Tuesday 3rd May 11

Another good day... I went to the local Thomas The Baker and got a fiver's worth of 'Yesterbake', bread left over from a day or two ago and available at ridiculously low prices.  I got two small loaves, four bags of rolls, four 'naughty spirals' and some cheese straws.  Should keep us going for a few days.  I foresee a nutloaf coming on....

Gill went into town with our eldest, to the library to research oxbow lakes.... are there any in Yorkshire I wonder?  Or have all the mature rivers been so managed, there aren't any?

I went to the Building Society to put in two cheques and get out some cash to pay the Steiner School for this term.  Then I cycled down to the school and collected our youngest.  However, I was pleased to meet someone I've wanted to meet for a bit now, a writer called Kate Ravillious, who has done some cracking pieces for NewScientist.  She has a young daughter who'll be starting at the Steiner School soon... and an 11 week old son, which is why she's not writing at the moment.

Good cycle back with our lad, he's getting a lot better at cycling.  I had a short time at home... did a little bit of wood-management, but at 5.30 set out for town again to go to David's for my care work.  I was pleased to meet his cousin's daughter who helps with his accounts, and Richard, another cousin, is back from France, and it was good to see him too.  David wanted to see where his solicitor's offices were, so we explored Piccadilly, found the office block, and returned and headed to City Screen for a coffee.  We met one of David's friends Chris, who's a Professor at the University, in the Department of Education.

We didn't spend long there, but went back to David's place, where I cooked his tea and sorted him out, and was able to get away for 8pm.  I sped home and watched a really good programme on Channel 5, 'The King's Speech Revealed', followed by The Secret Millionaire on Channel 4, followed by Catfish on More 4, which i found really interesting, being in the 'online, facebook, GoogleMaps' generation!  A really interesting story. Gill watched these with me too, whilst I did more red peppers for drying.

Thursday 17th February 11

Up very early for me, at 7.30, as had to make up my sweetie-jar of muesli and then have breakfast and then get the bikes ready and then cycle with our youngest down to the Steiner School. 

We arrived very early; Gill had said that he'd need to get off and remove gloves, get off and remove coat, walk at the Barracks because of oncoming traffic, and various other nonsense, none of which he did... he was a brilliant cyclist and we took about 15 minutes to get there.  Gill had predicted 35!  Of course, he might behave completely differently with Gill....

I showed him how to lock his bike up and he looked after the key, gloves and reflective jacket.

I then cycled to Cycle Heaven, where Ash said he'd be able to mend the mudguard, rather than replace it (green win, repairing things!) and fix the front light and back brake.  He said it would be an hour, so I took the shop bike and got money out, picked up my prescription, went to Sainsburys, went to the chemist to get my asthma drugs and was back at Cycle Heaven 45minutes later.  Ash was just putting rivets in the mudguard.

Home, via Country Fresh which had 2 pallets for me.  I spoke to a builder who was working on Mick and Judy's old house, converting a garage into a student bedroom, and he was happy to give me some bits of wood and invited me to go back and pick up more.  So I did.  He had a pallet and about 5 small sacks of ready-cut wood plus a trailer-load of other chunks... a really good haul, which would have gone to landfill, I think.  I had a good chat with the builder, who has a home-schooled child, so we had something in common.  A nice guy.

Gill was getting fed up with one of our doors, made of thin panels which don't grip screws at all well.  The hinges do not hold the door firmly, so I suggested getting some fixings which have wings on the back... they slip into the hole and open up and allow things to be tightened up.  I visited the fix-it shop round the corner, and described the problem and my imagined solution.  However, the device I described is suitable for holding things onto plasterboard, not hinges onto doors.  The fix-it person said that there were some plastic plugs which when pushed into the hole would open up and grip when the screw was tightened up.  So I bought them and Gill and our eldest worked together to mend the door, which now seems to be fairly secure on it's hinges.

On the way round to the shop, I saw a chap digging out the base of a large conifer he'd massacred.  It was about 3 metres tall.  I asked whether it was wanted or whether I could remove it for him.  He seemed very happy to let me have it.  So I went back and removed soil from roots and just managed to get it onto my trailer. 

