Shelley, Bride of Frankendecken ~ Journal
Wendywu
Today we were up nice and early as usual, and decided that we would go for a walk with the dogs on Orley Common in Ipplepen. This is a very old piece of land, and the forested area is part of the Old Forest that once covered the whole of Britain. Common land is exactly what’s its name implies – land owned by the village for the use of the villagers. Orley Common is well looked after and is taking part in a dormouse preservation scheme. Shelley was interested to see the notices about the dormice that were put up near the entrance to the Common.
We read the board about butterflies that can be found on the Common with great interest, but we have had very poor weather recently and the ground underfoot was muddy and slippery enough to make us pay attention to our footing and I freely admit that looking out for butterflies wasn’t high on my list of priorities today. One of the first things we saw was a huge fungus; I find them fascinating and couldn’t resist taking a pic of Shelley with it.
The path into the woods starts off as a nice stony track but soon became a bit more like normal paths through very old woods i.e. a very narrow dirt track.
At one stage we saw some old fashioned "quick" fencing which was keeping some stacked wood safe (quite what from I am still not sure). One thing that really interested me was an old, abandoned ploughing machine. The Common is surrounded by farmed land, and I suppose some farmer just left his plough in the woods. My husband (a retired engineer) looked at its metal wheels and general construction and reckons it’s about 100 years old.
The Common is surrounded by traditional dry stone walling, which is covered in moss and ivy and looks so very attractive. Far nicer than wire fencing and posts.
We had a wonderful walk and by the time we got home we were all famished. Luckily my husband (who does the cooking in our home) got us all a big breakfast. It looks very decadent but the bacon is broiled (grilled) and so are the tomatoes. The eggs and mushrooms are fried in a couple of squirts of FryLight which is an exceptionally low calorie spray, so although it looks like a meal that might not be so good for you, it is in fact fine. And I needed it, for I was going upstairs to work out with Annabelle afterwards .....
We read the board about butterflies that can be found on the Common with great interest, but we have had very poor weather recently and the ground underfoot was muddy and slippery enough to make us pay attention to our footing and I freely admit that looking out for butterflies wasn’t high on my list of priorities today. One of the first things we saw was a huge fungus; I find them fascinating and couldn’t resist taking a pic of Shelley with it.
The path into the woods starts off as a nice stony track but soon became a bit more like normal paths through very old woods i.e. a very narrow dirt track.
At one stage we saw some old fashioned "quick" fencing which was keeping some stacked wood safe (quite what from I am still not sure). One thing that really interested me was an old, abandoned ploughing machine. The Common is surrounded by farmed land, and I suppose some farmer just left his plough in the woods. My husband (a retired engineer) looked at its metal wheels and general construction and reckons it’s about 100 years old.
The Common is surrounded by traditional dry stone walling, which is covered in moss and ivy and looks so very attractive. Far nicer than wire fencing and posts.
We had a wonderful walk and by the time we got home we were all famished. Luckily my husband (who does the cooking in our home) got us all a big breakfast. It looks very decadent but the bacon is broiled (grilled) and so are the tomatoes. The eggs and mushrooms are fried in a couple of squirts of FryLight which is an exceptionally low calorie spray, so although it looks like a meal that might not be so good for you, it is in fact fine. And I needed it, for I was going upstairs to work out with Annabelle afterwards .....
Attachments
Wendywu
Wendywu
Wendywu
The weather has not been very kind this week and Shelley and I have had to amuse ourselves indoors most of the time. I think she got bored with the amount of time she had to spend just twiddling her cards while I worked out with Annabelle!
However, after some furniture re-arranging one of the dollshouses needed a good tidy out. I was horrified at the dust and mess but it's been hard to get at this house since before Christmas (which is why the Christmas decorations are all still up). Shelley was fascinated by the house. It's not a Victorian house but a modern one and I had great fun getting it together. One of the people currently living in the house is waiting for his own home, and should be getting it over the next few months. He will be having a junk shop full of second hand stuff that he sells really cheaply, and there is to be a small living accommodation area upstairs. I'm looking forward to doing that!
I attach some pics of Shelley and the dollshouse and would ask you to excuse the dust please!
After that, Shelley helped me with the houseplants and decided she really likes my yucca plant that lives in our bedroom. I got this plant when he was a six inch little stick - now look at him! Once the better weather comes he is going to live in a garden outdoors because that's what he needs if he is to continue growing and being happy
. I will miss him very much, but I will start over with another little one...
