Friday 25 October 2013

The third thing

It's been one of those days.  I had a long list of little things to do before the hysteria of half term.  But no sooner had I sat down to a late breakfast (I always have a late breakfast at about 10am) of oats, cashew nuts and soya milk, BAM, power failure.  By the time I eat my breakfast I have usually left it a bit too late, and my mood and ability to cope with anything is fairly low.  I do not like to be disturbed at the crucial refuel moment, especially as it is when I like to sit down and have a quiet read, something I don't do at any other time during the day.  So it was not a happy moment.  And it took the whole of the rest of the morning, several phone calls and one helpful electrician to establish that the dishwasher is the problem.  So long as the dishwasher is never switched on, all is well.  The dishwasher man cannot come until Tuesday.  The electricial thinks it might need replacing.  Sigh.

Now I'm not superstitious, but people do say that these things always come in threes.  I've had fridge problems, laptop problems and now dishwasher problems.  That's three!  I'm done.  Touch wood.

After order was restored, I had a quiet moment in the garden.  I pulled up the Sungolds, and salvaged these last few.  The biggest boy will eat these, they're his favourite.  I found a label with the date 22 February on it.  So I've been nurturing these plants for some eight months.  Totally worth it though.



I found this squash in a greengrocer's at the weekend.  No idea what type it is, but I'd love to grow some next year.  It's only little, I don't know if the seeds will be viable, but I'll give it a go.


I've been looking for a little autumn inspiration.  Some warm food and some warm wool are what's needed I think.




I especially love this blanket.  I fear the wool is a little out of my price range though.  My price range is more along the lines of "let's see what's stuffed in the back of the cupboard".   Unfortunately I happen to know that there aren't twenty-eight skeins of luxury baby alpaca back there.  Not to worry, I have something far less classy in mind.

I'm treating you to a rare photo of the hamster today.  The sun was out, warming his little house, and he popped out for a quick wander, to check that all his stuff was still in its place.  He's so very nocturnal, we hardly see him at all during the day, so we always get excited when he appears.  And don't worry, although he's in the sun I keep a very close eye on the temperature and close the blinds as soon as it creeps up.  During the summer months the sun doesn't penetrate this far into the room fortunately.


So here we all are, ready for a whole week of half term adventuring.  The rain is hammering down on the Velux skylights and the wind is at full throttle but everything inside feels very cosy and autumnal.  We're ready, bring it on.

31 comments:

  1. I understand about the power failure; this week, on my only morning alone, I had just come home from grocery shopping, put everything away and sat down at my desk. Not five minutes later, the phone rang and it was my daughter's preschool calling to say they had a power failure and I needed to pick her up 1.5 hours early. I love her dearly but man...I just wanted my measly morning. I love Sungolds too, we grew them this summer and they were quite prolific. I have never tried growing tomatoes from seed but I just watched a show about that on TV last week and I may try it. The hamster is so cute and I'm glad you were able to get a photo because I enjoyed seeing him. Small furry guys make me very happy. I am thinking about getting a guinea pig, because more creatures to care for seems like what I need. :)

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    1. Small furries make me happy too, I love wandering round the pet shop. I can highly recommend guinea pigs, they're fantastic pets. They do like to be in pairs though. What a shame about the pre-school power failure. I know exactly what you mean about just wanting that hour and a half. When they are always there needing things, a short time to be able to do things unhindered is precious. Sungolds are quite easy to grow from seed, I usually do it that way now. It's nice to think of you growing exactly the same variety five thousand miles away!

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  2. What a shame that the supermarkets don't name the varieties of squash. I'd put them on the spot and ask them.

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    1. You're right, it would be good to know what they all are.

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  3. I dread the moment things go badly wrong and usually ask "What else?". Desperately rude of the dishwasher to interrupt your brekkie time - my son and I are both late breakfast people so I know the refuelling need! Hope this is the last of 3 for you, CJ, and the weather perks up for half term outings.

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    1. Thanks Caro. I'm really hoping there will be sun tomorrow.

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  4. Fingers crossed that you don't have any more things go wrong for a while. I may well grow a mini variety squash next year.
    Happy knitting and reading. Flighty xx

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    1. Thanks Flighty. Mini squashes are great, I find the big ones quite a lot to deal with all at once.

