BARE BOTTOMS ON VEGETABLE BEDS

Well, it may be just about to be April, the second month of Spring but it doesn't look like it nor does it feel like it.

So there will be no planting out done yet, she ain't no dummy and she certainly isn't about to make her neighbours at the allotments fall over their rubber boots in hysterics by testing the warmth of the soil the old fashioned way.

The way that vegetable gardeners used to test the temperature of the soil was to bare their bottoms and sit on the soil, if it was warm enough to sit on, then it was reckoned to be warm enough to plant out baby vegetables! 

Where does she find these pieces of information I ask myself sometimes?

And now for something completely different.

I am not having an easy time of it here.. the wretch disappeared this morning in pouring rain and didn't come back until well after 5pm.

She did cook my eggs for me before she left but there was no cosy eating our food together for she didn't eat or drink anything!

Very odd I thought but all was explained when she came back, she went to have blood tests and they wanted her to have fasted for at least eight hours prior to giving the samples.

And then she went straight onto Anissa, her hairdresser. 

My dears! I know she's lost weight but I didn't realise that her face has become pointy and that her cheekbones would cut you!

Anissa took one look at her face and has given her a boy's haircut and I must admit, it suits her but there isn't anything for me to hold on to when I want to climb up onto her head. I have to jump!

She went for tea with our Lebanese friends on her way home, they examined her new hair style and said the short style suited her. 

And as we're having supper with two lots of friends over the Easter weekend and taking a much beloved old friend to see the art collection of King Charles 1st at the RA on Tuesday, she doubtless have their opinions as well! 

It was pouring with rain today and tomorrow is a Bank Holiday and the library is closed, so she's no new books to read, but has promised me that we'll watch 'The Jungle Book', a dvd of the original film with George Sanders doing the voice of Shere Khan, the tiger. 

He was a friend of her parents in the late '50s - early '60s and whenever he came to dinner or lunch, he'd get a drink and then sit and read a chapter or two of her latest book to her and the voices he used for the different characters were simply wonderful and he could do the BEST ever scary squeaky doors!

So I'm off to watch this now, it's still pouring with rain, we feel sorry for families who have gone away for Easter and will spend it wrapped up, dodging the snow, ice or rain that we've been told to expect. 

Boring for them, we're staying in our cosy burrow. Chirps to you all but don't eat too much chocolate!

GeeGee Parrot.

March 29th, 2018,

'Just One Evil Act' by Elizabeth George. It kept her, the wretch, up all night!

There should be a warning with some books.. a big notice saying 'Beware, this is compulsive reading.. you won't want to put it down!'

For the wretch.. aka mother.. made the error of picking up the above titled book last night, got gripped by the story and it was only when she went to spend a penny that she saw it was 05.45am!

Yes, it's a fat book. However, I was being kept awake and wasn't not happy about that at all.. 'don't be so grumbly' was the phrase that she mumbled at me at some point. Cheeky wench.

The plot is clever, there's the clue to 'who dun'nit' which hides in plain sight. It's an Inspector Lynley novel, it won't disappoint you, her books never do!

She woke up late this morning, slightly bleary eyed, and thought for one simply awful moment that it was Wednesday, which meant that she'd have to shake a leg, aka get out of bed, get washed and dressed very quickly and go to work.

It was only when she switched on her mobile that she saw to her huge relief that it was Tuesday.

She made my eggs, ate her grapefruit, did some chores and organised a couple of dates for a friend to see an exhibition, checked that she had all the ingredients that she will need to make Easter gifts that she'll cook on Thursday.

And went back to bed to finish the book!

What can I say.. except I am taking full advantage of her being in bed and am playing on her bedside table, woe betide any stray piece of card or paper that was silly enough to stay on this surface, for it has either been 'beaked' or picked up and dropped onto the floor.

She'll have to bring Mr. Bissell back out again to eat the paper crumbs up. Poor man, it must be so boring to be stuck in a cupboard with Mr. Ironing Board and Master Bucket.

I don't think she's got another scary book to read tonight, thank goodness for that, we might go to bed at a sensible hour. I saw a paperback but it's a textbook, not another thriller!  

