The weeds are growing well

With all the rain we have been having, the weeds are springing up everywhere. It's difficult to keep on top of the job, no sooner I have cleared some away, then they come back again. I don't mind a few weeds as it gives the frogs somewhere to hide, but the downside is it also gives the slugs and snails a hiding place as well. I'm not a fan of perfect gardens anyway, some of them are quite boring. A little bit of mess here and there makes it more interesting.

I tidied this bit up today, it's right outside my dining room window. I've tried the trick of pouring a kettle of boiling water on them, they shrivel up and die, but then they come back again. And I'm not going to spend my money on some nasty chemicals.

So there is only one thing for it, get down on my hands and knees and scrape the beggars up with a sharp knife. This is the equipment I used to do the job. One kneeling mat which is a a piece of foam I kept from an arm chair I disposed of. A sharp knife, small brush and dustpan, and a small bucket to collect the debris and transfer it to the bin.

And there you go, a neat and tidy corner in the garden.

Goodness knows how long it will take me to clear this away from the side of the house. It really could do with resurfacing, but I can't afford it, so it looks like I shall be on my knees for quite some time. Shall I say a prayer for you while I'm down there, ha ha.

I've been to Tesco tonight, stocked up on a few things I was running out of, and managed to get quite a lot of reduced items. Two cauliflowers for 20p each. Three bags of brocolli florets for 25p each. Punnet of nectarines for 42p. Little gem lettuce for 22p. And guess what, just as I am finishing that humungus bag of carrots which I bought from a roadside seller for £1.50 on the 21st February, tonight I couldn't resist buying a 2 kg bag, reduced to 23p. More flippin carrots to eat, ha ha. I won't put the whole shopping list here and bore you to death.

Anyway, bed time. Good night.

Playing with plastic bags

Hi there. As one or two people showed an interest in fusing plastic I thought I would do another post about it. I've made another bag, this time using plastic I got from the Scrapstore when it closed down. You could use any plastic bags you have, the bigger the better. I have been experimenting with charity shop bags, but as these are mostly made from biodegradable material now, with very little plastic content, they don't stick together very well. Here I have sheets of red, and one large, clear plastic bag.

It doesn't matter too much about exact measurements, bags can be any size you want. I have cut three pieces of red, and one of clear. I use a piece of board on my table, it is an old dining room table which someone gave me, so I'm not too bothered about it, but if you have a posh table be carefull to protect it from the heat of the iron. I picked out some bits and pieces to decorate it, cut from charity bags, and others. Place these on the red plastic and cover with a piece of the clear on top, this will seal them in. You don't have to use the clear if you haven't got any, the bits will stick just the same, but some of the colours may come off onto the paper you put on top, and make it a bit smudgey.

Put your paper on top and bottom, have iron on hot, and quickly iron all over it, pressing down hard. My baking paper isn't big enough to cover the whole thing, so I peel it off while still warm, and reposition it over the bits around the edges which I have missed. It only takes a few seconds, peel the paper off when still warm and check that all of the plastic has fused evenly with no big bubbles in it. It will be crinkly, that's fine, but if you iron for too long the piece will become too distorted to use, you need it to stay flat. Always work in a well ventilated area and iron at arms length, open doors and windows. Melting plastic can be dangerous.

Then I made a second piece with no decorations on it. Trim the edges on both pieces with a knife and a straight edge like a ruler, you don't need to measure them. Put them together, outsides facing in and make sure the edges match up all the way round, trim if needed.

Then the rest is as I described for the other bag. Sew up the sides and bottom. Nip bottom corners to give it a flat base. Fold strips of plastic, and iron to make the handles. I like to fold the ends underneath as I am turning over the top edge.

This bag is 13" x 16", the other one was 14" x 17"

Fusing plastic in this way makes it very strong, it's my guess that it will last many years. The only weak spot I can see is if the stitching gives way, and the only way to get round that is to weld the seams, and that would be far to complicated.

You can use more layers for a stiffer piece, but then you might not be able to get it through the sewing machine. Or you could use less layers if you wanted to make a lightweight bag. Experiment and find the best solution for yourself. Half the fun of it is creating something different, and unique, something no one else has. Have fun playing :o)

Time to say hello

I think it's about time I said hello to a few people, as I've noticed my follower list is creeping up, and there are some new names I don't recognise on the comments posted. I've still got the option of commenting anonymously enabled, because I don't want to exclude anyone who is not signed up to an account. If you are using this option you can always include your name at the end of your comment, then I know who you are. I see some of you already do this, thank you.

