My Mobile Notebook.

Bob and the bean poles.

2012-02-13T15:15:00.000Z

Today I'm burning up the rubbish from last weeks cutting back session and I'm acquiring a good collection of bean poles along the way.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

I woke up this morning.

2012-02-11T14:54:00.001Z

I woke up this morning and pulled up the blinds to see what sort of a morning it was and discovered this. As I think you will agree it might not have been what I was expecting to see and it didn't tell me much about what was going on outside other than it was cold but it was a very interesting site none the less.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

A turn for the worse

2012-02-10T13:42:00.000Z

Its a shame the weather has turned like this. After such a mild winter I was actually contemplating removing some bubble wrap from the cool greenhouse to let in some much needed light but it looks like staying up for a while longer yet.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Knaresborough Castle.

2012-02-09T20:40:00.001Z

Last Saturday Vicki managed to get the day off from the shop so despite the weather we decided to go out for the day although we set off not actually knowing where we would end up. As it turned out we finished up at the market town of Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. There was no market this day but there are quite a few shops to look at and eventually we ended up at the castle which is pretty much in ruins but interesting none the less. Also there are some nice views over the river and the valley. After the castle we found somewhere warm to eat and sat and watched the snow begin to fall as we had our dinner. Because it was coming on to snow quite hard by the time we got finished we decided to make our way back home.

Below are some pictures of Knaresborough Castle, which I hope you enjoy.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

2012-02-04T10:31:00.001Z

Today we are taking a trip to 'Whoknows'. That's where you go when you don't know where to go but you go anyway.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Border Collie Mouse Dog.

2012-02-03T19:50:00.000Z

Border Collie Tess herding mice during our evening walk.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

The Garden (February).

2012-02-01T15:28:00.001Z

January

February

It's time for the second picture of our garden. There isn't a lot of change from last month but I'm sure things will alter soon.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

A day away.

2012-01-28T14:52:00.000Z

Today me and Tommy have come to visit my parents for the day. We unfortunately had to leave Tess at home due to her developing car phobia. We have just had lunch and are catching up on news. We will go and visit my sister later.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Hard at work.

2012-01-12T18:25:00.000Z

The deputy head gardener chewing over something in the garden.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Some Answers.

2012-01-09T21:43:00.000Z

A few people have left comments that I feel need answers so I will attempt to reply to some of them in this post.

Beth and a few others have passed comment on some of my Pictures For Today. It's probably obvious but I will point out all the same that whilst the pictures are mine, or in the case of the bouquet, Vicki's they are not always taken recently. I usually pick one of my picture folders and then go through it until I come to one that takes my fancy.

Some of you found the mention of lemon curd sandwiches to be of interest. Here you can buy lemon curd in jars from the supermarket so no doubt it's the same where you live also. I'm not sure what it's true purpose in life is but I treat the same as jam and spread it on my bread to make a sandwich. I very nearly always have sandwiches for my lunch break so many things get put between slices of bread. The lemon curd fingers are what I always get when the jar is nearly empty, I usually end up getting more on my fingers than the bread by the time I've finished, so I hope that explains the lemon curd fingers.

Oh yes, another thing that seems to be of interest is how I manage to map my day. At work I have kept a work book for years and as an aid to keeping an accurate record of things I use either a PDA (hand held computer) or in later years the calendar feature on my phone. So whilst I keep the personal entries separate from my work book entries it all works along the same lines and I just bring both personal and work entries together on my computer to be posted on my blog. Keeping the record is not that hard really because as you will have noticed a lot of what I do is repeated daily so I can set my PDA to record the events every time they will be due and all I have to do is alter the times to fit and add any notes. The hard part is putting it on my blog because whilst I can copy and paste it from my calendar to my blog it has to be worked no because it doesn't come out the same as when in the calendar. Also to try and add a bit of interest I take pictures which have to be downloaded and added. I also try and find a relevant article that I can link to the post title. For those that don't realise it if you click on the title of the post on my calendar blog there is often an article linked to that post.

Someone commented on my late starts when not at work. If I have nothing in particular to do that day I don't rush to get out of bed. I actually like my bed and have never been an early riser if I can avoid it. I do make 10am the limit although I don't often take it to the limit these days - I feel to guilty for the rest of the day if I do.

Someone asked what tea I drink. I'm not sure off hand what brand it is but it's just ordinary tea. Vicki drinks Earle Grey tea so we have to be sure not to mix them up. I have my tea with one sugar and the smallest amount of milk. For sure tea is my main drink even in the summer when it's hot I find a mug of tea is as good as a cold drink. I always have a mug of tea and never a cup of tea - and it's a big mug!

Merima Roberts asked how old is Tess. Well she was 9 months old on the 30th December. Talking of dogs, there was a comment about the Westie that was featured in one of the posts. That is Scampi and she is our daughters dog, she is about 7 years old and she got her just a few weeks before I got Tommy.

Well I will call that it for now, if anyone has been missed out just leave me another comment and I will try to remember to answer your question next time.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Canal At Skipton

2012-01-07T13:05:00.000Z

The canal at Skipton. We are just having a bit of lunch in the canal cafe.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Arrived at Skipton.

2012-01-07T12:45:00.001Z

We have just arrived at Skipton after passing through Haworth which is famed as being the home of the Bronte sisters. We didn't stay there however which is a bit of a shame as I thought it might have been interesting.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Road Trip.

2012-01-07T10:33:00.001Z

Today Vicki has the day off from the shop so we are heading out in to the storm on a road trip.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Test

2012-01-06T22:56:00.000Z

Test

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

First Snowdrops.

2012-01-06T09:29:00.000Z

During a walk round the garden this morning I noticed the the Snowdrops are about to burst out.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Holiday Plans.

2012-01-05T21:27:00.003Z

I got home this morning to find that Tess had been occupying herself by checking out this years holiday destinations. Not only was she checking out where to go but also when she would be able to fit it in to her busy schedule because along side the holiday brochure was Vicki's new calendar which she had removed from the wall behind the stairs door. From what I could make out it's a toss up between a 10 day cruise on the Mediterranean or a 14 day tour of Italy any time between the end of May and the beginning of August. I determined this as a result of those holidays and dates were the only ones she didn't rip up.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Raspberry Pruning.

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000Z

I still have more apple trees to prune but its a little bit to windy to be going up ladders and trees so I've switched my attention to the raspberries. Its often recommended that these are pruned in the summer but I find it easier to do now when all the foliage has died back. Also its a good job to do when you can't get on the ground to do others things.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

The Garden (January).

2012-01-03T17:54:00.003Z

At the end of November I gave people the option to choose a series of views through out the year. The voting ended on the last day of December and the winning view with 54% of the votes as the view of our garden from the garden gate. I say our garden but to be fair Vicki does all the work in it apart from the cutting of the lawns and the hedges. I don't even water the pots anymore since I installed the automatic watering system. So anyway here is the first picture of the series, sorry it was a day late but I went and forgot all about it on the 1st until it was to late to take the picture. I took the picture at around noon yesterday and I will try and take it at noon on the first of every month from now on.

I know some of you were going to be doing your own project along the same lines, if you do decided to have a go can you let me know so I can pop on over and have a look - thanks.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

2012-01-03T15:11:00.000Z

An important job that can be done this week is to make out the seed orders. Last year I left it later than intended and regretted it.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

2012-01-02T15:25:00.001Z

Today we have been taking down the Christmas decorations. I always find this to be quite a sad time. If like me you too find it a little sad to see them go spare a thought for those living in the Southern hemisphere. At least here we have the longer, warmer days and new life to look forward too. I find that when viewed in this way we are in reality just at the beginning of the celebrations and not at the end of them.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Out With The Old.

2011-12-29T10:07:00.000Z

My Picture Of The Day.

My Personal Calendar.

09:30 - 09:45 Get up and dressed

09:45 - 09:50 Fed the dogs

09:50 - 11:10 Had breakfast

Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.
Also posted to my blog.

11:10 - 12:10 Took the dogs out

Went to the end of the narrow walk and back.

12:10 - 12:15 See to the fire

Raked over the coals.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal buckets.

12:15 - 12:35 See to the sheep

Took across some hay.
Checked and counted the sheep.

12:35 - 12:50 Did the washing up

There was the breakfast stuff to wash and dry.

12:50 - 13:00 Brought the dog cage out

The dog cage has been in the pantry over Christmas where it was to confined for man or beast so I've brought it back out into the kitchen where upon Scampi immediately claimed it as her home.

As it was.

Hey! You're not moving our bed.

I like my new home.

13:00 - 14:00 Break for lunch

Had a mug of tea and a ham sandwich and piece of Christmas cake.

14:00 - 15:20 Removing some hard drives

We have a collection of old computers that need dumping so I got them out of the store cupboard and removed the hard drives so they can be got rid of.

