Garden guest

I've been putting down food every day now since the snow and replenished the balls in the trees. The birds seem to like it (and need it), not a single crumb remains.
This morning, much to my surprise, a Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) was dangling off one of the balls.
They're usually very shy and easily scared. I managed to grab my camera and take a few pictures.
I'm sharing the best one here.

Snow!

Finally winter has arrived. Snow! Ice! Cold!
I've put out fat balls and crumbs for the birds.
Mouser is prancing around in the snow, not too long, but Coldcat™ has no choice when there is business to be done.
The Continental stove has been its best friend all week, they stick together like glue.
Except when the fire goes out during the night, then teh kitteh yelps, jumps on the bed and cuddles up to me. ♥
It just stopped snowing.
Great weather for hiding under a fleece blanket, drinking some gluhwein and watching the Cyclo Cross on the telly.
That's me sorted for today.

Leave me alone. I know what I'm doing.

I got Dr Livingstone one of these. He liked it. It seemed appropriate and something he would say too.

The Amaz!ing lookalike

James Randi and Charles Darwin. Are they related? If so, I think we must be told.

Le Déménagement

Here's an idea for a French movie rooted in reality: 

The Title: 'Le Déménagement' and will be in theatres across Europe in 2013.

The Plot: A wealthy French couple, the Dépardots, played by Gérard Dépardieu  and Brigitte Bardot, are hounded by the French State's tax department and collectors (Pierre Richard). Their close friend and President of the French Republic (played by Daniel Autieul)  is -because of political pressure- not able to help them and advises them to move to Belgium to avoid paying huge amounts of money. 

They end up buying a house in a sleepy Belgian village called Estaimpuis. What seems like a simple moving of house quickly turns into chaos as they encounter the mayor of Estaimpuis (Benoit Poelvoorde) and a former Russian hitman (Jean Reno) trying to persuade them to assume the Russian nationality.

120 mins. Mrs B Productions.

Cast: Brigitte Bardot, Gérard Dépardieu, Jean Reno, Benoit Poelvoorde, Daniel Auteuil, Pierre Richard.
Rating: PG

Menace of the interior

I've just finished my first paper on interior design.
I tried to make it more light to write about interiors in comedy movies, but I got bogged down in philosophy and it turned out to be quite meta and is probably unreadable for lay people.
The professor I'm writing it for did get her post-doctoral degree in philosophy in München, so I hope she'll like it.


Here's the abstract:

"This paper explores the impact furniture and it surroundings have on the protagonist in neo-realist comedy. It is an exercise in combining formalist film theory with design studies, which both analyze forms of visual arts.

In the introduction the outline for a definition of the neo-realist comedy genre is sketched and the delineation of film theory is given and some philosophical underpinnings of design study are touched upon. 

Using several examples from 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s movies the argument is made that furniture exerts a power and hold over individuals. The underlying mechanisms are exposed throughout and common denominators analyzed by using theories explored in interior design studies.

Not only do some pieces of furniture pose as a menace to comfort and dignity, but also to reputation and -ultimately- life itself. Each category of menace is elaborated on. Some contemporary examples will be linked to the ideas behind the set design or revealing the unseen and unexplained.

It concludes that furniture serves as a gimmick on several levels to support the alienation of the individual in the society that is shown in cinema."

The title is: 'The menace of the interior. Furniture in neo-realist comedy' and it will probably never get published! 

The IKEA relation test

We've taken the test many times, yesterday was the toughest one so far.

Dr Livingstone suddenly decided to get the office sorted and get some bookcases in we wanted since we first moved in and got rid of the old ones. And also a sofa which turns into a bed. So I can sneak away at night if the snoring gets too loud. So we measured the available space (again) and chose the stuff we wanted (again), lent a van (again) and drove all the way to the nearest IKEA store (again). We were there about an hour before closing time, not too much people about. Time was pressing on, so we quick marched across the obligatory display route and went to look at and test the sofa-bed. It was ok, except the colour for the cover. I had already printed out the location of the bits and pieces we needed in the self-service area, so we were well prepared to get out as soon as possible. Dr Livingstone started to speed walk slightly as we navigated our way to some trolleys.

We thought we had found a short cut (and we did!) but no trolleys to be seen, so we had to walk past shelves of cutlery, rugs, cushions, greenery and candles. Which seemed to last for miles and miles. We got two trolleys and sped towards the Bedthingy. Everything was in place, bar the cover. So we got a grey one.Dr Livingstone dropped the parcel the frame was rapped in, he could get his hand in the cardboard and things were rattling inside, so we decided to change it for another one. Up to this point he was extremely annoyed at everything. From the display of the stuff in the shelves, to me wanting to verify the numbers on the boxes and the store closing in 20 minutes. Next up: the bookcases. We got a large packet on the second trolley and then proceeded to the single, smaller ones.

