It's a fishy business

Hello, I hope you are all having a great weekend. We are having a quiet one after last weeks birthday madness. I was absolutely exhausted on Monday and Tuesday, the weekend finally caught up with me and lets just say I wasn't the best company for the first part of last week (way too shouty and short tempered!).



I am currently trying to fight off a throaty/cold bug that seems to be trying to come out, I think the brewing germs may have contributed to my tiredness and grumpiness last week. I have been sipping lemsip to pep myself up a bit and so far they seem to be doing the trick.



We had a little ride over to Wallingford this morning to pick up a couple of fat quarters from Village Fabrics as Daisy is now adamant she wants to make a patchwork cushion for herself. We had a lovely brunch at the Old Post Office and then a mooch around the charity shops, farmers market and the antique centre. Of course we simply couldn't walk past the old fashioned sweet shop without popping in for a few pick and mix and jelly beans. On the way back to the car I popped into one last CS and found a lovely Carlton Ware dish. It is in perfect condition so I had to have it and I think £8.50 wasn't too bad. Do you like it? The photograph is terrible (I blame the light rather than my lack of skill), but it is a lovely mint green colour in real life.




Quilting went well on Monday even though I was so tired, I managed to complete two of my nine patch squares. I have decided for this project that I will hand sew it all. I ordered from Ebay a 1/4 inch seam foot for my sewing machine, so that I will be able to machine stitch my next project. I am really enjoying hand stitching, which has surprised me. I am normally a get it done as quickly as possible sort of person but there is definitely something therapeutic about hand stitching. I am loving the fact that the course allows me two hours of pure crafting and I can pack up at the end of it and leave it until the next week. I do not feel the need to rush which is my normal downfall. Next week we are learning to applique hearts onto the other two patch squares. After the cushion it's my aim to make a quilt for our double bed. I really need to start to think about colours and design. If I am totally honest I really don't have a clue how to design a quilt or how to pick out fabrics. Best not run before I can walk though!



I have had a leisurely hour of crocheting this afternoon, I am determined to get the big ripple finished off and get cracking on my sisters birthday blanket - April 4th is my deadline.



We have a horse riding lesson (Daisy) and homework to contend with tomorrow (both) and I also plan to do a bit of baking. My new recipe of the fortnights is pea and ham soup ala Heston at Waitrose. It sounds divine, I am just hoping it's more successful than my pork strogonoff disaster. I plan on making it for lunch tomorrow and I also fancy baking some chocolate chip cookies, they always go down a treat. Of course there is also the Sunday roast to cook in the evening. I love to cook on Sundays, making dinner every evening often annoys me during the week, but somehow at weekends it's different. I think it is all down to the perception that you have more time at the weekend. I am still on a mission to find more tasty midweek meal ideas that will satisfy two very fussy eaters (AKA Alex and Mr P).



Now onto the fish, (I almost forgot!) Alex decided to buy an aquarium to go in his bedroom with his birthday money. We said no at first to his request but after some thought we decided that fish are pretty harmless and shouldn't be too hard to look after. Mr P used to keep fish in his younger days, so he is fairly knowledgeable about them. We bought our first lot on Friday and so far they seem ok. Mr P decided to buy a few more today, even though you are supposed to wait at least a week before you introduce any more (and I thought I was impatient!). We currently have some platys and guppys and a couple of tank cleaning catfish. I am a definite play it by the book sort of person, so I was rather miffed that Mr P has decided to add more fish before the end of the first week. I have warned him that they will all be dead in a few days because he didn't stick to the rules. He just shakes his head and states that they are "bloody fish for goodness sake they will be just fine". We shall see, I am adamant that we stick to the 10% water changes every few days to help with the build up of harmful ammonia and nitrates. Having researched tropical fish keeping on the Internet there is a lot more to it than I had ever realised. I didn't realise that your filter and the gravel eventually produce bacteria that helps to neutralise the toxins caused by fish poo and wee. Blimey, I am turning into a fish anorak. Here is a rather bad photograph of the tank, see if you can spot any fish - I think they are camera shy!






Just before I go, I must tell you about Pepe and her catnip mouse. We bought her a couple yesterday from the pet shop. She has never had them before so we weren't sure if they would work their magic on her. Both our other cats were totally immune to catnip, it never did a thing for them. Poor old Peps went totally crazy with a capital C! She was like a cat on drugs, rolling all over the floor with her mouse, throwing it up in the air. After the effects had warn off, she had to take herself off to bed for an hour to recover. It was very funny to watch though. Here she is mid crazy mouse killing.






It is my blog anniversary coming up in a few weeks so I think a little give away will be in order - watch this space!

Have a great weekend.

Till next time.


Alison
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