I collected enough conkers to spider proof the house and give some to friends.
The compost heaps have been dealt with, the good stuff is on the raised beds and the rest has been "fluffed up" and re-stacked with plenty of scrunched up newspaper. This adds air to the mix and helps with the decomposition, I did have some farmyard manure to add in as well, every little helps.
My bookcase, next to the end of the sofa that I habitually curl up on, has a pile of 20 or so books ready for when i feel the need to read. My crochet and bag of yarn is there and my plastic box of EPP hexies, fabric scraps and needle, thread, thimble and beeswax is to hand also. Dark nights, bring them on.
I still have to go through the seeds, I knew there were gaps and have had a delivery from The Real Seed co. I figure that seeds grown in Pembrokeshire would grow happily here.
The small quilt has had its binding sewn down and is wrapped ready for The Day.
The Big Beast of a quilt is almost half quilted, it is a chimera of Paddy McGinty's Goat and Delaney's Donkey. Stubborn, wilful and takes a lot of pushing and shoving to get it through the harp space.
It is not as bad as it sounds, it is just the biggest one that I have made and is heavy. I am sure that James and Cerys will love it though, they know that one is coming their way and are very happy.
I was in Neath on Monday and found this in Morrison's.
50 pence, bargain.
If they still have them next week I will be getting another.
This was my dinner on Wednesday, stuffed cabbage and jacket potato, the recipe is on my other blog if you fancy a look.
Thursday is my usual shopping day, I like to empty the fridge for dinner that night and this week it was "interesting".
I had 2 of the stuffed cabbage rolls with some sauce left, a dish of cooked runner beans, another of cooked shredded cabbage and some barbecue sauce (that I pulled from the freezer while looking for something and forgot to put back) and about 100 g raw minced beef (ditto the barbecue sauce)
I browned the mince with a little diced onion, added a splash of water, the barbecue sauce and a few cherry toms, brought this to simmer and cooked for 10 minutes or so. Chopped the 2 stuffed cabbage rolls and stirred into the mix along with the other veg, checked the seasoning and tipped it into a pyrex dish. I peeled, diced and cooked a sweet potato, mashed it up and spread over the top. 20 minutes in the oven and dinner for 2 from leftovers. Sounds iffy but tasted wonderful.
Ben has had 2 walks and a bath today and is sprawled out on the sofa, I am off to spend a sweaty hour with the big beast.
TTFN Pam
Have a good weekend.
What do you do with the conkers Pam? I have done a post on conkers and spiders today as we had one in the bed last night.
ReplyDeleteWill you be making Pumpkin Soup then?
I put 2 or 3 on each window sill, I very rarely have a spider in the house. I am planning soup and sweet pumpkin pie. I had one in my bed about 40 years ago and can still remember the feeling of total panic and horror when I saw it. I went backwards over the bed, knocking my hubby to the floor, and fled for the safety of the pantry where I climbed onto a shelf and gibbered. It was the furthest room in the house from my bedroom.
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ReplyDeleteI still have seed boxes to go through I am almost there with the Autumn jobs, I am just wondering what books you have stacked up to read :-)
ReplyDeleteI will post a photo in the next couple of days.
DeleteWhat exactly are conkers? Do they act as a spider repellent? This is all very mysterious to this Aussie. Xx
ReplyDeleteThey are the fruit of the Horse Chestnut, a deciduous native tree. The flowers are held in tall Cone shaped clusters and are white and pink mostly, although there is a red variety. The "conkers" are formed in a prickle covered fleshy walled shell, and are prized by small boys of all ages. Once dried they are threaded onto knotted strings ( sometimes shoe laces) and i boy holds his string at the top with the conker gangling, another boy uses his conker to strike the first one, then they change places. This is repeated until 1 conker splits, that player is out and another takes his place. Scores are kept and the conkers that stay intact are prized possessions. In the interest of "health and safety" some schools have banned the game as unsafe, bruised knuckles and so on. It is alleged that the conkers give off an odour that acts as a spider deterrent, there are 2 camps, the ones who scoff and the ones like me, for whom it works.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the explanation Pam, I had no idea what conkers are and the affect on spiders . Xx
ReplyDeleteI kept bowls of conkers around the other year. Guess what I found LIVING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE LARGEST BOWL???!!!
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