Time to finish.....(all these things).....Ive started

I'm a hypocrite

I am usually the one nagging Owen because he takes things apart and never rebuilds them, or makes all these plans and never follows them, or starts things but never finishes them......

until yesterday when I realised I am no better.

I was tidying round, 'potching' as we call it - putting little things away that had clearly been left waiting for me to do such a chore.....and kept coming across little things that I kept thinking to myself ' I must do that.......I must watch that.......I must finish reading that'.

So in the end I made a list of the things I haven't finished and shamefully it looks something like this

Things to finish reading
Valentinos Rossi's book
Janni Kowalskis book
The Kite Runner - won it but havent actually started reading it
Long Way Down - again I have it but havent started reading it

Cross Stitches
Shamefully I have had a tiger cub one since I was 12 and its still not finished and even worse is it needs literally about 30 stitches in the same colour and outlining to be complete.
A daffodil tablecloth I brought to give to my nan for her birthday (that was yesterday) and its got maybe one flower sewn on it.

Films To See
I have had Michael Jacksons film I borrowed off a friend before Xmas and never watched
SeaBiscuit - I've never managed to see the whole film
Willow - brought the DVD and haven't watched it (was a favourite as a child though)

Decorating
need to make a plan of attack
need to decide colours
list of things to get for each room (wardrobes etc)

Gardening
Plan for the garden
Clean/Clear the garden of junk
Start seeds
seperate spider plant seedlings for friends

Plans to start on
Kennels for dogs in May/July. We are going to see my dad for the night in May and away to my grandparents for two nights in July so need to book them in kennels because no family members can watch them.

and would you believe the bottom of that list said 'find a hobby'........think I have plenty to keep me occupied for a while though!

Besides that nothing much else is going on in the 'Seilam' (that's welsh for madhouse). Mabel seems to be coming out of season and made me and Owen jump yesterday because we brought Bruno in and he was sat on the sofa with me, and suddenly she shot off the sofa with Owen over to where we were. Owen did say as well that Bruno was later sat with him and she came over to get on the sofa with them of her own accord so I think she is getting there slowly. We have also discovered that neither dog likes the spray bottle technique and just having it in the room is enough to deter any naughty behaviour or growling on Miss Mabel's part so we are using that method at the minute rather than telling them off or scolding them etc

Oh yeah and Owen has sprained his ankle messing about in work jumping off palets.

Also Bruno has taken to howling at 5.30am.....not sure if its because he wants out, because he's a bit jealous or if there is something wrong but once we have been down and seen him he is OK hence him being back in the living room when we are all here. Just have to be careful with the kids in the living room and the two dogs so I tend to wait until Holly goes for a nap at 11 and then he comes in because Ben will listen and sit nicely with one dog but Holly runs between the two and winds them both up.

Also confirmed Mabel is very much a mummy's girl.

Right, best be off, breakfast to make and then I think I'm going to make a start on seed sowing. Also think I will take a book to work with me to read on my dinner break, now just need to decide which one.

Have a good sunday all

Sammy
x

Reality check today.......

Today has been somewhat eventful.

This time two years ago......
* Owen got his eye appointment times reduced down to every 6 months after having gone blind in one eye nearly 5 years ago now.
* My sister was about to under go surgery for Cervical Cancer.
* I had just gotten clear results from a suspicious smear test (sorry boys if too much information)
* My nan discovered she had Non Hodgkins Lymphoma
* I was depressed being stuck in a little damp rotten flat because the Health Visitor kept bullying us.

 Fast forward 2 years.....
* Owen doesnt have to see the eye surgeon anymore but just has to go back if something is bugging him
* My sister had her all clear
* My nan is in remission and just had her first all clear blood test
*We moved house
* No more health visitor

I cannot begin to tell you how much it feels like we've come on just counting the small victories.......

Speaking of victories too

I have been through my seeds today ready to start planting tomorrow.

So far I have

* 2 cress hedgehogs for the kids to grow one each

* 3000 cress seeds (curled)

* 400 Peas seeds (early onward)

* 460 Radish seeds (sparkler 3)

* 5 cucumber seeds (telepathy f1)

* 40 tomato seeds (cherry)

* 10 tomato seeds (tumbling tom red)

* 3200 carrot seeds ( autumn king 2)

* 1000 lettuce seeds (salad bowl mixed)

* 250 spring onion seeds (wilko brand)

* 450 spring onion seeds (white Lisbon)

* 5 seed potatoes (Charlotte)

* Wilko pepper pot (sweet California wonder)

 I don't have an outside space to start them growing so I will be setting up the cloche tomorrow, and I have cleared the dining table (we don't use it) to start the seeds off on as most of them can either go outside straight away or they need to be started and replanted outside so I will put most of them in the cloche and then will get the raised bed ready for when it is time to plant on but other things need to be a bit more sheltered inside like the tomatoes for a while so they can stay on the dining table or on the windowsill. 

