Amanda and the Gang

Battries Required !!

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:05:54 GMT

In the last picture of the allotment this is where the raised beds were. 10 out of the 15 beds have been moved and this is the start of the new chicken house and run. I decided to move it here from the other end of the allotment because its was difficult growing under the trees. We had one shed and we managed to get another from off another allotment so we have put the two together, it now measures 12ft long by 4ft wide. These have been put up today along with the slab base. It has been a very long day for Brian and I especially as the sheds weren`t quite the same size !! and needed adapting lol and there wasn`t a set square in sight !! The run will measure 13ft wide by 26ft long.

The chickens are ex batteries which have been rescued which we are rehoming. I think there will be around 20 chooks. Post pics when we get them some time this month.

Sorry the pic is blurred but this is the students pottery exhibition that I organised. The event went well and the weather managed to stay dry lol which was a bonus. It took me 2 hrs to set up on the first day. Some of my work is also displayed on the table but I`m not showing you whats mine because hopefully by the end of the year I will have my pottery web site up and running where you can browse and buy my pottery lol. We have just purchased the domain names so watch this space !! I am in the process of sorting out the studio and hope to start taking a few private students for classes in the Autumn

Jamie turned 19 last month. He was home for his birthday and we took him for a pizza with his brother and sisters. He has now finished school and is settling into his new daily routine at his house with his co-workers.

Portia has left the estate agents !! And is now working as a P.A and moved back home temporarily and Laura is working for a catering company and has not moved home !!!!

Portia has bought me the most fantastic present for my birthday, tickets for the George Michael concert, I am so excited especially as this is his last tour and I have not seen him live before. I will probably have to look at him through binoculars though lol.

Well I think that`s it for now

So see you soon

Amanda and the gang

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Star Paws (Wars)

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:30:51 GMT

Hi Everyone

Long time no write, I know. No excuses other than life seems to speed up as you get older. It was my Birthday last Saturday and it doesn`t seem 5 minutes since the last one!!

Well lots to catch up on, hope you`ve got your cup of tea and 10 mins to spare.Where shall we start....

The allotment of course lol. We have been eating veg of the allotment for months now, There has been cabbage, carrots,onions,broad beans, french and runner beans along with borlotti beans, beetroot, spinach, courgettes only a few though, Brian the champion grower has been supplying me with those, don`t know what he does to them but they certainly grow for him lol. Out of the polys there has been peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, cauliflowers and aubergines. When I went to harvest the new potatoes from the poly which were in tubs I realised that I had in fact planted the main crop and that the new pots were outside in the main crop bed !!! They are still decent potatoes so its not as if I have lost a crop!! Just large new pots and small jacket pots lol.

This is pickles. She has decided to take up residence underneath my shed. Here she is drinking milk in the entrance to the poly. Unfortunately she has a wound to the top of her thigh and its causing her to walk on three legs at the moment so I am keeping an eye on her! I `ll keep you posted on her progress. Another sad event last week, one of our fox cubs was found dead on the site. We are not sure what she died of but Brian and I buried her at the bottom of my plot.

There has been a new development where the chickens are concerned lol. I have decided to move the unfinished chicken shed and run down under the trees where the raised beds are.The beds under the trees didn`t produce decent crops cos of the light etc, so I`m moving them. The chicken shed which is 6`x4` will have another same size shed attached to it making it 12`x 4` and the run will now be 4 metres wide by 8 metres long and it will house 30 yes 30 ex battery chickens which have been rescued by North London chicken rescue lol. When they arrive I will post pics and be asking for names lol.

Meet Ja Ja Binks , he is a new addition to our already animal packed fun house lol. We also have Mickey the mouse !! Mickey was brought in by the cats and badly mauled, he was only a baby. I put him in a cage fully expecting him to be dead by morning but he hung on. His back legs didn`t work and one eye was damaged. Well as the weeks went on his eye opened and is now fine and his back legs although sort of working I couldn`t release him. So he is now part of the family. Ja Ja is another rescue, a lady on the allotment was asking if anyone wanted a rabbit. I have to say I had been after one for ages but wouldn`t push it with hubby but when this one came up I said I would let her know. Well he eventually came home last Saturday and he`s certainly a character. He has been a house rabbit and is 16 months old. He has been to the vet Monday to have injections and his teeth and claws cut as they were to long. I have built him a run up the allotment and he goes in his cat carrier in the car to the allotment with me while I`m there and then comes home again and runs round the house. The cats were curious along with the dog but they are fine now lol.

