A Visit to the Fruit Farm

This week Little Bird and I embarked on a day trip to a local Fruit farm for a spot of Pick Your Own (fruit and vegetables that is).  It was a bit of a trip down memory lane for us, and one we've not made for a few years now, which made it even sweeter.  When Little Bird was a toddler and beyond, we used to pay a visit every summer.  I would usually leave it until as late as possible, to ensure the sweetcorn was ready, but this year we are going to be away, so that wasn't possible.

We love to wander about the fields, harvesting whatever takes our fancy and coming home laden with fruit and vegetables.   I then make jam from some of the fruit and freeze lots of sweetcorn and other vegetables to keep us going through the year.  It was and still is a great way for us, living in London as we do, to get out into the countryside and commune with nature.

We usually visit Hewitt's Farm, just outside of Orpington in Kent, as this is just a 40 minute drive for us, so the journey is not too long.  They have masses of fruit trees, bushes and fields of various vegetables ready to harvest and we've always found them very friendly and helpful at this family run business.

I had taken a supply of carrier bags, paper bags and the odd punnet for our picking and as soon as we got there, we set off around the many acres of the farm.  First stop was the cooking apples.  I normally get given some by OH's father, but as we won't make it to visit them this summer, I decided to buy some here.

The areas where you are allowed to pick are always sign posted at this farm and fields or crops not yet ready tend to be marked off by tape or signs are put up telling you not to pick.  It never ceases to amaze me how some people still manage to pick the corn well before it is ready and then just discard it.  It always seems so wasteful.  It also amazed me how much litter people drop on their way around.  Are people not taught to take their litter home with them?  (Sorry, I couldn't help but have a little rant).

Anyway, from cooking apples we graduated to the french beans, runner beans and plums.  Many of the plums weren't quite yet ripe, but I picked a couple of pounds anyway, as I'm sure they will ripen in the fruit bowl.  The beans I will probably freeze for use in stews in the winter months.  Unfortunately, I'd missed the broad beans which I really like to put in stews.  They had finished by the time of our visit and I hadn't grown any on the allotment this year.

Last stop was the eating apples. By now we were getting quite tired as there was quite a lot of walking involved.  Luckily I'd had the foresight to take my shopping trolley as actually carrying our fruit and vegetables would have been difficult and heavy work.  I used to use the pram when Little Bird was small. I picked some of a variety called Vistabella, as I've never heard of this variety of apples before, whilst Little Bird picked us some trusty old Discovery, which we all like.  Finally, I picked a few russets as I can never resist them, although they are a bit of an acquired taste and not to everyone's liking.  I remember them from my teenage days, when I worked in green grocer's shop after school and on Saturdays.  It was a job that gave me a lifelong taste for and love of almost all fruit and I must admit that I do eat quite a lot of it.

Once we'd finished picking, we headed off to the tills to pay for our haul.  I won't tell you how much I spent.  It's a secret, but I did consider it an inexpensive, yet educational day out for us during the school holidays and a pleasant trip down memory lane.

A Year In Books - August

As I mentioned in last month's post, July was the month in which we were taking a holiday this year, so I expected to get a bit of reading time whilst on the beach.  I read the first book I intended, before we went away.  It was this book by Carmen Reid.

I enjoyed this book.  It was an entertaining read about a personal stylist/shopper at a smart department store and her attempts to juggle family life and build a business for herself.  It was easily picked up and put down and interestingly, included a holiday to Italy in the plot.

The remaining two books I had earmarked to read in July, I took away with me and the first one was read within a few days of arriving at our destination.  It was this book by Lucy Diamond.  This was an entertaining holiday read about a woman who inherited a beachside cafe from an aunt and gave up her life in Oxford to take over it's running, with all the trials and tribulations this incurred.   Light hearted, but with a plot that kept you interested.

 

I then graduated to the second book I took on holiday.  I'd bought this one as the main character was described on the cover as living and working in Hackney, London and this caught my interest.  It was once again good poolside/beach reading.  The central character, a young teacher, and her husband, purchase a run down cottage in the countryside and move out of London to renovate it.  All did not run smooth in the course of said renovation and this book reminds one how the dream doesn't always quite pan out as planned.  I  passed this book on to Little Bird to read once I'd finished it, as it was entirely suitable.   She devoured it within a couple of days and wants me to look out for other titles by the same author, which was very encouraging.

