Words

I was looking through a magagzine this afternoon and came across an article about a garden in the Wye Valley. It was titled "A Froth of Flowers" and I thought how lovely the phrase was, and how it describes perfectly the way a cottage garden looks with its mix of pretty blooms bobbing in the breeze. It is a perfect example of how a well chosen word or phrase can convey a world of meaning which of course is what language is all about. It also reminds me of how poverty stricken we are in this country when it comes to such things. Language does not seem to matter to some, and I get the "no-one cares about things like that" speech when I point out the difference between there and their; to, too and two and the list goes on. Well, I care and I become decidely grumpy at the whole thing.

What I am beginning to find irksome is that I have arrived at the point where I cannot remember where the apostrophes live, or sometimes how to properly string together a sentence. Grammar rules I learned at school seem to have been lost in the mists of the last 30 years or so. I know that I used to know them, but the more we are bombarded with stray apostrophes, poor grammar and appalling spelling, the more they look correct. This also makes me grumpy.

We are almost in May and the weather is showing some signs of picking up. We have had a number of consecutive dry days and some sunshine, but the temperatures have been a little too low for my liking. We have had a bank holiday this weekend, so naturally, I expected the weather to be appalling. I was mistaken. We have had a couple of glorious warm and sunny days which the cats have enjoyed to the fullest.

 

Operation Repel Flea

Operation Repel Flea is currently underway in my house. I hate the little buggers, especially when they are chomping on my feet, and despite what it does to my karma I will get rid of them. I will.

I wondered how, for the first time in 14 years of having cats, we had suddenly got a house full of nasty biting insects. Then, last night, I went into the garden to wrangle the cats and came back in with four or five fleas on my feet. They would appear to have taken up residence in the garden.

Because this is a multi-cat household, traditional topical flea treatments are not an option so I opted for a spray which is suitable for cats and for soft furnishings.

Yesterday, was spent spraying and hoovering (the hoover has not seen this much action in a long time) changing bedding; washing bedding, cushion covers and throws; then spraying and hoovering again. Towels and bath mats have gone in this morning and the washing machine does not know what has hit it.

The trouble is that the fleas are in the garden and so are the cats, and as I said earlier when I go out, I bring then in with me. So a plan of action is required.

Step 1.
Research. I hit the internet to see what natural flea repellents are available and what plants might help. I went out and bought a couple of lavender plants to stand by the back door. I also could do with marigold and chrysanthemum plants as they are said to kill fleas.

Step 2.
Make a room spray. I have a house full of essential oils and cedar, lemongrass and lavender are natural flea repellents. I wanted to play with room sprays anyway, so this is a good excuse to do that.

Step 3.
See if any of the above works, and if not, have a rethink.

Step 4.
Once the house is flea free work out how to keep it like that.

It probably goes without saying that I could do without all this. I have better things to do with my time. Good job I like a challenge!