It's been quite some time since Cracka had spent a good length of time on Ownedfags but a lot has happened and it's all good stuff.  Nothing sad.

Cracka grows a lot of its own food on the local allotment and goes foraging so last year was an exceptional year for a lot of food being produced and having to be stored in the freezer, made into jams and chutneys and even pickled in sweet spicey vinegar.  Cracka even made its own organic apple juice and never before had organic homegrown food tasted so good.  It's amazing how much time you spend on a plot and how fast time goes by. The only fruit that Cracka buys are Bananas and all the other fruit comes from the plot.  Cracka hopes to do the same thing with vegetables so that no vegetables are bought from supermarkets at all and Cracka cuts down further its carbon footprint.

Cracka also bought a new toy - a food dehydrator - to store food in jars as there's only so much space in Cracka's two freezers.  Cracka hasn't done this before but it's a great option and the YouTubers make it look so easy. Any excess grown food can be given to fellow residents in other flats, other plotholders and, of course, as a priority,  Food Banks, of which there are two very local to Cracka.

The only thing that Cracka dreads coming out of all of this is watching those digits go up on the electric meter and begruding giving its money to greedy Directors and shareholders of energy firms.

Whilst on the allotment, in April of last year, Cracka befriended a cat (Bow) which belonged to someone who lived over the fence of the allotment.  Unbeknown to Cracka, Bow had decided to leave her home of 11 years and she was on Cracka's plot every morning and every evening waiting for some cat treats.  Over the past few months, Cracka noticed that Bow was eating more and more of the treats and, after speaking to a fellow plotholder who knew the cat's owner and the cat owner herself, and after Cracka had brought Bow back to its home as the weather was getting colder  at the start of October, it was decided by everyone that Bow had well and truly connected with Cracka and Cracka agreed to adopt her.  After Cracka had lost its first cat of 16 years in 2021, Bow had unexpectedly but very gratefully filled a big hole in Cracka's life and she is an absolute joy to have. 

Being away from Ownedfags has in no way stopped Cracka's huge respect, admiration, love and support for Black Gods.  In fact, it increased and, together with Cracka's two Black God Owners, we had paid for a young Black God to pay for his final education, bought Malaria medicine for another Black God, contributed towards a Black God upgrading his mobile phone so that he can take better photos and videos to attract sponsorship towards his bodybuillding dreams, contributed towards buying gym equipment for a local community in Africa, and we hope to do more to improve the lives of Black Gods around the world as best as we can in these difficult financial times.  Cracka also provided valuable information to help a Black God leave his repressive country in Africa and start a new life in the UK. 

Cracka had no intention of joining Instagram but, after seeing a gardening YouTube, Cracka decided to join Instagram to check out the Gardener.  Instead of following the YouTuber, Cracka ended up following over 80 Black, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican and Latino Gods who are absolutely stunning and Cracka enjoys having communications with some of them.  It certainly makes waiting and travelling on unreliable train services much more interesting as Cracka is kept drooling over athletically/muscular built Black Gods and leaving positive reviews.  

After reading this blog, Cracka hopes that you can see why Cracka has been away from Ownedfags for a long time but hopes to become more regular.

As for what's happening now, Cracka's hopes of extending its plot on the allotment were dashed but, as Cracka lives in a flat with good communal grounds, Cracka is expanding its food growing in the communal grounds and not paying extra to the Council to extend its allotment plot.  The only expense is setting everything up but, so far, it's going well. Redcurrants, blackcurrants, apple trees, flowers and green vegetables that don't need much sunlight will be grown and Cracka hopes to be almost self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables all year round.  Another big bonus is that Cracka's money won't be lining  shareholders' and Directors' pockets of supermarkets and that saved money can be put to tackling the increase in bills and towards much needed projects for Black Gods.  

Finally, Cracka was able to access one of its long forgotten pension pots and cashed the whole lot in to pay off a credit card, an overdraft, a bank loan and increase its payment towards paying off the mortgage faster. Financially, things are still very tight but we hope that things get better over time.  Cracka still dreams of winning the lottery big time and buy a four bedroomed detached bungalow in the middle of a field somewhere in England or in Wales.  The rest of the winnings would still be used to fund projects for Black Gods so that their dreams can be fulfilled too. 

We never know what the future will hold and how long we will be on this planet. So, together with its Owners' views and consent, Cracka decided it wanted AND needed to make the biggest and positive impact as possible on the lives of Black Gods who are in less fortunate positions than ourselves through no fault of their own. When Cracka no longer exists, at least Cracka will have fulfilled its purpose which is to serve and support Black Gods right to the end and make their lives much better in the long run.