She ended her story.

Posted on 4th Jun 2012 by essiep

13°C, grey & cool, CR:53 miles

Dear Bessie finished her story today. A story that spanned 14½ years.

She became ill just over a day ago while I was on my way to the Lake District. Mum called me back home because she knew it was serious this time, “I think she’s dying Mike”. Her last day was painless as her body failed and finished just before 11am by the vet.

She spent most of those years in this house and witnessed all the changes that occurred over those years. The first day when she was tentatively introduced to us, she ran, full of excitement in figure-8s in the garden. She had a bit of a silly poodle haircut, bouffant & bushes. I clipped off most puffy bits fairly quickly. She didn’t like too much physical contact, at first pulling away from a head stroke. She got used to us eventually.

Though she grew old and slowed dramatically in the last few years, she was always the gentlest soul. A good dog to have in a house of boisterous children. She took with her a story of change, human relations, growth and separation. The last four years the house became calm which coincided with her more restful pace. She has also taken the mysterious prologue- the time before she came into our lives. I know very little of this period in 1997. I do know, however, that she recovered from a bout of Parvo’s virus. Other than that, her time before Bessie’s dynasty is blank.

I’m trying to decide, from all the options, where to scatter her ashes.

The house is in a funny mood

Posted on 23rd May 2012 by essiep

25°C, few clouds, little wind.

I have another temporary resident in my house. I arrived home earlier than usual to a house that is distinctly buzzing. There is a swarm up by the eaves, I guessed that they’re looking for a nest site. It can’t be that much of a problem can it? Maybe I won’t be able to open the bathroom window as often if I want to keep them outside.

Later: one got trapped in the back bedroom; good, because I can have a close look. I think they might be honey bees. The abdomen is not as bright yellow as a yellow-jacket wasp and the thorax is hairy. If this is right and they want to stay- I’d like to let them.
Last time I looked outside, it was quiet up there, but they haven’t gone. there is the odd bee going in or coming out of a circular hole where an overflow pipe used to be in the wall. They have probably gone inside the eves through a nice safe hole that is just the right size to keep predators out.
Perhaps if I put some kind of mesh over the bathroom window, then they won’t be able to cause me any problems inside the house.

Besides: why does the front room smell of fire? Okay, so I have been a slob and not cleaned the fireplace since last Friday, so why did it only start to smell of wood ash today?

The only thing to do is to sit quietly for a long time and think really really hard. Then I will know what to do.

Oxalis has been waiting

Posted on 22nd May 2012 by essiep

22°C, Sun. CA:20

Oxalis has been waiting for a few weeks. today it opened itself to the sun, recent days have not been good enough. Now it’s warm enough to put the hammock up.

Oxalis Palmifrons

The Nation is getting excited by the Olympics. Roads have signs warning of closures when the torch relay will pass through. I’m still puzzling over that one. what will actually happen when they run with it up a road. Do all the locals come out and wave flags? If so, what do they actually get out of doing that? What is their motive?

There is a Royal Jubilee next week. Work changed the half-term to straddle the bank holiday, so no extra days holiday (unlike last year). I raise this because the jubilee seems to invoke a similar reaction in the British people. On the face of it, both Jubilee and Olympics have the same problem- the obscure motive of spectators. Okay, it’s one thing to enjoy watching the course of a sporting contest unfold, but another to watch some selected elite run along the road with a torch. It’s taken me a while to figure it all out. My conclusion- don’t be misled by the crapulence of these events, it’s not the events at stake. The core of this is the national unifying effect of patriotism.

Here I am, feeling like I’ve arrived just because I am sitting in my warm garden, by my (self dug) pond bathed in an almost ultraviolet light from this Ceanothus shrub. It’s having a good year, last season it was still sulking after I moved it to make way for the pond. Now it’s in full blue-indigo bloom.

Of mice and a man

Posted on 14th May 2012 by essiep

14°C, windy with sun

Could it be that I don’t, as previously thought, live alone? Could it be that these tiny pellets that I have found behind the fridge are left by visitors? Could it be that these visitors take the dog biscuits behind the fridge- where the dogs can’t possible get to, or put them? Do they go there just to eat the biscuits?

If that were so, those visitors could be mice. there certainly is a mousey smell there, or was until I washed it off with bleach. Mice that like dog biscuits enough to come into my house. There’s a thought.

