I worked this morning. I was fairly quiet and low key.There’s been a job swap of all the little tasks we take responsibility for so I get to learn a few new things over the next few weeks which is always nice. I had a bit of training today on the overdue procedures and I’m at a training session on Wednesday instead of at work to learn about the new system that’s being put in over the next few months too.
I got home at lunchtime to find the others in the garden. They had had a productive morning taking the drum out of our old washing machine. We’re going to take it to the allotment to burn rubbish and it will also be a firebasket for camping too. Apparently it was quite a task and took longer than Ady had expected.
They’d also done some drawing in the garden using the easel, Scarlett had built a hive for solitary bees, Davies had built a ‘spaceship’ and they’d been soaking a sponge bit in sugar water to set up a butterfly house Ady brought home. His work is selling various (very expensive) wildlife homes so he brought home one of each to set up here at home to test and take some photos and give feedback on.
We took the washing machine to the tip – it’d had 10 years service, moved to Manchester and back, washed all the baby clothes and finally sat in the garage for a good six months. I like the idea it will live on in our campfires :).
Ady had spotted a tent and camping show set up at a farm place a few miles away during the week and we are on the look out for a porch / canopy so thought we’d got and have a look at that as a lot of the tents there are Outwells. We didn’t get a porch but we did get a couple of other bargains. First of all a windbreak – this one but in blue I think for half price at £20. We’ve been wanting a decent one and this looks really good. My other want for camping this year was a decent set of pans. We’ve previously ‘invested’ in a cheap set of supermarket saucepans each year and just chucked them away at the end of the season but they are not practical when we’re trying to fit lots of things in and it’s a false economy really. I really liked a Coleman set http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coleman-Family-Cook-Set/dp/B000MRBMAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sports&qid=1243725259&sr=8-1 although they were selling them for £25 and we were debating them and then realised they had a special offer of buy a stove and get the pan set free. We do have a perfectly good stove that Chris (Ady’s brother) long term lent us but it is quite heavy and big so we decided to go for the deal and got the stove and pans for £40. So still no canopy but we’re pleased with those additions to our camping stuff. 🙂
We had a quick look round the farm shop (you pay to go in to the animals bit and we refuse to do that) including chatting with the bloke in the chicken feed shop who was really chatty until we said it was bantams we had rather than chickens at which point he got all snooty and said ‘oh bantams are just toys, just playing with chicken-keeping!’ 😆 so that told us then ;). The kids are interested in the idea of resucing some ex-battery hens so we might think about that although I’m a bit reluctant to run the risk of introducing disease to our gaggle.
We left there and went to the allotment via Tescos for a length of hose and McDonalds for some tea for the kids. Ady tried on some shoes in Tesco which had me crying with laughter (loudly and hysterically enough for people to avoid the aisle we were in) as they were just so funny. Made of this really thin brown material that was like paper or cardboard and took on every contour of his feet. They had sort of pointy toes and looked so funny on him it tickled me for ages. 😆
At the allotment we just did a really good watering job and are planning to return there tomorrow for a bit more tidying up.
We peaked early with our what we’d learnt today so consequently I’ve forgotten everyones and will have to add it to tomorrows :). We had one chapter of George and the children were really late to bed. All that galllivanting and unaccustomed to (these days) spending money has quite worn me out!