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izmeinaA certain serpent has been somewhat psycho of late. Not the axe murdering, baby munching, cat killing uncontrollable and sadistic sort of psycho but just plain neurotic and as mad as a hatter. Jittery and agitated and totally unable to snap out of such a crazy state. So it is simply pointless to go pottering on grand adventures as it is simply a waste of time and train fares. As there’s a rather large pile of mulch on the verge and and a botanical monster needing to be tamed, termite infested den of iniquity that it is, figured that it made more sense to linger about the Lair and sort this stuff out rather than go on any pottering, plotting and planning camp nano coffee crawls. Not quite coffee as that is well and truly off the menu but a pot of tea or two
Yesterday in a fit of nostalgia paid a visit to the Muse cafe located appropriately enough in the grounds of the state museum. It was exactly six months ago yesterday since discovering the place in its new incarnation. It used to be a quaint place selling crappy coffees and sandwiches at exorbitant prices. So it was hardly a surprise that it closed
The new mob are big into retro and the 1950s look but most importantly of all they have loose leaf tea in real china pots and cute cups and quirky spoons to match.
The very first visit did think that six silver sickles for a big pot was a bit decadent but chose to indulge anyway. But the whole ritual with the gorgeous china pots and a good four cups of real tea per pot made that six dollars most reasonable indeed. So been pretty much a regular since then.
That particular day had brought a stash of papers printed out the day before but waiting for a suitable occasion before a proper peek. These pages were several weeks worth of home work assignments for the Coursera “Introduction to Mathematical Thinking”
Spent a good few afternoons doing that stuff there as well as the crypto course homework. There is just something about sitting outside under the trees with a cup or two of tea rather than staring at a blinking computer screen that makes the old serpent green cells function a lot more efficiently
It was also an excellent spot for nano plotting, planning and squiggling and almost became an unofficial city HQ for a certain serpent
But it was a muggy day and the magic was just not there. It was not the bus ride but some phone dramas that had made the Izzie crazy and even cups of tea at the Muse cafe were not going to cast their usual spell. Did resort to pulling out the very same stash of maths assignments from six months ago and doing some of assignment 6 sort of served as a circuit breaker. But it is very easy to be reasonably calm when it is quiet and there are no distractions.
But still it was a vast improvement on the previous Thursday. This time the visit to Govinda’s run by the Hari Krishnas was not a disappointment. There was a pretty pile of tasty potatoes left. Got some as a take away as well to make up for the previous week’s deprivation. But did not fail to notice that on leaving the place about twenty minutes before arriving the previous week they had brought out a big fat new tray of these tasty potato morsels.
Had bought some of the ingredients earlier in the week for a home baked version but ended up slinking about in Cyberia instead of being all domestic doing baking and such
Since the early morning taxation classes started on Thursdays decided that it’s best to just lurk about the Lair for the afternoon. But last night was one of the writers’ group meetings. Missed the one from the previous fortnight due to some Dursleyish dramas. Figured that missing two in a row would make it just too easy to get into the habit so would make the effort to attend. Along with the ritual visit to the Muse cafe that was sufficient to override any temptations for a lazy snoozy afternoon. But going to a writers group did mean losing those few hours that could be spent squiggling and trying to catch up later
And this turns out to be that day. There was simply no point in going anywhere while in this present agitated state. The Izzie tizzies come and go and seem to have a mind of their own. Being hungry, hot or tired is just tempting a visit but there are other triggers that are pretty much guaranteed. Too much noise, bright lights, crowds or any sort of sensory overload is just asking for trouble.
So today would consist of a quick visit to the local shops before getting stuck into the monsters in the garden. Sometimes good old fashioned physical work distracts the inner beasties or at least makes them too tired to run amok
The Dursleys had dropped by earlier in the day to bring over a crow bar and to grab some grapes for the chooks. They looked at the super pit in the back yard. Vernon declared that it was utter stupidity digging out all the sand and asked why I simply did not saw the big fat monstrous carbuncle to bits. I explained that the sand had to be got rid of because it kept filling up the hole and by digging out underneath the big critter would eventually have to move. The serpent tactic was to white ant this termite infested lump
He said that it was stupid and would take some six months to do that way.
The visit to the shops just made the Izzie even more nutty and neurotic and that was even before the hordes of school kids descended upon the place. Abandoned the plan of sitting with a pot of tea at Jamaica Blue and the Zombie deck in hand to do some nano plotting and planning.
Slinked back to the house and was out the back with the shovel and the crow bar by 3.30pm. Figured that if it is not possible to be happy then it is at least possible to be productive. In that crazy state will try all sorts of desperate measures as a circuit breaker.
Had expected that two afternoons would sort out this botanical Cthulhu with its endless mass of tentacles. Cut the most obvious ones before using our ten tons as leverage to move the monster inch by inch. Had no fear of using brute force with the crowbar as it was made of solid steel and was certainly not going to snap like the handle of the shovel if put to similar use. Slowly got the big bugger to wriggle a bit more each time. It looked increasingly likely that it would be out in time for the 5pm news.
