Still Washing Stuffies...

[bk_forever]

So, I've been washing more stuffies - big surprise there - so here are some more pics showing stuffies and behind the first one you can see what I've been doing in the garden. Compare it to the last lot of pics for the 'before' shot. ;)

The last picture is of some mysterious holes I found under the ivy I was clearing. I have no idea whose holes they are. The biggest one is about 3.5 inches across, goes down about 5 inches then heads left. Not sure of the hole is in use, but the smaller one wasn't there the day before... o.O

Comments

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

The last time I saw that many stuffed toys was in a store! Wow.

[bk_forever]

I have all of my own plus all of my mum's, and I still have several more loads to wash. They're my pets ;)

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Well, at least they are cheap to feed.

[bk_forever]

Very true, and they're undemanding, easy to care for.

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

O.o

You have some sort of critter burrowing there. Can you ask your neighbors if they've seen anything, or know what it could be?

[bk_forever]

I'll probably ask my neighbour that side of the garden; she has dogs and chickens so if anything is about she might be aware. I don't know for sure if the holes are in use though. There could be more under the ivy I haven't cleared yet.

I took the photo from almost directly above, the holes are in level ground and there's no sign of earth being dug out. It's very curious.

[kit10notk9.livejournal.com]

If they had more clumps of hardened mud around them I would suspect crawdad/crayfish holes.
I think the smaller one is more of an air vent. You may want to Google what burrowing creatures live in your area, to narrow down the possibilities.

[bk_forever]

Ah, but this is an English back garden and the only body of water is a small garden pond so I think crayfish are rather unlikely ;)

The ground is hard and dry because the holes are in a raised banking and we've had hot weather and very little rain for the last three weeks.

The mystery continues, I think I've found another small hole and on of the neighbours cats was showing some interest. I'll just continue clearing ivy, brambles, and other undergrowth and see what else I find. I'll keep posting pictures as I take them.

[kit10notk9.livejournal.com]

I Googled it, and most of the usual suspects for a English back garden are various species of small rodents.

[bk_forever]

I'm currently leaning towards the idea of wood mice since I know we have them in the garden, I'd just never thought of them burrowing in the garden itself. Usually they favour the compost heap, the greenhouses, or under the shed. On the other hand, it's so long since the undergrowth has been cleared I can hardly blame them for taking advantage of the shelter.

Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

So cute! I bet you had fun with them, your stuffies! Nice and clean. So strange about the holes? I wonder how they got there? More tomorrow, I am going to bed.

{{{Hugs}}}
Debbie

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

I still have more photos to post, and at least another three loads of stuffies to wash, but the weather's turned cold and wet so they'll have to wait until I get good drying weather again.

At this point I'm thinking maybe wood mice because we do have those in the garden. If it's them I don't mind, they're no trouble. Maybe I'll find out at some point.

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

Oh I want to see the other photos when you get them up. Wow! You have more Stuffies than I do. I have some boxed up in the garage cause I have nowhere to store them. Some are very old and not washable. I am hoping some of them I can put through the washing machine and dryer. I used to have them all over my bed when I lived with my parents and I had my old bed in my computer room for a long time with them on it, but we got rid of the bed, mattress was old and we needed the room after Alex was born.

Wood mice would scare me, but as long as they stay out of my house I would be ok. I had a Christmas mouse once in our house when Michael was still alive and he had to set mouse traps. He caught it, but I felt kind of bad. It was a cute little mouse. I didn't really want to kill him, just not in my house.

Talk more soon,

Deb. :)

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

No idea when I'll get the other photos uploaded and posted, but I will eventually. Just having computer problems at present.

Most of my stuffies were in a storage unit for 7 years, then the last couple of years in plastic sacks here at the house. They needed washing but the weather was never good enough for long enough to get the dry. It's only because we've had an unusually hot April that I've been able to start washing them. I ope we'll get some more good weather soon so I can get the last few loads done.

I'm not scared of mice. Wouldn't want house mice in my home, but the wood mice stay outside. They're very cute.

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

Do you have a clothes dryer or do you have to hang all your stuff to dry. I am so spoiled. I have a washer and dryer. Never hung stuff up, bet the sun dries them so nice though. I hope I can wash some of mine. Afraid they may need it, not sure how long they have been in storage. At least 7 years, maybe longer.

Ok, now I need to look up wood mice. Not sure I have ever seen one. :)

Oh I hate it when my computer acts up. Drives me crazy, well my old one. I finally got a new laptop I really like except this keyboard is not as good as on my old one. They had improved the keyboards on laptops, but making them more streamed lined made the keyboards not so good now, I am getting used to it. I like it, it has a touch screen too which I have never had before on a laptop though I still have Michael's Android tablets. I would love a new one of them, the fast charging kind they make now that is like my latest phone.

