Sunday 28 February 2016

Surgery.....

Don't panic though....it's not on a person or pet.....

When my mum was young she planted a cherry tree seed in her garden. that seed grew into a beautiful cherry tree and now many years late that tree still stands in the garden of the house in which my Dad now resides.

This was my childhood home and that tree has always stood grandly by the gate.....it was a climbing frame for us as children and held branches from which we had swings made for us. it has always given us a spectacular show of colour every spring as the blossoms emerged. It offered us wonderful shade during the heatwaves that often came and leached the grass to a dry yellow in the summers that followed. We had so much fun in the leaf piles that came every autumn as the tree caught fire with wonderful autumn colours and during the snowfall of winter is was great to watch the tree glisten in the sunlight whilst covered with snow.

It holds many wonderful memories for us but this year it was again making a bid for the house and looking a little unruly so phonecalls were made in order to tame it a little.

So with all these memories you can imagine how we felt when the tree surgeon came and said the tree may have to come down. Apparently the last people to come and trim the tree did so badly, leaving knots where they shouldn't be left so that water has sat and seeped into the trunk over the years and started to rot the tree.

Right now we are left with this,

  Cherry tree reaching for the sun.
Cherry tree reaching for the sun.
It really is a shadow of it's former self. I think I took the photo from the wrong angle but you get the idea. The tree surgeons cut out all of the bad wood and they are hoping that the tree will now be able to repair itself over the next summer. As you can imagine we really don't' want the tree to go.



beautiful with such  interesting fissures.
The bark is so beautiful with such
 interesting fissures.

majestically twisting trunk
When you stand back you
get the full beauty of the
majestically twisting trunk.
Such a beautiful tree and such a big part of our lives has us hoping that it can fully recover from the rot and once again flourish in the sun.

A lot of wood was removed and I did ask the guys if they could leave me a few of the larger logs as I thought they would be goof for a habitat on the bee plot...

Cherry tree logs.
Cherry tree logs.
I don't think they really grasped the concept of 'a few'. but no worries...it will just take a few more trips than I anticipated to get them to the allotment......at least this way no matter what happens i will always get to keep a part of the tree close.

Saturday 27 February 2016

Busy,Busy,Busy......

Wow...I really didn't mean to spend this long away but I have just been so busy.

Last week was half term and so I got the week off and although was busy with things really enjoyed the time spent with family and friends and catching up on some other bits too and of course the monthly meetings!!

This week saw visits for family birthdays, some wonderful news...back to work and some catch up along with some time down the plot....

All this has been going on and I am actually going out in a short while but really wanted a quick check in...I will hopefully get some time tomorrow to start getting you all caught up but for now I will share one of my  my fail safe picture with you....

Trojan with Jasmine....lovely
cuddles!!

Of course it's a pic of Tro having some lovely cuddles with Jasmine who got just a little shy when I pointed the camera at them!! Enjoy your evening and I will be back tomorrow with the start of the updates!!
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Friday 12 February 2016

The Saga of the Printer.....

So I told you all how my printer went caput...right??? Yeah I know I definitely mentioned it somewhere so last weekend when Hubby was going to the opticians I went off into town with him tp go and replace the printer whilst he was busy getting his eyes tested.

So of course it was going to be easy to replace the printer...go to the store...speak to the owner who I have known for years.....purchase the printer...come home.....plug in leads...sorted!!!

Not quite that simple.

Firsty Dave didn't have the computer in stock that I was after...I looked at what he had but he only had in the ones with scanners and I didn't see the point in paying extra for a scanner when I had a perfectly good working one already. Dave however, (kind soul that he is), then searched and made a few phone calls for me and found out that the store just round the corner had one in at a good price so off I popped to purchase the printer.

At this point I should say I was basing buying my printer on the inks that I had in it...maybe I should also say that my printer lasted me more than 10 years!!

So with printer purchased I popped back to Dave's store and got some paper and a few other bits that I needed and at this point he wrote in the back of his diary what inks I would need as it is always a standing joke with the staff that I can never remember!!

So off home I trot and undo the box....at the very first look inside it's obvious it's not identical to my previous printer. At this point I look at the manuals of the old printer and I can see they have different model numbers. So I did a quick internet search and this is when i find out that my printer has been updated 7 times since I bought it and I could no longer purchase the one that broke anyway.

