Full Metal Wheelbarrow
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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in the "cat63" journal:[<< Previous 20 entries]
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08:24 pm
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I am a lucky girl :-)
Because how many people are kind enough to buy a petrol strimmer for their wifey's birthday? :-)
Those weeds are gonna be <i>toast</i>! Mwahahahaha!!!
Current Mood: excited
Tags: playing with power tools, rob is brilliant
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06:08 pm
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100 snapshots, List 2, Post 18
( More steamy pictures... )
Tags: 100 snapshots, steam rally
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05:28 pm
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Elvaston Steam Rally
Is where we spent this morning, with lots of fantastic contraptions. I must here apologise to g8bur for not knowing what the correct designations of any of them are though :-)
This is a picture heavy post and will likely nom your dialup and ask for seconds...
Current Mood: cheerful
Tags: day out, fun!, steam engines
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05:04 pm
[Link] | There will be pictures of traction engines as soon as I can persuade the wretched things to upload. Sometime in 2012 the way things are looking currently. Bah!
Current Mood: frustrated
Tags: internet recalcitrance
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08:38 pm
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100 snapshots, List 2, Post 17
( Mighty Defender of the Artichoke patch :-) )
Current Mood: busy
Tags: 100 snapshots, friend
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12:01 pm
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/64374102/12735228) [Link] | I am livid about this article , blaming larger celebrities for helping to increase obesity levels.
Because obviously, fat people should just stay indoors until they've starved themselves sufficiently to be seen in public by decent normal folk. And if they happen to be intelligent and talented or (whisper it) beautiful they should make sure nobody finds out in case, FSM forbid, they actually inspire a shred of self-respect in other fat people and prevent the rest of society from convincing them, quite rightly, that they're lazy, greedy and worthless.
Yes, being overweight can lead to health problems and should probably not be encouraged as such, but do we have to make everyone who's a tiny bit heavier than they should be feel miserable and repellent? Because I honestly don't see how that's supposed to help.
[throws things and screams in fury]
Current Mood:  enraged
Tags: fat intolerance, fix bayonets, smug gits
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11:22 am
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Book 30 for the 50 book challenge 2009
Small Island by Andrea Levy
This is a very good book, very well written (it won both Whitbread Book of the Year and the Orange Prize for Fiction), but quite emotionally painful to read. It tells the story of two couples - Hortense and Gilbert Joseph, who come to London from Jamaica in 1948, and Queenie and Bernard Bligh, whose house Hortense and Gilbert lodge in.
The story is told from multiple perspectives and frequent flashbacks. I don't much care for that style as a rule, but I can see why the author chose it - this particular story wouldn't work nearly as well told linearly. As it is, each new flashback adds another thread to the complex web of relationships in the book.
As a white Englishwoman, I was aware, intellectually, that people coming to live in Britain from her former colonies had been treated very badly (and probably still are), but this book made me much more aware of it on an emotional level - the hurt and incomprehension that Gilbert feels as he is rejected for job after job simply because he is black is heartrending. But at the same time, the author doesn't fall into the trap of making her black characters into paragons and the white ones into mustache-twirling villains - instead she does a sterling job of showing that all people, of whatever colour, have their own faults and failings, virtues and kindnesses, misunderstandings and gaps in their knowledge that make difficulties in their relationships even when everyone involved is trying their best.
I think this is probably the best book I've read so far this year. Strongly recommended. I shall definitely be looking for more books by this author.
Tags: 50 book challenge, books, racism, war
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07:58 pm
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Bleh
Rob wanted to make some beef jerky in the dehydrator, so this afternoon I've been helping him do that.
As I said to him, if he ever doubts that I love him, he has only to remember that I, a vegetarian for the last quarter of a century, spent half an hour today, carefully examining bits of raw steak and removing stray bits of fat from them, because he can'rt see well enough to do it himself. Ick.
Spot, however, was very keen to help clear up the scraps and has been pestering for more ever since. So much for cats not liking beef, as the Cats Protection lady we got Spot from told us.
I much prefer the fruit leather I made yesterday from slightly more ripe than optimal strawberries. Yum!
I've also made apple leather and pear and apricot leather - the sweetness of the ripe pears and the tart flavour of the apricots work really well together.
Next plan is beetroot crisps :-)
Current Mood: tired
Tags: carnivorousness, dehydrator, fruit
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01:47 pm
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Book 29 for the 50 book challenge 2009
Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve
Third in the Hungry Cities series. This series reminds me of Terry Pratchett's YA books, in the sense that while they feature younger protagonists and seem to be aimed at a younger audience, they don't talk down to that audience and there are many references that the older reader will pick up and enjoy, but which don't damage the flow of the narrative if you don't get them.
Review under a cut, because it's hard to say anything about what happens in this book without giving spoilers for the first two (Mortal Engines and Predator's Gold).
( Spoilers ahoy )
Current Mood: anxious
Tags: 50 book challenge, books, science fiction
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08:36 pm
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Allotment report
Strawberries continue to provide us with much yummy fruit, Peas are also on stream, although the second batch of plants have failed to thrive, so there are only a few pods. I planted the third lot this morning, so hopefully there'll be more later.
The last batch of potatoes I planted have started to produce leaves, which I'm pleased about, as I thought they might not make it.