Locating and removing the hard drive.

Old hard drives removed. The one on the left is from our very first computer, notice the size of it compared to the others and it only had a fraction of the storage capacity at 2.5GB Also for the price we paid for that first computer today I could buy 3 laptops the same as this new one I got the other week.

15:20 - 16:20 Walking Tess

Went round the big block

16:20 - 17:20
Took afternoon tea

Also did some stuff on the PC

17:20 - 18:20
Talking to Vicki

Hung about until dinner was ready.

18:00 - 18:45
Have dinner

Had baked potatoes, grated cheese and baked beans followed by trifle.
Also watched an episode of Castle

18:45 - 21:00 Watching TV

Watched Chase, Terra Nova, the final episode of Ice Road Truckers.

21:00 - 21:10 Fed the dogs

21:10 - 23:55 Watched TV

Watched the Swamp Loggers, Spy Wars and Crimes That Shook Britain.

23:55 - 00:05 Went to bed

Another Day Off.

2011-12-28T10:30:00.001Z

My Picture Of The Day.

The kitchen window arrangement.

Gardeners Diary.
Wed 28 Dec 2011
All day Annual Leave

09:30 - 09:45
Get up and dressed

09:45 - 10:30
Had breakfast
Description: Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

10:30 - 10:40
Prepared the dogs dinner

10:40 - 11:40
Walking the dogs
Description: Took Tommy and Tess to the end of the narrow walk and back.

11:40 - 13:00
Doing some house work
Description: Did the washing up. Took out the rubbish. Vacuumed round.

13:00 - 14:00
Had a spot of lunch
Description: Had a mug of tea and a piece of Christmas cake.

14:00 - 15:00
On the PC
Description: Posted to my diary blog and did some surfing.

15:00 - 16:00
Dog walking
Description: Took Tommy and Tess around the big block.

16:00 - 16:10
Made afternoon tea
Description: Had a mug of tea and a few biscuits.

16:10 - 18:15
On the PC

18:15 - 19:00
Chatting to Vicki
Description: Catching up with the latest news.

19:00 - 20:00 Had dinner
Description:
Had beef with various veg. Watched the movie called 'The Kings Speech'
during and after dinner.

20:00 - 22:20
Watched TV
Description: Watched the Facebook movie.

22:20 - 22:30
Fed the dogs and made a drink

22:30 - 23:10
Watching,TV
Description: Finished watching the Facebook movie.

23:10 - 23:30
Went to bed

Christmas Day Holiday.

2011-12-27T14:03:00.002Z

My Picture Of The Day.

The Sideboard.

Christmas Day Holiday

Get up and dressed
09:30-09:45

Fed the dogs
09:45-09:55
Vicki took out the dogs this morning so all I had to do was feed them.

Had breakfast
09:55-10:30
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

See to the fire
10:30-10:50
Raked over the coals. Cleaned out the ashes. Put on more coal. Filled the coal bucket.

See to the greenhouses
10:50-11:40

See to the sheep
11:40-11:55
Checked and counted the sheep.

Drying the pots
11:55-12:05

Hangin around
12:05-12:25
Pestering Vicki and stuff like that

Checking through my walking gear
12:25-12:45
There were a few things I needed to add and remove from the pack in readiness for the next trip.

Break for lunch
12:45-15:10
Also watched a couple of things on the TV.

Walking Tess
15:10-16:00
Came upon a youth acting in an abnormal manner.

Took Tommy a walk
16:00-16:30

Made afternoon tea
16:30-16:40
Had a mug of tea.

Watch TV
16:40-17:40

Had dinner
17:40-18:00
Had fried potatoes, baked beans and cold turkey.

Watched TV
18:00-19:00
Watched Boardwalk Empire.

Went on the PC
19:00-20:00
Posted to my blog.

Watched TV
20:00-23:30
Watched a Christmas movie, not sure what it was called.

Went to bed
23:30-23:45
After spending the previous night with Fallon Tess is back with me tonight.

Resting Under The Christmas Tree.

2011-12-26T19:26:00.001Z

My Picture For Today.

Boxing Day
All Day (United Kingdom)

Get up and dressed
09:30-09:45

Fed the dogs
09:45-09:55

Had breakfast
09:55-10:30
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a cup of tea.

See to the fire
10:30-10:40
Raked over the coals.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

See to the sheep
10:40-11:00
Took across some hay.
Checked and counted the sheep.

Hangin about
11:00-12:00
My sisters family are due so no point starting anything so just mingled for a while.

Opening presents
12:00-12:45
My sister came to visit and with them came more presents to open.

Break for lunch
12:45-14:00
Had another Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

Watching TV and talking.
14:00-15:45
We all sat in the sitting room, dozing off in front of the TV and talking about this and that.

Walking the dogs
15:45-16:30
Took Tommy and Tess out for a walk, my mum and sister also came. We went around the village.

Make a cup of tea.
16:30-16:40

Watched TV
16:45-17:45

Had dinner.
17:45-18:45
Everyone just had sandwiches, trifle and cake.

Said goodbye to everyone
18:45-19:00
My sister and brother in law took mum and dad home with them.

Watched TV
19:00-23:45

Got ready for bed.
23:45-23:55

2011-12-25T10:10:00.001Z

A Picture For Today.

Today's Calendar.
Got up and dressed
08:45-09:00

Opened some presents
09:00-10:00
Everyone including the dogs took turns in opening presents.

Fed the dogs
10:00-10:10
Prepared and dished out;

Had some breakfast
10:10-11:10
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Walk the dogs
11:10-11:50
Took Tom and Tess up the narrow walk.

On the PC
11:50-12:20
Added a blog post.

Talking
12:20-13:20

Dinner
13:20-15:00
Had a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Opening presents
15:00-17:00

Played with new toys
17:00-19:30
Also watched some stuff on TV.

Had something to eat
19:30-20:00
Had ham sandwiches, trifle, cheese and biscuits and Christmas cake.

Watched TV
20:00-23:45

Went to bed
23:45-23:55

Christmas Eve.

2011-12-24T12:03:00.000Z

My Picture Of The Day.

Got up and dressed
08:30-08:50

Had breakfast
08:50-09:15
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Prepared the dogs dinner
09:15-09:20

Walking the dogs
09:20-10:00
Took Tommy and Tess to the end of the Back Lane.

See to the sheep
10:00-10:20 (Field)
Took across some Hay
Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the fire
10:20-10:30
Raked over the coals.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal buckets.

Getting changed
10:30-10:45
Taking my parents in to town.

Went into town
10:45-12:55
Took my parents in to town for a look round the market and pick up a few things for dinner tomorrow.

Break for lunch
12:55-13:30
Had beans on toast and a mug of tea.

Wrapping presents
13:30-15:10

Walking the dogs
15:10-16:20

Delivering cards
16:20-16:40
Took a card to Linda.

Took afternoon tea
16:40-17:40
Made tea and sat awhile talking.

Had dinner
17:40-18:15

Watching TV
18:15-22:00

Fed the dogs
22:00-22:10

Made a drink
22:10-22:20

Watched more TV
22:20-23:45

Went to bed
23:45-23:55

Driving Home.

2011-12-23T11:00:00.001Z

Get up and dressed
09:15-09:30

Had breakfast
09:30-10:15
Had three Weetabix and a mug of tea.

Took Tommy for a walk
10:15-11:00

Packing the car
11:00-11:15
Loaded up all my parents things plus Tommy.

Driving home
11:15-12:45
It was heavy rain so driving conditions weren't the best.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
Had four ham sandwiches and a mug of tea.

Socialising
13:30-15:20
Sat talking with my parents.

Dog walking
15:20-16:00
Took Tess to the end pf the narrow walk.

Took afternoon tea
16:00-16:45
We had tea with some cake and mince pies.

On the PC
16:45-17:40
Writing a blogpost in my diary.

Having dinner
17:40-18:10
Had Shepherd's pie.

Watched TV
18:10-22:15
Saw the news.
The One Show.
A show about Christmas lights.
The Lakes At Christmas.

See to the fire
22:15-22:25
Rake over the coals.
Put on more coal.

Rigged up the dog harness
22:25-23:00
To allow myself to have both hands free when hill walking with Tess I have rigged up a harness to my rucksack to which I can attach a dog lead so allowing my hands to remain free a lot of the time.

Get ready for bed
23:00-23:10

Sleep over at my parents.

2011-12-22T17:30:00.001Z

Get up and dressed
08:30-08:50

Prepare and eat breakfast
08:50-09:40
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and mug of tea.

Prepared the dogs dinner
09:40-09:50

Walking the dogs
09:50-10:20
Took Tommy and Tess along the back lane.

See to the greenhouses
10:20-10:40
Checked and watered round.

