Happy New Year etc etc

Have spent a large part of the last few days attempting to get the house in order - a dull and thankless task which makes me even more cranky than usual. Also, it looks no different to when I started.

SIGH.

Diet began yesterday (can't be the first due to all the birthday action around here). Got off to a fair start, though have had an unreasonably hungry day today and as a result have eaten too many points worth of birthday cheese (yes, in addition to clothes, kitchenalia and books I got CHEESE for my birthday - it was my favorite present). But now the birthday cheese is gone and I can knuckle down to dedicated points gobbling tomorrow. So all is good. :)

Much to my eternal amazement Swishy and Bobbie are STILL ALIVE. See look...

Please appreciate this photo, it took about a hundred blurry fish photos to get one even reasonably blogworthy - and you know I don't have  a photography knack at the best of times (trust me, anything you see up here that's remotely in focus, showing depth or arty is taken by hubby).  Was quite pleased with butter dish in background of this one. sigh.

Swishy is beginning to look alarmingly fat, and I suspect the little strumpet has got herself knocked up, or maybe not.  What the hell would I know about up-the-duff fish anyway?

Hmm.

Have also been busy in the garden, hammering in star pickets rescued from mumndads and painting them green - I'll attach wire to them and tie my fruit tree's branches to the wires.  Have had a small technical hitch though, as my fruit trees are not cooperating and growing branches in the right places.  I need them to grow one branch up, one left and one right. Despite following instructions carefully and pruning in all the right places the trees are happily growing one branch up, and if I'm lucky one to the left or right, BUT NOT BOTH. 

Am trying not to take it personally.

The containers of brown liquid shoved in the ground by the base of the trees are upside down old drink bottles with the bottoms cut off filled with worm tea - well if you must ask...

Whilst I'm on the subject of painting my star pickets, I would just like to say to The Man at the Hardware store that

1. Just because my list was written in sparkly green pen does not mean I am a ditz
2. Just because I am blonde and have an awesome rack that you were obviously quite interested in does not mean I am a ditz
3. Don't mock me. If I want to save myself $140 by recycling old star pickets and camouflage them by painting them green. Don't laugh. Don't sneer. Just shut the hell up and answer my questions about rust and paint. This also goes for the sarcastic twit who works there on the weekend. Also, to the guys at the wood place a suburb or two up the road - browny-red is browny-red and it IS a colour.

Finally, we are underway building the chicken enclosure.

Yes, well. Not much to see as yet.  But we're picking up our coop tomorrow and (probably) getting the ladies on Thursday.

Last week we were a no income, two kids, one dog, one cat family and by next week we will be a no income, two kids, one dog, one cat, two fishes and four chickens family.

I have no idea how these things happen to me.