Kids eh! Here I am trying to do bits online and Harriette is chirping in my ear every 3 mins 'can I have the cable?' - the broadband modem cable, as we are both on the computers. She has found a 'fan fiction' website that is basically stories online. We have an ongoing battle about this. Her argument being it's just the same as reading a book, mine being it can't be good for her brain, or her eyes, to be in front of the screen for hours each day. I sort of see what she means but I am much happier seeing her with her nose in a proper book than clicking through pages on the web. It has one advantage though, a threat of computer ban will get her doing almost anything!! She even sets her alarm for 5.15am so she can go on the damn thing prior to school. I thought I had put a stop to that but when her alarm woke us up at that time on Thursday we were not impressed. Especially as Eric had to get up to turn it off as Harriette was staying at a friends!! Harriette seems to require less and less sleep, she is almost at the stage where she sleeps less than us, reading until 11pm some nights and up before 6am most days. I wish I was like that. I'm usually ready for bed by 9pm though I do read a lot.
I am in one of those sanctimonious, 'aren't I good' moods, - and I ache! I have spent over 7 hours in the veg plot today. For those of you who know what I am talking about, I have been working on the left hand bed as you look down there. Where I have had topsoil and horse poo delivered and have worked different bits of the plot at different times it is on different levels. Saddle, as you may remember, was in there a week or so ago, and several sheep were recently chased out so they had made a veritable mess! I spent today firstly weeding, particularly fiddly as the weeds were mainly around the carrots and coriander, which are still quite small plants. Then I barrowed about 12 loads of soil from one part of the plot to the other. When I was on my knees with exhaustion Eric came and shifted the rest of it. I then planted seedlings I bought on Friday: 85 red onions, 40 silverbeet, 40 spinach and 35 cauliflower plants. I have more to go but ran out of time. In recent weeks I have also planted broccoli, cabbage, brocoflower and broad beans in the same bed. There are full grown leeks and cabbages there as well as the afore mentioned carrots and coriander. It actually looks like a veg plot and not a weed bed for a change. I may take weekly photo's a.to incentivise me and b.to have a record of the progress.
We also moved all the sheep into Claire and Ian's races (pens and run) today and Eric binned them (the sheep not Claire and Ian, just to clarify, as it didn't read quite right)up in the woolshed this evening. Tomorrow we plan to dag (cut poo and fleece from their rear end), drench (give medicine orally to fight all the worms etc), tag, vaccinte and dock the lambs, pedicure the older ones and give them a shot of vitamins. Eric will be the one throwing the animals around so he will be seriously aching tomorrow night!! The girls have been warned it's all hands on deck.
I have started compiling shopping lists for Mom and Daddy. The IKEA website has been perused for hours and the list sits next to the computer. Ditto Lakeland and Screwfix. And then there are those essentials, custard creams (though Cheryl posts us a parcel on a regular basis - Bless her), chocolate Hobnobs (last ones from Juliets parents have just about run out), and solid blocks of coconut cream which you cannot get here at all. I am sure I shall be adding to the list daily. I just hope Mom and Daddy find the time to get everything. The person buying their house wants to complete by mid-September!!!
On the day Mom and Daddy got their residency the geeses started laying. But what does one do with goose eggs, except make omlettes? They are very rich. When I can get the modem cable back I will look online!! We had planned to look at the fencing around the tree stand in order to confine them but I can't see us having time this weekend. On the subject of eggs I am at my wits end over the chickens. They have never laid well and I can't find a reason why. Robyns chooks are laying and during the course of today I reckon I have heard 6 of Claire's chooks lay. Ours are laying - nothing!! I popped into a chicken farm where we bought the last few chooks and asked the women there what I could do and she was no help beyond saying they should start next month. We have decided to move the chooks into the orchard. Just need Eric to build another chook house so may have to wait until the summer, unless Daddy you want a little project while your staying here. Mind you, if you do, there is the little job of the Range Rover!!!!!!
I am listening to National Radio. Well listening is an exageration. In fact I should turn it off, it's like listening to Radio 2 30 years ago - but worse!!!
Short break to put some CD's on!! Brooke Fraser - much better.
I have a yearning for the chocolate cheesecake I made last weekend. I sent half of what was left back with Steve and Fiona and eeked the rest out over the following 3-4 nights. I was actually really impressed with myself, I am usually one for having a scoop of leftover goodies every time I open the fridge but I was very restrained this week!! And I think it actually improved with age! The recipe has the honour of being the first one to go into the recipe journal Juliet bought me for my birthday and now going onto blog so you can all share it. It is actually supposed to be made with toblerone but I made it with milk chocolate.
Use a 22cm tin. Make a base with melted butter and a cup of crushed choc biscuits.
Beat 500g Philadelphia cheese for 2 minutes then add 1/2 cup castor sugar, 200g melted choc and 1/2 cup thickened cream.
Chill overnight.
Try it. I love chocolate and cheesescake so you can see why it appealed to me.
The weather has been - fantastic. In fact Harriette and I have caught the sun today. Harriette through playing netball. Today was the LAST WEEK OF NETBALL - HURRAY!!! That means we get our Saturdays back! I even had to pull out a pair of summer 3/4 length pants it was so warm today. And they said on the radio today we are set for a warm spring to follow the incredibly mild winter we've had. Just hope the summer is good too. Eric has cleaned the pool this week and it now looks something like swimable - if you ignore the temperature! How's yours looking Richard????
Well as usual the weather means I've run out of things to say. I will now drag my weary body to bed to read my book The Torment of Others by Val McDermid - very good, quite Prime Suspect-like. Night night.Oh I forgot to say, Richard has some calves for us so the Cedar Lodge population is set to increase further this week. Photos - I promise.
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