I am going to have to cut this short tonight but I will post the rest tomorrow, you know you want to hear what else I have been up to, so see you tomorrow.

Promise

Amanda and the gang

Can You Tell What It Is Yet?

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:43:59 GMT

Many years ago when I first started the pottery classes there was this guy there called Craig. He was the same age as me , not married, well educated but off his trolley ! We got on a scream. One pottery session he announced he was leaving us to go to the ends of the earth, he wasn`t joking. He went to Antarctica to study the hole in the ozone layer for 2 and a half years. I have over 300 hundred photos of Craig in the snow down under. We emailed and kept in contact and sometimes I would get satelite phone calls from him especially when he was in the middle of a bunch off penguins lol.

I have to mention that my girls Portia and Laura used to come to Pottery sometimes and there did seem to be some girly attraction to him. They also used to keep in contact with him while he was away.

When he finally came back and was deciding what to do, he spent time on the internet chatting and met this girl called Bindi.

Well 2 weeks ago we went to his wedding where he married Bindi Harris, Rolf Harris`s daughter.

They are so well suited, both mad lol. We had to wear shocking pink, orange or red to the wedding. The reception was the following week. The girls went, we declined. It was a big marquee in the middle of the field and you had to pitch a tent and wear fancy dress !! They had a whale of a time. Rolf did a turn on the stage with his wobble board and didgeeredoo !!.

The picture above is Portia with Rolf. Laura couldn`t make it to the wedding but they both went o the reception so more pictures later.

This is the new chicken shed and run that we are building. The shed came from someone who had bought it and then didn`t want it, so I got it for £25 bargain. Brian, my mate who you may remember from the polytunnel, put it up.

Sorry Brian lol.

The allotment is busy at the moment, but when hubby cooked Sunday Lunch every thing other than the meat was off the allotment, it makes it worth while.

I am making plans for next year and major changes, there will be another 2 polytunnels added and the strawberries will be moved into towers. This year was experimental so notes have been taken and I know what I can grow next year in and and out of polys.

I haven`t been well for the last 8 weeks, cough and cold which has turned into a virus !! I have now had 2 lots of antibiotics and I think I`m turning the corner. Its just with the fibro it lays me low and its hard to get the energy or the motivation to do anything..

I`m sorry but thats its for tonight

Amanda and the gang

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Slugs, Snails and Fox Cub Tales

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:58:13 GMT

This is one of 3 cubs on the allotment site. I had the pleasure on Monday night of making his aquaintance. I lay in a patch of stinging nettles while running my fingers along the ground while he looked on bemused!! He was all but 2 feet from me but not quite brave enough to pounce on my fingers!! They are such fun at this age and bundles of mischief. Obviously not everyone on the site is enthralled with them as they can flatten crops and dig up seedlings but hey the local cats do that in my back garden to my plants !! oh yeah thats my cats lol.

I am beginning to have crops on a daily basis now which means you have to think about what you`re going to eat for tea so that you eat them fresh and not waste them.

These are the first new potatoes out of the tubs in the polytunnel.

They were delicious and there are 24 or so more tubs to come !!

This was todays pickings, the strawberries are coming faster than we can eat them so I feel some jam coming on soon !! Broad beans, mange tout, and the first of the garlic. There was also a pak choi, some spinach and some small winter onions. So for dinner we had a piece of grilled salmon with a stir fry made with all the veg. Oh god I forgot the strawberries and cream lol.

Top picture is taken from the shed down to the gate and the second picture...you guessed it is taken from the gate looking towards the shed. What you can`t see is the other polytunnel behing the shed. The plot is about 160ft long by about 60ft wide.Big enough to keep me out of mischief lol.

Today I planted a second crop of runner beans that I`d grown in the greenhouse first and weeded in between all the onions !!

I have also " I " being a loose term produced the first allotment newsletter. It actually went something like this....Me at the computer getting really shitty with the publisher programme and hubby asking if he can help and me flatly refusing then giving in and hubby producing the whole thing !! So my thanks to my ever patient husband. I love you.