It was then I heard the funny little voices saying hello. Looked up expecting to see one of the nosy neighbours peering over the fence and probably asking if she could have a few barrow loads of mulch. But it wasn’t. It was dear old Vernon and Petunia again. They were shocked to see the serpent hard at work rather than the usual slinking about the city doing nothing. Vernon especially could not get over how far the Izzie had gotten in such a short space of time without his indispensable assistance. For the last few months he has been banned from indulging in such strenuous activities but that is a long long story and best saved for another day. Suffice to say that the real Vernon Dursley (the one in the Potter movies) also had problems with the old ticker but did not live to tell the tale
And he had brought his favorite weapon of mass destruction. But at that stage it was really only necessary to cut the beast in chunks small enough to fit in the big green bin. Izzie normally never puts green and growing things - even dead green and growing thing into the bin. Would much rather dig a hole to give them a decent burial where they can provide nutrients for all the little critters in the soil. But this termite infested monster was not going to get a decent funeral and burial.
We had a toast to the demise of the beast while the ma snaffled the last of the grapes for her girls. Vernon still could not believe that this lazy lump of a serpent could get such a job done so soon. He took the chainsaw, crowbar and stuff and only later did I discover that he’s now got the shovel too. So that’s going to make it a bit of a bummer getting all that sand back in the hole and moving the massive pile of mulch
Did poke around to get the last remaining roots and will be needing to slink off down to the shops to get bags of kitty litter and assorted soil improvements for the new potato patch. Such a pity that it will have to be a tree free zone
Maybe we could sneakily snaffle some of the neighbours' kids and cats to toss in the hole. They do make the most wonderful fertilizer.
Yesterday in a fit of nostalgia paid a visit to the Muse cafe located appropriately enough in the grounds of the state museum. It was exactly six months ago yesterday since discovering the place in its new incarnation. It used to be a quaint place selling crappy coffees and sandwiches at exorbitant prices. So it was hardly a surprise that it closed
The new mob are big into retro and the 1950s look but most importantly of all they have loose leaf tea in real china pots and cute cups and quirky spoons to match.
The very first visit did think that six silver sickles for a big pot was a bit decadent but chose to indulge anyway. But the whole ritual with the gorgeous china pots and a good four cups of real tea per pot made that six dollars most reasonable indeed. So been pretty much a regular since then.
That particular day had brought a stash of papers printed out the day before but waiting for a suitable occasion before a proper peek. These pages were several weeks worth of home work assignments for the Coursera “Introduction to Mathematical Thinking”
Spent a good few afternoons doing that stuff there as well as the crypto course homework. There is just something about sitting outside under the trees with a cup or two of tea rather than staring at a blinking computer screen that makes the old serpent green cells function a lot more efficiently
It was also an excellent spot for nano plotting, planning and squiggling and almost became an unofficial city HQ for a certain serpent
But it was a muggy day and the magic was just not there. It was not the bus ride but some phone dramas that had made the Izzie crazy and even cups of tea at the Muse cafe were not going to cast their usual spell. Did resort to pulling out the very same stash of maths assignments from six months ago and doing some of assignment 6 sort of served as a circuit breaker. But it is very easy to be reasonably calm when it is quiet and there are no distractions.
But still it was a vast improvement on the previous Thursday. This time the visit to Govinda’s run by the Hari Krishnas was not a disappointment. There was a pretty pile of tasty potatoes left. Got some as a take away as well to make up for the previous week’s deprivation. But did not fail to notice that on leaving the place about twenty minutes before arriving the previous week they had brought out a big fat new tray of these tasty potato morsels.
Had bought some of the ingredients earlier in the week for a home baked version but ended up slinking about in Cyberia instead of being all domestic doing baking and such
Since the early morning taxation classes started on Thursdays decided that it’s best to just lurk about the Lair for the afternoon. But last night was one of the writers’ group meetings. Missed the one from the previous fortnight due to some Dursleyish dramas. Figured that missing two in a row would make it just too easy to get into the habit so would make the effort to attend. Along with the ritual visit to the Muse cafe that was sufficient to override any temptations for a lazy snoozy afternoon. But going to a writers group did mean losing those few hours that could be spent squiggling and trying to catch up later
And this turns out to be that day. There was simply no point in going anywhere while in this present agitated state. The Izzie tizzies come and go and seem to have a mind of their own. Being hungry, hot or tired is just tempting a visit but there are other triggers that are pretty much guaranteed. Too much noise, bright lights, crowds or any sort of sensory overload is just asking for trouble.
So today would consist of a quick visit to the local shops before getting stuck into the monsters in the garden. Sometimes good old fashioned physical work distracts the inner beasties or at least makes them too tired to run amok
The Dursleys had dropped by earlier in the day to bring over a crow bar and to grab some grapes for the chooks. They looked at the super pit in the back yard. Vernon declared that it was utter stupidity digging out all the sand and asked why I simply did not saw the big fat monstrous carbuncle to bits. I explained that the sand had to be got rid of because it kept filling up the hole and by digging out underneath the big critter would eventually have to move. The serpent tactic was to white ant this termite infested lump
He said that it was stupid and would take some six months to do that way.