However, I do know that WW is full of the ones she's read and she'll be off to the library tomorrow morning before she goes to work to replenish her supply of reading material, for the library is closed, quite rightly, on Good Friday, Easter Day and on Easter Monday.

We've been bidden to supper with two families over the holidays, hence her making Easter gifts.

Now she is going to try and find on BBC iPlayer the programme that was shown last week on WW2, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt.  

By the way, Elizabeth George has written lots of books but don't pick one up late at night, not unless you want to be reading it in the early hours of the next morning!

Seriously addictive stuff.

Chirp..

GeeGee Parrot.

March 27th, 2018.
PostScript:
'Just One Evil Act' by Elizabeth George.
Published 2013. ISBN # 978-1-444-70602-4

"GOOD MORNING.. I LOVE YOU.. I WANT'A FEED THE BABIES.." SAID MAMA PARROT.

This very short video had us speechless, we don't know what breed of Parrot she is but she's mighty cute and she's talking to her 'babies'.

Her three chicks which are in a tub filled with soft bedding as they're young, have no feathers and are entirely dependent on being fed by their human 'parents' or the mother parrot.

You can find it on the Daily Mail website, it's enchanting.

We'll be back later to tell you about the book that kept her up all night, until 05.45 this morning, thank goodness today wasn't Wednesday! 

GeeGee Parrot.
March 27th, 2018.

'IN DEEP WATER' by SAM BLAKE. A CAT CONNOLLY THRILLER.

And it's a scary thriller too! We defy you to 'see' the ending for there's a big twist in the tale and it is cleverly written.

Sam Blake is a pseudonyn for Vanessa Fox O'Loughlin who is the founder of a wonderfully named company, The Inkwell Group, which is a publishing consultancy company based in Ireland. She's Ireland's leading literacy scout.

She's grateful to the librarian who recommended this book to her for she's never read anything by this author before and will be on the hunt to see what else she's written.

The plot is gritty, and the ending is, unfortunately, true to what is happening throughout Europe these days', people are being traded as a commodity, sold by evil people either into slavery or prostitution and their misery can only be measured in nightmares.

The author thanks Ruhama, a Dublin based NGO organisation which works on a national level with women affected by prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. It was started in 1989.

Three years ago in an extraordinary set of circumstances, my mama come across a young girl who was in the terrifying situation of having been brought here to London under false pretences and she was able, together with a small group of people, to get her away from the evil bastards who had her here, so she has enormous respect and admiration for organisations who tackle this situation on a day to day basis.

Read this book and shudder, at man's cruelty and inhumanity, and tell other people to read it as well.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 26th, 2018.

DIABETES 2.. HOW SWEDISH BITTERS & LINSEED OIL CAN & DO HELP AND COMBATING TOE NAIL FUNGUS WITHOUT USING DRUGS THAT CAN CAUSE LIVER FAILURE.

It is fascinatingly appalling how arrogant the big pharmaceutical companies are. How they sell products without LARGE notices on the labels saying this drug can and does cause liver failure.. do not take if there is a history of kidney stones and so on.

So she was more than delighted to hear recently that her much beloved Swedish Bitters had helped a friend's father who has type 2 Diabetes.

With two doses of 30mls per day mixed with 50mls of water, their father has now been taken off his diabetic formula - Metformin - which he took for many years night and day to control his blood sugar levels.

If his blood sugar rises, as it did recently to 21mmol/L, he was immediately given a dose of Swedish Bitters and within 40 minutes his reading had dropped to 8mmol/L.

He has found that regular exercise of at least 20 minutes per day has greatly helped in reversing his condition.

This is not just an isolated case, there are many papers out there which will explain in great detail why taking Swedish Bitters will help to regulate the sugar levels.

The other remedy that he now takes and which has been of great help is Linseed, aka Flaxseed, Oil.

This too has been investigated very thoroughly and found to be extremely beneficial, as it reverses the body's insulin resistance.

So do your research and be very careful to read up on all possible side effects of any pharmaceutical drugs you take.

Equally.. be careful of any herbal remedies, some have effects that mean you should not take them if you are pregnant. Always check with a Herbalist before taking herbal medicine.  

But there are two well known drugs, made by reputable companies in the US that are prescribed for toe nail fungus, however, the FDA is now cautioning anyone who has liver problems NOT to take these two drugs as they cause liver failure.

