Cinema - Dad's Army

Last weekend we went to the pictures to watch the new 'Dad's Army' film.  Lovely Hubby was in stitches for lots of it and came out of the cinema with a great big grin on his face.

It's a real slice of good old fashioned comedy with a pretty reasonable story-line thrown in for good measure.  If you want a couple of hours of light relief from all the doom and gloom of the world news at the moment I would highly recommend it.

Oh,  and whatever you do do not be one of the many that jump out of their seats and make a mad dash for the doors as soon as the ending credits start to roll.  I don't know why so many folk do that ... I used to be one of them, until one day I was stuck behind a lot of 'late sitters' and was forced to remain until the credits had nearly finished only, very surprisingly to see more of the film we had been watching come back on suddenly and the end of the story changed completely ... now I stay in my seat. 

So stay in your seats as the credits roll for this one, because a couple of minutes into them the 'blooper reel' starts, and then the cast spontaneously burst into singing the Dad's Army theme song in the back of Mr Jones's butcher's van.  The people in the process of leaving the cinema all stood stock still on the steps and in the aisle, and people still near their seats sat  back down again,  a small spontaneous round of applause broke out as it really ended ... such was the feel good factor of hearing that rousing song.

Sue xx

Pictures both from Google Images

There are Many Ways to Self Suffciency

I'm currently reading the last chapter of one of Lovely Hubby's Christmas presents, the book 'Pigs in Clover' by Simon Dawson .  Don't you feel special when someone lets you read their brand new book before they've even peeked inside the cover ... I do.   I'll have to return the favour to him one day if he can prise a brand new book out of my fingers  ;-)

Anyway, this book as well as being very entertaining has made me think a lot.  

I was walking along Llandudno prom with Mavis and Rosy thinking, then I was stood thinking on the six foot width of sand ...  all that was left as the tide was just starting to go out ... while Rosy did her 'I'm doggy Canute and you will retreat from whence you came when I tell you to' baking frenzy at the lapping waves.  Running in and out getting her feet wet and timing it carefully so the rest of her stayed dry .... she's absolutely barking mad that dog!!

Anyway going round in my head was the happy thought that we've done our self sufficiency thing a little bet better than Simon and Debbie did, well if you count animal fatalities, money woes and planning as a criteria for a good go at self sufficiency.   I'm not smug ...  just happy that thanks to our careful planning, learning as we went and more importantly learning before we needed to things have worked out pretty well.

We went on a chicken course before we got our first batch of ten rescue girls so we'd know what to expect, we made sure the house was finished before we picked them up .... it was with hours to spare, although the run as you can see from this photo wasn't quite finished!!

How we possibly thought putting a kneeling mat across the doorway was going to keep them out of the house .....

... I have no idea  :-)

Yes, some things we learnt as we went along, but a week after getting the girls we took ourselves off on another course a more medical based one to learn about chicken health and the rules and regulations of selling eggs to the public.  If there's one thing about Lovely Hubby it's that he likes to do things properly.

These girls, Cappuccino, Latte, Mother, Milly, Molly, Little Lovely, Big Lovely, Lovely, Jemima and Mona were with us from when we 'rescued' them at 14 months until their deaths, most of them natural, a couple by Mr Fox and one by a Red Kite strike, and taught us so much about chicken keeping, as well as bringing their laughable antics to our lives when we needed them most, and driving our Border Collie, Sophie mad trying to round them up.  At last she had come to a place that needed her unique skills ... that her flock were inside a fence and she was running in huge rings round it had nothing to do with anything!!

Looking back we have learnt so much over the past few years, and reading this book about someone else's struggles, accidents and happy animal moments made me realise this even more.

I have both  :-)

Sue xx

Rainy Day Amusement

It's raining, it feels like it's been raining forever  :-(  

Yesterday for a few brief hours the weak Winter sunshine shone and we walked the dogs along the prom in Llandudno.  The wind was bitterly cold but the sunshine gave us a feeling of it not being too bad, even though as the walk progressed the tips of our noses and ears turned redder and then bluer as circulation was lost.

Lovely Hubby said 'wouldn't it be nice if this lasted for a few days' ..... I just looked at him!!

Every single time I have thought this to myself and planned jobs to do the next day the rain has come back ... as it did yesterday within an hour of us arriving back at home.

