The trials and tribulations of a life of leisure...

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Monday, May 03, 2010

Scrabble Garden Modelling Garden Scrabble...

I have started a new scrabble project. Chains of hooks. I have been thinking about doing this on and off for several years and at last started a few days ago.

Luckily I decided to do this as a spreadsheet as it is very prone to user error. I have realised I have missed whole branches, but it is so much easier to correct this than if I had done it as a straight word file as I wanted a column format.

I have started with the two letter words, and have just finished DO and am already up to nine pages. And that is not including S plural hooks to save on space - words that take an S are in black and those that don't are in red.

The longest words found so far are SPARKIEST (AR, PAR, PARK, PARKI, PARKIE, SPARKIE, (SPARKIES), SPARKIEST) and ASPIRATED (AT, ATE, RATE, IRATE, PIRATE, PIRATED, SPIRATED, ASPIRATED).

Between doing this I have resumed digging out the cherry tree bed (maybe) to be. The sandstone that I found last year does continue right along to the oil tank, although it is slightly deeper that end. My plan is to move a few barrow loads of excess soil from LB8 and 9 to this bed to build the soil level up to the height of a ridge that sticks out from the wall. This should give be about a foot of soil above the sandstone but I am not sure if that is enough. However, it will be enough for fruit bushes...

A day off yesterday. A Manchester based magazine (Candis) is doing an article about me and scrabble - possibly in their July issue. Yesterday they sent a photographer to take some shots. He arrived about 1 p.m. as arranged. About three trips to bring all his gear in and then set up lights and a backdrop in the lounge. A couple of test photos. I had been asked to wear a scrabble shirt so I had duly obliged. Had I got any others? I showed him one other that I would be willing to wear - and he went with my original choice. Could I wear something other than jeans? The magazine apparently doesn't like jeans. I changed into my posh gold coloured trousers - didn't really go with the shirt but he was happy. Jen and Poncho were a little put out - he had taken over their bed area with all his equipment. We were also a little concerned they may pull down the back drop so I put them out in the garden. And then I was constantly worried about what Jen might be up to. And they were not overly happy at being shut out. And they hadn't had their lunch...

Anyway, hundreds of photos later of me with scrabble board, scrabble tile bag, scrabble rack, scrabble tiles... you get the idea. About two hours from start to finish.

It was back to the sandstone excavation today. Almost finished removing the worst of the crud now - maybe another hours work. Poncho came out and was actually being very well behaved, just lying down enjoying the evening sunshine. And then Jen came out. I was just going out the gate to empty another bucket load of you-know-whats when she jumped up into my middle raised planter. Potential disaster. I shouted at her to get down. And as per normal she completely ignored me. So I went running up to pull her down before she did too much damage. And the next thing I know the pair of them had disappeared out of the gate that I hadn't shut properly. Straight round to Margaret's. I caught up with Poncho investigating a new conifer she had just planted in her verge, and frog marched him by the collar back home. And then back to get Jen who I had seen heading straight to Margaret's house. Margaret had already 'captured' her in her courtyard by the time I got there.

A quick inspection of the seedlings when I got her back home. Luckily I don't think she has done too much damage...

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