Hurray the mower works!

This morning we were woken at 7am by lots of men on next doors roof, ripping off the felt and starting again. There were loads of them and they were there all day. They managed to finish the job just before it started raining.

Huffle and the boys went off and I went out to aerobics, picking up petrol on the way for the mower.

Aerobics was really hard but enjoyable (I think I will hurt tomorrow) and then I came home and got on the mower. It started well, cut well and there were no incidents in the back garden. I then mowed the front garden. This was trickier because of all the garden now. I tried to cut in between the wood chip path and the stones but got the mower stuck. Backwards, forwards, shuffling, reversing, wheel spinning. I was well and truly stuck (through no fault of my own Grandad in case you were wondering!!). I finally drove over the stones and across the upside down turf and got away. I had a break, skyped Moo and had my lunch whilst talking to her for ages.

I went back out and raked the grass into lots of manageable piles and sat on the porch with a Frozen Greek Yoghurt and Honey Lolly. It was really warm, I was wearing factor 60 suncream and stinky mosquito repellant. It was lovely looking at the garden with everything starting to bloom.

The boys came home and after a cooling ice pole and a chat about school, they helped me to pick up the grass piles and we wheeled them to Compost Corner. I made dinner, had a shower and the boys played on the IPad and computer.

The plumber came to collect his money. "Ooh you're sunburnt" he said. SIGH No I'm not I just got out of the shower! Huffle came home and we had dinner and then all the boys played football on the newly manicured pitch.

My sewing machine foot arrived today so I went and had a little practice. Love it!

Thank you to Grandad for helping us the other night when we couldn't get the mower to start and also a Thank you to the Royals for lending us their Battery Charger.

Well done to HB for finishing her exams for this term.

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New feet (one for me too please!)

Smallest got up this morning with a nose bleed, hurting ears, itching eyes, a sore throat and tummy ache. I gave him some allergy medicine and sent him to school. Small woke up with a sore elbow (he bashed it against the door yesterday) and some scrapes and bruises from falling off his bike. I gave him an ice pack and sent him of to school. Huffle went off to work with a sore back and a hurt shoulder (too much chopping). I couldn't have any of them at home today as I went to a workshop to learn how to 'free motion' sew.

Last night I checked my machine to find the right foot and threads etc and realised (too late) that my machine didn't have the correct foot for free motion so we ordered one online for it to come on Friday. Still, I went to the workshop and took my machine and the lady running the day lent me a foot.

There were three of us there, all of different abilities, me being the only beginner really. We were given a lovely cup of coffee and some 'sandwiches' of fabric and batting. The lady explained about the batting, about fabrics and threads and then we got on with it. Free-motion sewing is something I have been wanting to do since I watched Kirsty Allsop try it on a programme on the UK a few years ago. I love it. It is completely different to sewing normally but I love the creativeness of it. By the end of the day the lady was calling me The Artist as I didn't have a problem coming up with things to sew/draw. I can't wait to get my foot so I can practice and play. Now I have to teach 'Suffolk' how to do it.

I did a little shop on the way home and got back just after 3:30pm. Phew a long concentratey day. I put the shopping away and the boys came home. Their friends came to play for a couple of hours and I got the dinner ready. Huffle came home and we ate in front of Jurassic Park 2 but didn't finish as it was too long. Huffle reconnected the battery to the mower and after I pushed him a bit it worked fine, including the cutters so I will be cutting the grass tomorrow as long as it stays dry.

The boys went to bed. Smallest is very tired and had another small nose bleed. Small's elbow is much better and his cuts and scrapes are healing nicely. Huffle's back and shoulders are a bit better too, he came home with a battery charger and a very large extendable pole to add on to the paint roller.

 

 

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Home Alone

We had a nice lie-in and then breakfasted. The boys played on the wii and then Smallest got invited to play at his friend Malcolm's house. As we were getting ready to take him on our bikes, Small's three friends turned up on their bikes asking for him to come out for a bike ride. Small went off with instructions to come back at lunchtime and Huffle and I cycled with Smallest to his friends house, left him and then carried on for a bike ride of our own.