The pottery exhibition is drawing ever nearer and I have managed to start producing some work. Along with the usual assortment of pots, there are slab built pots and some coil built pots. There are a couple of fun things, I have got a 16inch plate and I`m in the process of making a a fried breakfast. All the items ( egg, sausage etc) have been made separately and will be placed on the plate lol. I am in the process of making a cornetto ice cream where the ice cream has fallen out of the cone !! I have done quite a few wall plaques with names on of houses,for sheds/workshops etc.

Unfortunately the camera doesn`t show it too well but it is actually 3d, the hammer, saw etc are made separatley and added on top of the base.

A sun face that I have painted and the " fried egg " part of the fried breakfast lol.

This is a coil pot, I put the orange there so you could get some idea of the size !!!!!

Now that " hubby " has produced the newsletter he has also produced all the flyers and posters for the exhibition. So at least some people may turn up now lol.

This is Jamie enjoying himself over the bank holiday weekend. He had a good weekend and only had one upset where he stuck a fork in my arm but I only had 3 prong marks to show for my injury lol.

Portia came over during the week and asked if she could move back home, what has it been? 3 weeks since she moved out? We said that she could move home temporarily but at 23yrs of age she needs to be making her own way in life now...not happy child lol. Other child Laura has said she is moving in with her brother at the weekend so hopefully we might look forward to long term " the two of us " at home and cheaper bills lol.

Just thought you`d like to see this daft photo,Portia had just fed her catnip, yes that is her 2 eyes at the top lol.

I went to the doctors with ear ache and found I had a chest infection !! Hey ho so now I have antibiotics, I am feeling alot better than I was though lol. and I did have a cough !!

Well thats the update for now.

Thank you all for looking in.

Amanda and the gang

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The Passing of a Gang Member

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:36:01 GMT

May 2nd Friday. Widget (above) aged 18yrs passed away peacefully in the morning in her bed. I phoned Dad who then in turn phoned the girls to let them know. Widget was Laura`s cat. She came round to see her and give her a cuddle. I asked Laura what she wanted to do with Widget and she wanted to bury her in the garden. We went to the local nursery and Laura choose a beautiful crab apple tree (above) that was in full blossom so that when we buried Widget we could plant the tree on top to remember her by. Portia came home from work to say her goodbyes as well.A lot of tears by all.

Jamie came home for the bank holiday weekend. He looks different everytime I see him !!

It was a good weekend. On the Sunday Dad brought Jamie up to the allotment shop where I was doing my turn. Jamie spotted the lawnmower and decided he would mow the grass outside the shop, bless him!! Dad was cooking Sunday lunch and we had a full house, nanny and grandad from next door and both the girls came as well. Jamie seemed pleased they were all there.

Portia has finally vacated her room lol. Portia certainly moved in style, everything in black bin liners !!! She has moved in with her friend and she seems to be happy for the moment. The bets are now being placed for " how long it will be before she returns home" She popped in last Sunday with her friend after she had run 5km for Race for Life. Dad and I both congatulated her but thought she looked very pale. When she came round a few days later she confessed that she had done the run after having been out on the Saturday night and was a bit hungover !!! This is the child that never drinks!! See whats happens when they leave home lol.

Chris (Dad) and I have been been busy sorting and tidying the house. Chris did the spring cleaning (result) and I did the garden lol. Its really strange having the house all to ourselves, not only is it quiet, its stays clean !! Cooking is easy for two along with the washing up. We have quite a nice routine going now lol.

Brie the beagle has her life off to a fine art, with nanny living next door with the other two beagles Ted and Duke.She knows exactly what time to jump over the wall to get the treats nanny is dishing out lol and when we go out she goes straight round to nannys to lay on her chair, some guard dog !!

Work on the allotment has stepped up a pace now as everything is growing like mad. Above,the runner beans and mange tout are now in and also the poatoes which are now through the ground and being earthed up almost daily.

The old polytunnel is now full of growing crops, these are the purple podded peas and next to it the broad beans are starting to develop. There are also tomatoes that are producing their first flowers, plenty of lettuce, the peaches are reaching ping pong ball size and the grape vine is threating to take over !!