Having finished the second of my holiday reads with days left to go of the holiday, I decided I had no option but to read OH's holiday read (which he had finished reading) and which was a book from a set I'd bought him for Christmas, East of Eden by John Steinbeck.  I had thought upon buying the set for him, that I might like to read them myself, so this was a perfect opportunity to get started, although I was unsure that I would like his style of writing.  I needn't have worried.  Within a few chapters I was hooked and found it hard to put down, so compelling a read I found it.  It was set in California and charted the complexities of the lives of two families who lived in the Salinas valley.  I managed to finish the book on our return, before the end of July, but I'm entirely certain that it won't be the last of his books that I will read.

For August, my chosen books are these.  There's a good mix of the light hearted and slightly more serious reading.

I have read titles by Anne Tyler before and find her books quite enjoyable.  This book is about two Korean babies adopted by two American couples in Baltimore, whose lives are then inextricably linked.  I have started reading it and am so far finding it acutely observed and quite moving in parts.

Sophie Kinsella is another author I have read before and as I have two of her books waiting to be read, I thought that I would read one of them this month.   This one is about a woman who wakes up in a hospital bed, 3 years on from where she remembers herself to be, with perfect teeth where once they were crooked and what seems like a perfect life, married to a millionaire.  She soon finds out that all is not what it at first appears.

Finally, I'm hoping to find time to read Joanne Harris's book, although the synopsis on the jacket is a little dark, so I don't know how far I'll get with this one.  If I don't like the subject matter, I may have to send it back to the charity shop.

I'm pleased to note that the book pile is steadily being reduced, which is very encouraging.  There is still far more fiction than non-fiction, so I am sticking to reading fictional novels for a few months to try to even things out a little.  I haven't been buying new books for a while now, save for the odd one I see and simply can't resist.  I've also realised that I have quite a few more books on my book shelves still unread, so I'd like to make some inroads into those too, before I do buy any more.  It would be interesting to see if I could last a whole year without buying a reading book.  I might make that a new challenge starting today and see how long I last.

Joining in with Laura at The Circle of Pine Trees in reading a book a month for a year.

Holiday Observations and Expenditure

Since our return from holiday, it's been a case of catching up -  unpacking, washing, food shopping, blogging, exercise, etc. etc. etc.  I'm getting there slowly, but it did take until the end of the week to get fully back into the swing of things.

Although I tried very hard whilst we were on holiday, not to put on weight, eating salads most days and not indulging in too many treats, when I jumped on the scales on our return, a few extra pounds had been acquired.   I'm now on a mission to banish them.  I'm not doing anything special to do so, just hoping that getting back to my usual activity levels, exercise and eating regimes will do the job.

Talking of appearances, one thing I noticed on our travels in Italy, was that many Italian women are incredibly glamorous.  I had a vague recollection before we went, from a previous visit we'd made, but very soon after arriving in the country, this was brought home to me as I sat watching people come and go in the airport, whilst OH was organising the hire car.  It was quite inspirational in many ways, but I don't think that I personally am capable of anywhere near this level of glamour and I'm not even sure that I even wish to be.  (Well, maybe secretly or I wouldn't even be discussing it!)  It was, nevertheless, interesting to observe in others (both male and female, might I add).

It was also incredibly interesting to observe Italian women on the beach.  Bikini's were definitely de rigour, largely regardless of age or size.  I admired their approach enormously, having not worn a bikini for a few years now,  I think sometimes that I'd like to get back into one at some point in the future, but am not quite sure I will ever have the confidence.  Italian women, on the other hand, seemed incredibly comfortable in their own skin, which was very refreshing.  I may, of course, have completely misread the signs in this regard, but that was how it seemed to me at the time.

Another interesting observation of beach life were the beach sellers, who walked the beaches all day in the hot sun.  They were very polite, not too persistant, and carried a myriad of small and large items that could be purchased, ranging from kitchen knives, handbags, bikinis and beachwear, jewellery, sunglasses, hair accessories, toys, etc. etc.   Even on the beach you could be tempted to part with your money, although I wasn't, save for buying a beach ball for OH and Little Bird. 

In fact, I didn't really spend too much money whilst we were in Italy, on buying anything other than food or what I would class as essentials.  I did treat myself to a few new nail varnishes in autumnal shades for next season,

a monochrome snood type scarf, which I'm looking forward to wearing when the weather turns cooler,

and a couple of pairs of large ball stud earrings.  I liked the size of these and the fact that they could be worn with either the large or small studs to the front.

Unusually, the post was on the small ball which has to be fed through the back of your ear when the large ball is to the front.  I've been wearing them a lot since buying them and am very happy with them.

