Oslo

Here I am in Oslo, watching the clock. Pick up from the hotel is in 2 hours and I need to get ready. Can't muster up the energy. Clicked on new post on here and its all in Norweigen! Think i'm doing it right though. We'll find out when i click publish and it deletes my whole blog! Day five of a seven day block. tick tock. In Lyon tonight and home late tomorrow evening. Looking at myself in the mirror here and my hair is so big!!! Really need a hair cut. Its thin, but bushy if that makes sense?

Jase said we had a major storm the other night and the potato plants haven't faired well. Will have a look at the damage on Saturday. Girls are fine, still no eggs from Laverne or Babs. Bless them! I think Babs is moulting as she is looking really scruffy at the mo, she is the oldest of the 3, so it figures that she is the first to moult. She looks a little bit out on the town, morning after kind of look. Feather coat and no knickers!

Praying for warm weather as i'm sure i'm suffering from SAD. Just want a bit of sun!

All ready now, just wondering if my shirt needs ironing or if the creases will fall out when i put it on? They'll fall out! Really spotty at the moment. Probably hormonal. Its amazing how hotel bathroom mirrors make you look really brown, then you walk out back to albino land! 1 hour 20 to go. A 45 minute bus ride to the airport then a full flight back to London. Joy.
i've had 2 biscuits and a couple of diet cokes for breakfast. Heathly eating gone mad. Will wait til i get on the plane and savour the delights of aircraft catering me thinks.

A day out with Omlet

Was up at the crack of dawn today, let the girls out and had a marlboro light and a cup of tea for brekkie!
Drove to Romsey for the Hampshire Show! Helping out at the Omlet Stand! Met the delightful Simon, see pics on www.omlet.co.uk>clothing>mens, thats his backside in the pants!!

I had a really good day! Got to talk to people all day about CHICKENS! Showed them my hen photo album (Simon laughed) but I sold an eglu!!!! He didn't! hehe
He put his 'Indiana Jones' hat on after a while as he said he was getting sun burnt! Cloudy day, i thought i was fine, until I got home. Red face, neck and flashing red nose. I look like i've been downing meths for years! I'm gonna ache tomorrow.




Back to work tomorrow, 7 days on again! Brussels tomorrow night then Oslo for a night, back home then off on another 3 day trip.
Taking laverne to an avian vet on Sunday 3rd, to see if he can work out her 'soft egg' problems. Hopefully a lie down on the couch and talking things through will help her. If she never lays another proper egg it doesn't matter. Wouldn't be without her! Shirley is still laying like a trooper and Babs is just Babs.

Off to bed now, up reasonably early to pack and get things sorted. Hoping days off will come round quickly.
night!

Why?

Why is it that when I want something done, I can't wait a while to think things through?? The builder/gardener eventually sent me a text to explain that he was having a life crisis. I text back to say thats ok, call me when you get a chance. He did. He promised that he would give me a revised quote, as I had built the raised beds myself. 'I promise I will call you tomorrow' he said. That was last Saturday.

Today I decided that I could build the path linking the house to the garage and compost bins. How deluded am I? What qualifications do i have? Apart from owning a rather fine pair of Caterpiller boots, none! So it began. Got the trusty, heavy, mattock from the shed ( a kind of flat pick axe) and started hacking away at the earth. 1 1/2 hours later I had unearthed a 30cm patch. 5 more metres to go!

By the time I got to the cherry tree, I nearly passed out. Sweat dripping from my nose (not a good look) and black feet, as I was wearing my crocs. Thank God, 2 polish workers with tops off walked past the field next door. It gave me a chance to have a refreshing marlboro light and diet coke. To sit and watch the scenery.

After 4 hours of punishing-body-screaming-no, manual work, it is done! Well half of it. Covered in weed suppressing membrane it looks crap, but with a magical sprinkling of gravel it will do the job. Only the other half, fences to put up and a large flower bed to dig, and then i'm done! :0)

Think of the money i'm saving! I don't give a hoot about the money!! I have blisters on my hands, arms are killing me and my back is in spasm. I can hear the physio rubbing her hands together in glee. More money for her! The satisfaction of doing it myself, who cares! I'm aching!!!!! If I haven't lost 3 stone, then i'll be seriously hacked off.
A dinner of onion rings and hummous will do the trick. I always eat really badly when Jase is away. Delia Smith, One is fun, I think not.

Rain, rain go away

The birthday celebration was a quiet one. Roaring fire and a chinese takeaway. Just the way I like it. I'm too old for all this party nonsense :0)

I got lots of pressies including an outside tap, (seriously)! dvds, wooden seed trays, candles, a jelly pan, lots of chicken things and an adopted battery chicken sponsership. We now sponser Corky and Lady! see www.BHWT.co.uk for further details!
Our next door neighbour, built me a table out of a huge cross section of wood, with a tree trunk as legs, he even carved our initials into it. It is soooo cool. Will have pride of place in the garden, when I muster up the energy to do it.

My family came over for a bar-b-q on Sunday and the weather was great! Jase fell asleep in front of the tv watching Shrek with my nephew. I raced around the kitchen, preparing salads, plates and drinks etc, muttering 'private catering' under my breath.
Everyone had a nice day, me included. Fell asleep at 10.30 and slept like a log!

Had to go to Guildford hospital for Jase's results. Good news, the 'Prof' is really pleased with his progress and blood tests! We celebrated by going into Southampton and did a bit of shopping. Had to visit John Lewis and have a healthy bowl of soup and sour dough bread! Ok, with 2 packs of butter!

Laverne is much better, Shirley is laying like a machine and Babs is just, well, free loading! No eggs from her for 2 weeks now. Think she might be moulting, or broody or just stubborn. They are still all my babies though!