See to the sheep
10:40-11:00
Checked and counted the sheep.
Took across some hay.

Go for petrol
11:00-11:30
Got forty pounds worth.

Break for tea.
11:30-11:50
Had one mug of tea.

On the PC
11:50-13:40

Washing my car
13:40-14:40

Break for lunch
14:40-15:20
Had a pack of crisps, a piece of cake and a mug of tea.

On the PC
15:20-15:50
Posted to my blog;

Put out the black bins
15:50-16:00
Also put out the recycle tub.

Walking Tess
16:00-16:50
Went round the big block.

Getting changed
16:50-17:20
Going to stay at my parents tonight so needed to get things ready so me and Tom can get straight off after dinner.

On the PC
17:20-17:35

Having dinner
17:35-18:20
Had fish and chips and a mug of tea.

Inflating Vicki's car tyre
18:20-18:30
One of the front tyres was a bit soft.

Driving to my parents
18:30-19:30
Took Tommy with me.

Took my mum to visit my sister
19:30-21:45
My sister lives a ten minute drive from my parents.

Went back to my parents
21:45-22:00

Had a chat over supper
22:00-23:15
Had a Whisky nightcap.

Went to bed
23:15-23:30

A new holiday activity.r

2011-12-21T15:09:00.001Z

Get dressed
07:50-08:00 (Home)

Seeing to the sheep
08:00-08:50 (Field)
The estate farmer called to ask if I could help cull some lambs, not a choice of holiday activity to suit everyone and not one I would choose myself but I felt obliged to help and he is one of the more pleasing characters around here.

preparing the dogs dinner
08:50-09:00

Walking the dogs
09:00-09:35 (Narrow walk)
Took Tommy and Tess part way up the narrow walk.

Had breakfast
09:35-10:10
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

On the PC
10:10-10:50
Posted yesterdays diary blog post.

Seeing to the sheep
10:50-11:10
Counted them and took across some hay.

Doing housework
11:10-11:50
Washed the pots.
Took the throat plate out of the fire to clean off debris.

Fixing up another cabinet
11:50-13:45
I liked the look of the one I did yesterday so as I have another cabinet going spare I thought I would add it to the other part of my desk where there was a shelf.

Some of the things in and on the second cabinet. The clock you ca see through the glass door is my Touchpad. Everything you see can be charged up whilst in the cabinet.

Break for lunch
13:45-14:30
Had two crumpets, two mince pies and a mug of tea.

Dog walking
14:30-16:00
Took Tess round the big block and then took Tommy to the end of the back lane and then returned through the village.

Paying the post office
16:00-16:20
Someone is trying to send something but it would seem they didn't put a stamp on it so the post office won't deliver it until I pay three times the original amount.

Take afternoon tea
16:20-17:20

On the PC
17:20-18:20
Posted some pictures to my blog.

Having dinner
18:20-19:20
Had baked potato with grated cheese and baked beans.
Also watched Ice Road Truckers.

On the PC
19:20-21:00
Looking at some Youtube video's.

Feeding the dogs
21:00-21:10

Making a drink
21:10-21:15

Watched TV
21:15-22:30
Watched an episode of Young James Heriot.

Get ready for bed
22:30-22:50

Desk Improvements

2011-12-20T10:04:00.002Z

Get up and dressed
08:55-09:10

Fed the dogs
09:10-09:20

Had breakfast
09:20-10:00
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Walk the dogs
10:00-10:40
Went to the end of the narrow walk and back with Tom and Tess.

Washing up
10:40-10:55
Washed and dried the pots.

See to the fire
10:55-11:05
Took out the ashes.
Put on some coal.

Break for tea
11:05-12:00
Checked my mail.

Did some housework
12:00-12:45
Had to wash the fire doors again as i put something on the fire which causes smoke and so dirtied the glass.
Vacuumed the sitting room.

Break for lunch
12:45-14:00

Making some alterations to my desk
14:00-15:15
Made the slide out shelf for the keyboard bigger so as to accomatade two keyboards.

Before the keyboard shelf with

just enough room for one keyboard.

After there is room to also store the

keyboard for my Touchpad.

Walking the dogs
15:15-16:15

See to the greenhouses
16:15-16:25
Checked the heaters are working and everything is okay.

Fixed up a cabinate on my desk
16:25-17:30
We have some cabinates going spare so now my computer doesn't take up so much room I thought I would see how one or two of them would work out on my desk for keeping odds and ends under control.

The cabinet along the back has been added to

accommodate odds and ends such as camera's

See to the fire
17:30-17:40
Raked over the coals.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Had afternoon tea
17:40-18:10

Catching up on Vicki's news
18:10-18:35

Had dinner and watched TV
18:35-21:30
Watched an episode of Terra Nova and The Young James Herriot.

Fed the dogs
21:30-21:40

Had a nightcap whilst watching TV
21:40-22:15
Watched Have I Got News For You.

Went to bed
22:15-22:30

Pleasing myself.

2011-12-19T11:27:00.001Z

Get up and dressed
09:15-09:35

Feed the dogs
09:35-09:45

Prepare and eat breakfast
09:45-10:45
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Walk the dogs
10:45-11:30
Took Tommy and Tess part way up the narrow walk. Would have gone further but it was busy and so had to stay on the lead.

Doing housework
11:30-13:15
Washed and dried the pots.
Cleaned the fire doors.

The glass gets dirty on the inside...

...so needs to be cleaned now and again

as it's nice to see the fire.

Took out the rubbish.
Vacuumed round.
Washed the kitchen floor.

Break for lunch
13:15-14:10
Had 2 crumpets, 2 mince pies and a mug of tea.

Went on the PC
14:10-15:50

Walking the dogs
15:50-16:35

On the PC
16:35-18:35
Did a blog post and downloaded pictures from my camera,

Having dinner
18:35-20:05
Also watched an episode of Chase and fell asleep.

Went on the PC
20:05-21:05

Fed the dogs
21:05-21:15

Made a drink
21:15-21:20

Watching TV
21:20-22:45
Watched Boardwalk Empire.

Getting ready for bed
22:45-23:00

Coldest night of the Winter - so far.

2011-12-18T17:43:00.001Z

Got up and dressed
09:10-09:25

Fed the dogs
09:25-09:35

Had breakfast
09:35-10:15
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

See to the greenhouse
10:15-10:30
Checked round. Recorded -2C on the conservatory thermometer, the the lowest of the winter.

See to the sheep
10:30-10:45
Checked the sheep.
Broke the ice on the water.

Tidy the kitchen a bit
10:45-11:45
Dried the pots.
Put away the rest of my walking gear.
Put away the dog food.
Measured out Tess's food.

To save weighing out Tess's food at every feed I weigh out a few lots all at once,

there is enough there for three days.

The containers are the bottoms of milk cartons.

Finally got to do something on my new PC
11:45-12:20
Made a cup of tea and set about getting things on to the new computer.

Shopping
12:20-14:05
Went to the pet shop to buy the dogs Christmas presents.

Having lunch
14:05-14:45
Had a mug of tea with cheese on toast and crumpets.

Rearranging my desk
14:45-15:50
As I don't really need the PC monitor now I have altered things round on my desk.

Walking the dogs
15:50-16:40
Took Tommy and Tess to the end of the narrow walk and back.

Had afternoon tea
16:40-17:40
Had a mug of tea and two mince pies.

Did some stuff on the PC
17:40-20:10

Had dinner
20:10-23:45
We had a Chinese take away and watched criminal minds, Castle and a movie called Renegade Justice.

Got ready for bed.
23:45-23:55

Went for a walk.

2011-12-17T19:06:00.000Z

Got up and dressed
7:00 AM-7:25 AM
Taking Tess for her first walk in the hills so needed to locate my hiking wear etc.

Getting my walking gear ready
7:25 AM-8:00 AM
I decided last night to get Tess started on hill walking as she needs to be doing something.

Had breakfast
8:00 AM-8:15 AM
Had one mug of tea and a bowl of Cornflake.

Took Tommy for a walk
8:15 AM-8:45 AM
Tom has to stay home because of his joints so took him for his usual morning walk before getting off.

Drove to the Derwent Reserviors
8:45 AM-9:30 AM
Tess was sick before we got there, she doesn't travel well.

Walking
9:30 AM-2:30 PM

Drove home
2:30 PM-3:15 PM

Had a cup of tea
3:15 PM-3:50 PM
Had a mug of tea and two mince pies

Walking Tommy
3:50 PM-4:30 PM
Went part way up the narrow walk and then came back through the village and the churchyard.

Sorting out my gear
4:30 PM-5:05 PM
Sorted stuff to wash and put to dry anything that was wet and up packed anything that needed
unpacking.

Washing up
5:05 PM-5:15 PM
There were some pots from breakfast in needed of washing so i did them along with my picnic stuff
from the walk.

