Everyone right to go?
Housemate picked Hannibal as the house series, and holy batman I forgot how insane this show is! I’ll also say this one is going to be super fun in terms of seeing the housemates reactions because it’s fkn intense the way it all unfolds.
Got my battery replaced for my car today, hooray!
Unexpected expense, boooo. Going to be slim pickings for the next fortnight.
Slept suuuper well after yesterday’s hard work and my hand is blissfully okay. My thoroughly under-exercised muscles were whining from DOMS so I’ve pottered a bit on the balcony (sans any sun protection which was incredibly dumb).
garden rambling!
Did a quarter arsed job trussing up the ignored volunteer tomato plant that’s been flopping and breaking everywhere; it’s been producing anyway so I’ll take what I can get with minimal input besides season and Charlie carp.
The copper tape seems to be working as I see the snails moved on to another untaped pot. (and I found one inside the head of my watering can when I noticed the flow was blocked. Ewww.) That pot is now taped.
Keen to see my sunflowers all actually thrive this time. And the borlotti beans that I sowed on a whim earlier this month… they are alarmingly vigorous.
If this tape really does work fully I might even have a go at late season bush beans again. Maybe I’ll even have another go at beetroot once the basil is all done?
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by the way, remember the near dead scotch bonnet chilli and salvia?
Check out how lush they are now! Okay, the chilli is a bit TOO lush but there’s little flower buds hidden in there so I might yet get some fruit.
([Here’s what it was like 3.5 weeks ago)
The salvia is happier recovering in the shade. I’ll move it back out when it cools down.
(baby shoots 3.5 weeks ago)
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I also finally harvested all the chillis off the balcony after forgetting about them a bit too long. (The manzanos in the box were harvested 3 weeks ago and kept in the fridge and need to be used asap.)
chillis chillis chillis
I think I’ll do another nice chilli and garlic paste for the manzanos and freeze em. They are hot but mellow out with cooking and are very flavourful.
The hot Thai chillis OTOH stay mouth-punchingly hot even after cooking. What should I do with them?! Any ideas? One full sized chilli is enough for a stock pot worth of stew. The plant is very productive - last season I just chucked most of them.
I think I’ll freeze the small ones as is, but the bigger ones… Get the gloves out and deseed them before making a chilli paste to freeze, maybe?
Nice. None of my chilis, capsicum, tomatoes etc. are actually ripening - plenty of green fruit, but that’s it. I planted a few borlotti beans this year and noticed the first pod on one of the plants, they are nice and decorative.
Hopefully this week’s sun will tip them over into getting nice and ripe. The tomatoes only started ripening about last week.
The chillis have been ripening through Dec and Jan, they’re bonkers.
Hopefully, if they don’t ripen at some point I will have to make a lot of green tomato pickles! I have tons of green tomatoes, and lots of green chillis too, but nothing is ripening ☹️
If you’re making green tomato pickles I’ll gladly take some off your hands ;)
And I’ll take the green chillis - so good for salsas and in Indian cooking.
I want the Jalapenos to ripen so I can make chipotle.
Hot sauce!
https://www.feastingathome.com/fermented-hot-sauce-simple-and-delicious/
Lasts forever in the fridge. Still rocking some from 3 yrs ago and no botulism yet.
OR
Chilli powder. I usually just cut them in half chuck them skin side down on baking paper. In the oven (middle rack) @ 60-70 degrees for 5+ hours keeping the oven door open a bit with a wooden spoon then blend.
OR
Chilli salt.
edit: nice haul though! mine aren’t nearly ripe yet :(
Mine started flowering in like late October so they’ve been very happy aside from the brief interlude of neglect. I think it’s the northeast facing aspect and being (relatively) sheltered from wind, the chillos are always wat ahead on my balcony. There’s more flowers appearing on the manzano and a few buds on the Thai, which is crazy… would be nice to get some late autumn chillos if possible.
Anyways. Hot sauce!!! I have been scared of doing it because I’ve never fermented anything in my life. I’ve considered sauce cos I have this delicious bottle of homemade rocoto sauce from a friend, but I’m not a huge hot sauce user and I’m going through it slowly…
Maybe I’ll do half (deseeded) as a paste with ginger and garlic, and half as a small bottle of sauce, blended with some milder chillos to round it out…
I also got a banging rempah receipe from a cousin but I’ll need to get some dried shrimp 🤔
Hello brain trust, back with some more catto questions. First, super exciting news, we’re going on Saturday to the shelter to meet the cat we’ve selected woohooo!
