Progress with the new Ninja air fryer - isn't it odd how it takes a while to get the hang of using something new, and without knowing it, it suddenly doesn't seem to be that big a deal. Well, it's still a learning curve (perfect chips every time, but darn it, overly well done chicken kiev pieces) I ...

Can you believe it has been 5 years (21st December 2019) when I went to the RSPCA and adopted Lucas. On Christmas day after lunch (and he also enjoyed some turkey too), he was reluctant to get off my lap but I was stuffed and not about to go nowhere so it was nice. It was lovely to hear him purring ...

Hard to believe it has been over 2 years since I bought the cheap air fryer. It has been well used, almost condemning the combi oven to a dusty corner - anything that needed reheating or oven cooking was done in the air fryer. And just as the comments in the review mentioned, the numbers on the time...

With the ongoing mild weather, the 3 alpines in the tub by the front door have grown and nearly spread out across the compost surface. One has been flowering for weeks but another has started to burst into pink flowers now. Looks well established and pretty. In the other tub by the door where I had ...

I don't remember it but a quick google and I came across this:

Chang by Elizabeth Morse (about a boy and an elephant and the place where elephants go to die) It is obviously out of print (originally published in the 1930s) so when searching for availability, the prices are very expensive.

"beautiful photo's put up here in NZ too ....saw nothing ..." the key is photography, not by eye - if you know when to expect, use a camera with long exposure as it will capture the colours that your eyes are not going to see. Even a photo taken using a mobile phone camera will usually show some col...

"Doesn't it depend a bit on storage conditions too?"

All the seeds were purchased same day and kept in the same storage conditions so why some should grow and some not might depend on the supplier seeds

Updates: The 3 little alpine shrubs in the big tub outside the front door have really taken off - it may be a combination of mild (wet) weather plus fresh compost. One of them has burst into lots of little daisy-like flowers. The plants were only supposed to add some life to an otherwise big pot of ...

"The next question is.... does anyone put a pin prick in the rounded end of an egg prior to hard boiling it?" I never did anything to the shell when I used to pan boil though when I bought the little egg cooker, the measuring cup for water to go in the heating pan (to adjust whether you want a soft...

Well, I was a bit surprised to learn that most people sit their boiled egg in the egg cup with the pointy end up - have I been doing it wrong this 50+ years? yike* It looks more natural for me to have the rounded end on top and I've never had a problem of an egg toppling out of the egg cup. Having s...

it must have been very scary. Thankfully your neighbours knew what to do. Hope the results of the tests are good news.

I know you have chosen this lifestyle so no argument from me, but it's the latter part I would have real difficulty especially after raising them (I'm too soft)

"I am hoping the weed killer etc had dried before the onset." It probably wouldn't have made that much difference about drying before the rain - the bleach and vinegar change the soil pH (as well as scorch the leaves on application) Most plants tend to grow in a fairly neutral to ever so slightly a...

"I've mulched my garlic ... (again) after I got twitched by the snow." Garlic actually does better from a cold snap so no need for mulch - the best garlic I ever grew were planted in the winter of 2010 / 2011 (it snowed mid-November and lay on the ground + sub-zero temperatures right through to the ...

aw, that's a shame but at least 2 out of the 3 should be successful (and backdated no less )