Belated Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! How's 2013 going for you so far? May it get even better as the year goes on.

Let me catch you up with some of the things I've been up to. The main reason I haven't posted for a while is that I got myself a Christmas job at Boots (Chemist and beauty shop). 

Sorry about the picture quality - it was taken on my mobile phone. I worked full time, 5 days a week, from 7.30 till 4.30. That 7.30 start was a killer! I was up each morning at 6, which is really difficult for this bed-lover, in order to feed my two cats, rabbit and wild birds before leaving. It was also really hard setting off in the dark and returning in the dark, so I made sure I went out during my lunchtimes to see daylight. 
As for the job itself, it was really manual work; lots of opening boxes, lifting stuff, loading trolleys, shelf stacking, shelf tidying, and helping customers find where things are in store - AND I LOVED IT!!! Having been a Primary School teacher for 27 years, it was so good to do such a physical job without all the mental stress and, best of all, no work to do in the evenings and on Sundays!
What I completely forgot to factor in for a Christmas job was that I would need to work at Christmas! I had Christmas day and New Year's Day off but was back there for the Boxing Day sales. When Daughter came home from uni for the hols I only saw her in the evenings and on Tuesdays and Sundays. Never mind. It was a really good experience, and a good thing for the c.v. They said they were really pleased with me for 'mucking in and getting on with it' and wouldn't hesitate to employ me again.

I must admit it's been lovely to take my time again now, and my cats love that I'm around to make a fuss of them. Here's Bramble, my boy cat, hiding under the doormat, waiting to ambush his sister when she comes down the stairs:

And here he is again, this time in the kitchen, having batted something under the mat:

Here's his sister, Luna, taking a nap on the back of the couch:

I've done a little cooking too - Spicy Roots and Lentils Casserole. From this.....

...to this:

And I used the Gooseberries I bottled last summer to make a yummy pie for dessert:

Flopsy enjoyed eating the ends of carrots and parsnips left over:

We've had snow here for the past week and my water butts have completely frozen up. Should have insulated them! I like to use the water to flush my toilet, so  I thought to myself "Now what would my ancestors have done for water in these circumstances?" I expect you're already yelling the obvious answer at the screen, but it took me a whole day to realise.....melt snow of course!!! Durrrr!!! So, much to the cats' mystification, I put three buckets worth next to the radiator:

 I was surprised to find it took most of the day to melt. I knew from science lessons, and milk bottles on the doorstep, that frozen water takes up more space than melted water, but those three buckets only yielded one bucket of water. Hmm....live and learn.

And finally, here's a picture of my favourite Christmas pressie, which Daughter got me from my wish list on Amazon - a hurricane lamp!!

Isn't it beautiful?  I had the wick too high at first, which has left a sooty stain on the glass, but I've got the hang of it now. I found almost odourless indoor lamp oil at The Range (nearby shop) so I am very happy!

Blessings to all who read this blog!  x x 

P.S. Oops! Just noticed I've posted pics of Bramble's ambush before. Oh well, it still makes me laugh every time I come downstairs and see that tail sticking out.

July goings on.

July has been a busy month so far. 


Inspired by this book:

I thought I'd have a go at bottling (or 'canning' in America) gooseberries. I bought some from a PYO farm I came across to eke out the ones I grew myself.

I used my new preserving pan to sterilise the jars and lids, with a tea towel folded at the bottom as instructed. 

Topping and tailing the gooseberries was rather tedious, but necessary. Miss Read, in her Fairacre series of books, says she uses a pair of nail scissors but I prefer my knife.

I packed each jar with fruit then added hot syrup (Just sugar and water). I screwed on the lids and slightly loosened them, then lowered them into the hot water and brought the water to 88 degrees Celsius for the amount of time it said (20 mins I think - it varies, depending on the fruit used).

The finished result. Now that the fruit has softened there is loads of room left in the jars!

 I was amazed at how the jar lids dimpled down, indicating a vacuum has formed. When you think about it this is just the same process as tinned fruit that you buy in the shop. 


I'm very excited about all this! I love seeing the pictures of Amish cupboards filled with jars of produce, and I love the thought of preserving food without needing a freezer. I've bought some smaller Kilner jars to preserve rhubarb, chopped peaches and chopped pears. I would like to preserve vegetables, soups and stews this way too but, due to low acid content and the danger of botulism therefore, I would need to get a special canning pressure cooker for these.


This month in the veggie garden, after weeks of rain:


First potatoes dug up.

Courgettes (zucchini) are forming. Had to pick these a bit smaller than usual due to slugs nibbling the skins off!

My one remaining Pumpkin plant is now flowering. It always amazes me just how big Squash flowers are! I caught this one in the morning; by midday it had curled up again.

The mint plants, which grow wherever the mower can't reach, are also coming into flower. The bees LOVE them!

And finally my 3 'helpers'....


Bramble,

Luna,

and Flopsy.

