Saturday

Having gone to sleep so early, and having resolved the matter which had kept me anxiously awake, I slept well and woke up very early. Power was still off, so I hauled out the gas bottle to boil the kettle.

Power came back on around half seven. I immediately put everything on charge, ha ha! And I put the laundry in the machine! It's overcast, with more rain on the way, so it's going to take a long time to dry.

Rain is forecast for the afternoon, continuing the entire weekend. I've hung the jeans and shorts outside, and hope I can run fast enough, if needed!

Mippies are nagging for attention. Janey has already spent half the morning on my lap, Mewthos has been picked up, cuddled while purring up a storm, Ziva is mipping for ear scratches and Mini is on the bed behind me, hoping for attention.

Just past noon and the kitchen is clean, as well!

Oh, I can be such a dunce! I was happily weeding around the car port, when it started to drizzle. I didn't pay much attention, it's just a light drizzle ... I go inside, when I'm good and ready ... when I reach the end of the lounge ... I see my jeans on the line! Outside! Getting wet ... sigh ... ran out, got them in and hung it inside.

Mippies have claimed my armchair! Outies wets, mommy!

Smeagol has finally claimed the warm box I placed for him outside!

This is what I've been busy with, when it started to drizzle. The herb pots were bone dry ... that's why I moved them. Now they'll also get rained on, and no longer need to wait for me to water.

Remember when that entire area was brown and dead? Well, weeds and grass have flourished, since I've started watering there. They're now also moving in on my pots ... so I'm trying to clear the ground around them. But it's bone dry ... so the best I can do, is to pull them off.

I planted a lemon tree! It's still small and vulnerable - ideally, I should plant it in a tree bag, but I decided to take a chance. I mixed compost and bone meal with potting soil. The bottle top is just a cover to protect it from the cold. An individual, mini greenhouse!

I've also moved the plum tree, still in its tree bag, to the garden, where I'm thinking of planting it. Let it get used to the full weather - it should be fine through the winter. The Litchi, on the other hand, I've moved to the veranda and placed them under the tunnel.

Two days ago, we still had 29 Celsius - today, the maximum temperature was just over 17! It's almost four in the afternoon - I've just made myself some tea, to keep warm! Inherited Ostfriesen Tee, from my mum. It's a type of black tea, popular in my mum's home town.

Problem. That tea has an even shorter lease period than coffee! I've spent more time walking up and down to the bathroom than anywhere else!

From where? Oh, well, it's still drizzling ... so I decided to see what I can do about the car port. Working under the roof. I decided to clear the weeds at the back. And to reduce their chance of re-growth, why not remove the soil? I've been looking for a place to get soil for the tree bags - and, when I moved some of the bottles, I noticed roots coming out of the bottom of some of them. So, I'm solving two problems!

The amount of soil that has built up there is unbelievable! I haven't even cleared a quarter yet, and already filled one bag!

Unfortunately, I can't get ALL the weeds out. It's a carpet of green already ... too much, too many small specks of green ... impossible to clear. So, I'm tossing what I can't clear into the bag. Rocks, bits of wood, seedlings, and all. And, anyway, even if I were to pick each and every growing weed out ... there are more seeds in the soil, so ... 

Bit of an issue when both Smeagol and Ziva approached me ... with the bin between them, so they didn't see each other approach ... and when they were close enough and saw each other, Ziva ran off and Smeagol chased! In this instance, it was Ziva's running that Smeagol couldn't resist. Cats will instinctively chase anything that moves, I've seen it with my mippies often enough!

He caught her just outside the gate and they rolled in the puddles, smacking against the gate so hard it came off the rail - easy enough to put back, though. No harm done to Ziva, though. She's very clever. Street smart. Same as Mini. Janey is a fast learner and just as clever though. Despite never having had to survive on her own.

It's just past seven and I've just come in. Treated mippies. It's still drizzling ... I'm afraid I have a bit of a headache ... going to run myself a lovely hot bath again. Maybe it's just backache from working bent over. I'd put the geyser on a while back ... just in case.

Oh dear! Ziva IS hurt, after all! She cries when I touch her right hip. I don't think it's serious, though - she did jump to the top of the bookshelf after the attack, so definitely nothing broken, and I don't think anything is sprained. I think it's where she hit the gate so hard that it came off the rail. I can feel a little lump, but it hurts her too much for me to take a close look now. There's no blood, so my guess is the equivalent of a bruise. I'll keep an eye on her, though.

I did wonder why she curled up atop Mewly's twirly, and she didn't touch the meat I placed in front of her. But she ate normally when I gave them their treats. Poor girl ...