Wink is coming to stay tomorrow. I started to make a shopping list. Wine, it started. Well, that’s as far as I got. We might sink a bottle or two. We’re all going out tomorrow evening, in fact, to the hog roast at the next village. It’s the Cyder Club annual bash. I have to say, I’ve given up on the home-made cyder. I can cope with a glass of it mulled, on the annual New Year’s Day walk, but straight and cold, I fear for my digestive system. I was talking to Ro the other day (he and Dora are coming too). “You can add lemonade,” he advised helpfully. “It’s a waste of good lemonade, frankly,” I replied.
However, the company and the food will be excellent. Keeping our fingers crossed for the weather, it’s quite changeable at present. We have spent the day – well, the week really – out in the garden. Gardening is completely the wrong term of course, we are still removing dead trees, pruning well-overgrown hedges and putting in the kerbs in the drive. I reckon another month and we’ll be about done there. The good news is, however, that yesterday Jamie and the Sage spent some time on that bit of roof above the window where water comes in, they’ve added some more guttering to deflect the rain – and it works! Woken by a bird (yes, yet another bird, darlings) coming down the bedroom chimney at 5.30 this morning, I lurched downstairs to investigate. I’d been waking up every hour or so and heard it raining, but I finally managed to drag myself out of bed. There was not a drop of rain. And Jamie got the paving outside the door just right, there is no standing water at all where there used to be a puddle.
I realised, about 8 o’clock, that I had not got the bird out of the fireplace. I went upstairs and looked, but no sign. Poor thing will have to spend another night there. Poor I will be woken at dawn. The Sage usually sleeps through. I’ll hope to be able to catch it as soon as it comes down from the ledge it’s roosting on, it’ll be all right, but it won’t have eaten or drunk for 24 hours.
My shopping list currently says ‘gin, sherry, snacks’. That’s quite a good shopping list! Although, living as I do within earshot of the Reading Festival, I might have to add earplugs.
I was reading Jenna Woginrich’s Cold Antler Farm blog today. She is in New York, and listed the emergency supplies she had in case of the hurricane. Hard cider was near the top of the list!
I’ve had to catch up a bit on your posts! Thanks for stopping by my blog and I must say your Grandbaby is adorable!
Did some shopping for essentials for my holiday yesterday (I’ll use the local village shop for daily needs when I get there). It mainly seemed to consist of sugar-free drink.
Pour the cyder into a sealable container and send it to me. I’ll look after it for you.
Sounds a soundly practical list, Tim.
Good cider is one thing, but this isn’t good cider, I promise you. Some of it is drinkable, but some is stomach-churningly sour and some is peculiarly musty, with hints of long-dead sherry. It takes regular drinking to accustom your stomach to it, and I’m not such a masochist.
One bottle of water for the drive, and you can refill it daily when you get there, Dave – you’re only going to Scotland, I don’t think you need the Puritabs.
Yaya, hooray for babies – they’re such a joy – especially to grannies who aren’t going to be kept awake at night!
I feel sorry for the poor bird, hope it manages to find its way down soon.
Well, whatever the noise in the chimney at 5.30 am yesterday was, it was not a bird after all. No sign of it.
Well, at least you don’t have hurricanes , here in L.A. we’re having a heat wave. This is not unusual for this time of year but that has been an usually cool Summer so this heat is sucking the energy from us!