Selfsufficientish.com

My house is now officially flea-free. I haven't seen one in a couple of weeks. My dog had a flea collar, though this just seemed to mean that the fleas stayed down her bottom end. It certainly didn't mean that they jumped ship entirely. I also used flea spray in various places where she slept, but t...

I work in one of the original recycling sectors of the economy - I sell second hand books.

Also in the UK, anything by Roger Phillips, especially his mushroom book. Very good colour photos throughout. They're not exactly ideal for taking out on walks, being fairly large format (the little Observer books are still good for that) but for mushrooms at least, it's often wise to take a sample ...

sunflower - it was Ian Serraillier who wrote the Silver Sword. (It was the book I asked for if I passed the eleven plus!) I live in a Book Town - the Book Town, so I'm rather spoilt for choice on the favourite book front. Favourite authors, depending on what mood I'm in, include: Charles de Lint for...

Going back to lettuces, the Romans used to serve lettuce at the end of feasts, because of its properties as a soperific - properties which have largely been bred out of it now. And as far as I know (I used to work in the Metropolitan Police Library, and read everything they had on drugs) it doesn't ...

We're definitely winning! It's the hoovering that's done the trick, I think, along with the flea collar. I've also been combing the dog every time she sets foot outside the house with a nit comb (she loves this - it's fuss). At the height of the infestation, I could swing my legs out of bed in the m...

It's not so much the swearing for me (though I'm not keen on that either), it's more the way modern American actors in particular seem to mumble so much that I can't tell what they're saying. The accents in Brief Encounter (another old favourite) may be faintly absurd today, but at least you can tel...

Green Aura - my fleas must be cleverer than your fleas! I've tried it twice now, and I know there are fleas about - but not one of them has jumped in!

quibble - I think Seven Samurai is awesome, too! I remember watching it for the first time with a friend, because we both liked The Magnificent Seven, but we were a bit wary of a film that long, with subtitles. We thought we'd see it because of the associations and then move thankfully back to Yul B...

Brilliant idea - I'll try that tonight.

I think you're supposed to steep fleabane in milk and leave saucers of it around the place, the idea being that the fleas will leap in and drown. Meanwhile, my house has never been so clean! And nor has the dog! But I'm still catching the little biddies, so more flea spray is required - and I have a...

...without using too many nasty chemicals? I've put Frontline on the dog, changed all the bedding, hoovered everywhere, and sprayed everywhere the dog sleeps with something horrible. Is there anything else I can do to make sure, preferably herbal? I know about fleabane, but I have no idea where I'd ...

Elizabeth David had a very good recipe for rabbit - but having it every Thursday night for over a year.... Let's just say I haven't eaten it since!

It used to be a popular thing for Girl Guides, I think. I remember reading more than one article in old Girl Guide Annuals about growing gourds and then hollowing them out and using them - but it was over 30 years ago, so my memory about what exactly could be done with them is a bit hazy!

I belong to the Yahoo Spindlers discussion group, and they have a thing called Spin-Out Friday, where they encourage all spinners to take their spindles out to spin in public on Fridays, wherever they happen to be. I don't usually do that, but whenever I know I'm going somewhere where I'll have to w...