Sunday Yap from Mrs Grunty

Hail my Monkey Minions,

I am dictating this from my monkeys beddy as I am expawsted this week. There have been strange things a paw that have kept me very busy. Me and McNortybeard were having our evening garden romp, we normally help Mr Monkey water his green growing stuff by attacking the watering can, we kill the hose and McNortybeard does his cricket, frog and toad husbandry but this particular evening something happened......

There was a fud noise by the fence at the top of the garden and rustle in gihunormus tree and me and McNortybeard knew  by the tingling in our beards and tails that there was a fing in the tree (not a blue fing) another kind of fing. McNortybeard tried to climb the tree (well he is part ape) and I scrabbled at the bottom of it and all was silent but we knows it was still there so we set up a watch.

The Monkeys made us come in eventually - they have this strange power over us they say "Bis-kits" and we are compelled to run indoors - but the watch continues....well for me anyway, McNortybeard is more interested in his critters but every minute I am in the garden I am a watching that tree intently, so far the fing is being still and quiet but I am certain it is still there.

All this watching is very exhausting so I may need a little longer abeddy before I can muster my strength up for brekkie.

Plain but pretty.

Plain socks, pretty yarn. My plain ole vanilla sock pattern in a UK 5, knit on two 2.75mm circular needles. I used an afterthought heel and I love how the yarn goes swirly on the heel.

The yarn is Misti Alpaca which is a blend of 50% alpaca, 30% merino wool, 10% silk and 10% nylon. The colourway is called Mirriam and is quite autumnal. The yarn is very soft and I just adore the colours.

Not knitting.

 Part of our potato crop with a couple of M's chilli's that he's grown thrown in for good measure.

The tatties are so very tasty- yum! The chilli's are wayyyyyyy tooooooo HOT for me.

 Tiny on the home modification jag again - she likes to eat the mesh at the back of her tank. Thankfully she hasn't broken her fangs on it.

Tarantula trying to look innocent and failing!

Memo from Mrs Grunty.

Hello Monkey Minions.

I have some interesting fings to report. Pay attention now these fings are impawtant.

1) Toads taste bad - nuff said - they are NOT noms.
2) Fergus cheats when we play with the manky, busted yello flopper - he tells Scottie lies, distracts me and  then sits his fat football arse on the flopper and pretends it has vanished.
3) Extended Sunday morning blue fing parades are more fun if you dead leg one MF (monkey fing) and trample, and I quote, 'the nutsack (?)' of the other.
4) They call me Princess cos I am!
5) Growling whilst running in with a Kong in your maw make MF's laugh - I have no idea why - do you?
6) Biting the drill is fun!
8) Soopervising the hanging of blinds is an important job - I guarded the box with little fings in it.
9) I likes Kitty toys - so why does they get hidded from me? I dusen't wanna hurt them......much.
10) I finks it is important to be carried down for wees at bedtime cos I is 'speshul' and am too sleepy to do stairs - let Bogey walk, he's NOT impawtant.

That's yer lot. Off to hunt .....but not toads. Will report back again when more speshul impawmation has been collected.

Flying Geese Blanket WIP.

Am so enjoying knitting this.

The blahs with a side order of meh.

Long time (for me) no blog. No reason. Life is quiet and I have the 'blahs'. Nothing in particular wrong just becalmed in the doldrums. Not much to say or report really. Will just do a general catch up.

1) New plants thriving both are growing green alien willies out of their tops, one has a green alien willy with little mauve flowers...may have to call the plant alien willy doctor.

2) Frog season is over in the garden. All hail  the start of the Cricket killing season. First victim chomped in two this morning. Fergus is very happy.

3) Lottie licked a toad, it made her eyes water and her nose run. Lucky she's OK, it was a baby one not Derek (Fergus's nemesis) who is the biggest, fattest toad I have ever seen. You can see he's a hard lad who stands no nonsense from Terriers....well he must be to survive in our garden and grow to that size.

4) Conkers loves the solar powered Cricket aka Mr. T. He pretends he doesn't then when no-one is looking he swipes it one.

5) Other plants/veggies doing well. Had our first, very yummy, batch of tatties. We chose Charlotte's they were so flavoursome that they needed nothing - no dressing, butter, salt, pepper they just melted in the mouth.

6) Reading 'Jane Slayre' and loving it. Re-listening to Cranford just because I can and it makes me smile so much.

7) Been X stitching a bit - subversive stuff again. Another thing that makes me smile.

8) Bought a great coffee table book when Paula and Tim came down the other weekend - it is all  b&w photos up to the 1940's of people and their pet dogs with the odd appropriate quote. No BT's but one Scottie and a few Dallies. Totally fab book, really fascinating.

9) Engrossed in the Tour. Fab, fab and even more fab. With Wiggins out, Cav is waving the flag for the UK with the Green Jersey. And part of me really wants Voekler to keep yellow - he has such guts and determination.

10) Last and not least - knitting type stuff. No spinning but plenty on the needles. M's socks are hold till the autumn. I have two other pairs on the go, one plain and one not. Two lace shawls and a modular knitted patchwork throw which I am loving - it's all reds and green - so pretty. Need to get my designing head on soon for a pair of mitts for a friend and a unusual hat request - looking forward to it.

That's it all boring and mundane but that's all I've got.

A weirdigon kinda week.

 This has been an everything and nothing kind of week. It's flown by. It's been really busy. I've got loads done and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. It's also been an emotional week in as much as things have effected me on an emotional level from books I'm reading to things I'm watching. Most strange.

Two good things though are M bought me some lovely flowers on the day he went back to work. I love white roses. They are starting to open out and are gorgeous.

And the other good thing is that Tiny moulted (safely). She hid behind her log and next thing it was all over. She is much darker and a lot bigger and still appears to be either a juvenile or a female (hoping it's the latter). She is still being quite timid and we've not had a really good look at her but she is pretty magnificent from what we have seen.

J got new glasses (finally) 3rd attempt at collecting them - maybe it be shouldn't go to SpecSavers? Morons! He has also finished all the work we set out to complete this year - everything. So a couple of weeks of laziness for him and then we start again.

Now it is time to finish the boring stuff and then it's the weekend. Looking forward to seeing P and T tomorrow but without the wonderful Iggins and Eddie, should be fun but weird without the dogs being the centre of attention!

Finished me holibobs.

 Had a lovely, relaxing two weeks. We pottered about, ate lovely food, drank too much wine, read, watched tennis, got loads of stuff we've been meaning to do done, oh and I did some knitting. M is back at work today, the house seems empty without him. I do miss him but roll on the weekend. Some friends are coming to visit so that is something to look forward to.

 I finished my Wimbledon project early (little red Ishbel which is on my Rav page) so I need something for the finals.This is one of 3 wristbands by Cat Wong in the current Knitty called Pretty Twisted. Nice little knit, I am pleased with the result. The only downside, for me, is I have a little RSS problem in my left hand at the moment and this aggravated it.

 New plants. I was going to put them outdoors but on the first night a 'turd snake' (large brown slug) ate half a leaf, so indoors they came. My plant guru (Ma) reckons they'll be fine inside. They are both types of Coleus.

Talking of plants Johnny, our 24+ year old Rubber Plant, is making a take over bid of our sitting room! Our Fig is over 20 years old too and is thriving. I don't touch them as I am a certified plant killer.