Human Lifestyle

Another good day. Got a lot done. Up early and got busy outside the front to tidy up a bit, chainsawing a pallet and some recently acquired branches.  Also started stacking a new next-to-the-front door pile.

Gill went to the library with our eldest and I got a message from Nick, who wanted to come and pick up some riddled compost for his gardening work.  There was also talk of growing mushrooms on logs.

So he arrived just in time for a hommous sandwich and then we went down the garden and he picked up about 6 carrier bags of riddled compost.  He's bought a load of inoculated dowels from Adrian at Gourmet Woodland Mushrooms, of a native Yorkshire Oyster mushroom, so I gave him two recently felled Ash logs which I hope will make a good host.  I think he's going to give me one of them back with dowels in it. I will supply him with more logs as and when they become available!

So he left at 2pm and I got on with more work, digging out a compost heap into sacks, and then doing the same with a builder's bag, which I need to have empty as another compost heap needs turning/emptying as there's signs of life in the base, and I want them not to get too settled!

I came in as it got dark and put the tomato soup on the stove.  Gill made toasties.  This evening this meal tasted just perfect... the boys both enjoyed the soup and complemented me on it. I did a few apples still looking fine from the garden which had just been left in the preserving pan in the conservatory, put them for drying, and then later, got 5 free onions and a large carrier bag full of tomatoes and made a preserving pan nearly full of tomato and onion 'base'... which I think we'll freeze most of.  It can be used for soup, pasta sauce, nutloaves, all sorts.  This is the first time I've made so much, but it's because of the large number of over-ripe tomatoes thrown out by Freshways. 

So, a productive day.  But a late finish, just after 3am.  This is when I'm at my best, though.

I enjoyed waking up this morning, a long slow drift into conciousness.  A peaceful morning too... lovely.

I did a bit of kitchen work, some stuff in the garden, a trip to see Richard to get a few parsnips and spuds, and to give him a non-Xmas present of some dried fruit and a little jar of sweet red pepper paprika, to aid his cooking adventures.  In return, he gave me some onion bhajis which he'd been given (from the nearby Indian takeaway, I think) which made my evening meal.

I sorted out a lot of fruit today... made a banana and lime and tamarind leather, was in the middle of this when Maria came round.

Later, Nick popped in to deliver a card, he had a cuppa and some tamarind, and some of the banana and lime leather I made last week.  I think he was impressed.

Gill and I had a leisurely evening dealing with the presents, watching rubbish on the box and keeping warm.

First thing I loaded up the trailer with two sacks of mature unriddled compost, and a sample carrier bag of riddled. My friend Dave B asked me to take some round to the Chemistry Department of the University of York, as there's someone there who wants to rejuvenate some old tired growing media in half barrels, and to grow some veggies.

Then I cycled down to Cycle Heaven as my bike needs the back wheel kissing better and the back brake stroking back into working order. When down there I also asked them to replace the saddle, as my synthetic saddle has fallen apart and I have been considering a leather saddle, which should last many times as long.

I was given a nice little Brompton to get back home on, and I called in to the Building Society to put Jenny's cheque in for the compost I took round ages ago.

Then I popped in on my friend who is doing a detox to try to conquer alcoholism, and said I'd visit after lunch.

At about 3, I got a load of compost bagged up for Nick to pick up, as requested. Then at 4, back down to Cycle Heaven to pick up my machine, which has a repaired back wheel and responsive brakes. However, they didn't have the saddle that they wanted to sell to me, so that'll wait for next time.

Then I paid the water bill and came home via Country Fresh, to pick up 3 sacks of compostables.

I got home at about 5 which is when Nick said he'd visit. He gave me £20 for 3 sacks of unriddled and 1 sack of riddled.

Soon after this I had a pastie and salads for tea, and went to the Hull Road Planning Panel, at Tang Hall Community Centre. There were quite a few 'student' related applications, including several registrations of houses being re-designated 'Houses in Multiple Occupation' after legislative changes in April, and a huge 330 bed student accommodation on the Dairy site.

I'd taken the final bag of compost to the Planning Panel to deliver to Julie the Freecycler on the way back. This was a single sack of riddled, and she'd previously had 4 sacks of unriddled. I also let her have a bit of dried fruit... and she gave me £20 as well. So, today I've been paid £40 for compost, paid in a £15 cheque and delivered two sacks for which Dave said he'd give me something! A totally composty day!

During the evening I did a load of washing up and made the decision to go to Durham on the train tomorrow, and cycle the 7 miles to Houghton Le Spring to go to the Houghton Kepier Sports College, where Dan from Ridan is delivering one of his lovely machines.

