What happened in August? Quite a lot, probably. But my phone died a death so I couldn’t take many photos.
Crochet
As part of changing my phone I had to copy & paste all of my notes to email, and it’s a good job I did because the ones I didn’t copy also didn’t sync to my new phone, so I ended up losing some stuff. But the good news is I have all of my crochet lists from 2015 to today!
This month I have made, fixed, or finished:
·
4 woollen cowls
·
Darned Davids socks (again). One of the holes
was so big that I crocheted a patch and stitched it on instead.
·
Started a blue whale from my new book
I didn’t go to August craft club because it was the week
that I started my new job.
Cat Life
He’s getting very comfortable but he still hasn’t been brave
enough to sit on our laps on the sofa. He is venturing further away at night so
we have to go out to round him up. I think he’s been going onto the field to
eye up the geese that spend their nights there. He still brings home the occasional
mouse and he doesn’t seem to be very good at catching the mice that bring themselves
in from under the back door. He spent a whole day outside a few weeks ago because
he wouldn’t come in when D went to work. I took him to the vets because of his
ongoing tummy issues, and it has cost me £200 to have an appointment and have
his poo analysed. Turns out he’s just become a teenage boy and is going through
a phase, and it’s all dietary, so he’s still on a mostly dry food diet.
Allotment
I don’t really remember what I did at the allotment last
month because I usually take photos to jog my memory and I haven’t been able to
do that. I did fill two beds with fresh compost and get them covered over. I think
one will have garlic in, if I bother to grow it again. The harvests are never
as good as I want and I don’t think I’m looking after them very well. Hmm. I haven’t
had a good couple of years but I also haven’t been able to afford things. I want
to make comfrey feed but I literally haven’t been able to afford a tub to make
it in.
I also did some rejigging of the herb bed. The plan was to
dig them both out, weed thoroughly, put fresh compost and sand in, then replant
stuff and fill the gaps with new plants. What actually happened is that I measured
and cut all the wood, then decided I should make two beds into one and
therefore shouldn’t have cut all the wood up. I did one side but ran out of
compost, and now I need more wood to finish it off properly. I need to get the
wood, more compost, and maybe a bag of sand before I dig the other end out and
re do. So it’s turned into a much bigger job but it’ll look and be so much
better. And it has removed one of the stupid little paths between the beds
which is a good thing.
I weeded the water butt path again, and it already needs
redoing. Four times this summer. It’s FULL of teasel seedlings. Who thought
that planting teasel would be such a good idea 3 years ago? Numpty.
Exercise
I signed up to a yoga class to start in September and then
two weeks later I cancelled it because it would’ve meant getting up at 5am,
doing yoga before work, and then doing 8hrs at work. So I decided against it. Mainly
because I don’t wanna see 5am.
Physical Health
My new phone has come with a new watch which has come with
fitbit! So I can pretend that I’m super fit and athletic now.
Mental Health
Fair to middling. I think it is improving and that’s good,
but I still have down days.
Work
I started my new job on August 1st and have just
done my first full time month since Feb 2022. I am tired. Mostly mentally,
there has been A LOT to take on, in, and learn. I think I am going to be
upsetting a few people over the next few months. Overall though I am really
enjoying it. The commute is much better, getting home by 4:45pm every day is
lush, and the team are fab.
Money
I got my wedding band back from the jewellers and also
bought myself a new pair of earrings. My new salary is nice, I actually have
leftover money! Wahoo! We can afford to do things!! We can actually afford to
go out for a meal once a month and not worry about it. I suspect I won’t have
much in the way of leftover money though, as we are now in firewood buying
season… Need to get the chimney swept soon and get the first load of wood
delivered.
Garden
I have started work to sort out the big flower bed under the
middle apple tree, it has been taken over by mugwort, burdock, bryony, and
other things that I didn’t really want in there. I have made it rectangular
instead of circular and am slowly planting it up with shrubby things that won’t
need much maintenance.
The pumpkins are trying their best but I doubt I’ll have
much of a harvest. They had a bad start to life! Must try harder next year. We have
eaten the first parsnip and carrots from the garden. Next year I am going to
try more root crops as the ground is so silty and loose. Maybe some potatoes.
We are in the market for a new lawn mower as our free second
hand one is slowly dying, which isn’t a surprise after nearly two years.
Other Stuff
I got stung by a bumblebee on bank holiday so have had a
swollen leg for a week. It’s been SO itchy. I have had to strap a damp flannel
to my leg to relieve the itch.
We went to the Ironbridge coracle regatta again but I wasn’t
as good as last year. I did get a rather lovely tradescantia for £2 though, and
have since taken five cuttings from it.
