Project 365 2015 week 27

It’s week 27 of Project 365, a photo a day, and I’m a bit behind. All due to having to practise camping (see later on) which meant no chance to choose and edit photos. Here’s this week’s photos, better late than never.

Sunday I popped down to the yard with N, and took some photos of the kittens. Yes, yet again there’s kittens on the farm. There’s usually a couple of cats roaming around the farm – they’re strays and wild, although they do get fed once a day by my father in law. He’s the only person who can get near them and even that’s only occasional. They rarely come near the houses either.

The kittens this time are gorgeous, especially this one with its blue eyes. Four of them (five originally but one died), and all looking quite different. Every time I’m down at the yard I tend to look in to the box they set up home in. It’s so incongruous seeing these gorgeous, fluffy, and very healthy looking cats in amongst wire, fencing and god knows what else that is dumped in the box. It doesn’t seem to bother them. There are also 3 adults which is unheard of, usually we only see the female, but obviously a male and one of her previous kittens has stuck around. They’re great for mouse and rat catchers though – we never see any on the farm which is great.

I don’t really do DIY or gardening, but I decided just before we tipped all the remaining bits from our mum’s house, that I would take her old bistro table and chairs. My theory is that with a bit of sanding and some paint they’d be as good as new (well, kind of). So on Monday, we started sanding (even N had a go), and it’s looking really good. Thankfully at the weekend I didn’t start painting because it rained about an hour after I decided I would wait until another day.

We did have our dinner outside yesterday which was lovely.

Last weekend I finally got round to ordering a new bike. My old one was bought about 17 years ago, is heavy, has no suspension and after years of being in the rain and snow outside, it was on its last legs. So I then got to pick up my bike on Tuesday and go out on a bike for the first time in about 8 years. Blimey it’s uncomfortable even with a gel saddle and my big padded backside! But N was very excited to have someone to ride along with.

The only thing now is to persuade the OH we need a shed to store it and all of N’s outdoor toys (and camping gear). Then it’ll mean less stuff in the utility room, and less in the play room. The only issue with a shed is that the best place for it to go view wise would be the gravel area in a corner between the house and next door, but in heavy rain the patio floods so that means it would have to go up on the grass in view of the windows. Dilemma.

Wednesday N had the Lego out. He wanted me to build his castle set, but I told him he’d have to find the instructions and suggested he build his own version. He managed to build this mostly on his own – I was quite impressed. It’s the first freestyle build he’s made at home. Previously N’s never really wanted to do his own thing with it, so maybe he’s going to get a bit more creative with Lego in future.

N does love cutting the grass, and on Thursday he decided he would take out his scissors and cut down the long grasses by the fence. It did take him quite a while and at first I wondered what he was doing in the corner of the garden, but in the end he did manage to pick up a lot of cut grass. It was a bit of a long job so I expect he’s given up on that idea now.

I’ve had a gas BBQ for ages, and we’ve still not been able to use it because we don’t have gas. So Friday I took N into town after nursery to buy some. Countrywide in town didn’t have any (they looked at me like I was nuts not knowing that they weren’t allowed to store gas on a retail park), so they sent us off to Homebase.

But not before N had found a full length mirror in the ladieswear section and was posing and admiring himself in it. (Turned out Homebase gas is REALLY expensive – 2-3x more expensive than Countrywide, although I still didn’t get any this weekend because I didn’t know the regulator I had, the pressure and all the other information they asked me in the rural Countrywide we went to. Job for next Friday!)

Saturday was our last chance before our camping break in a few weeks, to practise putting up the tent and sleeping out in it. I have to admit that despite me not being a total notice at putting up (old style frame) tents, it took over an hour to put this one up. The instructions weren’t great, but I got a strap going over instead of under when I was connecting the inner to the fly sheet, so we had to go back a bit. Next time it’ll be a lot quicker.

Our camping out wasn’t a success. N was really keen, although the OH suggested he try sleeping out on his own until I went to bed! Ridiculous idea. But even with me in the tent he wouldn’t shut his eyes and sleep. 2.5 hours later he pronounced it was too scary to sleep in a tent, it was too noisy and he didn’t know what the noises were (cows scratching themselves on fence and metal gate, birds singing, dogs barking next door). I’m hoping that he will try again (he wanted to on Sunday, but a nursery and work night isn’t going to happen!) and that we will be ok once we’re camping with friends. I’m thinking next time I might take his music out with us so he can fall asleep to that, but any other tips welcome.