Digging and green soup

Good morning. 

A mini garden makeover yesterday. I have four raised beds at the bottom of the garden. Built by me, with second hand bricks. I used to grow veg, but with the slug problem I decided to plant them out with a variety of non edible greenery. 

They need a bit of re arranging, due to some of the plants looking scruffy. So I attacked this bed to dig out the dead leaves and twigs and pull up the roots. The plan was to move some of the plants from pots and transplant them here. Can't leave it like this, the cats will think it is a new litter box. By this time my back was getting a bit sore so I needed a quicker solution to fill the space. 

 Cue fanfare. 👸👩💁😻🙋 The crew that put a new roof on the house left me with six tiles. Perfect, I can use them to cover up the soil for now, and arrange a few pots on top. I might transplant the plants at a later date, or then I might not. It looks pretty much ok to me. A quick solution. 

Then I made a pan of soup. Chop up some broccoli, some leek, top with spinach. Add garlic granules, and some chutney. Stir in a spoonful of yogurt. 

On the gas hob for a few minutes, smash to smithereens with the stick blender. Eat straight out of the pan, with a slice of bread. Very tasty it was too. 

Did you see that mass invasion which is going on somewhere between Morocco and Spain I think. Good grief, that looks scary. I have to say that I think they won't stop at Spain. Destination UK, land of milk and honey and lots of freebies. 

Sunny today. Maybe I will go out. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Part of the plan

Good morning.

The BS is coming thick and fast, am I allowed to say bullshit? 

The latest offering from The Telegraph. Apparently it's a three minute read. 

Sorry, I haven't got time. Too busy living my own life. 

You can read it if you want to. 60 comments. 

 Sainsbury’s is ditching brown eggs and switching to white as it races to hit net zero.

The UK’s second-largest supermarket plans to sell only white-shell eggs in its own-brand cartons after studies found they have a lower carbon footprint than brown alternatives.

Sainsbury’s said the shift towards “lower carbon” eggs would help it hit ambitious targets to reach net zero within its own operations by 2035 and across all of its suppliers by 2050.

White eggs have a 12.7pc smaller carbon footprint than brown alternatives, Sainsbury’s said, because the hens that lay them tend to be smaller and consume less energy-intensive feed. The supermarket said this helps to “indirectly reduce demand on land and water used to grow feed crops, as well as the amount of manure produced”.

NET ZERO. 🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔

Gawd, give me strength. It's all about control, and money, of course. 

Thanks for popping in. Have a good day. Toodle pip.   ilona

Garden - Litter pick - food.

It's been a dodge the rain day today. We have had some heavy showers. 

This is my wild flower meadow. You've heard of No Mow May, well this is No Mow May June July August September and October. No need to mow it, just let it do it's thing. 

These flowers keep appearing every year, in all kinds of inconvenient places. This is supposed to be a concrete driveway, but it has lots of cracks in it, which is where these plants push through. I kind of like them so I'll wait until they die off before I pull them up. 

I needed to do some shopping at Aldi this afternoon, so I stopped by the Industrial Estate on the way there, and picked a bag of litter. Might as well. I was disappointed to see that the Council have not collected my other bags. My three bags are now four. I checked the other litter bins around the pond and see that they have not been emptied. If they haven't been done by Friday I will go and tidy the mess up.  

Luckily I managed to dodge the rain while picking, but I got stranded inside Aldi. Oh wow, did it hammer it down. 

Dinner tonight was an omelette. No it's not burnt. I put left over chips in it, and chopped beetroot. Added garlic and onion chutney for flavour. I start it off in a pan, and finish it off under the grill. It was chuffin lovely. 

That's all for now. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Aldi shopping report

Good morning. 

I've got a few posts lined up awaiting publication. I like to keep ahead of things. I'll slot them in here one by one. I'll kick off with this video I recorded yesterday, and uploaded last night. It was ready at 10pm but I had already clocked off work by then. 

A foodie shopping one. What I bought at Aldi and how much it cost. Come with me into my kitchen. 