Quite soon after this I cycled back down to Fulford Road to pick up our youngest, and we cycled back happily, chatting, not hurrying.

I did some chainsawing and stacking, and Gill made a pasta, cauliflower and broad-bean concoction which was very nice.  I had a quiet evening, writing, playing Scrabble, watching The Human Planet and a good programme about how two spices are produced and sold, peppercorns and cinnamon.  Interesting stuff!

Friday 28th January 11

A much better morning.  And therefore a better day... despite spending most of it doing paperwork!  Gill and I finished off our financial declaration for the Steiner School... we had to work out our gross income, then all our household bills, and other unavoidable costs, such as my Fiddlesticks advertising and travel.  The amount of 'available money' left gives the school the guide as to how much the fee (or donation as they put it) should be.  So, despite our saving money by not having a car, by being really careful with our electricity and gas use, we're going to have a lean few years ahead, because of the large chunk needed to pay for our youngest's education.

I also worked on my CV, which had been requested by a potential employer, and was really happy to get that finished. 

I took the Steiner School paperwork into the school before chucking out time, and Judy checked it over and I agreed (and signed) the annual fee, and agreed to pay a third of this at the beginning of each term.  As I was handing the forms into the office, I asked about the help that's needed in the school that most parents offer.  I said I'd be happiest doing garden-type stuff, and was told that there was a 'gardening teacher' but also a parent called Christine who did most of it.  At that moment, Christine walked past, so the office person stopped her and I introduced myself.  I'll have a meeting with her next week to see what sorts of things need doing.

Then our boyo appeared, I unlocked his bike and we slowly cycled home.  I found some pruned branches and brought a few home.  When we got back, I spent a bit of time with loppers filling a couple of potato sacks with cut sticks... they dry well in these paper sacks, and I use this size of stick for kindling.

Just before dark I popped round to see Tim Jones to pick up the second load of sticks from his garden, and he invited me in for a cuppa, and I met his wife and two daughters. I made a balloon animal for them both. Tim paid me for the half-day's work on Monday.  I now have a large pile of logs and sticks to chop up... again!


A bit later, after tea, I cycled down to Heslington with our other son so he could do his computer graphics lesson with Simon.  I cycled back home via a pile of branches recently pruned back, and got home in time for some washing up and then another cycle back to pick him up again.  I've no idea how many miles I've cycled today but it seems like quite a lot.

Monday 31st August 09

How lovely to have a Bank Holiday Monday with no work!

Quite a lazy morning, and then did washing up and had lunch, and at 1.30 set off with our youngest to Fulford Show. We cycled down together, which was nice, as our eldest said he'd prefer to walk, so he and Gill turned up about an hour later, by which time we'd walked round once and I'd settled in to helping on the Green Party stall, selling books at 5op and tombola tickets, which although I never buy my own, I enjoyed selling.

It was a really good event, with lots of stalls... mainly fundraising with tombolas and the like, but also a little train ride, races, tug-o-war, and in the nearby Social Hall, competitions for best vegetable, painting, kids mini-garden and many other categories. I was delighted to see that our friend Melody won second prize in the mis-shaped vegetable competition, for a green bean which had got itself into a spiral, beaten by a cucumber in a broad smile shape.

The boys had a good enough time as they met friends there, and I was pleased to meet lots of people I knew. Our eldest went back with Melody and family, I cycled back with our youngest as far as Melody and Simon's and left him there, and zoomed down to Country Fresh, rather too fast. My trailer tyre hit something and bounced up, overturning the trailer and bending part of the trailer frame which is a nuisance. I either need to hit it back into shape with a big hammer (back of the axe?) or take it to the welders to have it heated up and bent back, for which they will charge me £10.

Anyway, I returned home with a big box of bananas and a box of mixed compostables and a sack of similar. Collected a sack from Freshways too... so as soon as I got home I went to unload the stuff into the Compostumbler which is now full again. And steaming.

The family came home, with Melody and her family, so there was suddenly a garden full, bouncing on the trampoline and making loads of noise. A lovely day.

We had the carrot soup for tea, with toasties... I've got to say it is one of the best carrot soups I've made. Probably as Gill added some cooked potato and whizzed it up and seasoned it, so it was a joint effort.