See to the fire
5:15 PM-5:30 PM
Rake over the coals.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Fetched in the shopping
5:30 PM-5:45 PM
Vicki came home with fish had chips and the weekly shopping.

Had dinner and watched TV
5:45 PM-11:15 PM

Went to bed
11:15 PM-11:30 PM

Border Collie Paint Brush.

2011-12-14T13:27:00.000Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15

Fed the dogs
07:15-07:20

Made and had breakfast
07:20-08:00
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Walking Tommy and Tess
08:00-08:45
Went part way up the narrow walk.

See to the greenhouses
08:45-09:10
Checked and watered the plants I potted up yesterday.
Took off some dead leaves and flowers.

Carting sticks
09:10-10:30
Carted off a load of dead wood that had fallen from the trees during last weeks gales.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50
Had a mug of tea and a mince pie.

Seeing to the logs and coal
10:50-12:15
Filled the log box.
Filled the coal buckets.
Moved the coal that was delivered recently off the ramp and into the corner of the cellar.

Break for lunch
12:15-13:00
Had sausage rolls left over from Vicki's party and a mug of tea.

Raking up Beech nuts
13:00-15:00
Raked up the rest of the beech nuts from the banking behind the conservatory.

Servicing
15:00-15:40
Oiled and put away the cutting deck from the tractor. Oiling the underneath is an option which I like to do but cleaning it down before storage is not an option, you must do it and more especially if the deck is made of steel. Tess was a very good help using her fur as a paint brush!

Tidying up
15:40-15:50
Did a bit of tidying up in the potting shed.

Clean and put away the tools
15:50-16:00

Walking Tess
16:00-16:50
Went round the big block.

Setting mouse traps
16:50-17:00
There are mice in the store room so need to get them under control.

Got changed
17:00-17:30

See to the fires
17:30-17:45
Raked the coals.
Took out the ashes.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Talking to Vicki
17:45-18:00
Catching up on news and hanging around in the kitchen.

Made a drink of tea
18:00-18:30
Made a cup of tea and sat in the sittingroom until dinner was ready.

Had dinner
18:30-20:30
Had dinner and watched TV.
Watched an episode of Ice Road Truckers an and episode of Law And Order, I didn't see any of it as I fell asleep.

Did some stuff on the PC
20:30-22:10
I'm looking for a new PC so was checking out some reviews. I thing I might go for a desktop replacement laptop.
Also registered Vicki's cell phone with Vodafone.

Fed the dogs and made a drink
22:10-22:20
Had a mug of tea and an apple.

Watched TV
22:20-23:20
Saw an episode of Swamp Loggers.

Got ready for bed
23:20-23:35
Filled in the gaps in my diary before turning in.

The Banishing.

2011-12-13T10:41:00.000Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15

Made and had breakfast
07:15-08:00

Made the dogs dinner
08:00-08:10

Walked and fed the dogs
08:10-08:30

See to the sheep
08:30-08:45
Checked and counted the sheep, it took 3 attempts to get the right number.

Fetch plants from dowager house
08:45-09:00
I fetched the last of the summer pots in order to replant them with something for winter.

See to the greenhouses
09:00-09:25

Tidying up
09:25-10:20
Pulled up any weeds and swept out the dowager house yards.

Break for tea.
10:20-10:40

Get plants for troughs
10:40-11:20
Bought some Pansies and Polyanthus for the dowager house pots.

Plant north front trough
11:20-12:00
Took out some Fuchsia's and planted up with some blue Pansies, silver Cineraria and blue grass.

Cleared out the stone trough by the barn door
12:00-12:45
Potted up the trees and put the Begonia's in to boxes to store.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
Had Leek and Potato soup and a mug of tea.

Planting
13:30-15:50
Planted up the dowager pots and the geraniums and Fuchsia's lifted previously.

Cleaned and put away the tools
15:50-16:00

Take Tess for a walk
16:00-16:50
We went round the big block.

See to the fire
16:50-17:00
Raked the coals.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Got changed
17:00-17:20

Made a cop of tea
17:20-17:30
One for me and one for Vicki.

Had dinner
17:30-18:00
I had mashed potatoes, sausages and beans.

Played around on the PC
18:00-22:40
Vicki had some ladies over from church so me and Fallon were banished to our rooms for the evening.
Ordered something for Vicki alsolooked at some cars and did some browsing.

Fed the dogs
22:40-22:50

Made a drink
22:50-23:00
Had one mug of tea.

Watched some TV
23:00-23:30
Watched an episode of Royal Upstairs Downstairs whilst drinking my tea.

Went to bed
23:30-23:40

Took the trees to church.

2011-12-12T07:49:00.000Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15

Fed the dogs
07:15-07:25

Had breakfast
07:25-08:05

Walk the dogs
08:05-08:30
Walked along the back lane past the farm.

Take Christmas tree
08:30-10:10
Took the Christmas trees to the church and errected the biggest of the two. Also took the crib which is stored in the barn and put that in place also.

See to the sheep
10:10-10:25
Checked and couned the sheep.
Put out some minerals.

Break for tea
10:25-10:45
Had one mug of tea and a cake.

Finish roses
10:45-12:10

See to the greenhouses
12:10-12:45
Checked and watered round.
Took off some dead leaves and flowers.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
Had four crumpets and a mug of tea.

Pick up leaves along the banks
13:30-15:50
Raked up the leaves and Beech nuts from along the banking behind the conservatory.

Cleaned and put away the tools
15:50-16:00

Walking Tess
16:00-16:50
Went round the big block. Played ball games along the way.

Get changed
16:50-17:15

See to the fire
17:15-17:30
Raked out the fire and put on more coal before filling the bucket with more coal.

Have Dinner
17:30-18:30
Had beef and veg plus and oat cake.

Tidied up my room
18:30-20:30
There is still more to be done as I just went through some of the draws and cupboards tonight.

Did some work on the PC
20:30-21:30
Posted to my diary blog.

Fed the dogs
21:30-21:45

Made a drink
21:45-22:00
I had a Southern Comfort and Vicki had Earle Grey tea.

Watched some TV
22:00-23:00
Watched the Christmas episode of Gardeners World.

Got ready for bed
23:00-23:20

Put up more lights.

2011-12-11T21:04:00.000Z

Got dressed
09:20-09:35

Prepared the dogs dinner
09:35-09:45

Walking the dogs
09:45-10:15
Went part way up the narrow walk.

Had breakfast
10:15-10:55
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of coffee.

Putting up indoor lights
10:55-12:20
Put up a set of lights on the stairs and landing and a set in the hallway to Fallons room.

Took out the rubbish
12:20-12:30

See to the fire
12:30-12:45
Raked out the fire.
Took out the ashes.
Filled the coal bucket.

Did some things on the PC
12:45-13:30
Tried to get my Sony TH55 to talk to my PC.

Had lunch
13:30-14:30
Had four slices of cheese on toast and a mug of tea.

Continued to try and sort out my sync problems
14:30-15:45
I didn't manage to sort things out so have reverted to the old set up. The problem is trying to get an old PDA to work with a new PC.

Walking the dogs
15:45-16:35
Went to the end of the narrow walk and back with Tommy and Tess.

Taking afternoon tea
16:35-17:35

On the PC
17:35-19:35
Posted to my blog and checked out a few sites.

Went to pick up a Chinese meal
19:35-20:00
I had rice with crispy shredded beef and a glass of beer.

Had dinner and watched TV
20:00-22:55
Watched and episode of Castle, Boardwalk Empire and a Royal Upstairs Downstairs.

Got ready for bed.
22:55-23:15

A Day Of Lights.

2011-12-10T17:51:00.001Z

Got up and dressed
09:30-09:45

See to the fire
09:45-09:55
(Sitting Room)
Raked out the fire.
Put on some coal.

Fed the dogs and made breakfast
09:55-10:45
I had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

See to the sheep
10:45-11:00
Checked and counted the sheep.

Putting up the Christmas tree
11:00-12:00
Found the stand to put the tree.
Reduced the size of the trunk.
Fit it in to the stand.
Took indoors.

Putting up lights
12:00-13:45
Untangled the light curtain for the sitting room window.
Hung it in place.
Untangled any twisted strands.

Break for lunch
13:45-14:15
Had a bowl of Leek and Potato soup and a mug of tea.

Putting up lights
14:15-16:15
Put up two lots of outdoor lights, one set on the tree outside the garden gate.

and the other on a bush in the garden.

Walking the dogs
16:15-17:00
Took Tommy and Tess to the far end of the narrow walk.

Took afternoon tea
17:00-17:35
Had a mug of tea when Vicki came from work and checked out the Christmas decoration situation with her and Fallon.