What have you been up to this month?

Some Piccies for May

After weeks of almost constant rain we've finally had some sunny times - between showers. Took the camera out yesterday in the back garden and thought I'd share the piccies with you.

Bluebells - the very epitome of England in May.

The gooseberry bush is showing signs of the beginnings of berries forming - an amazing feat since Bramble (my cat) keeps catching the Bumble bees that visit here.

Solomon's Seal. Look how the raindrops stay on the leaves, making little beads. I am always astonished at how fast this plant grows each year! Some years it gets completely eaten by grey caterpillars from an insect which only feeds on Solomon's Seal.

Jack-by-the-hedge (or Jack-by-the-compost-bin!), a wild flower which has decided to make it's home here.

Beautiful, beautiful apple blossom from the Jonagold tree I planted this year. Will they make apples this first time? No idea - we'll have to wait and see. The label said it 'probably' doesn't need another tree nearby to pollinate - probably??!!

The onion sets have shot up this last week.

The 'darling buds of May'. Hopefully they'll open out this week, as the nearby hedgerow ones have.

White dead nettles and stinging nettles. I allow some to grow for the butterflies but have to be careful not to let them overtake the garden.

Unfurling fiddle heads of Ferns - now there's poetic!

And finally some pics of the beautiful animals whose lives I am privileged to share. This is Bramble, probably looking for more Bumble bees to catch!

Luna, Bramble's sister, investigates the pond.

Can you see who's hiding here?

Yes, it's Flopsy the bunny!

Hope you enjoyed my May photo album! Blessings  x x

Roots and Rhizomes!

Roots and rhizomes? Sounds like something Trumpkin would say, in 'Prince Caspian'!

A week or so ago, when the weather here turned quite Spring-like, I decided that not only would I dig over my usual veggie-patch but would also extend it. This meant moving a lot of logs (left over from when our silver birch tree suddenly died), lifting some broken concrete slabs which marked the border of the current veggie patch, and digging up a LOT of roots and rhizomes from the white dead-nettles, stinging nettles, lemon balm, ivy and brambles that had been growing in happy abundance there. I moved the lemon balm to another part of the garden, but the rest went in the brown wheelie bin to be taken away to be composted.

Of course, a certain lop-eared Bunny couldn't resist getting in on the act. He enjoyed munching the roots and helping to dig.

Just then, my beautiful, beautiful Daughter arrived home from school and, to my joy, decided to don her wellies and join in!

This was also a momentous day for our two rescue cats, Bramble and Luna, as it was their first day outside. True to form Luna (the female) very quickly felt at ease and disappeared over the fence to explore further, whereas Bramble (her brother) was much more cautious. Here he is, shinning up a fence....

.... and perching, rather uncomfortably, on top.

By the way, since these piccies were taken Bramble has not dared to venture this far again, preferring instead to hunt for such dangerous prey as dead twigs, which he likes to bring in through the catflap and chew to bits in the dining room.

Some signs of Spring on the way:

rhubarb appearing...

... and daffodils (or maybe narcissi) waiting to burst forth.



Since these piccies were taken the weather has not been so kind. Rain (which, admittedly, we badly need in this part of England if we are to avoid a drought later in the year) and cold temperatures have prevented further progress. Having all the windows and front door replaced with double-glazed versions, washing curtains, replacing old net curtains and worn out curtain rails, and searching for new curtains for awkward sized windows have kept me pretty busy too!

Garden updates

I was looking through my earlier posts last night and enjoying all the summer veggie pictures, so I'd thought I'd give you an update of current gardening. As it's November it's a good time for shrub planting. In the front border, behind our little wall, I wanted to plant a hedge of mixed plants native to Britain. I have my two Hawthorns at either end, clipped to lovely neat shapes (but forgot to take a photo!) and inbetween we used to have roses. The roses got old and straggly so I dug them up in  Summer 2010 but, due to hubby's health, never got round to planting anything in their place.

First I had to move a self-sown Lavender to the side border.



Next I planted a Holly that has been growing in a pot in the back garden, having been sown by birds! I then put in a cluster of 4 Beech plants I bought at a local nursery.

These are a Hazel and a Hornbeam that I bought online from the Woodland Trust.

And , finally, two more Hazels. I hope they all grow really well when the warm weather comes again.

As November has been quite mild this year, and the sun even came out the other day (whoopee!) I started some of the jobs needing doing in the back garden. Haven't got a picture of this but I weeded the rhubarb plot - having first peeled back the anti-bunny fence - then added fertilizer (Bunny poo!) and hay to keep the frosts off.

After that I began to clear a space to plant this beautiful shrub my work colleagues bought me. I had asked for no flowers to be sent, since they aggravate my sinuses, so they bought me this in memory of Keith instead. Can't remember what it's called but it looks wonderful. 

Spotted this rather spectacular fungi growing by the bird table.

And, of course, Somebody just had to come and see what I was up to!  ;-)