I had a very late night preparing 17 red peppers and a large pile of plums all for drying. I love dried plums, and my sweet red pepper paprika makes my soups and stews totally yummy. But having the stove burning on warm evenings makes it like a sauna in here....

Sunday 5th July 09

Up at a civilised time and was please to see Valerie's expression when she saw the life-sized Native American figure that Gill's been making for the past couple of weeks. Val is involved with a theatre group and Gill's helped with set painting before, and this time has created a standing Native American for the next production.

Then I spent quite a bit of time tidying the conservatory, pruning tomato side shoots and winding the leaders around their supporting string, and potting up some sprouting ginger that I've rescued from the compostables. I've also got some other tubers which I don't know the name of which are beginning to poke out a spiky green shoot. I'll pot them up too!

After lunch I cycled down to the station with my eldest and bought our rail tickets for the trip to Weston Super Mare, plus two bikes... and was happy that it only cost £47 for the both of us, return. Excellent. The only slight problem is that on the way down we have a 4.20 to 9.30pm journey... a bit late. We'll stay with Lucy that night.

Came back via Argos to see what kind of tents they have, as last year my tent ripped and is not really repairable. The camping shop in York doesn't have any with the shape I want, and neither did Argos.

So, after an afternoon collecting logs from Woodlands (how appropriate!) and loading a compost heap, I had some time on the computer googling tents. I found relatively few with the shape etc that I wanted but there is one which is on sale in various places. I'll phone tomorrow...

Finally, did my Carbon Account meter readings...

Tuesday 16th June 09

Both boys off to school today... I came down and sat bleary-eyed on the sofa until the house was empty, and then had breakfast, did my e-paperwork and then when Gill came back she persuaded me to come back to bed. We are very lucky to have this time... the low income and only working part-time does have it's upside.... plenty of time to do what we want to do...

But I couldn't stay in bed all day, much though that has some attraction, as I was expecting a visit from either Rowena or Adrian who have done a clear-out and found a stash of wood, much of it only fit to burn. So I did a load more work out the front, slicing the pear, apple and lilac logs from John Bibby, and splitting them and stacking round the back. It's a huge job... I'm only half-way through and I've already got a really good stack of split logs, perhaps 2m x 2m and nearly as high as me.

Adrian came after lunch, with a load of planks and other structural timber, and a whole lot of very dry and mostly all logged to the right size Leylandii chunks. I split these with the maul... they are easier when wet.

At 3 I went to school to pick up our youngest, and cycled with him on to the Millennium Bridge and up to BikeRescue where the 'Specialised Rockhopper' reconditioned bike was waiting. Our little boy was delighted with this... it was £65, but well worth it as it is a good make, 18 gears and will last for years. I put his old bike on my trailer and zoomed off after him, as he is now twice as fast as he was!

Got home well before what time I told Gill I expected us to be back, and I continued outside for a bit, cutting the front hedge and putting some of it through the shredder. Then tea which was cauliflower and macaroni with the tomato and leek soup on top as a sauce..

I then had an appointment at the allotment with a bunch of University students who have an allotment but don't know about composting, and I had offered to do a talk going through the basics. There were about 8 of them, on a rather weedy allotment but with plenty of lettuce, strawberries, onions, potatoes and a fire area in the centre with pallets around it to sit on. I did a basic run through of what composting was, what kind of materials biodegrade, the conditions needed, some stuff about landfill and my composting ops here. I answered a few questions. Then we went to look at the existing composting areas, showing them evidence of a rat in one pile. They gave me some lettuce as a thank you for the time.

I went up to my half plot and did some clearance, opening up a path up one side using the hedge shears, and worked til 10.15 when it got too dark to continue...

A lovely chatty evening with Gilly, and feeling positive as we looked at photos of Randall and Annie's baby on Facebook. Ahhhh...

Wednesday 25th February 09

I took our youngest to school... last night we got his bike mended and this morning the tyre was still hard, so he cycled, very slowly. I picked up a trailer-load of logs from the woodland the University has destroyed.

