Life goes on.

 How to cook up a blog post about a bog standard day. 

This morning I went downstairs to use the outside lavvy. It's not really outside down the yard, it's next to the back door in the outside passageway. It's under cover and there is a second back door to keep everything dry. I always use that one first thing because it's closer to the ground and it has a good strong flush. Whatever deposits are dropped in get whisked away into the sewer system in a jiffy. The bathroom toilet upstairs  has a weaker flush, and of course deposits have further to travel after they plunge down the pipe and round the bend into the ground. 

I wear socks around the house so those go on first as I get out of bed. Then I decide what clothes to wear depending on the weather. Can I manage with something light and flimsy, cottony maybe, or should I put on my jogger bottoms and sweatshirt. This decision is made and I go straight downstairs to the lavvy. 

This morning I stood in something wet. Oh no, not again. The last few nights hedgehogs have been coming into the back passage through the pretend cat flap. There was a flap but it broke. They come in search of food. I always put a bowl of dry nibbles out there, because Oscar who likes to stay out all night knows he can come in for a snack. 

Over the last week of so there has been a hedgehog visit every night. They leave their calling card, a pool of pee, and several little parcels. I was getting a bit fed up of cleaning it up every morning. The solution - make a feeding station outside under a table near the back door. That is working very well, they are filling their little tummies. And Oscar can eat there as well. I know they are coming because I look out of the window and can see them scoffing. 

They have no need to come in the cat flap now, but they still do. They don't leave quite as much mess, one pool of pee, and one small parcel of poo. This morning I felt something wet seep into my sock. Oh bugger, they are still coming. Hopefully they will eventually get the message that all the food is outside and there is non inside. 

I start the day with a coffee. An hour or two later I make breakfast, after first feeding the cats. Today I had porridge, a banana, and some frozen raspberries. Mayze likes to be outside all day and every day when it is not raining. I place her two pet beds just outside the back door and there she stays watching the comings and goings of the birds swooping down on the lawn to feed and take a bath in the bowls of water. She is no trouble at all. She yells at me when she wants food. She is going a bit senile so I give her lots of love. The two boys are mostly outside in the garden, and they come back to the house at meal times. 

This morning I went to the pop up Post Office at the church. The people who run it missed last week. There was a note on the door saying there was a national data outage problem with the computer, so I was not able to get any money out. I had enough anyway. Today I paid my Council Tax. It is a monthly payment but I pay two months at a time. That's more convenient for me. I also took out some cash, enough to tide me over for what I need to buy. My last Aldi shop was £60. 

Back home I did some sewing. I want to get on with the new project. Then it was getting on for lunchtime and I needed to eat. It wasn't yet midday, but I eat when my stomach tells me. Lunch was an avocado on toast. Peanut butter first, then drizzle the avocado with toasted sesame seed oil, and top it with an egg. I had a small amount of potato salad left so I ate that as well. It was very filling. 

After lunch I went outside to do some hedge trimming. I should have waited half an hour for my lunch to go down, but I was keen to fill the garden waste brown bin ready for collection tomorrow. All that bending and stretching left me feeling a bit knackered. I sat on the sofa and dozed off for half an hour. Then I had a coffee and got on with the sewing project. 

If I am here all day I am constantly topping up the water bowls for the birds on the lawn. They swarm onto my garden, it's nice to see them. I scatter the food about. They eat left over cat food, I buy wild bird seed, and grapes, they like grapes. I buy apples and chop them up. I throw out a crust of bread now and again, or some dry biscuits that I don't like very much. 

My dinner tonight was a stir-fry. Mushrooms, spiralised courgette, spinach, and rice noodles. Now I am relaxing with a small glass of pear cider. I don't drink much alcohol these days, one can lasts me three days. My drink in the pub hasn't been repeated again. I don't want to make that a habit. 

Anyway, that's my report for today. Mayze is still outside I will get her in now because it is starting to rain. 

Thanks for popping in. Life goes on. Toodle pip.   ilona