Empty shelves. Great. Nothing in stock, while the IKEA system promised us everything had to be there. 'That's it. I've had it with this bloody store. Leave everything. We're going.' I wasn't leaving empty handed. We had just moved heavy parcels and I wasn't going to drive back with an empty van. We didn't speak a lot on the way back. We ended up having a bite in the restaurant close to the workshop. I checked the IKEA stock on Dr Livingstone's smart phone. 14. There should be 14 ruddy pieces of plywood in stock. They must have cloaked them with an IKEA force field, because we really didn't see a single one.

Cold Cat

Mouser was very surprised today. First real snow of the season, and Kiteh stayed out for at least 10 whole minutes and spent the rest of the morning safely and snugly tucked behind the woodstove. I took a snap, the quality isn't that good, but you can see Velvet Claws™ there not planning to go anywhere soon.

Dry liver

Mouser has taken to drinking from a bucket in our bathroom.
That's right. Not from the toilet bowl (although Dr Livingstone has told me he did see Kitteh do it before).
Mouser has fresh water next to it's nomnoms bowl and still blue buckets are the preferred modus operandi.
If Mouser wants to get into the bathroom I need to open two doors which separate it from the living room. I call it 'drinky-drinky'. Yelps ensue in recognition of the sounds I make which are by now associated with drinking from large blue buckets.
I couldn't resist making a snap of Velvet Claws™ in action.

Visit to the Royal Palace Het Loo

I went on a school trip to Dutchistan on Thursday. After getting stuck in traffic and a huge detour because the bus driver decided to slavishly follow his gps, we visited the Royal Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn. One of our professors had arranged we were able to see the carriages collection behind the glass partitions. Of course we were more than half an hour later then ETA.
One of the chief stable managers showed us around, locking and unlocking doors to rooms where the public is not allowed to come.
After the stable tour we visited the palace itself. It was the object of much discussion and controverse in the eighties when restaured. The romantic garden was demolished and a 17th century garden planted instead. A lot of the rooms that had been changed were remodelled according to the original Daniel Marot designs and contemporary accounts of visitors to the William & Mary hunting pied-a-terre.

The arrangement and furnishings of the room do give an excellent idea of the shift in styles in furniture and interiour design from the late 17th century up till the 20th.
If you're not really very versed in furniture periods etc. I recommend the audio guide, which does give a lot of context about the kings and queens who resided there too.
On the whole, we as art students enjoyed discussing the furnishings. It was an agreeable visit. Alas we didn't have time to stroll around in the forest next to the castle. I think a visit is worthwhile, but if I were to return, I'd come back in spring or summer to explore the grounds too.

Two ex chickens

The chickens didn't last very long. One of them failed to make it into the henhouse during the evening and was found the next morning nibbled to death. It was the chick I named Krimhilde.
This was about two weeks after we gave them to the neighbour. Last weekend the other hen, the one Dr Livingstone named Ingebjorg disappeared. Probably snatched by some prowling animal.
But we still get eggs, UFO's other chickens are doing what they're supposed to.

Playing catch-up

Hello my lovelies, it's been far too long since I blogged again. I'm still trying to get the hang of the new blogger dashboard interface. I tried to hold on to the old one as long as possible, but alas.

Anyway, what has been going on in my world recently:
1) As of two weeks I am now known as Mrs B, BA. Yes, I finally got that degree. With great distinction too I might smirkingly add!

2) We rented a machine to plough over the garden. It looks grand, but the grass and weeds are springing up.

3) the petanque area is finished!

4) three men are here and taking out all of the old windows and putting in new ones. They're in luck. The sun is out and it isn't raining today. So let's hope it stays that way.

5) We still have to shift the second sh*tload of wood we received over a month ago. We're both knackered and there's just not enough time to do everything we want.

6) Dr Livingstone and myself attended a wedding where strange things happened like waving about napkins (twice) and dancing something called a polonaise. If time allows I will dedicate an entire post to this... I will leave you with a picture from this morning when the lads turned up and removed the old double glazing.


Bye!