So, who is new? Hello to.....
Abi.  deb hulks.  Happy Plotter.  west 9.  Christine Jones.  suzym.  linda,  Gairdh.  amandaa5449.  welleatagain.  Orfy.  Anne Burnie.  Lydia La La.  Connie.  queeniekinky.  Cuttingwood Cottage.  lisamaywalters.  fostermummy.  lorna williams.  Susan Kim.  never too old.  Di - julie.  Mal's Allotment.  Mrs T.  Stephanie H.  Vixen 307.  Encourage One Another.  Meri.  Melamori.  Fran.  kezlou.  Jenny.  ChirpyChick.  awemastuff.  Christine.  Cheapchick.  Rolina.  Sarah.  Lizabeth.  Julia.  CountingPennies.  e.  Kat.  maria armada.  Colleen.  Q&ADebt.  Ricardo Gomez.

I'm going to stop there, that's the last 48 who have joined up. Welcome to you all, and any I might have missed who joined before.

Now, Hello to those who have been commenting. I read all your comments no matter how old the post is. All new comments come in at the top of my list, so I read them all.
RoseH UK.  Mo.  Wean.  Bryallen.  Kath.  Carol.  Samantha.  Littlebit.  Sals View.  ChrisJ.  SharleneT.  Sarina.  Shrimpton and Perfect.  Matthew.  Anita and John.  Attila.  Practical Parsimony.  Jane and Chris.  SharonK.  Little Rosie.  Frugal Living UK.  Kearnygirl.  Joto.  minimiserdeb.  KittyKittyWeaselFish.  MG.  ToffeeApple.  Campfire.  sue15cat.  Littlebit.  Jayne.  Lilyredcloud.  Barbara.  Tawney.  Daisychain.  quinn.  Jo.  Louise.  landcuckoo.  Kate G.  Carol.  Laura.  crafty cat corner.  judes07.  50 and counting.  Polly.  Ruthdigs.  Beauty and the Green.  Willow92.  Jean.  kelley.  Don't unplug your hub.  carole.  Lafemmet.  Joyful.  heleng.  Jane.  Debs.  Halfrida.  Garry.  Theresa.  Catriona.  Maggie.  lizp2000.  Sandi.  Mum.  Sandie.  lizzie.  Fishcake random.  Mike Knipe.  Josie.  PatioPatch.  Elainelnphilly.  sarah.  Twiggy.  Little Blue Mouse.  kaybee.  Eileen M.  spirit.  Donna.  KnattyKnitter.  cumbrian.  Jellie.  Victoria Stevens.  midlands annie.  Carrie.  becky3086.  treeswhereyousit.  amandaa5449.  Molly41.  shirley2647.  Justine.  Whatsitlikewhereyouwork.  gibberish.  mumasu.  Brian Cowling.  Charlies Aunt.  KamGem69.  Scarlet.  Dartford Warbler.  Dinahsoar.  DaveAJ.  andrea.  Eileen M.  Cynthia.  Jenny Woolf.  Bolybarb. 

Phew, I'm going to have to stop, I'll never remember all these names. Thank you all for commenting, and any I might have missed off.

Not all the commenters join, and not all the joiners comment. I don't mind which way you do it. It's just nice to know there is somebody out there.

There is one new lady who at this moment in time is ploughing through all the past posts. She is in 2009 at the moment, so Anne in Cambridge, we'll wait for you while you catch up, ha ha. Keep going, I am reading your comments.

I have defrosted the frozen yogurt, it is the first time I have tried this, after watching a youtube video about making yogurt, which I posted about a few weeks ago. It isn't quite as nice as the original, the texture is different, not so smooth. It is edible, but I doubt I will freeze any more.

Here is a smoothie I made today. Frozen berries, one pear, half a tin of mandarin segments, and six teaspoons of various seeds.
                     

What a lovely colour. I ate it with a spoon rather than dilute it with juice. It tasted lovely, but I had forgotten how irritating pips are. It was either swallow them quickly or keep spitting them out, and there was loads of them.

Catch you tomorrow. Toodle pip.