I spent a lot of time just looking through Shelley's cards during the week - she's an interesting deck and I am very pleased that I had the opportunity to have her with me for a while.
Tomorrow she moves on and will being staying with PathWalker for a while
However, after some furniture re-arranging one of the dollshouses needed a good tidy out. I was horrified at the dust and mess but it's been hard to get at this house since before Christmas (which is why the Christmas decorations are all still up). Shelley was fascinated by the house. It's not a Victorian house but a modern one and I had great fun getting it together. One of the people currently living in the house is waiting for his own home, and should be getting it over the next few months. He will be having a junk shop full of second hand stuff that he sells really cheaply, and there is to be a small living accommodation area upstairs. I'm looking forward to doing that!
I attach some pics of Shelley and the dollshouse and would ask you to excuse the dust please!
After that, Shelley helped me with the houseplants and decided she really likes my yucca plant that lives in our bedroom. I got this plant when he was a six inch little stick - now look at him! Once the better weather comes he is going to live in a garden outdoors because that's what he needs if he is to continue growing and being happy
. I will miss him very much, but I will start over with another little one...I spent a lot of time just looking through Shelley's cards during the week - she's an interesting deck and I am very pleased that I had the opportunity to have her with me for a while.
Tomorrow she moves on and will being staying with PathWalker for a while
Attachments
PathWalker
Shelley arrived!
And Shelley has arrived at my house
Jesii is still here, so she gets a sneak preview too, before Shelley gets posted on to her next week LOL
Sadly I don't have access to a digital camera most of the time, so there may be no pictures from here, but I can confirm that I've released Shelley from her plastic wrappings (keeps her safe but no fresh air!) and she's now getting to used to our quiet house in the country - accompanied by the soundtrack of Grand Prix racing on the computer.
(She may be somewhat confused by the time she leaves here )
She'll be watching practise sessions soon....
And Shelley has arrived at my house
Jesii is still here, so she gets a sneak preview too, before Shelley gets posted on to her next week LOL
Sadly I don't have access to a digital camera most of the time, so there may be no pictures from here, but I can confirm that I've released Shelley from her plastic wrappings (keeps her safe but no fresh air!) and she's now getting to used to our quiet house in the country - accompanied by the soundtrack of Grand Prix racing on the computer.
(She may be somewhat confused by the time she leaves here
)She'll be watching practise sessions soon....
PathWalker
Saturday & Sunday
Despite telling Shelley that we lived in the country, had a very quiet life and hardly ever went anywhere - on her first night with us we took Shelley into Birmingham and went to the theatre!
Birmingham is very multi-cultural compared to where I'm based, so we watched all the amazing and unfamiliar shops, resturants and delis go by through the car window, and wished we had time to stop and look. (TBH, Shelley was less 'wow'-ed than me, maybe with all her travel, she's seen it all before. For me, it's always like stepping into another world.)
We ate sushi before-hand, watching all those wonderful little plates go by....
We saw a perfomance of "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" by the M.A. students at the Uni my OH works at. It was great fun, and their last night, so lots of hugs and kisses afterwards (Shelley didn't actually do the kissing - that was me).
These students are so very professional in their work, and so enthused, it's great to chat with them.
http://www.bcu.ac.uk/pme/school-of-acting/whats-on/season-shows/bette-boo
There's a peformance by a different group of students of 'Dracula' next weekeend - sadly Shelley will have just left
Today Mr PW and I travelled to Jesii's university town to drop off Jes and lots more stuff; bigger room next year. Shelley couldn't really come as she'll be travelling there herself next week, and I didn't want to spoil the suprise of her next destination, so she stayed at home with the parrots (3) for company, and rumaged through the book shelves.
Despite telling Shelley that we lived in the country, had a very quiet life and hardly ever went anywhere - on her first night with us we took Shelley into Birmingham and went to the theatre!
Birmingham is very multi-cultural compared to where I'm based, so we watched all the amazing and unfamiliar shops, resturants and delis go by through the car window, and wished we had time to stop and look. (TBH, Shelley was less 'wow'-ed than me, maybe with all her travel, she's seen it all before. For me, it's always like stepping into another world.)
We ate sushi before-hand, watching all those wonderful little plates go by....
We saw a perfomance of "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" by the M.A. students at the Uni my OH works at. It was great fun, and their last night, so lots of hugs and kisses afterwards (Shelley didn't actually do the kissing - that was me).