The new poly, in the grow bags are a selection of peppers and aubergines, the tubs right at the back are full of new potatoes and the bath tub has beetroot and carrots in. I pulled the first few beetroot the other day and Chris cooked them, even I tried one, they were so sweet. What you can`t see is behind the bath tub is lots of polystyrene cups over the tops of asparagus shoots so I don`t tread on them. We have been having asparagus for about 5 weeks now and its still growing.lol

The raised beds are all planted except for one. They contain; garlic, onions, beetroot, spinach, cabbage, broad beans, broccoli, french beans, carrots and shallots. And the last bed will contain outdoor cucumbers hopefully.

This is the strawberry patch that I inherited with the plot ! I don`t even like them that much lol. Chris is going to get the Jam pan out and get Jam making !!

This is one of the raised beds in the process of being hand weeded !!!!!! These are parsnip seedlings, the problem is they have the same seed leaves as weeds so you can`t tell the difference until they get their second leaves, by that time as I said the weeds have mounted a revolt lol. Its just the intial weeding that takes so long, now I just pick off the weeds as they appear.

Well I told you to get a cup of tea first before reading lol.

I have finished for now !!

Have a great day

Amanda and the gang

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Taking Pics

Wed, 14 May 2008 19:48:55 GMT

I am working sooo hard at the moment!! I am up at 6.30am and down the allotment by 7.15am. So my apologies for not posting sooner but as soon as my back is turned the weeds mount a revolt lol. I have so many plants that want planting out all at the same time. Also there is my own garden that has needed some work as well. I will be posting lots of pics in the next few days so you have been warned, make sure you have a cup of tea before reading.

Also the cat passed away last Friday but I will tell you all about it. And Portia has finally left home lol.

See you all in the next few days.

Amanda and one less of the gang

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A Pint Of Guiness Please

Thu, 01 May 2008 19:49:03 GMT

This is a row of houses on the bay of Timoleague in the south west of Ireland. These colours are tame compared to the house colours in Kinsale, a place definately worth visiting if you get the chance to go to Southern Ireland.

We took a short break, hubby and I last week. We flew into Dublin last Tuesday, hired a car and drove down to Cork. We were staying just outside Cork in a place called "Little Island". It takes about 3 hrs to get there. On the Wednesday we went across to a town called Youghal, its a walled town with a great deal of history. In the afternoon we ventured into a conservation park with animals !! It was on 70 acres and there were no fences between you and the animals except the leopards !!! Thank god, didn`t fancy being lunch lol.

Wow, There were all sorts just wondering around, Definately worth visiting.

Leopard behind fence lol.

On the Thursday I had wanted to visit Kinsale which is full of coloured houses. We had lunch there in a traditional Irish pub then in the afternoon we set off for Skibbereen right down on the south west penisula. We took the coastal route, it is so breath taking. Skibereen is the town where the potato famine hit the worst. Again a lot of history to the town. Then on Friday we set of back to Dublin along the coast most of the way and finally got a plane back to Bournemouth in the evening. It was a lovely few days away and we needed the break.

The allotment has kept me very busy. I have planted the main crop potatoes where I was going to plant all the beans because I couldn`t get the ground ready in time where I was going to plant them!! The new potatoes which are in tubs in the poly are coming into flower so soon should havethe first crop of new pots.

Today I planted Aubergines and 3 types of Peppers in the poly. Also planted out some red onions that I have grown from seed. Today I picked Pak Choi from the green house to use in a stir fry for dinner. The other day I brought home baby turnips, asparagus, leeks and cabbage.

The peaches are now the size of a large marble. Things are growing at such a pace as well as the weeds lol. Will take piccys this week of everything so you can see how things are coming on.

Portia was supposed to be moving out this weekend but has told us it will be next week now lol. We have bets on now as to whether she will move out or not, thats Dad and I lol.

Jamie is coming home on Saturday for a few days, Its been a while since I saw him last, Dad sees him most weekends. I am looking forward to seeing him and hoping to take him up the allotment with me on Sunday as I am running the shop, he likes serving customers.

Just a short update but promise lots of pics and news shortly.

Amanda and the gang

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No Kids !!!!

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:27:43 GMT

This is the old friut cage. As I said before it was beginning to come down on its own so I decided to give it a helping hand and before I knew it, it was no more lol.

