Creative day off

I got up very late again. It's quite cold this morning. I think I should put warm clothes nearby, so I can snuggle into them before I leave the warmth of the duvet.

I've loaded electricity. I'm using less than my monthly budget, so far. With winter coming, that may change, though. Instead of a quick fry, I now re-heat stew for dinner - that uses more electricity. Good thing I don't rely on heaters, eh? Couldn't afford using any ...

Smeagol has my mippies cornered ... the ladies inside, and Mewthos next to the compost heap ... walking out there with my bedroom slippers? Not nice. Everything is wet, but ... gotta save Mewthos! Off I go, walking Smeagol to the back, so Mewthos can dash into the house in front.

Janey keeps hopping onto my lap for cuddles. That makes typing a little tricky. Mewthos has been dragging his twirly everywhere - I keep finding it in the oddest places!

I've also made a decision last night: regardless of the list of 'musts', I will make time to do something creative. And to make sure I stick to my resolve, I've started with that. I also spent time last night trying to think of WHAT I should make. It should be something purely decorative, without any purpose - that took a while to wrap my head around, ha ha! The whole point of creative is to overcome my continued need to be productive at all times.

I finally came up with the idea of shaping leaves with the modelling clay. An easy shape, even I should manage. And when they're dry, I can paint them.

I also resolved to eat better. Put more effort into my well being, rather than the garden. I can't afford to buy more expensive food, but I CAN cook! In line with that, I've chopped up the cherry tomatoes from my garden - inspecting each piece carefully, as I now have a fear of crawlies (having seen one crawl out of one tomato, just once - but that was enough!). I added lemon balm, thyme and rosemary, then topped up with fruit juice and added rice. That should stretch it long enough.

I've also decided to make rolls again, for a change. Maybe I'll add some cheese, maybe I won't.

The thyme in the garden is doing very well! Lots of sprigs and sprouts growing. I'm hoping it will survive winter without aid ...

I've just re-read my blog from last year - as I suspected, I didn't need to mow every Friday by this time, no rain, everything drying, fully autumn ready for winter. Whereas this year, everything is still sprouting, growing, green!

I've copped out of the bread rolls. I'm baking a loaf in the machine, after all. Instead, I carefully packed away the Spanspek seeds, then harvested the two bell peppers - one yellow, one red; though, of course, they're still green - cut them up and added them to the stew, and spread their seeds on separate paper towels to dry.

Mewthos lured me outside for a tummy tickle session. He really takes care of me, getting me out of the house, into the sun, on days when I seem to be indoors too much. He comes to me, wherever I am, mewls until I get up to cuddle him, then won't let me catch him until we're outside, in the sun! My darlings! All of them!

Now I'm cleaning the kitchen. Working in hot water always triggers hot flashes ... so, this morning I was wearing three tops, each warmer than the next - and now I'm sitting with a summer top. And my feet are cold. Sigh ...

I finally cleaned the tunnel! It's been gathering dust and mud for nearly a year and a half, ever since I put it up over the spinach and carrots! It's blown off its frame, got dragged through the mud, blown off again ... until it was practically brown! Now I can see through it again! I currently use it on the veranda, to protect the Litchi, as well as all the trees still in their pots.

When I was done cleaning, I built another little water puddle thing - can't think of a proper name for it, right now. I used six bricks, placed them inside a refuse bag in a rectangle. The refuse bag holds the water and the bricks also raise the tunnel, just enough so the Litchi trees have room on top.

That's half the tunnel. The other half still has bottles in a box, and the other Litchi pot at the end.

With all the bottles cleared off the table, I will have to resist the temptation to re-fill the table, ha ha ha! The whole point of this construction was, of course, to simplify watering! Now, I only need to fill the 'bowl', and each bottle can draw water from it. Eliminating the need to water every single bottle.

I was taking a break, watching an episode, when Janey came in with a hoppy! She has a special mewl, whenever she brings prey inside and wants me to come help her / play with her. All mippies came to see what she brought ... even Smeagol came half-way through the window! Until Mini insisted he leave, ha ha! He's somewhat wary of her. It was a new sight, seeing Smeagol half-way in my bedroom!

I went to sit on the veranda for a bit. I held out for quite a while, before the weeding bug took hold. I started clearing around the Jacaranda tree again. I don't think I should bother trying to mow in that area - the Jacaranda seeds, bits of bark and branches ... just keep falling. I'll never be able to keep the ground clear of those - and I can't mow with all that on the ground there. I'll just have to keep clearing it, to avoid the weeds from getting out of hand, that's all. It's not a major job. Okay, so I can't get all the roots out. So what? Just keep it under control ...

Time now to sit back, relax, cuddle mippies before I go to sleep ...