Four springs

First a tale from a recent dog sit. A new dog for me, a very friendly miniature schnauzer. We got on well, we did a couple of walks together before the sit. She is very friendly but doesn’t go on marathon long walks. The funny story is I unpacked my things on the kitchen table and then could not find my reading glasses. I looked everywhere, no sign of them! Anyway later on the dog came into the living room with my glasses in her mouth. She does steal things I was told, knowing she will be rewarded for their safe return! The tv remotes are out of reach, and she has claimed one of my sandals. It’s funny because she often sniffs my lower left leg, not my right. ( that’s the leg that broke) Meanwhile her owners have a lovely house, and were very generous with giving me the run of the supplies in the house. The first day it tipped down first thing, but it dried out enough to encourage the dog to come out later on. I then went to the gym and when I came back I spotted a book by Kate Atkinson I had not read called  Transcription. I knew that if I did not finish it, I could do so when I come back here for a longer stay. It’s very good, it’s very quirky as her books are and very thoughtful.

I had another go at the marble cake. This time I poured in the two types of batter around the tin instead of in segments. I then used the handle of the spoon to mix them a bit. It’s much better. There is a recipe for one where when you cut the cake it reveals a star going through the centre of the cake. One for the future perhaps!

This is a photo of a bit  of gym equipment called the Reformer. You lie flat on it, and push against a metal bar so your body moves away from it. There are other modes of operation. You are pushing against these springs, you plug in more, for more resistance. I started with 1.5, I am not sure what value it now is but it’s upped the ante somewhat. One the bench press the weights have been increased and I now do some work on it using only one foot. The left unsurprisingly is weaker than the right. I still get a very stiff ankle when I sit down for any length of time.

It might look a bit messy but I took away the rubbish from the micro plot today. Roots, chicken netting, carpet and plastic. I have removed  all that  I can and it’s looking good. There are two fairly big stumps that I can’t remove, but they will rot over time. There is also a line of chicken wire fence that’s still there, in the autumn or winter I will dig it out. I might buy some well rotted farmyard manure in bags from the TRHA store for the courgette, squash plants and the climbing beans. My neighbour who is growing the sprout and climbing bean plans will be taking a look at my handiwork on Thursday.