Gill went to art. I riddled (sieved) a load of sawdust/woody waste, to get fine sawdust for the compost toilet, and larger bits and bobs, bark bits, twigs etc, for a woody 'carbon-rich' layer in the compost heap. As I was doing this, I had some sad thoughts about today's news that a little boy who had Cerebral Palsy had died, and my friend's daughter who also has CP and is quite fragile... and nearly died last summer. I didn't know that there was such a high risk of death at such an early age (because there are plenty of adults with CP) and I hope my little friend stays as strong as she can and fulfils her potential, which is considerable, as she's got a fantastic personality. It would be a tragic loss, as is any child dying, but I'm glad I know a little bit more about the subject and the possibilities ahead.

I went on the laptop to do some more pushing and shoving about Age of Stupid, trying to get the Peoples' Premiere put on at City Screen and also trying to get a special screening at City Screen with the Director, Franny Armstrong, coming to introduce it and do a Q and A afterwards.

Gill came back and we had lunch. Most of our afternoon was taken up with a visitor and doing some cooking... a sauce with butternut squash in it for spaghetti.

I went to get the little cyclist and picked up another load of logs on the way home.

More work in the garden, visited Country Fresh and got 3 sacks/boxes of compostables as well as 2 'paid for' bags of veg and fruit, one for Debbie and one for home. Dropped off some seconds bananas with Ben and Jill... and when I got in, Ben rang to say he'd got the graphics card for the boy's computer... but when he arrived, he found he'd assumed the computer was an older version, but no, it was only a couple or 3 years old and the newer card was needed. So he had a cuppa whilst I searched for spaghetti (found it eventually!) and prepared tea. Good company. Gill had gone to school for a meeting about a child's fieldtrip, and when she came home the boys were enjoying their spag veg and Gill had some too.

I soon popped out to the University of York Student Union's Green Week event on carbon footprinting, which was quite a good meeting, mostly a workshop.

Home before 9 to a peaceful house. Lovely!

Wednesday 18th February 09

Quite a relaxed morning, and as our eldest was at a loose end, we rang one of his friends to see if he could come here or our lad go there. The latter option looked good, and I cycled down to Fulford with him and left him there.

Came back via a logpile and then did some splitting and stacking of the freshly felled softwood that Don left, and spent some time in the garden doing other things. Our youngest had a friend round and they played happily all day.

Gill went down to town to get some birthday presents for a pair of boys who are having a joint party on Friday, I think. When she came back I got veg and eggs from Country Fresh plus some compostables and a nice natter with Rich.

I collected our eldest after 7pm... he'd had a brilliant day, he'd been taken to the City Screen Cinema by one of the Dads, and seen a Pink Panther film. So he was in a good mood, and was patient with me attempting to get a large log home, which I found was quite unwieldy.

Both boys pretty worn out so a relatively easy 'night shift'! A peaceful and pleasant day.

Sunday 8th February 09

A nice relaxed morning and enjoyed Countryfile. It was good to see my friend Guy Wallbanks interviewed in Whitby about how to have an ethical St Valentine's Day. Then I enjoyed Gardeners Question Time. I spent lots of time peeling dozens and dozens of lychees, which were unsaleable as they have some little patches of mould on the outer skin. But when this shell is peeled off, the fruit within is absolutely fine... so did loads, then peeled the fruit off the stone, and liquidised this fruit pulp with some apples to make a wonderful juice. I'll convert some of this into fruit leather, but we had some nice perfumed juice drink with our evening meal...

Mid afternoon went for a cycle with my eldest lad. He had some homework to do, making a virtual tour of York, so we went with Gill's camera down to Heslington to get photos of his school, the park, Heslington Hall and parts of the University. He decided where to take the pics, I took him to the places he wanted to see.

Then we went down to Country Fresh and got some bananas and tomatoes, plus recycling, and then on to Freshways where one of the guys offered my son some bananas and he was unsure whether to take them... he's not used to the generosity that shop-owners display to me, their volunteer recycler!

Pizza for tea and then I took some lychees up to Wendy in part payment for the exercise bike... I sorted out a couple of dozen with minimal mould on, and she was happy with these.

Bathed both the boys in stove-water and a very peaceful evening.