Sun & weekend in step

Posted on 12th May 2012 by essiep

11°C, sun

How often does a run of good weather break at the weekend? Okay, so we’ve had the wettest April on record. That only makes days like this seem more refreshing. The sun is out, fresh verdant emerald growth is illuminated in its semi-translucency.

See any weird silhouette hound in the picture?

I have a new sofa. Erm, no it’s only new to me via eBay for £30. It’s an Ikea design from a few years ago with a leather cover. It’s smaller than usual for a two seater but that’s a bonus.

My bike wheel is repaired and to celebrate I bought some pressies for the house (fleece throw, a duvet cover & stuff).

Back-ache is nearly over and work stress is a little diminished.
This day is going well. I’m going to snooze in the attic bedroom.

Dual sleep

Posted on 3rd May 2012 by essiep

Deep sleep (Photo credit: smerikal)

8°C, light clouds & windy

It’s 02:00 in the morning & my late wake reminds me of a BBC feature on the Myth Of The Eight Hour Sleep. The idea is that in reality, we have phases of sleep- Deep Sleep, Watch & then a second 4 hours sleep.
This does fit my sleep habits that have appeared over the past few years. Tonight it’s early, but that’s work-stress that tore me up. There is a long weekend coming up I reassure myself.
My experience supports the suggestions in the articles. They have posted some good links worth following too. Perhaps sleep is another great British obsession after the weather.

Dark day

Posted on 1st May 2012 by essiep

9°C, rain, but less of it. CA20

That’s no metaphor, it really is dark. There are thick thick clouds overhead bearing rain that must be destined for somewhere else on this island. The news is full of floods and yet the drought still goes on. Here, everything is wet, roads are black with wet and the air- thick, rich scent. I suppose the plants are happy. Listen to Nils Frahm

…as what little light fades into gloaming. An oppressively ‘orrible day, but still the days go by too fast. Why do they have to do that?

Today I finally relented and issued (un-moderated) coursework grades to my Year 11 class. They are nervous, some refused to have the mark which I respected. There is nothing they can do about it anyway. Some insisted that I don’t read out the marks, that’s alright too, so I hold the printout with my thumb next to the relevant score on the sheet. The last kid can’t see where she’s supposed to be looking- it’s next to my right thumb. Still confused I clarify-the thumb that’s connected to my right hand. No better, so finally- the hand that’s furthest from the window. 68.

Elements

Posted on 29th Apr 2012 by essiep

5°C, wind rain & cold. Dammit.

Two years ago, the days reached 19°C with some consistency. Today, outside looks like one of those awful holidays in Wales- cold rain driven by winds that shake trees as if they think they’re at some sporting event.

There is a grim looking pile of marking that has to be done. What fun will today bring?

Stardrops

Posted on 22nd Apr 2012 by essiep

7°C, it’s clear out there for now

With all the to-ing & fro-ing I have walked some blobs of dirty oil paste onto the stair carpet. It’s best to get these things when they are fresh, before any drying happens. So, to soften the stuff, use some water-soluble de-greaser (like Jizer) then wash the carpet with Stardrops to get the de-greaser out. I’m delighted to announce that it worked. So thrilled was I that I attacked a similar stain in the back bedroom which must have been there for a year.
Now may carpets have ultra-clean patches. So another job unwittingly adds itself to the list. Clean the carpets in the summer once it gets hot. How satisfying, see…

It reminds me of a story from University where the house we rented had a carpet in the kitchen. Stupid place for a carpet, true, but we had to clean it to get our deposit back in the summer of 1985. With various scrubbing brushes, including a nail brush, we did it & got the money.

Lime green

Posted on 6th Apr 2012 by essiep

8°C, grey after a blue start.

I have painted the top landing in this house. It’s a complicated shape on that landing with lime green on the sides and a paler green on the end and ceiling. It looks great from below (which is painted a wheat-cream colour). But if you go up there, the colour bleed from surface to surface makes the whole space a Stygian abyss. You feel as if you are drowning in the deep & briny.

I may change my mind tomorrow, or maybe have the urge to over-paint some of it. There are some good ranges of classic paints to choose from. These are more like the Farrow & Ball ranges- more chalky flat matts with gentle colours that give a more contemplative mood to a room. Crown do a “period flat” which has attractive colours, but the surface is not washable so can’t be used in some places.

I hope I wake to the feeling that it works anyway. Even so, it’s a good problem to have.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

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