Challenging Myself - Living on a Box

I'm just gearing up for a new Challenge over on my Challenging Myself blog.

After lots of wondering about what to do next and wanting something that would be a very contained  and a nice specific challenge ... I decided to live on a Morrisons Vegan Food Box for two weeks.

The boxes are supposed to be for two people for one week, but I'm just one person so it should last me two weeks, as long as I am careful how I treat and prepare all the fresh foods that it contains.

Anyway it has just arrived and it's time to start the unpacking to see exactly what I have.

While the Challenge is going on I will obviously have to devote a lot more time to the other blog, so on here each day I am going to share a favourite photo from our time living here in Wales, and also a favourite meme ...  you know me I love a good meme  💓

Sue xx

If you are reading this post after the 7th June THIS is the link that will take you to the first page of the Challenge planning, and by clicking on Newer Post at the bottom left of each post under the comments, you will be able to follow the Challenge through in chronological order.

Instant Human

Instant human, just add coffee ...

... and a good book.

This is the book that was sent to me by blogging buddy Sue from My Quiet Life in Suffolk, just because she knew I would like it, and she's lovely like that.

I'm starting it today 😃

Yes, it sounds just up my street.  Quiet literally actually as our stretch of this main road is called Llanrwst Road and the lady who wrote the book was born in Llanrwst, and the book is set less than 15 minutes from our house.

Which ... YES ... is just about to go on the market!!

Sue xx

When you shouldn't bake ...

You just shouldn't bake when you are sad.

You should eat crisp butties and sooth your soul with mugs of hot coffee.  You should walk until the cobwebs are blown away and the tears are dried by the wind.

But I baked.

I got the measurements of the baking powder and baking soda the wrong way round, and used far too much flax egg, and this explosion of Blueberry Muffin mix is the result.

The Aga oven was cleaned.

A replacement cake was found and called into service.

Tasty but not recommended really ... much too sweet, but what did I expect!!

Then I sat and sobbed my heart out on the swing.

Alone with just the bleating of the lambs blowing on the wind.

This is why.

Yesterday my heart broke all over again.

Sue xx

Catching Those Pesky Mice

I've been asked about the humane mouse traps that I use in the tunnels to catch those pesky little critters that have been eating all my baby crops.  They seem to like the little spinach plants in both of the tunnels the best, although they did eat it with ALL of my Spring Onions seedlings the other night, they must have fancied a bit more flavour  🙁

There's no way I would have one of those old fashioned snap shut (a la Tom and Jerry) style mouse traps, I can think of nothing worse than having to dispose of a little body mangled by one of those every morning ... or even worse still finding a poor little creature trapped by a limb in one and having to despatch it myself.  

So for me it's the humane version every time.

Look away now if you don't like mices ....

This is what the traps look like inside, although mine don't have the clear lids, which I prefer and must be slightly less scary for the mice when you are moving them around ready for release.

The mouse goes in through the little square hole and through the tunnel, tempted by whatever bait you have put inside the box.  I have been using some of Alan's crackers which have a nice savoury scent to them ... they would make me crawl through a hole to get to them 😄

Once in they cannot get out, as when they step off the little lightly spring-loaded ramp in the tunnel it goes back up making the entrance no good as an exit ... although other mice can still come in.  Hence these are really good at catching more than one mouse each night. 

 Our record last year was four!!

Once they are inside they have to wait for the traps to be checked, which I go over and do each morning, carrying the whole trap to the far end of the paddock or up into the woodland behind the fire pit area if I find any little occupants.  Sometimes the mice will find their way back and if this happens you should actually try releasing them two miles from the site of their capture.  Last year we had so many mice that we started spraying their little bottoms with orange sheep marking spray paint to see if we were releasing the same ones over and over, and on a couple of occasions we were.

So a nice humane mouse trap, which is great unless you are the mouse that gets trapped in there with pyscho killer mouse ... and gets your head chewed off by your cell-mate!!

Yuk!!  This morning was NOT a pretty mouse releasing job ... I'll spare you the photo of that.

