Monday 9th May 11

Up fairly early and started with assorted admin/paperwork/phoning type activities.

But before lunch, Gillian from around the corner came round and asked if I still wanted the pile of bricks that she and Tony, her husband who died a few weeks back, had accumulated and stored.  Well yes, I did, as I want to make a raised bed at the bottom part of the garden, but don't want the soil to touch the fence it'll be up against.  So I need a low wall up against the fence, not touching it, to allow an air gap, but close enough to allow crops to grow up the fence whilst their roots are in the nice soil I'll fill the bed with.

So I collected nearly 300 bricks in I don't know how many wheelbarrow trips.  I also spent some time with Gillian, whom I'm very fond of... she needed to talk about Tony and share her feelings of loss.  They'd been married for 47 years.

So I came in for a late lunch at about 2pm and did some more computery stuff, and then some wood management out the front.  However, it started to rain, and then thunder, and then hail, so I came in.  I needed to go to my GP too, at 5.30, so I went as soon as the weather would allow and got there on the dot of 5.30.  My leg still hurts after breaking my ankle last year and my scalp eczema doesn't get cleared up by the cream I've been prescribed, so I'm getting an eczema removal liquid, and was given a form for an X-ray to see if my ankle has healed properly.

I went from here to Sainsburys to get Marmite, and then on to David's to do my two hours of care work.  He asked to be taken to Waitrose, which he hadn't been to, so I pushed him all the way there and around it several times, and he found a few things he wanted. We came back a different way, via the Peaseholm Green Edible York raised beds... and I spotted some bindweed, which will need to be removed or it will take over.

I did a bit of DIY back at David's, putting up a battery-powered LED picture light, using Gill's rechargeable drill. It wasn't the easiest of jobs.

I prepared his evening meal and got away soon after 8.

Mark Windmill, my gardener friend, had kindly delivered a load of Ash logs from a project he'd been working on.  I tidied some of them up before having my tea.  A quiet evening and not too late to bed....

Tuesday 14th December 10

The day started a bit rapidly because Gill had a GP appointment at 9.40 and woke me up at 9.20 as I'd offered to walk round with her, as it was slippery and I really didn't want her to fall over. So my usual routine of having breakfast first thing was replaced by a slow walk round to Tang Hall Lane, using the only ice-free part of Lilac Avenue, the car tyre tracks.  So Gill was happy to have me with her, and I pocketed her presrciption for painkillers and went to get those later.

We got home and I sat down to enjoy breakfast... and the Suma lorry came, so I put muesli on hold and helped unload our order... peanut butter, muesli base, soya milk, bouillon, rice, goats cheese, some other bits and bobs, plus things for Sue and Melody.

So then it was time to do some log stacking, as we're going through loads at the moment and I really need to get a load stacked by the front door to prepare for the forthcoming cold snap.  I also tidied up the Wisteria leaves which had been knocked off by the snow, and some other mess.  I started splitting the softwood rounds I picked up over the weekend. 

Sue showed up sometime between 2 and 3 to pick up her rye bread and tinned lentil soup, and I took the 2 boxes of rye bread over to her van.  I'd noticed a woman rooting through a skip of household goods in a neighbour's driveway, and as I walked back to the house, I spoke to her and we chatted.  She'd seen the skip last night and put a note through the door asking if she could rummage through.  She'd got a phone call with a yes, so had come down to find clothes and other bits.  She had a huge suitcase plus at least 2 rucksacks, a large plastic carrier bag and a child's scooter. 

About 10 minutes later, as I was splitting rounds with my axe, she struggled past and I wished her well.  Five minutes later, I was setting out on my bike to go and get Gill's prescription, and she was outside our neighbour's, still trying to manage her heavy load.  So I offered to help her move her stuff, it wasn't far, just up Osbaldwick Lane, and we had a good natter whilst going there.  Turns out she was at the Pumpkin evening and Apple Day and I'd taught her daughter to juggle...

I got the prescription and came back and didn't do any more outside as it was now dark. 

