Lock-down Day 311

Woke reasonably early again, now I'm having difficulty deciding what I should do. As soon as I had let mippies out and made my coffee, I published yesterday's blog. I couldn't do that last night, because Mewthos had settled on my chair, again!

Something stung or bit me on my neck yesterday, it's a big red welt today. It looks like three holes in a row in the center of that large raised red welt. Might even have been a ponytail frond - one of those 'caressed' my eyeball yesterday! Despite my glasses! Ah well ...

It's overcast, and rain is forecast at 90% just before noon for the rest of the day. You see my dilemma? Oh, I just checked again and it's now 90% only from three this afternoon ... still, how to schedule my day today?

Part of me is really keen on finishing the beds in the lawn. It'll make such a huge difference! But ... I need to do chores, too! I'll need to bake bread and clean the kitchen. I've turned the geyser on, so I'll have hot water soon to wash the dishes.

Done. The dough is almost ready and the dishes are done. I'm planning on trying to bake the pasta with cheese and eggs over bread dough in my new Pyrex dish. Let's see how that turns out. And half the dough is going in the fridge again, so I can bake another loaf mid-week.

Outside, it's overcast with the occasional sunbursts. It's almost ten, so ... should I go outside? And if I do, should I continue with the ponytail beds or the succulent bed? Those weeds are just shooting, getting taller by the minute!

Did you know that rotten eggs explode, when you try to crack them? There's your fun fact of the day! Seeing as I bought the eggs before shut-down, it's really my fault for keeping them too long! It's almost surprising, that it hasn't happened more often - they end up staying in the fridge for so many weeks!

Anyway, my dish is ready, just waiting for the oven to heat up, now. Oh, and according to the latest weather report, it's only going to rain late at night - with less than 50% chance of rain by three. 90% Chance at eleven tonight.

I think I'll do the second round of dishes while my dish is baking, so that the kitchen is clean again. That'll all chores done, and I can go out and play!

Mission accomplished! Kitchen is clean, dish is baked, and I even completed two bonus chores: I cleaned mippies water fountain - something was turning yellow in the bowl, as well as in the reservoir. Which is strange, as they get exactly the same water I drink, and use to fill my water bottle for work. Anyway, it's all clean, now. Plus, I swept the whole house. And I took the refuse to the garage, if you want to count that. Well, I wasn't going to have the place pong of rotten egg, now was I?

All these 'mission accomplished' make me feel really good! Oh, before you credit the vitamins I've started taking again: remember it was around the same time that the weather turned! From debilitating sunshine, hot and humid to overcast and humid. And temperatures have dropped ... a little. The forecast says maximum 24, but I read 28 on mine! Which hangs inside, by the open front door.

Message received: my delivery is due tomorrow! Nice - one day early! That'll be mippies wet food - the fish variety - and my smartphone!

Predictably, as soon as I'm outside, it starts to drizzle! I had started to cut the roses - and I finished that, drizzle or no drizzle! Equally predictably, now that I've finished that task, and I'm back inside ... no more drizzle!

Ah, now it's raining! That's the 20% chance of rain forecast for noon, today! Lovely, though! Smeagol arrived just before the drizzle. I gave him the kitten wet food, which Mewthos wheedled out of me - and then left, barely touched! Smeagol loves it! I left the outside room open, so Smeagol can go in there to keep dry. Atop the freezer is pretty dry as well - the roof from that outside room extends quite far.

I decided to go out and do some weeding. Smeagol wasn't in the outside room - I guess he has somewhere dry to stay? Ziva and Janey came to look what their crazy mommy is doing outside in this weather! I decided to weed the succulent bed, as that's near the house, and I can walk under roof most of the way to the outside room, then back inside.

Another shower. It started with a drizzle, which sent Ziva and Janey inside ... I was a bit more stubborn and stayed until it was clear that actual rain was about to start. Quite lovely to watch and hear ... but I'm getting a headache again. Sigh.

It looked like it would rain for some time, so I decided to busy myself on the veranda again. I got some pots, filled them with ground from the bottomless pots, placed them ... I'm not sure about the placement, though. I fear that the pots I placed on the wall of the veranda are going to be toppled by mippies ... and I can't say I'm too happy with the crowding out front. Well, I've been thinking for a long time, where I should place them - ever since I moved here - and I haven't come up with any better ideas, yet!

I sowed garlic chives and spring onions - in pots on my stand, out of mippie territory. I sowed thyme and celery, and pansies, and poppies, and lavender ... I still have a couple of pots, and I'm not sure what to sow. I don't have many flower seeds, especially not for pots. Nor many herb seeds - they were supposed to be growing in the garden by now. I don't want to sow vegetables - the pots are too small for that. Hmmm ... I'm 'low' on seeds only because I stopped buying. I still don't need to buy - I'll buy some at the end of winter, for spring!

I found some more and sowed: Chrysanthemum, Lemon Balm (when I was writing that sign, the letter-jumble happened again, and I wrote Lemon Blam!), Morning Glory, Viola Sorbet, Lovage and Dill. I now have so many pots growing seeds outside, that a watering can is not going to cut it! I had better run the hosepipe through the lounge to water the veranda, from now on!

Oh, that's a lot less messy than it sounds! The hose pipe is currently connected to the tap outside the kitchen - which is next to the lounge. Then, instead of around the house & garage, I just take the hosepipe from the back porch through the lounge to the veranda. Plus, it will keep the ants under control! They are building nests on my veranda like they're in some sort of competition! And the spiders? I'm telling you, cleaning that veranda the other day was like a study in entomology, with a good dose of arachnology! 

Oh, and since two, we're back to sunshine again! I carried on with my potting, though. It's now three, not exactly sunny, but definitely dry. Mippies are very happy to stroll outside! Janey was driving me insane while it was raining: mipping, demanding attention ... on and on and on! Definitely related to Mewthos! Ha Ha! Of course she got attention! I picked her up a number of times, until she jumped off! Not a minute later, and she's back!

All in all, we had some 16-17 mm rain! Nice!

Quarter past four and I've done what I can reach in the succulent bed. I've taken a Disprin, which seems to have dissolved the headache. And an anti-histamine, because my neck seems to keep swelling, and I can feel it. Just feel it (without touching, of course), no pain, no pressure ... well, maybe a little pressure. Let's hope the anti-histamine helps.

Smeagol is back, totally dry - looking almost groomed, actually! I think the tick & flea powder is helping! I still saw one tick, though. At least, I think it's a tick - I didn't get a close look. It could also be a scab.

No, he still has ticks. He allowed me to stroke him, and I was able to remove one tick from above his eye. His fur does look shinier, though - could be the good food I feed him? At least the powder is definitely keeping the ants out of his food bowl, so I can keep food in there at all times. He's curled up atop the freezer now ...

I finished that ponytail bed. Leaving a bed half-cleaned really bothered me ... and it wasn't too hard labour, as I had already loosened the soil with the fork yesterday, before I moved on. It looks good, now! When that was done, I moved to the gate and started clearing along the wall. Well, I only got as far as the gate motor - then it started raining again. Just a soft, steady rain. Lovely, but too much to stay out in. Good thing too, as it was half past five!

I had my 'victory' smoke with my mippies on the veranda, surveying all my achievements and planning my next move. Then I brought mippies in, treated them and now I'm running my bath.

Lovely hot bath, enjoyed my dinner, packed lunch ... half past seven, now for an episode of Columbo, before I go to sleep ...