Back home we sat on the porch with an ice cream and played Ticket to Ride. At lunchtime Small arrived home after falling off his bike all scraped and hurt. We sat him down and we had lunch outside in the sunshine.

We put a few plants in, moved a few and removed a bit of grass. We were just clearing up to play with Small when he went off to another friends house and played there for a couple of hours. Again Huffle and I were left kidless.

We decided to try the mower though it kept threatening to rain. It started and pup pup pupped its way out of the barn and then stopped, refusing to move. We tried lots of things and got it going and then it stopped again. We checked out various websites and YouTube videos until we rang Grandad. He thought it might be a flat battery so I popped to the Royals to borrow a charger but they were using it. They brought it round later and the battery is now on charge overnight. The mower is stuck in the middle of the garden so Huffle threw a tarpaulin over it in case it rains.

I picked up Smallest who was riding his bike with three of his friends around the school grounds. He had had a great time. By the time we got home, Small was home too and we had a barbecue and then played football.

A bit fell off the new dishwasher (I think it's one of those weekends. Cooker, dishwasher, mower) but Huffle fixed it and then while the kids were watching TV he decided to paint the stair walls. We bought a 'problem solving paint' and it's really good. Very thick and considering the darkness of the paint underneath, only needs two coats. He got loads done in a short time.

Now the light actually comes through the window and leaves lovely shadows in the wall.

 

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My Marshmallow is on fire!

The day started with pancakes (Happy Birthday Victoria) and then outside we all trooped. It was a beautiful morning. Smallest and I cleaned the barbecue - yuck it was bad! Small did a few clearing up jobs outside and Huffle tried to get the generator working so we could cut down some of the trees along the edge of the fence (attached to the Royals field). We couldn't get it working so we put away until Grandad is here.

The boys set up an obstacle course and played on that for some time whilst Huffle and I cut back the bushes and trees with Grandads Christmas purchase of Loppers - OMG they were brilliant, they cut through the branches like a hot knife in butter. We cleared a few and then it rained so we quickly cleared our stuff away and came inside. We all played Junior Pictionary and Smallest and Huffle won. The boys played on the wii, it stopped raining and Huffle and I went back out to the trees.

I went over to the Royals and cut some from their field too. Then it rained again so we went in and had lunch and played Thurn and Taxis. When it stopped raining we went out again and cut more trees and prepared the fire pit. We had a huge fire and the boys toasted tiny marshmallows. Small went off and played at his friends for a wee time while Smallest rode his bike.

More cutting of trees, more burning and then we all sat around the fire and ate fishfinger and chip sandwiches and then we toasted marshmallows until it was bedtime for Smallest. Huffle and I had a walk around the front garden, a bit of watering and then read to the boys.

The side fence is now looking much clearer, much brighter and we have a lovely view of the Royals field and the field beyond. Lovely. All the trees we cut are burnt, though the fire is still burning a little now, and we still have another day off tomorrow . Wahoooo.

 

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The one that got away......

 

This weekend is May Two Four, Long Weekend, Victoria Day. Wow. That means Queen Victorias Birthday - okay I understand why we celebrate that plus it gives everyone a day off, though we don't celebrate the current Queens birthday/s. It's called the Long Weekend because there is an extra day, yes that makes sense. May Two Four, represents May the 24th, except that it isn't May 24th until next weekend. Now that I don't understand! Is it May 24 or not? Also, this weekend, everyone opens their cottages and plants beans and tomatoes. Well we planted ours last weekend. ha!

So for this weekend I asked everyone what they wanted to do and no-one came up with anything, so I requested that we walk in the forest and find the Trilliums. Smallest informed me that we have two flowering Trilliums in our own garden so why do we need to walk the forest to find them. He also said, half way through the forest, if we don't find them does that mean we have to go to another forest! Cheeky little bum!

Ice creams, jumping puddles, watching fishy man

The river and a broken tree (of which we saw many).