In total, I probably spent less than 15 euros on these items.  As I had little weight in my suitcase to facilitate my buying many things, nor did I have any spare money to spend on luxuries really, the holiday in itself being a luxury, I didn't treat myself too much.   I did treat Little Bird to a couple of inexpensive items, but that was all.  We're not huge shoppers when we go on holiday, as I've said in previous posts, (the US last year was a bit of an exception) much as I might like to be in a country known for it's high fashion and handbags.  Often a small item, that can be worn for years to come, is as good a souvenir from a holiday as one could possibly want or need with the added advantage that it doesn't need dusting.

Do you tend to treat yourself when you go away on holiday or spend money in the duty free shop in the airport/on the ferry?

Jumblemania

Sunday morning, whilst out walking the dog, we happened to stumble upon a Jumble Sale Trail in our neighbourhood.  People were setting up stalls in front of their houses with balloons tied outside to indicate the trail.

We later found out on the grapevine, that there was a big community jumble event going on.  Apparently, they had done the same thing last year, but either we were on holiday at the time or just weren't in the know, as I don't recall it.

When I got back home I checked out the website.  There was a great map pinpointing where all the 50 or so participating stalls would be and what they would be selling, i.e. clothing, children's items, books, general jumble, cakes, food, etc.  A great idea.  

As we were on our way out to the gym for my morning class, we thought it was perhaps a bit too late for us to join in this year, our neighours were participating though, so Little Bird went out to check out what was going on.

On our way to the gym we decided we'd join in when we got home.  As I had to do the weekly shop before we came home I bought a few extra things, namely some doughnuts and some fruit to make fruit kebabs for the stall and then we headed home.

Whilst Little Bird got started on the kebabs, I got out the wallpapering table and clothes rail started to set them up with lots of bits and pieces out of the charity shop bag, which was waiting to be taken and from around the house and garden.  Here's a picture of the stall once Little Bird had rearranged it.

The footfall wasn't great despite the colourful signs put up at the top of the street by some neighbours,

probably due to the fact that most people tended to check out the streets further up the road nearer the Sunday market.  In spite of this she made a few sales and managed to make a little bit of money towards her stationery budget for secondary school.  All good as there were a few more things winging their way out of the door.

I did manage to restrain myself and not wander around the other stalls myself to buy anything (although I did get a couple of items of makeup from our neighbour's stall), as our house is already full of jumble.  A great community spirited event though, so a big thank you to those who organised it.

I was pleased we made the effort to join in, even if it was just for a short time, as I think Little Bird really enjoyed it.  Hopefully, next year we'll know more about it, and if we're not on holiday, she'll be able to do some baking for it too.

Allotment Tales

Before going on holiday, I paid my usual visit to the allotment, to check on progress, in the knowledge that I wouldn't get back there for a couple of weeks.  I didn't actually need to water as the night before there'd been a deluge and the ground was nice and wet.

The cucumbers had settled in well,

as had the courgettes.

I was pleased that there wasn't any fruit from these plants anywhere near ready, so that hopefully, I wouldn't come back to huge marrows.

The beans were flowering well too,

and the strawberries were recovering well from been chopped right back.

When I came back, it was a couple of days before I could physically get to the allotment, what with washing, unpacking, food shopping and 18th birthday gift shopping for my neice that was urgent and couldn't be put off.  When I did return to the allotment there was quite a bit of work to do as there were quite a lot of weeds and some parts had got a bit unruly. 

I was pleased to see that a couple of cucumbers were ready for harvesting.  These were a short variety about the size of a half cucumber.  Hopefully the plants should produce many more during the remainder of the summer.

Sadly, the same couldn't be said of the courgettes.  I think 3 out of the 4 plants I put in are male and won't produce fruit.  One plant does have some small courgettes on it.

At least there were no marrows, as I never know what to do with them.

There were a few spring onions to harvest and I found a couple of carrots from ages ago, which I harvested.  The only other thing to harvest was some rhubarb, which was now doing very nicely indeed.  More crumbles coming up I think.

Sadly, the remaining few lettuces had bolted in the heat.

There is now just one left still growing, so I need to sow some more as soon as I can.

There was good news on the pepper front as the half dead plants (attacked by snails in the garden) I put in a few weeks ago were looking a whole lot better and even had some flowers on them.  I may get some peppers yet if the season is long enough.  The sweetcorn plants were also looking a bit healthier, although not as robust as they would had I planted them a lot earlier and they even had some cobs forming.

There were a few tiny beans on the bean plants too and lots of flowers, so hopefully I should get a good harvest later in the season.  Half the potatoes still need digging up, but as I've still got lots at home that I dug up a month ago, I didn't dig them up on this visit and concerned myself with weeding, hoeing, cutting back and watering, to get the plot back into better shape.  I managed to make quite good progress in the couple of hours I spent there and left with it looking tidier than it has done for a while, although there is still quite a bit of work to do.

