Friday 19 July 2013

Routine in a Heatwave . . .

This is the cats' routine - come in for food and then retire to a shady spot and spend the day there until hunger pangs strike again . . . or it is 3 p.m. (they eat at Naffi times!)  Here is Little Whale, relaxing, now he is back.  He seems to have had an agreement with Alfie about guarding the house, as Alfie has now gone walkabouts . . .

 

Our routine, whilst this heatwave lasts (and apparently the end of August has been mooted . . .) is to get up early, garden when everything is still cool.  As it warms up, we move elsewhere, me to paint in the attic (it is taking several coats of white to cover the Medieval blue) and OH to potter with his furniture repairs.  Then it is normal household tasks in the heat of the day, and as it cools, I can retired to a seat in the shade with some sewing.  Bliss . . .

I found this book in Oxfam this week, brand new, and only £2.99.  As it had been on my Amazon wish list, I was delighted and have made something from it already (can't show it yet until the recipient has received it.)



This is a little seagrass stool I am recovering with new seagrass wrapped in strips of fabric.  It takes a LONG time to wrap the seagrass.

Here's some I made earlier . . . (yesterday!) :


Needless to say, the fabric is cotton clothing I have bought cheaply at car boot sales.  This way even damaged skirts or whatever can be re-purposed.


This is the scrummy Gooseberry and Orange Drizzle Cake I made yesterday (to take to friends).  I will put up the recipe over the weekend.

Meanwhile, we are off to view an auction shortly . . . when my husband has donned some clothes hopefully, as he is currently on the sun lounger in the buff . . . you can tell we live in a very quiet area here!  Let's hope that the Jehovah's Witnesses don't suddenly arrive!!!

9 comments:

  1. Funny;) Think it is very dangerous to sunbath without any clothes. I cannot believe that it is as hot up a mountain as it is in the drought ridden plains of Essex - slight exaggeration there of course....

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  2. Would you believe the Jehovah's Witnesses have actually come up here! I had to congratulate them on their effort before kindly sending them packing with talk of science.

    Our gooseberries, or Goosegogs as they were always known as a child, are nearly ready, so I would really appreciate something lovely to make with them. Do post!

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  3. I was interested by the fabric wrapped string. I am planning to make a basket for my bathroom, which will be pretty much water proof, by wrapping the string with strips of plastic carrier bags.
    That cake is making my mouth water!

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  4. Your Little Whale greatly resembles our Edward [we have dropped the original prefix of 'Little'] who is curled very heavily in my lap as I type. Edward is referred to as 'whale' or 'heffalump'--you get the idea!
    I have a similar stool which the cats have reduced to shreds--you'll have to explain how to wrap the replacement seagrass so that it stays tidy.

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  5. Are you sure that kind of sun bathing is a good idea BB in this heat - won't the really hot sun damage parts that it doesn;'t usually reach??
    Am eagerly waiting for that gooseberry cake recipe as we have a glut of gooseberries to freeze and/or eat.

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  6. Weaver - well, he was only like that for about 5 minutes before his shorts went back on - sunburn in THOSE parts would be agony I should imagine! He just had about 15 minutes all told, but he loves the sun. Mind you, the scaffolding lads who came yesterday were MAHOGANY!

    MM - I've thought that before. My vet has a black and white (with the white and the dark underneath on the top) called Guinness! I will try and do a "how to" lesson with the wrapped seagrass, now I have got the hang of it. It's labour intensive though, so be warned!

    Kath - that sounds like a good idea for a bathroom chair. Recipe coming shortly . . .

    Em - they find their way to our house too, and we are reasonably out of the way. Determined I guess! The local lot used to bring children which they shoved in the door so you couldn't shut it on them!

    Thelma - He doesn't do it for long, but tbh, all the time he spent in hot places in the Army (include some place in the desert that was 140 deg. in the shade - and there wasn't any shade - any damage was done then.

    Right, recipe . . .

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  7. Just been catching up here and have read lots of your previous posts, much enjoyed! I know Hay well. Love your garden and house. also your header is that a view near you, it is fabulous.

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  8. Cait - it's the view from the top of Black Mountain (Bannau Sir Gar) which has Llyn-y-Fan-Fach at its base. About 25 miles from us (closer as the crow flies). I'm glad you like my house and garden. I just need someone to like it enough to buy it now!!!

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  9. hahahahah, love the comments about the sunbathing. If the JW showed up while he was out and about maybe they would stop coming.
    The cake looks lovely !

    cheers, parsnip

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