more attractive proposition.

Sympathies re heat related baking woes - I still have nightmares about trying to make a mousse on a hot day <shudders>

Morning all. Absolute LOL at murdering Kermit Mine was a sludgy cream mess that was starting to split as well as slide. urgh. Still it tasted ok. I think DS enjoyed the day, which was the main thing. Though he felt a bit sick last night and didn't sleep well
Today I really need to work, and also to try and deal with the mite outbreak in the chicken coop. Urgh/shudder.scratch, etc. (They do crunch/pop in a very satisfying way when you squish them, but I think that spray inside and not-creosote outside will knock them back more effectively. Which also means a complete deep clean of the sawdust first. <sigh>)
Also, I have buggered my shoulder over the weekend, which is v. unhelpful. I just scratched my head (at the thought of mites) and it jabbed at me when I lowered my arm. FFS.

Afternoon. Still hot but quite overcast. We had a HUGE thunderstorm in the night with torrential rain. DH thought he ought to go and check the water butt as the pipes sometimes get blocked with leaves and the rainwater backs up. Sure enough it was and it had leaked through the lounge ceiling, so poor DH was unblocking the guttering at 3.30am in the pouring rain and we then had to clean up the lounge. Misty wondered what the hell was going on.

Hope the dentist went well Fancy and Helen’s shoulder sorts itself out.

at murdered Kermit.

Evening wenches.

Hope dentist visit was uneventful Fancy. Mousse on a hot day. Why do we do this to ourselves?

That sounds a right palaver re the chickens and the coop Helen. 😞 at poorly shoulder.

Oh crikey Apricot. Poor you and MrApricot with the rain coming in.

Work was really quite stuffy but it’s cooling for tomorrow.

Evening all. Tiiiiiired. Chicken coop was most satisfying. I found a large cluster of mites and took a blow torch to them . The shoulder is achey and occasionally stabby. Our usual physio is away for 6 weeks, so that's a bit of a bugger.

Argh Apricot - water coming through the ceiling is not a good thing. You never find out about the blocked gutters until they're overflowing - fortunately ours just tend to waterfall over the side rather than into the house. We had some thunder in the distance this evening, but the lightning map denied it existed.

DS is out on a night out with friends. He was going to get the last bus back. He's messaged to say that another parent is bringing him home at 1am. That's another 2 hours of drinking. F.M.L.

Hope that the dentist went well for Fancy and the office was nice and cool for LetUs as well..

Morning wenches.

I suppose a flamethrower would be tricky to use on just the mites Helen. Be more well the coop definitely does have mites any more!

DS1 was similar to that Helen and had himself in a bit of a state on more than one occasion. DS2 doesn’t drink, can’t say I’m upset.

Noticeably cooler today which is nice.

Have lovely days wenches.

Afternoon. Cloudy this morning and cooler, but it's gone sunny this afternoon.

Neighbours over the road have had scaffolding put up in front of their house presumably for painting. No such protection for DH, he just goes up ladders. Anyway it won't affect us, but now the people at the end of the garden have also had scaffolding put up for the same purpose, and it overlooks my sunbathing area. Argh! The weather doesn't look too good for a while though so I probably won't be out there.

Hope HelenDS didn't have too bad a hangover. It probably does them good though, as they have to recognise their limits.

Have a good evening all.

Evening wenches.

Similar here today Apricot. Here’s hoping the scaffolding only lasts as long as the non-sunbathing weather.

Work is thankfully done for the week. I’m quite tired so I should try to have an early night.

Evening all. It started cooler here, and we had a bit of rain early on, but it's warmed up as the day's gone on. There has been more squishing of mites this morning. We'll see how many there are tomorrow morning.

DS didn't come home in a state at all, and was fine this morning other than tired. I now they all had a meal before they hit the pub, and the last two hours seem to have been spent on the dance floor rather than drinking. Though the parent who gave him a lift home added another 30 miles to his drive getting DS here - I assumed that they lived in this direction or I'd have gone out to meet them part way at least!

That's annoying re. the scaffolding Apricot - hopefully it will be gone by the tie you want to lie out in the garden.

Hurrah for the weekend...

Morning wenches.

A meal and dancing sounds a splendid way to spend an evening.

Sun’s out here and I think it’s going to be very pleasant today. Rain due tomorrow and then for days so it’s washing a-go-go today. Thrilling.

Have lovely days wenches.

Evening. Lovely afternoon but we have men on the roof at the end of the garden so I didn’t go outside but we went to the local garden centre instead and got the border plants. They’ve just got to go in now. The scaffolding will be useful though as DH can use it to cut the conifer hedge at the bottom of the garden instead of his usual balancing act. Neighbours are going to put an extra plank in for him. Three weeks it will be there apparently.

Sounds as though HelenDS had a good evening.

Hope everyone’s had a good day.

Evening wenches.

That’s handy re the cutting of the conifers Apricot.

There is much shouting and discussion coming from the room where DH and DS2 are watching the football.

Bought all birthday and other cards for June. Had missed DH’s birthday off the list but remembered just before DS2 and I queued up in the shop.

Prescription and jigsaw were collected this morning. Honestly I don’t know how I manage the excitement.

Evening all. Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired. I've been on my feet all day at another event, and I'm very tired. Hoping for an early night. Weather's been lovely today though.