All in all things were coming along quite nicely.  I think that going away at the start of the summer holidays was definitely better than later, when there is more harvesting to be done.  My friend's husband doesn't like to go away at all during the summer months on account of his allotment.  I can definitely understand why.

July Round Up

My finances went a bit awry in July.  Mostly due to our impending holiday and my doing a bit of unscheduled shopping on my credit card in the days before we left, to get a few things that to be honest weren't completely vital, but were nevertheless necessary.  In actual fact, I went a little mad in TK Maxx and bought myself a new leather handbag, purse and some black gladiator sandals.  I also prematurely bought myself a new pair of trainers, which were on the list of things I needed when I got back, but as is the way with TK Maxx, if you don't buy something when you see it, invariably it is gone the next time you go there, so I bought them, even though they would be sat in the wardrobe for two weeks before I used them.

I don't actually regret any of the purchases, as I did need a new black handbag, the zip on my current one having broken, my purse was looking incredibly shabby - I'd been looking for a new one for a while, and I had thrown out a pair of black sandals this year as they had broken, so didn't have any summer footwear to wear with many of my clothes.  In effect, it has meant that my credit card bill this month will be a little large, so my spending money for August will be limited.  Committment wise, I have almost £100 to pay for Little Bird's school uniform, an 18th Birthday present to buy and another £100 to pay off the overdraft.  For this reason, I will be tightening my belt where I didn't last month.  I'm looking on it as a challenge, otherwise it is just too depressing to contemplate.

I do seem to have quite a bit of food in the cupboards that still needs using, so that will help and I'm hoping that when I visit the allotment, there will be a few things to harvest.  The tomatoes in garden are now ripening and I managed to harvest a lettuce and some apples from there this week.  There's another lettuce still growing too.  Small savings, but they should help keep the food budget down.

With regard to the summer holidays, treats will need to be limited or will need to be free, but as we have just returned from 10 days holiday, are spending a weekend with relatives in Yorkshire later in the month and a week with other relatives in Norfolk at the end of the month, there should be plenty to keep Little Bird happy.  Not to mention possible visits from relatives from abroad and friends from Yorkshire.  I just need to fill in with a few activities and days out in between.  A visit to the fruit farm or better still blackberry picking locally may fill an afternoon or two, as will a trip to the library or into town and possibly a theatre visit later in the month.  Children's Theatre Week in London can reduce the cost of this treat  and I know there is a show that Little Bird would really like to see.

Other than the aforementioned, we may be staying close to home for much of the next two weeks and trying not to spend money.  I'm sure it won't hurt for once.  I have combined my food bank donation for July/August and most of it has already been bought and is waiting to be delivered to the food bank, which will be a trip out.   We've also got to go and collect Little Bird's new uniform from the school and do a little bit of back to school shopping.

I think we might take the opportunity this month, to do a serious declutter of Little Bird's bedroom and other areas of the house and to take the accumulated items to the charity shop.  That should keep us out of trouble for another few days, not to mention garden and allotment jobs.  I think swimming is free for Little Bird in the summer holidays and her swimming club is still running for another two weeks, so she'll be attending sessions as usual.  I may need to do a bit of swotting up on things going on in the holidays at local museums to fill other days, but hopefully we should be able to amuse ourselves without too much trouble or expense.

A is for ........................Apples

I was in a bit of a quandary about when to pick the apples from the tree in our garden this year.  I was tempted to harvest them before we went away, as they looked ready and it would have meant that I could have scheduled this post to be posted on time last week.  Then I thought that this was perhaps a silly idea, as they would just be sat in the fruit bowl ripening or possibly rotting if there were any blemishes on them.  I decided to leave them where they were and wait until I got back, so I'm a little late with this last post in Mum's Alphabet blogging challenge.  Sorry, Mum.

Once home, the apples were harvested.  Partly because, until I did a shop, there was no fruit in the house, so it was quite timely.  Unfortunately, many of them (there were only approximately 18 or so in total) had been infiltrated by a grub so these were cut up and unaffected parts made into tasty crumbles that were duly eaten with some stewed apple being put in the freezer for a second batch.  The ones that were untouched, approximately 7, were put in the fruit bowl to be eaten at leisure.

As a consequence, I found myself almost wishing I had in fact harvested them before we went away, but the results may have still been the same, who knows.  Regardless, it did give me a small sense of satisfaction that I had grown any edible ones at all.

Joining in with  Mum at Mum's Simply Living in blogging using the alphabet backwards.