What they don't tell you is that they can also cause you to start having liver problems

There is an easier and completely harmless way to stop toe nail fungus.

You need a large flat bowl such as a washing-up bowl, a bottle of cider OR white vinegar, a bottle of pure Tea Tree oil, 2 orange sticks, a little bowl (she uses a ramekin), warm water and a towel and a chair.

Put about 10 drop of the oil into a bowl and put one orange stick into the oil.

Sit on the chair with both feet in the warm water, to which you have added a cup of either of the vinegars, soak your feet for at least 5 minutes. 

Put the towel over your knee and rest the other foot on it, start cleaning your toes with a clean orange stick, scrape gently along the top and underneath the nail and wash the residue off in the bowl.

Do this until your toe nails are completely clean.

Take the orange stick that has been soaking in the Tea Tree oil, run it over the top of the toe nail and underneath, making sure that the nail, top and underneath is covered with the oil.  

Then sit for at least 5 minutes to allow your toes to dry naturally and the oil to soak into your skin and work its' magic, with no evil side effects.

She's fully trained at manicures and pedicures and was always shocked at how some people treated their feet and how dangerous the drugs that are prescribed to combat toe nail fungus were.

When all that's needed are vinegar and tea tree oil plus warm water but BIG old Pharma doesn't make money out of those, do they?

GeeGee Parrot.
March 26th, 2018.

PostScript:
Swedish Bitters are available from Granary Herbs Ltd.
Email: granaryherbs.christine@gmail.com.
Telehone # 01622 737314. From outside the UK drop the 0 and add 44 for the country code.

Linseed Oil is also known as Flaxseed Oil and is readily available in almost every country.

'IF I HAVE GOT YOUR NUMBER, SO HAS FACEBOOK' IS ON THE BBC WEBSITE TODAY.

WHAT! Yes, it's true.. if you are on FaceBook and use a mobile cellphone that you have clicked onto  FB with, then all of your contacts are able to be seen and collected by FB.


Scary.. but now she knows how people have been able to contact her without her ever giving them her details.

For she's received calls from strange companies that she has never done business with and thank goodness she doesn't have an ansaphone for there would have been many more if she had!

Data Information is something that they take very seriously.. it's true, they take OUR information data very seriously indeed for it's worth millions to other people.

She has friends who are on FB constantly and now she knows how her contact details are 'out there' and, guess what, there's nothing she (or you) can do about it. 

'1984' is here folks..

GeeGee Parrot.

March 2018.

CAKE STANDS by CHRISTION, I POSTED ABOUT HIS CHARMING CREATIONS & YOU'VE BOUGHT SOME!

Well! How nice is this piece of news..

We posted about his pretty cake stands twelve days ago and have had a truly massive response as over fifty people have already read this post and she hasn't even done her end of month posting to our usual suspects, so we're thrilled!

But, not as thrilled as Christion, because when she saw him on Saturday he told her that he's had several orders.

Bubba-dubba-doo!

We love it when things like this happen, so we'll be sending an email to Diane Ludwig, she makes those wonderful 'Trolley Dollies' plus other very pretty things in California and we blogged about her and her products several weeks (or was it months) ago.

Diane lived in London for several years and that was almost certainly when she got into the habit of taking a trolley with her when she went off to market. 

For who, in their right mind, wants to carry home: a couple of lbs or kilos of carrots, a cabbage, some grapefruit and maybe a bottle or two? Let alone the washing powder and lavatory paper!

Not when you could have a trolley or a WW to carry everything for you!

If you Google 'trolley dolly by diane', her website will come up.

Christion can be contacted on : christionmac@hotmail.com and if you Google 'Cake Stands by Christion' his information will come up but, of course, you should go back and read my post about him which will give you all of his contact details.

Now apparently I am going to have a bath.. yes, a proper in the basin bath, not one of my versions of bathing which is to dunk my head in my water bowl and then sit on her head to drip dry!

Flappa-dappa, there's no peace for me, I wonder if it's because she had to vacuum the bedroom carpet?

GeeGee Parrot.
March 26th, 2018.
PostScript: WW stands for Wicker Wheelie.

