Getting plastered

Plaster drying in the kitchen

Here's the current state of our kitchen.

Much of the plastering is done now and the ceiling is getting quite dry. Soon we'll be able to get on with the decorating.

As you can see, the window opening is still boarded up, but we expect the new window to be ready any day and things will look much better once it's fitted.

Donna's even starting to get a little excited about progress now. It looks like a brand new room!

Darryn has worked extremely hard; he's managing the entire job and bringing in other trades as necessary. When the work is done we will be so glad to get the house tidy and get back to normal!

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Half and half

Maple leaves falling

Right now some of the trees have half the leaves still on the tree while the other half are lying on the ground.

This sycamore in Eynesbury has deposited leaves in a circle on the grass. They are such a lovely, luminous, summery yellow.

We are at last stating to get frosty nights and it's only a matter of time before all the leaves will be on the ground.

Then winter will start in earnest. But so far it still feels like autumn, and very nice too.

This year's leaves will decay and act as a mulch for next year's spring flowers. There is absolutely no waste in the natural world. And that's more than can be said for human technology.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Autumn colour

Glorious autumn colour

There are some lovely autumn colours around at the moment. These trees outside our local supermarket are looking really lovely. [Tweet this]

The weather has been very mild, much warmer than we expect in mid to late October, and the colours develop best when it's not too cold.

But this is nothing compared to some of the photos out there. Try this Google search to bring up some really glorious photos!

There's also a good Wikipedia article with more information on autumn colour for anyone interested.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Three mice in one trap

Here's how to catch mice without harming them.

Three mice

We'd heard scrabbling noises above the ceiling boards and suspected mice. I bought two commercial traps, the humane kind that catch the mouse unharmed and allow you to release it into the wild. The result? The bait was taken and the traps were sprung, but the mouse was nowhere to be seen.

So I tried another way and it worked. I caught three mice on the first attempt.

Buy a cheap, plastic bin. A tall bucket would do, but bear in mind mice can jump more than 30 cm. The bin must have smooth sides that are close to vertical so the mouse can't climb out. Put some food in the bottom of the bin - cheese, chocolate, dried fruit, nuts are good choices.

Stand the bin in the area where the mouse has been active and place boxes, pieces of timber, stones, or a rolled up decorating sheet against the outside of the bin. This will make it easy for a mouse to reach the top of the bin.

A hungry mouse will smell the food in the bin and will jump inside to reach it. But it won't be able to climb back out. Mice are nocturnal so check the bin every morning.

I caught three mice and released them in the garden, far enough from the house that they should not find their way back.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

Flowers in the autumn

Summer flowers cling on

Summer is over and autumn is well under way. But summer is reluctant to give up altogether.

This photo shows bedding plants in the centre of St Neots, right by the river. They're still in full bloom, looking great and promising to continue until the frost gets them, perhaps in November.

It seems the plants are reluctant to give in to shorter days and long, cold nights.

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)

An odd angle on rocks

The beach at Clevedon

These rocks on the beach at Clevedon were laid down hundreds of millions of years ago.

There's an old fault line just a few yards away, a discontinuity where the rocks lie at a different angle. And the rocks in the photo are tilted, you can see the layers clearly.

These layers are accumulations of mud and silt in a shallow sea, turned into relatively hard rock by heat and pressure and long millenia.

It seems extraordinary that sediment can be squished like this, and that rock layers can be upended and tilted. Nonetheless that is what happens given enough time in the churning interior of the Earth over long periods of time.

The recent earthquake in Pakistan created an island. The seabed shifted enough to raise what used to be beneath the sea so that now it's above the waterline. No doubt it may have been slightly tilted as well. Over time a series of such movements can build up significant changes of angle.

What an amazing world we live in!

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Decorated biscuits

Decorated biscuits

Young children love decorating biscuits, and this example is from my granddaughter's 5th birthday party. I'm not sure how appetising you find them, but they are certainly colourful!

Every child took to the task in a different way. Some were slow and careful, some enthusiastic and highly productive (can I decorate another one, please). Even at age five, personalities are well developed and very varied. And they all come out in biscuit decorating.

If you have a young child and haven't tried this, it's easy to set up. Buy a pack of plain biscuits along with paper plates, a set of tubes of pre-made coloured icing, a large tube of white icing, and a selection of sprinkles, sugar letters and numbers, and small sweets. Here is what you do...

1. Place the ingredients and the plates on a well-protected or wipe-clean table.
2. Make sure the table is standing on a well-protected or wipe-clean floor.
3. Release the children.
4. Stand well clear.
5. Clean up (children, table and floor).

(If you liked this you might also like Journeys of heart and mind and Quote me on this.)