The visit to the shops just made the Izzie even more nutty and neurotic and that was even before the hordes of school kids descended upon the place. Abandoned the plan of sitting with a pot of tea at Jamaica Blue and the Zombie deck in hand to do some nano plotting and planning.
Slinked back to the house and was out the back with the shovel and the crow bar by 3.30pm. Figured that if it is not possible to be happy then it is at least possible to be productive. In that crazy state will try all sorts of desperate measures as a circuit breaker.
Had expected that two afternoons would sort out this botanical Cthulhu with its endless mass of tentacles. Cut the most obvious ones before using our ten tons as leverage to move the monster inch by inch. Had no fear of using brute force with the crowbar as it was made of solid steel and was certainly not going to snap like the handle of the shovel if put to similar use. Slowly got the big bugger to wriggle a bit more each time. It looked increasingly likely that it would be out in time for the 5pm news.
It was then I heard the funny little voices saying hello. Looked up expecting to see one of the nosy neighbours peering over the fence and probably asking if she could have a few barrow loads of mulch. But it wasn’t. It was dear old Vernon and Petunia again. They were shocked to see the serpent hard at work rather than the usual slinking about the city doing nothing. Vernon especially could not get over how far the Izzie had gotten in such a short space of time without his indispensable assistance. For the last few months he has been banned from indulging in such strenuous activities but that is a long long story and best saved for another day. Suffice to say that the real Vernon Dursley (the one in the Potter movies) also had problems with the old ticker but did not live to tell the tale
And he had brought his favorite weapon of mass destruction. But at that stage it was really only necessary to cut the beast in chunks small enough to fit in the big green bin. Izzie normally never puts green and growing things - even dead green and growing thing into the bin. Would much rather dig a hole to give them a decent burial where they can provide nutrients for all the little critters in the soil. But this termite infested monster was not going to get a decent funeral and burial.
We had a toast to the demise of the beast while the ma snaffled the last of the grapes for her girls. Vernon still could not believe that this lazy lump of a serpent could get such a job done so soon. He took the chainsaw, crowbar and stuff and only later did I discover that he’s now got the shovel too. So that’s going to make it a bit of a bummer getting all that sand back in the hole and moving the massive pile of mulch
Did poke around to get the last remaining roots and will be needing to slink off down to the shops to get bags of kitty litter and assorted soil improvements for the new potato patch. Such a pity that it will have to be a tree free zone
Maybe we could sneakily snaffle some of the neighbours' kids and cats to toss in the hole. They do make the most wonderful fertilizer.
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no subject
Date: 2013-04-07 01:51 pm (UTC)Good for you, getting that monster out of there. I usually use prunings, etc, for compost as well, but if they're harbouring nasties, then it really makes sense to send them to the tip.
I'm sorry you've been feeling out of sorts lately. Big hugs. If it helps, you're not alone. I've been a bit cranky too, and so many of my acquaintances and friends, both here and online, seem to be feeling the same. I know as far as I'm concerned, the recent heat is NOT helping. I was looking forward to Autumn, with all that lovely weather at Easter. Now they say it'll rain on Saturday, but ha! I don't believe that. Not yet, anyway.
Oh, and yay for mulchnet (is that where you got the mulch?) I never had any luck with them, but I think I may try your trick of renewing every month? Good pointers :)
Also wanted to thank you again for sending me to the link on Radio National about mummy blogging. I'm just finishing up a piece on it and am posting it to my Wordpress blog :)
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Date: 2013-04-07 03:34 pm (UTC)Been resorting to all sorts of devious means to scare off the Dementors but they are such persistent clingy critters of late. Even dark chocolate does not deter them these days.
Mulchnet are a funny mob. Had put down my name years ago and basically gave up. But they were doing one of those Great Gardens work shops last November and said that everything is now online and you have to register there. A job lasts only six weeks and then you have to renew and they send an email to offer you that option. They did that I guess so they could guarantee the suppliers that all requests are recent and very fresh. You could imagine the embarrassment if they left a trailer load of the stuff on a lawn and the previous owner had left and the new one jumping up and down with rage
But what is especially weird - decided to do a queue jump by paying for delivery. Was hoping for a summer arrival as it would make an excellent sun screen for the soil
But no invoice was left in the mail box or the meter box, as an email or even when I log into the website.
Just gone and marked it as delivered! So now we got to work out who to pay.
So if you are in an area with a lot of tree contractors and don't mind a long wait, it's a pretty good way to get affordable goodies for the garden.
Will be snooping about waiting for some bloggie goodness. Been meaning to reply to that very sordid saga of you and your treacherous two timing. As usual the twist in the tale always comes near the very last line.
Personally I prefer dream sheep to horny old goats who keep running off to the highest bidder, eating posts and subject lines and all sorts of stuff.