Gill had made leek and potato soup, and I had mine with two slices of bread.

Then at 6.15 I set out on the bike again to go to Tang Hall Library for the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel, and we had a very interesting and quite long meeting, lasting over an hour.  So it was nearly 8pm when I got back.  I watched a programme about equations with our eldest at 9pm, and had a fairly quiet evening.

Monday 6th December 10

Well, although I had a headache for much of the day, it was a good day.

I got up at 10, as I'd been up til 3 doing the balloons thing.

Had a long time on the laptop, was pleased to see a handful of people had joined my 'event' and, hopefully, had written or emailed James Alexander, to ask him not to do the balloon release.  I got a thank you message from the Marine Conservation Society thanking me for my actions and caring.

I tried to do some work outside, but I got chilled to the bone and had to come in within the hour to defrost.  I can't remember it being so cold!

I had a chat with the Press about the balloon launch, booked tickets to go to Cafe Scientifique on Thursday with my eldest son... it's a talk and discussion about 'dark matter', just his sort of subject... almost way over my head!  I got back to the home education Yahoo Group thanking them for their welcome, and found out about the Christmas party which is luckily on the number 6 bus route, from just round the corner.

Before tea I walked with Gill round to her GP surgery; she was afraid of falling over as she has tumbled several times, so we had some nice chats on the way there, waiting, and walking back.  I made a tea with some squash soup over some dead pasta, and enlivened this with the last of the 'stove-dried' tomatoes which I preserved in extra virgin olive oil after semi-drying on the stove.  They were yummy, and made the old pasta bearable.

In the evening I attended the LETS meeting, with Melody and Sue, and Claire from Grace Preserves came along too, as a prospective member.  Sue was going to walk back to where she lives but I suggested she come back home to warm up, and then get a taxi.  She didn't leave til about 1am.  I then got on with other things!

Thursday 2nd September 10

I got up quite early as I had a doctor's appointment as my ankle is still hot to the touch, still a bit painful, and I'm worried about turning on it again... I've almost gone over on it twice since breaking it, well, since the pot came off. I do NOT want to damage it again!

But I also had agreed to take 3 sacks of wood to my friend Anita, who's central heating has gone wrong, but has a woodstove. So I loaded the trailer up and cycled round to Monkgate. I settled down to read No Impact Man, as there's usually a wait at the Surgery, but today I was called in two minutes early! The GP, (Brendon, I think!) was a new one (for me) and he was really nice, and he gave me some good advice about exercises and strapping my ankle. He was also interested in my lipoma, as I told him I had an appointment to have it removed. I'd happily see this GP again.

Then I popped round to Anita's but she'd double booked and got an appointment at her bank in town, so instead of chatting over a coffee we walked into town together and chatted. We parted at the bank and I went to the Friends Meeting House to see if I could book a room for the Car Free York meeting. Then onto Alligator to pick up a small load of compostables and then to Country Fresh for quite a lot more. I then had a bite of lunch and a good session down the garden, loading up this material with hedge shreddings into the medium Compostumbler.

When the post arrived after lunch, I was pleased to get the document from the Criminal Records Bureau, an 'Enhanced Disclosure'. This means I'll be called into Woodlands soon, given an induction, and be able to help them with their log problem at the back of the building! Yay!! They get volunteer help, I get to take the unwanted tree trunks they normally put on a bonfire. There's at least a win-win-win there!

The boys came home from school, our youngest has started senior school so they came home together. They'd both had a good day. Thank goodness, we were thinking about them all day.

For tea I had a plate of noodles with a veg mix which included some chunks of tromboncino squash, Jack Edwards Pea Beans and thrown-away tomatoes. Several little boxes had been put in the 'unsalable' bag, as each had one or two squashy ones, and about half a dozen sound ones, and it takes too long to sort these out into good and bad... it's cheaper for the retailer to throw the lot and get on with a job which will have a bigger return, like making the trays of tomatoes look nice so customers buy them. I enjoyed my tea, especially as some of the ingredients were home grown and others rescued from material destined for landfill.