Outdoor jobs were cancelled and Lovely Hubby watched his rugby match and dozed on the sofa with the dogs for the afternoon and I took myself to the spare room to watch my latest box set on the little television we have in there.  Although it's not connected to our Freesat dish like the main TV, we can use this one for Dvds which means that when the thing I hate most in the world sport, comes on the television and rugby is one of the few things that LH watches, I can at least still have some relaxation and watch something myself.  

Mavis joined me on the bed and we drank coffee, ate biscuits and had a bit of girly time ... watching vampires, werewolves and ghosts  ;-)

These pictures have absolutely nothing to do with this post, I accidentally took the top one when I put my camera on the shelf in the kitchen forgetting to turn it off first, it looked quite kooky .... so I took some more at a similar level.

Rainy day amusement ..... you have to grab it when you can.

Sue xx

More Free Seeds

I only posted here the other day about my subscription magazine arriving and the free seeds attached to it ... and of course my free elastic band.    And now look .... deja vu ... just a different magazine, my new Christmas present subscription.  This time there are £9.95 worth of free seeds, four different kinds of Tomato seeds and one pack of Basil seeds 

... AND another free elastic band!!

My seeds tin is now bulging at the seams with enough seeds to last us for another few years.  I am carefully putting the 'use by' date on the front of each pack before filing them away in the tin, not that I stick to these but I do try to use them in date order whenever possible.

One things for sure we won't be short of tomatoes this year, as long as the sun comes out and growing conditions improve.  Although it's hard to imagine the sun ever coming out again at the moment, we have had virtually non stop rain for months now, it's depressing, demoralising and downright dangerous.  Lovely Hubby has slipped in the mud quite a few times in the last few weeks, meaning lots of loads of washing and a few aches and pains .... not to mention a cracked rib ... ouch!!

Google Image

The only reason I haven't gone over is that I mince about the place as though I'm walking on ice, it's the only way to get around Chicken World and some other parts of the fields, it makes things safer but must look very funny to the people driving past.  Oh well better to be a laughing stock than up to my thigh in plaster!!

Sue xx

Role Reversal

In a complete reversal of roles Suky was sleeping almost on top of Mavis yesterday.

They are funny little things both squeezing themselves into the smallest of the dog beds when there were two empty large dog beds next to the Aga.  Oh well they must have been comfy, they stayed like this for quite a while.  

Who needs a duvet when you have one of your best friends to cuddle into.

And while I was crouching down to get the photos we got photobombed by a certain Ginger chappy after a drink of water ;-)

Sue xx

Prezzies Through the Post

Since we've cut right back on our spending during our year of 'Living Without' the postman hasn't called very often.  What he has brought has been bills, circulars, the odd building control certificate of compliance and well, lots of really boring stuff .... except for the occasional highlights of the Radio Times and other magazines bought on subscription last year.  There have been no exciting Amazon parcels with books for me, no surprise deliveries of things that Lovely Hubby has ordered from Ebay or Amazon and forgotten to tell me about.

So when he knocked yesterday and the dogs did their customary bark for all your worth and run from door to door to try and get to the intruder with the red jacket before Mum does thing I was pretty surprised.  And look what he had that wouldn't fit through the letterbox!!

 A regular reader and blogging buddy Veronique sent me a lovely present, well assortment of presents actually, all packaged in the snazziest of padded envelopes.

She's been having a good sort out and declutter during an enforced period of time off work after what sounds like a very scary and traumatic accident and the problems resulting from it.  And even though she's been so poorly herself she thought of me, how lovely is that :-)

She wrote me a nice chatty letter and enclosed some of my favourite toiletries, a how clever of her to remember that these are my absolute all time favourites, and one of the few perfumed products that my sensitive skin can cope with.   There was also a nice padded mat so I can put all my preserves on the worktop with their damp bases after bottling, and a book that looks like it should make for an excellent read.  I have heard of it but do not have it in my, ahem ... rather large book collection.

Lovely gifts, but what is even more important to me a lovely thought from a long time reader that I have considered as a real blogging buddy for quite a while.

I do hope you are feeling much better now Veronique and THANK YOU for your lovely gifts.

And Suky says 'hello' to Isabelle.

Sue xx

A Manifesto

(found on Facebook)

How true is this.

My manifesto, my mantra ... my life.

Sue xx