I can`t believe the difference its made, the plot looks huge now, I know its big but it really looks big now ha ha.

My best mate Brian has been helping me alot lately bless him. First of all the big water tank I have needed to have the liner changed as the old one was rotting away. I emptied it out and found 7 newts in the bottom which I transferred to the pond and then put the new liner in. Then I went to the plumbers store to get a ball thing that you have in toilets to shut the water off when it reaches the right level. All this I managed to do by myself and fitted the ball thing to the pipe but it leaked !!! Brian to the rescue.

I have to say that I had to get in this tank to clean it out, I am only 5ft tall and when I stood in the tank only my head and shoulders were visible lol. I have to put a safety line on me when I lean in to fill the watering cans lol.

Hubby and I were awoken with a phone call on Sunday morning (6th) at 8.10am by youngest daughter who excitely informed us to look out the window, it was snowing much to my horror !! I was washed and dressed and out within 15 mins and up the allotment !! Thankfully this was all that fell from the skies and by 11am it had all gone and no damage was done and the sun was shinning lol.

Brian has designed, roughly sketched out!! the chicken run and coup, which will be near the shed end. So it won`t be long now before I start digging the trenches to drop the wire in the ground to stop the foxes getting in. I`m really looking forward to building the whole thing from scratch obviously with Brians help otherwise god knows what I`d end up with.

Brian has also fixed my lawnmower today that my father- in- law gave me. He bought it about 6 months ago. My father -in -law suffers with spine degeneration and walks with a stick. He bought this self propelled lawn mower, got it home , started it up and it took him off down the garden so quick he nearly fell flat on his face lol. So he decided to buy another lawn mower but a push petrol one which wouldn`t cart him off around the garden !! Any way I was looking to buy a new one as my is a bit old now and offered to buy his from him, he kindly offered it for free which I gratefully accepted. Only he had decided to drain down the tank and couldn`t get the screw off etc etc !! Basically he buggered up the o ring ? and we had to get a new one. Cue the sketch from the Two Ronnies, I walked into the local ironmongers and asked them if they had any "o"s couldn`t resist !!! Brian managed to fix it and it started on the first pull, running like a dream.

Well, the girls.....After I asked them for a £10 addition towards a cleaner, a couple of days later Laura announced she was moving out....the next day. Fine we said, good luck . Monday, Portia said to me, " mum I moving out" I said "don`t wind me up" and she said "no mum really I`m moving out" and I said " no really don`t wind me up" lol. Anyway she wants to share a flat with her friend but in case they are not compatible Portia is going to move into her friends mum and dads house so they can see if they get on before they get a place together !!! She pays £160 a month at home with me including meals and washing, where she is going she has to pay £230 a month and do her own washing and sort out food ???And all because I asked for £10 a week extra for a cleaner !!!

I get the feeling that the kids were taking me for a ride !!! Feel a bit disappointed but then the electric bill arrived !! Glad there are going. At 22 and 28 they should be living there own lives now.

We had a call at 3.45am this morning, it was Jamies home. He was having fits and Dad needed to come and give him medication. I am pleased to say he is fine this morning. He has just gone back to school after 3 weeks off and this probably agravated his brain pattern.

I will leave you with this wonderful photo of Portia and I, she decided tocover m

y face in some face pack or other!!

Don`t have night mares lol.

Amanda and the gang

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I forgot the lemons

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:55:52 GMT

Before I had a garden I used to keep houseplants and managed to amass about 75. Over the years with moving and neglect I lost most of them.

But I have a handful that have survived, mainly xmas cactuses and a palour palm along with african violets.

Portia had bought her then boyfriend a lime tree but repossessed it when they split up. I have been looking after it since she brought it home and have been rewarded with a full size lime.

Flushed with success of looking after limeade, I bought orangina

Then I got confident and have now acquired lemonade lol.

There was a lemon attached when I bought it, but I`m afraid it ended up in our vodka and coke but there are lots of babies growing lol.

