Broken, fires & tattoos

I have been rushing around like an idiot all day, and am mightily pissed off with myself and our wood burner stove, which is in drastic need of repair!
Anyhow more about that minor saga later!....I was up at 7am, and attacked each one of the hen houses with scrubbing brush and dettol, in an effort to get rid of the yearly threat of red mite. At 9am I looked an absolute site, so thought I would add to the layers of filth that covered my whole body by de lousing as many hens as I could get hold of. ( not the nicest of jobs)
At 10am I took Scotty to the vets, which was a bit of a trial as the whole practice was on its first day of going computerised! Subsequently our wait was lengthened as the practice staff giggled nervously in corners as they banged away on keyboards and monitors..."computer says no!" seemed to be the phrase of the day.
As usual the vet was not sure what was up with scotty, so he had an antibiotic injection (I will give subsequent injections)- in the hope that he will recover, and I capitalised on the visit by stocking up on some more antibiotics and wormer.
I then picked up a load of coal from St Asaph and then managed to collect the spare parts for our woodburner before coming home to walk the dogs, feed the stock and break the stove's glass window in an effort to make good the repairs to the door...
now we have not got a functioning fire! and mother in law Sorrel comes in a day's time......
Bloody hell!
So when my sister called round all pert and excited with her new tattoo, I was hot, sweaty, irritated and covered in soot....oh and less than enthusiastic in my reaction to her new body adornment!
I am not a lover of tattoos, I never have been, but she seemed so excited with her rebel decision to finally have one done at the age of 47, that I relented somewhat and joined in the spirit of the whole thing by photographing it........the design is a winged saying of sorts, a copy of the one my brother has had when he was on holiday....
It's all a bit much. I have a headache, especially after the fact that William got all a bit excited with the tattoo furore and
Janet's dog Jess, and peed on the duvet on our bed
Tonight I am off to Theatre Clwyd to see the Japanese film – STILL WALKING .
Thank goodness for a bit of relaxation in a dark. quiet .... place.....

Now you know why I love films so much


No it is not toilet roll sticking out from her pants....it's a dressing

Mother in law plans

Sorrel, my mother in law is coming to visit on Thursday. It is her birthday at the weekend, so I have been left to organise some treats for her! SO.........!
I think that we will have lunch at Osborn House in Llandudno on Saturday.....then in the evening we will either go to the theatre or Prestatyn's Scala cinema.....then on Sunday I want to book us in for tea at the lovely Bodysgallen Hall (see all photos including a snap of the house's famous tea table yum)
http://www.bodysgallen.com/

I will sort the weekend out tomorrow, in between vets visits, fixing the spare tyre on the old berlingo, collecting spare parts for the wood burner stove, oh and disinfecting the first set of chicken coops........the dreaded red mite is returning!

Off to bed now......I am so tired I am losing my ability to co ordinate and I have dribbled my diet coke all over my pullover!

Protecting crops

There is only so much you can do without any sleep. This morning I have walked the dogs, collected feed and straw for the pigs and have wheelbarrowed manure and compost into bags for our old neighbours to collect.
The first vegetable bed has been surrounded with netting (to prevent scraping feet damage to the potato trenches which I planted yesterday) and the first of the onions have been planted out too!
.....Although I am very weary, I couldn't afford the luxury of 40 winks, as I found a rather bedraggled Scotty (the buff cockerel), standing listlessly in his run. It looks as though he has had some diarrhoea and has some discharge from his mouth (but no wheezing or coughing) , so I have isolated the poor bugger and will try to get a vet's appointment for him tomorrow. I am not sure just what the problem may be..
He looks very sorry for himself indeed.


Spoke to my twin sister this morning....she is on holiday at the moment and is planning to have a tattoo like the one my brother had done in Florida......I despair at her gesture of solidarity!

I need a sleep.....................................

The Great Escape

Compared with all of the other field animals the young turkeys seem to possess a modicum of brains and an over abundance of curiosity.
I was working yesterday afternoon, and without my pottering presence in the field, the four poults drove Chris to distraction by planning and implementing several raiding parties into the Churchyard.
Now, I am convinced that the birds understand fully that the Church is a no go area. When I have caught them before ( and I am usually storming noisily around brandishing a bucket or hoe), the four poults raise their beaks into the air, in gestures of acknowledgement, give a series of odd little gobbles and uniformly leg it back to their enclosure like naughty little boys.
They have now been so conditioned by my baleful expression, that all it takes is one glimpse of my dirty wellies and bleach stained trousers to have them galloping back home in thinly disguised hysteria!.
Soon the four of them will be just too heavy to be breaking out of anywhere and the problem will be naturally resolved.
Sunday today, which means Church for Chris, a nice Sunday dinner for me, and work this evening

shit happens

Every picture tells a story, and this photo is absolutely priceless...
Grandma barfing into a rubbish bin...(in a sort of weird way) made my day......
Thanks to Mark, whose blog I nicked this from

Love Happens

We couldn't be bothered going out last night. The weather has closed in and it was cold and rainy last night. We watched half of an awful film Love Happens, which was supposed to be a romantic comedy (in actual fact it is neither romantic or funny) and ate Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
The film was set in Seattle, which looked suitably sweet and wet, and the only fun I had with it, was recognising areas I had in fact visited. (The Space Needle,Pike place fish market Puget sound etc).Seattle, as I recall, was friendly,relaxed and very wet
This morning I have made myself popular by washing Chris' best woollen scarf with my allotment clothes.....it is now six inches long...........................he is not best pleased......good job I am working this afternoon!

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars

Remembering Finlay

http://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/2007/03/chasing-cars.html

This is an early post but is perhaps one that follows the previous post very well......
(forgive the photo....it was taken when I was very....well FAT!