Did some stuff on the PC
17:35-18:00

Had dinner and watched TV
18:00-20:00
Had pasta with chilli.
Watched a movie which was so memorable I can’t remember what it was called, it was rubbish.

Played around on the PC
20:00-22:05

Fed the dogs
22:05-22:15

Did the pots
22:15-22:25

Watched some TV
22:25-23:55
Watched an episode of Castle.

Went to bed
10 December 23:55-11 December 00:25

Throw away plants.

2011-12-09T18:37:00.001Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15 (Personal)

Fed the dogs
07:15-07:25 (Personal)

Took breakfast.
07:25-08:05 (Personal)
Had one bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Dog walking
08:05-08:30 (Personal)
Went part way up the narrow walk, it is very muddy after all the rain.

See to the sheep
08:30-08:45 (Work)
Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
08:45-10:30 (Work)
Weather rubbish so sorted out some plants to throw out.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50 (Personal)

Pruning
10:50-12:45 (Work)
Pruned another bed of roses.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30 (Personal)

Clearing away rubbish
13:30-15:00 (Work)
Took away various heaps of rubbish I've acquired this past week.

Servicing
15:00-15:45 (Work)
Removed the cutting deck from the tractor.
Cleaned down the cutting deck.

Clean and put away the tools
15:45-16:00 (Work)

Walking the dogs
16:00-16:50 (Personal)
Went all the way up the narrow walk. Took Tommy with as Fallon who usually takes him at night while I take Tess for a longer walk didn't come home.

See to the fire
16:50-17:00 (Personal)
Raked the coals and put on more coal.

Got changed
17:00-17:15 (Personal)
I got changed whilst dinner was cooking. Vicki didn't come home tonight until late so I had Leek and Potato soup and a mug of tea.

Watched some TV
17:15-19:00 (Personal)
Watched a documentary about the concentration camps of world war two and then a documentary about Nazi UFO's.

Did the washing up
19:00-19:15 (Personal)

Did some stuff on my PC
19:15-21:45 (Personal)
Updated my blog and caught up on the latest WEBOS news.

Fed the dogs
21:45-22:00 (Personal)
Made a drink and watched TV

22:00-23:30 (Personal)
Watched 'Flying Wild In Alaska' and something else I can't recall the name of now.

Got ready for bed
23:30-23:50 (Personal)

A Visit To Our House.

2011-12-08T10:31:00.000Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15

Prepare the dogs dinner
07:15-07:25

Walking the dogs
07:25-07:55
Went part way up the narrow walkl.

Had breakfast
07:55-08:30
Had a bowl of cornflakes and a mug of tea.

See to the sheep
08:30-08:45
Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
08:45-09:15
Checked and watered round.

Pruning
09:15-10:30
Started on pruning the taller variety of roses.

Break for tea.
10:30-10:50 (every Thursday from 10:30 to 10:50)
Had one mug of tea.

Pruning
10:50-12:45
Started on pruning the taller roses in the rose garden.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
Had a bowl of porridge and a mug of tea.

Checking over the fruit
13:30-14:30
Heavy rain so spent time going through the fruit in the garden house.

Pruning
14:30-15:40
Continued to prune roses in between showers.

Put out the green bins
15:40-15:50 (Hall)

Clean and put away the tools
15:50-16:00

Took afternoon tea
16:00-16:30
Had one mug of tea and an apple.

Got changed
16:30-17:00

Drove to Derbyshire
17:00-18:10
A friend is tiling the bathroom for us so we took him down to do some so that the shower can be fitted.

The partly finished new kitchen.

Hung around
18:10-19:45
There wasn't much I could do so hung around checking out the work that has been done.

Had dinner
19:45-21:00
Went to Darley Dale for fish and chips which we took to my parents house to eat.

Drove home
21:00-22:10

Fed the dogs and made a drink
22:10-22:20

Watched some TV
22:20-23:05
Watched a 'Royal Upstairs Downstairs'.

Got ready for bed
23:05-23:25

A good day to order seeds.

2011-12-07T08:26:00.001Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15
Wished it was Saturday.

Prepare dogs dinner
07:15-07:25 (Home)

Walking the dogs
07:25-07:55
Went part way up the narrow walk and back with Tom and Tess.
Put their food down on returning.

Had breakfast
07:55-08:30 (Home)
Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

See to the sheep
08:30-08:45
Checked and counted the sheep.

Harvesting
08:45-09:30
Got some Potatoes, Parsnips and Leeks for the Hall.

Trying to turn off water
09:30-09:50
Tried to turn off the water to the outside and conservatory taps but the stop tap didn't do the job so probably not the right tap or its not working.

See to the greenhouses
09:50-10:30
Checked and watered round.
Took off some dead leaves and flowers.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50
Had one mug of tea.

Pruning
10:50-12:45
Pruned the roses along the North Wall. Some were quite tall and being rocked about by the wind.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
Had three crumpets and a mug of tea.

Pruning
13:30-15:10
Pruned the Red Currants and Blackberry.

Clean and put away the tools
15:10-15:20

Shopping
15:20-16:00
Made out the Sweet Pea order for work.
(I will show what I chose in my other blog).

Dog walking
16:00-17:00
Took Tess round the big block.

Getting changed
17:00-17:30

Fetch in the Chritmas tree
17:30-17:45
Vicki brought home a Christmas tree from work so I brought it in to the garden from the car along with a bag of Potatoes.

See to the fire
17:45-18:00
Raked the ashes and took outside to cool and put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Had dinner and watched some TV
18:00-19:00
We had steak and veg.
Watched 'Would I Lie To You'.

Did some stuff on the computer
19:00-21:20
Scanned an insurance document for Fallon (when I finally got the computer to talk to the scanner).
Wrote a blog post.
Watched some Youtube video's (mostly tractor stuff).

Fed the dogs
21:20-21:30

Dried the pots
21:30-21:40

Cancelled the direct debit for Vicki's car.
21:40-22:00
We are paying for it through the building loan now so the original loan had to be stopped.

Watched some TV
22:00-23:00
Watched and episode of 'Flying Wild In Alaska'.

Got ready for bed
23:00-23:15

Pear Tree Pruning.

2011-12-06T08:20:00.001Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15

Preparing dogs dinner
07:15-07:25

Dog walking
07:25-07:55
Went part way up the narrow walk.

Had breakfast
07:55-08:30
Had a bowl of cornflakes and a mug of tea.

See to the sheep
08:30-08:45
Checked and counted the sheep.
Put out some minerals.

See to the greenhouses
08:45-09:15
Checked and watered round.

Protecting the Brassicas
09:15-10:00
The birds are eating the Brussels so put some wire netting around the ones worth saving.

Putting logs in the garden house
10:00-10:30
The keeper brought a load of logs for the garden house fire so helped him and is mate put them in the store.

Break for tea.
10:30-10:50

Pruning
10:50-12:45
Made a start on pruning the Pear trees.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30

Pruning
13:30-15:45
Finished off pruning the Pear trees.
Also finished pruning the Fig trees and Red Currant.

Clean and put away the tools
15:45-16:00

Get changed
16:00-16:15

Take Tommy to the vet
16:15-17:00
Before he could have more medecine for his athritis he needed to get checked out by the vet.

See to the fire
17:00-17:15
Raked the coals.
Took out the ashes.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Made a cup of tea.
17:15-17:25

Had dinner and watched TV
17:25-18:25
Watched an episode of 'Ross Kemp In Afghanistan'.

Playing around on the PC
18:25-21:30
Updated my blog.
Uploaded some festive music to my phone.
Ordered some dog food for Tess.

Did the washing up
21:30-21:50

Fed the dogs
21:50-22:00

Watched TV
22:00-23:10
Saw Little England and Royal Upstairs Downstairs.

Got ready for bed
23:10-23:25

Ivy Trimming.

2011-12-05T08:16:00.004Z

Get up and dressed
07:00-07:15

Have breakfast
07:15-08:00
Had cornflakes and mug of tea.

Took dogs for a walk
08:00-08:25
Went to the tree up the narrow walk and back.

Cleared out the coal house
08:25-08:30
We are expecting a load of coal today so took out the tools and anything else that was in the way.

See to the sheep
08:30-08:45
Checked and counted the sheep.
Put out some minerals.

See to the greenhouses
08:45-09:00
Checked and watered round.

Take the Christmas tree to the hall
09:00-10:00
Also errect it for them.

Check on the Pine tree
10:00-10:30
Went to the cemetary to check the stake and tie on the Monteray Pine.

Break for tea
10:30-10:50

Trimming
10:50-12:45
Trimmed to Ivy on the wall by the wooden door.

Break for lunch
12:45-13:30
Had 3 crumpets and a mug of tea.

Cleaning up
13:30-15:50
Picked up the Ivy trimmings.
Pulled some left over summer bedding plants in the raised beds.