Jase is back at work tomorrow for a 3 day trip, but I still have 5 days off. He is just packing and I have just caught him scraping chicken poo off his new shoes! Hehe. He loves them too!

I'm working at the Hampshire County Show in Romsey on Saturday, (the OMLET stand :0) ) so if you are passing, pop in and say hello. Until then. C x

Ups and Downs!

Well its been a strange week really. Its my birthday tomorrow and I just feel like i'm running out of time to get things done.

Poor Laverne was all hunched up in the run today, a sure sign that all is not well. She has been laying soft shelled and no shelled eggs for a couple of weeks. She is normally 'hunched', lays a softie then returns to normal. After 6 hours of the 'hunching' I took her to the vet, who gave her an antibiotic injection and some tablets. She is now in a cat basket with a good book, horlicks and a hot water bottle, enjoying Gardeners World and the open fire!

The veggie garden is doing well. I'm really pleased. I took some spare brussel sprout plants to Annie's yesterday. She was having a new eglu 'cube' delivered! Its gorgeous and can house up to 10 chickens. Hmmmmm got me thinking now!

The 'Cube' in all its glory


Isn't it wonderful??!
Love the colour!









Look at my Tatties matron!












And the Sweet peas/runners beans!!














Jase is stacking my birthday presents on the dining table as I type!!! Bless him! I'm so excited! we are spending the day blocking the holes in the porch with chicken wire to stop the flying rats (starlings) nesting!!! They have already made one nest and the chicks left today. Lo and behold, the buggers have started building another one! The white 'pebble dashing' effect they have left behind on the brickwork isn't really my taste! Whats wrong with trees??? We live in the country for Gods sake! Damn birds!

Family are coming over on Sunday for a Bar-b-q, so will be preparing salads and the like. Jase will be in charge of cooking! You can't beat the taste of charred sausage with raw middle! The cleaning of the barbie is my favourite chore! Will savour that for next time we need it!

Good night All.

C x x x

A Day in Stuttgart

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally arrived in Stuttgart last night! Weather delays and technical problems!!! I missed all of eurovision but managed to see the voting. What a farce. Maybe if we weren't an island we would get some votes! I had a fab nights sleep and dreamt of chickens (again)! I have found a chicken coup I really like the look of -


How cute are they???????

Will have to work on Jase to get more chickens, though not sure how he feels about the idea just yet. He is in Frankfurt, but home this evening and i'm away until tomorrow afternoon. A quick there and back Zurich flight on Tuesday, then off for 11 days :0)

I have to get the garden sorted and build paths around the garage, jobs i'm not really looking forward to. Manual labour isn't really my thing, but as the builder didn't show, I guess we will have to do it.

Sat here in my hotel room, eating hula hoops and wondering if I should venture out? I would normally pop to the shops, but Germany shuts on a Sunday and NOTHING is open! The room service menu is calling me.......... but might go for a walk as the weather is beautiful.

Back home the veggie Garden is doing well. The lettuce is appreciating the rain and I have more brussel sprout plants than I know what to do with. Space is running out fast and i need to think about the winter veg plot already! Really want to try and grow enough basics to give us something 'green' to feast on in winter.

Jase is loving shorthaul and after 11+ years on longhaul, I am so pleased that it is going ok. Its not been an easy few months for him, but i'm glad that life seems to be getting back to normal. He has had some lovely crews and seems to be settling in well and getting used to the mad-dash-throwing-out-sandwiches-and-drinks-with-only-10-minutes-to-landing, which is a common occurrence on all flights! However he is yet to do a 35 minutes Paris with 168 passengers all wanting 3 drinks! Hehe ;0)

Right, its half past 1 now and I really should get dressed and venture out. See you soon!
C x

The Joys of Summer

Here I am again, just back from a Hamburg/Madrid 3 day trip. Pish weather in Madrid, but Hamburg was beautiful. The whole crew sat by the lake and chatted about life, whilst downing beer and schnitzel! (Diet coke for me, one of my many vices)!
Jase is off on his 1st 3 day trip on shorthaul. Barcelona, then Rome. can't be bad! So i'm pottering around the veggie garden, watering and talking to the chickens - neighbours know i'm mad, so not too worried. All seems to be doing well. The courgette plants are a bit small but doing ok.
So far we have - courgettes, runner beans, french climbing beans, sweetcorn, lettuce, cucumber, pumpkins, radishes, onions, tomatoes, spinach, swiss chard, beetroot, carrots, potatoes, strawberries, blueberries and cranberries.

I have 2 more available days at work, tomorrow and Monday. I find out at 6pm if I'm working or not. Trust me I will be! its one of the worst things about the job. Luckily I don't get too many available days. Only 22 mins to go! Probably something vile, like Moscow and back. They always save the best til the last minute!

Washed my car and he was sparkling and gorgeous. Then a wood pidgeon cr@pped on it! I wiped again and the damn thing dived bombed it once more. Bloody birds. They are nesting in the conifers we inherited with the house. Must get them cut down!

20 mins to go...............A 2 day trip would be nice as it saves the journey, but I just want to be at home with the girls.

Jase broke the lawnmower, so bought a new cheap one and proceeded to break that in 6 mins flat. Bricks aren't meant to be in the lawn, half buried by weeds, so that is the next big job to do. Maybe then we can mow without the profantities.

The weather is stunning here again, so the shorts are on! The tweeting sound of sparrow chicks nesting in the porch and the cows are in the field next to the house. Perfect.
10 mins to go..........the Waitrose pizza in the fridge is calling me. I couldn't eat the whole thing. Or could I?

UPDATE! I need to phone in at 10am tomorrow, so fingers crossed! Just for the record, I only had 1/2 the pizza!