I forget where this came from, or who to attribute it to. What I do know is that it adorned my desk in Warrington (and got various interested remarks) and that it is fabulous
Top Tips for Eating Elephants
Take one bite at a time, so break down your task into bite-size chunks
Take it slowly; don't get indigestion by attempting too much at once
Be consistent
Add variety to the way in which you prepare and serve your elephant
Some parts need slower, longer cooking but taste just as good in the end
Enjoy each bite, savour it
Don't skip meals
Don't leave all the tough bits until the end
The only guaranteed moment you have to eat your elephant is now
Each bite you chew today is one less tomorrow
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Productive Day!
"My My!" said Tigger, "It *has* been a productive day!"
And so it had. A day which had had the potential to be frustrating and limiting had turned into a marvellous pottering day of many achievements. Having been tied to the house to take receipt of 3 things (laminate underlay: check; laminate beading: not check; and piano: check) she took receipt of 2 of the 3, got a third bonus package (a hammock!) and wasn't too devastated about the lack of beading as they've promised to deliver it tomorrow before midday. Getting the piano was very exciting indeed and the living room is now beginning to feel much more like just that - a Living Room. Still working on the whole issue of being able to be here to live in it, but hey, step by step.
Last night I'd taken the decision to say farewell to the large and cumbersome gloss-white wardrobe that has been in my (attic) room for as long as I've known about the house. I have no idea how they got it up there, but it wasn't coming down in any way other than pieces. Initially I'd thought I was going to remodel it (so it would fit with the eaves better) but half way through the conversion I decided it was going to be a more complex job than I'd anticipated and, in truth, I wasn't particularly married to the wardrobe in the first place. So, bit by bit I unscrewed it, carted it down 4 flights of stairs to the basement (who needs central heating when you're flying up and down stairs?!) and then felt very pleased with myself.
Next on the list was continuing to assemble by ingenius raised-bed-frame-made-out-of-old-divan-bases. All was going well until...I discovered it didn't fit through the final door into the yard. Took it to bits again (not too traumatic), reassembled it outside, had fun sticking tiles in the bottom of it (partly for drainage, partly because I have a load of tiles I don't know what to do with and hence thought I'd "hide" some in the raised bed) and then loaded it up with some potting soil plus various bits of greenery I've been nurturing in the yard. I now have a small bed containing a patio willow tree (my only non-functional purchased plant to date), 2 gooseberry bushes, a blackcurrant bush and some mint. Time will tell if the bed works.
Fascinating fact: worms seem to self-generate anywhere there's anything vaguely soil-like. I found loads in the pots containing the plants now in the raised bed; and whenever I clear out bits that have blown into my basement entrance "sunken bit" (at the front of the house) there are always little worms having fun. Bless the worms - they are fab. Unlike the slugs who I've started a zero-tolerance policy with...
On top of all that, I did a bunch of sewing earlier in the day while waiting for the various deliveries (4 new pillow cases, 3 new cushions including home made cushion pads, a cover for one of my massage kneelers, various other fixings) and sorted out all my fabric into "big bits", "scraggles" (bits which are worth keeping but not "big") and "bits for cushion pads" (see above: the fabric sorting happened before the cushion making). And now I have a cup of mint tea, with mint leaves from my own estate (they're not entirely "my own" yet as I think they're still leaves that were grown by Morrisons on the live plant I got but the live plant will keep on growing, so they're *sort of* from my own estate). Marvellous.
Did I mention I have a piano & a hammock? ;)
:D
And so it had. A day which had had the potential to be frustrating and limiting had turned into a marvellous pottering day of many achievements. Having been tied to the house to take receipt of 3 things (laminate underlay: check; laminate beading: not check; and piano: check) she took receipt of 2 of the 3, got a third bonus package (a hammock!) and wasn't too devastated about the lack of beading as they've promised to deliver it tomorrow before midday. Getting the piano was very exciting indeed and the living room is now beginning to feel much more like just that - a Living Room. Still working on the whole issue of being able to be here to live in it, but hey, step by step.
Last night I'd taken the decision to say farewell to the large and cumbersome gloss-white wardrobe that has been in my (attic) room for as long as I've known about the house. I have no idea how they got it up there, but it wasn't coming down in any way other than pieces. Initially I'd thought I was going to remodel it (so it would fit with the eaves better) but half way through the conversion I decided it was going to be a more complex job than I'd anticipated and, in truth, I wasn't particularly married to the wardrobe in the first place. So, bit by bit I unscrewed it, carted it down 4 flights of stairs to the basement (who needs central heating when you're flying up and down stairs?!) and then felt very pleased with myself.
Next on the list was continuing to assemble by ingenius raised-bed-frame-made-out-of-old-divan-bases. All was going well until...I discovered it didn't fit through the final door into the yard. Took it to bits again (not too traumatic), reassembled it outside, had fun sticking tiles in the bottom of it (partly for drainage, partly because I have a load of tiles I don't know what to do with and hence thought I'd "hide" some in the raised bed) and then loaded it up with some potting soil plus various bits of greenery I've been nurturing in the yard. I now have a small bed containing a patio willow tree (my only non-functional purchased plant to date), 2 gooseberry bushes, a blackcurrant bush and some mint. Time will tell if the bed works.
Fascinating fact: worms seem to self-generate anywhere there's anything vaguely soil-like. I found loads in the pots containing the plants now in the raised bed; and whenever I clear out bits that have blown into my basement entrance "sunken bit" (at the front of the house) there are always little worms having fun. Bless the worms - they are fab. Unlike the slugs who I've started a zero-tolerance policy with...
On top of all that, I did a bunch of sewing earlier in the day while waiting for the various deliveries (4 new pillow cases, 3 new cushions including home made cushion pads, a cover for one of my massage kneelers, various other fixings) and sorted out all my fabric into "big bits", "scraggles" (bits which are worth keeping but not "big") and "bits for cushion pads" (see above: the fabric sorting happened before the cushion making). And now I have a cup of mint tea, with mint leaves from my own estate (they're not entirely "my own" yet as I think they're still leaves that were grown by Morrisons on the live plant I got but the live plant will keep on growing, so they're *sort of* from my own estate). Marvellous.
Did I mention I have a piano & a hammock? ;)
:D
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