Anyway, after a nice long leisurely morning of breakfast, jigsaw, Grandama and Grandad Skyping and IPad for the boys, we packed our bag with jelly babies and water and headed for the Seaton Trail. First stop was ice cream for the boys (Huffle and I were too cold, yes too cold for ice creams today). The first misdemeanour of the day was mine. I stepped onto the grass and into a puddle (very Vicar of Dibley style), with my best trainers on, one foot fully immersed in water and the other completely encased in mud. Still, it didn't put me off. We steered Smallest around the mud and puddles and carried on to the forest. It was quite a walk until we found any Trilliums but on the way we saw a snake (well Small did), a raccoon (who sat and watched us before running away) and a man fishing who caught one.

Hanging, fishing (the darker images are the rainbow trout)

Fisherman and fighting over a stump and stick!

We stopped and asked what it was as it was huge. "Rainbow rainbow" he said and it hastily got away. We watched him for a while as it was very interesting. We could see the fish underneath the water, swimming against the current. We left him and carried on walking, finding many many Trilliums, Shuttlecock Ferns and Wild Violets.

The boys sat on many stumps, climbed hills, swung on branches, tripped up, fell over and dodged the mud. Despite the fact they complained about coming, they enjoyed the walk and said they would come here again (though I think the ice cream might have more of a lure than the walk itself).

We turned around when Huffle's food alarm rumbled, saw the same Trilliums but from a different angle, jumped more mud puddles, sat on the same stumps and stood and watched the fisherman again. He still hadn't caught anything and we worked out if we watched him through my camera, but in black and white, we could clearly see the fish under the water.

The boys finished the walk with a play on the park

Whitevale Park. A painting a lady was doing on the bridge.

The building she was painting. A run down house in the park.

Back in the car, we drove out to Whitby and had a Fish and Chip dinner. We then went to a couple of shops, bought a few plants and some fruit and eventually came home.

Funny sign we saw as we were leaving Whitby and Small piggy backing Smallest

All the boys played football and I moved our Magnolia bush and a few other small things. We all sat on the porch in the weak sunshine, planning our next bit of gardening. This morning we saw the hummingbirds again. We are now thinking we might move the Hummingbird feeder so ewe can see them clearly from the house and the porch. I sowed some seeds under the feeder last weekend and they are starting to come through already. I hope they are something good!

Because it is 'long weekend', there are many places selling fireworks. There were tents and lorries. People selling fireworks literally off the back off a lorry. Imagine if one went off..............

Sitting outside of the porch we could hear lots of mowing. Must be summer then! Where is that damn sun then! Huffle sat and looked at old photos and videos when the kids were younger. It's funny to see how their behaviour towards each other hasn't changed at all! They watched TV after they had baths and went to bed.

Glad I got to see the Trilliums - lovely flowers.

 

 

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Dancing with Charlie Fox

Smallest's eyes were much better this morning, a little puffy but I didn't give him any medicine at bedtime nor this morning and when he came home from school, they looked normal. The boys went off to school, Small ready for his Track and Field and hoping for a place on one of the five things he entered. Huffle stayed here and worked from home whilst intermittently removing grass from the front garden at lunch / evening. I had a leisurely breakfast, watched The Big Allotment Challenge (not seen the final yet so please don't mention the result) and then went off to knitting.

There weren't many of us there today and it managed to knit two rows and undo ten. Not very productive then today. Suffolk and I went for lunch at a Vegan/Vegetarian/Organic cafe. Now we realise why not many Canadians are vegetarian. We ordered soup which was Tomato and Lentil. It was tasteless, watery and the tomatoes came from a tin. What was at the bottom of the soup looked like soil (it wasn't but it didn't look appetising! Half way through my soup I looked at Suffolk and said "I'm going to need a piece of cake after this!" She agreed and said she had already thought our next stop was tea and cake somewhere else...... And that is exactly what we did. We had a lovely piece of cake and a hot drink.

