Blogging...

...or should that be entitled "Why I'm rubbish at blogging" ?

This is why I've not done much blogging for WAY too long. Apologies to the couple of people who actually noticed (and thanks to the one that emailed me to ask if (a) we were still alive and (b) if the blog was broken)

A day in the life.... starting with today.
Get up about 7.45am
Put the kettle on
Go out and let the hens out, break the ice on their drinking water, top up their feed
Feed the cat
Give the pony his hay-net (filled the day before.. I AM organised)
by which time the kettle has boiled - make tea
Rattle the ash out of Stanley (our solid fuel stove/boiler/cooker) and throw in some wood to get him going (I like a man who's as easily satisfied as Stanley)
Attempt #1 to get Ellie out of bed
get washed and dressed (yeah.. I did feed the animals in pyjamas/coat/wellies combo...they don't seem to mind, but I wouldn't go to the supermarket dressed like that)
Attempt #2 to get Ellie out of bed
Make Ellie's packed lunch
Warm cup of tea up in microwave
Eat some toast and drink tea (yay)
Decide on leek & potato soup for lunch based on how cold it was when I went outside
Nip out and dig up some leeks
Wash and slice leeks and start sauteeing in some butter (Stanley's warmed up to cooking temperature at this point)
Not enough leeks - nip out and dig a few more
Get foot tangled in netting that's blown off the cabbages. The caterpillars have seized on this opportunity and decimated them now. They look like someone's machine-gunned them !!!
Roll up netting and put it away so I don't fall over it again.
Come back inside - leeks on stove are now starting to burn.
Pick out worst burnt bits - wash, slice and add other leeks. Then potatoes and stock - dump into oven. Hurrah.
Meanwhile Ellie has surfaced - get her to fetch music for piano lesson, sports helmet for sports lesson and packed lunch (lunchbox still in bag from day before)
Get Ellie to school
Turn pony out into his field
Muck out stable and change his water
Fill 2 haynets
Empty wheelbarrow of muck into the forest
Come in - put kettle on for coffee
Go out again - fill log basket and turf bucket up
Check soup
Have coffee and check emails - pay some bills online
Write blog... it's 11.10am

I'll add more later ;-)

Update - it's now 12.45pm...
So far
Been out into the garden - cleared half a bed of weeds/dead runner beans/collapsed cane wigwams (4/10 for effort, must try a better and more wind-proof construction next year)
Been attacked by garden tools in the garage. I'd like to point out that we have a series of screws and hooks upon which to hang said tools, but these are obscured now by a steady accumulation of mysteriously other "non-garden tool" objects
Like the 2 Roman spears from Jesus Christ Superstar last Christmas (well... you never know - they may come in handy for something....or perhaps I could train the runner beans up THEM next year ??)
Anyway - 2 forks and a rake fell on me. Gits.
Resolved to paint the handles of all my hand-tools a vivid colour in gloss paint before Spring as they're all a uniform "mud" hue which makes them difficult to find in the soil/gravel/compost heap. I've been resolving this for years.
Discovered just how much my hens fight with each other. Compounded this by throwing them a bolted cabbage to scrap over. When they're not fighting they're doing renditions of "The Laughing Policeman" (guess you have to be there for that one...)

I ran out of steam and came in for soup (not bad, you couldn't taste the burnt bits anyway)
Came back on here to blog and noticed the state of the keyboard - some of the keys were illegible due to encrusted dirt so in a "Kim & Aggie" moment decided to take it off and clean it. Prised off the "space" bar as it's been sticking for ages.... couldn't get it back on.... stupid spring.
However I now have a squeaky clean keyboard and am just waiting for the kettle to boil for a coffee. Not planned the afternoon yet. It's now 12.54

Further update. Lunch, then decided seeing as it was raining to sort out my feet (yeah, sorry...graphic and apologies if you're eating....in fact no. Stop eating at your computer and don't be so scummy !!!)
The daily routine of wellies and steel toecapped boots means my feet aren't as lovely or as well cared for as they could be so had a session with the JML Ped Egg (don't bother)
Made the shopping list
Picked Ellie up from piano lesson and went straight into town to do the shopping. The layout of Gort and its shops mean that you have to visit at least 2 shops to complete your grocery shop. Got home around 5 in the dark and rain.
Unpack all the shopping.
Decide what to cook for dinner - pumpkin risotto with some frozen pumpkin. Also get tomatoes out of the freezer for next day's dinner (veg casserole)
Promised Ellie pancakes for pudding so make those at the same time as helping Ellie with addition and subtraction of fractions - attempt to explain "Lowest Common Denominator" using kitchen utensils.

Post some photos on Facebook and reply to a couple of emails while Steve's washing up.

Put the hens to bed, collect the egg (!) Feed the cat, bring in the pony but don't feed him till about 9-10pm which'll keep him going till the morning. Haven't ridden him today but he doesn't look that bothered.

8.20pm

The couch is calling me !!!