The ongoing war on weeds continues. Victory is a distant and unlikely goal, but I hope to at least achieve a stalemate at some point :-)
The first batch of runner beans are climbing their poles (none of them have got to the top yet, but some aren't far off) and growing flowers. Some of them are showing an odd tendency to get bushy at the base rather than climbing properly. I shall have to give them a stern talking to. The second batch are still looking rather spindly, but I'm feeding them with wormery run-off (or Wazza Whiz as we call it :-)) which should put hairs on their chests eventually.
The blackberry tangle is flowering mightily, so there should be lots of blackberries later.
I've planted the biggest pepper plant and some of the tomatoes in the soil of the greenhouse. The rest of the space is reserved for the two melon plants I bought last Friday.
I seem to have a semi-resident blackbird - he's quite brave and swoops in to investigate any soil I disturb as soon as I step away from it. I call him Arfur, because he's a bit scruffy and has an Arfur Daley-esque air about him :-)
Current Mood: tired
Tags: allotment, fruit, veg
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08:33 pm
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Naming fail
In the village this afternoon I saw a van, signwritten to advertise an ironing service.
Now, if you were going to try to persuade other people to entrust their ironing to you, what would you name your comapany? Personally, I'd pick something other than "Scorchers".....
Current Mood: amused
Tags: daftness, oh dear, poor word choice
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10:26 am
[Link] | My kitchen currently smells wonderful, as the dehydrator is loaded up with kiwi fruit, pineapple, nectarine, melon and mango. Mmmmm!
The apple corer/peeler/slicer was not a raging success - the peeler bit was a tad too enthusiastic and the prongs that held the apple in place had a tendency to fall out. In the end we reverted to using the hand peeler and a sharp knife. Never mind. We now have a bagful each of dried apple slices and banana chips, anyway.
The allotment continues to provide us amply with strawberries and I've now picked the first of the peas, both sugar snap and pod. Only a few of each, so they've all gone into Rob's lunchbox. I always tell him which sort I'm giving him, but it should be easy to tell anyway - the sugar snap pods are much smoother to the touch.
When I pick Rob up later we're planning to stop off at the Garden Centre on the way home and get a couple of melon plants so I can try to grow some melons in the greenhouse.
Current Mood: hungry
Tags: fruit, gadgets, veg
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07:59 pm
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Drying out
Our dehydrator arrived today and is currently humming away in the kitchen making banans into banana chips! Yay!
We should be able to make lots of easily portable fruit snacks this way for walking and cycling trips and I can dry herbs from the allotment among other things.
When the bananas are done I get to try my apple peeler/corer/dicer to make apple rings.
Current Mood: bouncy
Tags: fruit, gadgets
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07:55 pm
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Book 28 for the 50 book challenge 2009
Pirates of the Thunder by Jack L. Chalker
Second of the "Rings of the Master" series.
( Cut for vague spoilers )
Current Mood: busy
Tags: 50 book challenge, books, science fiction
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08:39 pm
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Wheelbarrow races?
The eponymous wheelbarrow [1] had a flat tyre last week. Yesterday, I brought it home, where Rob kindly pumped it up for me (yes, I could do it myself, but he's more confident of the pump not disintegrating if he does it).
There appeared to be a number of unhealthy looking splits in the tyre, so were perused it to find the magic number we'd need in order to obtain a new one of the correct size and were greatly amused to find embossed on the tyre "Max speed 20kph"
Methinks if my wheelbarrow and I are ever travelling at greater than 20 kph, the condition of the tyre is not going to be the most worrying thing about the situation....
[1] If I was ever in a position to name a band, I think Eponymous Wheelbarrow would be high on the list :-)
Current Mood: amused
Tags: tyre, what?, wheelbarrow
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01:59 pm
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Sunday Walk
Yesterday we took advantage of the sunshine and went for a nice walk up to Robin Wood, where we tested Rob's mini-woodstove "in the field" (being very careful not to do any damage in the process of course.)
( Flowers under the cut )
Current Music: Radio 2
Tags: flowers, walking
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08:05 pm
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Book 27 for the 50 book challenge 2009
Death Masks By Jim Butcher
Another Harry Dresden reread aloud.
( Cut for plot spoilers )
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Spray, Nightshade
Tags: 50 book challenge, books, fantasy, more than one wizard's called harry
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03:17 pm
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Meme-ity meme :-)
The problem with Live Journal is that we all think we are so close, but really, we know nothing about each other. Hence, I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don’t know about you.
Tags: meme
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08:44 pm
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Want!
Possibly you'll have seen this before but I think this giant rubber duckie is absolutely adorable :-)
Current Mood: giggly
Tags: ded of cute, rubber duckie, we're gonna need a bigger bath
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05:07 pm
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Allotment stuff
On Saturday we ate the first artichokes of the year and the first few broad beans (well, Rob had the beans - I don't like them very much, even when they're tiny).
I'm gradually getting the weeds under control at last - there are still quite a few of them around, but there's a lot more clear areas now too.
Today I uprooted some of the remaining brassicas from last year and dug the ground they'd been growing in, removing most of the weeds in that area. I was considering startinfg a second strawberry bed in that section, and since the strawberries have started colonising it already, that definitely seems to be a good plan! :-)
I had a companion on the allotment this afternoon, in the form of this little chap :-
( Watch the birdie! )
Current Mood: pleased
Tags: allotment, birds, fruit, veg, weeds, wildlife
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