Wednesday

Today's Weather: Sunny spells, mainly dull, cool

To Do List:

• Knit another square for the blanket
• Pickle beetroot
• Shell acorns
• Buy a bike pump
• Go back to Side Swipe Lane and pick up that bit of log to make a boot scraper

The other night I spent more than a few hours doing interior design on my blog in an attempt to consolidate and harness the power of the blogger machine. I can't really say that I am fond of the new dashboard but hey, we get used to things eventually. I finally wandered up to bed at 2:15 am
I was thinking about decluttering and how I am so hopeless at it. I do declutter quite often, but then I lay it all out on the floor and sort through it to see what alternative use each item may have. I take the excess down to the dump it site and come home with just as much, if not more, than I went in with. Having said that, I went down there this morning and consciously resisted the temptation to look around. I simply dumped and left. That's the main drawback to being a dumpster diver I guess. 99% of my dumpster diving activities are at the tip, or stopping to pick things up from the side of the road because some lazy devil couldn't be bothered to go to the tip. Maybe the people that fly tip are as bad as me and they fly tip to avoid hoarding more rubbish. Dumpster diving for food is something that I never do. Don't get me wrong, I would if I could but the opportunity never seems to arise. All the supermarkets round here have locked access to their skips and the local shopkeepers tend to waste not want not and use the produce themselves.

I love things with a bit of history behind them and it seems that my Dorchester Flyer has history.
It was originally bought in the USA by a lady who spent some time back packing around the world. Whilst in Australia she met my friend (who gave me the bike) and when she finished her back packing she left the bike with him. It seems appropriate that I have repaired it to use for my own little journey of discovery so that I can go farther afield to forage.
I also bought a bike pump today and pumped up the tyres. Now i wait to see if they go down or stay up. Currently I am trying to devise some kind of bracket so that I can attach my foraging basket to the handlebars. They are easy enough to buy, but it pained me enough spending £4 on a bike pump so if I have to spend on a basket as well, I will feel like a foraging failure.

Beetroot pickled, cross one of the list and chalk one up for Christine


I picked up another little handy hint last evening about recycling egg shells, I especially like this one because it has medicinal qualities to it. The remainder are on my Tips and Tricks blog.

Treating Skin Irritations
Dissolve an eggshell in a small jar of cider vinegar (takes about two days) and use the mixture to treat minor skin irritations and itchy skin.

As October draws to an end I find myself wondering what to do with the remainder of the year. My Sage has started to go to sleep,, so has my Lavender, even my secateurs have started to stick. I'm quite fond of hibernation as a pastime actually and turning my bedroom into a winter sanctuary is rather appealing. Put a TV bracket on the wall, install a little bookcase and fill it with books. Make a couple of dog beds and throw them on the floor for the babies to use. Gather my scrap paper and pencils and pop them in the bedside cabinet for brain storming sessions at 2 and 3am.
Kettle, small stove and a few food supplies???? Maybe not.

Dreaming aside, I need to make some plans.
I received a flyer today from waste management about garden waste collection over the winter. The green bins will only be emptied if they contain cardboard. No garden waste allowed. Must put it on my To Do list; Clear garden of weeds before 30th November.
Unfortunately I don't have a greenhouse so home grown food over the winter months is a non starter. I can still grow on my window ledges obviously and a few veggies can be put in my little planting area ready for next year, but in the main, food production for me has ended.

However, I now have a new boot scraper installed just inside my garden gate.
When I tried it out after my walk this afternoon I got to thinking about Wellies. I need a new pair and can't make my mind up which ones to buy. I have it narrowed down to 3 pairs but now I'm stuck.
Well, the acorns are all shelled (no photo, you will just have to trust me) so I think I will do a bit of knitting and watch something on TV.




What do you all do during the winter months?