Lock-down Day 115

I slept quite well, but got out of bed somewhat late again. It's still cold! Mippies went hyper when the sun came up - time to open up! We wantz out! Ah, well ... off you go!

Busy day again! I've baked 2 batches of cookies today, 2 loaves of bread, I've spread the cut tobacco to dry - keep turning it on the paper towels - removed all the twigs and veins from the rest of the leaves I had washed and spread them out to dry, rolled a good number of tubes, added filters to about a dozen of them ... it's after one and there's still such a lot to do! Sigh! And I've had a headache all day, which I just can't seem to shake!

Okay, I've taken my credit card back to black and transferred some monies to my friend. I looked at the tobacco site for an order ... the courier costs have increased by 50%! BUT: Now, when you order 2 x 1kg, the courier cost stays the same - which works out even cheaper than the previous courier costs! Someone did query that in the Facebook group, and we learned about the trouble the farmer is having with couriers. The price for the leaves has never changed. Well, I've used the voucher and when this arrives, I'll have enough leaves to last a long time!

I looked at getting some Whiskas pouches for mippies - but the regular cat food company I use, don't offer it. Well, Whiskas is junk food. I'll try the other one, and order another bag of litter as well ... 

Done! Turns out the litter was on special - so special that it paid for 2x boxes of Whiskas treats! Like I said, the wet food is merely a treat - treats can be junk food! They are getting all the nutrients and vitamins and everything they need from the various dry foods they munch all day long!

Twenty to five and I'm exhausted! I haven't sat down for a rest all day, poor mippies did not get much attention, either! Worst of all: I still want to bake a batch of muffins, because the bread won't be enough for lunch tomorrow ... which means that I'll also have to wash the dishes again - and I just finished cleaning the kitchen. Sigh.

No! I just don't have the energy! I'll just have to get something at work tomorrow, if I'm too hungry.

The tobacco was dry and I tried it - it didn't burn nicely. Sparks and stuff falling off. So, back to the chopping board and chop it fine - now it works! That took about an hour, though - and I had to sweep around the chopping area again. Then I took the rest of the leaves, which are still damp, and chopped those as well. I eventually turned to using one of those see-saw type choppers, the one with two handles. It looks like a half-moon knife. I chopped all of it very fine and put it back on the paper towels, which I put on a baking tray so it could dry in the oven. It should be dry by tomorrow evening, then I can tip it into my tub. Funny thing, though - I had chopped it as much as the starter kit tobacco, and that burned perfectly, even with the rougher pieces; yet once I washed it, I needed to chop it much finer. Weird?

Oh, and it's best to chop it when it is damp. Not wet, not dry, damp. Then there's no mess on the board and no tobacco flying all over the place!

I've also made a few more tubes, though I don't think I have enough for the week ... again ... Man, this is a lot of work! At least I have managed to get a head-start on the cookies! I still have dough in the fridge, so next weekend I can simply make one batch of dough and bake one batch. Next weekend's mission will be to get a head-start on the tubes! When the ban is lifted, I will definitely invest in some equipment to make this job a lot less work! Oh, I could buy some now - but pretty much 'unseen'. I'd be buying without being sure whether it's really what I want ... 

I spent the whole day listening to music today, though! Lovely! MY music - not the landlord's crap!

I wish I had another weekend to recover from this weekend! Like I said, I don't think I've sat down to rest for more than five minutes at a time all day! Fortunately, I have a lot to show for that! It's been worth it.

Most mippies came home without much trouble. Janey has been hanging around since about five, Mini came soon after I called ... eventually I took the two inside and gave them their treat. Mewthos arrived a while later ... now it's seven and we're waiting for Ziva! But that's because she was home very early and instead of shutting her in then, I let her go off again. I'm not worried ... yet.

While waiting for Ziva, I made 3 boxes of filter less tubes. I've now got 2 boxes with filters, one of which I'm taking to work tomorrow and the 3 where I still have to make the filters. I'm using my old legal cigarette boxes. And, of course, I can't fit a full 20 tubes into each. Only about 10 or 12.

Well, the cigarettes I'm stuffing now, are all burning nicely. Like real cigarettes. I think I'll have to re-chop the dried tobacco from the previous attempts ... although, maybe I'll just give it away.

I think the headache may also be due to my sitting hunched over for several of the jobs. Like when I roll the balls of cookies, when I roll tubes and when I make filters.

Twenty-five past seven, Ziva mips at the passage door! Phew! Always glad when all my mippies are home safe and sound!

I've taken my refuse out and put it in the boot, my lunch pack and water bottle are out in the car already, so is the loaf of bread I baked for At. All I'll have to take tomorrow is my cigarette kit and coffee.

Almost eight now, I'm going to join mippies in bed and watch an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Hour!