Make a free shopping bag

Hey, look at me, another post tonight. Well I cheated a bit with that last one, writing about something that happened yesterday, so here is something 'fresh'. What I did today. I have a collection of plastic bags. I save them as they might come in usefull, mainly for packing up lunch to take out, or bagging up part used food items for the fridge. The box is a bit full so it needs a sort out, and a tidy up. Folding the bags properly rather than just stuffing them in.

I have lots of bags from inside cereal boxes, the plastic is very strong, too good to throw away. There must be a use for them

I have an idea. Open them out along the seams. Don't need to cut them they come apart quite easily.

I need six flat pieces.

Sandwich three pieces between sheets of baking paper, and iron with a hot iron to fuse them together. Do the same with the other three, so you end up with two pieces of very thick plastic sheets.

Next make some handles by cutting one single piece in half and folding over several times, iron these as well.

Next get a sharp knife and a long ruler and cut off the edges to straighten them. You will notice I have added some colour to my bag.

Sew the two sides together inside out, and sew across the bottom corners to give it a flat base. Turn it the right way round.

Then fold over the top twice to make a hem, and fold in the handles as well. Make two rows of stitching around the top to strengthen it so the handles won't fall off. And there you have it. A free shopping bag. It took an hour to make it. Why not have a go.

Before I go, I must tell you, I've had a lovely chat on the phone tonight, with Matt, a blogger friend from new Zealand. No I haven't gone completely bonkers making a long distance phone call, he is here in the UK on holiday. I am really excited because next weekend we are going to meet up for a walk. Tonight he is in North Wales, then heading for the Peak District, and then he'll be staying not far from me. If you want to follow him on his travels check out his blog. http://www.up-over.blogspot.co.uk/
Toodle pip.

Look out for hedgehogs

I was rather hoping for a happy ending to this story. I found this little hedgehog yesterday on our village green. The grass had been cut a few days earlier and was lying around in clumps, hedgehog was snuggled in amongst it, looking like it had just dozed off. On closer inspection I saw it was breathing, but a spot of blood on it's nose was evidence that it had been injured.

I couldn't just leave it there, so I went home and got a box, and gently picked it up and carefully put it in the new bed, taking some of the grass with it. I found a number in the Yellow Pages (phone book), for a hedgehog rescue, and spoke to a lady in Lincolnshire. She then put me in touch with a local gentleman who looks after sick hedgehogs. He told me which vet he uses so I rang and made an appointment. Forty minutes later I arrived at the surgery.

I was hoping the damage wasn't too bad, and little hedgehog could be nursed back to full health. The lady vet checked him out, his breathing had become a little bit laboured, he was struggling. She showed me the side of his head, it was swollen, signs of a glancing blow with a passing car. He made no attempt to curl up into a ball, a hedgehogs natural defence mechanism. Sadly the verdict was that he was not going to make it, and the decision was made to give him a peacefull ending. Poor little hedgehog.

Please lower your speed a little when driving around at night. I know it isn't always possible to see them or avoid them, they scuttle across the road oblivious to the dangers. We need our hedgehogs, they are good for our gardens. If you want to feed them, they like cat food. I often put some out in my back garden, it's lovely to watch them come out and tuck in to a good meal. Be aware of them if you are dog walking at night, if you see them in the road stay with them, gently usher them across. Pick them up and put them in a hedge bottom if you have to. Do your best, keep a look out for our prickly friends.   

Do you know what's in your freezer

My freezer is not very big, I don't need lots of space. These three drawers are fine for me, it has the fridge bit above it, and sits in the corner of my kitchen. It's handy to find things in a jiffy, no searching through piles of rock hard packets, boxes, and bags. No cussing as the item you want is buried underneath mounds of food. No losing things down at the bottom never to be seen again. The best part about having limited space is that you always know what is in there.

I can understand how a family would need to store more food in a bigger freezer. Not everyone likes the same kind of food, so a lot more variety needs to be kept in. Some people do a lot of batch cooking, a good idea to cook several meals at the same time, and freeze some for later. I don't feel the need to do that, I am happy to cook my simple meals daily. No need for me to freeze left overs, I eat all I cook, so no left overs.

I read somewhere that a woman needed to buy another freezer because she was freezing that much stuff for later, she ran out of space in the one she had. Surely there comes a time when you have got to stop cooking and freezing, and start eating. Besides, my freezer only needs to contain about 4 - 6 weeks supply of food, any more than that and there are freezers in shops to keep it for me. When I need something I go and buy it. I am not going to pay for the electricity needed to have a second freezer somewhere else in the house.