Later I dealt with all of the remaining Mirabelle plums, cutting the plum so the stone came out (it comes out really easily with the ripe ones) and stewing some, drying the rest. Bed at 2am.

Friday 21st May 10

A late start to the day, not surprising since I was up til 3am. It is a constant question as to why I am nocturnal if left to my own devices.

But once I was up, I had a busy day... a teeny bit of woodchopping, planting out beans and squash, preparing a bit more growing medium, compost heap adding, also several phone calls, a pile of emails, letters to answer.

I went down to the Cemetery at about 2.30, to get some photos, and as I'm essentially a polite and law-abiding person, I asked in the office, where one of the team was working. She explained that taking photos in such a sensitive place as a cemetery wasn't really allowed without permission, and the Warden was back on Monday. This meant I couldn't take any today as I need to discuss it with the Warden, and explain why I want the images.

So, onto Alligator, to pick up a week's worth of compostables, and then to Richard to buy groceries and then his compostables. Unfortunately I put the bag with fruit, veg and eggs in my pannier and then as I was loading the 'resources' into the trailer the bike fell over. When I got home, I found two eggs were broken. It's not often I waste food.

Then home, in time to be there for our eldest to get let in before Gill came in with our youngest, who's school is further away.

I went to an appointment with my GP at 5pm, calling in on Oxfam for a big tub of Cafe Direct fair trade coffee. When I had my bike crash a few days ago, I continued moving forward as my bike stopped, and I banged my groin onto the handlebar stem. Then a day or two later I found a lump in the same place, which Gill thought might be a hernia or a burst blood vessel, so I went to wave it at my Doctor. Also, my lipoma on my forehead is getting bigger and about two people a week ask me "Have you bumped your head?", and at a meeting recently, I noticed one of the other participants looking at it quite a lot. That was a bit offputting and annoying. I think I know how it feels when men talk to a woman's cleavage (well, a bit). The lump wasn't a hernia and I've got to go back if it's not gone in a month. The lipoma could be removed but as it would be considered cosmetic surgery, it won't be done on the NHS and I'd have to go privately. Not sure what to do. I'll get a referral to a plastic surgeon who will tell me what could be done and how.

A bit later when at home again, I picked a lovely little bunch of Oyster mushrooms from a log which I had nearly given up on... it has some other fungi in it, but the Oyster mycelium has grown through the soil from one of the first logs I inoculated, which has (I think!) finished fruiting, but the same strain is now growing from this other log. It had 3 clumps on it, so I picked the biggest and I'll take some photos of the other clumps when they are a bit more mature.

Here's the clump I picked today:

And here's me looking happy with the crop:

I know what's for tea tomorrow!

Tuesday 12th February 08

A good day, spent mostly with the family. First went to see my GP following my letter from the Maudsley suggesting further assessment. Then briefly into town to get some fair trade coffee powder and put a pound's worth of pennies, collected by my eldest son from I don't know where, into my savings account. I gave him a more manageable pile of coins to the same value...

Then home to a tired Gill and boys playing on their computer, so after lunch took them where they wanted to go, Heslington Park. We cycled the long way there, which involves a cycle up a big long hill and then an enjoyable long cycle down into Heslington and through to the 'Outgang', where there is a good park with an excellent play area and things to climb on and play on.... however soon after we got there my youngest complained of thirst, so we all went to Browns in the village to get something to drink, and went back to the park, had a game of frisbee and whilst they played, I did a litter pick, finding a lot of aluminium cans and other rubbish which I'll sort and put for recycling or landfill. The alu cans are worth a penny each... so made myself about 20p richer with this exercise plus the park got tidied.

Had a low-key tea and just when the boys were off to bed, the 'Everest' surveyor/salesman Frank came with the price of the various home improvements we would like to do.

We considered a porch and a new front door, one that doesn't let in cold air, and we desperately need a new back door as ours has gone wrong and only opens with the key, and cannot be opened from outside. Frank was happy to chat inbetween the sales info and stayed quite late, and we ordered two doors, not the porch which was a little beyond our means.