Weapon of war...

...against the slugs in the courtyard. Or just a daft idea? Only time - and the health of the hostas - will tell!

It's like this. A couple of days ago, an item went down my Facebook feed entitled 'Nine things do with cucumber' or somesuch. I don't usually bother reading such posts but, for some reason (most likely to put off stripping wallpaper...), I clicked on this one. Item number 1 - to stop doors squeaking, rub a slice of cucumber on the hinges. Well, as the bathroom door had been squeaking loudly and annoyingly for weeks, I cut a slice of cucumber and went to the bathroom to disprove this nonsense. Did as instructed, swung the door back and forth and, to my amazement, silence! Not even a tiny squeak. Tried it on the 'music room' door too, much to MrM's amusement and then surprise - the cucumber cured the squeak there too. Both doors are still squeak-free.

Following this unexpected success, I read about the other uses for cucumber! One was putting slices of cucumber in an aluminium dish to deter slugs which, apparently, don't like the smell caused by the chemical reaction between the cucumber and the aluminium. Sounds unlikely, but hey, it's worth a try. The leaves on the hosta are just beginning to unfurl. Last year, they didn't last long before the slugs moved in, despite my efforts to deter them. I'll keep you posted...

ION. All the 'rogue' paper is off the living-room wall, and the wall has been sized the diluted PVA. 'Take two' on Sunday, hopefully.