I'l let you have a rummage through my drawers. In the first one there is.....
Reduced price organic yogurt 75p
Reduced price small Hovis loaf 10p
Value garden peas.
Value Sweetcorn.
8 Fish fingers. I don't normally buy these, got them for a change. £1. Added to plates of steamed veg I can get three meals out of these.
2 Portions of salmon. These are from a 6 portion pack for £5, I had a voucher for £2.75p off. More cheap meals with steamed veg.
Mushy peas. This bag was reduced to 50p, found it in Asda, I think they were having a clear out as it wasn't listed as a special offer.

2 Hovis Granary loaves, 20p each.
Bag of mixed fruit. I bought last week to try in my smoothies. Not reduced price, about £1.30 something.
Odd slices of frozen bread. If I have bought a lot of bread and have difficulty fitting it all in, I seperate some of the slices into smaller bags.

Two more loaves 20p each.
2 and a half packs of Quorn Fillets. Bought these when they were on offer at £1 per bag. 6 in a bag, again cheap meals with steamed veg. Sometimes I put them in a stew, or chop them up into pieces and cook in oil with onions.
6 Linda Mac veggie sausages. On offer at £1. Three meals with steamed veg.
3 portions of salmon.

There you go, one sorted freezer, dead simple.

Guilt free breakfast

Hi Bloggers, Don't you just love opening the door in the morning, stepping outside, and filling your lungs with fresh clean air? I love these light mornings, makes me want to hop out of bed. My day seems to be starting earlier and earlier, from an 8am start in the winter, I now have an extra hour and a half a day, by getting up at 6.30am. Next week, 6am I think. For me, the mornings are the best part of the day.

Do you ever start writing a post, then change direction half way through it? I do, that's why it sometimes takes me so long to spit the words out. I had an idea in mind for today, but that has gone on hold, all because I saw something else which took my attention whilst researching on the internet.

So, back to mornings, what do you have for breakfast, I bet many of you eat eggs, boiled, scrambled, fried, or poached. I admit to a liking of scrambled eggs. Now I have always bought free range eggs. They may be a bit more expensive than eggs from battery hens, or barn hens, or God forbid hens from other countries where animal welfare is not even considered.

Thankfully battery cages have now been outlawed in this country, but that does not stop cheap eggs being imported from cages elsewhere in the world. Another type of cage has replaces the small battery cages, now we have 'Enriched cages for laying hens'. On checking these out I can't see that this system is any better. Instead of one hen having it's own small space, now they cram between 10 and 60 hens in a bit larger space. These new cages can be stacked 6 to 12 tiers high, so as far as I can see there is no improvement at all for hen welfare. Check out this web site on the new cages.
http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-enriched.html

Here are three videos for you. The first is the rescue of battery hens in their new life.


And don't be fooled into thinking eggs from barn hens are any better. Take a look at these rescued barn hens, they are just as featherless as their caged counterparts.


And another on how hens should be kept. Free ranging in a field.


The evidence is there for all to see. Please please please, buy only free range eggs. Direct from a farm or small holding is best, ask to see the hens running free. Check the boxes at the supermarket, they must say Free Range, anything else is not acceptable. They try to dress the labels up by adding the words, Grade One, or Best Eggs, or Class One, or Sunshine Eggs, or Sunny Eggs, or any other such misleading words. You don't want eggs from Poland or wherever, you want British Free Range Eggs.

Yes, I know money is tight, but think of the poor hens which are suffering. Think about opening the door in the morning to take in clean fresh air, hens deserve that too. Maybe compromise on having the best quality eggs, but perhaps not quite so often. Enjoy your guilt free breakfast.  

Jonathan and Charlotte

Oooh, I'm a bit late writing this, why? Because I'm on the other channel watching the semi final of Britains Got Talent, while eating a bowl of Bran Flakes. No I haven't flipped, I don't like BGT, but I want to see the young opera singer Jonathan. I think he is on near the end of the programme, but it's difficult to fast forward it, the commercials keep getting in the way.

Wow, just had to stop everything to listen to Jonathan and Charlotte, another outstanding performance, they sing beautifully together. I think they have a very good chance of winning.
Here is their first performance



Off to bed. Toodle pip.

