Goldfinch Garden

From Facebook archives

31 July 2015 at 09:02

I'll admit my front garden may appear to be a rampant mess of competing thuglike plants.  

But when I opened the curtains this morning there were three goldfinches feeding on the thistledown.

Hagrid  Ooh! I love Goldfinches!

Bentonbag  They nest in the back garden three doors down so there always seems to be a couple flirting about.  There were fledglings feeding on unripe pyrocanthus berries at the end of my back garden today.  It belongs to the garden over the back and is so vicious they never prune it so it's dozens of feet high now and the birds love it.

Faye  My lawn has stayed long and luxuriant this summer largely because a friend said the clover would be good for the bees.  She's right!  The lawn's abuzz with all sorts of bees and other pollinators, and once the clover flowers have died off I'll give it a short back and sides.

Bentonbag  I have my mower on the highest setting.  I don't have red clover but do have white clover and speedwell, as well as daisies, buttercups and many other little plants I don't know the name of.  I've also given up strimming.  Why should the edges have to look like something off a parade ground?

 

Mouse Hair Walks

From Facebook Archives

30 July 2009 at 22:13

Just had a text from Henffrind reading  

"I've killed a mouse I sat on it"

30 July 2009 at 22:17

I texted Henffrind 

"There must be easier ways to do it. Are u short of traps? Fester asks where and wot sort of mouse?"  

She replied  

"On the settee and it's a flat mouse."

30 July 2014 at 11:36

Last year I mentioned I didn't like stubble.

Fester’s beard is now well down his chest.

All very well but he's not cut his hair either and it's making its way down his back. 

Very soon he'll be able to do and comb-up-and-over and have a fringe.

It's getting to be like living with a rotund bald wookie.

30 July 2017 at 17:51

Oh great! 

Now Thunderthighs' course has finished (until September) Fester has suggested he "could take you out for walks.   

You drive him somewhere and have a circular walk.  Do you both good." 

As if I can't find enough things to do for myself.

 

Lottery Loo Allotment

From Facebook Archives

29 July 2010 at 18:07

Ferretfingers's 16 today.

Now how am I going to stop him buying lottery tickets?

Squireen  Lock the money up

Bentonbag  Tried that, little bugger can find the key - he could probably pick the lock anyway

Mr Browntin  Convince him it's an elaborate fix and that Paul McCartney wins every week.

29 July 2014 at 23:23

Thanks to Will Fixit our middle floor loo has a functioning flush handle and we don't have to think about replacing the bedroom windows as he's fixed and/or replaced the handles so they shut and open properly.

Tylefach Mawr  You have a look in the middle of the floor?? :-)

Tylefach Mawr  Loo...

Bess Cavalier Will Fixit sounds like a real Treasure - I need one!

Bentonbag  He is.  He does all the things Fester would do if he were a proper man-of-the-house 

(my Dad used to fix everything except wiring) but like most treasures he's sometimes quite hard to dig up. 

29 July 2016 at 20:08

Helping to pick the potatoes he earthed up and watered on his Allotment Gardening course.

Cat Keyboard Query

From Facebook Archives

28 July 2016 at 10:57

OK hivemind tecchies here's one for you.

Last night I was on Twitter, on this desktop pc, 

the cat comes in and proceeds to walk between me and the screen, then sits down on the edge of the keyboard.

Wooomph

All the images and print on Twitter shrinks to half size and it's now a strip down the middle of the screen.

No other webpage is affected (and I had facebook and another open in other windows).

Any idea of which combination of keys he plonked his arse on?

Any idea of which combination of keys I need to punch to get it back?

And yes I have tried turning it off and on again, and tried looking in Twitter's settings thingy and couldn't find anything useful

Sheamus Murphy  Try ESC key. Also Ctrl+ (increase font size). If no joy, reboot the cat!

Bentonbag  Ctrl+ worked.  Hurrah and thankyou xxx 😊

Sheamus Murphy  Great. Note Ctrl- will make font smaller.

Sandy  Also try shooting the cat

Rescue Kittens

From Facebook Archives

27 July 2024 at 19.27

Clicked on a picture from a rescue because the kittens touched my heart.

"They looking for homes?"

"Yes. But we couldn't have them, the ginger git would kill them, and Felix has form too.  Anyway it says here 'home check' ... anyone looking at this house would probably take the kids away."

"Well they could ‘ave ‘em."

The loving father speaks.

Every Mother Is A Working Mother

From Facebook Archives, when the boys were a lot younger

26 July 2011 at 14:05

My day so far: 

    up, wash, dress; 

    make Ferretfingers' bait*; 

    breakfast; 

    nag Ferretfingers into getting dressed; 

    everyone into car; 

    to Beacon Hill for Playscheme; 

    to Nafferton Farm with Fester; 

    to Royal Quays for Thunderthighs’ new trousers; 

    to Lidl Byker; 

    home; 

    toast for lunch; 

    to Nafferton Farm for Fester;

    home.

To do: 

    washing up; 

    load washer; 

    fetch Ferretfingers from Playscheme; 

    ironing ....

Fifi D  You haven't got time for a paid job!!!! X

Bentonbag  Not in the holidays certainly.  How are you and the TwinCousin** getting along?

Fifi D  We are both well and off to Italy in a few weeks to see the other cousins!! X

Ernextdoor  A woman's work is never done xx hopefully you will get chance to put your feet up later xx  If not I have a spare room xx

*NE venacular for ‘packed lunch’ or as his Sheffield born father says ‘packing up’ or ‘snap’.

** Fifi D is my first cousin's daughter, but there's been a generation slip.  Her daugher and my Thunderthighs were born on the same day, Twin Cousin at 4pm and him at 7pm.

Lost & Found

From Facebook Archives

24 July 2017 at 23:35

My 'best' pair of reading glasses went missing months ago.   

I couldn't find them anywhere in the house and thought "Oh they'll turn up."

They did.   

This afternoon when I was weeding the front garden.  

No;  I've no idea how they got there.  

But a good clean and they're as good as ever.

Lunchbox Card Pizza

Slight haitus due to VirginO2 messing me about.

23 July 2012 at 17:02

Ferretfingers came back from playscheme with a broken lunchbox - we've only had it 11 years.

 

23 July 2014 at 11:37 

Fester is feeling quite smug because he's given me a card for our wedding anniversary, and I didn't get him one!

McChurch  I have a secret network of agents who remind me when my wedding anniversary is coming up. Still don`t get it right every time.

Henlady  My husband had one which he kept in a drawer and brought it out each year - when we remembered our anniversary.

  

23 July 2023 at16.41

We are about to have pizza and salad for tea.

"Pepperoni?" asks himself then "Actually no … I'm going to look at what we've got and then we'll have the most awkward one."

Those living with picky eating autistic people will understand.