At least the scaffolding will be a bit useful for you then Apricot. Have fun with all the planting!

That's very organised of you LetUs, <arf> at nearly forgetting DH's card

Evening. Have had a relatively lazy day - did some weeding in the shade and think I found a self-seeded peony. Time will tell - have put it in a pot and will watch with interest. In all the years I've had a peony this is the first seedling I've seen and it was about as far away from the parent as it was possible to get. I seem to be making friends with a juvenile robin who appears almost instantly when I start weeding. Today I brought it some food and water and it spent several minutes having a bath about a foot away from me. 😍

That is very nice of your neighbours re the scaffolding apricot, have you told them the Tav will rest easier knowing MrA won't be up a ladder?

It sounds like mini Helen had a lovely birthday, hope tonight is an earlier one for you Helen

You have nothing to be ashamed of on the excitement front letus when I've just admitted the highlight of my day was finding a seedling and watching a robin have a bath 😁

Morning wenches.

<Sends HelenClone out to do everything today to let Helen rest>

Squeee at friendly robin Fancy! That sounds so sweet. There were lots of peonies on Chelsea Flower Show. They’re so beautiful. This probably isn’t news to anyone else, but CFS is really the only time I’m interested in anything garden related 😁

Ironing’s done and hopefully a usual Sunday ahead. We’ve booked a holiday so I’ll have to start making lists <nto> but that can probably wait until tomorrow.

Have great days wenches.

Ooooh. We have a self-seeded peony, though I didn't dig mine up to nuture it. I left it in the ground to just see what it did It's grown up to be very lovely.

Plans today include sending my clone out for planting tomato and cucumber plants, taking down event stuff, and maybe a beach walk if I'm not collapsed in a corner by then. I did get an early-ish night, but then DS came bumbling in when I was asleep to show me (in the dark, with no glasses) a new Lego set he'd built. His enthusiasm is touching - if not his timing. I may have been a bit grumpy with him.

Aww at the tame robin. We don't have those, and don't dare encourage them, what with KillerKitty. Speaking of whom, I had two mouse-deaths to clear up this morning. In kitten progress, he has been shut in the same room as them and while he wanted very much to get out, he's not aggressive with them at all. So now the problem is getting them to give him space, or stopping them following him outside/upstairs, where they're not meant to go yet. <sigh>

Afternoon. Nice day, a bit cloudy but still warm.

Fancy. The extra plank for the scaffolding is the least they can do considering half the poles are in our garden. They did ask! Anyway, DH has trimmed the conifer hedge although a ladder was still required on this side as he couldn't reach over the top. We have robins, they are very friendly.

Lol at nearly forgetting DH's card LetUs. I don't have any birthdays this month or next, only a wedding anniversary which I already have a card for.

Well done to KillerKitty for not being aggressive towards the kittens.

Evening wenches.

Standard Sunday so am grateful for that.

They do have shocking timing sometimes don’t they Helen? Oooo at new Lego set though! Well done to KillerKitty on his kitten tolerance progress.

Perhaps you could sew weights into the hems of MrApricot’s trousers so he can’t get off the ground for a while 😁

Evening all. Kittens are currently exploring the sitting room and going a bit batshit. IdiotKitty wasn't a curtain climber - these two are .

In good news, all of today's jobs got done - plus a few extra seedlings got potted on for good measure, and I set up a very Heath Robinson rain harvesting contraption from the greenhouse gutter. (That will make sure it doesn't rain!) Beach was lovely and warm in the sun. (Less warm when the clouds came in though.)

<arf> at weighing down MrA!

Monday tomorrow. urgh.

Morning wenches.

I’m picturing a Wallace and Gromit type setup for your rainwater gathering Helen 😁. I’d glare at the kittens for you Helen but they won’t take a blind bit of notice.

Awful sleep so I was up quite early. Put the most recent jigsaw away which used up a bit of time.

Have lovely days wenches.

Morning all. The rainfall radar says drizzle at lunchtime and maybe some actual rain this evening. I should have got more washing done at the weekend. Oh well. It's bright and sunny now. IdiotKitty came in through the kitchen window this morning, got chased round the kitchen by the kittens, and eventually turned and spanked Spot for being a cheeky mare. Slinky watched this from a distance and learned, and Spot dialed back on the annoyance factor, so yay! The kittens have started to jump up onto the worktop. Boo.

Rainwater thing is a gutter running from beneath the downpipe to a tank, balanced on a pallet and a flowerpot.

Have a good day all.

Afternoon. Rain was forecast for the whole day but it was dry this morning so I got a food shop done. It’s tipping it down now, which is a good thing as it will make the planting easier when we get round to it, hopefully tomorrow.

Your rain collection gadget sounds like something DH would do Helen. Misty ripped the lining of some curtains the day after we had her, which filled me with dread, but she hasn’t done it since. I think she saw a fly or something.

at weighing DH down.

Evening wenches.

It started raining at lunchtime and hasn’t really stopped since. Chucking it down right now. As usual though the forecast thundery showers didn’t happen.

Clever kittens hurrah but also springy kittens nooooo.

Got in from work, made my dinner (DH was going out), and then sat down. I’ve barely moved since.

Evening all. There was a tiny shower a couple of hours ago, but nothing since. The forecast is for heavy rain overnight. Hopefully.

Nothing much going on today - hurrah!