Sue xx

If you need any of these traps for yourself you can get them from here :

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Marko-Control-Mouse-Humane-Reusable/dp/B01N9O8LLJ/ref=sr_1_9?crid=FYKITTCWR20Y&dchild=1&keywords=humane+mouse+traps+for+outdoors&qid=1591283192&sprefix=humane+mouse+traps+for+outdoors%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-9

... or try your local hardware shop, if it's open yet.   🐭

It's Just Nuts ...

I'm trying to be healthy ... but during lockdown I've not been one of those virtuous fitness freaks, a cooking whizz kid, an exercise guru or been sorting out my understairs cupboard the Konmari way.

I've been a potterer ... a bit of this and a bit of that, and not too much of anything.

BUT, and yes, it's a but I am trying to do better, well until the next tv programme comes on that I want to watch or until a new blog publishes that catches my eye, or my phone dings and tells me it's time to play Word Calm again.

With all this trying to do better in mind I am trying to make at least the first part of my day healthier, and I read something the other day that reminded me that I should be eating three Brazil nuts each day to improve my selenium levels.  It's just a pity that I have mixed all my nuts up in this big jar, because now each morning sees me shaking it this way and that, to try and get the Brazils to the top so I can fish them out to munch on while I'm assembling the rest of my breakfast.

Ooh I had a lot of peanut butter on this morning's healthy offering, but it was the last in the jar ... yummy 🤭

Sue xx

Lupins, Lilies and Lists

I'm totally amazed at how prolific this Lupin is this year.  

It's now three years old and has been in this pot since last year, lying dormant under the soil I'm guessing since I had completely forgotten it was even in there.

It's competing for space with a three year old Lily that I bought as a yellow sticker bargain from Tesco, as well as with about four other plants which are somewhere under all that mass of foliage.  Maybe the Lupin and the Lily are actually liking being as squished as they are in this pot because this is their best display yet.

They are being looked after though and manage to get through a full watering can full of water every  day and I will have to think about feeding them soon, as there can't be much goodness left in the original compost with so many plants and so much watering.

I've started an Alexa 'My Favourite Flowers' list so that when I am starting again after I move I can plant up my new garden with all my favourite plants right from the very beginning.

At the moment the list includes Lupins, Foxgloves, Lavender, Daisies, Primroses and Hollyhocks and it will keep growing as I keep coming across things I love.

What are your favourite flowers growing in your garden, or that you buy when you see them?

Sue xx

A Wander Round the Net Tunnel

I'm too hot to even think straight after a morning sowing seeds and transplanting things in the net tunnel, all followed with an hour long watering session.

Then I moved onto the polytunnel and spent half an hour covering the centre beds, with the sliced open compost bags that we had used yesterday to fill up the final bed in the net tunnel.  There's no point in letting weeds grow in the soil there if I won't be planting for Winter, hopefully we will be gone by then but I do still want to leave things neat, so covering the beds up seems like the best option.  I couldn't stand more than half an hour in there as it was literally like stepping into an oven, hence me putting a couple of the tomato seedlings into the net tunnel.

While I was working in the tunnels the window cleaner was up on the roof of the garage/workshop cleaning the solar panels.  Alan used to do them but he has been too busy recently and they do need cleaning a couple of times over the Summer and usually once during the Winter to keep them gathering all those wonderful rays and keep us earning money.  So now the window cleaner has started doing them for us, it's nice to support a good small local business with a little bit more work during these strange times. 

I guess I should have started earlier in the tunnels but I had another bad night of the weirdest of bitty, bitty dreams ... like finding a spare arm (human) down the side of the armchair ... weirdly ironic and I do hope not symbolic 🤣

Note to self ... STOP watching Luther!!

Anyway when I wanted to go back to the house the window cleaner had just started on the house windows so I had a drink from the hosepipe ... yuk ... but needed, so we were very well social distanced.  If you don't hear from me in a few days you know I have died of dysentery or some such thing  😜

Anyway I do hope you enjoy the little YouTube clip of me rambling and getting sowing and planting wrong time after time ... I was so tired.

Sue xx