Clean and put away the tools
15:50-16:00

Dog walking
16:00-17:00
Took Tess round the big block.

See to the fire
17:00-17:20
Raked out the fire.
Put on more coal.
Filled the coal bucket.

Getting changed
17:21-17:33
Replacing the batteries in my weather station
When I went to insert the new batteries I found the unit full of water so brought it in to dry out.

Took dinner
17:55-18:25
Has chips, meat pie and peas with a mug of tea.

Watching TV
18:25-19:45
Watched an episode of Castle followed by one of chase.

On the computer
19:45-21:30
Did some bloggin.

Feeding the dogs
21:30-21:50

Drying the pots
21:50-22:00

Making a drink
22:00-22:10
Made tea for Vicki and a Southern Comfort for me.

Watched TV
22:10-23:05
Watched Boardwalk Empire.

Got ready for bed.
23:05-23:15

Christmas Theme.

2011-12-04T10:24:00.000Z

Got up and dressed
09:00-09:20

Went down to breakfast
09:20-09:50

We had a fry up this morning consisting of potatoes, sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms fried bread or toast.

Fed the dogs
09:50-10:00

Walking Tommy and Tess
10:00-10:30
Went to just past the tree.

Socializing
10:30-11:00
Sat with Phil in the sitting room.

Playing around on the PC
11:00-13:30
Looking for some call blocking software for my Treo.

Break for lunch
13:30-14:50
Had beans on toast.
Also watched some TV.

Took Tess for a walk
14:50-15:50
Went to the top of the narrow walk and back. She is walking much better off the lead now, never going far away or being drawn from the path.

See to the fire
15:50-16:00
Raked out.
Put on more coal.
Filled coal bucket.

Take afternoon tea.
16:00-16:30
Did some stuff on my PC
16:30-19:15
Installed a Christmas theme to my blog also set up this diary blog.
Order another Christmas to be shared between Vicki and Fallon.

Took dinner
19:15-19:50
Had a Chinese take away and a glass of beer.

Watched some TV
19:50-20:50
Watched an episode of Castle.

Fed the dogs
20:50-21:00

Washed up the pots from dinner
21:00-21:10
Also made a cup of tea for me and Vicki.

Watched TV
21:10-22:20
Saw an episode of Garrows Law

Dried up the pots
22:20-22:35

Got ready for bed
22:30-22:50

Checked out some blogs and stuff whilst doing so.

Family came to stay.

2011-12-03T16:56:00.000Z

Got up and dressed.
08:30-09:00

Fed the dogs
09:00-09:10

Had breakfast
09:10-09:45

Had a bowl of Cornflakes and a mug of tea.

Walking the dogs
09:45-10:30

Went three quarters of the way up the narrow walk and back.

Making calls
10:30-11:00
Phoned the garage to see if they had the bill for the care.
Phoned the vet to book Tommy in for an appointment.

Went to pay for the car
11:00-11:50

Took Tommy and Tess.

Break for tea
11:50-12:30

Had 1 mug of tea

See to the sheep
12:30-12:45
Checked and counted the sheep.

See to the greenhouses
12:45-13:15
Checked and watered round.

Break for lunch
13:15-14:15
Had Apricot jam sandwiches and a mug of tea.

Put away the dog food
14:15-14:35
Opened up a new bag of mixer and put the canned food in to the store room.

Had a play outside with Tess
14:35-14:50
Played ball although she wouldn’t fetch it very well due I think to it being a different way to how we do it when out walking.

Did the washing up.
14:50-15:00
Couldn’t dry as I couldn’t find the T-towels.

Walking Tess
15:00-16:10
We went round the big block, played lots of ball because it was still daylight.

Walking Tommy
16:10-16:40
Took him as far as the farm and then came back through the churchyard.

Put the cars in the garage
16:40-16:45

Made tea for me and Vicki
16:45-16:50

Took afternoon tea
16:50-17:30

Did some tidying
17:30-18:05
Tidied my room.

Socializing
18:05-19:20
Vicki's family came so went to spend time with them.

Dinner
19:20-20:20
Had steak with veg followed later by chocolate pudding.

Watching TV
20:20-22:30
Watched X Factor and a DVD and fell asleep.

Fed the dogs
22:30-22:40

Had supper and went to bed
22:40-23:10
Had a mug of tea.

Home time.

2011-10-15T09:01:00.000+01:00

Today we leave for home which is around 400 miles away. Last night we stayed at a bed and breakfast house, Tommy was made most welcome as were we, they even let us take him in to breakfast with us which was good of them. Today the weather is not so good which makes going home a bit easier.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

The Lochness Monster.

2011-10-14T18:54:00.000+01:00

Whilst at Fort Augustus today I think we spotted the Loch Ness monster, it was a big black hairy beastie. Its a good thing I was quick with the camera because I bet you wouldn't believe it if you didn't see it for yourself.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Loch Ness.

2011-10-14T16:10:00.000+01:00

Today we are traveling to Fort William along the shores of Loch Ness. Here you can see Tommy at Fort Augustus.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Ballater Station.

2011-10-13T21:42:00.000+01:00

This is Ballater railway station, no longer in use as a railway station.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

River Dee.

2011-10-13T21:28:00.000+01:00

I posted the wrong picture earlier, this is the River Dee, the other picture was taken from the bridge over the river entering the village. When Queen Victoria visited Ballater she liked it so much that she bought nearby Balmoral Castle which is still a royal estate to this day.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Evening Meal.

2011-10-13T18:59:00.001+01:00

Tonight we are treating Tommy to a night out at a local hotel, not that he will be doing much eating but at least he gets to come in and watch us eat.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Ballater.

2011-10-13T16:57:00.000+01:00

The River Dee at Ballater.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Inland Drive.

2011-10-13T16:02:00.000+01:00

Today we are taking a trip inland. At the moment we are having lunch while watching some people play with gliders.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

More beach.

2011-10-12T16:56:00.000+01:00

Tommy says you can never have to much beach to chase seagulls on.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Time for a walk.

2011-10-12T15:21:00.000+01:00

Tommy has found this nice beach where we can go for a nice walk and a paddle.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Nairn.

2011-10-12T14:49:00.000+01:00

Today we are visiting Nairn, the picture you see is of the harbour.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Lets play stickie!

2011-10-11T20:11:00.000+01:00

One of Tommy's favourite games is to play stickie on the beach.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Time for a paddle.

2011-10-11T19:48:00.000+01:00

We have had another good day, in the picture you will see Tommy having paddle, I didn't join him.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Pet cemetery.

2011-10-10T14:43:00.000+01:00

We found this pet cemetery at Cullen. We were fortunate enough to meet the local guy who looks after it and so found out some interesting things. Apparently its been there for over 25 years and it seems that at one point there was quite a battle with the council who wanted to close it down on the grounds of health and safety. Any way it seems that due to a letter of support for it from the Queen its been allowed to stay.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Dog walk.

2011-10-10T13:06:00.000+01:00

Today we are taking a driver down the coast where we will stop off at various places that take our fancy. Here you can see Tommy at one such place.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

View from the tower.

2011-10-09T18:29:00.000+01:00

This picture was taken from the memorial looking out over the harbour.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

MacDuff harbour

2011-10-09T16:58:00.000+01:00

Today we took a drive into the village and had a walk round the harbour and boat yard. We also walked up to the memorial tower you can see on the hill in the background. Tom always enjoys a walk around a new place.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

We've arrived.

2011-10-08T18:44:00.001+01:00

Well we arrived ok and Tom has checked everything out and seems to approve. I'm sure on a better day than this there will be a view of the sea. At the moment we are relaxing and recovering from the journey.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Almost there.

2011-10-08T15:54:00.001+01:00

We're almost at our destination, about another fifty minutes driving according to the satnav. We stopped a while back and had lunch at a diner, I think I will be ready for a whisky or something along those lines when we get to where we are going.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Half way there.

2011-10-08T10:49:00.000+01:00

We have just arrived at Callander and its pretty grim weather wise. Callander is a bit off of our route but we like to come here and as we are in no rush made the detour. The good thing about the weather being this way is that it can only get better, or at least not much worse.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

We're off.

2011-10-08T07:46:00.001+01:00

We are two and a half hours in to our journey north to Scotland and have stopped for our first comfort break at a service station on the M6.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

First sightings of Christmas.

2011-10-06T12:28:00.001+01:00

Last night on TV I saw my first advert advertising a product for Christmas, if I recall right it was something to do with Disneyland, Paris. Then today I had to call in and get something from the garden centre and there in the main isle was a fully decorated Christmas tree and off to the right I could see the Christmas shop open for business.

Have you spotted anything to do with Christmas yet, and how do you feel about it being thrust up on us this early in the year?

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Bad People!