Chicken(s) in a basket

No, not really. It was two chickens in a cardboard box.
Dr Livingstone and myself went to the shop this afternoon to collect the two egg-ready chickens he'd ordered earlier.
We gave them to our woo-loving neighbour and named them Ingeborg and Krimhilde.
The big black one (Ingeborg, the one Dr Livingstone named) was out and about and fended off the other chickens in the coop. It felt at home straight away, pecking at little grains and drinking some water. The other one (Krimhilde, the docile one I named), a cross between a black and a brown one was bullied by all the other hens and was pecked at several times. -_-
Seems they were not amused with the new hens.

An hour or so later we ventured into our neighbours garden again to check out the coop. All the autochthonous chickens were already nesting in the safety of the little chicken house, the two new hens were out exploring the outdoors.
We did tell them the hatch of the little house closes at dusk when the sensor decides to trigger the little motor.
They weren't really paying much attention to us.
Curious if they're still there in the morning...

A floating raspberry

I was watering the plants I had transplanted during the bulldozing and noticed a big shiny red blob suspended between some twigs.
It looked like a raspberry floating in mid air.
No, it was a huge spider with a big red abdomen with white dots over it.
It looks like it is the Araneus quadratus, or the Four-spot orb-weaver as it is commonly known.
Judging from pictures on the web they vary from green to yellow to red.
I presume the green ones aren't ripe yet.

[Yes -for all you movie buffs- that is a slight tribute to Kevin Klein in A Fish Called Wanda].

Quick round up

My apologies for the lack of posting, it's been an incredible week and a half. I'm ill, of course, and have been sleeping all day.
I want to give a brief recap on the garden and our activities in it.
We managed to shift all of the concrete rubble, the water reservoir is in (although the measurements the store gave us were not the same as the real dimensions of the thing they delivered), the petanque course is (nearly) finished and we did some weeding too.

And we managed to shift wood that was delivered three weeks ago, just in time for another load that was dumped here on Friday evening.
Last weekend we went to get rid of the railway sleepers. All 995kgs of them.
It is -very slowly- all taking shape.
Yesterday evening we even had a short inaugural throw with petanque balls!
Oh, and while digging in front of our driveway the crane hit a grey cable which apparantly was the telephone cable from our neigbours.

Barnie Rubble

20 tons of concrete rubble 20/40 was dumped on site today.
I took a ride in the truck from the load-in site 'till home to give the driver directions. Dr Livingstone was ahead of us in the van to lay down some rubber matting on the slabs to protect them. Wasn't necessary, the dumpster could move 1 meter out of the truck, so the guy nicely dumped it in two convenient piles on in the petanque area so Dr Livingstone and someone called Simon can spread it out. There's also 10 ton in front of the garage which needs to go around the house.
Don't really know if Dr Livingstone is really up to it, he had extreme pangs of pain shooting up his back, he's going to the physiotherapist tonight to see if he can make him go again.
I can help the odd hour tonight, but I have an exam (actually two) in the morning.

Green sphinx

This interesting caterpillar was munching away in the garden yesterday. A bright green fella with purple an white stripes on the side. It's a Sphinx ligustri, soon to be the Privet Hawk Moth.
When it feels threatened, it stands upright like a sphinx, hence the latin name. You can just make out the head and its six upper feeding paws all clutched together.
It feeds on nice smelling plants like lilacs and jasmin. Must get some in when replanting everything.

Irony for the sake of science

Borderline

Another team was here on Thursday to put in the borders for the petanque area and the path around the house.
They thought they would have been done within half a day, but they left around 4 pm.
They did do a very nice job, relaxed people, they cleaned up everything very nicely. The eldest one was a bit of a chatterbox but he did know his trade.
Luckily I closed all the windows before they started slicing through the cement borders. What a load of dust!
Good thing the neigbourlady didn't have her washing out to dry.


It is a very different view now, it is all slowly taking shape.
Next week, after my exam(s) on Wednesday I'm getting stuck in, ordering more stuff to dump in there.
And we'll have to put the drainage in around the house, that is going to be a different challenge.
We also want a nice little terras to go in next to the petanque area under the cherry tree. It produces a nice speck of shade from late morning until two pm. It's ideal for the pick nick table and lazy summer brunches.
We'll give it a shot ourselves (she said bravely not realising what a cock-up this was going to be in future).
It will probably involve a lot of swearing, sore backs, some refreshing beers and more concrete slabs, but we're up for it.
It seems everyone is having some post-holiday ground activity. The asocial people from the new house down the road have also got the heavy machinery in and are digging a pool.
Alas they have pumps on all night trying to get rid of the ground water, but they are pumping away everything in the area.
My bushes will probably not make it through the scoarching heat predicted this weekend, even though I water them twice a day.
UFO-neighbour's pond level had dropped about 10 cm compared to the day before, he's afraid his fishes will emerge.