Laboscope app

Yesterday Midnight is following me the entire time I am doing something whether outdoors or indoors. He lies by my feet if I am standing still doing a task. He is most contented. If I am swinging on the swing he sits by my feet, but if I pat the space next to me, his eyes widen as if to say "You're inviting me?" And he promptly jumps up, snuggles into my leg and purrs like a tractor engine.

This morning Jade was sitting on the other side of the swing to Midnight, but Midnight seemed to be in the middle of the swing, nearer to Jade. Jade did the slow blink thing, and wasn't skittish this morning as she usually is. She stayed on the swing until I came out, and then jumped down and hid behind the wormery bin. But her head kept peeking round, Normally she stays out of sight until I get back in the bungalow. Give it a few days and I might be able to touch her.

My vegetable garden. I do not have a hosepipe, but water it with grey water (so that takes effort to gather), I put a bowl in the wash basin etc to collect any water. I don't have a water meter, so I don't need to do this, but I choose to. It is hard work to do all this with my hands and arthritis etc. I designed this vegetable garden, by stacking it a bit, and on chairs with a container underneath, so that water goes from the top container down to the next, and any excess water goes into the container underneath (to be reused) instead of being wasted and dribbling away on the concrete. So, my vegetable garden has survived the hot weather, even on days when it was too hot for me to physically water.

But we have another hot few days, and I am no good in heat. Last night I had the idea of putting up those parasols that I bought for 'protection' against Mr Insensitive Xmas Lights neighbour who was having intrusive (to me) work being done on his bungalow, roof, garage, driveway on a constant basis, and the scallies he employed spent a lot of time sitting on his roofs smoking and not working. So, I had no privacy in my garden for months and months and months in end. That was when I bought these parasols as a privacy screen. It worked. And last night I thought, why not use them as a screening against the hot sun drying out my vegetable garden. I managed to get two up. They are big and unwieldy. I'll get the other one up today. Hopefully these will help my vegetable garden. I haven't lost anything in my vegetable garden from the heat and drying out yet. Although in the rest of my garden I have lost some bushes (leaves have all died), parts of trees have died, and the ground which normally has green ground cover, is a barren wasteland now.

I am working on microgreens for indoors, and I have a hydroponics system going (and a second one to start when the colder weather is here). But this is basically for winter. I am sourcing seeds and stuff for the microgreens. Doing well with that. There is just me to feed in this bungalow, I don't know how viable something like this would work if you had a family, you would need a room for it.

Creative today is one of my colourful pillowcases as a kaleidoscope in Laboscope. Recognise the fabric? Laura Ashley. A couple of decades or so ago, I loved her materials. And I bought a length to make a long skirt out of it (I can't wear long skirts now, I trip over them!). But there was never enough time. I am over Laura Ashley materials now (does she still exist?). But I like these pillowcases I made out of the fabric.

Coffee now, stuff to do, a parasol to wrestle with...
Be good...
Or not...