2011-10-05T19:28:00.000+01:00

I saw this picture on someones facebook page today with a warning to keep an eye on your dogs. Apparently some dog hater has been distibuting these titbits in the park in the hope that someones dog picks them up!

This coming Saturday Vicki, Tommy and myself are off on holiday to Scotland for a week. Usually we go over to the west coast but this time we are going east for a change. Also we are hiring a caravan and not a cottage on account of us having spent all our money on renovating our house. If you want to take a look at where we are going click [HERE]

-- Sent from my Windows 7 PC

Fruit Picking.

2011-10-04T09:29:00.000+01:00

Today is fruit picking day, by fruit I mean apples and pears.

The pears won't keep the same as apples and as no one bothers to preserve them in some other way I just pick a few for immediate use over the next few weeks.

I pick and store some apples although no one usually takes any from the store and so I prune the trees, thin the fruit, pick and store the apples before throwing them on the rubbish dump as they rot. The only reason I bother is that if I didn't you can be sure they would want some so its all just to cover my back really.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

The Tree (October).

2011-10-03T21:26:00.001+01:00

Below is the picture of 'The Tree' for October.
Here in parts of the UK the past week has been one of the warmest of the whole year so if feel kind of strange because the leaves are starting to turn, indeed some are even falling from the trees yet as you go about the work in the garden it is more like mid summer so it feels strange to be doing autumn jobs when the weather kidding me in to thinking I should still be doing summer work.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

-- Sent from my Windows 7 PC

A little joke.

2011-10-01T20:13:00.001+01:00

My wife had a 'near death' experience today....she thought she could hoover while the motor racing was on!

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Back to flyball.

2011-10-01T08:23:00.001+01:00

Shortly Fallon Tess and I will be off to flyball training, due to other commitments and Fallon being I'll last week we haven't been for two weeks but I'm sure it won't be to much of a problem as we have played on our little flyball run in the garden. It's been very warm here this past week and promises to be the same again today if so I think there will be a lot of tired doggies by lunch time.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Your Duck is Dead.

2011-09-29T17:58:00.002+01:00

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she laid her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry, your duck, Cuddles, has passed away."

The distressed woman wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet..

"How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean you haven't done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also delicately sniffed the bird from head to foot. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman..

The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried, "$150 just to tell me my duck is dead!"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now $150."

Dead heading.

2011-09-27T12:29:00.000+01:00

This flower obviously doesn't need dead heading but there certain ones that need to be kept dead headed in order to encourage them to keep on flowering. Also as its forecast a nice week here in the UK it would be a good idea to get out and get those weeds under control as this is by far the best sort of weather for that job.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Singapore Grand Prix.

2011-09-25T14:51:00.001+01:00

At the moment I'm watching the Singapore grand prix, it looks like Vettel is going to win again and as usual Lewis Hamilton is having a very incident packed race. Vicki has gone to the hospital with Fallon because she went to the dentist last week and he took out a tooth and he didn't do a very good job and has been in terrible pain ever since.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Confusing.

2011-09-25T12:57:00.001+01:00

A bit of fun for you.

My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a £5 note. Our total was £4.20, so I also handed her a 20 pence piece. She said, 'You gave me too much money.'
I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me £1 back..'
She sighed and went to get the Manager who asked me to repeat my request.
I did so, and he handed me back the 20 pence and said 'We're sorry but we do not do that kind of thing.'
The clerk then proceeded to give me back 80 pence in change..
Do not confuse the clerks at MacDonald's.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Cow girl and sheep dog.

2011-09-24T21:01:00.001+01:00

Tonight Vicki has gone to a barn dance and so decided to dress up as a cow girl much to the amusement of Tess.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Who's bed is this?

2011-09-24T16:30:00.002+01:00

Come on guys move over, its my bed when all's said and done.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

The worlds biggest mower.

2011-09-23T20:09:00.001+01:00

I saw this video on Youtube yesterday and I thought it was so amazing that I would share it with you. I find it hard to believe that even non farming people would not find interesting. The second video is much the same as the first but I think it's worth watching just to see how the whole things packs up in to a nice little road going package, it certainly wouldn't look out of place in a Transformers movie. I will have to see if I can persuade the boss to buy me one to cut the lawns!

-- Sent from my Windows 7 PC

Classic Tractors.

2011-09-22T20:12:00.001+01:00

Tonight I am going to post a few more pictures from this years festival of the plough. The festival is all about bygone times so all the exhibits and demonstrations etc. are things from my past, my fathers past and even from a time when my grandfather was growing up. I can still recall stories told to me by my granddad of steam engines and thrashing machines and at this festival you can actually see them all working more or less the same as he had in his day.

Below are pictures of some classic tractors, mostly from recent history, all of these models have been around during my lifetime. The red one in the third picture (a David Brown Cropmaster) was the first tractor I ever rode on, my dad used to take me ploughing with him on a similar but older model to this. Another thing that I find amazing is that these tractors have most likely been run almost to destruction yet to look at them on display now you would think they just left the factory. I think the way they look is a great credit to the people who have restored them.

David Brown 780

Fordson Major Diesel

David Brown

Massey Ferguson 135

Massey Ferguson 2640

International 3588

-- Sent from my Windows 7 PC

Fourth Generation.

2011-09-21T18:21:00.002+01:00

Sara left a comment on last nights post saying that she didn't know Tomatoes could have another crop, it's understandable to think this because as far as I know the usual thing is to just crop them once and then pull them up. Another interesting things about these two plants is that they are in fact the third generation. I sowed the seed in January 2010 and grew them on in the normal way. Then at some point in the summer of 2010 I rooted a couple of side shoots which I grew on to crop during last Winter. Before these winter plants were pulled up I took two more cuttings and grew these plants on to produce an early crop this summer and these are the two plants that you see in the picture which as you can are about to crop for the second time this summer, the second crop coming from a side shoot allowed to grow after the main stem was cut down. Also from these two plants I have taken two more cuttings which I hope to grow on to produce a crop this coming winter and these plants will be the fourth generation of the plants I grew from seed sown in January 2010. I'm doing this just as a bit of fun, the main body of the crop comes from seed in the normal way.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Second Crop.

2011-09-20T23:03:00.000+01:00

Today I cleared out all but two of the Tomato plants from the greenhouse. The two plants left are in actual fact starting produce their second crop of the season. After they finished cropping the first time I cut the plant down to the ground and then allowed one new shoot to grow and so produce the second crop that you see in the picture.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

A day off work.

2011-09-19T11:03:00.000+01:00

I have a day off work today as there is some stuff to sort out with our house so we have come to see about the and maybe take the dogs a walk somewhere later when we have dropped my parents back home. The picture with this post is of the lane by our house.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Festival of the plough 2011

2011-09-18T20:43:00.001+01:00

Today we went to the annual 'festival of the plough' near Epworth. With me and Vicki were my parents and as it is a great place to take dogs I took Tom with us who always appreciates a good day out especially if at some point the is a picnic involved.

In the picture is one of a number of stream engines, this one was working with another to pull a plough back and forth between them.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

2011-09-16T16:11:00.000+01:00

Tonight me and Tess are going to stay at my parents house as I want to take Tess for a little walk tomorrow. The first one won't be very far as the vet said to break her in slowly.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Potatoes in pots.

2011-09-16T10:37:00.001+01:00

This morniing I have been potting up some Potatoes to be grown in the greenhouse for a Winter crop. You will notice that I haven't filled the pots to the top which I could have done but I'm going to do that when I see some growth coming through and the reason for this being so that I can mix feed with the growing medium before applying. In the picture you will see the pots under the greenhouse staging where they will stay until I see growth then they will be brought into full light.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Windfall Apples

2011-09-15T14:58:00.000+01:00

Today is mowing day and as a resulf of all the wind of late there were lots of apples to pick up before I started with the mower.

-- Sent from my HP Pre3

Potato Crop.

2011-09-13T22:12:00.001+01:00

The picture shows part of this years Potato Crop, there was another wheel barrow full like you see in the picture.
Having gone through the summer without a break from work I've booked a weeks holiday for next month, I'm not sure what we are doing yet, it would be nice to go away but Vicki is thinking that we should do work on our house as the building work should be completed by then.
As you will see I have been making alterations to my blog, I've sort of incorporated my two blogs in to one. I'm not sure if I like it this way but at least its more practical for writing and probably for reading as well as everything is all in one place. I did like the diary layout but it was not very handy for personlising.
I've spent most of my time at work today weeding and tidying. Things have dried out again what with the wind and the sun so I thought I would take the opportunity to get rid of some weeds that have been lapping up the recent rainfall.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Flyball Training.

2011-09-12T19:57:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone, Have you had a good day? Today I have been lifting the potato crop at work, I am pleased with them as there is a good amount of large ones which seem sound and blight free. It always pays to keep an eye on them through the winter though. The other thing is to find somewhere cool dark and frost free, oh yes and be sure to watch out for mice or even rats, both of which are good at sniffing out food as winter sets in.