Do you have a smartphone that you text on? Was just curious, if we were ever able to catch each other at a good time we could text sometime, but only if you wanted to. I am busy with Alex's school, but I text a FB friend some even working. I text teachers too.

Talk more later,

{{{hugs}}}

Deb.

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

No clothes drier, no, I don't have room for one. In winter when the fire's going I dry laundry on the radiators and in summer if the weather's dry and warm enough everything goes out on the line. It makes everything small so fresh and clean.

Just be careful washing your stuffies. Use a delicate cycle and ow temperature, no higher than 40 C. Be extra careful if you use the drier on them because it could be too hot. Don't machine wash anything that has a squeaker or something inside, and check the label. Polyester stuffing is fine in the machine but some fillings don't do so well.

No, I don't have a smartphone, can't afford one and I don't even have a basic mobile. Never got the hang of them. I've just got this 8-year-old increasingly cranky laptop.

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah I know, the animals I have are so old, I remember some had labels that said just to use a wet bath cloth on them and let them dry which I hate. They never should have been put in the garage or I should have sealed them in something better than the plastic boxes my husband bought for them. He needed room up here for his computer, long story, anyway they are still out there and I am not sure what kind of shape they are in.

I bet your clothes smell so good drying outdoors. My Mom said when I was little she didn't have a dryer and had to hang all our clothes to dry. I am spoiled. No I will be careful, read the tags see if I can even wash or dry them.

You don't have a cell phone, I guess you have a landline don't you in your house in case of emergencies. I got rid of mine, we had people calling and hanging up on answering machine. Michael got so annoyed he disconnected the phone from the wall all the time so why pay for it? We got rid of it back then. I only have a smartphone, and one that is actually Alex's but he is not into them now. He plays games on a tablet and has a computer. Michael built him one and just lately a friend of Michael's was over and gave Alex a new one he built. He is like Michael in the computer geek stuff, but he is much younger.

I was so glad to get a new laptop, my other one is about the same age as yours and very slow, did have a much better keyboard though like I said somewhere. lol! Glad you can still use it and get online and write your stories. :)

Deb.

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

The plastic boxes should have protected them fairly well, but it's probably about time to bring them back indoors and check them over. My oldest teddy bear is stuffed with straw so can't be washed, just a damp cloth on the surface.

They do, when the weather is good enough. Last year I only got laundry done once over summer because it was too wet out to dry things most of the time. Good thing I have so many clothes. Many of mum's fit me and I kept them so I was okay.

Yes, I have a landline, it's cheaper and more convenient. I have that and my broadband together.

It's the new version of windows that I don't want. The new versions of internet explorer don't allow downloading as text files, which is how I've been saving fanfic for years.

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

Oh Wow! Glad you had extra clothes and your Mom's clothes. I can't imagine us not washing clothes at least once a week. With Alex, he messes up so many clothes and now being locked in, he ate too much, snacked a lot, so have I. He has put on weight. He looks ok, he is still growing, but went from a 32 waist to a almost 37 waist in a month! None of his pants except sweat pants fit. None of his shorts except the one set I got Friday. He only likes Under Armour, but expensive and hard to find right now in sizes and colors he likes. He may have to wear something else or go naked. lol! :D My pants and shorts are a little tight. I am wearing my fat shorts too..haha! I have to get back to some exercising and try to reduce calories a little. Not easy.

Oh good was worried you had no way to contact people. Glad you have a landline.

Oh I just now have had no choice but to have Windows 10 put on our computers Michael made. His friend Jonathon is so nice, he put it on our computers, of course laptop came with Windows 10. I am getting used to it, but I still have to hunt for things and it is annoying. Jonathon said Windows no longer supports Windows 7 and I would get viruses so we had to update. I waited as long as I could. I loved Windows 7. Have you tried Chrome or some other browser? A lot of people are using Chrome over IE now or does that not work with what you are doing? I am sorry about the changes, I wish they would just leave things alone sometimes. Some "improvements" are not always good.

hugs to you*
Debbie

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

Yes, it's really lucky, I can go a month without doing laundry if I have to. With only me I usually wait until I have enough for a washer load anyway, otherwise it's a waste of electricity.

I expect a lot of people are putting on weight through stress snacking. Maybe put on music and dance around for exercise when you're doing chores *grins* I would but I don't have
the energy.

I have good antivirus programme on my computer so the lack of one through windows doesn't matter. I do use google chrome too, but that doesn't allow downloading ass text files either, and I have to format posting for my stories in internet explorer then copy and paste into google chrome for posting because chrome screws up formatting, removes the line spacing and makes the text tiny.

Improvements never take into account the things people might want to keep on using. They're not suitable for everyone. I hate being forced to change the way I do things.