So I figured at that point I would just get to a new printer...but that's when the real problems started!

At this point I took a little photo diary...just imagine me pulling my hair out and exasperating my son who is desperate to be back playing WOW but very calmly trying to be nice and supportive at the same time so that I don't tell him he isn't going on the damn computer at all...lol

This is the space the old printer
lived in very happily!

And this is the new printer not
looking quite so happy!

So this was the point I had to make decisions...a new cabinet maybe...one that could fit everything on? I knew I could have a look on the internet at stores and stuff but first to install the printer. Of course this was long winded...all the new programmes!!

Window after window opened up and
wanted various instruction.

Do this, Do that, Do the other!!!!
Why can't you just plug and play?!

Finally it was ready and whilst sat on
the floor printed lovely.

The only way to fit it in the unit
though was sideways!!

Oh this is my nephew who first struck a pose
for a photo and then shrieked and turned tail
running up the stairs declaring 'No yet...I
haven't done my hair!' I did tell him I would
post both photo and comment!
 So after installation was complete I started hunting the internet to look for a computer cabinet...but to no avail. I couldn't find anything that would fit everything I wanted to on the cabinet and also the one I have has some cubby holes at the side for bits and bobs and a shelf at the top to put the hub and phone and speakers. At this point I sweet talked hubby to taking me to Downtown but nothing there was suitable either. The closest I came to was s site that would custom build furniture for you but when I looked into it further it was going to cost in excess of £600. This would make it a rather expensive printer...and to be honest, I like my cabinet...it fits the space perfectly and has everything that I need...so the only other option was adapting it. I had lots of thoughts and 'umms' and ahhs' before I finally came up with a plan of action. It involved screwdrivers, drills, extra screws and pins and a saw. All sounds a little daunting but I got on with it and a couple of hours later (after a really good clean up and untangling of wires)....tadaa!!!

Printer sitting pretty on its new shelf!

The top got a good sort out too!!
 The change of the shelf to the top actually gave me a lot more room at the bottom for papers and things but they were a bit messy but that was all right as I knew just the thing to remedy that!

A paper storage drawer!
With the drawers in place I even had space to put my Beekeeping stuff too which means they are also neatly out the way and I didn't have to pay out for a new cabinet...I'm nothing if not resourceful!
I am loving the new set up...it seems a lot more in-line and sleek and with the printer at the top it's less likely to get knocked by big foot (oh that would be my son with his size 13's) and will be easier to keep clean.

All in all even though there was a little work involved I am pleased with the outcome and more than happy with the final product. And also..if printers revert back to how the other was it can move down and the draws come apart to form different configurations so I have covered all angles for the future too!!

Result! :-)
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Wednesday 10 February 2016

Curiously Comfy Cat bed!!!!


Barney loves sunshine.......sleeping.......
 and Alfie's bed!!!!

Saturday 6 February 2016

February 2016

Well February rolled in pretty much the same way January rolled out....grey, windy, sunny, wet, damp, miserable, cold....yep all in the same day!!

I took a few photos up the allotment...they aren't great as they were taken on my phone...it wasn't that I forgot the camera but when I switched it on I was told to 'Charge the battery' and it promptly shut down!! I really should check the meter more often!

The bug hotel is lost in the undergrowth...
but that is kind of the point!!

Wet and windy means the bees weren't out but a
quick look inside proved them to be still buzzing!!

The pond still has plenty of bug life in it...even in February!

It looks a bit bare this time of year but won't be long
before the flowers and herbs
start blooming again.

The shed stood up well to the winds and the felt is looking
great on the roof.

The chickens don't seem bothered by the weather.
A little blossom to brighten things up!
Not everything on the allotments has stood up to the winds...
this greenhouse gets a little more 'mangled' every time the
wind picks up. Such a shame as it was a really good
 greenhouse and been there many years.
I actually took more photos than this ...I didn't realise how many until I loaded the card up into the computer so I picked just a few.

Last week I found a slot on the laptop for the memory card to go directly into...and to think that all this time I have been hunting out the card reader...this is so much easier!!

Well I don't have a few other things to tell you about but will leave those for some future posts.

Have a great weekend!
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