Sorry this was suppossed to go in the main blog but the brain is addled these days lol

Amanda and the gang

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Lemonade and friends

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:13:36 GMT

Sorry its been awhile but just when you think you`re ahead I find I`m three steps behind !! Things are growing at such a pace and I`m still planting seeds like mad! You get one lot planted and another lot needs repotting or transplanting lol. The picture above is a crop of asparagus which is growing in the polytunnel. We put the poly up over the top of part of an asparagus bed, I wasn`t sure whether they were going to grow again after all the disturbance so I laid a membrane over the top!!! Anyway the membrane starting rising all over the place so I had to pull it back halfway and I`m getting all this lovely asparagus lol.Tonight I also lifted some leeks that I still had and some cabbages. This is the best bit now taking home all the veg that I have put all my efforts into !! and cooking and eating it knowing that its all chemical free even if its doesn`t look normal or has a holes in few it lol.

This is the area behind the shed leading up to the old polytunnel. It is under the trees, dark and always messy. So in true Amanda fashion I decided to give it a makeover to make the area more usable. Fifty wheelbarrows of wood chip later I managed to get it looking half decent

lol.

It took me three days to get it looking like this but I `m pleased with it. My robin Bob kept me company throughout in case he missed a bug or worm that I uncovered and for all his efforts I rewarded him with a new feeder.

The old poly is bursting with broad beans, baby turnips, purple podded peas and best of all the peach tree has baby peaches on it, a first for me and I`m looking forward to eating them already !!

Broad beans in flower above. The smell is gorgeous when you walk in.

This is the new poly before I pulled the membrane back !! In the bath there are early beetroot and carrots, They are alot further on now and the carrots are showing. In the pots on the right are early potatoes, again which are up now.

The small greenhouse is bursting with seedlings, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, swiss chard, sweetcorn, okra, aubergines, the list is endless, I know I have a big allotment but I`m going to run out of space soon lol.

As you know I am secretary and social secretary so I have had alot of paperwork to sort out this last few weeks including a new constitution for the commitee which thankfully hubby sorted out. The allotment site had been running well and everyone was getting on and then unfortunately you let a plot and the they cause untold grief !! Its like having the neighbours from hell lol. I just have to keep an incident log at the moment because you can`t just evict them of the site !!. I will reveal more later !!

Enough of the allotment, time to catch up with family. Jamie came home for Easter and we took him to my Dads for the day which was a surprise for him. They both thoroughly enjoyed their day although we weren`t there for long, It takes us 2hrs there and the same back so we only had 3 hrs there. Jamie enjoyed his time at home although he did beat up his sister once which was good going in the grand scheme of things. lol.

Hubby is working harder than usual, the credit crunch,business downturn is all having an effect on his clients and of course us, so his stress levels are a bit more elevated than usual. He has a persistent backache at the moment but he keeps smiling and pretending nothing is wrong but when he gets out of the chair he makes this funny stiffled sound !!!!! On the odd occassion he has had to get Portia to get him out of the chair lol.

Portia.........its" 6 months time", she has started making noises about not being happy in her job again !! Well, estate agency is not the best thing to be in right now but thats not the point.!!! I`ve told her to start saving her money, she has a company car to loose and a credit card bill to pay lol.

Laura is still with us. She is staying till August when she hopes to travel to South America then on to New Zealand where she can get a visa for 2 years.

The house work seems to have got mad since they are both at home. They pay £40 pounds each and think they are living in a hotel, I know, paranoid parents, but they have both had their own places. So I asked them both how they felt about housework? you can imagine their reply!!!

So I offered them an alternative, they pay an extra £10 a week and I`ll get a cleaner in!! The verdict is still out. I can`t see either of them doing the hoovering or putting out the rubbish so I might be on to a good thing.

My pottery hasn`t been going to well at the moment!!. I haven`t been for the last 3 weeks. Its the wrong time of year and I`ve run out of inspiration again lol. What I need now is divine intervention but somehow..........

I have developed a lump on my right forefinger, its arthritus, I just hoped I would be older before it got me lol. Nevermind life goes on lol. The Fibro is at a manageable level at the moment, pain in neck and shoulders as usual, bowels and stomach have been bad though!! Which always results in pile trouble lol. The tiredness still happens but as its a busy time I skip sleeping in the afternoon. Twice this week I have woken up at 4.30am and can`t get back to sleep as the brain becomes active !!!.Can`t win.

Well I think I `ve written enough to bore you so best go now.

Amanda and the gang

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