These students are so very professional in their work, and so enthused, it's great to chat with them.
http://www.bcu.ac.uk/pme/school-of-acting/whats-on/season-shows/bette-boo
There's a peformance by a different group of students of 'Dracula' next weekeend - sadly Shelley will have just left
Today Mr PW and I travelled to Jesii's university town to drop off Jes and lots more stuff; bigger room next year. Shelley couldn't really come as she'll be travelling there herself next week, and I didn't want to spoil the suprise of her next destination, so she stayed at home with the parrots (3) for company, and rumaged through the book shelves.
PathWalker
Monday
Why is it that even well-planned days sometimes fall apart?
This morning I needed to get into my local town for a health appointment I really don't want to miss. So Shelley and I are at the bus stop early, and we wait. And wait.....
You can guess how it went, can't you? The bus, which only comes once an hour as it is, never showed up I had to ask a neighbour for a lift, and I do hate to impose. Then after an exciting visit with my 'foot' person, we all (me, Shelley, my nice neighbour and both of her children) trouped off for a thank-you coffee and croissant. And it was supposed to be so simple!
So, later than I hoped, there were parrots to clean - Shelley kept her distance from this activity, which was probably as well, as they're not very respectful, parrots, when it comes to cardboard
And this afternoon - first day of Wimbledon (the premiere grass court tennis championship for those that don't know) - we followed the tradition of watching the matches and knitting
Has anyone tried to teach Shelley to knit before? She didn't seem to stick to it, and unravelled more than she acheived I think, but I'm working on a sock with cable pattern, and watched some good first round matches too.
Later in the week we'll do the strawberries tradition too!
http://www.virginmedia.com/images/strawberries-cream.jpg
Why is it that even well-planned days sometimes fall apart?
This morning I needed to get into my local town for a health appointment I really don't want to miss. So Shelley and I are at the bus stop early, and we wait. And wait.....
You can guess how it went, can't you? The bus, which only comes once an hour as it is, never showed up
I had to ask a neighbour for a lift, and I do hate to impose. Then after an exciting visit with my 'foot' person, we all (me, Shelley, my nice neighbour and both of her children) trouped off for a thank-you coffee and croissant. And it was supposed to be so simple!So, later than I hoped, there were parrots to clean - Shelley kept her distance from this activity, which was probably as well, as they're not very respectful, parrots, when it comes to cardboard
And this afternoon - first day of Wimbledon (the premiere grass court tennis championship for those that don't know) - we followed the tradition of watching the matches and knitting
Has anyone tried to teach Shelley to knit before? She didn't seem to stick to it, and unravelled more than she acheived I think, but I'm working on a sock with cable pattern, and watched some good first round matches too.
Later in the week we'll do the strawberries tradition too!
http://www.virginmedia.com/images/strawberries-cream.jpg
PathWalker
Tuesday and Wednesday
Quiet days here, just looking at all the different cards; which decks do I like, what are they?
And then more tennis and more knitting in the afternoons.
We've agreed we don't like players who grunt, or players who spit!
Pathwalker
Quiet days here, just looking at all the different cards; which decks do I like, what are they?
And then more tennis and more knitting in the afternoons.
We've agreed we don't like players who grunt, or players who spit!
Pathwalker
PathWalker
Thursday & Friday
Well for all her modern face and her cosmopolitan experiences, I've discovered Shelley is no better with technology than me
So my attempts to learn how to use a 'new to me' mobile 'phone are progressing very slowly LOL
Now we've got the England-Australia One Day International Cricket match on sound, and we're brewing a potion on Pottermore with an eye on the House Cup announcement on 5th July.(Clever Ravenclaw for Shelley, what else?)
I've tried to use all the cards of SHelley to figure out what I like and don't like in terms of decks, colurs, art styles, that sort of thing. But I've failed - I just don't don't like some, but lack understanding of why that might be, they don't seem to fit any pattern I can see.
Anyway, we're enjoying our days.
Pathwalker
Well for all her modern face and her cosmopolitan experiences, I've discovered Shelley is no better with technology than me
So my attempts to learn how to use a 'new to me' mobile 'phone are progressing very slowly LOL
Now we've got the England-Australia One Day International Cricket match on sound, and we're brewing a potion on Pottermore with an eye on the House Cup announcement on 5th July.(Clever Ravenclaw for Shelley, what else?)
I've tried to use all the cards of SHelley to figure out what I like and don't like in terms of decks, colurs, art styles, that sort of thing. But I've failed - I just don't don't like some, but lack understanding of why that might be, they don't seem to fit any pattern I can see.
Anyway, we're enjoying our days.
Pathwalker
