Gardening

The yew tree has now been re-potted into a pseudo-lead pot which matches the bay tree's pot.













There is also a new bird feeder, which has been hung on the under side of the pergola, easily seen from the kitchen window.

It all comes around again

The recent news item about Dick Cheyney shooting his hunting companion sent me back to listen to Tom Lehrer's songs again - 50 years old, but still relevant; Pollution, Lobachevsky, A Christmas Carol, and, with bird flu coming up over the horizon, Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.

Going to work

It occurred to me today that when I retire at the end of the year one of the things I may miss about going to work is having to go out of the house first thing in the morning. OK, when it's raining or icy, it's not much fun; but yesterday a skylark was singing , and today the sky was a lovely shade of navy blue towards the north.
On the other hand, there will be the choice of going out or staying in, and a choice of time to do it, and a choice of stopping to look.

A little research

This week I've been doing a bit of family history research. A contact, who may be a distant cousin, asked me to look up some details on the 1881 census and the IGI, and I compiled the information and sent the package off to him earlier in the week.
Then yesterday I had an e-mail from a contact in Australia, who is a distant cousin, checking some details in his research. After I'd sent off the stuff he'd asked for, I went online and did a bit of hunting on 1837online.co.uk. I won't be sure till I get the certificate I ordered, but I may have found the elusive marriage of Uncle Arthur! The ONS invoice says the certificate should be sent out on 2 March, so I shall have to be patient. Online orders for certificates used to take only a week - I suppose there has been another surge in interest in family history after the recent TV series.

Last night while I was watching TV, I spun a couple more skeins of Manx Loghtan fibre for DH's jumper - this evening I shall get on with the knitting.

Park and Ride

This morning's sharp frost preceded a beautiful sunny day - the crocuses enjoyed the sunshine.


I went into town on Thursday, to buy a couple of things at the farmers' market, and to drop in to the Spinners, Dyers and Weavers' workshop morning. I thought I'd use the (fairly) new Park and Ride. When I got there, just after 10 a.m., it was nearly full. The bus was waiting, so no delay going into town. My workshop was away from the shopping area, on the route back to the car park, so I asked about stops to get on the bus going back - it only stops in the town centre. It was clearly quicker to walk back to the car than to walk back into town, get on the bus, and ride back, so that was what I did. The cost was less than using a town centre car park, and there was the added benefit of a bit of exercise, but it was just as well I wasn't carrying a spinning wheel.

The jumper I am knitting for DH is progressing well, but after finishing the first sleeve I calculated that I don't have quite enough yarn to finish it. I have bought some more fibre, and will have to spin a couple more skeins. He saw Stephen Fry on TV wearing a cricket sweater, and fancied something similar, so that was the starting point for the design. Watch this space for the finished article!

New toy

What fun! Now I can play with blogging, as well as with all my other toys.
This is a rather out of focus photo of the crocuses in the garden, taken a few days ago. Some of them now have big buds on - if it's not raining tomorrow, I might take another photo.

The String Bag

Threads from my life