'H IS FOR HAWK'.. by HELEN MACDONALD.. ABOUT A GOSHAWK CALLED MABEL

This is a book that has touched her deeply. For you all know how the love of parrots and birds entered her life at the age of eighteen months and how, eventually, at the ripe old age of thirty eight Dagga Parrot entered her life.

This isn't a new book, it was published in 2014 but it was on the table in the library where the librarians put their favourite most recent reads.

This is the true story of a young woman, Helen Macdonald, of how, upon the death of her beloved father, she located a breeder and bought Mabel, a Goshawk and the account of their taming of each other.

It will open your eyes to the marvels of patience and love, of seeing a life in the wilds of nature, to the wisdom and kindness that animals respond to and allow themselves to be 'trained and tamed'.

It is a beautiful, well written story.. it made her cry, the reason which you'll appreciate if you're a Dear Reader and have read this blog since it started in 2011.  

'H is for Hawk' by Jane Macdonald.

Published by Vintage Books in 2014 .

ISBN # 978-0-099-57545-0. 

Now she has to 'fire' up Mister Bissell and I am removing myself to my highest perch!

GeeGee Parrot.

March 26th, 2018.

I'M HAVING A LOVELY TIME.. MAKING A BIG FAT MESS!

When you were a child did your parents ever allow you to make a mess? Mine does.. she knows that a pile of paper is my idea of 'catnip' and today I am being allowed to make a stupendously messy mess! 

We've had our fast breaking yumyum, grapefruit and tea for her, buttered egg, two almonds and tea for me.

She switched on laptop to look at various things and to write a post on my Blog about a book she had read last week called 'H is for Hawk'.

I was being what she calls a 'pest', dithering about at the top of her bed, the closest point to the bedside table.

She 'sighed' as only mothers do when children are being ... well, I'm sure you know what I mean, I don't have to spell it out for you, on I jumped.. to find all manner of exciting things!

Some, I regret to say, were immediately whisked away by a speedy hand but there's still plenty to beak. A roll of lavatory paper for instance.. such fun to shred the fine paper and crunch the inner roll!

Now, it was a great pity that she saw those two rubbery spectacle cases, they would've been fun to chew but she did and they wizzed out of Beakys' reach into her bag which is on the floor.

She left the hard spectacle cases, but they're no fun as I can't chew them, so Beaky gave them a nudge and they're now on the floor.

It's a good thing that her old friend Mr.Bissell is working, isn't it? Because there's a dreadful mess down there now! 

She's just looked over and seen the state of the bedside table and floor and you know what, she laughed!

Bless her heart, she knows kids have to be allowed to have fun and as I don't read comics or know how to use crayons - she's said 'thank the Lord for that' - a mess of ripped paper, that she can vacuum up, is a small price to pay to allow her kid lots of fun.

PipPip. More card to chew, paper to shred, got to go.

GeeGee Parrot.

March 26th, 2018.

JANE GREEN.. AN EXCEPTIONAL NOVELIST..

Knightsbridge is having a 'dull day', the sky is a unpleasant shade of grey, it is damp and not very warm.

Do we care? Well, yes we do as she was hoping to venture forth out to the allotments today but then she remembered that the traffic would be all up the creek as it's a half marathon day.

Luckily she went to the library and the market yesterday, so there are lots of books in a bag by her bed and all sorts of delicious yumyum in chilly white larder.

Jane Green is an author who is new to her, one of the librarians recommended one of her books to her last week, she found it well worth reading. It was called 'Falling'.

So yesterday she went back to the library to see if they had more of her books and came away with these three titles.

The Sunshine Sisters.

Summer Secrets.

The Accidental Husband.

Her books are 'gritty', they're certainly not your average sickly-sweet novels, she writes of situations that families from all walks of life have: affairs, marriage breakdowns, divorce, alcoholism, anorexia and bulima, bankruptcy and death.

But read her books.. you should certainly do so.

She's English but lives in America with her second husband and their 'blended families of six children and far too many animals'..

How can you have far too many animals?

She off to read another book and I'm off to doze on a comfy perch, our clocks 'sprang' forward an hour this morning, I find it very discombobulating but we've had a tasty lunch so I'm bearing up well and hope you are too.

GeeGee Parrot.

March 25th, 2018.