pickling, preserving and wine making

Well its harvest time and this year we are in the thick of it all. Its been loads of apple wine making, elder berry wine making, damson, etc and then more of each and now I am pickiling cucumbers. Arent they called gerkins? Or rather are pickled cucumbers the same thing as pickled gerkins? I will have to google. Off to Incredible Veggie Roadshow tomorrow since we have a stall. I always fancied going to one but never have done and now am working at one so probably wont really get to have a look round. Never mind. Maybe we will take some money and sort it all out. Last week took only £90 over 3 days. Not good for survival that! Finally have bought some cello bags tho which means I am back in production making bath bombs. My handss are sore. I have started to react to gloves. I get a sort of exema. I cannot spell this but its a nasty itchy sore skin complaint and it happens between my fingers when I wear gloves. they are not latex either. I used to get this when I worked in a lab at a universiy but it went away. probably cos I moved into office jobs. I actually moved cos they paid better than lab work but anyway I have nasty itchy skin again. Not alot I can do about it either. A hazard of chemistry I think.
Back to the harvest thing. I went foraging. At the top of our road is a tree with sweet chestnuts. they are rubbish tho and the chestnuts that have fallen so far are sort of flat and empty. Not at all like the ones yoiu buy in tesco. I need to look for another tree cos somewhere around there must be one worth scrumping.
I need to buy some more sugar too cos none left to make any more wine or pickles and we stil have a tree laden with apples and soon the frost will come. I had better repot and bring in doors the geraniums too I suppose. they are amazing. I bought some seeds from Aldi for 35p and it said to start them in a heated propogator I think in april. then repot on etc. But we have no space at the moment to use propgators so i started in a pot in teh garden instead and it was June. Anyway they are proper geraniums - as in pelargonium geraniums not wild english type and they have actually flowered so if I can manage not to murder them this winter ( I am not good with house plants!) I will have a go at making some post hanging baskets next summer. My dad gave us loads of hangoing baskets - without anything in - just the wire baskets, so i wil see if I can make them. My last attempt at this I think was about 8 years ago and I spent loads on plants to go in it and murdered nearly everything in the process of making the basket. I cannot get the lobelia or dangly type of plants to drip from the bottom. I just kill them when I put them in the holes! There must be a nack to this that no one has explained to me!
Oh and I have a customer on my webiste! Hey its happening!

for William died friday 31st August 2009 - my friend

William was a cockateil. A pretty amazing one. This is her sitting on the lap top a few months ago. She did love M! On May 28th 2000 william escaped when we were decorating. She dissapeared as cage birds who get out do, squarking with delight off into the sun!. I rang the RSPB and the RSPCA. I was told they would keep a look out but unless she turned up within a few hours that was that. Also they only looked within 5 miles of the house where they come from. And then it hailed! We lived on the Wirral then in a small town/village called Neston. I asked the neighbours if they had seen her - some had aviaries so it was a possibility they might see her. I was told to give up since that was that. You never find them.

I didnt give up. We lost her saturday about 11am. William however ( she laid eggs so was a girl but we didnt know that when we called her "Billy") was a free bird within the home. Despite stripping the wall paper and Shitting everywhere we still left her free! She could fly. She would "fall when the frost came"so said the RSPB if we ever heard of her again. I found the first real use for owning a computor and printer then (well other than writing your thesis/project!). I printed posters asking for info and put them in every shop within a 10 miles radius. Then on Monday I was on a flexi day and went into a shop in Thornton Hough. They said a lorry driver had had a cockateil land on his bonnet in the hail and he had taken her to a local couple who had aviaries. My heart lept but I coudnt belive this was real. I went and found the house. They were really nice. They called the cockateils out but no Billy. She was unusual - white faced so not average and not the same as theirs. Eventually a bird came out with no tail looking very sorry for itself. It was Billy. She hung on the bars of the aviary and looked at me. She knew me. I had found her. Despite all here she was alive. 8 nearly 9 miles from home. They told me to go home and get a cage. I cried all the way. I rang M and he thought I had found her dead cos I cried down the phone. He was at work in Coventry. But I told him she was ok! When I got back they had already caught her and put her in their cage which I took her home in and returned later.
The other 3 birds must have thought she stank. They kept away from her for 3 days. She was home tho and eventually all was well. She preened and ate and slept for 3 whole days. She never tried to leave again even when stupid mates leave the doors open which does happen. On Friday 31st August she had a series of very painful ( by the sound of it) strokes at about 11ish-am. I took her to the vets at 5:45pm and she had not moved since but had drunk water I dribbled down her beak. The vets say they have never know cockateils hve strokes. She has had fits but recovered within at most 30mins for about a year now tho. It may not be normal but thats how it is. She always go back up and flew round the room shitting as she went. She was about 14 so not that old but a reasonable age for a cockateil. Especially one who by its colouring is probably pretty inbred. I loved william. The vets sent us forget-me-nots. We will plant them in the spring when maybe they will survive. Our garden being pretty wild and uncultivated right now they would most likely die which would be sad. We planted a bush on her. Its of chinese origin which is bad. Looks like holly but supposed to get fragrant flowers on it. Also it wont disappear into our indigenous hedging. We will know where she is just like Rosie and Jim who also do not fit the hedging. So when we moved here we had 4 pretty old but beautiful cockateils. Now we have one. Benjy remails. Benjamima is also a girl - apparently Jim may have been too tho we always assumed him male but since he died we have been told he was probably not- by his behaviour, anyway 3 out of 4 definitely were girls. Billy laid eggs. And sat on them every xmas which was a pain. Laid em under cupboards. sofas all over the place till we lost patience ( not wanting to stand on/ sit on her!)and locked her in a cage. Oh and each bird had to have their own cage like seperate rooms else they had fights - no one else has problems like this so why us? We were inundated with cages! And they all lived 90% of their lives free!Billy tormented the dogs by landing on their heads and gripping with her claws. They used to wince cos it hurt. These dangerous dog hating dogs would never have hurt her and she knew it. She was there first and they wouldnt dare. She landed on them regularly poor lads. And on us. And in the middle of your dinner. She was a right pain really. She begged like the worst pidgeons you will find every time you ate toast, crumpets, chips or anythng she took a fancy to. Still she was my William. Benjy is doing ok now. She was devestated but now today she was so noisy. I made a business call -never again from now on will use mobile unless 0845etc. Wow did she shout! Embarrassing birdie. Still shes doing ok even if alone. The first week she was just moping but I suppose life just goes on and on regardless of you doesnt it. Making a point of talking to her is helping I think now shes the only one poor darling. Benjy is also a girl.- my beautiful darling. She is very like jim. She is the last one. I wont look to bring another bird home since it seems wrong however it all began because someone I knew never let their cockateil ( Rosie) out of the cage and then we had the others to keep her company. Benjy was a year younger than the others..........................