I have also brought today some very sweet Easter cupcake cases - some larger ones and then a very sweet set of 150 mini cupcake cases. My daughter has a very sweet tooth (like her mother) so I think I will try and make her some mini cupcakes so she still has some but she wont need to have a full sized cake. I did discover little rolls in Tesco the other day that are the right size for her - I was previously giving her a whole roll and found she ate half and I was binning half or feeding it to the dogs but these small rolls there is no waste and they cost the same as the ones we usually buy - just I get 12 in a packet now instead of 6. 

I will make sure to post pictures tomorrow of our planting session. Until then I hope you are all enjoying the weather and I will speak to you tomorrow. 

Sam

x

What a Day........and its only 12.49!

Well

I decided this morning to give growing my own another go.
Sadly last year my greenhouse took a battering with the delightful Welsh weather and all the fun that living on top of a mountain near the coast brings so I have had to spend on a smaller new growing space.

£11 for a cloche set in Wilkinson's but it should do the job nicely.

I did try last year but went a bit 'gun ho' and tried to grow everything , which ultimately wasnt great because I quite frankly lost interest when the bad weather hit and then it all went to pot fairly quickly.

This year I have decided to be sensible and focus on a few things well rather than lots of things badly.

So I have brought myself
Cloche ~ £11
Seed trays ~ £1.25 for 3
Seed Tray Trays ~ £1.50 for 3
A window tray propergator with lid ~ £2.50
A kitchen garden pot (sweet bell peppers) ~ £1.25
Cucumber seeds ~ £1.60
Tumbling Toms ~ £1.60
Lettuce leaves ~ 98p
Spring Onions ~ 80p
Peas ~ £1
Cress seeds ~ £1.59

All in all costing £25.07

I already have a giant bag of compost though out the back that Owen got me from CountryWide and he works down the road from it so hopefully I will manage to get over there at some point to check out what they have got in there.

I brought the cress for the kids - Ben is fascinated by nature and wants to grow something so him and Holly cna both grow Cress - I also found these little hedgehog growing kits in B&M for 89p so have brought them one each as well

A fair bit of the veg we have brought we will eat and use. In the summer months too my mother in law tends to invite us over for BBQs quite a bit so at least this year I should be able to provide the salad for them and she is also a keen salad eater - but she has wild rhubarb and an abundance of strawberries that we can exchange between us which is nice.

In other news - Mabel is in heat so her and Bruno are in separate rooms at the minute. I hate the idea of dogs being intentionally bred for a profit and am a big supporter of rescue centres. I just don't understand why people would willingly add to the dog population when there are so many lovely dogs needing homes already. I just cant understand it. She is still a bit grumpy with Bruno (understandable at the minute though) but we have realised its only when he is near her seat, when he is on the other sofa with me, and she comes over to see him they are fine, and they will touch noses, he will sit on the sofa and she sits on the floor nicely with about a foot space between them but still no attacks or anything which is very good news for us........still going slow and steady. (should reiterate that we do allow Bruno in the living room in the evening but only when Owen and Me are both home, he sits on one sofa with one dog and I sit on the other sofa with the other dog)

I am somewhat upset with Bruno at the minute as well. I brought a nice pack of chicken drumsticks today which I intended to herb/spice up and cook for tea and owen was going to take the leftovers to work wel I cma home from shopping to find Bruno had been in the fridge, ripped open the new packet and helped himself to 2 possibly 3 (cant remember for the life of me how many were in the pack) que much frantic-ness from me - especially since I cancelled Bruno's insurance policy the other day to add Mabel so both dogs were covered and it has another 5 days before it starts. but after some research I have read about the BARF and the RAW food diet dogs can eat which includes chicken bones and apparently that they were raw is a good thing as they are softer and easier to chew, most that may happen (touch wood) is that he may have an upset belly for a day or two.........lets keep fingers crossed that this is the case.
Also suggested to Owen that when we brought Mabel home my boss gave me a box of Bakers Meaty Meals ball things, which we tried her on and she wouldn't eat them so we gave them to Bruno to try just to use them up as I didn't want to waste them and they have a laxative effect on him since he is an older doggy - so we finished the box last night but I'm wondering whether to go and buy another box and feed him a few to help things pass through smoothly if that makes sense.
Should also add I now have a baby lock on the fridge as well.

Right so on that note Im off now to find something else for dinner and let him out for a bit.

Talk soon and I'll be back later with an update.

Sammy
x x x x