What's the plan for today? Your guess is as good as mine. With the weather being so unpredictable it's difficult to plan anything. Yesterday we had everything. Blue skies, sunshine, but that changed in an instant when black clouds came over and bombarded us with lashings of rain and hailstones. 

I need to do a bit of tidying in the garden, so I'll do that when conditions allow. 

Have a good day. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Working in the garden today.

On my craft table. Oh dear it looks like I might not get very much done today. The sun is shining through the window. There is a thick soft cat bed for Mayze to lie on but she much prefers to sprawl out just where I want to make a button arrangement. 

Oh well, I'll go outside, I have plenty to do in the garden. I'll get the electric hedge trimmer out. Up and down the ladder. Then get the lawn mower out and cut the grass. I'm getting too old for this. Have to keep taking a break every 20 minutes or so. The brown bin is now full, ready for collection tomorrow. 

A few pics of flowers. Real flowers, metal, plastic, and artificial flowers. I don't mind. Adds a bit of colour. 

I bought some flat mushrooms for a change. I usually get the small white button type. I cut them up and made a stir fry. It was like chewing rubber. I gave up, and turned them into soup. Zap it with the stick blender. Looks awful but it was amazingly tasty. 

Hedgehog count tonight 5. They all came at the same time. Must be a family because they are getting on together so well. 

Now I am tired. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Just stop.

Good morning. Bright and sunny here. I am making a start on the garden. Such a lot to do. 

I don't know anything about Chris Packham, but he speaks with passion about animal welfare, which is good enough for me. 

 Chris Packham

14h ·

I’m smiling, but I’m very angry.

8 major food companies – including Nando’s, KFC and Wagamama – have all withdrawn from the Better Chicken Commitment.

They’re reneging on their pledge to stop using ‘Frankenchickens’ in their supply chain – the overbred, rapid-growing chickens that suffer awful welfare over the course of their short lives.

Instead they’re setting up the Sustainable Chicken Forum, a welfare washing PR stunt to deflect from the horrors these chickens face.

Vote with your £££ – don’t spend with these companies. Support The Humane League UK and Anima both on the front line fighting for these animals to have better lives.

- - - - - - - - - -

I will add my bit. Stop buying from these companies. And stop eating their takeaway crap pretend food. Go into your kitchen and cook up some real food.

Now going to eat my porridge.

Catch ya later. Toodle pip. ilona

OMG words almost fail me

 I am shocked. What happens to Tesco's yellow stickers if they are not sold instore by a certain time? They have an arrangement with a charity to come and collect it and distribute it to those who need it, through their food banks. Somehow 73 bagged items of bread has been found fly tipped, in Gloucestershire. Gill Thomas reports on this on her Faceboook page. 

So what happened to it once it was collected from Tesco? An investigation is now taking place. 

Cllr Gill Thomas

9 March at 18:49 ·

Spent yesterday morning taking in the litter lows along the A38, (there’s plenty!) in prep for tomorrow’s filming with the BBC, University of Gloucestershire and Litter Free.

Was particularly appalled by this fly tip of bread. Vermin aside, this flies in the face of the cost of living crisis - at a time when some people can’t even afford to put food on the table, others are wasting it and dumping it in the countryside.

What a selfish, messed up world we live in.

Cllr Gill Thomas

13h ·

Update: Following my recent post about the fly-tipped bread, I’ve now gone through all the evidence, photographed and counted it up - 73 bagged bakery items in total. Much of it was stamped with reduced-price labels and marked for ‘Tesco Community Food Connection Donations’, yet it ended up dumped illegally instead of reaching those in need.

I’ve sent a formal email to Tesco and OLIO - Share More, Waste Less demanding answers, (copying in national press for added leverage) highlighting serious questions around food waste, social responsibility and corporate ethics - this after Tesco posted a profit of £3.1 billion last year.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

My comment.

This is one of the reasons why litter must be collected, and fly tipping removed from the countryside. Why it should be reported, and why it should be photographed for evidence. The system they have here in Gloucestershire is not working as it should do. Too early to point the finger until more details emerge.

The sun is shining and I am looking forward to the day ahead.

Have a good weekend. Catch ya later. Toodle pip. ilona