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  5. Why do things always go wrong all at once? Love the autumn inspiration you have found.
    Sarah x

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  6. Not a great way to start the day - but with garden-ripened tomatoes and a beautiful squash in the kitchen, things must have seemed better later on!

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    1. You're right. And once the power was back on things looked a lot brighter.

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  7. Oh what a frustrating start to the day :( hope that is the end of electronic breakdowns.

    Love your little squash, some of them look too good to eat I think and they can be a devil to peel but they do taste good.

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    1. I think I'll cut it into chunks along the dimples and then peel it once it's in slices. I'm hoping the flesh is quite thick.

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  8. The only hamster we ever had was a vicious little thing, despite handling him appropriately when young. We had to feed him wearing gloves as he attacked anything that entered his lair, I mean hamster cage. Yours looks to be a cute little fellow though :)

    Sincerely hoping that's your three, although the saying doesn't work for me, we just seem to lurch from one disaster to another!

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    1. Oh dear, scary hamster! Ours did bite once at the beginning, but he is all sweetness now. I was hoping that we'd had three things, but then I remembered the new boiler we had to have a while back - so I think I may be on number 1 of a new trio of things...

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  9. We have a Syrian hamster called Cookie. She is very sweet. I often get her out and play with her. I have always had hamsters, my first when I was seven. I loved that squash too. I was thinking of growing some small varieties next year. I have neglected my garden this past month. I must get back out there.

    Leanne xx

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    1. My garden and allotment are a bit neglected at the moment too. Luckily the weeds are growing quite slowly at the moment! If it's dry at all this week the boys want to go to the allotment as they haven't been for ages.

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  10. have a lovely week! Hope the winds weren't too bad around yours last night!!

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    1. Thanks Monica, you too. I haven't noticed the wind too much here, so I think we've been lucky.

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  11. Awww, your hamster is so cute. Both my son and daughter had hamsters when they were younger, one was the cutest little thing you ever did meet, he used to escape from his cage, find something he liked the look of, then take it back to his cage with him. We found him one day asleep in a Barbie doll shower unit. The other hamster was the spawn of the devil, you had to put gloves on to pick him up because he drew blood every time. I like the look of that squash. I'm going to grow a smaller variety next year too, I may have better luck with them. Hope the storm didn't hit you too hard, just lots of rain here.

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    1. I'm laughing at the thought of your hamster in his Barbie doll shower unit. Wonderful. Plenty of rain here too. I'm hoping it doesn't last all week...

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  12. Thats a funky looking squash. I'm always disappointed by how expensive wool can be for a new project - it doesn't matter how nice it looks! Have a fun half term.

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    1. It really is incredibly pricey. That's why I'm thinking about making a blanket from bits I already have. Although I'll probably need to buy a bit more too.

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    2. I've bought from ebay for my last couple of projects and have had some reasonable bargains, but you can't feel the wool before you start this way. I'm slowly building up a pile of odds, ends and leftovers to do something with too.

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  13. That's terrible your power went out just as you were settling in for your breakfast. I never handle those "surprises" well, especially if I'm hungry. I hope everything gets fixed and is working properly. You have to be out of the woods now with your rule of three. Here's hoping to a better week!

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    1. Thanks Kari. Dishwasher man due here tomorrow. Fingers are crossed. I do so hope I don't have to get a new one. I'd just put it on a hot wash with cleaner in it before it all went wrong. If I'd left well alone no doubt it would be fine. That's what I get for cleaning it.

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  14. I get so excited when I see a squash for sale that isn't butternut that I always feel compelled to buy it. Sorry to hear about more electrical appliance traumas - how tedious. I hope this week is better! x

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    1. Thanks Gillian. I wish they'd grow more varieties of squash for sale instead of just butternut.

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  15. I have a drawer that is full of wool that 'will do'! I love the different looking squashes especially all grouped together. I wouldn't know what to do with them though apart from look at them. Love the hamster too, my son has one, however it is a rather stinky chap! Have a wonderful week xx

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    1. I do have a little stash of wool, but mostly odd balls, so unfortunately not enough for a jumper or anything sizeable. Hope you have a good week too Chel.

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