Articles by Mickey fez

The last two days have been sunny if still a little on the cool side with the breeze and a few more blooms are starting to show some promise. After mooching around the house or a couple of days looking for odd jobs today I will break out and head for town. I don't need much just pipe fodder and a few odds and bobs,it's more than to get out and about than anything. The funds are in place for my trip to Jenny's it's just a matter of trying to pick some nice weather now,not an easy task here. If…

Is a question we get asked,well it's not earth shattering. Jenny kicked off with a report about the shopping she had delivered,shopping is always a good subject for us with bargains to discuss. This led on to cooking and a little of how I learned to make more varied meals than the standard fare. Recipes brought Ceefax to mind for Jenny and finding recipes on it. This then lead to copying recipes for friends which had to be done on a typewriter with carbon paper. Jenny said the girls used to pu…

After a few nice sunny days the weather turned yesterday, the rain returned and it is still hanging around today. With the garden not an option I am going to give the little work shop a tidy. It is needed every so often with stuff that doesn't live there being left until later and later never comes. The garden brolly and whirly are stowed in the corner together with two or three pieces of timber,a bag of compost and a few plant pots are also laying around so they will all be moved to the tool r…

Back again with blog No2 The last few days of glorious sunshine,broken up by to nights of thunder and lightning have gone. After a decent start the day has got cloudier and Sooty brought news of rain when he came home looking as though she had come from town via the channel. I have had some nice breaks in the garden just enjoying the steady progress of the flowers. I took to sitting almost directly beneath the bird feeder and that enabled me to get a shot of these squabbling Starlings,thi…

We are starting day 3 of this lovely warm/hot weather. The temps are up to 76f and it's only 8:30 am so it will be over 80 again I think with very little wind.The thunder storms of two nights ago have gone leaving a fresher feel to things. I have a lttle chopping to do this morning and a nice stroll to town is in order,maybe to Aldi I think. Ellen was on a hen night last night and to her surprise she bumped into my sister Pat,it's not hard to see they are related I don't think,apart from Pat s…

I awoke to a very warm muggy morning,just a taste of what was to come. After checking a weather alert on my reader I decided the grass would have to be cut today and with afternoon temps set to soar it better be a morning job. I started on the front as usual and had that mowed and strimmed by 9:30,good going so far. I took a good break as the weather was so humid it was sapping and then mowed the largest of the back plots,another break and a coffee needed then before moving 19 of the 21 plan…

A glorious day today just the ticket for a spell in the garden. I have no kitchen jankers today because Ellen is on a late shift and I treated myself to fish and chips so the afternoon was all my own. I took a lounger and a book out but never opened the book I was just content watching the birds feed a few feet away. The plants are starting to bloom at last and maybe I will have a splash of colour soon. I sat awhile and it being hot I decided I needed a cool down so grabbed a cold Guinness fro…

Today has been a glorious summer's day so I caught up on the rain delayed grass cutting. I did the front first as usual and after a break started on the larger back section. Here I had a problem with the delay due to the weather I had to strim the part where the planters are,a job I thought I finished with after the last mower cut. Still after shifting 19 assorted planters back and forth it's back to imaginable heights now if the rain doesn't intervene. It was a day for sandals and shortie trou…

On Sunday Ellen went to Preston to spend some time with a friend and find some clothes for baby Mia. The time for what I thought was the last train home came and went and she hadn't returned. I checked on the rail arrivals and found the train had been cancelled because of a lack of staff. Luckily there was a later train and she caught that arriving home at around 11:30 or so. After winding down for a little and talking to Jenny and me she headed for the wooden hills and bed. She had precious li…

Today is Father's day I was given the traditional gifts to celebrate,a pair of moccasin style slippers from Ellen and a bottle of Bushmills Irish Whiskey from Stephen,both very welcome. I strolled over to Aldi for food and Morrisons for pipe fodder today and a lovely day it is for walking. Along the way I spotted that Black Combe has turned green and summer finally takes a hold on the fells. There are daisies are alongside an old railway line. The last…

Thank you dear friends for you kind birthday wishes,the are much appreciated. I had phone calls from my mother and dear Jenny as well as text message from others. My birthday weather started with rain,the first in over a week so an early morning stroll was out of the question. Instead I busied myself with menial household chores. I changed my bedding and washed the ones removed before attacking this room with the vacuum cleaner and waved a dusting cloth around. The afternoon became much brigh…

Today I spotted a blast from the past. A 1965 Ford Cortina in mint condition. The Cortina was built between 1962 and the 1980s from Mk1 up to Mk5. In the 70s it was the best selling car in the UK. This version is the Mk1 facelift version. It's in good nick for 50 years old don't you think? The rest of the trip to Aldi was pleasant enough and the shopping went smoothly. I was getting a little worried approaching the check out. I had £35 and was doing rough mental arithmetic as I went along,lu…

A funny day first cloudy and cool the next minute bright and sunny. I decided on a stroll to get my pipe fodder and a few odds from the freezer shop. I set off a little earlier because with the small B&M closed I needed to walk farther down the same street to Home bargains for some plant feed. I was surprised when I passed the B&M store because in was still open and buzzing. It seems they only closed the large one to go into the superstore. That's great news for me and my Sunday shopping trip a…

An absolutely glorious day today with the temps in my little sun trap of a garden reaching a dizzy 84f and believe me that is hot for hereabouts. The humidity was down to 35% so it was very pleasant and I spent a lot of time outside. If that wasn't good enough I got even better news Gemma and baby Mia Lilly are home. Ellen and my self high tailed it round there for a look see and a hold of the tiny mite. She slept throughout the visit of course. Mother and baby are both doing fine and Gemma is…

The weather Gods have smiled on us today,with wall to wall sun and very little wind it was a perfect day for the garden. First job was to mow and strim the front grass and this was done and dusted by 9:30 a good start. I decided on a break before tackling the back so a coffee and a couple of choccy biscuits later I was ready for action. I mowed the large part of the back then moved all of the plant pots and planters apart from the two largest ones. Now all the work I put in with the strimmer t…

Today was overcast which went down badly after two days of sunshine but that's the climate we live in so I just carried on. I made a trip to see my mother and catch up on the family news. We chatted away about this and that and she asked me if I had remembered to modify a small grill and base for her to fit into her small oven/grille/microwave machine. I had of course and remembered to take it so we tried it and it worked perfectly so 1 million brownie points to me and grilled fish for mother fo…

Another nice sunny morning so I decided on a stroll to the new B&M store,it's the size of a small town and built on two storeys. The main part of the shopping area covers the whole of the ground level with a separate garden centre tagged on to the side of the building and the large pieces of furniture and appliances upstairs. The range and choice of products is bewildering Everything from a pkt of screws to a full bedroom suite and anything you could think of in between. The food and drinks sect…

Today has been a nice sunny day,perfect for trying the new chairs/recliners that Ellen bought. They work very well and are nice and wide.Thry are very easy to adjust. I spent a couple of hours sat in the garden reading,a great way to relax. Earlier this morning I went to pick up my pipe fodder from Morrisons and discovered potted plants for sale starting at £1. I bought 6 for my large container so that is all the pots and planters full now. Hopefully I will have some colour soon. I bought Pin…