He intends to be there at 10am, so I think I'll get the 8.30 to Durham, arriving at 9.13, and I should get to the College at the same time... with luck!

I was expecting a visitor at 10am and told Gill last night... but I slept til the phone rang at 9.50... it was Nick saying he'd be with me at 11, and then Freecycling John arrived, as I was getting dressed. I met John through Freecycle when he was offering some wood from trees he'd removed from his garden, to make space for vegetables... so I told him then about my excess of compost. He emailed me a day or two back and arranged to come round at 10 today.

So, I showed him round and he was very happy to choose four sacks of mature compost which I wheelbarrowed up the garden and he loaded into his car. Then a while after 11, just as I was having a coffee after my cereal, Nick arrived. We chatted and he had a coffee and then went down to the composting area... and he chose some sacks to put in his cycle trailer.

So, I sold 7 sacks and one bag of riddled... probably my best day's sale EVER!

Then I had lunch, did a bit of wood management out the front and then did lots more outside stuff down the garden, despite the rain.. including lots of weeding, and digging out a dalek bin with some very friable and crumbly compost... loaded it into plastic sacks and I hope to riddle it and use it soon. The weeding I did was around the raised beds where the hedge has been replaced by a wall, and I need to eradicate the ground elder from there, which was growing through the hedge and continually re-invaded the raised beds.

A very satisfying day.

A very late start.... didn't get up til 10 and then spent some time making up my muesli. Lots of dried fruit. A lazy morning, the whole family nice and relaxed.

Not very much happened (apart from a bit of chainsawing and splitting) until about 4pm when Nick came round to pick up some compost... he had a cuppa and we worked on a Press Release for the hand over of the spare seeds from the York in Transition seed swap, which are going to YUMI, who are developing a garden to grow food in, for their cooks to use... and York in Transition likes their ethos, so we're happy for them to have the seeds.

Then we went down the garden and I got him a big sack of very well rotted but unriddled compost, two small bags of riddled, a bag of leafmould and a bag of loam, plus some worms for his new wormery. I really like helping people like this!

During the evening I did some dried fruit wrangling, sorting stuff which has dried, and preparing more fresh(ish!) fruit for the racks. But that was probably the most exciting thing to happen this evening, and Nick's visit was the highlight of the day....

I would have liked a lie in but no, I was up at sometime soon after 8 as there was a good deal of noise happening...

Gill walked our youngest over to the University for 9.15, as he was participating in a Drama Festival, and this morning it was a practice until 10am. Gill waited for him and walked back, getting in at 10.40.

The York School Drama Festival was due to start at 2.30pm, with tickets on sale at 2pm for those who hadn't got them through school.. we hadn't as there was some confusion whether our boy was going to go. I offered to take him down there on the bike... but then there was dissent in the ranks about who else was going to go. So I said, OK, I'll stay at home with our eldest and Gill and our youngest go.

This option caused ructions too, and the original offer was accepted. I said that I wouldn't buy the tickets for them until they arrived at the Central Hall, as I wasn't going to buy tickets for them if they didn't turn up. I bought mine... and luckily, they arrived just as the last few tickets were being sold, and therefore they did get to see the performances. I was stressed though.

I watched the first half, and enjoyed my son's school performance, which was about a missing fish.. a nice simple plot, easy to follow, with humour. There were a couple of performances which were as good as this, or better, but at least 3 were complete gobbledygook to me, I couldn't hear the performers nor could I follow the plot, and I found myself falling asleep.

I left at half time as the thought of another hour or more of this was too much to bear. I'm glad I saw my son doing his thing. I picked up some sticks and a big log on the way home, and then did washing up and tea preparation until the rest of the family came in at about 5.45. I'd prepared fried home-grown yam slices on the woodstove, and got enough boiling water to cook tagliatelle and broccoli.

I went out when they came in as the tension was too much for me. I did some stick breaking and stacking until Nick popped by, to ask my opinion on his composting experiment, which hadn't gone very well due to being put in a dustbin without drainage or ventilation, and he and I chatted in the garden for a while. He wants to get experience of building a pond, which is another project we'd like to do as there is an area of the garden which would be a good pond. So hopefully, sometime this year, we'll get that underway. Nice one Nick for offering to help.

The tea was nice.. I cooked my own tagliatelle and a red pepper rescued from the collected stuff yesterday. Filling and delicious, especially the yam rounds.

I spent an hour upstairs whilst there was a programme on TV I couldn't cope with, but came down for some good science stuff from Brian Cox exploring atmospheres.

Felt quite low this evening due to assorted factors. I feel under pressure and don't feel as if I'm getting enough done.