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

Oh that does sound terrible. You sound a bit like Michael, you know some of this computer geek stuff. I don't even know what ass text files are? I still have my notes on how to insert a video or pictures here. This site I think was made for geek people, probably why most went to FB where everything is easy to do share files, pictures, etc. I think they made it more user friendly here now, but I still like to go back and do it the hard way for fun. I am not a geek though. That was Michael's job. His friend Jonathon is nice enough to help us when a computer or printer has problems or stops working. I wish I knew how to do all that stuff.

Yeah would be easier on people if they just left stuff alone. We live in the age of constantly evolving technology. My TV's and DVD player is way old and now they are saying everything is going to these 4K TV's and DVD players. Sound and picture quality is suppose to be amazing and when we got our LCD TV's I thought that was the best we would have for a long time. Well I guess it was, but after Michael died things started changing again and he is not here to help me buy new stuff and hook it up. We will be forced to or have to use adapters on our stuff eventually. I am tired of re-buying my movies! Enough with all this change! haha! We re-bought a lot of movies when Bluray came out and now I see 4K movies at the stores. Oh no! In 10 or 20 years they will have something even better again, I guarantee it!

Oh yeah, yeah before the home schooling I was exercising every day, watching my food intake and yeah I was dancing. I got me a boom box not long ago and play CD's on it and would dance. Great way to burn calories that is more fun than running in place and exercising alone.

{{hugs}}
Deb.

Deb. <3

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

I've learned how to do a few things, but there's an awful lot I don't know. I'm no computer expert. LJ keeps things fairly simple, but they keep changing things and I don't handle change well. I panic when something looks different.

A text file is just what it says, just plain writing like this is. Nowadays you have to download whole pages exactly as they appear on the screen and the files would take up a lot more memory on the computer.

I never bothered switching to bluray. My DVDs are fine, I only have a small TV anyway. As long as it woks that's good enough. I can't afford to replace stuff all the time.

Maybe you and Alex could have a daily dance-a-thon after schoolwork, a bit of fun to look forward to even it's just for 10 minutes. Sake of the stress of teaching and learning.

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

I don't like change either. Sorry they keep making it hard for you.

Oh I know bluray costs a lot, I wouldn't have what I have if it wasn't for Michael. I could slowly afford to upgrade this, but I need help hooking up electronics. I am just no good at it. Michael had his own system and didn't want me messing with the big TV in the front room. Bad idea because he is gone and no one has been able to figure out how to make the speakers he bought work except through the DVD player. There are some small speakers that work through the TV that are fine, but I watched stuff with him where he had surround sound and all this cool stuff that I miss. Now it is all out of date so I need to buy new stuff and set up my own system that I know how to work with help. Right now just not worrying too much about it.

Oh Alex has a bad sore throat tonight. Going to call his doctor in the morning, see if she wants him to come in for a strep and regular flu test. I know there is a place to check for Coronavirus, will ask her about it if other tests are negative. Of course you can test for strep too soon and it show negative when it is positive, but I am scared. Alex would not wear a mask when we have gone out. He has mild asthma and pollen allergies so I am worried what might happen if he has it and I don't want it either. I had something a month ago with a fever, took antibiotics and finally got over it. Have no idea what I had though. My dumb doctor didn't have a regular flu test even. They checked me for Strep, but I did not have it.

I will let you know what I find out.

Deb.

Re: Love them!

[bk_forever]

If what you've got is good enough for now you may as well stick with it a while longer, because as soon as you upgrade something else new will come along. Now isn't the bet time for trying to upgrade tech anyway. I was going to get a new vacuum cleaner before all this started, but now I'll have to wait a bit longer =/

*Hugs Alex* *hugs you* Hope it's just strep throat, nasty a that can be. The virus is usually a fever and cough, I haven't heard of a sore throat being involved. There are so many other viruses about as well, all the time. See what the Doctor has to say and try not to worry.

Thinking of you both!

Re: Love them!

[debmommy22.livejournal.com]

Yeah you are right. The stores are opening up slowly here, but just not a good time to upgrade and again I would need help from someone or have to pay someone to show me how everything is hooked up and how to work it. I think the 4K is where it is going for now. I was going to get a LED TV. My parents have one, beautiful picture. Mine is LCD, really good, I had no idea they had come out with the LED and now 4K is the upcoming TV, suppose to be like you are in the show or movie or 3D like, it is amazing. I just want to get caught up and stay there. The LCD and bluray stayed a pretty long time and 4k movies are still way more expensive than bluray. When the prices come down it will take over and I will probably have to upgrade. Wish I could meet a great guy like my Michael who was good at this stuff, someone my age.

Alex doesn't have strep, but the doctor doesn't think it is likely Coronavirus, she thinks just a regular virus, I will keep a watch on his temperature, but he actually is a little better tonight already. He has some congestion which was probably causing the sore throat. Thank you for caring about us! <3 I think he is fine. We care about you too. He asked about you sometimes. Who was that girl that sent me the crystals? I think that is what they are called. My mind is going on me.