I love little boxes

I've been putting off this job for a long time, sorting out my DIY odds and sods, the sort of stuff you normally keep in the shed. My shed is not exactly a wooden shed, it's a brick outhouse, much the same as the one I posted a pic of yesterday, only twice the size. They stand side by side, just outside the back door, fully enclosed under a covered passageway.

Every time I want a certain size nail or screw, or want to use a specific tool, I have to search through the whole jumbled mess to find what I need. These bits and pieces are stored in an assortment of different size boxes, tins, jars, and plastic bags. Some of it is actually junk which needs sorting out, and some of it needs chucking as I am never going to find a use for them so are completely useless.

First of all I got a big cardboard box with low sides, and tipped the whole lot into that. Then I painstakingly picked through everything, throwing out the bent nails and screws, and anything too rusty to find a use for. Eventually I ended up with several piles of small items. I didn't want to put them back into the different size containers they came out of, they would all get mixed up again. I need to keep them seperate so they are easy to find, should I need them at some point in the future.

I don't know about you but I find throwing away empty fruit juice cartons quite difficult, because they look so bright and sunny, and the lined cardboard is quite strong. I just happened to have a few of these stashed in my spare room crafting supplies, thinking they might come in usefull for something. They are perfect for this little declutter job. I measured three inches from the bottom, and cut them around the circumference with a sharp craft knife. They don't need to be perfect, and if you want to do this you could make them as tall or as short as you like depending on what you want to put in them. You could save up enough to fill a whole drawer if you like.

I've put them all into a shallow cardboard box lid, they fit perfectly. Some are square, some are oblong. I prefer to use containers which are this shape rather than round jars and tins, because you lose a lot of space in between them. This way they all fit together nicely without any loss of space. If you don't have cardboard cartons you could use square or oblong plastic milk bottles, cut the tops off in the same way.

There you go, everything neat and tidy, I can see what there is at a glance without having to rummage through heaps of stuff. This is a great way to recycle your household waste. Why not have a go.

Bank holidays at home

I'm not bothered about going out on a Bank Holiday weekend, would rather stay at home and potter. I started off by doing a bit of crochet, that didn't last long because the great outdoors was calling. Lady, my friend Graham's dog is here for the weekend, so we collected Rocky and went for a long walk. Afterwards I took Rocky back, as I had some jobs to do in the garden. Now where is that lawnmower, it's in there somewhere. My brick outhouse is a bit of a mess, wants sorting, I shifted stuff out so I could get to the lawnmower.

I must have had the lawnmower for about ten years. It was a cheapo one from B & Q, and to be honest I didn't expect it to last very long, but I am chuffed that it is still going strong, despite the blades being a bit nackered because I have run over stones with it.

I dug the old grass cuttings out of the compost heap and put them in a couple of plastic boxes. They will do for putting on the top of my potato plants when they start to show. Now I start stacking the new cuttings in the corner.

I have to be carefull not to kill any of these little fellas. I have a rough strip of grass down the centre of the lawn, I leave it rough and lumpy because the cats like to lie in it and sunbathe. Frogs also live in it, but the nearest thing I have got to a pond is an old enamel frying pan filled with water. They seem to like my garden.

That's it the lawn is done, I've thrown some chopped up manky apples out for the birds, Lady thinks she might like to eat them.

Next some weeding, they are growing like mad since we've had the rain, it's a job to keep things tidy. After a bite to eat it was time for another walk, so we went to get Rocky and we had another long bimble around the fields. Rocky is very good off the lead now, he is so well behaved. When we got back it was dinner time for both dogs, and then we had a few games of fetch with the squeeky toy. Rocky loves this game.

I've won, I've won, where is my treat, ha ha.

What a lovely day, and tomorrow? More of the same. Pottering and bimbling with the dogs.

Cheap cheap, gimme cheap every time

Just thought I'd let you know, I'm eating a Limited Edition Mars Bar. On the side it says, Tasty Chocolate Nougat and Delicious Chocolate Caramel, covered in Thick Milk Chocolate. Amazingly it's called a Triple Choc Mars Bar, clever name eh!

On the bottom of the wrapper it shows the date 15 - 04 - 2012. And the best bit of all is the sticker on the front, which says it's reduced from 68p to 25p. So thank you Spar Shop for my 25p treat. It's ages since I had a bar of choccy, so I am enjoying this immenseley. I get so much more pleasure out of things which are cheap, don't you?