The amazing cat lady has sent over a shopping list, and after some of my own research, I have made a list of items that I might need and I need some recs / suggestions for these as I don’t know where to start.
Here we go:
- Cat carrier
- Litter Box x2
- Cat litter
- Cat food (dry + wet)
- toys?
- Scratching tower?
- Gloves for cleaning litter?
- Litter scoop
- Separate bin for litter
- Litter mat
- Bed
- Blanket
- Cardboard box
- Wipes to clean litter box?
I have found this window lounger which I kinda like https://www.petbarn.com.au/all-day-window-lounger-cat-furniture-grey thots?
Not sure when or if it’s been recommendedbut stuff for fleas and worming?
Unless you’re getting that sorted later.
What do I need?
Trust the vet for now, it’s very age and weight variable.
On which note: call your chosen vet and pre register your cat. It’s easier to get an appointment if you’re already in the system
You’ll want a bottle of Urine Off or Nature’s Miracle in case of pee accidents. You can also spray trays with it. Window lounger is great. Do you intend to harness train for walks? Some cats are Up cats, some Down. Up will appreciate the tallest cat tree you can fit, a Down might want a dome style bed. Get a natural fibre for the blanket. Feliway stress spray might help with the move in. You can get plug in diffusers but $$. Might want a little first aid book so not internet dependent. Hide all the aspirin well and never buy flowers that include lilies. Bowls are fine for water, but fountains exist. If you have unreliable work hours or go out lots consider an auto feeder. don’t get the triangular collapsing carrier, they suck.
I’d also avoid the bubble backpack carrier until you know the cat better. The $2 shop can have good pet stuff on occasion.
If you’re enviro conscious try some corn based litter. Compostable and very absorbent! The pee literally clumps them up into a soggy ball.
I tried some World’s Best Cat Litter from Coles one day and absolutely loved it, but it was very expensive to buy in bulk from them. Ended up getting more from Rufus & Coco online.
Looks pretty good. We have a similar lounger (3 actually!) And they are well used. Look on Amazon for toys, springs are a hit and feather chasers are too. I don’t use wipes on our boxes, once a week they get hosed off outside and soaked in homebrand napisan for a bit and dried in the sun. Some cats prefer running water so a fountain might be an option too.
I live in a carpeted apartment so I will need to clean a bit more regularly (which is ok!) so I can’t wash outside unfortunately! Although I could wash indoors and let dry in the balc.
About the lounger, do you just stick it on a window?
Yep to the lounger. It can take a few days for it to find the happy spot where it suddenly doesn’t come unstuck and send the resident cat on an unplanned descent, but it really is that simple.
Letting dry on the balcony will do, especially if its in the sun. The aim is to disinfect, not just clean.
I just hose mine off, use household disinfectant as per instructions and rinse off. If I’m in a rush I’ll dry with a rag but leave it out in the sun if i can.
Regarding litterboxes, I have heard metal is easier to keep clean as the plastic ones will get scratches, which will harbour the bacteria. Personally haven’t had any issues yet as long as I clean it properly, and it’s also not easy to find in stores except online. So what you get will do just fine.
Scratching tower is not optional. Although you might want to wait to see your catto prefers scratching vertically, or horizontally on the carpet. If your catto is a horizontal scratcher by preference, then you might want to swap the tower for floor level scratch pads. Tower is still useful for your cat to rest on out of the way of nuisancy hoomans underfoot. And a great launch pad for ambushes and zoomies. I would also add a box of cat grass if catto is to be an inside only catto. I think you’ve covered all bases for a start. You can always add more toys etc. later when you know what your catto likes. EDIT: forgot to mention hairbrush for grooming. Great way to get your cat used to being handled/cuddled, and reduces the amount of cat fur around.
Awesome! Any recs for scratching tower / food / litter or is that all personal to the catto? Where do you get a nice quality tower? Don’t mind spending a bit more if it means the quality is much higher
Any personal experience is long out of date and food/litter depends a lot on the cat. Some are fussy, some aren’t. Ours wasn’t - she would eat anything from day 1 and didn’t care what sort of litter was provided. The place you’re getting the cat from will tell you what the cat is used to for food & litter. Start with that, and make gradual changes if you want. For a tower, I’d start at Petbarn or similar or Kmart for the basics. Even Temple & Webster stock towers. Some go from floor to ceiling and look quite stable and don’t take up much floor space.
