Visitors, Travellers and Jam

The latest news on the unwelcome visitors is that, well, they're still lingering unfortunately! The stingy, buzzy variety are sealed in the loft (and very possibly sealed into their nest) by a Heath Robinson cure, as usual. It may only be a temporary fix but when we have more time and money (when??) they will be dealt with more adequately, if in fact they're still alive.

As for the furry visitors outside, they're a little more tricky to deal with it seems; they're enjoying their stay with us far too much. They seem to like me in particular, that's the impression they give when they stare at me directly in the eyes for several minutes before slowly wandering off! We have a bait box and poison in position and I'm no longer feeding the birds. However there is a lot of seed on the ground mixed in with the soil and ivy so there's still a feast for them. They're cheeky little bu**ers though, I went to check the poison a couple of days ago only to find one sitting on top of it nibbling seed, and another leapt from the brick wall and just missed my head (well it felt like it just missed me, was probably a few feet away!) where it had climbed to check the bird feeder! There is now food and poison in every little nook and cranny, hopefully out of reach of the birds and neighbouring cat.

On a brighter note Number 1 son eventually (3 days after he left) contacted us from Corfu and is having a great time, he seems to go between having a great time and feeling a little ill - we don't know why!!
He's due home later today and we're looking forward to seeing him enormously.
The Builder is worried he won't be fit for tomorrow's match, can't say it's bothering me too much.

Number 2 son technically finishes school for his Summer break today, I say technically as he has a weeks work experience next week. Due to his extreme shyness (outside of the home) and his extreme bolshiness (inside of the home) he was refusing to go for work experience for a while. He hates things changing to an extreme but we eventually settled on him spending the week at his old primary school up the road.
 Familiar surroundings and some of the staff are the same, and it's an environment he feels safe and happy in - not that he's ever wanted to actually work as a teacher. He'll work 4 days there as on the 5th he has a county cricket match and that takes precedence; apparently. His sister is non too pleased at the possibility of him helping out in her class, or bossing her about as she puts it.

Today was Little Miss's school sports day, the last one I'll ever attend most probably. I started attending sports day when Number 1 son was a toddler, I don't think I've ever missed one either - that's a lot of time spent avoiding the Mother's race! You don't get to watch at the high school sports day, well so my children tell me. So another "end of an era" has dawned; there are a few more to come in the next couple of weeks before my baby leaves and has to don a high school blazer (if they make one small enough - she's a little tiddler).

I am still building up to a garden update, I promise to do it soon, I've taken photos but not got myself and the pictures organised. It's not worthy of a big build up I'm afraid, the weeds are growing too fast and I can't keep up with the watering. It's a busy time of year (gardening aside) and some of the jobs I started show no signs of ever being finished. I did however manage to pick my blackcurrants,
the birds made off with all the cherries and redcurrants....again!
One year I'll beat the birds to them!

I love jam and chutney making, we have cupboards full of the stuff, no one really eats it!

So the cricketers tomorrow will have a treat for tea, a cream tea with home grown and home made blackcurrant jam - hope they appreciate it!

We're having a lot of sunshine here in this part of the UK, and I'm certainly enjoying it. I hope we have a sunny weekend, there's cricket and ballet for us over the weekend, but only Little Miss has school on Monday the other 2 have finished for the Summer break, sadly I still have to go to work!

Enjoy the weekend whatever you do and wherever you are.