The price of fame

I had a chat on the phone with a features writer for a magazine last night. He was asking about my frugal and simple money saving lifestyle. He had already rung the day before, to ask if he could ring for a chat. Then he rang when I was making my dinner, so he said he would ring back in an hour. He didn't so I went out. Then he rang me on the mobile while I was out and I said I would be home in 15 minutes. And at last he got me when I was back on the computer. I can only take indepth phone calls while I am sitting at my desk, just in case I have to look something up while I am talking, my memory aint so good :o)

Anyway, we chatted, or I answered his questions to the best of my ability. Some of the questions I wasn't happy about, they didn't seem relevent to the subject matter, but that's journalists for you, always looking for a diferent angle. I have been caught out before so I am on my guard now. He asked for a photograph so I said I would send some by email.

Now I have received an email from the photograph desk of the magazine, saying they have asked a photographer to contact me to fix up a time for him to come and take a few shots, portrait type were mentioned. And they want me to dig out a couple of old photographs as well. Do you know, I can't be bothered with it so I have sent this reply.

Hi thingywotsit

I'm sorry but I am pulling out of this. I didn't mind talking to blah-de-blah on the phone, but there was no mention of a photographer coming here to take my photograph. I offered to email a photo, that's all. Also I haven't time to search out old photo's for you, they aren't in any particular order and it will take a while to find the ones you ask for. I don't know why you have to dig around in my past life, I was told the article is about my frugal and simple lifestyle, which I am happy to talk about.

This has happened to me before when a magazine has shown an interest in my story. What starts out to be a simple tell us your story request, becomes a complicated task which goes on and on. More questions, the photographs aren't right can you send us some more. Then it gets written up as an embarrassing misrepresentation of the facts. One magazine even had the audacity to super impose my head onto a body posed by a model.

Sorry, you will have to find someone else.

The price of fame, eh! It's a hard life, ha ha. 

Get yourself checked out

I've had a very strange comment from Anonymous, on a post which I wrote almost a year ago. I didn't know whether to delete it or leave it there, because I couldn't decide if it was an insult or a compliment. After googling the word, I think I'll leave it where it is. To save you looking for it I'll copy it here, and you can tell me what you think. It reads, This blog is the Dog's Gonads!  How very odd.

I started the day with getting my boobs squashed at the screening unit parked in the hospital grounds. From what I remember about it three years ago, it wasn't a very pleasant experience. The operative, or is radiographer the right word, was very rough with me, pushing and shoving me about, I almost told her what to do with her machine. She was getting flustered because of the amount of appointments she had to attend to, and kept saying drop your shoulder, when I had already dropped it as much as I could. I felt like a piece of meat dangling from a hook in the butchers shop. It was horrible, I came away feeling like I'd been beaten up.

Thank goodness it was a lot better this time. The very nice woman gently eased me into position, whilst explaining to me what she wanted me to do. A totally different experience from last time. In fact it wasn't too bad at all, I was out in a few minutes, done, with four photo's taken of my chesticles.

I strongly recommend everyone to get checked out when the opportunity arises. Don't put it off, go when you get the letter to call you in, and take up any tests which are offered.  And if there are any men reading this, go and get your Gonads checked ;o)

Getting a bit more use out of a home made greenhouse

What has your day been like today? It's been sunny here, so a good day for outside jobs. First off, this morning I did an hour of litter picking and took Rocky with me. He was completely baffled with the to-ing and fro-ing, this way that way, stopping to talk to people. There was a group of school children doing some field study work with their teachers, they loved Rocky and he enjoyed the attention.

I ate my lunch in the garden, then started reading a book, and almost fell asleep. Why not have a snooze, I thought, so I got the camp bed down from the spare room where it is being used as a cat bed, and put it on the lawn. It was lovely to lie there with the birds twittering, I soon dozed off. What a lazy slob I am, ha ha.

On waking I felt fully refreshed, and decided to tackle the job of recovering my home made greenhouse. I built this four years ago from pallets and reclaimed timber, it's still quite sturdy. The plastic has been replaced once before, so this will be it's third covering. First of all strip off all the tattered plastic and remove the battens with a big screwdriver.

Stripped down ready for it's new cover.