You might want to wait a bit to see what your catto’s personality is like - they might enjoy a view out the window later on as they get used to their new home. To start with, they’ll probably be pretty cautious as they get accustomed, and will be looking for security over stimulation. Once they get confident, they’ll use the tower more and more I reckon. So this might not be an immediate purchase but a later one. Even a stack of sturdy cardboard boxes taped together would do to begin with. Jackson Galaxy has excellent videos on youtube about how to introduce a cat to a new home - worth looking up.Any food that is grain free is a good start. Both it and litter are cheaper the bigger quantity you buy, think about storage.
You probably have bowls for water, but it’s pretty important.
Of course but will pick some up from Kmart
Are you watching the BBL final tonight?
I’ve never seen what just happened before.
Brown’s pad got clipped and then he went on to hit the ball with the bat but he got reviewed and only the pad counted and ball tracking showed it hit the wickets and he’s out!
Never seen that before!
I sure am.
Mental health day today. We had a whirlwind trip interstate for a family wedding over the weekend, and the hot weather has made sleep difficult this week so I’m super tired. I was very anxious about the wedding because it was very Christian and I was worried about how much singing/hands in the air/blatant misogyny might be in it. In the end it wasn’t too bad. Just minor amounts of ‘the man leads and the woman submits’ and that our niece “hadn’t been able to find someone yet” (at the ripe old spinsterly age of 21!) Still, she hadn’t even met the guy a year ago and they’re already married 😬 I worry that she’s rushing into things and I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it. Just hope that I’m wrong and they live a long and happy life together.
I have a headache, I’m tired but can’t sleep.
I’ve drunk water, et dinner, so why do I feel weak?
Eyes and forehead sore under this crown of pain,
Tomorrow, at work, wellness I will feign.Maybe worked yourself too much plus the heat hanging around?
gentle hugs
I’ve actually emerged from my apartment to go into the CBD and it seems like I’ve caught the cool change. It’s rather pleasant out!
Ended up at Mr Grubb @ Oakdene in Wallington for dins last night for the first time.
Really nice relaxed place. Had the parma (they called it a parmie tsk tsk) which was really good.
Apparently the place is owned by an eccentric older lady who collects rusty… everything. Big open shed out the back dedicated to rusty farm equip, bikes (maybe 50 of them), a rusty tram(!)… huge hoarding gene there.
9/10, not cheap but great atmosphere if you’re ever down that way.
Was your meal served on plates or pre-loved hub caps?
Heh. I probably still would’ve eaten it if they did.
Not many chips although the thing was huge it was a struggle.
Ordered an overshirt from the Country Road outlet but it’s a bit big for me. Anyone know any where I (M) could get it altered? Country Road stores won’t take it because it’s from the outlet 🙄
Don’t they have an online return policy?
Possibly but I like the shirt and would like to size down. Also it’s country road and I got it for cheap
Downsizing a shirt is difficult - depending on whether you want to reduce the length, the width or the sleeves etc. You would need to go to an alterations place and get a quote. There’s a lot of moving parts in a shirt. Please note that downsizing the collar will be near impossible for a ready made shirt for anything reasonable in price.
The easiest and cheapest would be to reduce the sleeve length only. For the rest, I would just live with it as a roomy shirt.
Quite a few dry cleaners offer an alterations service for simple changes like sleeve length. Might be worth checking out your local.You can’t exchange it through the online store for a smaller size?
Unfortunately not, I think it was one of the last pieces 😪
Miss Meow has been helping me sort out my sewing room and is firmly of the opinion that I should throw out more stuff and keep the empty boxes.
Pleasantly surprised that we didn’t go over 25c today
Got to 29.4 where I am.
Ugh… Due to worsening health I’m finding it hard to be as environmentally friendly as usual. Feels bad man. If I could be doing better on that front I would.
Sometimes I use paper plates.
Yeah, I try to use wooden spoons and paper plates rather than plastic when I have to use them for feeding the cat.
You’ve been banking environmental friendliness credits all your life. Make a withdrawal when necessary, in my opinion.
That’s a good way to look at it. I hope this is temporary
so tired from back pain I think my brain/memory is gone
Not sure if it was here or reddit where I saw it recommended, but the virtual ED service is awesome. Unfortunately had to use it today and call an ambulance. I wasn’t sure if it was serious or not, so this service was just what I needed.
Hope this post lets more ppl know about it.
Hope everything turned out ok. hugs
Oh wow. I just looked it up. That’s great. I have been stuck in the past unsure what to do and that would have been the right level of support.
Hope you are doing ok.
