Monday 27 February 2006

Ar Werth

Want to buy a car?

And now for today's egg picture -- check out the difference in the size of the yolks!



Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Saturday 25 February 2006

Roedd hi'n bwrw eira!

It finally snowed yesterday, and actually settled enough to look pretty. Of course by yesterday afternoon, it was all gone except for the very top of the mountain. And now I present you with quite a number of completely gratuitous snow and chicken photos...













In other news, there is a bus once a week that runs through Talley into Llandeilo (our nearest town) and I have been saying for ages that I am going to take the bus -- yesterday I finally did. When I got on the bus, I asked how much the fare was, and the driver said £2.70 return. I had about £2.15 in change, and a £10 note, which he didn't want to change, so he just gave me the ticket and told me to pay him on the way back!

Whilst waiting for the bus, I realised that I have not really posted any photos of the village, so here's one -- this is the old Talley Post Office -- it closed about 11 years ago...



On the way back from the bus stop (walking up the hill with my groceries!) I spotted this little cuteness -- love the pink ears! Can't wait until I have my own!!!



I think that's enough photos for one day, so I'll just leave you with this one final thought -- do you think the chickens are capable of learning how to use the cat flap???

Thursday 23 February 2006

Pump Wy!

The eggs are increasing every day! Pedwar ddoe, a pump heddiw! (Four yesterday, and five today.) Good thing I was planning on baking a cake tomorrow...

Wednesday 22 February 2006

Pedwar Wy!

Yes folks, that's right, four eggs in one day... We are really getting back into production again. If you are interested in buying eggs, let me know. They're 90p for six.


Various people have told me that there are too many photos of eggs on this web site, but personally I don't think such a thing is possible, so here's another one. It amazes me how unique each egg is and how much variation there is from one to the next. Can you tell which eggs are New Girl's? :)


On the baking front, the other night Greg made crumpets -- from scratch -- they were delicious! This is Greg's Mom's homemade blackberry jam on top...


Ever wondered what to do with a surplus of beetroot (beets)? Look no further, the answer is beetroot pie. This is from a Martha recipe. It's not bad -- it actually tastes somewhat like pumpkin pie, with a bit of beet flavour thrown in -- but if I made it again I think I would puree the beets rather than grating like the recipe calls for.

Saturday 18 February 2006

Slow News Week

Not much to report really -- I was ill all week -- I actually had a fever on Tuesday -- and am only now just getting better -- so I spent most of the week sitting on the sofa doing nothing...

I may have mentioned that one of the hens is starting to display the symptoms that Polly had -- walks around very slowly, doesn't stray far from the coop, spends a lot of time IN the coop, spends a lot of time sitting down -- and I was talking to a guy at the Talley Dinner the other week who is a doctor and he suggested that I give her a course of antibiotics, as that would clear up most things... So I rang the vet on Monday and she said I should come down and pick something up. So I went to the vet and they gave me these four syringes
one to be injected each day, into the breast or thigh -- and she said that by Friday she should be better. Anyways, I've given all the injections and not seen any improvement so not sure what to do next now...

In other news, Greg received a package in the post that does not contain a cricket bat...

Friday 10 February 2006

Water Update

It's back. I was in town buying water and Greg was here at the house and heard a wooshing noise -- the toilet tanks refilling! So I guess the water was frozen, and then it just defrosted. I mean, it was cold this morning, but I think we've had other mornings that were just as cold, or colder, with no problems, so... But anyways, we are not going to die of dehydration today...! :)

More week from hell...

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse -- I woke up this morning to discover that we have no water. Now, whether that's because it's frozen or because the levels are very low due to lack of rain, I don't know, but thankfully Greg came home last night, as I can now take his car into town and buy some water... :(

Thursday 9 February 2006

Week from Hell

Thank god the week is finally nearly over...

On Monday, I had a little accident -- nobody was injured, but I collided with the people who live across the road from me just around the corner from here -- and my car is no longer drivable... So I am currently bidding on a new (to me) car on eBay -- please keep your fingers crossed that nobody outbids me! RIP Sunshine... :(


So then, of course, because I don't have a car to get anywhere, the heating oil somehow runs out earlier than I should, and despite repeated phone calls, the oil company takes over 48 hours to deliver the oil to me, so I have been a bit chilly...

In other news, Baz has started putting up the fence -- it's looking good!


The chickens learned that the fence is just something that they can ignore at will:


And Special K had fun exploring the inside of one of the bones I used to make beef stock with:


Oh -- and have a look at this article on the BBC web site -- Llandeilo is the town where I do most of my regular shopping -- it's a really nice place!

Wednesday 1 February 2006

New Lambs!

Okay, they are not mine, but check out the size of these twin premature lambs that were born to my next door neighbours this morning -- they are so small!


In other news, the other day I was in town and Greg said we were out of beef stock cubes -- and then I thought, why buy stock cubes when I can make stock? So I went to the butcher where they gave me this huge bag of beef bones FOR FREE -- when I got home Greg weighed it -- over 8 lbs!


I also started swatching for my latest knitting project but am having a bit of a problem: The pattern states that the gauge should be 30 stitches/22 rows = 4" -- so I have washed and dried my swatch and it measures 6" across (stitches) and only 3.5" high (rows) -- so what do I do??? Any help would be much appreciated... Isn't the yarn lovely and beautiful though?!