I am back!

Well its been ages and ages. Finally, yesterday my new laptop got here. I had to argue with the insurance cos they objected to me wanting a replacement IMB ( now called lenovo!) but eventually I won. They wanted me to accept a £299 PC world replacement. I had it as a named item so eventually after threatening a solicitor they gave in. Also turns out at some point in last 10 years the CIS changed their policy from "new for old" to "comparable" so I got £758 for my £900(in 2005) IBM!. AND worst of all they are downright sexist. I have complained ( with M) to ombudsman. He made a claim earlier this year ( yes its been a terrible year!) and they sent a voucher in his case but addressed to him not to us jointly which seemd right. They sent mine addressed to him only, whilst knowing I was the claimant, and the cheque was in both names. Well I suppose they can argue the cheque since the policy is a joint one, but my IBM was insured with them since before we ever officially lived together ( since I bought it in 2005 and altho we were together we only officially moved in together when we moved here in 2007 so they definitely know it is mine!). Every time I rang them they made me give Ms date of birth not my own as ID( I am sure this is wrong too as far as data protection etc is concerned and how can I prove my own ID when giving someone elses?), they persistently called me Mrs not Miss despite me repeatedly asking them to update the details. They kept ringing him and not me and they knew it was my lap top and my claim. The CIS are sexist. I am sick of them. Actualy took out a policy with em this year too but have cancelled even tho we lose on it and moved to another and also cheaper company since they have annoyed us both so much. I also spoke to 2 solicitors and Coventry law centre to see if we can take them to court for sex discrimination but apparently they have not discriminated, they are legally allowed to behave in a sexist manner. Well we used to insure everything thru CIS since they are considered Ethical but as far as I am concerned they are sexist and out of date. Stuck in a 1950s attitude towards women who live with men. I bet they would have treated me fairly if we were in a same sex relationship! Would they get away with this if we were both men or both women? I doubt it. Well over the rest of my life they have lost a lot of money since I have been with the CIS since Decenmber 1999 and never before claimed and I will never ever insure with em again. Not just with house insurance either but with all my insurance. Well they have lost me forever now. Also just about everyone else is cheaper so stuff ethics. Its all a con! Some ethical company to treat me as a second class person just because I got together with someone! Or because I got together with A MAN! Anyway they have f*cked emselves as far as I am concerned. In the end move your money and they may just get the message. Polite requests get you nowhere!. After all in the end Aparteid was beaten by people refusing to trade with south africa, not by people objecting to their ill treatment of people due to race. Money talks louder than anything else it seems. What a sad world. All equal people who have this kind of problem with CIS should stand up and be counted. We are equal. They WILL learn!

Well as for everything else, Yey its so good to be back online! My chickens are doing well tho still have a few feathers missing. Still self employed tho its not looking good but I start at Brum Rag market this friday and maybe that will be my turn around. Brackencraft of the 1980s has joined new Brackencraft and I am making recycled patchwork hand bags. Will take some photos and post in next few days. We are finally clearing the shed and have done some bootsales which sadly have raised more cash than the proper business - still Brum here I come! I am starting ( assuming they get enough students) part 2 of webdesign in a couple of weeks and off to enrole tomorrow. Will now be able to finish doing my website but need to suss out how to upload again since lost all the settings on dead laptop. Still I did it once so must be able to do again. Managing to eat very frugally too since we have hazels in the garden - made pesto today and had with mushrooms and pasta and have made loads of home made wine. Drank the red wine kit all but 1 bottle which is for Christmas but also have banana, bananna and cinnamon, plum, damson, elder( 5 gallons!), plum again and also now hawthorn. Wine kits taste ok after 1 month but real wine doesnt! I have bottled it. The banana is very sweet - good with mince pies/ puddings maybe. Its very cheap anyway. And very alcoholic but the bit we tasted which was not very nice being very yeasty but could be good in a few months time. Loads of apples on the tree too so will have a ago at apple wine and have discovered we have a quince tree. Well I think its quinces but not positive. Didnt notice them last year and when looking on internet they show pictures which look like mine but the core I would have expected to be like pears but it isnt its more like a mango so I am not positive but hopefully if made into jelly or wine they wont poison us! I am doing the Viva veggie roadshow in Cheltenham and also West Midlands Vegan fair in next month or so, so its posibly going to be a brilliant month. Well you have to believe dont you. And I do believe so it must happen. I have my laptop so now life must be getting better. I will write again tomorrow. I am on a roll now and off to check my neglected email................Ah life is good. I have no money, business is cr4p but I just cant help it. Life is great...............