As promised below is the video of Tess doing a couple of runs during last Saturdays Flyball training. If you turn up the volume you can hear Fallon shouting encouragement.

A bit of news.

2011-09-11T17:42:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone, I hope you're all feeling well. I am having a lazy day today. I went over to see to the greenhouses this morning and then at lunch time it was time to watch the Italian GP from Monza which Sebastian Vettel won with Jenson Button second and Fernando Alonso third. The highlight of the race was the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Yesterday me and Fallon took Teas to flyball, I am now nothing more than a spectator and companion to Fallon. I was looking in to local obedience classes the other day thinking maybe I could Take to those instead but I am a bit reluctant after my failed attempt at flyball. Anyway with me playing no part in Flyball it gave me time to take a video of her progress for you which I will post in the nest day or two.

Things with our house upgrade are going apace, I haven't been down since before the work started so I am looking forward to seeing how things are going. There was a worrying sag to the kitchen floor which had me thinking that there was a serious problem with the foundations but they have the floor up and it seems that it's just the underfloor hardcore that has sunk and simply needs renewing and concreting over so that's good news. The rest is just general stuff with no hidden entry's.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Tess at the tree (September).

2011-09-07T19:30:00.000+01:00

Last night I showed you the tree for this month so tonight it is the turn of Tess. Tommy doesn't get to go to the tree any more but last night he did join us for a one off visit which is how he comes to be in the picture with Tess. It's worth enlarging the picture just to get a look at the expression on Tess's face. The trouble with having your picture taken is you have to stay still for at least two whole seconds which is why she is looking like she is about to start the 100 yard sprint.

July

August

September

Is that the look of a cheeky monkey or what?!!

The Tree (September).

2011-09-06T19:57:00.000+01:00

Below is a picture of 'The Tree' for September. As you can see the shadows are now getting longer as we slowly turn full circle, soon the leaves will be gone and maybe we will get one picture with snow on the ground before we say goodbye to the tree. In the field the old crop of oilseed rape is now nothing more than dead stalks waiting for the farmers plough to come and turn them under ready for the new crop to be born and so life in the field goes on year upon year and this is the world of the tree, it never moves yet it has seen many changes during its time on this earth.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

Vista.

2011-09-03T16:13:00.000+01:00

Vista to the palm house from the gazebo.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Ripley Castle.

2011-09-03T13:37:00.000+01:00

Today me and Vicki are visiting Ripley castle in North Yorkshire. With a bit of luck I might get an ice cream afterwards!

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Yah boo to the party poopers.

2011-08-31T20:48:00.000+01:00

I don't have a great deal to report tonight so I will post a video that I took on Saturday at the flyball competition. The Furry Tales team where we go is in the blue on the far side. I'm afraid it isn't a very good video and doesn't show much but I would like to see any of you make a video any better when you're trying to do it with the camera in one hand and Tess in the other! Anyway if you turn the sound up you will get a feel for the excitement if nothing else.

I was sorry to read that those who tried to view the BBC iPlayer was stopped from doing so because they don't live in the UK. I find that sort of thing really annoying. Here we have this great joiner of communities called the interenet and the full benefit of it is being spoilt by greedy narrow minded party poopers. Buying an ebook online is a nightmare, I was trying to buy a particular book a while back and if it wasn't one thing it was another stopping me from buying it. In the end I was able to download it from Amazon and read it on the Kindle app on my laptop. But don't go thinking that Amazon are all singing and dancing hero's because they aren't. The HP Touchpad is advertised as having a Kindle app which would be brilliant if it weren't for the fact that it's only available in the USA, so what is that all about? If these companies would quit complaining about the noise and joined the party they might find they enjoy the experience a bit more, is there any wonder that people turn to sites like Piratebay? At times it's the only place you can turn to, at least if you get something from there and it doens't work you haven't wasted a load of money. Not that I use Piratebay or suggest that you do of course .

Remember the old rose?

2011-08-30T20:28:00.000+01:00

Today was the first day of Autumn for me. I changed on to my Autumn working hours which are from 8:30 instead of 8:00 to 5:00 instead of 5:30 so that means I work an hour less than summer time.

I don't know if you can remember but in July I cut down an old rose by the potting shed door that had all it's growth and flowers high up on the side of the potting shed. I had tried over the years to encourage it to put out new growth from the base but it didn't want to so this prompted me to cut it right down almost to ground level. Well I have good news, new growth has now appeared in abundance - see the picture below.

If you want to see what it looked like before the drastic pruning click [here].

Gail asked how I calm Tess after she gets excited. I have to confess that short of putting her under a cushion and sitting on her I've had little success in controling her excitement. Usually after flyball she is ready for a lie down she does however have loads of energy and whilst I can make her lie down and stay for a certain amount of time she doesn't relax and is looking for any excuse to move and do something. She is strong willed and will try and get away with things like for instance she knows perfectly well how to walk to heel but she will try it on with you in the hope you will let her run free. The other problem is that whereas Tommy has always been with me therefore the rules have always been consistant so he know what he can and can't get away with, Tess has three handlers some of whom let her get away with more than others do which is unfair on her. This is not to say that she is badly behaved, I think she is pretty good for a puppy but we definately need to watch her or she will rule the roost and that will be no good for man nor beast.

Did anyone try the link to the TV show that I posted as I would be interested to know if it worked for you okay. If so I can look out for things that might interest you in the future.

Drax flyball competition.

2011-08-29T16:12:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday Fallon and I went to the flyball competition at Drax. As it was a doggy day out we decided to take the other two dogs as well as Tess, both of which were much better behaved than Tess, not that she was the only naughty dog there. There was one dog that ran down and retrieved the ball and came back with it but forgot to stop when it caught up with it's handler and ran clean out of the enclosure and spend the next few minutes avoiding capture by running round a log pile. I must say that for the amount of dogs there and all the hyper activity there was no fighting or bad tempers on display. I was talking to one lady who has a collie the same age as Tess and she was of the same opinion as me that it's better for them to learn obedience first and then go on to flyball. After the visit on Saturday I do now know for sure that as it stands at the moment I don't have the confidence to do flyball. There isn't anything really hard about it that practise can't cure and I can't put a finger on what it is about it that I'm uneasy about, maybe I'm just not a team sort of person and I've always gone about things in a quiet manner and have never been one for the lime light. Anyway I will continue to go while Fallon wants to do so as I like the dogs and the people at the club are good people, talking of which, Keith, or rather his dog Angus achieved his gold award on Saturday which means he has acquired over 15.000 points which I was so pleased about as Angus is a great dog, my sort of dog and I get on well with Keith too so I wanted to see that.

Some shots of the dogs watching the action.

Taken by Fallon.

Tommy was very calm throughout in spite

of all the chaos, I was very proud of him.

Tess bustin to get in on the action.

I know some of you who read my blog are interested in British stately homes so when I was watching a TV show earlier today I thought I would see if there was a way to share it with you as I thought it was quite interesting and probably not something that is available to people in other countries. Anyway if you click [HERE] you should find yourself transported to the BBC iPlayer from where I think anyone can view the program although I don't know how long it's available for so if you are intereested then don't wait to long and if you're really in to it I noticed there is an option to download the show to your computer to view on Windows Media Player which will presumably means you will then have it to view whenever you wish.

Going shopping.

2011-08-29T10:47:00.001+01:00

Today is a public holiday here in England so me and Vicki are going to B&Q to look at bathroom suites for for the upgrade to our house.

-- Sent from my HP TouchPad

Tess has her first house bound day.

2011-08-26T20:41:00.000+01:00

Today Tess spent her first full day indoors on account of the weather, it has hardly stopped raining for a minute so now everything has had a good soaking.

I've spent most of the day in the potting shed stringing onions, repotting plants and taking cuttings which is root alright will be some of next years plants for the conservatory and gardens. Mainly these were of Geraniums, Pelargoniums Begonias and Fuchsias.

We need a new gas fire for our house that we are upgrading and Vicki found one today that has been reduced from £700 to £350 and that includes all the surrounds so even though it wasn't what we originally had in mind I think we will have it as it is a good saving to make and it's not like we are going to be living there ourselves.

Tomorrow it is the flyball competition that I mentioned the other day. Tess is to young to enter yet even if she was good enough but as it's only 30 miles away I think I will take her along just to see how things are and also cheer Angus on.

What do you do on a day like this?

2011-08-26T17:44:00.001+01:00

People often ask what I do on a day like this. Well one of the jobs you can do on a day like this is to take some cuttings of your favourite Geraniums. I grow quite a few varieties so I have plenty to keep me busy for today. Please note how I am already working on next summers garden.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre