A white ceiling!

Progress in the new kitchen

The kitchen looks loads better with the new window fitted and a couple of splash coats on the ceiling. Compare this photo with the one taken on November 20th.

At last we are beginning to see things getting slowly better rather than slowly worse! And the new space is going to be really useful with several internal walls gone.

We're still hoping everything will be finished before Christmas, the critical date for that is 5th December when the worktop templating has to be done for pre-Christmas fitting.

Any later and the fitting will roll over to the end of December or even early January.

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

Jupiter over St Neots

Jupiter in the eastern sky

Jupiter has been low in the eastern sky over St Neots in the early evening. It rises higher and heads south as the night draws on.

It will look much the same anywhere in mid-northern latitudes, a very bright star-like point of light to the naked eye. But steady, unlike the stars that shimmer and twinkle.

It's hard to imagine that this little point of light is actually a planet big enough to hold a thousand Earths! It is roughly ten times the Earth's diameter.

If you could visit Jupiter and look at the Earth we would appear less than one hundredth as bright and would be very hard to spot in the glare of the nearby Sun.

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

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.)