7 September 2010

Sometimes you come across something that you couldn't have spotted at a more perfect time. Finding this book was one of those occasions. I wanted to keep a log of all the different plants in my garden starting from January 2010 through to December 2010, so that i could make a decision on what i am going to keep, and what is unfortunately being donated to any takers. So far i have identified (ok maybe not identified, but taken photos of) 91 plants and have made notes of which month they flowered, where they are in the garden etc. As well as my book, i have created a blog highlighting the plants and their names, if i have been able to find this information. The blog address is http://ohlookwhatsthis.blogspot.com and is my interpretation of a very famous scene from a Tim Burton film.

6 September 2010

Sometime ago one of the cereal makers were including Cartoon Network figurines in their ceral boxes. I really wanted Grim or Dee Dee (although would have loved to have collected Mandy, but she wasn't part of the promotion), but ended up with Dexter and Mojo Jojo. Anyway, these two figures now represent my partner and i (i'm Dexter and he is Mojo) and keep me company in the kitchen. Perhaps i should get out more!

5 September 2010

This is one of the many models my youngest daughter is working on. She is a real perfectionist and has an amazing eye for detail. Unfortunately she is very critical of her own work but becaus of this she is always pushing herself to improve, which is a good thing, i think? With this model we are waiting for her to finish painting it, but you can't rush an artist, so we patiently wait to see what this amazing dragon will eventually look like.

4 September 2010

Why O why doesn't the bank accept 2s and 1s anymore? Life was so much easier when i could take change to the bank and put it into an account, instead of now having the traumatic task of tipping the coins into a machine and listening to the amount of noise it makes! Couldn't the higher beings that design these machines make them with some soundproofing, so that you don't feel like you want the ground to open up as soon as you start to tip the coins in? If anyone does soundproof the coin machines, remember you read it here first!

3 September 2010

If i have identified this plant correctly, then this plant is a Bergenia, also known as Elephant Ears, although i can't think why?! This amazing plant is an evergreen of a sort, and i'm sure it is supposed to flower, but as yet hasn't.

2 September 2010

I knew it was a bad decision to agree to having a pet, as we now have (or at least my eldest daughter has) another one. Meet Walter a Lop Eared Dwarf who is meant to be a friend for Chase, who we discovered is actually Chacette. Unfortunately Chace doesn't like him and keeps growling and chasing him. Hopefully this is just temporary and it is just a case of them getting used to each other.

Poor Walter is approximately 4 months old and no one was even showing any interest in him, so you've guessed it after 2 months of thinking about it, my daughter finally bought him.

1 September 2010

This is the next book i am going to read. I have never this before, although the film is one of my favorites. A friend bought this for me and it was going to be my holiday read, unfortunately in the pre holiday panic, i took it back out of my bag and forgot to put it back in. It nearly caused an argument as i secretly blamed my partner for leaving it on the plane (i was convinced he had moved it and left it behind), but i didn't blame him outright. I am so glad i stayed quiet as when we got back home my daughter found it under some papers. So thankfully, i didn't have to confess to my friend i had lost the book, and i still had it to look forward to.

31 August 2010

Generally people i know listen to what i say, and conversations tend to go quite well, but then there are times when they have the sympathtic smile and gentle nod of the head which lets me know they think i am having a moment. This would be one of those times as i am now the owner of a pair of shears, yes i know it is sad, but trying to prune just about everything with a pair of secateurs, and dropping subtle hints to my partner like 'i need some shears' (ok maybe not so subtle), and getting nowhere, i finally went and bought some myself. Feeling really pleased with myself, i showed him what i had bought just to hear him say 'i could have got you a better pair than that'. Grrrrrrrrr!!

30 August 2010

The colour of these leaves caught my eye as earlier in the year that had been yellow. They really stand out against the green that surround them. An added bonus was that after taking the photo i noticed that there was a bug on one of the leaves. It's funny, if the bug was in the house i would have freaked, but as it is outside i can cope with it, maybe because there is room to run away when it shows it's fangs and starts to attack!

29 August 2010

When i open the curtains in the morning, i have the pleasure of looking out to trees.There is a small green outside of the house which has five trees in it. For me, looking out at them has a real calming effect, and they are interesting throughout the year, be it the squirrels running around, the birds making nests, or the changing seasons. I count my blessing every day as i am fortunate enough to have found a home in a lovely area, which ticks every box i could have dreamed of. i now just need to pay the mortgage, but that is a different story.

28 August 2010

My adoption pack has arrived (although i can't get the photograph to upload the right way round!) with information about the panda i have adopted. The panda is called Zhu Xiong (pronounced Ju-Shong) and she is 12 years old. She was rescued in 1999 when villagers contacted WWF with details of a disorientated panda in a goat shed. She was later released into the safety of the Wanglang Panda Reserve, if she ever wanders out of the reserve she can be identified via a tiny thread around her neck.

Zhu Xiong (which means 'bamboo bear' is the Chinese name for pandas) appears to be an elusive character (as wild pandas tend to be), she has not been seen since 2007 and hadn't been seen for five years before that!

Pandas are really in danger of being wiped out, a recent survey showed that there are approximately 1,600 in the wild, and even though this figure is 40% higher than expected, it is still desperately low.

27 August 2010

In an attempt to make my garden as bee and butterfly friendly as possible (research says that the bee population has decreased by approximately 70% since the 1970s), my partner bought me a bee lodge (or a b&b as a certain person who keeps turning up at my house called it) and a butterfly house. The plan is that these simple shelters will be homes for the bees and butterflies over the winter months. To make them look a bit nicer and also, hopefully, to protect them from the elements I have bought some off white external paint. I also plan to make some homemade bug houses, but i haven't got round to that yet either!