Virtual Monday again

[byslantedlight]

I was going to post over the weekend about many non-work things... but I didn't. And that was perhaps partly cos I was also sitting in front of my laptop trying to catch up on a day's work for this week, because Thursday is an all-day volunteer induction day at my NT place (I need a good nickname for that... *g*) but what happened was that I caught up with half a day's work... I did other things though too, and Saturday was both bustle-y and relaxing.
- supermarket shop (at the fancy one) with coffee and bun breakfast
- finally got hold of the best eyedrops (yes I know you don't care, but it was a triumph after months!)
- went to garden centre to buy more compost
- somehow bought other things as well
- decided to give the tyre garden thing a go after all (as per below...)
- made second Riverford Recipe dinner
- made meringues with leftover egg whites
- laundry
- fiddle practice
- phoned mum for mother's day in Aus
- received email saying my passport is done and on its way back to me. Well done that consulate!
- booked Penzance YHA for - ooh, next Sunday night, for the first night of my wee birthday holiday (only wee this year, cos eep!, renting a place on my own!)
- got excited about visitors coming to stay a couple of weeks after that. Yeay! *g*
Hmmn - the pics are a bit odd cos they make it look like there's acres of space each side of those tyres, but there's only a couple of feet - not much room for more of them, though I may add more if these work out.

The thing about moving here, is that at the time beggars were most definitely not spoilt for choice, and while many things are fab, I would have chosen somewhere with a bit of grass and a view, given my druthers and for this rent. But I'm here now, and surrounded by gravel, so I need to see if I can make the best of it. I found myself pottering with pots, and in a moment of... creativity I decided to experiment with breaking up the gravel with a sort of container-bed structurally supported by some of the hundreds of old tyres my Landpeople inherited when they bought the farm. It's not going to stay looking like this, obviously, and the pots are only in it to give me a sort of idea of things, but... I'm hoping I can be more creative about it too, and make it look a bit prettier sooner rather than later! I'll probably buy some paint and paint what can be seen of the tyres - going for the shabby-chic look, since I don't expect it'll stick all that well! I'd've liked to plant veg, but I don't trust the tyres not to leach nasty stuff into them, so I shall do those in other tubs elsewhere, I think... And my plan is to find some cheap mirrors and angle them a bit so that the sky's reflected here and there. I must get on with hanging stuff from the fence posts too, cos that's on my list. And if anyone has any other bright ideas, do shout out, cos one thing I really hate in a garden? Bloody gravel! It didn't even stop rabbits coming in and upsetting one of the wee containers I'd left out!

In the meantime, I'd better get on with catching up on yesterday's/tomorrow's/Thursday's work... Hope y'all had a nice weekend... *g*

Today's Work

Laundry
Wrk pgs 1-10
Fiddle practice
Decide and Book YHAs for 1 or 2 more nights...Yeay - I picked one with a Wheal Leisure carpark, cos ooh - Poldark connection, a sign! *g*
Fiddle practice
Wrk pgs 11-20 (12.36-13.26) With many things in between, though...
Wrk pgs 21-30 14.03 - better. And made lunch too... *g*
Lunch
Wrk pgs 31-40
Downloaded assignments for this week
Fiddle lesson
Supermarket (again!)
Wrk pgs 41-50
Wrk pgs 50-57 Okay, that was unfair. Judging by the other document in the same set yesterday, this should have gone really quickly, with fewer errors! Ah well - done now.

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Our experience has been that you can't keep the rabbits out, not without a six-foot block wall. And maybe not even then.

Your garden sounds as if it's had a good start. I like the idea about using the tires. Because of the animals, most of my flowers are potted, so I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I take it the landlord and lady aren't keen on you actually planting grass?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I was just surprised the rabbits wanted to come in at all - it's all stones, nothing nice for them to leap over at all!

Landlord would love it if I planted grass, but there's nothing to plant it on - the reason it's gravel-covered is because underneath is the stable/farmyard concrete, which I wish was all I had to be honest, it'd be far easier to walk on and pretty-up if you ask me! I think there were practical reasons for putting down too though - apparently there's a cable runs under one end, over the yard but under the gravel! Also Landlady said they didn't want to force a garden on someone (there's a couple of planted raised beds) that would take all their time - but I suspect it would just have been too nasty to dig up all that concrete yard... *g* There are bits of weeds growing up through it might, some of which I leave alone for their kind of rockery-tenaciousness... *g*

I think they'd like to see it as green and prettified as possible to be honest - landlord was even making noises about vines he'd seen growing along criss-crossed wires above a restaurant, but that's block to much light I think, though it sounds pretty enough. If I had windows on the other side as well, then fab! Or maybe somehow over the gravelled-yard, rather than where he was thinking of them. But that did mean that not only had he no objections to me planting a couple of (hopefully) fast-growing creeper plants by the fence, he was positively enthusiastic! *g* So I think we're actually on the same page when it comes to what we'd like it to look like - green and full of life and pretty!

