February 2007

1 Crocus 010207A gorgeous day, sunny & a balmy 12C!

Just returned from a 6 mile walk and took this beautiful photo.  The scary thing is, when I took a similar photo last year, it was 25 March!

I've washed my filthy, filthy car and we've cleared out the potting shed, ready for cleaning.
2 Lazy day, thinking about my 2007 vegetable patch plan.
3 We travelled up to Harbury for the official HRCR dinner dance, held at the Gaydon motor museum.  A posh do at which Crow and his driver received their 2006 Champions awards.  Nice meal and the award was a large, heavy and very nice stemmed crystal rose bowl (or is it Crow's new wine glass?).  
4 What about those poor turkeys being culled in Norfolk?  Doesn't say much for the practices at Bernard Matthew's farm when hundreds of thousands of turkeys are kept in sheds with the equivalent space of an A4 sheet of paper each.  I thought this was cruel enough for battery hens, but for birds the size of turkeys, it's appalling!
5 It's winter again, heavy frosts and very still, sunny, but very cold days.  10cm of snow forecast for Thursday!
6 Lunch with Sandra today and a treat from a fresh fish van parked in Witham's precinct - cockles, whelks and fresh anchovies wrapped around olives.  Mmmmmm.
7 It's noon and still below freezing in the shade.  Snow still forecast to fall overnight, so I've harvested chard and 14 leeks as I'm not sure how they'll survive.  There's still some left in the garden, so fingers crossed.

8

 Snowy LongfieldIt's very white out there!
9 Oil prices researched as our tank needs a refill.  I'm impressed that we haven't had to buy oil since last March.  That's down to the very mild winter, assisted by the fact that we now heat our water via a timed immersion which is more cost effective for us.
10 If you're an avid reader of my chicken diary page, you'll know that we've had to give up Muppet today.  I'm so, so upset   :-((((
But, we've swapped him for a beautiful little lavender Pekin bantam, and we've named her Clover.
Finished my pink lacy jumper this evening - not sure what's next.
11 I think I'll try to make some slippers......
12 Card making topped the craft agenda, as I need 12 cards for birthdays etc for this month and next.
13 Our Mercury Theatre season started this evening with Hound of the Baskervilles.  Well performed, if a bit predictable, with two mainstream TV actors as Holmes & Watson.
An old school friend contacted me via Friends United.  Haven't seen her since we were 21, so it was great to make contact.
14 Visited mum-in-law and started my crochet slippers
15 A trip to London for dinner with Caroline & Rebecca at a Thai restaurant.  An excellent meal!
Followed by more card making.
16 A varied day of activities - I've finished one slipper, chicken proofed part of our fence, and weeded & tidied the pot garden.
17 Another "posh" do.  This time the West Essex Car Club annual bash.  Venue & food disappointing, but good company and some fun with party bags and games.
18 When I was on the Friends Reunited site the other day, I loaded my first photos, one being of my 4A junior school class.  To my great surprise, I was contacted today by an old neighbour, who also went to the same school and who I haven't seen since 1967!!!
19 Bootee slippersStarted the horrible job of cleaning up my potting shed, because it's time to start planting seeds.

And, I've finished my first set of bootee slippers.  These will keep my feet warm when I'm curled up on the settee.  Quaint, huh?  Anyone want to order a pair?
20 More potting shed cleaning - it's now ready for use!
Pancake Tuesday, so I made pancakes for the first time in, probably, thirty years or so.  Just simple thin ones with lemon and sugar, but we enjoyed them.
What is the BBC and it's use of English coming to?  On the news tonight, a person was described as being dressed in a burka and carrying a white woman's handbag!  Did they mean a women's white handbag, rather than a handbag only available to a white woman??  It did make me laugh.  It's as good as the one I heard the other week about a sports match against a team from Hungary, when the presenter referred to "the hungry team", presumably meaning the Hungarian team, rather than commenting on their lack of food?
21 Crow started cleaning the inside of the greenhouse for me - doing the bits I would need to climb up for.  My latest knitting project is a short jacket in mega chunky wool.  Already finished the back tonight.
22 I was going to do some seed planting and greenhouse cleaning today BUT it's rained all day and been so miserable that I couldn't muster the enthusiasm.
However, the knitting continues at a pace with both fronts of my jacket now completed.
23 And so it begins!  My first planting of the season:
in the potting shed - broad beans and celery, plus a pot of saladisi and another of beetroot;
in the heated propagator - alpine strawberry and cape gooseberry.
And in the living room, just the sleeves and side seams to sew to finish my jacket.
24 I finished the greenhouse cleaning - well, the first going over.  It's looking so much better....
Out to dinner with friends this evening and what a feast!
25 Finished my chunky jacket tonight - not bad to four evening's work!  Started a tunic top in a very interesting yarn called Patons Cargo.  It's more like a t-shirt material than a wool and very nice to work with.
26 Almost finished the back of my latest creation and I think it's going to be quite special.  I got the yarn on eBay at a saving of £18 off RRP, so I'm well pleased.
27 Mum-in-law visit because she's very sad - she had to have her cat put down yesterday :-(((
Then another theatre trip - Death of a Salesman.  A excellent, thought provoking performance from the Mercury Theatre resident cast.
28 Another BBC boob - quoting comments from viewers on the current Tesco/Morrison contaminated petrol story, up in writing on the tv screen, a reference to "problems with miss firing" - should they send her to a doctor?
Front and neck of the tunic top complete - a sleeve tomorrow evening, I hope.