Then we went to the quilting shop to buy Suffolk's next two fabrics for her lovely quilt she is making. I saw a 'Sassy Apron' pattern and decided I would make one when we have enough time to look at more material. I came home and prepared dinner for later. The boys came home. Small had not done very well in his chosen Track and Field events and was a little upset. He did get two Enthusiasm ribbons though (not everyone gets them just the people who haven't placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd and who tried very hard). Bless him. I blame the school. They give them one, or two at the most, weeks to find an event they are good at. Tell them they are good at something and make hem believe it and then practice. In my opinion they don't practice enough. One day they were practicing relay (they call it Baton racing here) and they only had one Baton, so they sent the kids to find sticks. I don't think the teachers take it seriously - Pah they would if it was hockey!!!! Smallest wasn't happy because he wasn't allowed to join in or even watch - too small, they might get hurt! Smallest has gone up a level in reading. He is now th best reader on his class and he had great delight in telling the boys who used to be the best. Ha ah that's funny!

Off to swimming we went (Huffle had to stay behind and do work, so we left him with the prepared dinner). Smallest used his goggles today and he got on much better. He learnt how to do a 'feet first surface dive'. Small didn't mess around today and enjoyed his lesson. I took my knitting and finished my square and then undid part of it and then finished it again!

Small with his ribbons.

Smallest is all a blur diving and jumping and playing on the IPad.

Huffle edit - rumour has it that grandad was seen dancing in the crowd with Charlie fox at the leicestershire v Derbyshire 20/20 cricket. For those who don't know Charlie fox is the mascot. Silly grandad and his beer, and no doubt some very silly dancing with those dodgy knees

 

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Well well!

When we put Smallest to bed last night, we gave him a slighter higher pillow in the hope that his eyes wouldn't swell. When he woke up his eyes were puffy but not as bad. He had the medicine before school and when he came home his eyes looked much better.

Everyone went off and left me today. As the weather was quite bad, rainy, dismal and pretty miserable, I decided to go out as I didn't expect the plumber to arrive. Before I went I watched Happy Village with my breakfast.

My mission today was to buy something to go into the Spring Festival auction baskets. Small's class was creating a Movie theme one so I bought "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" and a pack of popcorn. Smallest's class was making a Superhero basket so I bought "The Dark Knight" film and some Power Rangers Lego. I also got some Allergy medicine that was Non-drowsy! My next job was to get some 'door stop'. The people who lived in our house before used door stop around the bottom of the skirting boards. This is normally used for around a door frame but as they used it in the kitchen (not all the way round) we now have to try and find the same thing to finish off the kitchen! I went to Home Depot which is exactly like B&Q (even the same colour orange), asked for help, got no help, rang Huffle and then stopped a man who had a tape measure attached to his trousers. The man was in fact a customer who was Irish. I told him I wanted to know if my door stop measured 3cm. "I don't know cm's, I'm British!" He said in a thick Northern Irish accent. "So am I" I said. "Yes well I've been here 32 years!" He said. He was really nice and helped me to find what I was looking for. He thought my tape measure app on my phone was hilarious. Afterwards we chatted about where we were from and how long we had been here etc and the cold horrible winter. It turns out his Uncle lives down the road from us - he didn't have good things to say about him!

I popped to school and delivered my wares and then came home and had lunch. I sat with my knitting and the plumber arrived. He opened up the well and climbed inside. I half expected to see water and a bucket but it was just a hole with a pump inside.

It's a bit disappointing.

While he was messing in the well, I potted up the Dahlias we stored over winter, repotted lettuce, hoed the veggie garden and hoed the tree seedlings out of the front garden. Then I went for a cup of tea at the Royals, delivered some seedlings, had a chat and then came to check on MrPlumber. He had finished the well and now we have an outside tap that works and a pipe running somewhere that does what it's supposed to do!!!, He was fitting the new dishwasher in. Apparently it is a bigger job than in England where you fit a few pipes and plug it in. Still, it is in, it looks lovely and it doesn't eat plastic!

The boys came home and Small did his homework and they both had showers. Smallest serenaded the birds in the garden with his terracotta bird whistle. It was great, he beckoned some Cardinals, a Robin and a crow. The Cardinals particularly liked his whistling.

Huffle came home and we had dinner. The boys watched TV before bed.

 

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