[milomaus.livejournal.com]

I love what you did with your garden! And that your landlord agrees with you on so many things! *gg*

You were really very busy.
How about some other coloured gravel, or painted stones, and make some kind of knot garden?
*ggggg*

I have thousand ideas for stuff to hang from your fence. *g*

Good luck with work, I didn't get anything done at all today for Job 2. I'm just sewing....

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I finished work at last and I'm sooooo sleepy, and it's not even 11pm!

Hee for the garden - I wondered about shiny quartzy crystals and funking paving stones here and there... now I wonder where you got the idea of a knot garden...? *vbg* Yeay for things to hang from the fence, too! I quite like the fence in its own right actually, it's pretty wood, but it could do with some breaking up... I wish I was a millionaire, and could just go and find scads of drapy flowers and things to hang from it now!

Hope you enjoyed your sewing day... *g*

[heliophile-oxon.livejournal.com]

You are clearly far more of a gardener than I. I salute you (as does my collection of weeds, ivy and maybe half a dozen assorted planters (one of which, hidden away in the corner by the shed, was actually a toilet in a former life, now buried up to the rim and with plants in it :-) ))
Three of the planters are those fancy, fashionable old farmhouse sinks, though, rescued from a building site :-)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh I wish - I'm not much of a gardener at all, and I never seem to come across cool things like old farmhouse sinks in building sites, either... I have very dull planter-things at the moment, and need to find funkier ones! My collection of gravel waves back to you all! *g*

[siskiou.livejournal.com]

Oh, you are doing a nice job with the gravel garden! And it really does look vast! :)
How about a few window boxes at different levels on the fence? Are you allowed to nail anything to it?

Well done catching up on the work. Though there is always more waiting, unfortunately. *g*
I wonder, if people with a job like writing about travel feel the same way, after a while.
I'm quite looking forward to the summer break, which is only 5 weeks away now.

The interviews for the new principal were last Friday, and there were only two candidates. Our school can't offer the kind of pay other schools can, so we mainly attract already retired former principals, who have a pension to pad their income. I hope, they consider the second candidate! He sounded capable and nice.

And now it's back to searching for an affordable computer model with an anti-glare screen. The screen protector I tried did a great job with the reflections on this model, but also made a huge dent in the clarity. I felt I needed stronger glasses and reading was really unpleasant. So, I can't recommend it at all.
But I also really don't like the reflections on the shiny screen. So, this laptop will go back to the store. Fortunately, they have a 30 day return policy.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I want to buy/get hold of lots and lots of stuff and plants to cover up all the gravel, and make it look green (and pink and yellow and white and purple, and... *g*), but I know I need to be patient! I was thinking about window-box type things on the fence too - I can nail things to it, but to be honest I wouldn't want to nail anything too heavy, so I thought I'd try hanging things from the top fence posts, and from the supporting rail along the middle - I think there's just enough space to do that cos of the angle the fence slats are at.

And hah - yes, any job must get dull if it's repetitive enough. If you did nothing but travel and write about it I suppose even that would be dull. What I'd like to do is find enough other jobs to break up the routine a bit... I've been all about the moving so far, but I must get on better with that! Oh, and the summer break is definitely something I miss about teaching - that lush 6 weeks (and 2 weeks, and 2 weeks, and week and week, over here! Of course it was pretty exhausting between all that - but fun. It's a shame they changed the job so much over here...)

I seem to remember that teachers are paid really poorly in the US to start with... It always seems strange to me when people who've retired apply for jobs! At least it sounds as if there's not someone who really needs the job being competed against... though I guess it would have been better for you if there was. Good luck with it all, anyway - shall cross my fingers for the second candidate!

Erk for the screen protector failing - which means that the whole laptop has to go back! Although I know what you mean about the reflections. I have</i. got used to looking past them mostly, but I can't help thinking that it must be bad for my eyes too, constantly having to fight not to focus on what's reflected... There just wasn't any alternative to a shiny screen over here when I bought it - at least not in my price range... good luck finding a better replacement!

[miwahni.livejournal.com]

You've definitely made an improvement to the gravel garden and the tyres are a good idea. Do you have a pinterest account? You'll find lots and lots of ideas there - probably more than you'll ever need - and it can be fun looking.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Ha - yes, I have a Pinterest account! That's what reminded me of tyres as gardens in the first place! I like the way they cut and turn the tyres into planters too - I'll perhaps try that as well, but it'll require a free, energetic weekend, I think - and I'm not sure the Stanley knife/wee hacksaw I have are sharp enough to do the job. But still.... I have spent soooo many hours looking at tyre gardens etc. on Pinterest - and the fun things is that I keep getting emails saying people have reposted my repostings... it's kind of fun to see who's interested in what, where! *g*