Keep the battens and the nails in them, they can be used again.

I have a roll of shrinkwrap to cover it, this was free from my last job when they were closing down and chucking stuff away.

The roof needs to go on first. I have a big sheet of heavy duty plastic, left over from my market stall days. I cut it in half and it fits just perfect. Square the corners up with a fold and batten it down.

Next get the shrinkwrap and tie the end to one corner, then go round and round the whole thing, lots and lots of times, from the top to the bottom, taking it over the top of the roof hanging down the sides, and down over the base as well.

But where's the door to get in? With a pair of scissors, I cut a line up the centre of where the door is to be. Then folded the excess plastic around the uprights on each side, and batten down.

And there you have it. It doesn't have a door, it's never had a door. I usually use it to house tomato and cucumber plants. Things are growing a bit slowly at the moment, but the greenhouse is ready for them when they are big enough. My friend Janet has given me some tomato plants to get me started till mine catch up.

Next another Rocky walk, then dinner which was the third day of a three day veggie stew, and tonight a dash to Tesco to look for some reduced bargains. It's almost two weeks since I last did a shop, and I have only just finished the brocolli and cauliflower which was about to go out of date when I bought it. Anyway, I didn't get as many bargains as I would have liked this time. The best buy was four loaves of seeded bread at 20p a loaf. I should have enough fresh food for at least a week, then I can use some of the tins I have stored to stretch it out a bit longer.

Going to jump in the bath now, got to have a scrub up. I'm due at the hospital in the morning for a mammogram. Can't go all smelly if I have to take my clothes off. Toodle pip.

Driven by robots

I went to town on the bus this morning. The journey takes about twenty minutes, not long enough to take a book to read, but boring enough to make you read all the notices to pass the time. I was rather intrigued by this one, I hadn't seen it before.

I read it several times and thought how odd, what is the point of it. 'The bus company has invested in some clever technology that helps the driver understand where he can drive smoother.' Shouldn't that read, drive more smoothly? Not sure, I'm not too hot on grammar ;o) Some questions came to mind. Does this new technology tell the driver where all the pot holes are on the road so he can swerve round them to miss them? And doesn't driving more smoothly depend on how heavy footed he is, and how often he stamps on the gas and brake pedals?

Maybe the new technology is now driving the bus, and the person sat behind the wheel is merely pointing it in the right direction. It must be some amazing technology.

Not to worry about being late, the bus will still be on time whether it is a jerky ride or a smooth one. Perhaps now when you ring the bell to get off you needn't wait untill the bus comes to a halt before you get out of your seat. You can be up and waiting by the door ready to alight, that will save time. It will be much better than being propelled in a forward direction arse over tit down the gangway, when the driver stabs the brake to stop. 

This new technology will also reduce emissions. Well that's a good thing, less pollution. Wonder if they are running the buses on used chip fat now as well, that might help.

When we reached the bus station in town, I waited for all the passengers to get off, because I wanted to thank the driver for the smooth ride. That's what the notice said I had to do. To be honest, I did think the driver was trying a bit harder than normal to drive properly, so I thought he deserved a bit of praise. I also told him off for the sexist poster, some drivers are a 'her', not a 'him'. He said that point has been noticed by management.

I was still curious about this new technology, so nosey me asked the friendly driver. He pointed out a little black box on the dashboard, it had three lights on it. Somewhere under the dashboard is a pendulum, attached to a computer, and when it swings violently it shows a red light, a little swing is amber, and a smooth ride gives a green light. Basically the driver is being watched by big brother, it monitors how he/she is driving. Erratic driving gives poor fuel consumption as well as stressed and angry passengers. Each driver has a key to insert at the start of their shift, and from then on their every move is monitored. They can even check on their own performance by keying in a password on a web site set up by the company who makes and supplies the equipment.

I feel sorry for people who drive for a living now. It was bad enough having a tachograph, later a digi card, and then a vehicle tracker, watch my every move. I know they have to be very cost effective where fuel consumption is concerned, but now it's getting to the point where you don't even need half a brain to drive the thing any more. When I was still driving I always said, if they could train chimps to do the job, they would. Nowadays a driver is just a microchip, sit him down, plug him in, and the vehicle will take over his brain.

My God, it's frightening, when will it all end. When will we all become robots. By the way, did you notice that they have put up the fares to pay for all this technology.