Tag Archives: mistletoe

Neck or Leg?

I’ve just had a letter which claims to be the report of my last telephone consultation with rheumatology. It took place while I was in the car by the side of the road bringing Julia home from work. They were a bit off with me, muttering something about hadn’t I realised I had a telephone consultation booked. I was a little tactless in my reply – that they were often hours late in ringing me so I wasn’t going to sit at home waiting when I had things to do.

They have had the last laugh with this letter. It claims I said my pain score was 2.5 out of 5, when I actually said it was “half”. I have a little stiffness and discomfort but no actual pain. I now look like a whining hypochondriac. Next time I will just say zero. It will be less accurate but less susceptible to mis-reporting., as in mild discomfort, with no actual pain. They have also reported that the only remaining path of psoriasis is on my neck. I actually said “legs”.

Fortunately there is nothing life-threatening about the errors, but it does make mw wonder how accurate my medical notes actually are, and if I will die one day because they apply a tourniquet to my neck instead of my leg.

We had six parcels for eBay (none of which were posted, because the Post Office is still closing on Saturdays), and two customers, so it wasn’t a particularly busy day, allowing us to get more foreign banknotes loaded onto eBay. They are selling well – one of today’s sales was a set we had put on the days before and two lots we sold on Friday had been loaded on Thursday. It feels good when that happens, particularly as they are old stock that have been at the back of a store room for years. That’s the beauty of eBay, it reaches so many people that the stock is always new to somebody.

Anyway, have to go now, Julia bought some mistletoe this afternoon and I suppose I’d better check that it works. Ho, ho, ho, Happy Christmas…

Mainly Mistletoe

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Biggest news of the day is that the phone and internet in the shop have finally broken. After some patchy service they started going seriously wrong yesterday and today, after limping along for a bit, finally downed tools. The phone is useless, on account of deafening noise on the line and the wireless hub spent all afternoon refusing to connect.

We think that years of damp have corroded the innards of the main socket, which is irreversable, inconvenient and probably expensive.

As the main business of the shop centres round our internet presence this a Bad Thing.

More cheerfully, after a couple of squirts of WD-40 into the door locks my keys operate as smoothly as if they were made from pure silk. Of course, if they were they would be useless, but I’m trying to make more use of interesting imagery in my writing, even to the point of talking nonsense.

After some discussion we decided not to adopt this approach with the socket in the shop.

We boxed up 70 coin covers this morning and the are nowwaiting for a courier to pick them up and take them to the USA, proving that with the reach of eBay it’s possible to sell anything.

The Queen – Coin on Cover

Queen Coin on Cover

Finally, my mistletoe arrived. We haven’t seen any around this year (apart from clumps that are so far up trees you’d need ropes and oxygen to pick it) so I ordered it on eBay. It only took a few days and it was lovely and fresh when it arrived. There was a lot of it too. The picture shows the box after I’d given four big sprigs away.

I’m very relaxed now, having obtained Julia’s mistletoe and done enough food shopping to see us through until the 27th.

I may permit myself a small sherry later…

Natural History from the Car

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As I drove to Newark this afternoon I noticed a group of rooks whirling aimlessly round the sky. On looking closer I realised they weren’t being aimless, but were in fact mobbing a buzzard. here were about 20 of them, though it wasn’t that easy to drive safely and count rooks at the same time.

Shortly after that I passed a roadside tree full of strange ball-like growths in its leafless branches – mistletoe in its natural state.

A bit later in the same journey I had to brake sharply when a large fox decided to run across the road. You don’t see many foxes in the middle of the day, and this is the first time I’ve ever had to put the brakes on to avoid one. It looked healthy and well-fed so I’m not sure why it needed to be out and about. Sometimes things are meant to remain a mystery.

The only other bit of natural history was a buzzard roosting in the roadside tree. Always nice to see, but let’s face it – they aren’t rare these days. It just goes to show what’s about, even on a grey day of driving round doing errands.

The picture is a random pansy. They are out in the garden so I thought it would be OK to show one.

Four days in October

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We’ve had a lot on over the last few days, including illness, a 450 mile trip, a funeral and a lack of internet access (I decided not to take a laptop).

None of this is particulalrly interesting, but I didn’t want you to think I’d been slacking.

There were a few points of interest – wondering what they were doing to the stand at Epsom racecourse; watching a buzzard being mobbed by a crow (if one crow can actually “mob” something); adding more to the family history; seeing a parakeet fly over Leatherhead Crematorium; seeing mistletoe growing at a height of only six feet (it’s amazing how it grows straight from the branch – even though I know it has an enzyme that allows the seed to get through the bark, I was half expecting to see roots of some sort), and going round the Royal Worcester Museum.

Fixing the stand at Epsom

Mistletoe spray

Buzzard pursued by crow

We could have done more in Worcester, as the Cathedral (which houses the tomb of King John, who died in Newark 800 years ago this year) and The Commandery are both very close to the Royal Worcester Museum. However, it was raining, it was mid-day and it was Saturday. The car parks were full, the streets were busy and we were thinking of home. In other words, I’m getting old.

Final photos are of my tea on Thursday night. We set off after Julia finished work and got straight on the M1. We stopped at Leicester Forest East services and went to Burger King. Note that the burger on the [poster has loads of crisp bacon protruding from the sides of the bun, whereas mine struggles to reach the edge of the burger.

I will make no further comment., apart from to say that those rashers came from terribly small pigs.

The Promise…

Reality!

Bird counts

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The Bird count went as well as could be expected when you’re working with a group that is prone to loud voices and jerky movements. I think they are all great people in their own ways, but as companions in quiet birdwatching they leave a lot to be desired

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I wasn’t very successful with the camera. The greenfinches seemed to know when I was about the press the button and the yellowhammers flew past and hid in the hedge several times without pausing on the feeders.

At least the chickens seemed to like it. After a shaky start (where the brown hen appeared to be interested in one of the younger cockerels) they made it up and spent the early afternoon basking in the sun. It’s alright for some!

The group made needle cases from a selection of hearts Julia provided, only managing to lose one needle in the process (though we’re still a bit nervous about finding it again!)

And finally, a couple who come on the farm metal detecting popped by for a cup of tea and brought us some nice mistletoe for us to “plant” on our apples trees. It’s a project for next week now as we’re busy for the rest of the week, but it will be interesting to see how it goes.

Meanwhile we are having to clean up quickly and prepare for an evening meeting at the centre. Julia has an evening meeting in Nottingham and I am to be left at home to cook shepherd’s pie.

It had better be good because last night she left me at home to cook tea while she visited a neighbour to do some handicrafts. At 10 pm she returned to find me asleep in front of the TV and the oven devoid of shepherd’s pie.

I am, it is safe to say, in her bad books.

It would be nice to insert a picture of a shepherd’s pie here – unfortunately I can’t. ;-(

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Life after the Care Farm